L'hibiscus comme peinture - Chapitre 51
"It's nothing." Ao Jun blushed slightly as she stood up, trying to speak in a steady voice, but the slightly distorted tone due to her unsettled emotions betrayed her unease.
"Are you really alright?" Jinxuan asked incredulously. If she's alright, why is she talking so strangely, and why is her face red? Silly Jinxuan, usually so smart, why is she spacing out like this?
"I'm really fine," Ao Jun said calmly after regaining her composure. Since Ao Jun had said that, Jin Xuan didn't say anything more.
Ao Jun looked up and saw that Sheng Chi and Yelü Ying were already fighting. Clearly, Yelü Ying was at a disadvantage because he had been hit by a palm and was sent flying.
"Yelü Ying!" Ao Jun exclaimed, leaping forward to catch Yelü Ying. With a swift stroke of his sword, he slashed a large gash across Sheng Chi's chest, and Sheng Chi collapsed to the ground, motionless.
Ao Jun helped Yelü Ying up and asked, "Yelü Ying, are you alright?" She was really worried about him.
Yelü Ying stared intently at Ao Jun's anxious expression, remaining silent for a moment before bursting into inexplicable laughter. He broke free from Ao Jun and coldly laughed, "Haha... Am I in trouble? Haha... If I were in trouble, would you be worried? What? You still want to play with me, don't you? You're happy to see me being played like an idiot, aren't you? Mo Jun, don't make that anxious face at me anymore. I won't fall for it again, I won't..." As he spoke, tears seemed to well up in his eyes, but he stubbornly forced them back.
Seeing their master like this, the Blood Souls of Cang Liao could only stay by his side. When Yelü Ying was being attacked by Sheng Chi, they couldn't help at all because Sheng Chi was the one who activated the Blood Souls, so they couldn't attack him. And now, they were even less able to help.
"Yelü Ying, I'm sorry. But these blood souls were left behind because of you, let them rest in peace!" Ao Jun was silent for a while, then apologized again, and looked at the blood souls around him calmly.
Yelü Ying stopped looking at Ao Jun and said to his former subordinates surrounding him, "You have become like this because of me, yet you still protect me. You are the true warriors of Cangliao. Go back to the grasslands of Cangliao. In the next life, you will still be heroes of the grasslands of Cangliao."
With a wave of his hand, Yelü Ying caused the blood spirits to slowly disappear, turning into wisps of smoke that drifted back to the vast grasslands of Cangliao, returning to their roots.
As Yelü Ying watched them disappear one by one, a pang of pain shot through his heart. The scenes of fighting side by side were still vivid in his mind, but now they were nothing more than memories of the past.
"Yelü Ying." Ao Jun wanted to comfort him, but her hand hesitated before she could pat his shoulder. In the end, she could only let it fall weakly, calling out in despair. Yelü Ying, however, only stared in the direction where the blood soul had disappeared, ignoring Ao Jun completely.
Jin Xuan watched this scene, feeling a pang of unease. He didn't know what had happened between Jun and Yelü Ying. He couldn't understand why the usually charismatic Yelü Ying had become like this. He didn't know anything. He only knew that the tension and anxiety on Jun's face were genuine. She was truly worried about Yelü Ying, and there was even a hint of heartache in her magnetic black eyes. She felt sorry for Yelü Ying? This thought, this scene before him, her actions, made him feel a tightness in his chest, a urge to vent, just like the feeling he had when he watched Yu Qing with his elder brother back then—a deep, painful ache.
He didn't want to watch any longer, so he took a step towards Ao Jun. After a few steps, he discovered that Chi Yu had taken advantage of Ao Jun's unpreparedness and was about to stab her with his sword. Jin Xuan was shocked and immediately flew over.
"Mo Jun, die!" Taking advantage of Ao Jun's unpreparedness, Chi Yu picked up her sword and quickly stabbed it into Ao Jun's back.
But before her sword could even get close to Ao Jun, she suddenly stopped, fell straight forward, and Jin Xuan stood behind her, holding the Dragon Roar Sword, his face expressionless.
