Chapter 37: 37

Chapter 37          Grievances （Part 1/2）

The hot spring pool in the villa had a unique design. The pool was very large, but it was separated by a semi-transparent silk curtain in the middle. It gave a little hazy feeling.

Le Zhi took off all her drenched clothes, stepped into the hot spring pool, and submerged half of her body in the water. It took a long time before her mind gradually returned to clarity. She remembered what Huo Du had just asked her, and the tone was so bewitching that she could hardly help but respond.

“Yes.”

Then Huo Du led her here.

Because of that tight embrace, Huo Du’s clothes were also wet. Thinking of the inconvenience of his leg, Le Zhi wanted to help him undress, but when her fingertips touched his belt, he held it. Huo Du used the hand on her shoulder to gently push her into the inner side of the other half of the pool.

Le Zhi heard the sound of undressing on the other side of the curtain, slowly and clearly. She recalled in her mind that Huo Du did not seem to have the habit of letting people undress him.

Why?

After a while, the water rippled slightly, but soon the pool water returned to calmness. Across the silk curtain, neither of them said anything.

However, the storm outside was pouring on the windows, making terrifying noises. The courage to kill people not long ago had long gone. When Le Zhi thought that the bodies were not far from the hot spring pool, her heart thumped wildly. At this time, a dark shadow seemed to flash past the window, and the candlelight in the room also swayed.

Could it be that the ghosts are asking for their life?

The chill climbed all over her body, and even in the warm pool water, she could not get rid of the bone-chilling coldness.

Le Zhi subconsciously walked towards the end of the silk curtain, but when she raised her hand to touch the silk curtain, she did not dare to push it aside and walk over. What if Huo Du did not like her disturbing him?

But the fear in her chest grew more and more intense. She hesitantly raised her hand and lowered it down, and then raised her hand and lowered it down again.

Huo Du, who leaned against the stone wall of the other half of the pool, looked at her struggling figure back and forth from the beginning to end through the semi-transparent silk curtain.

At last, he said, “Come here.”

The hand that was just lowered was raised instantly, and Le Zhi hurriedly opened the curtain with a panic-stricken look on her pale cheeks. She walked to Huo Du’s side as fast as she could, found his hand in the water, and clenched it a little harder.

Le Zhi clearly felt that the frozen blood in her body began to warm up, and her fearful heart gradually calmed down. She raised her eyes to look at the pair of peach blossom eyes that were close up and found that his eyes were also looking at her.

Her peaceful face was printed in his black eyes. After seeing her own appearance, Le Zhi’s heart sank little by little. Because she realized at this moment who was the source that made her feel at ease. She wanted to let go of her hand, but she could not let go no matter what.

Le Zhi closed her eyes weakly as she was really tired. Every hour of today seemed could be divided into several days in calculations, and now she was both physically and mentally exhausted. She must have been delirious, grabbing the only driftwood beside her recklessly and trying to catch her breath in vain.

The water in the hot spring pool was misty and entangled between the breaths of the two people.

Huo Du stared at Le Zhi earnestly, every expression of her tonight flashed through his mind. Calm, brave, timid, vulnerable, fearful, and even dependent and struggle.

Originally, he just wanted to admire her murderous appearance, but unfortunately, he was delayed by her letter. Only the ghost knew how impatient he was when he rushed to the hot spring villa. Although An Xuan had sent people to keep watch on the movement in the early morning, as she said in the letter, there was nothing absolute in the world, only what if?

However, his spy was trembling when he made the report and said that he was almost poisoned by the poison that Taizifei had spread all over the villa. If it were not for the pills he gave to the spies that could cure hundreds of poisons, the people he sent would probably have died of poisoning just like Yang Heng’s secret guards. Hearing this, his chest filled with joy instantly.

She had fought a beautiful first battle, and for some reason, he seemed happier than her.

Huo Du already felt regretful for missing the scene of her action. He hurried in, not wanting to miss her joyful expression again.

