Xiao Shixun kept smiling: "To die at Jing'er's hands is the happiest thing in my life. Today is my birthday, the day I came into this world, and today is also my death anniversary, the day I leave this world. It's so good to have Jing'er with me on both my birthday and my death anniversary..."
As he spoke, Xiao Shixun reached out and pulled out the long sword that had pierced his body, throwing it aside. Then, he walked towards Su Fuliu, his steps marked with blood. He wanted to reach out and touch Su Fuliu's face again, but Su Fuliu took two steps back to avoid him.
He lowered his hand, which had been hanging in mid-air, gave a bitter laugh, and then said, "I'm sorry, really... I'm sorry... I know that even if I die, I can't make up for it, cough..."
Xiao Shixun coughed violently and spat out a mouthful of blood.
He didn't care at all. He raised his hand to wipe the corner of his mouth and continued, "But, but I really, really love Jing'er. If there is an afterlife, no, you wouldn't want to be with me in an afterlife, but if possible, in the next life I will definitely learn to love you properly..."
Xiao Shixun forced a smile and said, "Today is my birthday... Jing'er, just call me Shixun, just once... okay... I really want to hear it... I really want to..."
Chapter 593 It's Snowing
Seeing that Su Fuliu kept her head down and didn't look at him, Xiao Shixun finally couldn't hold back his tears and knelt on the ground, blood dripping down his face.
"Jing'er, I'm about to die, and you won't even look at me? Actually, I was just testing you. Seeing your pain and despair for him, wanting to go with him, I knew that only death could fulfill your wishes. Otherwise, how could I, living on, bear to let go..."
Hearing this, Su Fuliu looked at him, then excitedly walked over and knelt down. He grabbed Xiao Shixun's shoulders with both hands and asked, "What do you mean by that? Tinglang isn't dead, is he? He's not dead, is he?!"
When Xiao Shixun saw him like this, he started crying and then laughed, but then he started crying again, as if he had gone mad.
He leaned forward, resting his head on Su Fuliu's shoulder, savoring the warmth of her body. This was the last time he would be so close to the person he loved.
He struggled to raise his arms and embrace Su Fuliu, his voice barely audible as he said, "I...I didn't kill him..."
Su Fuliu burst into tears while laughing.
"Jing'er, I didn't kill him, this time I didn't... kill him, but what am I going to do? My heart aches so much, I can't bear to leave Jing'er, Jing'er... hug me... I'm so cold... so cold... I'm going to hell, I'll never see Jing'er again, I will always love Jing'er, always, always love... my Jing'er—"
When Su Fuliu heard Xiao Shixun want him to hug him, he clenched his fists. The person leaning against him was someone with whom he had a blood feud. The painful past that Xiao Shixun had inflicted on him flashed before his eyes, so he couldn't raise his hand to give this irreconcilable enemy a hug.
But a person is about to die...
But the moment Su Fuliu loosened his fist, Xiao Shixun's hands, which were holding him tightly, suddenly fell to the ground, and the string of bells that had not been sent over rolled down, making a tinkling sound.
With that last cry of "My Jing'er," Xiao Shixun leaned on Su Fuliu's shoulder and closed his eyes.
Another gust of cold wind blew by, and a snowflake landed on Xiao Shixun's shoulder.
Su Fuliu tilted her head slightly, looking at the snowflakes falling from the sky, and sighed softly: "Happy birthday, Shixun. I wish we would never meet again, in life or in death."
Then, he gently put Xiao Shixun down, clutching the half of the golden mask, and staggered to his feet.
At this moment, heavy footsteps came from below the gate tower, as if there were thousands of troops.
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out—"A-Liu!!!"
Su Fuliu became excited and rushed to the railing of the gate tower. Looking down, he finally saw the person he had been longing for.
In that instant, tears streamed down his face. Ignoring the large crowd below the tower, he shouted at the leader, "Tinglang—!!!"
