"Tomorrow is June. You let them go because you want to do as the young master said and kill them tomorrow, right?"
“It’s not ‘them,’ it’s just him.” Shi Yan snorted. “If it weren’t for Young Master’s permission, the first person I would want to kill would still be Chong Xuezhi. As for Shangguan Tou… I don’t want to kill him either. But daughter, you must know that anyone Young Master orders to be killed must die.”
“I know. It’s a pity that Shangguan Tou is dead.” Liu Hua smiled. “However, I still have my young master, don’t I?”
Shi Yan stopped drawing halfway through his work and said, “She really is my daughter. You have good taste.”
night.
Moonlit Valley.
Xuezhi and Shangguan Tou rushed to Suixing Island. Just as they reached the entrance of Qing Shen Tower, they saw Lin Yuhuang rocking two children. Xuezhi quickened her pace, ran over, took the children, and hugged them tightly. Lin Yuhuang looked at Shangguan Tou with a puzzled expression, and Shangguan Tou nodded.
That night, Xuezhi stayed by the two children's side, taking meticulous care of them, until after midnight when she noticed Shangguan Tou had left. Waiting for him for a long time without success, Xuezhi grew anxious and searched for him in the valley, carrying the children. She searched all five islands but still couldn't find him. Exhausted, she returned to Qing Shen Tower intending to put the children back before notifying someone, but as soon as she entered, she saw Shangguan Tou sitting by the bed, looking weary.
“Brother Tou,” Xuezhi walked over and put the child on the bed, “Why didn’t you say anything before leaving? I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
"Give me the two secret manuals your father wrote."
"What's wrong? Don't you know where you put them?" Xuezhi took out the "Snow Lotus Sword of the Vast Sea" and the "Samadhi Flame Phoenix Blade" from under her pillow.
"Let me keep these for now. It's not safe these days." Shangguan Tou took the two manuals, not even glancing at Xuezhi, and walked straight to the door. "You go to sleep first, I'll wait at the door for a while."
"Wait a minute."
Shangguan Tou stopped.
"You're hiding something from me."
"No." Shangguan Tou walked straight out.
He didn't return until noon the next day. When he got home, he was completely drunk, ignoring Xuezhi's persistent questions, and collapsed onto the bed without saying a word. Xuezhi sat down beside him and asked what was wrong. He mumbled a few words in his sleep and then fell into a deep sleep. Xuezhi leaned closer and sniffed him; a strong scent of rouge wafted from him.
For a long time afterward, she still couldn't accept the reality before her eyes.
"Get up." She nudged him.
No response.
"Shangguan Tou, get up!" Xue Zhi raised her voice, her cheeks flushed with anger. "Where did you go? Who did you see? Get up and explain yourself! If you don't get up, I'll beat you to death!"
Shangguan Tou still did not react.
Xuezhi sat down on the ground and lay down beside the bed, where she remained for the entire afternoon.
As dusk fell, Shangguan Tou awoke. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Xuezhi washing a handkerchief in a basin. She wrung out the handkerchief and wiped his face: "Are you hungry? Shall I ask the cook to get you something to eat?"
She had her head down; her skin was still fair and delicate, but her eyes were noticeably red and swollen.
Shangguan Tou asked softly, "You cried?"
"No." Xuezhi shook her head vigorously, grabbing his blanket. "Do you want something to eat?"
"No, thank you."
Xuezhi turned around, grabbed a piece of clothing, and draped it over Shangguan Tou: "Here, give me your hand."
"Zhi'er... what are you doing?"
Xuezhi fastened his clothes and straightened his collar: "As a wife, I'm very inadequate. I can't cook, I can't do laundry, and I have a terrible temper. Lately, I've only been thinking about the children and neglected your feelings." Saying this, she looked up at him with her swollen eyes: "From now on, I will learn what a wife should do, and I will listen to you obediently, okay?"
There was a glint of tears in Shangguan Tou's eyes. He immediately turned his head away.
"I have something I want to tell you."
"Um."
"……sorry."
Xuezhi paused for a moment, then forced a smile and said, "It's alright. Just don't do it again this time."
"sorry."
Xuezhi's smile gradually faded: "What do you mean?"
"I already have children."
159
Xuezhi could hardly believe her ears. She shook her head vigorously and asked again, "What did you say?"
“I already had children with other women.” Shangguan Tou stared blankly at the bed curtains, saying each word clearly, “She has also waited for me for many years.”
Xuezhi's mind went blank:
"……so?"
"From today onwards, we are no longer husband and wife."
"Shangguan Tou, are you kidding me?"
Shangguan Tou took an envelope from his pocket and placed it in Xuezhi's hand.
