Небо над реками и озерами очень чистое - Глава 96
She is eleven years old.
Looking blankly at the worried boy, she uttered two words.
“…Huaiyi…”
"You were sleeping soundly when you suddenly jumped up in fright and then fainted. What happened?" The young man touched her forehead, still worried. "Was the chase too intense and made you lose your composure?"
Before he could get an answer, the sound of leaves parting came from the dense forest not far away, and several arrows landed beside him. He didn't have time to ask any more questions, grabbed the girl, and dashed away.
"run!"
Staring blankly at the menacing pursuers behind her, she staggered to keep up. Her nimble body made it effortless. Several more people appeared ahead. The young man snorted, drew his sword, and unleashed a bright arc of light that slashed out diagonally, instantly splattering blood.
"Jia Ye, what happened to you?" The boy, his arm wrapped in bandage, stared in surprise at the person leaning against the tree. "You couldn't even handle these few guys."
She weakly covered her face, unable to utter a word.
Her hands trembled so much she could barely hold the sword. It was a sword she had known since childhood, carefully treasured by her mother. A year ago, it had inexplicably returned to her hands, and had since taken countless lives.
His body was covered in blood, a crimson stain that could not be washed away.
The mother had predicted everything, but she never imagined that her daughter would be trained to be a cold-blooded and ruthless killer.
"Jia Ye." The boy lifted her face, scrutinizing her timid and confused dark eyes. "We can't go on like this, or it will be difficult to get back alive. There are at least three groups of pursuers. I can't manage alone."
“I know…” She hated herself so much that her voice was trembling.
Huaiyi's eyes were filled with doubt and worry. She dared not meet his gaze and stared at the ground as if fleeing.
After a while, the boy sighed.
Without saying anything more, he led her to the water to wash her hands, then took out some dry food and handed it to her.
"Eat something first; you haven't eaten anything all day."
She choked, taking a few bites without tasting anything. Her thin stomach lining was cramping, yet she couldn't eat anymore. The jerky tasted incredibly nauseating. She tried desperately to swallow, but finally couldn't hold it in and vomited. Having eaten practically nothing, and feeling terribly uncomfortable, she only managed to vomit a few mouthfuls of clear water. Huaiyi froze once more.
She followed the people in front of her blankly, knowing that she had become a burden.
She was protected by Huaiyi during several ambushes, unable to wield a sword, unable to eat meat, and even afraid of blood. Yet she still managed to become a Seven Killer. She herself felt extremely bad about it.
Huaiyi had asked countless times, but she didn't know what to say.
She didn't want to go back to Tianshan at all. She wanted to escape far away, to a place without nightmares or killing, to escape the terrible reality.
But she couldn't do that; Huaiyi had to go back.
What will happen to Huaiyi now that she's gone?
Besides... where else could she go?
She remembered what her father looked like, and she understood that her home was in Yangzhou, but so what?
Years have passed, and who can be sure if her father still wants her? That... her brother must be more favored by her father than she is... She killed her mother, and no one will forgive her.
"Jia Ye!" He suddenly hugged her and rolled down the grassy slope. The dense forest blocked the pursuers' view, and they lay in wait quietly until the searchers were completely gone.
He pressed down on her shoulders, his breath close to her ear, his heartbeat steady and strong. This was a comrade who had fought alongside her in the Forging Camp. Privately, he made her call him by his real name, saying that way she wouldn't forget who she was. Now, however, the memory of the past had become a real burden to her.
Huaiyi silently watched the girl beside him; her frail body was still trembling slightly. She was completely devoid of her usual calm and decisiveness. He couldn't understand what had changed her overnight, making her timid and withdrawn, like an ordinary child.
She is so small.
He was nominally her master, but his usual ruthlessness made him forget she was still a child. If it weren't for that damned demonic cult, she should be embroidering, learning the zither, and playing games with her peers.
In fact, she was an elite assassin, and no one in the Western Regions dared to underestimate her. Beneath her youthful and adorable appearance lay a tempered frost that had been tempered a thousand times.
What kind of nightmare made her lose control and become completely dependent on his protection, weak and helpless?
The return journey was exceptionally arduous.
but………………
He really wanted to keep going like this.
But... she couldn't survive in the church like that.
After overcoming numerous dangers, she finally returned to Tianshan, but she still had not recovered.
Fortunately, she remained as responsive as ever. Apart from him, no one knew about the deep-seated change in her. He wondered how long this state would last. He checked on her, worried, and found her curled up in a ball at the foot of the bed late at night. He realized she was still plagued by nightmares. Her small face was pale and covered in sweat, but she refused to say what she had been dreaming about.
"Don't be afraid," he could only soothe, comforting the man on the verge of madness in the deepest darkness before dawn. "I'm here."
“…Huaiyi…” The weak voice sounded like a wounded little animal.
He wiped the sweat from his hands, held her head in his arms, and gently patted her small body.
After a long while, intermittent sounds finally came through.
“…I can’t kill anymore…I can’t…When I close my eyes, I see…” Her weak voice choked. “…I’m sorry…”
She couldn't say it; she couldn't recount what she had done. Unable to imagine the look of disgust and loathing in Huaiyi's eyes, her head hung low.