However, he did not see the joyful Le Zhi as he expected. On the contrary, he saw was a weak figure amid a rainstorm, with her face turned upward and deathly pale.

Huo Du only realized that Le Zhi was only sixteen years old, which should be as simple-minded as Qingyu. But she had endured so much. She must have spent a lot of time implementing such a meticulous killing plan tonight to have caused so many injuries.

Huo Du closed his eyes and tried to recall how he felt when he killed someone for the first time. Unfortunately, the time was so long ago that he could not remember it anymore. He just stood there and dared not go forward for a while. Because he knew very well who had brought Le Zhi to such a circumstance.

It was Huo Changyun, Huo Xu… The sins were created by the Huo clan of the Great Qi.

And were not the Huo clan’s malicious deeds far more than these? Huo Du knew perfectly well how much he hated the Huo clan as the Taizi of the country Qi. So much so that he was walking on the crazy road of no return.

As early as he decided on the path he wanted to take, Huo Du watched everything in the world indifferently and heartlessly. Anyone’s pain was abandoned by him. Including himself. Because he also regarded himself as a chess piece.

However, his dead heart seemed to be awakened at this moment, then it was torn apart severely. After he broke his leg more than ten years, he felt the dull pain of life again.

The slight movement between his fingers pulled Huo Du’s thoughts back. The hand hanging in the hot spring was probably held by Le Zhi for a long time and began to feel numb. But he curled his lips and smiled. It was not just his hand that was held firmly by her.

Huo Du looked down at the small distance between him and Le Zhi. He knew that although Le Zhi held his hand tightly, she was not close to him. And her tightly closed eyes and her long delicate black eyelashes fluttered slightly, all of them were telling him about the contradictions in her heart.

Not long after, Le Zhi’s eyes were stained with red.

Huo Du pulled her in front of him, pressed his cool lips to her slightly swollen eyelids, and then took her into his arms. With the whole body closed to each other, he had to suppress his lust with his internal strength. He stroked Le Zhi’s back with the palm of his hand and his movements were unbelievably gentle.

“Cry if you want to.” Huo Du lowered his voice and coaxed softly.

Le Zhi buried her face in Huo Du’s neck, slowly opened her eyes, and listened to his words without resisting anymore. She let the tears flow and rubbed against the skin of his neck lightly. At first, she just sobbed softly, but the more she cried, the more grievances she felt in her heart, and gradually she cried louder and louder. In addition to grievances, there was also self-blame.

After a long time, Le Zhi stopped crying and slowly opened her eyes. She stared blankly at her hand resting on Huo Du’s back and a ridiculous idea floated from the bottom of her heart.

The heavy rain just now must have been mixed with medicine. Otherwise, how could she be so greedy for Huo Du’s embrace?

Yes, it must be like this. Even Huo Du, who was soaked in her wet clothes, was delirious. Such gentle movements, coaxing tones, and soft kisses had moved her.

It seemed that both of them should be seriously sick.

That being the case… Why not get sick for a while?

Le Zhi closed her eyes, tightened her arms, and hugged him tighter.

—

The side room was located next to the hot spring pool, and the room was full of fragrance.

The two changed their clothes and sat side by side on the bed. Perhaps the two were too intimate in the hot spring pool just now, and in retrospect, Le Zhi felt a little embarrassed afterward.

However, Le Zhi had not forgotten that she had to get out of here quickly. The five corpses outside would be found early tomorrow morning. This hot spring villa should be sealed off by the local official authorities soon.

“Your Highness.” Le Zhi prompted in a low voice, “Shall we go back to the mansion?”

“No hurry.”

Huo Du slowly leaned on the embroidered pillow, casually took the clean cotton towel beside the bed, and took the opportunity to embrace Le Zhi, letting her lie on his lap. Then he began to wipe her half-wet hair.

Le Zhi looked at his face in surprise as he seemed to have a little tenderness at the moment.

