Chapter 59

Decaying Wood Breaks

On the side blocked by the painting boat, Xie Zhu’s family had already climbed down the rope and moved to a smaller boat for safety. Behind them, there was another faintly visible small boat, prepared for Nan Yi.

Song Mu Chuan had thought of everything. To help her sever ties with the Xie family, he couldn’t allow her to travel with Xie Zhu.

Nan Yi climbed out of the window, but she did not immediately descend the rope. She gripped the railing and stood firm on the boat’s wooden wedge, when suddenly, she remembered something. She had to ask before leaving.

“Mr. Song, when we first met, you told me the word ‘Yu Shu’. What do those two characters mean?”

He was taken aback for a moment but answered honestly, “‘Yu’ for ‘giving’, and ‘Shu’ for ‘forgiveness.’“

Nan Yi had studied these characters. She knew how to write them and understood their meaning. Only now did she realize why Xie Que Shan had reacted so intensely when he heard that Song Mu Chuan had given her the name “Yu Shu.”

At this moment, as she was about to leave, she couldn’t avoid thinking of Xie Que Shan. Her fear was real, but after so much time together, he had left a deep mark on her life.

“Mr. Song, could you… not hate him so much?”

Song Mu Chuan hadn’t expected her to say such a thing, and he froze for a moment.

“He didn’t want Mr. Pang to die. He may have done bad things, but he’s not a bad person.”

She didn’t dislike Xie Que Shan that much. She was simply too afraid. Always on edge by his side, she longed for a place where she could breathe easy. She dreamed of the clear stream Song Mu Chuan spoke of, and also wanted to find her true love, Zhang Yue Hui.

Song Mu Chuan nodded deeply. “Madam, I understand.”

“We will meet again.”

Nan Yi felt relieved and began to descend the rope, landing steadily on the smaller boat below.

She stood on the boat’s side, looking up at the massive painting boat. Even in the dim light, she could still make out his figure.

In the night, she waved her hand toward that figure with all her might.

The river was swift, and the small boat drifted downstream. Soon, it was a fair distance from the painting boat.

The noise faded, and Nan Yi sighed with relief, retreating into the boat’s canopy, her body suddenly trembling.

________________________________________

Inside the small boat, at some point, someone had quietly taken a seat.

He sat silently in the darkness, and with the faint light from the shore, she could see an unlit octagonal lantern beside him. He seemed to have been immersed in the darkness for a long time, like a demon crawling out of hell. No matter how much light came, it never reached him.

Song Mu Chuan had said that once she reached Jinling, Xie Que Shan would not be able to find her.

But none of them had predicted that he would intercept her at the source.

She felt like a thief caught in the act.

The river wind blew, causing her to shiver.

In this small boat, under the night-covered river, no one knew that the young madam of the Xie family was here, and no one would care about a beggar named Nan Yi.

It was a night of darkness and danger.

She was cloaked in darkness, and in that darkness, countless invisible tentacles, named despair, gripped her.

She dared not move, dared not speak, letting the river wind sting her face, her mind a blank. Xie Que Shan remained silent. After a long time, as the boat had already left Lidufu, he took out a firestick from his sleeve and lit the flower lantern.

This small light filled the entire canopy.

The brand-new flower lantern, with its bell, tassels, and even the lampshade fabric, had all been chosen by her. She felt a pang of guilt.

“I told you not to betray me,” he said calmly. The faint light gathered on his face, and his expression was even gentle. “Nan Yi.”

It was rare for him to call her by her name, and she knew that his deep eyes were filled with wrath that could crush anything.

She moved closer, her teeth chattering with a suppressed shiver. But she understood that the moment had come to be honest. Thoughts she had never dared to voice before, now she had no choice but to lay bare.

“You also said you would let me go. I don’t want to play this game anymore.”

She lowered her knee and squatted beside him. She clearly remembered that he didn’t allow her to kneel, but she also knew her place. She had always been cautious, trying to find a way to coexist with him.

Always tugging back and forth, testing the waters. It was exhausting. She just wanted to leave.

He raised his hand, gently gripping her chin, letting her tears fall onto his palm. Slowly and patiently, he used his thumb to wipe away her tears.

“But you didn’t trust me. Instead, you sought Song Mu Chuan’s help… The world is vast, and there will be times when Song Mu Chuan can’t protect you. What’s wrong with being by my side?” His voice had no trace of killing intent, as if he were earnestly and confusedly discussing an issue with her.

