The group's favorite little Fubao has become the most arrogant kid in the whole imperial city

Chapter 128: End of Darkness
"Yeah." Xihe responded softly, and her heart, which had been hanging for many days, finally felt real. "I will cure my aunt. I brought a lot of medicine. I can cure all her injuries. She can't speak, so I will talk more, tell her and make her laugh. She can't remember the past, so I will tell her over and over again. One day, everything will return to the way it was before."

Xihe looked forward to the future, with tenderness in her brows.

The sun was half hanging in the sky, dyeing it red and burning the whole sky. People on the street hurriedly rushed home. Everything and everyone in the world had a place to go. Occasionally, a few houses turned on their lights, which became the tiny lights for pedestrians to walk in the dark night, adding a bit of warmth to the silent cold night.

"I suddenly remembered that when you left, the sky was like this too."

That year, Xihe and Liu Yuan sat on the city wall until it was completely dark.

Xiao Mingxuan was silent for two moments, then said hoarsely, "I'm sorry, I was wronged by you back then."

Xihe suddenly laughed softly, "You can say it now, why didn't you say it back then? Fifth uncle did stop you, but it took two days from the time dad issued the order to the time you left. No one restricted you, but... you didn't come to see me, and didn't say a word to me, even though I was not far away in the Vanity Palace."

Then he said: "Xiao Mingxuan, actually you wanted to leave at the beginning, right?"

Xiao Mingxuan remained silent, which was considered as his agreement.

Emperor Jingyuan's conditions were very tempting, even generous. If he wanted to return to Beili to seize power, he had to listen to Emperor Jingyuan.

He didn't dare to look for Xihe, let alone hear her voice. If he looked at her for a second longer, he would probably be reluctant to leave. Xihe looked up at Xiao Mingxuan's face. He was obviously more handsome than when he was young, but Xihe felt a little strange. She knew that the man in front of her was her little brother, but this face looked out of place no matter how she looked at it. It looked like a fake human skin mask. She could hardly see the truth hidden under this mask, or she didn't dare to uncover it.

"Xiao Mingxuan, you don't have to feel guilty, you did nothing wrong." Xihe did feel a little resentful at first, but after thinking it through, it was just like that. "Just like the choice you made me make back then, I also... gave up on you."

That winter, when Xiao Mingxuan asked the question with his young mind revealed, Xihe also gave a negative answer.

The two looked at each other and saw the deepest things in each other's eyes, which were also the things they had been trying to ignore.

With so many parties involved, the other party is never the first choice.

Perhaps on a rainy night or in a secret room, thousands of butterflies fluttered their wings around our hearts and we fell in love with each other.

Xiao Mingxuan once gave in because of Xihe's kindness, and Xihe once tolerated Xiao Mingxuan's paranoia.

Family, faith, aspirations, ambitions, love.

No matter how they are arranged, they are always the last of each other.

Xihe is, and so is Xiao Mingxuan.

They are... the same kind of people.

The tension in Xiao Mingxuan's expression faded away, and was replaced by a calm look. He lowered his head and thought for a while, and suddenly laughed out loud.

"why are you laughing?"

Xiao Mingxuan bent down, and Xihe moved to the side to make some space, so he sat down. The two of them leaned back to back, just like when they were little.

"I just suddenly realized that you and I are both gamblers."

Xiao Mingxuan once naively thought that he was the only one who opened a chess game with his life at stake, but today he found out that the silly little girl had already overturned the chessboard.

"You want me to listen to you, I want you to become what I want, but in the end, no one can do that." I don't know if it's because I'm too sad in my heart, but my face is calm, and there's a hint of joking in my tone.

"Xihe, you know me. I will never let go."

If people are always greedy, Xiao Mingxuan is the best among them.

He wants both people and rights!

Xihe smiled with curved eyebrows, "Do you think I am just sitting there waiting to die? I am already sixteen years old. If I am determined to get married, what can you do to me?"

