Небо над реками и озерами очень чистое - Глава 50
"The young lady's wisdom and courage are admirable, but it's a pity she didn't achieve her goal completely."
The Bai family members all glared at him angrily.
He coughed, ignoring the furious glare.
"I will leave the Bai family as promised, but there is no cure for my heartbreak..."
"What else do you want, you villain?" Old Master Bai roared, wishing he could devour him. "Take your men and get out of here."
"Without an antidote, your martial arts will be completely depleted in three days, leaving you crippled and unable to recover for life." Having regained his composure, Xiao Shicheng asked in return. "All your years of painstaking martial arts training have been for naught. Doesn't Old Master Bai feel regret?"
Xie Quheng and Song Yushang drew their swords and stepped forward. Xiao Shicheng's close followers immediately responded and condensed into a physical form, their long swords facing each other, creating a tense atmosphere once again.
"If Young Master Xie is willing to hand over Miss Ye to me, I will naturally offer the antidote." The Prince of Nanjun finally stated his terms of exchange.
The conditions were quite tempting. Although several people arrived in time, the disparity in strength was still enormous. Even if Xiao Shicheng no longer threatened the lives of the Bai family members, it would still be extremely difficult to forcibly take the antidote from him. The elite forces of the Nanjun Prince's Mansion had been deployed in this battle, and they would not be easily dealt with.
The air was stagnant, as if dead.
Xie Quheng hesitated for a moment, then looked back at his third brother.
Xie Yunshu didn't look up, but reached out to protect the person in his arms, his left hand already gripping the sword. Silver Swan and Jade Falcon stood behind him, awaiting only a command.
Jia Ye suddenly laughed, which aggravated her injury, causing her face to turn blue with pain.
Xie Yunshu gently pulled her closer, trying to minimize her tremors.
“Miss Ye, there’s no need to worry.” Xiao Shicheng’s gaze was quite complicated. “I will definitely treat you well and ensure that you don’t feel uncomfortable in the slightest.”
She was laughing so hard that it took her a long time to speak.
"What right do you think you have to negotiate?" She gasped, her voice laced with sarcasm. Her uninjured hand reached out with difficulty, holding a delicate jade bottle that looked very familiar.
Xiao Shicheng reflexively reached into his pocket, only to find it empty.
"When will you..."
He instantly understood and changed his question. "How do you know I have the antidote?"
Jia Ye chuckled, tossed the jade bottle with her delicate hand, and it flew in an arc before landing in Blue Owl's hand.
Blue Owl took the bottle, immediately uncorked it, and held it to Old Master Bai's nose. One sniff, and the poison was neutralized. The crowd stirred, and the jade bottle quickly passed from hand to hand.
"The Lord asked us when he told us to stand apart, and at that time he already informed the Crown Prince that the antidote was on him," Mo Yao explained, standing aside to prevent the snatching.
“We have followed our lord for years, and we can communicate with just gestures,” Blue Owl added, then walked behind Xie Yunshu.
"………well………"
He stared intently at Qingyan, whose face was as pale as a fallen flower, so fragile that she seemed unable to withstand even the slightest touch.
"Mr. Xiao accepted his defeat wholeheartedly."
The layers upon layers of design were completely undetectable, and people unknowingly fell into the trap.
She said nothing more, nestled softly in the arms of the person beside her, her smile mocking. How could she have paid such a price for a worthless promise?
Xie Yunshu held her very gently, carefully avoiding the wound.
When he turned to look at Xiao Shicheng, his expression was as cold as ice.
"Your Highness should return to Nanjun; you might be surprised by what you find."
Xiao Shicheng's face turned pale.
Nanjun is his base of operations. With all his elite troops deployed this time, Nanjun is left vulnerable and undefended, which is alarming.
"Young Master Xie has gone to Nanjun?" The secret report said they had left Yangzhou, but they were unable to find out their whereabouts.
“Just happened to be passing by.” Junyan smiled coldly, as if a blade had swept across the scene. “I heard that the nine sects and three factions in that area were dissatisfied with the young master’s recent rebellious actions and swore an alliance, which caused quite a bit of trouble.”
After saying this short sentence, Xie Yunshu turned and left, holding the girl in his arms.
After realizing what had happened, Old Master Bai exchanged glances with his son, then looked at Xie Quheng and Song Yushang, and suddenly broke into a smile.
"Xiao Shicheng, you've finally met your match!"
The old man cursed through gritted teeth, then burst into laughter, sweeping away his previous humiliation and resentment.
Xiao Shicheng gritted his teeth.
On a spring night, I took a deep breath.
Strolling
"I'm sorry." He fed her a spoonful of medicine, speaking softly, his voice filled with tenderness and guilt.
"Um?"