Xuezhi gripped the envelope tightly, her hands trembling helplessly, her nails almost tearing the paper: "You want to divorce me because I had a child with another woman? Of the seven grounds for divorce, which one did I commit?" She crumpled the divorce letter into a ball and threw it at his face: "You're completely insane!"
Shangguan Tou turned his head to the side: "I want to be with the woman I like."
"Then what am I?" Xuezhi lost control of her emotions, grabbing his collar and saying, "What does it mean that you say you like me? Or have you been lying to me all along?"
Shangguan Tou neither resisted nor spoke.
Why did you lie to me?
There was no response.
"Tell me, why did you lie to me?"
Before she met Shangguan Tou, Xuezhi had heard that when he first entered the martial arts world, he desperately wanted to join Chonghuo Palace because he believed that Chonghuo Palace's martial arts were the only authentic ones. Later, he studied martial arts under Lin Yuhuang, and then…
She dared not think any further.
She covered her head, holding back her tears for a long time, and choked out:
"It's for my father's secret manual, isn't it?"
"……sorry."
A wave of nausea surged up her throat. Xuezhi gagged, quickly stood up, got off the bed, stumbled a few steps, but accidentally kicked a table leg, staggered, and fell to the ground.
The candles and candlesticks rolled to the ground, and the flame went out.
"Zhi'er!" Shangguan Tou quickly got out of bed. "Are you alright?"
Black hair coiled in the air.
"Don't come any closer!" Xuezhi sat on the ground, crying and shrinking back. "Don't come any closer!"
Shangguan Tou had no choice but to stand still.
The noise from the two children woke Shi'er and Xian'er in their crib, and they both started crying. Xuezhi suppressed her sobs, wiping away her tears as she ran to the bedside to pick up the two children.
Just then, a strong gust of wind blew through and opened the window.
The last candle in the room went out instantly.
A dark figure darted in through the window. Before Shangguan Tou and Xuezhi could react and try to get closer, the two children had already been taken away.
"Shi'er, Xian'er!!" Xuezhi hurriedly chased after them.
The man in black stopped at the window and slowly turned around: "It looks like the couple is arguing. I wonder if this will interfere with our plans?"
That sound again.
"Abbot," Xuezhi knelt down abruptly, "You can do anything you want, just don't gamble with the children's lives. They are my everything. I beg you."
Shangguan Tou suddenly roared excitedly, "What do you want from me?!"
“My request is very simple.” Shi Yan’s eyes flickered as he looked at the child in his arms and then at Shangguan Tou. “I would appreciate it if you could come to the River Pavilion on the upper reaches of the Guangming Cang River tomorrow. I will personally come to fetch you.” He added, “Remember, it can only be Shangguan Tou. If anyone else comes, or if you don’t come, I’m afraid the child will not survive.”
"Good, good, you're all very good." Shangguan Tou looked extremely pained. "I'll remember that."
"I'm afraid you won't remember. I'll return one to you first." With that, Shi Yan struck Shangguan Xian with a palm.
Fresh blood gushed from the child's mouth.
"No—!!" Xuezhi and Shangguan Tou's miserable cries echoed throughout the entire Suixing Island.
The cries of the two children suddenly dwindled to just one.
"This old monk will await your good news at the River Pavilion." Shi Yan tossed Shangguan Xian to Xue Zhi, "Amitabha."
Shi Yan turned around and disappeared into the darkness.
Shi'er's cries quickly faded into the night wind.
Xuezhi held Shangguan Xian tightly, trembling all over: "Xian'er, Xian'er. Mother is here, don't be afraid, Mother will take you to see a doctor right away..."
Shangguan Tou sat down on the ground, collapsing like a tree whose roots had been removed.
A strong stench of blood filled the air. From her early days in the martial world until now, Xuezhi had witnessed many cruel and bloody scenes, but never before had she felt such excruciating pain as when hot blood flowed through her body.
It feels like the pain of having your index finger chopped off.
She carried Shangguan Xian and ran all the way outside.
The child had stopped crying. His two tightly clenched, bun-shaped little fists hung loosely in the air, swaying limply.
On a clear, moonlit summer night, the evening breeze was slightly cool.
The Tianxing River shimmered under the lonely moonlight, with rows of small wooden boats lined up along the shore, swaying gently with the waves.
"Xian'er, be good, nothing will happen." Xuezhi patted Shangguan Xian's small body while banging hard on Yin Ci's door.
Yin Ci opened the door and looked at Xue Zhi with slight surprise:
"Palace Mistress Xue, what is this...?"
"Immortal Xingchuan, my son... he was struck by a palm and is seriously injured... I beg you, you must heal him!"