This is too abnormal!

She could not help but feel a little panic and nervousness in her heart. She put her hands on the bed, trying to prop herself up. Unexpectedly, Huo Du was one step faster than her and held her shoulders to prevent her from getting up.

“Have a good rest.”

Le Zhi blinked suspiciously, “Didn’t I rest just now?”

I have soaked in the hot spring pool for so long, and I have rested enough!

Hearing this, Huo Du glanced at her, threw away the cotton towel, raised his hand to stroke her forehead, and then gently pressed it. He chuckled softly with obvious meaning, “Have you rested here?”

Le Zhi’s body tensed instantly. She rubbed the corners of her eyes unnaturally to cover up a little dampness. She could not deny it. Over the past few days, her heart had never really calmed down and even in her sleep, she was still worried about many things.

Was it so obvious? She was still too immature to hide her emotions well, so she was easily seen through by Huo Du.

Her eyes darkened, and the ends of her eyes drooped. This was Le Zhi’s habit which was the same whenever she thought about something. A habit that even she had not discovered. But Huo Du had long remembered it in his heart.

Seeing that she was silent, Huo Du helped her up and sat facing him. He extended out his fingers and tucked Le Zhi’s loose hair behind her ears before he chuckled, “It’s all right not to rest. It’s still early, anyway. Let’s settle the accounts.”

In a split second, all the charm and tenderness disappeared!

Le Zhi closed her eyes hard and then opened them again. The corners of the lips of the person in front of her were filled with playful smiles and the gentle appearance had long since disappeared as if it was just her illusion. She pursed her lips, knowing that this person was too uncertain.

Settle account? What kind of account to settle with her?

She also did not provoke him!

Although she was certain in her heart, Le Zhi still felt guilty for no reason when she met Huo Du’s eyes. She shrank her head and moved to the side of the bed, unwilling to continue to look face to face with him. After sitting next to him, she murmured, “You scared people again, what’s account to settle…”

Huo Du took her hand, rubbed the back of her hand with his fingertips, and said with a slightly cold tone, “Don’t remember?”

After being together for so long, Le Zhi would not be easily intimidated by him. She sat upright confidently and hummed in dissatisfaction, “There is no such thing!”

“Oh? Is that so?” Huo Du hooked her little finger and smiled softly, “Unlucky one.”

Le Zhi was stunned, with a look of astonishment.

How could he know the contents of that letter?

According to her plan, if she has not returned by yinshi (3 am – 5 am), the letter would be handed over to Huo Du. However, he looked like had obviously seen it. So, there was only one possibility, that was, Li Yao gave him the letter in advance.

“Li Yao is disobedient again.” Le Zhi pursed her lips aggrievedly. She held Huo Du’s hand and shook it gently, “Your Highness, just take it as if you have not seen it.”

Huo Du ignored her.

Le Zhi blinked, and after thinking about it for a moment, she suddenly realized. She curved her lips into a smile and her eyes filled with cunningness, “So Your Highness came after reading the letter as you were worried about me?”

Huo Du burst into laughter. He reached out his hand and pulled her into his arms, not letting her take a closer look at the emotion leaking from his eyes. He knew very well that his little fox could always find information in her favor in the fastest time.

She advanced step by step, taking advantage of everything available. She was extremely measured and never crosses the line, endangering the interests of others.

Even the last words left to him were full of hope. Huo Du had a highly retentive memory since he was a child, and he could already recite that letter backward.

“Your Highness, if you saw this letter, then I should be no longer alive.

In fact, I am ninety percent sure of the plan to kill Yang Heng tonight. It seems very unfortunate that an accident happened. I’m such an unlucky one.

Fortunately, it is also considered a clean death, and it will not implicate Your Highness.

However, it was not completely useless when I died. Now it should be just past yinshi (3 am – 5 am), Your Highness can send someone to the hot spring villa to find my body, in case Yang Heng destroys the body. Then ask Your Highness to enter the palace as quickly as possible, gain the upper hand, and put all the blame on Huo Xu. Yang Heng is Huo Xu’s person, and he can’t clear himself.

