La pluie écarlate submerge la ville

Chapitre 39

"Oh?" I chuckled. "Is the High Priest satisfied with the result?"

"Are you angry?" He looked down at me intently.

I withdrew my hand, forced a smile, and said, "How dare I? As long as the High Priest is satisfied, I won't keep you company any longer." I turned to leave, but after taking only two steps, Ruan Bicheng, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up.

He called me, "Su Xie".

My back stiffened, I dared not turn around, but my feet wouldn't move.

His voice was extremely quiet, like a gentle breeze blowing through the window at night, as he said behind me, "Could you do me a favor?"

Suddenly, I couldn't take that step. I knew Yan Shu was watching me, and I knew I couldn't turn back, but he quietly called my name, "Su Xie."

Knowing full well...

I turned around anyway. His long, wet hair was spread all over the ground, its blackness starkly contrasting against the red blood and strong liquor, highlighting his paper-white face and quiet eyes. I heard a voice I couldn't control, "What is it?"

The last syllable trembled.

He lay on the ground, raised his eyes to look at me, and seemed to be smiling. He opened his mouth and said something, but I couldn't hear what he said.

He asked again, "What?"

He seemed to try to get up, but his arms trembled slightly, and blood oozed from his back. After struggling for a moment, I instinctively squatted down and reached out to help him, stopping him in my tracks. I asked in a dry voice, "What do you want to say?"

He looked up at Yan Shu and whispered in my ear, "Give me a quick death... I hope to die by your hand..."

I started trembling inexplicably. Yan Shu grabbed my shoulders and pulled me up. I stumbled and fell into his arms. He grabbed my chin, made me look at him, and asked, "What did he say to you?"

“No…” My throat tightened, and I looked at Yan Shu with all my might.

"Really?" His brows furrowed slightly, but a smile played on his lips. After a long pause, he released his grip and said, "I'm asking you one last time, what did he say to you?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but he suddenly raised his voice and shouted, "Think carefully before you answer me! I don't want you to lie to me."

I shut my mouth and didn't answer. Suddenly, his face turned cold, and he drew the guard's sword, pointing it directly at me. "Why won't you speak?"

I looked at the blade, then at him, and said calmly, "What does the High Priest want to hear me say?"

He looked at me with a cold expression, his eyes narrowing slightly, and suddenly sheathed his sword and handed it to me, saying, "Kill him."

I was stunned. He grabbed my wrist, forced the sword into my palm, pointed it at Ruan Bicheng, and said, "I want you to kill him with your own hands."

A flash of cold light appeared at the tip of the sword, aimed directly at Ruan Bicheng's brow. My mind went completely blank; I couldn't think of anything. All I knew was to desperately pull the sword back and blurt out, "Let go!"

Her voice trembled, and her fingernails dug desperately into the back of Yan Shu's hand that was gripping mine, leaving two bloody marks. Beads of blood trickled down between his fingers and into my palm, leaving a damp, warm patch.

Yan Shu stared at the back of his hand, each knuckle cracking, her tone icy cold, "You've softened? You can't bring yourself to hurt Ruan Bicheng?"

"Yan Shu..." Every inch of my skin went numb, and I trembled uncontrollably. "Yan Shu, let go... let me go!"

He pressed close to my back, one hand gripping me, the other tightly squeezing my sword-wielding fingers, forcing me forward little by little, and whispering in my ear, "Su Xie, you are mine, your body and your heart are mine, and I will not tolerate the slightest betrayal!"

I shrank back as fast as I could, cold sweat beading on my back. My mind raced, and I kept hearing someone calling my name over and over again, "Lu Ning..."

Lu Ning...

"Yan Shu, don't force me..." I gasped for breath. Ruan Bicheng looked at me quietly, but her presence was like a thunderous storm sweeping through my mind and heart.

"Su Xie, you are mine..."

"Lu Ning, Lu Ning..."

The voice in my head was driving me crazy. I closed my eyes and heard my own voice, so pathetic, pleading, "Yan Shu, I will fall in love with you... Let me go, don't force me..."

Don't push me to the point where I have nowhere to retreat.

The trembling sword tip was suddenly gripped, and I shuddered with fear. Opening my eyes, I saw Ruan Bicheng holding the gleaming sword tip, smiling calmly at me. "Don't be afraid, give me a quick death, Su Xie." He straightened up, pointing to his chest, and said, "I owe you a life, and today I can finally repay you..."

Lu Ning...

