BXG - 112

◎Final Destination◎

Qu You froze, listening as he continued. “You don’t know—perhaps not even Zhou Tan himself knows. That afternoon before the Qionglin Night Banquet, Zhou Tan was still a poor scholar who had just befriended Gu Zhiyan. They were walking together on the streets of Bianjing. It was shortly after the Flower Festival, and spring in Bianjing was beautiful—everywhere you looked, girls carried flowers. You and Gao Yunyue had only recently met, and you had picked flowers together, drinking wine on the second floor of Fanlou. In your joy, you placed the apricot blossoms by the window.”

She listened to these events as if they had happened long ago, yet they felt so close—as if she could see them clearly with her eyes closed.

“One apricot blossom fell. Zhou Tan happened to look up and saw you, momentarily lost in thought.”

“He quickly averted his gaze, and you, sensing someone’s presence, angrily shut the window. But that glance—Gu Zhiyan saw it, and so did I. He soon sought you out and read your poetry. At that moment, I knew Gu Zhiyan would surely arrange a favorable marriage for his beloved disciple. He must have mentioned it to the Emperor—otherwise, why would the Empress suddenly grant you a marriage to a refined daughter of a prestigious family?”

So that was it.

It all made sense now.

Qu You marveled at the revelation. Even in previous lifetimes, when Gu Zhiyan decided to propose this marriage, it was because of that fleeting glance.

Perhaps Zhou Tan himself didn’t remember, but that single, fleeting moment had been enough.

Just one glance.

A faint smile appeared on Qu You’s lips. From afar, Zhou Tan seemed to sense something as well, gazing deeply at her.

“Yoyo,” Bai Ying whispered intimately into her ear, his voice barely audible. “The little emperor doesn’t know another thing about Zhou Tan. When he finds out… hahaha, your future won’t be easy either… No, no, Zhou Tan already had plans at Linfeng Pavilion. What does he have to fear? He isn’t afraid because he knows he’s going to die—he’s going to die…”

Bai Ying rambled on incoherently, his words becoming increasingly disjointed. By the end, Qu You couldn’t understand what he was saying. Finally, he tightened his grip on the arrow, smiling as he asked her, “Are you moved? Do you think you and Zhou Tan are good people who can redeem me? Saying I’m not purely evil… Hahaha, let me give you one more thing to ponder. Guess where Zhou Tan’s illness came from?”

His sudden mention of this shocked Qu You. Moments later, a chill ran down her spine as she realized—since the day she married Zhou Tan, his illness had been treated by Bai Ying!

But Bai Ying wasn’t satisfied with just that cruel revelation. He pressed on mercilessly: “Did you guess? Though he endured punishment and assassination attempts, he was young, and his body shouldn’t have deteriorated so badly. When I didn’t want him to return to Lin’an, I could make him too ill to leave his bed. If I had been ruthless enough then, if I hadn’t kept trying to persuade him, he would have died long ago. It was me—it was me who gradually worsened his condition year after year, ensuring that even without today’s events, he wouldn’t live much longer!”

Qu You completely disregarded the arrow in his hand, fiercely turning her head toward him. Bai Ying pulled back just in time, leaving only a shallow cut on her cheek.

“You—”

Her expression changed entirely, almost twisting in the dim light. Bai Ying laughed wildly at her reaction, then shoved her away with force.

“Bai Ying!”

Seeing the sudden turn of events, everyone rushed forward. Zhou Tan caught Qu You and held her tightly in his arms.

Meanwhile, Bai Ying spread his arms and ran heedlessly deeper into the passageway. The explosion earlier had triggered traps, and arrows now shot out in every direction.

Several arrows pierced Bai Ying’s body, soaking his robe with blood. He ran frantically to the end, struggling to find the switch near the door. Then he turned back, looking through the flames at Li Yuanjun’s lifeless body one last time.

A soldier smelled something unusual. “General! He… he might still have explosives on him. We should retreat immediately!”

Yan Fu decisively ordered his troops to withdraw along their original path. Zhou Tan scooped Qu You into his arms, took a few steps, then stopped, locking eyes with Bai Ying across the dark passageway.

“All my loved ones have abandoned me… Today, being buried in the imperial mausoleum is my final resting place… Life is like an inn, take care of yourselves.”

Zhou Tan said nothing more, giving him a slight nod as a gesture of respect before turning and leaving quickly. Qu You clutched his robe tightly, tears streaming down her face, soaking her cheeks.

Both could hear the off-key singing echoing from the distant darkness:

“I drift upon the great river’s waters, ascending to the capital under the bright sun, through nine layers of phoenix mountains... Immortals gift me eternal peace, guiding me like a cold star...”

Behind them came a muffled explosion.

Everything from the past seemed to be permanently buried in the dark depths beneath the earth with that sound.

At the same time, down the mountain in a humble pavilion, Song Shixuan finished the last sip of his now-cold tea.

He stood up, glancing toward the source of the explosion, concern flickering in his eyes.

Luo Jiangting didn’t understand what he was waiting for and dared not rush him. She simply held her handkerchief, gently wiping the sweat from his temple. “Your Majesty need not worry.”

Song Shixuan took her hand and gave her a gentle, reassuring smile. “I’m fine.”

After what seemed like an eternity, a soldier covered in mud and reeking of gunpowder galloped down from the mountaintop. Dismounting hastily, he knelt and reported succinctly to Song Shixuan: “The traitor is dead. Mission accomplished.”

Song Shixuan finally exhaled in relief, asking, “Are Master and Xiao Yan safe?”

The soldier replied, “They’re fine.”

Luo Jiangting detected something amiss in their exchange but could only cautiously probe, following Song Shixuan’s lead. “Now that Your Majesty knows the outcome, you can rest assured… Speaking of which, we still don’t know who the traitor was. Your Majesty originally came to inquire about why the Chancellor led troops out of the city. It seems the traitor was formidable indeed. Your Majesty had to consider the Chancellor’s safety—truly a testament to your deep bond as teacher and student.”

Song Shixuan softly hummed in acknowledgment, pulling Luo Jiangting into his arms.

Luo Jiangting’s heart raced like a drum. After everything she had said, Song Shixuan showed no reaction. Was today’s outcome part of their plan or beyond their expectations? It seemed Mr. Bai and Li Yuanjun had failed, but…

Lost in thought, she suddenly felt a cold sensation on her neck. She looked down in disbelief to find that Song Shixuan had somehow drawn the short sword from his waist and slashed her throat with precise, gentle brutality.

Luo Jiangting reached up, her hands drenched in blood.

Eyes wide open, she collapsed, unable to believe the man who had just shown her such tenderness now crouched before her with an icy, frosty expression. He didn’t extend a hand, as though afraid of being dirtied.

She heard his mocking, cold voice: “I regarded A’Luo as my own sister. What you’ve done insults me.”

Luo Jiangting tried to speak, emitting raspy breaths, but no words came out. Struggling, she bit her trembling lips, wanting to ask, “Your Majesty… how could you…”

But Song Shixuan had already risen and left, urgently instructing his guards: “Master has always been frail. Is he truly unharmed? How is Madam? I’ll go up the mountain to meet them.”

After taking a few steps, he remembered the corpse behind him and paused briefly, casually ordering, “She was unfortunate. Find a feng shui site in her hometown and bury her there.”