"Get married?" Compared to the little brat who would explode at the mention of something when he was young, Xiao Mingxuan seemed much more normal at this moment, but his words were still full of madness. "If you dare to marry someone, I will kill him. You choose one and I will kill one. When no one in the entire imperial city dares to marry you, you will be mine."

The smile on Xihe's lips faded slightly, and she suddenly said, "I want to ask you something. Tell me the truth, okay?"

"You said."

Xihe took a deep breath and asked the doubt that had been weighing on her mind for the past ten years, "During those two years of studying swords by lamplight and traveling together in the south of the Yangtze River, were they a compromise you made to protect yourself or because of my status?" During the past ten years, she tossed and turned, asking herself this question countless times, feeling itchy and anxious, but she could not come up with an answer.

"No!" Xiao Mingxuan said sternly, "Xihe, if I were the kind of person who would flatter others in order to survive, I would not have stayed in Mingyue Palace for several years without leaving."

Although he was a hostage, as long as he humbled himself and tried to please the royal relatives, his life would not be so difficult.

If it weren't for Xihe, he would probably have continued to live such a lonely life.

There is no glory, no hope, and every day I just stare at the sky and waste my time.

"It is only because of you that I am willing to leave Mingyue Palace. Everything that happens after this is my own will, and I have absolutely no intention of compromising."

Perhaps it was the night that added a touch of tenderness to such a crazy person. Xihe slowly approached the mask, and somehow moved closer to peck Xiao Mingxuan on the lips.

Xiao Mingxuan suddenly froze in place.

When the other party wanted to take a step further, Xihe suddenly stepped back and just looked at him with a smile. The fiery sunset spread behind her, and the last ray of sunlight shone obliquely on her cheek, making her seem out of reach.

"Xiao Mingxuan, don't give me that shit. I'm not the powerless little princess I used to be."

Xiao Mingxuan pursed his lips, savoring what had just happened, and asked stupidly, "So?"

"So...it all depends on your ability."

*
As the night grew deeper, Zhao Jinyuan and Nangong Yan walked around and around, but not only did they fail to find out the whereabouts of Zhao Wanyu, they also lost Xiao Mingxuan and Xihe.

"Have they already returned to the inn?" After walking for an afternoon, Nangong Yan felt a little tired.

"Maybe, go back and take a look."

It was completely dark and it was not easy to find anyone.

"Okay, let's go."

Nangong Yan stood up, patted the dirt off his body, and just took two steps when he suddenly saw a ray of fire in the distance, rising into the sky.

"Are you in the water?"

Zhao Jinyuan looked over when he heard the voice and frowned, "I don't know, should I go and take a look?"

Nangong Yan suddenly felt a pain in his heart, as if he was pricked by a needle. The pain surged into his heart, but disappeared in an instant.

"What's wrong with you?" Although Zhao Jinyuan knew that the person in front of him was a former betrayer, because of the relationship between the other party and his aunt, he rarely showed concern.

Nangong Yan rubbed his chest, as if the pain just now was just an illusion, "It's okay, it may be the residual poison that has taken effect, it will be fine in a while."

There were residual poisons from the Qianji Powder in his body, so Nangong Yan would occasionally feel pain in his heart, but he got used to it over time.

"Are you still going to see it?" Zhao Jinyuan pointed at the fire.

A passerby heard them talking about the fire and said, "You two are from other places, so you may not know much. It's not a fire, but the burning of useless straw."

Mass burnings are not uncommon in remote towns and are indeed not a rare occurrence.

"There's nothing to see, let's go." Nangong Yan waved his hand, showing little interest, "We should go back and see if those two have come back and if they have brought back any news about Ah Wan."

As long as he couldn't find Zhao Wanyu, he would feel uneasy.

"Go back."

The two men walked towards the inn, with flames rising into the sky behind them and forming a black cloud. It seemed as if some sparks floated over with the breeze and landed behind Nangong Yan's black robe. A bit of starlight sank into the darkness and could no longer be found.

Upon learning that Zhao Wanyu had just gone to the mountains and would be back the next day, Nangong Yan finally felt relieved.