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"Kill them!"

"Killed?"

Zhu Yu suddenly laughed: "I hate you, so I killed it to vent my anger!"

"oh!"

After killing the Akhal-Teke horse, he went almost into a state of complete madness, lying on the scorching sand as if he were dead, until the excruciating pain brought him back to his senses. He got up and started walking back in the direction he remembered. He hadn't gone very far, so while Junyu and the black horse were buried in the sand to avoid the blazing sun, he had already quietly circled around behind her.

At that moment, his hatred for her reached its peak; he wished she would fall and die. Yet, he himself didn't understand why, despite his intense hatred, he couldn't give up and continued to secretly follow her. In any case, she couldn't walk fast on the sandy ground and was completely unaware that a living creature was tracking her. So, without a horse, he could more easily maintain a safe distance from her.

"She's already wary of me! She'd rather die than follow me! I hate her so much, so I want to watch her die a miserable death of thirst in this desert." He kept repeating this thought to himself, and followed on with even greater determination.

Finally, a few days later, she really collapsed!

It was something I had been looking forward to for a long time, but why did I feel such heart-wrenching pain and fear as if the world was about to collapse when I watched her fall from afar?

How could she just die before my eyes? Even if she had to die, she should have breathed her last breath with me!

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Chapter 339: A Cheap Love Poem 1

Junyu closed her eyes again, though no one knew when. She had been parched for days, barely breathing; even though she had drunk some water and eaten something, her energy couldn't be restored in such a short time.

Under the moonlight, there was a plain white handkerchief on the sand to her left.

Zhu Yu picked it up, examined the words on the handkerchief carefully by the moonlight, then looked at Jun Yu, stuffed it into her hand, and said resentfully, "Only a despicable person like Tuosang would write such disgusting things! It's laughable that the dignified Flying General of Fengcheng would carry something like this around. Don't you think it's incredibly tacky?"

"I think it's great!"

"Hmph!" Zhu Yu snorted coldly, grabbed a handful of sand angrily, and threw it far away. After a long while, he whispered, "If I had known you liked this kind of vulgar stuff, what would have happened if I had written ten or eight poems?"

Junyu suddenly remembered something, and barely opened her eyes, saying, "These past few days, I've heard some strange noises several times, but when I turned around, I didn't see anyone."

"I deduced your intentions when I saw you and the horse hiding in the sand dunes, so I hid in the sand dunes myself during the day, and then at night I took advantage of the darkness to hide far behind you, so of course you couldn't see me!"

These past two days, he's been almost right behind her, but she's been so thirsty and confused that she can't notice him even when he gets close!

She thought of how long he had followed her in this desert where it was not easy to hide, and how many methods he had tried. She shook her head and said, "Zhu Yu, you've really gone through a lot!"

"Hmph, this isn't the first time I've followed you! I followed you for so long in the icy snows of Namcha Barwa, and you still don't know! That damned Tosang even thinks he's so great! And you, you only have Tosang in your eyes and heart, how could you possibly have noticed I was following you? Hehe, I bet even if I walked in front of you, you wouldn't see me at all!"

"You, sigh!" she sighed, not knowing what to say.

After a long while, she sighed again, "It's all my fault for dragging you down!"

“It’s not that you dragged me down, it’s because I don’t know the way either. My horse is dead, and I don’t know the way anymore. I don’t want to die alone in the desert…” The night wind grew colder, and Junyu’s face grew colder. He tightly covered her weak, cold hands before smiling. “I thought you knew the way, so I secretly followed you. If I had known you really didn’t know the way at all, I would never have cared about your life or death. I’ve been hoping that you and Zhenmutier would both be weakened so I could reap the benefits. You know, once I’m out of the desert, I can establish myself as king. There’s plenty of power, wealth, and beautiful women waiting for me.”

"Oh, really?"

Zhu Yu avoided her gaze, her dry voice sounding somewhat embarrassed: "Of course it's true. I hate you to the core, I just want to see you die a miserable death from thirst. So, you don't need to feel sorry at all."

He glanced at Junyu's smiling eyes and suddenly exclaimed, "Junyu, you don't believe me? Let me tell you, I haven't thought about you for a long time! Over the years, I've won many battles, and each time tribes send me their beauties. My family is already full of wives and concubines, and I'm immersed in the pleasures of life, living a life of unparalleled bliss..." He looked at her face, which was almost completely dry, haggard, and covered in dust from dehydration, and said in a hoarse voice, "Those women, every single one of them is much prettier than you are now. How could I still care about you?"

Junyu smiled and nodded: "Oh, okay, then I really don't need to thank you."

"That's right, don't be grateful to me. I stopped caring about you a long time ago. I chased you and wounded you. When you killed Zhenmutier, I really wanted to take the opportunity to kill you."