She couldn’t speak and could only shake her head desperately.

“You will keep drifting through this world, living with no tomorrow after today. Is what I’ve given you not enough?”

“But I’m afraid of you,” she said, her face full of fear, but her voice did not waver. With great courage, she finally spoke the truth. “I’m just a small person. I don’t want to get involved in such complicated disputes… I just want to live a simple life, with just three meals a day. Why… why can’t you let me go?”

He seemed struck, speechless.

He had never hoped for anyone’s understanding, but over the past days, he had slowly opened his heart to her. He had thought there was mutual understanding between them. Yet, she still saw him as an enemy.

In that moment, he realized he had hoped to walk through life with someone, no, to walk with her. People are always disappointed because of hope; if they had never formed a deep connection from the beginning, it wouldn’t hurt this much now.

The pain was so intense that he wanted everything to end right then. What did the chaos of the world have to do with him?

He even had the urge to reveal his true identity to her, to make her treat him with the same respect and trust as she did Song Mu Chuan, to fight alongside him.

But as soon as this thought appeared, reason swiftly returned. They had known each other for only a few months. How could he trust her? He had taught her many things, but she was still a small-time trickster, and she had proven this time and time again.

His palm slowly moved to her neck, the heat of his hand pressed against her skin, sending a shiver through her.

Her delicate neck, fragile and beautiful.

His impression of her was always colored by the image of the dirty beggar, and he instinctively tried to ignore her beauty. But as she shed those ragged clothes, nourishment from daily meals gradually filled out her once-thin frame, day by day, her radiance shining through, with her eyes—those sparkling, watery eyes—remaining the only unchanged feature.

He finally remembered that when they first met, his reason for saving her wasn’t entirely because of her courage, but because of those captivating, soul-piercing eyes.

That’s why he kept letting her off, again and again, staring into those eyes.

But this inconspicuous little beggar he had rescued was gradually exceeding his control. Even the proud Song Mu Chuan was willing to take risks for her, sending her out of Lidufu.

At that moment, he could no longer ignore her beauty. Everything is particularly beautiful just before it is destroyed.

He allowed his affectionate gaze to fall on her. He felt regret. If she hadn’t run, they should have been walking together, holding lanterns, weaving through the bustling crowds of the Lantern Festival, letting the fireworks of the world fill their bodies.

“Tell me, where is the Yucheng army hidden?” he suddenly asked, posing a question that seemed unrelated.

He hadn’t believed her explanation that day. He hadn’t asked at the time because it wasn’t yet the right moment. But now, it was time to force her to answer.

His palm was only lightly placed on her neck, but Nan Yi was terrified. She thought that as long as she obeyed, there might be a glimmer of hope, just like the many times before when she had narrowly escaped danger.

She hesitated for a moment before speaking, “It’s... it’s the ruined temple in the valley.”

Xie Que Shan was not at all surprised. He laughed softly.

“You really do know.”

In that instant, Nan Yi deeply regretted her words. She realized she should not have said it. This was a trap.

In this trap, she had exposed her fatal weakness—her willingness to betray any secret to survive.

If she could betray Madam Gan Tang and the Yucheng army, then she could betray Xie Que Shan too.

But that was because, deep down, she trusted him. She didn’t think Xie Que Shan would truly betray her second sister.

But this reaction, in Xie Que Shan’s eyes, was fatal.

He had so many secrets in her hands. No one had previously suspected a connection between them, and he had been able to use her to accomplish certain things. But if these things were to be revealed, either intentionally or unintentionally, they would ruin years of careful work in front of the Qiren, and he would be destroyed.

This boat could drift downriver, escaping from all the chaos she had spoken of. They could cease to be Xie Que Shan and Nan Yi, and perhaps they could even find eternity.

But it was impossible. They had already been given meaning by this chaotic world. They were already players in the game, and the raging Yangtze River could not carry them away. It would only send them into more dangerous situations, and one misstep would mean complete ruin.

His position within the Qiren was the result of countless years of hard climbing and sacrifices made by many. He was not just himself; he was a secret blade of the dynasty thrust deep into the enemy camp, bearing the lives and deaths of millions.

On the night before the fall of Youdu City, he had been ready to die with the city, to hold out to the last moment. But in the camp, he met his teacher, Shen Zhizhong, who had hurried through the snow to reach him.