The person who called my name in my mind suddenly turned around amidst the chaos...

Yan Shu suddenly shoved me from behind, and I heard the sound of a sword tip piercing flesh and bone. The image of iron horses and icy rivers in my mind came to an abrupt end at that moment.

I heard Ruan Bicheng call my name, "Lu Ning..."

Author's Note: I was originally excited to write this, but a friend kindly reminded me it's a lighthearted story... so I politely avoided direct descriptions... It wasn't satisfying at all! Just thinking about skinning and scalding flesh is so exciting! Will it really be very gory? Will it get censored? Will it? Okay, I'll tone it down a bit and write it for my own amusement... The female protagonist is finally one step closer to turning evil! And it was the priest herself who pushed her! Let the wheels of fate roll over her! Hahahaha! Guess how I'll turn those wheels next? How will I turn them? PS: You all guessed right, the white jade token was given to me by my little darling, and it worked very well to make the female protagonist misunderstand the priest!

Forty-six

"Are you Lu Ning?" He asked me with his head down under the pear tree where the breeze was blowing. His clothes fluttered in the wind, and the faint fragrance of pear blossoms lingered on his collar and cuffs. I looked up and saw the tree behind him covered in white blossoms. The branches stretched out, and tiny white petals swirled down and landed on his temples.

I never knew that black and white could create such a beautiful scene. The sunlight was so bright that I couldn't open my eyes. I heard him say, seemingly with a smile, "Lu Ning... what a nice name."

A good name? I loathe my name. My aunt's daughter is named Mingyu, her son is named Mingxiu, and she just randomly gave me the character Ning. I hate this name so much that I grinned at him and said, "I'd rather be a broken piece of jade than a whole piece of tile. What's so good about that?"

He suddenly smiled, and white flowers drifted down from his shoulder and hair. His smile was so beautiful that I was stunned.

He gently tucked a pear blossom into my hair and softly said, "Tranquility leads to far-reaching influence, it's a wonderful name, just like you."

I caught a whiff of pear blossom fragrance, so faint it seemed to linger on my hair, almost like the scent emanating from his fingertips. I reached out to touch it, but he grabbed my fingers and whispered, "Hey... don't move, it's so beautiful, Lu Ning..."

Lu Ning, Lu Ning...

I have never liked this name so much, simply because it sounds exceptionally nice.

Now he kneels at my feet, his pale fingers gripping the sword blade, smiling gently at me, calling my name, and saying, "Lu Ning... do you still hate me?"

His eyes were filled with my image, and he said, "Lu Ning, I'm sorry..."

He said, "Lu Ning, this is all I can give you back..."

Lu Ning, Lu Ning...

In my mind, there's a picture of pear blossoms falling one after another, and someone calling my name from under the tree.

Yan Shu gripped my fingers tightly and slid the sword inch by inch into Ruan Bicheng's chest. Blood gushed onto my fingers, and I suddenly realized that it wasn't just him who was about to die, but also my young lover, my pear blossom tree, and even myself...

The image of pear blossoms in my mind was instantly swallowed up by pools of crimson blood. Yan Shu laughed in my ear, "Su Xie, kill him, kill him..."

I was trembling uncontrollably, and in an instant it felt like the sky was falling and the earth was collapsing. "Let go!" I don't know where the strength came from, but in that instant I broke free from Yan Shu's hand, turned around and handed the sword over.

I heard the sound of the sword blade tearing through my clothes and piercing my flesh, like a bamboo shoot breaking through the soil, traveling from the tip of the sword to my fingers, and then through my limbs and bones, as if lightning had struck my body.

The air was thick with steam, obscuring my vision and burning my eyes with the vapor.

Yan Shu stared at me for a long time, then looked down at the sword stuck in his chest. His voice came from a great distance and seemed unbelievable, "You want to kill me?"

My hand holding the sword was covered in blood. I was trembling violently, every knuckle of my hand was spasming. My mind was a jumble of thoughts, both clear and empty. I didn't even know how I had delivered that sword strike. I just watched as the blood from Yan Shu's chest slid down the blade and splattered on the ground. It was excruciating.

"Don't force me, Yan Shu..." Tears welled up in my eyes, burning so much that I almost cried.

Yan Shu looked up at me, his brows furrowed tightly. There was no anger, no annoyance, just disbelief. He looked at me like a child in utter disappointment and asked again, "Are you going to kill me?"

My chest felt tight, like it was about to burst, and I couldn't breathe. "Yan Shu, I don't want to kill anyone... Don't force me... I..."

