Chapter 74

The Battlefield of Ashura

Zhang Yuehui, as if possessed, trembled as he picked up the broken pieces of the jade bracelet, slowly piecing them together.

The broken jade pieces could still faintly form the shape of the past.

Blood rushed to his head, and he gripped the edge of the desk so tightly that he nearly snapped the wood in half.

“Master... Master?” The guard called in confusion.

“Get out!” Zhang Yuehui’s voice was harsh, and the guard jumped back in surprise. Just moments ago, the master had been calm and composed, but now, his expression was unlike anything they had ever seen before.

His usual composure had been stripped away, and no one had ever seen Zhang Yuehui like this. The others exchanged wary glances but didn’t dare speculate and quietly withdrew.

The broken jade bracelet, yet carefully preserved and carried by her... Had she too been waiting for their reunion? After so many years, she should have sold the bracelet, forgotten about this indifferent and unfaithful man.

The hallway, only a few meters long, seemed to stretch out like a lifetime for Zhang Yuehui. He stood at the dungeon door, staring at Nan Yi, curled up on the ground, unconscious. His mind was blank.

Reunion after years, and this was the scene? The face of the young girl he had seen so many times in his dreams was now lifeless.

What was he doing?

How could he have done such a ridiculous thing to her?

Fate had played a cruel joke on him, and just when he could no longer undo his actions, the wish he made was granted in this absurd manner.

He knelt beside her, extended his hand, but didn’t know how to touch her.

He had always been someone who never looked back, but in this moment, he felt more regret than he ever had in his life. He truly didn’t want anything anymore. He was willing to put aside his hatred and return to that small southern town from years ago. He wouldn’t leave, he wouldn’t push her away. He wanted to settle down there, to tell her that he had more than enough money to take care of her, and that she would no longer have to drift, to steal, or to fear the chaos of this world.

He would repent, to turn back time, even if it was only seven days—he would give anything to make it happen.

But time is fair, and it offers no leniency to anyone.

He finally realized that the greatest player at the gambling table was fate itself. He wanted to win against the heavens, using everyone as mere pawns, but fate was playing him.

It was clearly his fault, but why was she being punished?

He reached out to touch her shoulder, but as soon as he made contact, she trembled. She was still unconscious, but her face twisted in discomfort, and she murmured softly.

“Don’t hit me…”

A tear fell from Zhang Yuehui’s eye. His hand froze in mid-air, unsure of what to do.

Half-conscious, Nan Yi sensed someone had touched her. She thought the endless interrogation was about to begin again. Her body was so exhausted that her eyes could not open, but her consciousness had already sensed the fear.

They could clearly see that Xie Que Shan didn’t care about her at all. Why then, did he still ask? But she had already been beaten into submission, and she desperately wanted to say something that would satisfy them. The instinctual fear of pain squeezed her, forcing her to search her mind for the nature of her relationship with Xie Que Shan.

She was nothing more than a dog that Xie Que Shan had picked up. When he was pleased, he would pet her, but when he was displeased, he would discard her. When he sensed her ambition and disloyalty, he would have no hesitation in killing her.

What right did she have to be linked to him in any way…? But when all pretense was stripped away and she was left only with her instincts, she vaguely felt there might be another answer, one that even she herself was desperately denying and avoiding, buried deep in her heart.

Now, she had been forced to stand in front of the door to that answer.

Open it… a voice urged her. It was the human instinct to seek benefit and avoid harm. If she said something that satisfied them, would she not be beaten?

She suddenly flung open the door, but the scene before her surprised even her.

She had expected to see a raging sea, monsters with gaping mouths charging at her. Instead, in an instant, she saw only a clear pond, serene and peaceful as if in a paradise.

She finally remembered.

She had seen Xie Que Shan’s cold gaze many times, but there were also times when she had succumbed to the warmth of his palm. She didn’t hate him completely just because he wanted to kill her; it was because she had once had hope for him. She thought he would be a good person, but in the end, he let her down so much.

She always felt that although they were worlds apart, in some ways, they were so similar. He wasn’t kind to her, but he gave her a place to shelter from the wind and rain, allowing her to live like a human. In this brutal world, just when she had finally gained a foothold, she couldn’t wait to repay him, to give him something... Subconsciously, she even hoped, more than he did, that he would receive some love from others.

Zhang Yuehui noticed she was muttering, and leaned in to listen.

“I’m just a small thief... but I want to save him...”

Zhang Yuehui froze. Wasn’t this the confession he had most wanted to hear before his arrival? Proof that there was some connection between her and Xie Que Shan. But now, an overwhelming mixture of sourness and regret surged within him. What had happened during these years that he wasn’t around?

She and Xie Que Shan...

He desperately hoped that their relationship wasn’t what he had imagined, and wished that Xie Que Shan hadn’t come. He would have been willing to bet everything on the return hall.

He tightly held onto Nan Yi’s cold hand.

Instinctively, Nan Yi grasped that hand. She was like a traveler trekking through endless snow-capped mountains, always battling the cold. Any warmth, no matter how small, was precious to her.

She drowsily opened her eyes and saw the face of the man so close to her—his features blurred in her memory, now so clear. But she just froze for a moment, then showed a bitter smile.

“Why is it that in my dreams, you always come so late...?”