Upon hearing the sound, Ao Jun turned around and saw Chi Yu lying on the ground covered in blood, looking at Jin Xuan with despair and disbelief. She weakly said, "You...you killed me. I loved you so much, but you...killed me for her...for..." Before she could finish speaking, she had already breathed her last, her eyes still wide open, staring at Jin Xuan. It seemed she was still unwilling to accept it!
"Sigh, why bother?" Ao Jun sighed helplessly, squatted down, and wiped Chi Yu's eyes with his hand, and Chi Yu closed his eyes.
Jin Xuan didn't even glance at Chi Yu, and pretended not to hear what she said. Seeing Ao Jun stand up, he called out sweetly, "Jun," and was about to walk over.
Suddenly, Ao Jun's expression changed, and in a flash, he appeared in front of Jin Xuan. Before Jin Xuan could react, Ao Jun suddenly pushed him away, and before he could even stand still, sticky liquid sprayed onto his face.
"My lord..." Yelü Ying suddenly roared.
A bad premonition gradually gnawed at his heart. He slowly turned around, and his heart ached terribly. A sword was stuck in Jun's chest, and his white robe was stained bright red. It was so conspicuous and so glaring.
No… Jinxuan kept screaming in his heart, but his throat seemed to be stuck, and he couldn’t utter a single word. He could only stand there, unable to move.
"Hahaha..." The evil, maniacal laughter assaulted everyone's eardrums.
"Holy Red!" Jin Xuan and Yelü Ying roared in unison, their swords flashing as they flew towards each other with perfect understanding, their expressions of intent to kill mirroring each other.
Despite the pain, Ao Jun delivered a powerful blow to Sheng Chi. Sheng Chi was immediately sent flying like a kite with a broken string, plummeting straight into the abyss. Sheng Chi's screams echoed through the heavens and earth for a long time: "Ah..."
As Sheng Chi was knocked away, the sword stuck in Ao Jun's chest was also pulled out. As soon as the sword was pulled out, blood gushed out along with it. That palm strike had exhausted all her strength, and now Ao Jun had completely lost all her strength, falling straight backward.
Jin Xuan, who was closer to her, immediately flew over and caught her, quickly pressing several acupoints on her body to stop the bleeding.
"My lord, my lord, you can't be hurt! Wake up!" Jin Xuan shook Ao Jun anxiously, his voice trembling as he asked. He was terrified, so terrified. He was afraid something would really happen to his lord, what would he do then? My lord, my lord, you can't be hurt, my lord…
As if hearing his shout, Ao Jun slowly opened his eyes and smiled weakly at Jin Xuan, saying, "I'll be fine, I'm just very tired and want to sleep. Let me sleep for a while!" As he spoke, he was about to close his eyes.
"Don't sleep, don't sleep, my lord! I command you, you are not allowed to sleep!" Jin Xuan roared at Ao Jun, as if only in this way could he keep her from sleeping.
Ke Aojun really couldn't hold on any longer. Her eyes closed, and she fell into darkness. Before losing consciousness, her only thought was: "Damn Ouyang Jinxuan! He knew she was really tired, yet he still dared to order her not to sleep. He's utterly inhuman. Never mind him, I'll just go to sleep."
"Jun..." No matter how Jinxuan shook him or called out to him, Aojun didn't respond at all.
"No, no!" Yelü Ying rushed to Ao Jun, knelt down, and shook her violently, shouting, "Wake up! I haven't settled accounts with you yet! You haven't been punished! If you're going to die, it'll be by my hand! Do you hear me? Wake up!..." No, Jun, you can't die! Jun, you've deceived me so badly, and now you want to run away? No, you can't leave me, you can't...
"Yelü Ying, shut up! The Lord won't die, he won't..." Jin Xuan roared at Yelü Ying. The Lord won't die; he didn't want to hear the word "death." The Lord would be alright.
Her hand trembled as she slowly placed it on Ao Jun's nose. Jun, you absolutely can't be hurt! There's still breath! Jun isn't dead, he's just unconscious! Haha… God, you really didn't take Jun away! That's wonderful! Haha…
"My lord, that's great! You're still breathing! My lord, hang in there, I'll take you back for treatment right away." Jinxuan was overjoyed, like a child, and spoke softly to Aoju, who could no longer hear her.