He suddenly raised his voice and shouted at me, "You want to kill me for Ruan Bicheng?"

"Yes!" My whole body was trembling. Looking into his eyes, I said in a hoarse voice, "Release him! Let him go! Now! Otherwise, I will definitely kill you!"

His clear eyes froze instantly, and he looked at me with heartache, saying, "You think you can kill me? Su Xie, I'll give you one last chance. Kill him, and I'll let bygones be bygones."

At that moment, I suddenly felt so sad I felt like I was going to die, just like when my dad slapped me without asking why when I was a child, and then told me to apologize to my aunt and he would forgive me for what I had done.

How long ago was it that this person told me they liked me?

"Yan Shu." Tears welled up in my eyes, and I looked at him and suddenly smiled. "Don't make me regret saving you..."

He stared at me intently, "I'll count to three, one..."

"Yan Shu, do you really want to force me to erase my former self with my own hands?"

"Two." He looked at me, his fingers gripping the blade, and slowly pulled it out.

The tears welled up in my eyes so quickly that I couldn't control them even with my eyes closed. Before he could finish, I closed my eyes and asked, "Yan Shu, what exactly is it that you like?"

"To have you." Yan Shu drew his sword, his eyes cold as he stared at me, and said, "No matter what means you use, three!"

Before he leaped at me, I took a half step back, the blade pressed against my throat. I looked at him and smiled, my eyes brimming with tears. "I can't kill anyone, Ruan Bicheng. You... I'm utterly pathetic, except when it comes to myself, except for myself..."

"Su Xie, don't threaten me." Yan Shu stopped in front of me.

I backed away step by step, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "You all have extraordinary abilities. I can't beat you, I can't hide from you, I can't accept what you don't want, and I can't refuse what you give me. Is this fun? Yan Shu, I'm a person too..."

"Lu Ning, don't worry about the sword." Ruan Bicheng struggled to get up.

Yan Shu approached me step by step and reached out his hand, saying, "Su Xie, give me the sword."

My mind was a complete blank, a jumbled mess. All I knew was to back away, back away. For some reason, my neck was wet. I reached down and wiped my hand, which was covered in bright red blood.

"Su Xie! Don't think you can threaten me with your life! Believe me or not, I'll cut Ruan Bicheng in two right now!" Yan Shu shouted, grabbing Ruan Bicheng's collar.

I gripped the hilt of my sword tightly and said, "If he dies, I will die with him!"

"Su Xie!" Yan Shu shouted in a deep voice, reaching out to draw the guard's sword and pointing it at Ruan Bicheng's chest, saying, "Give me the sword, or I'll send him to hell right now!"

I stepped back, and Yan Shu frowned, thrusting his sword in.

"I'd rather you die than let him go!" Yan Shu said, word by word.

I stared blankly as Yan Shu plunged his sword into Ruan Bicheng's chest. Blood gushed out all over his body, the sword piercing through him. Tiny drops of blood clung to the cold, sharp blade, seemingly about to fall.

Before I could even apply pressure with my fingers, Yan Shu darted to my side and slapped the back of my neck. My vision was then swallowed by patches of blood, sinking deeper and deeper...

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It was like a bottomless abyss, sinking and sinking, with no one around except me... There was no light, nothing for me to cling to.

Someone reached out to me, their pale fingers gleaming like white flowers in the darkness.

I reached out to grab it with tears of gratitude, but the hand suddenly withdrew.

Someone said to me, "Lu Ning, I'm sorry, I had too many reasons to do this..."

A hand reached out again and grabbed my neck the instant it touched me.

Someone said to me, "Su Xie, I'd rather you die than tolerate the slightest betrayal!"

Suddenly, hundreds of white hands surged towards me from all directions, tearing at me and pulling at me painfully, making it hard to breathe. In an instant, I regained consciousness.

Lying on the tatami mat, unwilling to open my eyes, I heard someone beside me holding my hand, asking wearily, "Didn't you say she wasn't seriously injured? Why hasn't she woken up after sleeping for so long?"

Was that Yan Shu's voice? I was a little scared and wanted to pull my hand back, but I didn't dare to move.

My neck felt cool and didn't hurt. I heard Shen Qing's puzzled voice, "Logically speaking, these superficial injuries on the neck should have woken up long ago after sleeping for three or four days..."

"Did you examine it carefully?" Yan Shu's voice was tired and a little hoarse. "Is there any injury you haven't checked out?"