This is the last thing I can do for Your Highness. As for my wish, Your Highness should be very clear.

I haven’t known Your Highness for a long time, but it’s time to bid farewell. By the way, don’t break the bride’s arm next time you get married. It really hurts!

I will bless Your Highness in the underworld for everything to go smoothly and achieve whatever you desire.

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Le Zhi”

This splendid last letter, like herself, was straightforward without any sloppiness. Even death, she could even use to her advantage. She was right that he knew her wish very well. In this world, the only thing she could not rest assured of was her imprisoned sister.

It was not that Huo Du did not know Le Zhi do not trust him, but she still had to put the final bet on him. Therefore, she would not tell him the plan, nor would she implicate him in the slightest, or even let him suffer a loss. Even if she failed to kill and died, she could devise a perfect plan to defeat Huo Xu for him.

The country Qi’s despicable method of destroying country Li had already aroused the anger of neighboring countries. At this time, if Le Zhi died at the hands of the imperial family of Great Qi, it would definitely cause an uproar among the countries, and Huo Xu would also become the target of criticism from neighboring countries.

This kind of person was doomed to have no opportunity to the throne.

This allowed him to sit firmly in the position of the heir to the throne and succeed the throne justifiably. This was Le Zhi, in exchange for his bargaining chip to save Le Jin.

Huo Du understood, he understood too well.

Tonight, regardless of life or death, Le Zhi could win.

He watched what she did out of playfulness, not interfering or stopping, just watching quietly. But when he saw the letter, the blood flowing in his body froze in an instant. The suffocation in the chest was getting heavier and heavier, and a fear that he had never had before rose from the bottom of his heart.

The long silence made Le Zhi a little uncomfortable. Huo Du ignored her, only picked out a strand of her long hair and wrapped it around his fingers to play with. She raised her eyes slightly and used the remaining light to look at his face from the corner of her eye, but she still could not guess what Huo Du was thinking.

“Those nonsense are not allowed to be written in the future.”

Le Zhi was a little dazed, and this dissatisfied tone seemed to have some distressing meaning.

Tonight was really weird.

Her abnormality could also be attributed to the bewilderment after the killing spree, but what about Huo Du’s abnormality? She secretly thought to herself that she would not come to this hot spring villa again.

“What nonsense, ah? I have been thinking about it for a long time…” Le Zhi muttered in a low voice.

 “You’re not allowed to write anymore.” Huo Du let go of her hair, put his hand on her back, and said in a deep voice.

“Alright.” Le Zhi was the most observant. She withdrew from Huo Du’s arms, stretched out her hand to hold his gloomy face, and smiled obediently, “Don’t worry. Your Highness also saw how smooth it went tonight. I’m not unlucky at all, maybe I’m still a lucky star!”

Huo Du restrained all the emotions in his eyes and stared at her quietly. He knew that she had bounced back from her fear and began to seriously pretend to make him happy again. She was smart enough to know when to advance and retreat, deliberately approaching him but not completely. She controlled the distance between them extremely well, not too close, not too far, not too estranged but also not too intimate.

He understood that it was difficult for a heart with a lot of holes to carry too many emotions.

It did not matter. Anyway, it would be up to him to cure her. He was exceptionally good in medicine, was not he?

Thinking about this, Huo Du hugged her in his arms again and repeated her words softly, “Indeed very lucky.”

It was unknown whether he was talking about her or talking about himself.

Two negatives make an affirmative.

Huo Du thought that if the two unlucky ones got together, they might really beget some luck.

The storm outside gradually subsided, leaving only the sound of rain dripping from the eaves.

Le Zhi still remembered to get down to business. She rubbed Huo Du’s neck and asked, “Are we really not leaving? People from the local official authorities may come at dawn.”