Upon hearing this, Yelü Ying's lifeless red eyes immediately lit up with joy. He snatched Ao Jun from his arms and held her tightly, glaring fiercely at the unconscious Ao Jun, saying, "You're smart enough to know what's good for you. I'm warning you, if you dare to die, I won't let you go, even if I have to chase you to hell." In his heart, however, he felt an indescribable joy, the happiness of having regained what he had lost. He was at a loss for words and could only use harsh words to mask his excitement.
"Yelü Ying, let go of me! I won't allow you to touch Jun!" Jin Xuan, his eyes red, snatched Ao Jun back once more and pushed Yelü Ying away.
If Ao Jun hadn't been unconscious, she would have jumped up and yelled, "You two, have you had enough? One is the dignified 'Cold-Faced War God,' Prince Jin, and the other is the 'Flame-Devouring Evil Lord,' Crown Prince Yelü, and you're actually playing a 'kidnapping' game here? Fine, play it your way, but you dare to mess with me, Ling Ao Jun! You bastards, just because I haven't shown my teeth doesn't mean I'm a pushover!"
"Ouyang Jinxuan, release Jun from me! She's mine!" Yelü Ying stood up, abandoning his attempt to snatch her. Instead, he pointed his Fire Cloud Sword at Jinxuan and roared in a sinister voice. Jun was his; if she were to die, she would die in his arms.
"Yours? Crown Prince Yelü, if your memory is bad, I can remind you, Jun is my Longxuan's strategist, not your Cangliao's." After confirming that Jun was only unconscious, Jinxuan finally felt relieved and regained his wise and calm demeanor as Prince Jin, speaking 'politely' with a gloomy face.
"I don't care what kind of strategist she is, Longxuan. All I know is that she is my ruler." Yelü Ying still pointed his sword at Jinxuan, but a wicked smile returned to his face as he spoke ambiguously.
“You…” Jin Xuan’s gloomy face darkened even more. It was not for any other reason than Yelü Ying’s ambiguous tone in saying that Jun was his. Humph, why should Jun belong to him, Ouyang Jin Xuan, forever?
"What's wrong with me, the Crown Prince!" Yelü Ying glanced at Jin Xuan and said with an evil smile. He had made up his mind. He would deal with Ouyang Jin Xuan today, settle all grudges, and then take the Emperor away. As long as Ouyang Jin Xuan was dead, the Emperor would be his forever. In short, Ouyang Jin Xuan had to die today.
"Crown Prince Yelü, if you don't want the Queen's treatment to be delayed because of you, then get out of my way." Jin Xuan began to rage, his voice dark and menacing. Although he had sealed all the acupoints on her body and stopped the bleeding, sealing acupoints for too long was harmful to the body. Besides, he didn't even know how serious the Queen's injuries were. She had suffered internal injuries when she destroyed those four divine pillars, and then she was stabbed in the chest by Sheng Chi's sword. He didn't know if any vital organs had been damaged. And this Yelü Ying was still blocking his way.
"I, the Crown Prince, do not wish for Your Majesty to delay your treatment, so..." Yelü Ying deliberately dragged out his words, and under Jin Xuan's increasingly gloomy face, he quickly exuded murderous intent, his red eyes burning with flames as he said, "Therefore, I, the Crown Prince, must finish this quickly and deal with you as soon as possible so that I can take Your Majesty to receive treatment."
"Very well, since that's the case, for the sake of you, I have no choice but to defeat you first." Jin Xuan gently placed Ao Jun on the stone steps to the side, straightened his body, and exuded a murderous aura.
If he doesn't deal with Yelü Ying first, the king will definitely miss the best time for treatment due to Yelü Ying's delay. Moreover, although Sheng Chi is dead, Cang Liao's 100,000-strong army has not yet retreated, and the war is not over yet! This inexplicable war was provoked by Yelü Ying, so only he can end it.