His teacher said that the fall of the city was inevitable, the Yu Dynasty was in decline, and the imperial court sought peace, powerless to continue the war with the Qiren. But peace wouldn’t last long—Qiren’s ambitions were vast, and one day, they would return. The front lines couldn’t be resisted, but perhaps the backdoor might offer a sliver of hope.

His teacher asked, “Zhao En, do you wish to live?”

To die was to be a loyal general, immortalized in history. But to live would mean walking a path full of blades and fire.

From the moment he chose to live, there was no turning back. He could only move forward, without personal feelings, without hope, without mercy.

How could someone who lived on the edge of a cliff allow a person who had betrayed him to leave alive?

By the time Nan Yi realized what was happening, the pressure on her neck from Xie Que Shan’s hand had suddenly increased.

A decayed tree that cannot be carved—then let it break.

The air in her throat was instantly cut off, and the feeling of suffocation made Nan Yi’s eyes widen. She truly felt his murderous intent. It was a sensation she had never experienced before.

At this moment, she was finally pushed to the brink of life and death. She struggled, desperately grabbing at his clothes, sobbing, her face turning bright red and then pale. Her strength gradually waned, but he remained unmoved.

He had said similar things before, made motions that seemed like he would kill her, but they were never real. But this time, he was serious. He numbly watched her life slip away in his hand, applying more force, yet in the blur of her consciousness, she wasn’t sure if it was a dying hallucination, but she thought she saw a tear fall from his eye.

Even he hadn’t realized that this tear was genuinely shed for her.

He remembered not long ago, in a boat just like this one, when she had shared a tear with him. Her world didn’t follow many rules, and she often revealed an unexpected wildness.

She would be curious about his tears, see through his disguise, and silently accompany him at the right moments. Every sharp edge of hers perfectly mended the torn soul within him.

Without realizing it, the force in his hand slackened. The two versions of himself—the one made of flesh and blood, and the other with a heart of stone—were fighting. All this time, these two parts of him had coexisted peacefully, but now, for this girl, they were battling to the death. Yet, it was all him—no matter which side prevailed, the pain was his alone.

Was there truly no way out?

Suddenly, with a sharp click, the sound of a mechanism engaging broke the silence in the darkness. A crossbow bolt shot out from her sleeve and struck him in the shoulder. He winced in pain and quickly withdrew his arm. Nan Yi seized the opportunity and broke free, coughing violently.

The cold air rushed into her chest, and she was alive again. She dared not relax. Without a second thought, she drew a dagger from her sleeve and aimed it at Xie Que Shan. It was her instinct for survival—if she didn’t strike back, she would die.

Her movement was reckless and without strategy, yet Xie Que Shan seemed almost frozen. It was a strange moment. He could have dodged, but he didn’t. He allowed her dagger to sink into his chest.

It was the blade and the arrow he had given her, the very skills he had taught her.

The flower lantern on the table was knocked to the ground by their violent movements. The flame licked the fabric cover and caught fire immediately.

The firelight illuminated the boat canopy, making it as bright as day.

She froze.

She hadn’t expected to succeed. Looking at her hands covered in blood, she couldn’t stop trembling.

This was Xie Que Shan. How could she have killed the man who controlled everything? How could she have succeeded?

No, it was that he hadn’t dodged… Someone between them had gone mad.

What was he planning?

She loosened her grip, tears flowing uncontrollably, trying to retreat, but he grabbed the back of her neck, stopping her movement. They were tangled at such close quarters. If she pushed the dagger in just an inch more, he would undoubtedly die. But she didn’t dare. All her strength and courage were gone.

Blood flowed from the wound. He had clearly been at a disadvantage, even leaving himself open to her attack, but he showed no fear.

Breathing heavily, his blood-soaked breath sprayed onto her face. “Nan Yi, well done.”

Before she could react, Nan Yi felt a sharp pain at the back of her neck. Then, everything went black. She collapsed backward, unconscious.

Xie Que Shan casually discarded the silver needle he had used to knock her out. He had used up his last bit of strength. Slumped over, he pressed his hand to his chest, and only then did the true pain show on his face.

The boat canopy was now ablaze, burning like a ball of fire on the river. Amid the flames, Xie Que Shan looked at the wreckage and the unconscious Nan Yi. It seemed as though they were both heading toward destruction together on this river under the bright moon.