The sound of Ruyi’s anguished voice scattered with the stirring wind.
Xuanji couldn’t help but glance at Long Fei Li whose attention was wholly fixed in Ruyi’s direction. He had a solemn expression on his face as he stated, “Alright, you have a deal. I’ll cut off my arm, so let her go. Take me as hostage instead, I’ll assure that you both leave here safely.”
Eyes blood-red, Long Zijin offered in a fierce voice, “Take mine instead!”
Murong Lin was overjoyed as she glanced at Ruyi, a beautiful smile playing on her lips as she said, “ It seems it’s not only the Emperor who cares for this little beauty. But Prince Lingrui, what use would I have with your arm?”
The humor in her eyes was gone as she continued, coldly, “Your Majesty, go on ahead.”
Ruyi’s complexion was white as paper as tears trailed down her face. She murmured, “Your Majesty, don’t, don’t… how could I have doubted you?”
“Your Majesty, please reconsider!”
A cold light flashed; Long Fei Li had drawn his sword.
Xia Sang and the rest exchanged looks of horror, their hearts pounding anxiously as they all fell to their knees.
Everyone was kneeling, except for Xuanji.
Xuanji stood there, taking in what was happening. As she looked around, she noticed that the bodies of Old Third and his men were still lying beside the edge of the cliff while the little wolf and Bai Zixu were nowhere in sight. Little wolf….she wondered what had happened to it, perhaps she should have never returned in the first place.
But even if she hated him, she still loved him. How could she bear to see him in trouble?
Long Fei Li, let me be a jealous woman for you one last time.
One last time.
Murong Pei and Murong Lin’s attention were both fixed on Long Fei Li’s sword.
The cold glimmer of a sword flashed as Long Fei Li raised his left arm. But his actions halted when a fair hand suddenly gripped his right sleeve.
Brows creasing, Long Fei Li said in a low voice, “Xiao Qi, let go.”
“You’re not allowed to do this,” Xuanji said.
But Long Fei Li pulled his sleeve back and gently pushed her away.
Steps faltering, Xuanji nearly fell but she steadied herself, a broken smile on her lips as she asked, “Is she that important to you?”
Brows tightly furrowed, eyes dark as ink, Long Fei Li rebuked, “Don’t make trouble.”
“What about me?”
Slowly making her way back towards him, Xuanji grabbed onto his robes, indignantly shouting, “Don’t do it! Don’t do it! You’re not allowed to do so for her!”
Murong Lin and Murong Pei exchanged glances, then Murong Lin sneered, “It seems the little lady is jealous. But Your Majesty, my patience has its limits. Don’t blame me if you don’t take action!”
Long Fei Li’s eyes fell on the hand that was desperately hanging onto his sleeve, his gaze darkening as he gave her a forceful push with his arm.
Xuanji fell backwards, hitting the cold, hard ground.
It turns out this was what a love spanning fourteen years mounted to, a love which she ultimately could never compare to.
From the corner of her eye, she could see the rise of impatience in his expression and the ache in her heart deepened. Eyes crestfallen, Xuanji got up from the ground. In the next moment, she gritted her teeth and dashed forward, shouting, “Wen Ruyi, it’s all your fault, why did you have to come?”
Staring back at her, Ruyi could only bite her lip in silence.
Behind them, everyone was startled by Xuanji’s sudden outcry. Though they were aware of the enmity between Ruyi and Xuanji, Ruyi had always stood up for Consort Nian, who would’ve thought that Consort Nian would act in such a manner at this time?
“Nian Xuanji!” Long Fei Li angrily shouted.
But Xuanji was already standing in front of the Murong siblings. Murong Pei’s expression was dark, his sword raised in front of her. Murong Lin in turn retreated slightly, though the smile on her lips remained as she remarked, “It appears we have another ally.”
Xuanji’s pupils contracted when she saw Murong Lin reach the edge of the cliff. Sneering, she said, “Who would be an ally of yours, you vixen?”
Xuanji’s attention then shifted towards Ruyi, her eyes full of contempt.
Suspicious by nature, Murong Lin held doubts about Xuanji. But listening to her cold remark as she stood there indifferently, the doubts in Murong Lin’s heart settled. Beside her, Murong Pei was also not skeptical of Xuanij’s action, his attention fully focused on Long Fei Li.
Long Fei Li smiled coldly, the look in his eyes frosty and imperious as the grip on his sword tightened.
Though the time they had spent together was not long, at times, Xuanji could clearly understand what was on his mind and in that moment her heart gave a start as she hastened to say with a cold sneer, “Long Fei Li, whether you cut your arm or not, there’s something I must tell you first, after I’m done, whether you want to take your own life or not, it has nothing to do with me.”
Clenching his jaw, Long Fei Li gave a bitter laugh and said, “You….such words are deserving of death… I’ve misjudged you.”
Xuanji’s whole body shook, her hands and feet were ice cold. Gritting her teeth, she looked at him and said, “Yes, you’ve really misjudged me! Guess what, I lied about the whereabouts of the Bai family as well! He’s not in Leyang Prefecture, he’s in Yanxia Prefecture.”
At the fall of her last sentence, she turned away from Long Fei Li and looked towards Murong Pei and softly asked, “Didn’t Young Master Murong want this? Here, it’s yours.”
Using all of her strength, she threw the object hidden in the clutch of her hand.
The bright glimmer of a pearl glistened in the air as Murong Pei remarked with surprise, “Koi bead?”
His figure flashed and in the next instant, he was leaping in the air towards the bead.
In the night sky, the glistening light was enchanting, leaving Murong Lin momentarily startled.
Abruptly, a creeping fear rose in her heart but it was too late. A strong force knocked against her shoulder painful, causing the sword she held against Ruyi’s neck to stab forward in concert.
Xuanji had rushed towards Murong Lin, taking her by surprise but in that moment, Xuanji’s shoulder had taken a stab by Murong Lin’s sword. But she bore through the pain and did not move out of the way as she tightly held onto Murong Lin with one hand and tried to pull Ruyi behind her with the other hand.
The cold wind roared past her ears, frightening Murong Lin to the core as she realized she had fallen over the edge, the jagged rocks in direct view along with strong waves crashing at the bottom of the deep, dark abyss down below.
And above her was a woman in purple, falling after her.
At the top of the cliff, the sound of Xuanji’s last words echoed in everyone’s ears, filled with sorrow, clear and distinct, as if she had exhausted her whole life to utter the words, “Long Fei Li, farewell.”
At that moment, everyone’s heart tightened.
The instant she had jumped over the edge of the cliff and vanished before everyone’s eyes, there wasn’t the slightest of hesitation. Perhaps she had already come to such a decision long before.
“No! Sister-in-law!” Yuzhi cried out as she got to her feet. Tears began trailing down her face, her voice choked with emotions as she called out, “Sister-in-law…”
Ruyi had fallen on the ground. She sat there listlessly, shocked by what had just occurred. It was only after hearing the wave of outcries that issued once more behind her that her heart once again constricted with fear. Seeing his figure soaring in the air, a loud cry escaped her lips.
With the break of dawn, the faint lights of the rising sun across the horizon illuminated a man in white falling after a woman in purple.
His white robes quivered in the air like snow.
Ultimately, there were also times when he would come to a decision to leave the country and his people behind.
t/n
It’s not a chinese period story if someone doesn’t fall off a cliff right? ^_^