"You're so badly injured." When I first asked for help, I hadn't imagined things would turn out this way. I was both grateful for her taking the initiative and heartbroken to see her bleeding; I felt incredibly guilty.
Jia Ye thought for a moment, then smiled faintly.
"Luckily you didn't actually hand me over in exchange for the antidote."
Staring at his blood-loss-prone face, he suppressed his anger.
“I won’t do that.” Even though the Bai family and the Xie family have been friends for many years, and even though this calamity might cause Qinglan to fall into ruin. “You still don’t believe me.”
“That word is too extravagant for me.” Jia Ye remained unmoved by his displeasure. “Besides, it concerns close relatives, so it’s not surprising that I agreed to their request.”
Do you think I'll eventually betray you?
"It doesn't matter whether it works or not, you can decide the consequences yourself." She sighed softly and patted her shoulder. "Consider this the price I pay for driving you around for so many years, and we'll be even from now on."
"When have you ever wronged me? It's always been me who owes you so much." My heart is surging with emotion, and I can't quite describe the feeling.
Without looking at his expression, she slowly swallowed the bitter medicine.
"You are very different now than you were back then."
Without needing to recall, she remembered that boy without any darkness, upright and persistent, proud and self-disciplined, a perfect figure among the younger generation of aristocratic scions.
"That's not your fault, it was my own choice."
"All the missions you carried out were under my orders," she stated calmly and frankly. "I turned you into a murderer."
"You said that the guilt of murder should be borne by the murderer himself, so why are you trying to exonerate me?"
Jia Ye did not answer.
"Aren't you also acting on the King's orders? Why don't you use the same reasoning to convince yourself?" He gently fixed her face, his question leaving no room for evasion.
After a long silence, Jia Ye turned his eyes away expressionlessly.
"You and I are different."
“What’s different?”
Faced with relentless pursuit, she remained as aloof as ever.
"Your background, upbringing, family, friends... In their eyes, you are no different from before, and you can easily regain your identity. The seven years in the church were just an accident. Forget about it, and you are still the Xie family's young master, praised by everyone. A brief period of setback will not have the slightest impact on you."
"And what about you?" He gazed into her indifferent, dark eyes, as if trying to see through her heart.
“Me?” Jia Ye answered wearily, her body weak and tired. “I’ve been growing up in filth since I was a child. Those schemes, plots, cold-blooded cruelty are ingrained in my bones, and they will be in the future. We are fundamentally two different kinds of people.”
This time it was his turn to remain silent.
“You didn’t choose to run away back then, and you did your best to survive, which is good.” She examined her hands, as if talking to herself. “Now you can go back to being yourself, a clean and honest good person. You have that opportunity.”
"If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't be alive today."
"It has nothing to do with me; you earned it yourself."
"You really want me to forget these seven years?"
"If you're smart enough, you'll know what's best for you."
"Maybe I'm dumber than you think." He took her slightly curled hand in his, soft and white, a touch of tenderness that stirred his heart.
Jia Ye withdrew her hand, her voice cold. "Don't do anything you'll regret."
What do you mean?
"It's nothing." Her shoulder started to hurt, so she slid down, closed her eyes wearily, and decided not to talk anymore.
“Gaye”.
She remained motionless, seemingly asleep.
"Gaye?"
My fingertips lightly touched her face, but she remained completely unresponsive.
“Gaye…”
Every time he uttered that name, it was like a whisper from the deepest part of his heart. He sighed almost inaudibly and gently placed a kiss between his brows.
Her thick eyelashes trembled, but she didn't open them.
He didn't stop, kissing her delicate eyebrows, closed eyes, pert nose, and rosy cheeks one kiss after another... lingering on her slightly cool lips, the bitter taste of the medicine evoked tenderness, making him even more gentle.
The cool fragrance captivated my senses, making it impossible to resist its allure.
She could no longer ignore it, and her long eyelashes snapped open.
He didn't let her escape, skillfully capturing her and slowly luring her into a state of intoxication.
From passive to involuntary, her pale face gradually flushed red, her slender fingers unconsciously clutched her sleeve, and her dark eyes slowly became hazy.
Before she knew it, his lips touched her small ear, lightly tasting her thin, almost transparent earlobe, making her tremble like a lotus flower blown by the wind. His lips then fell on her slender, white neck, confirming its smoothness as she had imagined countless times. He left his mark on her delicate collarbone, its alluring indentation… Her black hair flowed like water, his long, slender hands moving through it, wantonly teasing its warmth…
……the unrestrained fingers slid restlessly under the hem of her clothes…
He suddenly stopped moving.
She buried her head in her cool, flowing hair, and only raised it after a long while, her dark eyes filled with a smile.
"I'm sorry, I forgot..."
Looking down at her half-open collar, she suddenly blushed and was speechless for a moment.
His fingertips rested on layers of bandages, his palms...
It covered her soft, dove-like breasts.