Although he was the Taizi, he could not be so rampant, right?

“What’s the hurry. Don’t want to take shortcuts?”

“Huh?” Le Zhi’s eyes widened and sat up with a look of surprise. Although she knew that Huo Du would not talk casually, it was too fast, right? How did he suddenly become so good?

Huo Du chuckled and said unhurriedly, “There are conditions for taking shortcuts. You don’t think you can walk away with nothing, do you?”

Sure enough! She knew it!

This person was very shrewd. Even borrowing money from him had to pay back three times the interest. So, how could he help her for nothing!

However, Le Zhi felt more at ease in this way.

“What are the conditions?” Le Zhi asked delicately while pulling his sleeves.

“Don’t worry, it’s very easy for you.” Huo Du did not say it explicitly but pulled her to lie down together, and then pulled the brocade quilt over the two of them, “Sleep for a while, and the shortcut will be laid when you wake up.”

Hearing what he said so confidently, Le Zhi heaved a sigh of relief and closed her eyes obediently. But the sound of raindrops outside made her unable to sleep peacefully. She frowned, tossed, and turned. Suddenly, a pair of cool hands covered her ears, and the noise in her ears faded away instantly. She opened her eyes, met with the familiar eyes, and saw his silent mouth shaped “Sleep.”

She hummed softly and closed her eyes again. She was exhausted from the long day’s work and soon fell asleep.

Le Zhi never expected that she would dream of her imperial mother. Even more, she did not expect her mother, who had always loved her, would look at her with strange eyes, and said to her with a cold face, “Zhizhi, do you still remember the beliefs of the people of Great Li?”

“Of course, I remember!” she replied.

The people of Great Li believed in the God of Good Deeds.

Gentleness, kindness, benevolence, and obedience.

“Then what is in your hand?”

Le Zhi suddenly lowered her head and saw her blood-stained hands. Her heart was pounding and was at a loss what to do.

“Zhizhi, people who are covered in blood cannot be blessed by the God of Good Deeds.” Her imperial mother’s expression was sad and wept bitterly, “You and us will not meet in the underworld in the future.”

“No, don’t!” She shook her head while shouting.

But as soon as the scene changed, the figure of her imperial mother disappeared. The surroundings suddenly darkened.

A low-pitched evil laugh sounded behind her. Le Zhi turned around in shock to see Yang Heng and the four secret guards with a fierce look, “You’re just like us, not a good person! Hahaha, we are waiting for you here!”

 As they spoke, black blood flowed down the corners of their mouths… It was terrifying!

Le Zhi kept retreating, but there was a sticky feeling under her feet. She lowered her head and found more and more blood was pooling around the ground, almost spread over her ankles. She struggled, but she could not move her feet, she could only watch helplessly the blood came up little by little.

There was only despair left in her heart…

“Le Zhi, Le Zhi… Wake up!”

Who was calling her?

Who else could it be? There was only one person in the world who would call her by first name and last name.

Le Zhi opened her eyes. There was a mist in front of her eyes and she saw the familiar silhouette from the haziness. She could no longer distinguish between dreams and reality, or rather, she deliberately did not want to distinguish them.

“Would you like some water?”

Le Zhi found her throat parched, but she shook her head. Because she saw some droplets of water left on Huo Du’s lips, which meant he should have just drunk some water. She could not help but leaned closer to him and saw the way she kissed intensely from his black eyes.

She did not dare to look again. She closed her eyes with a guilty conscience and let the remnant tears in her eyes fall.

There was no doubt that she was crazy.

For fear of being dragged into hell by evil spirits, she chose to hold on to a wolf. It seemed that as long as she held on to him, those evil spirits would not be able to get close to her.

What a crazy and dangerous thing to do. It was undoubtedly drinking poison to quench thirst.

After a long time, she released the hand around his neck and ended the unexpected kiss.