She never expected that at this moment, she would still dream of Zhang Yuehui. But what was the use? It was better not to look, lest useless thoughts arise.

She closed her eyes again, wanting to shut off all her senses and fall into one wandering dream after another, so she could forget the pain and troubles.

Zhang Yuehui felt a deep ache in his heart. He was always the one who was late.

At that moment, a guard hurriedly ran into the dungeon to report, with some burn marks on his body.

“Master, the Flower Morning Pavilion is on fire.”

Zhang Yuehui’s heart sank—he had desperately hoped Xie Que Shan was a heartless man, but he had come after all.

He prepared to carry Nan Yi out, but the guard stepped forward.

“Master, let me do it.”

The guard’s voice was low and he was covered in grime, blending into the shadows. If one didn’t look closely, he almost seemed invisible.

Zhang Yuehui remained silent, his back to the guard for a long time, before finally standing up and stepping aside, simply saying, “Fine.”

The guard carefully bowed his head and moved forward to lift Nan Yi. His movements were very cautious, afraid of touching her wounds.

Zhang Yuehui turned his head and walked in the opposite direction of the dungeon entrance, throwing back a seemingly gritted remark: “The entrance is dangerous. We go this way.”

He led the way, and the group wound their way deeper into the dungeon.

The guard’s steps were as usual, but his hand was subtly resting on the hilt of his sword.

This was Xie Que Shan in disguise.

Xie Que Shan had come alone with only one sword. He chose the fastest way to start the fire at the Flower Morning Pavilion, throwing the ambush into chaos. Even so, the dungeon was deep in the pavilion, and the whole path was fraught with traps. Fighting his way in was extremely difficult.

Just when Xie Que Shan felt overwhelmed, there was a small change. He noticed a guard hurriedly heading towards the dungeon, supposedly because Zhang Yuehui was still inside. So he cleverly slipped out of the pavilion and followed the guard into the dungeon.

Xie Que Shan had already guessed the layout of the night. Most of the ambush was set outside, and the final killing traps were probably inside the dungeon. But seeing the guard’s anxious and hurried expression, it seemed Zhang Yuehui might be an unexpected element. He couldn’t figure out what Zhang Yuehui was planning.

But whatever tricks lay inside, whether mountain of knives or sea of fire, he would charge in.

He killed the messenger guard, donned his clothes, and entered the dungeon in this daring way to save Nan Yi. When she finally collapsed into his arms, at that moment, whether life or death from then on, his heart finally settled.

If Zhang Yuehui had any unusual intentions, he was ready to act at any moment.

Zhang Yuehui led them into a nondescript cell, reached out to push a brick on the wall.

“Don’t move.”

Xie Que Shan pressed the tip of his sword against Zhang Yuehui’s back. His unease made him decide to act, seizing the initiative.

But Zhang Yuehui didn’t pay him any attention and still pushed the brick. Immediately, the sound of mechanisms turning came from within.

Zhang Yuehui turned to face the sword’s edge, his eyes deep and filled with underlying sarcasm, “I thought I’d see how long you could keep up the act.”

Xie Que Shan’s expression darkened, and he thrust the tip of his sword another inch into Zhang Yuehui’s chest. “You don’t have any better odds now.”

Blood surged from Zhang Yuehui’s shirt, the wound not fatal but still carrying a significant threat.

Zhang Yuehui didn’t dodge or flinch; he simply stared at Xie Que Shan, unwavering. “Do you want to save her, or do you want us both to die here?”

At that moment, the mechanism had finished activating, and the wall of the cell slid open to reveal a dark tunnel behind it.

Xie Que Shan furrowed his brows. He hadn’t expected Zhang Yuehui to give him such a choice. He was confused by the situation—if Zhang Yuehui recognized him, why had he led him to this isolated place?

Even if there were deadly traps here, he could kill Zhang Yuehui instantly.

In this situation, it wasn’t certain that he would survive, but Zhang Yuehui wouldn’t win either.

There was something off about this whole scenario.

“What exactly do you want to do?” Xie Que Shan asked.

Zhang Yuehui let out a cold laugh. What else could he do?

Of course, it was his own trap, one that had ensnared him as well. Now he was in a deadlock, unable to advance or retreat.

Wanyan Jun was still waiting outside, hoping to catch the party from the Bing Candle Sect. If he were to open the mechanism to catch Xie Que Shan, he would have no choice but to hand over Nan Yi as well.

That was something he could never do.

Despite the immense reluctance in his heart, Zhang Yuehui quickly made his decision.

At that moment, Nan Yi’s safety was still the most important thing to him. At least Xie Que Shan wouldn’t harm her. Even if it meant temporarily making peace with the enemy, it wasn’t entirely out of the question.

He had trapped others countless times, but now it was his turn to trap himself. After going in circles, he was about to hand over the woman he had just managed to win back.

Although he understood the situation, seeing Xie Que Shan carrying Nan Yi, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of resentment and jealousy. If it weren’t for that bastard Xie Que Shan, how could he have let Nan Yi go through this?

But he knew very well that this wasn’t really Xie Que Shan’s fault. He was the one who had courted death, and he was the one who should be punished.

His heart felt like it was sinking into an endless abyss, and his expression darkened as he muttered, “I regret it.”