"But the others... they..."
Su Cheng spoke haltingly.
"What about them?"
"Su Cheng, just say it!"
Gu Qianying grabbed Su Cheng's hand, looking at him like this, she knew he must be hiding something from her.
"Su Cheng, you promised that no matter what, you wouldn't hide anything from me. Did you forget?"
"Qianying, I know. I'll tell you everything."
Su Cheng draped a cloak over Gu Qianying and held her as they sat down.
Su Cheng sat opposite Gu Qianying and said very seriously, "Qianying, at first, when Meng Qinghua and the old Mr. and Mrs. Su entered the palace, they met Grand Tutor Su. But the moment they met, the old Mr. and Mrs. Su intended to attack Grand Tutor Su. They wanted to kill Grand Tutor Su, and they also wanted to kill the Empress."
"I don't know why they did this, but at that time, Grand Tutor Su and the Empress had also sent people to capture us. Meng Qinghua took the old Mrs. Su and escaped, but Grand Tutor Su captured the old Mr. Su."
"When I returned to the Su family to find you, I discovered that everyone in the entire Su family mansion was dead."
"I don't know who did it, but at that time, I only had you in my heart, and I just wanted to find you. So I found you in the cellar."
"As for the others, after Meng Qinghua escaped with the old Mr. Su, I lost contact with them. I don't know where they escaped to."
Listening to Su Cheng's words, Gu Qianying fell silent.
She fell into deep thought.
Not knowing what she recalled, she suddenly looked up at Su Cheng.
"No, Su Cheng, you're lying!"
Gu Qianying's voice suddenly turned very cold.
Su Cheng lowered his gaze, not daring to meet Gu Qianying's eyes.
"Su Cheng, you're lying. What exactly happened? Why are you lying to me?"
Gu Qianying tugged at Su Cheng's sleeve. She wanted to exert force, but her hands lacked the strength.
"You just said you returned to the Su family halfway to find me, but you also said you entered the palace, and you entered the palace too. And another thing, Su Cheng, you said you came to the cellar when you were a child, but Su Yuxi told me that even if she bullied you, she wouldn't lock you up."
"Because she also knew that you were afraid of the dark. And she also told me that the bullying you endured over the years was actually a form of protection, because in the Su family, and in the entire Nan Yi Kingdom, due to this system, only those who were often bullied could survive well."
Su Cheng! Su Cheng! Why did you lie to me, why?
Gu Qianying glared at Su Cheng, her eyes reddening.
Su Cheng was her husband in another life. Su Cheng was Nangong Mo.
She didn't want Nangong Mo to deceive her, and she was also sad that Su Cheng would lie to her!
"It was Murong Yun. It was him. He told me where you were."
Su Cheng still dared not look Gu Qianying in the eyes.
But he said with great certainty, "Qianying, please believe me. I haven't done anything to betray the Su family, nor have I done anything to harm your friends. We were all captured in the imperial palace at that time, but Meng Qinghua and I escaped."
"We knew at the time that we had been tricked. Meng Qinghua and I discussed leaving the palace to continue searching for you, but Grand Tutor Su and the Empress's people were relentlessly pursuing us, so we split into two paths."
"Meng Qinghua took the old Mrs. Su and Su Yuxi, saying they were going to Yijing Pavilion to settle them down first. I continued to search for your whereabouts. It was only later that I met Murong Yun."
"It was he who told me you were locked in the Su family cellar. I..."
Hearing this, Gu Qianying coldly interrupted Su Cheng, "No, why would he tell you? You know what kind of person he is. I don't believe he would tell me your whereabouts because he thought you were his brother, his relative, and didn't want to see you sad? Su Cheng? Can you tell me the truth."
"In this life, I hate it most when people lie to me, and I can't accept it when my relatives, my loved ones, lie to me."
Su Cheng fell silent.
He stood up and, in front of Gu Qianying, removed his robe.
When Gu Qianying saw the empty space on Su Cheng's chest, she was shocked.
"Su Cheng, your... your third hand... you..."
It was gone.
Su Cheng's third hand was gone, looking as if it had been forcibly torn off.
Su Cheng's chest was still bleeding, the blood staining his robe.
He was wearing a black robe, so it wasn't easily visible.
"Qianying, for people like us, Yin Gu people, the third hand is equivalent to our heart. Although it was also cut off, only the root of the hand remains, meaning the root of our heart is still there."
"My brother was injured. He needed my third hand. I... I couldn't be without you, so I made a deal with him."
Su Cheng put on his robe and walked over, taking Gu Qianying's hand. His face was very pale at this moment. "Qianying, no matter the cost, I just want you to be safe."
Gu Qianying saw the deep affection in Su Cheng's eyes and felt it.
"Su Cheng, you fool, you absolute fool!"
Gu Qianying hit Su Cheng, hugging him and crying.
She thought Su Cheng had betrayed her friends, she thought Su Cheng had abandoned the people of the Su family.
But she never imagined that Su Cheng would... would trade himself?
"Cough cough cough..."
"Don't hit me, Qianying, I..."
The hand holding Gu Qianying suddenly loosened.
He fell straight to the ground.
"Su Cheng!"
Gu Qianying instinctively reached out to help Su Cheng, but due to her weakness, she was lying on the ground. She struggled to get to Su Cheng, but was too weak to help him up.
"Su Cheng, what's wrong?"
Su Cheng lay on the ground, his body seeming very...
He couldn't get up. He lay there for a while, then turned his head to look at Gu Qianying.
He raised his hand with difficulty, wanting to wipe the tears from Gu Qianying's eyes. "Qianying, people without a heart don't live long. Qianying, I'm truly useless. I don't have the ability to help your spiritual energy, nor do I have the ability to save your good friends and the Su family. I'm truly useless."
Su Cheng couldn't sit up. His body's energy was being consumed bit by bit.
"Qianying... I'm sorry. I'm too useless. I'm sorry... I don't think I can marry you. I'm sorry..."
Tears streamed from Su Cheng's eyes.
He looked at Gu Qianying.
He wanted to be her man, he wanted to marry her.
He dreamed of her becoming his wife, but it was too late. He was going to leave.
"No! Su Cheng, you can't leave me. You can't be so weak. Get up, quickly get up."
Gu Qianying struggled to pull Su Cheng's arm, trying to make him stand.
But the arm she pulled up fell limply again.
Su Cheng's body was so weak that he couldn't even lift his arm.
At this moment, his face had become even paler.
"Qianying, I thought I would hold on until you safely left Nan Yi Kingdom before leaving, but I didn't expect it to be so soon. Qianying, this... this is..."
Su Cheng painstakingly took a signal whistle from himself and handed it to Gu Qianying.
"Qianying, blow this, and someone will come to pick you up. After leaving Nan Yi Kingdom, they will be responsible for treating you, accompanying you, and protecting you. Qianying... hurry, leave, get far away from here, hurry..."