Le Zhi opened her eyes cautiously and raised her eyes timidly to look at Huo Du’s face. He raised his hand and gently pressed the lips that were kissed swollen by her with his fingers, and then looked at her.

She quickly lowered her eyes, not daring to continue looking at her “masterpiece”.

“Not bad.” Huo Du commented leisurely, “Compared to the last time, you have made great progress.”

“Thank you…” Le Zhi bit her lip, thinking that since it had already become like this, it was useless to be embarrassed anyway, so she took the compliment generously, “It will be better next time.”

Huo Du was amused by her. He stretched out his fingers to lift Le Zhi’s chin, stared at the tear stains on her cheeks, and then gently wiped them off with his fingertips. Thinking of her petrified look just now, he asked, “Did you have a nightmare?”

Le Zhi hesitated for a moment before nodding gently.

“Tell me about it?”

Although it was a questioning tone, it had a coaxing meaning.

Le Zhi lowered her head and leaned her body softly on the embroidered pillow before speaking wearily, “Has Your Highness ever heard of the legend of God of Good Deeds of Great Li?”

Huo Du raised his hand and put her head on his shoulder to let her rest comfortably on his shoulder. Then he hummed, “I’ve heard some.” He lied. He knew nothing of the beliefs of the other four countries and three tribes except for Great Qi.

Only Great Qi had no gods to believe in, let alone faith. Even the annual ritual prayers of the imperial family were nothing more than pretenses. An emperor without faith had nothing to restrain his behavior.

“When I was a child, my father told me that since the founding of Great Li, the Le clan has believed in the God of Good Deeds. Because the ancestors of the Le clan were always kind and generous to others. After they passed away, they turned into the God of Good Deeds in Heaven, blessing the Le clan and the people of Great Li. Do you know? In Great Li, the doors of every household are not locked at night, and the neighbors are like close relatives and friends. The people live and work in peace, stealing and cheating rarely occur, and the evil act of killing has never happened before.”

Le Zhi pressed her heart and continued to say, “Because the people of Great Li know that if their hands are stained with blood, it will be difficult to obtain protection from the God of Good Deeds, so no one dares to kill people.”

As soon as the conversation changed, she smiled sadly and choked with emotions, “My Great Li’s military isn’t bad. Until the day Qi soldiers besieged the city, Li soldiers didn’t intend to kill ruthlessly, but Qi soldiers were deadly. My imperial brother is highly skilled in martial arts, but he can’t bear to hurt people’s lives. Do you know how many holes there are in his body when he closed his eyes? So many, so many that I can’t even count them.”

Huo Du’s heart sank, raised his hand to caress her back, and said in a dull tone, “Don’t say anymore.” He did not want her to relive it again and cut the wound open once more.

“Does Your Highness think it’s ridiculous? I also think it’s ridiculous, very ridiculous.” Le Zhi curled her lips and smiled brightly, but her eyes were full of pain, “If there really is a God of Good Deeds, why didn’t He save us at that time?”

“It’s fake, it’s all fake. I don’t believe it!”

Huo Du hugged her, felt her body tremble, and his eyebrows tighten.

“But just now, I dreamed of my imperial mother, and she said… She said that my hands were full of blood. I won’t be able to see them after I die.”

Le Zhi finally cried. She was not afraid of killing people, nor was she afraid of losing the protection of the God of Good Deeds. But she was afraid that she would not be able to see her relatives again after death. She would fall into hell alone forever, in the company of evil spirits. Thinking of this, she trembled all over.

She knew that she should not have said this to Huo Du. Would he laugh at her?

But her heart was so overwhelmed that she had no one to complain to except Huo Du.

It was so pathetic. Was not it? Even now, she actually wanted to confide in the Taizi of the enemy country.

Never mind. Too many things have happened today.

Le Zhi thought secretly in her heart, just this time, she only allowed herself to be vulnerable this time. When the sun rose tomorrow, she would put away these useless vulnerabilities and never mention them again.

“You’re able to meet them.”

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