He didn't speak, but led her to the flowering trees in the courtyard. A cool breeze blew gently, gradually calming her emotions.
"Jia Ye," he called softly. "Raise your head."
After a long while, the head, which had been buried deep in the ground, slowly rose. The sky was ablaze with countless stars, bright and dazzling. Suddenly, a shooting star streaked across the heavens like a firefly, disappearing behind the mountains with a trail of light. The lingering stench of blood vanished, and an extraordinary stillness captivated the soul. Never before had the night held such serene beauty.
"Jia Ye, neither of us should be here. Let's escape together if we have the chance."
The soft starlight shone on the boy, and with understanding and pity, the boy smiled and reached out his hand under the tree.
"Let's go together and leave this hellish place."
She suddenly choked up, threw herself into his arms, and nodded desperately.
She held him tightly, wanting to nestle him in her arms and share his excruciating pain, constantly wiping away the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
The boy convulsed and curled up, the indescribable pain tearing at his mind, already turning her arm blue and purple.
“…I’m sorry…I…”
“…Huaiyi, Huaiyi…” she sobbed, trying to comfort him, not daring to raise her voice even slightly. “Bear with it, I’ll go and ask the King for advice.”
"...It's no use...I'm sorry..." His eyes were frighteningly red, overflowing with pain. "I can't help you...I've only made you sad..."
A tear fell on her pale face, and another, warm from her body, fell into the boy's heart.
"Don't cry." He looked with difficulty into her tearful eyes, "...Don't cry anymore, you...escape...to the Central Plains...don't stay here..."
"...Huaiyi..." More tears fell, and no matter how much blood was wiped away, fragments of internal organs were brought out with the mouthful of black blood.
“…Gaya… help me…” The boy’s face contorted in pain. “… Don’t let me… die too horribly.”
"Huaiyi!"
"………help me………"
With that pleading look in her eyes, she finally drew her sword, its clear blade trembling incessantly.
“…Please…” He could no longer speak. Inhuman pain consumed his mind, and his hands were already gripping her slender neck.
She gradually lost her breath, her vision blurring as she looked at the crazed face, and she tightly closed her eyes.
The hand... slowly loosened, falling limply to the ground.
His face, now calm and relieved, showed the horrifying crimson fading, and his warm eyes were filled with remorse and reluctance. He was still a clean-cut, handsome young man… He would never speak again.
She stared blankly, holding the still-warm body close for a long time.
The wind dried the remaining tears.
“Gaye”.
"Your subordinate is here."
Where is your bodyguard?
"I killed him."
"Why."
"He was determined to escape back to the Central Plains, but being imprisoned seemed too troublesome."
"oh?"
"Anyway, he's of no use, so please forgive Wang Shujiaye's recklessness."
"So be it, he's just a man from the Central Plains, killing him is fine."
"Thank you for your magnanimity, Wang Kuanhong."
Extra-Jiuwei
(superior)
The excessive flattery and obsequiousness, after a while, became tedious. One could almost recite the next line: As the youngest leader of the Demonic Sect, the initial rebellious undercurrents upon ascending the throne were gradually replaced by submission after a period of constant reshuffling and bloodshed—a transformation that took only a few years. Those who were unruly or disloyal were eliminated one by one, replaced by trusted confidants handpicked by the leader. Under the pretext that their hard work and achievements did not match their current status, the Killing Camp's position was elevated, placing the sharp and flamboyant young general above the sect's elders, his chilling authority both natural and unavoidable.
This seat is not a comfortable one. From its high vantage point, countless eyes harbor unspeakable selfishness, greed, fanaticism, avarice, ambition... all mixed together to form an unpleasant haze, layer upon layer, enveloping the jade throne, intangible and intangible, yet impossible to dispel, like maggots clinging to the bone.
This is his path.
Having achieved his long-cherished goal in one fell swoop, he had no right to complain. He also thoroughly enjoyed the supreme pleasure of wielding power with a single word, the feeling of looking down from above, arbitrarily manipulating fate, and looking down on all things—a sensation that was intoxicating.
Only very occasionally... when the wind stirs the bells of the tower, and one's gaze sweeps across the snow-capped peaks, the desert of poplars, and the vast expanse of lush green grass, a moment of reverie may occur.
Wild geese fly under the azure sky
A beautiful girl herding cattle and sheep...
A phantom-like childhood floods my mind, as if I can hear the pastoral song in the sunset again.
A widespread epidemic claimed the lives of his mother and grandfather, leaving the tribe devastated. The surviving strongmen seized the unclaimed property, and he and Ada, also orphaned, earned their living by doing odd jobs. The relentless daily toil tanned their skin under the sun, and by the age of seven, they were already skilled riders, adept at using whistles to control dogs and herd sheep, and learning to hunt and set traps, believing that their lives would be spent on the grasslands.
Until a close advisor who spoke the Shule dialect approached him.
The title of "prince" sounds so ridiculous now, yet back then I was overjoyed, blinded by destiny and plunged headlong into it. How could a naive child know the undercurrents beneath the glitz and glamour, blinded by empty fame?
Upon entering the royal palace, the immense pressure and rigorous training he underwent were unbearable for this free-spirited man from the grasslands. He attempted to escape several times, but was always captured and severely punished. He was distressed and puzzled until several years later when he learned the reason.