Junyu did not answer, and closed her eyes slightly.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly laughed again: "Junyu, do you really hate this part of my personality? If it weren't for this, we might have already made it out of the desert! Now it's going to be much harder to get out!"

Junyu did not answer.

"I don't know why, but when we were little, I always liked to go against you. I didn't want to go against you anymore when I grew up, but every time I see you and Tuosang together, I can't help but go crazy. So, we always end up having a big fight! Ugh, I'm such a nasty person!"

Junyu nodded: "Yes, that's right. Sometimes, you really are a bad and annoying person."

Zhu Yu glared at her angrily: "What do you mean? I'm telling the truth myself, why are you telling the truth too?"

Junyu felt her eyelids getting heavier and heavier, but seeing his indignant expression, she couldn't help but laugh.

Zhu Yu gently touched her bleeding lips, then lightly stroked the wound on her shoulder where he had slashed her. Listening to her very weak breathing, he whispered, "Junyu, I've gone mad! I actually stabbed you with a knife! I rarely lose my mind, but every time I'm with you, I become this deranged. I always hurt you, I've never been kind to you... I... I deserve to die..."

Junyu smiled silently, while Zhu Yu glared at her: "You're still so foolish. Why did you run back to save me when you saw me wielding a knife? If you hadn't been injured, you could have held on for a few more days. I stopped your pursuit and injured you, which is why you're in this desperate situation! In the end, it's still me who ruined you..."

"Junyu..."

He called her name softly, and saw her close her eyes and then open them again. Under the starlight, his ashen eyes suddenly brightened: "Junyu, we can't get out of here. We can only die together."

Junyu's dim eyes flickered, then almost closed again.

Junyu suddenly felt a coolness on her face; a tear had landed on her cheek. She glanced at Zhu Yu's blurry, tear-filled eyes, then silently closed her own, whispering, "Zhu Yu, have some water too."

Zhu Yu shook her head.

Although Junyu had her eyes closed, she seemed to see him shaking his head, and said softly, "Zhu Yu, if we really only have one way out, then let's all go to the Yellow Springs together."

Zhu Yu shuddered, his blank eyes suddenly lighting up. He nodded slightly, drank a little water, and managed to moisten his throat.

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Chapter 340: Clichéd Love Poems 2

That night, the two did not rush on their journey. The next morning, the sky suddenly had some long-absent dark clouds.

Zhu Yu asked happily, "Will it rain?"

Junyu shook his head. This expectation was far too high, a hundred times harder than asking gold to fall from the sky. Sure enough, after a while, a gust of wind blew away the dark clouds overhead. Fortunately, it was a cloudy day, and although it was gloomy, it was enough to make one feel happy.

Junyu had always loved sunny days, but never before had she felt such fear and loathing for the sun high in the sky. Now, on a cloudy day, she was almost overjoyed. "Zhu Yu, we can hurry on our way!"

Zhu Yu watched as she slowly regained some vitality after drinking some water and eating some food, and that hint of joy made her withered face instantly radiant.

He laughed, took the horse's reins with one hand and her hand with the other, and walked forward.

Junyu grasped his hand in return and smiled, "Zhu Yu, we must hold on! The Master and Tuosang are definitely looking for us, and we will definitely get out of this desert."

"They're looking for you, and they'll be looking for me too—your friend?" Zhu Yu stared intently at her. "You'll never be my friend! I don't need friends! I'm a selfish person; I have to have what I like! I'm not a saint, saying that I'll be happy as long as the person I like is happy. That's impossible, and hypocritical! ...How can I feel happy if the person I like is with someone else?"

"Zhu Yu!"

Zhu Yu gripped her hand tightly, her smile vanishing completely: "If Tuosang marries another woman, will you feel happy?"

Junyu remained silent.

"If we leave the desert, you will still be you, and I will still be me! I would rather die in this desert!"

Zhu Yu practically shook off her hand and walked ahead on her own.

Junyu sighed inwardly, then fell silent and distanced herself from him.

In the vast sea of sand, the two people and their horse wandered aimlessly, not knowing how they could possibly escape this utterly lost and desolate desert.

Chapter 341: Zhu Yu's Confession 1

Having determined their direction, the two hid by day and ventured out by night. Although they never returned to their starting point, they found themselves lost in a new sea of sand, seemingly unable to escape its clutches no matter how they wandered around.

No matter how frugal they were, they had run out of water and food. Two more days passed without a drop of water, and ahead lay another endless sea of sand. By this time, the two had long given up on leaving the desert; instead, they searched for the scent of water like the most astute predators.

Ahead lay a stretch of red and white sandstone, surrounded by a vast sea of sand. It was already evening, and there wasn't a single bird in the sky or a trace of any plant or animal on the ground.