When Feng Muting saw Su Fuliu crying, his heart tightened. He immediately dismounted and rushed up the tower.
The guards on the gate tower naturally wouldn't stop him anymore; Xiao Shixun was already dead, so who else would they dare to stop?
“A-Liu—”
Su Fuliu turned around and saw Feng Muting rushing up the tower in three quick steps: "Tinglang—"
He ran towards Feng Muting, crying.
Feng Muting also rushed towards Su Fuliu.
The two finally embraced each other in the wind and snow.
Su Fuliu cried uncontrollably in Feng Muting's arms, unable to speak.
Feng Muting held his precious A Liu tightly, choking with emotion and unable to speak.
Chapter 594 My Brother is So Fierce
Standing beneath the tower, Su Yan wiped away the hot tears from the corners of his eyes and muttered hesitantly, "Should we go up and take a look?"
Xie Chen, standing to the side, grabbed his sleeve and used it as a handkerchief to wipe away his tears: "Why go up there? To see the Prince and Young Master Su being so intimate?"
Su Yan slapped Xie Chen's hand away and said, "You little bastard, I'm just worried about the danger above."
Xie Chen smiled and said, "Brother, what you're saying is true. For Young Master Su, isn't the greatest 'danger' our Prince?"
"..." Su Yan rolled his eyes at Xie Chen.
Then Xie Chen leaned close to his ear and said, "Just like I am my brother's 'danger'."
Su Yan blushed and nudged Xie Chen, saying, "We've come all this way to do serious business, so be serious!"
Xie Chen nodded, then leaned close to Su Yan's ear and said, "Yes, taking care of my brother is a serious matter."
"Me!" Su Yan's face flushed red instantly, and he raised his foot to kick Xie Chen.
But before the kick could land, Xie Chen said, "Hitting is a sign of affection, scolding is a sign of love. The harder you kick, the deeper my love is. Come on, kick me as hard as you can!"
His words successfully elicited suppressed laughter from the group behind him.
Su Yan awkwardly withdrew his foot, glared at Xie Chen, then looked back at the team behind him and said, "What are you laughing at? What's so funny? Be serious!"
Just then, they heard another heavy footstep. Su Yan and Xie Chen immediately became serious, thinking that Xiao Shixun's men had come to surround them.
They breathed a sigh of relief when they saw who was leading them. It turned out that Lu Chimo and Wen Hongye had arrived with the old troops of Xiao Kingdom.
Although the three imperial physicians were neither literate nor skilled in martial arts, they were among them, determined to protect their Crown Prince.
"Grand Preceptor Lu! Young Master Wen!" Su Yan greeted with a cupped hand.
Physician Xing asked, "Divine Physician Lu, who is this?"
"The steward of the Prince Ting's mansion."
"Oh?" Imperial Physician Xing looked Su Yan up and down. "If even a steward can be so handsome, then Prince Ting can't be too bad-looking either."
Su Yan was taken aback, then said, "Ugly? You mean our prince is ugly?"
"No, no, no, I didn't mean your prince was ugly. It's just that your prince was wearing a mask when he came here, so I don't know what he looks like. I'm afraid he's just a weirdo."
Su Yan was stunned again: "A deformed melon or a cracked date?!"
He wouldn't allow anyone to speak of their prince like that, so he reached out and grabbed Xie Chen's collar, pulled him forward, and showed him to Physician Xing: "Old man, take a look, how does this little bastard look?"
Physician Xing immediately looked Xie Chen up and down: "Handsome, this young master is very handsome."
Su Yan then let go, and Xie Chen even complained, "Brother is so rude!"
Su Yan glared at Xie Chen, bared his teeth to scare him, then turned to Physician Xing and said, "Isn't this little bastard handsome? Our Prince is ten times more handsome than him! No, a hundred times more!"
Physician Xing's eyes lit up: "Really? That's great, that's great!"
Su Yan snorted: "Our prince is on the tower right now, you can go up and take a good look!"