The black horse had barely survived by grabbing a few rats in the groin, and now it drooped its head listlessly, foaming at the mouth, its hooves no longer able to kick wildly on the sand.

During these days, although the two traveled together, they rarely spoke. Several times, Junyu tried to break the deathly silence of the vast desert, managing only to call out "Zhu Yu," but seeing his complete indifference, she could not say anything more. After many days of such silence, the two were practically mute; even when they tried to speak, their voices were completely hoarse.

The first time there was a water shortage, the two of them could endure it for a few more days, but this time, after only two days without water, they could barely hold on.

It was a cool night, a time when they should have gotten up and set off, but both of them were exhausted and remained lying motionless on the sandstone.

Junyu kept her eyes closed, and it was unclear whether she was asleep or unconscious.

After a long while, Zhu Yu slowly got up and sat down beside her, resting her head on her chest. She looked up at the starry sky and whispered, "Junyu, we really can't get out of here!"

Junyu barely lifted his eyelids, and could hear that his voice was already weak and feeble.

"Junyu, I have so much to tell you..."

"oh!"

“Junyu, last New Year’s Eve, I sneaked into Xining Prefecture to see you, but I saw Tuosang instead.”

“Oh, I married him the day before New Year’s Eve…” Junyu’s dim eyes showed a deep sadness. “We agreed to go to a nice place after the war, but now, I can’t even see him one last time.”

All the water in my body had evaporated, and I couldn't even shed a tear anymore.

Zhu Yu lowered his head, gently touched her dry, chapped lips, and said softly, "Don't say anything."

Junyu nodded, then suddenly whispered, "Zhu Yu, you've been so good to me, but I have no way to repay you. I'm truly sorry."

“Junyu, you’ve never wronged me.” Zhu Yu was silent for a while, then slowly said, “Just a few days before New Year’s Eve last year, my father died, and I sent Zhu Gang away too. I thought, in this world, you’re the only one left for me. So, I secretly came to find you, but I saw you with Tuosang! I was completely desperate then, and vowed never to see you again in this lifetime… I hate you so much, I hate you to the core, but the more I hate you, the more I want to see you every day… You don’t know my situation, and it’s all just wishful thinking on my part, but I still can’t help hating you. Tell me, am I being unreasonable?…”

“Zhu Yu, you don’t hate me, you will never hate me…” Junyu wanted to say something more, but Zhu Yu gently stroked her chapped lips, shook his head, and gestured for her to stop talking.

“After New Year’s Eve, I was completely disheartened. I was unwilling to be a subject of Zhenmuer for the rest of my life, and I wanted to find another way out. So, I became even more ruthless in my conquests and expansion. I had been planning for a long time, marrying the daughters of several powerful tribal chiefs, hoping to break away from Zhenmuer and become independent as soon as possible. I was fully prepared and looked forward to taking advantage of this great war to reap the benefits. This was an excellent opportunity for independence…”

"Before setting out on the campaign, I swore once again that I would show you no mercy, and I repeatedly reminded myself not to pay you any attention. Now that you have chosen someone else, I have no hope left, so there is no need for me to show you any mercy. Later, when you sent Tuosang to attack me, I felt that you regarded me as an enemy, and my hatred for you intensified, wishing I could kill you immediately..."

“When you killed Zhenmutier, I was truly tempted to kill you, because if you died, I wouldn’t be able to be with Tuosang. But, but… alas…”

"You had no water and didn't know the way. I thought my chance had come. The all-powerful Junyu finally had to ask me for help! I felt so happy, so I mocked you to my heart's content! I couldn't wait to see you die of anger! After saying those words, I set off without hesitation. But I stopped after walking a short distance. I waited for you to catch up. I thought that even if you weren't doing it for yourself, you would catch up for Tuosang. But you didn't... I killed the horse to vent my anger and secretly circled around to your back! At first, I thought we could get out of this desert, so I kept telling myself not to let you find out, not to talk to you, not to pay attention to you, because once we got out of the desert, we would go our separate ways again and never see each other again."

"After you collapsed, I couldn't hold back anymore... After that, we set off together, but I was afraid that once we left this desert, we would immediately part ways again. So I decided to ignore you. Although I didn't talk to you, the thought that you were always by my side made me happy, and even the thirst didn't seem so unbearable. I no longer dared to ask for anything else; I just wanted to see you, and I would be content to see you often..."

"Now, we can never get out of this situation! I regret so much. Why did I harden my heart and ignore you? If it weren't for that, we would have been so happy these days. I still have so much to say to you..."

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Chapter 342: Zhu Yu's Confession 2

Under the starlight, Zhu Yu's lips were completely chapped and covered in blisters. Jun Yu reluctantly reached out, trying to stop him from talking and wasting more water.