Xie Chen, looking aggrieved, sidled up to Su Yan and said, "Brother, are you saying I'm not pretty enough?"
"Shut up!"
"My brother is so fierce..."
"..." Su Yan was speechless for a moment. If Xie Chen acted like this, anyone who didn't know better would think that he was the one who bullied Xie Chen all the time!
However… he often bullied Xie Chen during the day, but at night… he would turn on him. He just didn’t understand why he would inexplicably turn on him at night!
Chapter 595 Senior Brother, I miss you so much, have you missed me?
Just as Physician Xing and the others were preparing to ascend the tower, the sound of horses' hooves and a series of hurried footsteps came from another direction.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Bai Yulang riding over with Gu Xingchen, followed by a neat and orderly troop of soldiers.
Bai Yulang spotted Lu Chimo in the crowd at a glance and immediately waved to him, "Senior brother, senior brother!"
When Lu Chimo saw Bai Yulang, his eyebrows curved into a smile, but then he frowned and quickly went to greet him.
Bai Yulang reined in his horse, and Lu Chimo came to the side. He opened his arms, and Bai Yulang laughed as he dismounted and threw himself into his arms, wanting to hug him and kiss him a few times: "Senior brother, I missed you so much, did you miss me!"
Lu Chimo held Bai Yulang in his arms, a smile playing on his lips: "Of course."
He then carried Bai Yulang back, leaving Gu Xingchen somewhat embarrassed on horseback.
Just as Gu Xingchen was about to dismount with difficulty, Wen Hongye came over, grabbed his waist, and pulled him down from the horse.
Gu Xingchen scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly: "It's so embarrassing, I'm the only one who can't ride a horse..."
"I know how to do it." Wen Hongye smiled.
Gu Xingchen smiled and nodded, then took his hand and asked, "It's been so long, have you been well?"
"Hmm." Wen Hongye patted the small bamboo basket on her body, "It's just that the candy is almost gone."
"I'll go buy it after this is over, I'll buy you all sorts of things, to fill it up!" Gu Xingchen replied.
Wen Hongye smiled and nodded: "Okay."
When Physician Xing and the others saw Lu Chimo carrying Bai Yulang back, their eyes widened and they immediately rushed over.
Physician Xing said, "No, Physician Lu, what are you doing? How can you hug someone else so openly? You said you would be devoted to our Third Prince!"
“That’s right, you said you only liked our Third Prince!” Imperial Physician Qu chimed in.
Physician Zhang glanced at Bai Yulang and guessed, "Could this be our Third Prince?"
Lu Chimo put Bai Yulang down, and Bai Yulang immediately ran to the three of them and yanked a handful of each of their beards, making them cry out in pain.
"It's been years, and you three old men have grown such long beards?" Bai Yulang laughed. "Does it hurt? If it does, that's good. It means that everything in front of you is real. I, Bai, no, Xiao Shilang, is back! Aren't you happy? Aren't you excited?!"
The three of them stared at Bai Yulang for a long time, speechless.
Seeing that they didn't speak, Bai Yulang assumed they didn't believe he was Xiao Shilang, so he patted Physician Xing and said, "Physician Xing, do you remember when you accidentally stepped in dog poop?"
Physician Xing felt embarrassed. This embarrassing incident had only been witnessed by Xiao Shilang back then, but Xiao Shilang hadn't said anything at the time. He had just nodded silently to him and then left as if he hadn't seen anything.
He still trusted Xiao Shilang. Xiao Shilang was serious and taciturn, so naturally he wouldn't go around talking about such things with others.
But, but how come now...
His lips twitched: "This, this..."
Before he could say anything, Bai Yulang patted Physician Qu on the shoulder again and said, "Physician Qu, back in the day outside the palace, you were unfortunately chased by a stray dog and ran around in fear. Luckily, you ran into me, and I helped you chase the stray dog away!"