"As far as I know, Su Mu was already murdered after returning to the court. This was all orchestrated by Chu Ming. His goal was to avenge his elder brother Chu Yu. Twenty years ago, Chu Yu accidentally came here, met and fell in love with Yue Bei Yang's mother. However, your father, the Emperor, took a fancy to her beauty and forcibly took her into the palace, then designed the death of Chu Yu. Queen Yue, seeing Concubine Rou favored, out of jealousy, also designed Concubine Rou's death. Therefore, Chu Ming hated them to the bone. For years, he has done many things for revenge..."
Qin Jiujiu briefly recounted the tragedy of over twenty years ago to Yue Nan Sang. Yue Nan Sang's face had turned pale. Qin Jiujiu watched her expression, fearing she might jump off the city wall.
She saw the hatred in Yue Nan Sang's brows slowly recede, replaced entirely by sorrow. Qin Jiujiu cautiously asked, "It's dangerous up here, why don't you come down first?"
Yue Nan Sang neither agreed nor refused. Just then, Chu Ming appeared with his men. Yue Nan Sang's expression suddenly changed, and a black mist rushed towards them.
Yue Nan Sang was struck by the black mist and fell. Qin Jiujiu, with quick reflexes, grabbed her.
Sweat beaded on her forehead, but her back felt cold. Yue Nan Sang looked up at Qin Jiujiu's struggling figure and suddenly smiled, a smile both beautiful and gentle.
"Let go... If you let go, all this will end!"
Yue Nan Sang's smile gradually froze. The shadow of another person appeared in her eyes; it was Chu Ming.
"Since you two are such good sisters, then all of you can die!"
Chu Ming appeared behind Qin Jiujiu. After hearing Yue Nan Sang's words, Qin Jiujiu shook her head. She struggled desperately, trying to pull Yue Nan Sang up.
Chu Ming was somewhat frenzied at this moment. Standing behind Qin Jiujiu, he watched her struggle, finding it increasingly unbearable. With a flash of his eyes, he drew a sword from the scar-faced man and was about to stab Qin Jiujiu.
Before the sword could pierce Qin Jiujiu's chest, Yue Nan Sang broke free from Qin Jiujiu's grasp. Her body, like a kite with a broken string, plummeted straight down.
Gradually, her figure became smaller and smaller until she fell into a pool of blood.
"System!"
Qin Jiujiu thought she had failed her mission, completely disregarding the danger behind her. If this illusion couldn't be broken, her mission would fail!
The sound of a sword piercing flesh and skin was heard. Qin Jiujiu instinctively looked at her chest, but she had no wounds. She turned her head and saw a sword lodged in Chu Ming's chest. He stared at her with wide eyes, full of terror, clearly having not expected to be stabbed from behind.
Blood began to pour from his mouth, his lips trembling as if he wanted to say something, but appeared unable to speak due to the pain. Qin Jiujiu looked behind him; Xie Jing was clutching his wound, yet holding the sword that was in Chu Ming's chest.
Chu Ming slowly turned around and looked at Yue Bei Yang, his eyes clearly filled with disbelief. His entire body trembled, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
Qin Jiujiu met Yue Bei Yang's gaze. His eyes were bloodshot, filled with sorrow, yet his expression remained impassive. Blood stained his face, making him look incredibly demonic.
"Xie Jing..."
Chu Ming finally said nothing. The wound was deep, and he quickly collapsed to the ground.
The scar-faced man watched all this without moving. Chu Ming was just a pawn; his death was insignificant and would even eliminate many troubles. However, he couldn't fail to bring the Princess of Anzhou, whom the Emperor wanted.
Now that the other had died, only this one remained. Even if she wasn't the real princess, she had to be taken!
"Leave only her alive!"
The scar-faced man commanded his subordinates. With a ferocious look, he pointed at Qin Jiujiu, signaling that only Qin Jiujiu should be left alive.
The soldiers received the order and quickly reacted, drawing their swords and heading towards Yue Bei Yang.
However, Yue Bei Yang's martial arts skills were far superior to theirs. In just a few rounds, everyone present met their demise at his hands. Qin Jiujiu looked at his wounds; blood flowed from between his fingers.
His gaze fell on Qin Jiujiu, but his body seemed to be losing strength. His cold eyes, filled with murderous intent, looked at the scar-faced man. The man shivered, his eyes flickering with evasiveness.
Then, he seized an opportunity and fled.
As the man left, Yue Bei Yang knelt on the ground. Seeing this, Qin Jiujiu quickly stepped forward to help him up. She crouched before him, her face full of anxiety.
Yue Bei Yang's head drooped, but he heard Qin Jiujiu's voice beside him, "Xie Jing!"
Who was this Xie Jing she spoke of? Why did she always call him by that name?
He had sent Wu Han to investigate for a long time, but had found no trace of this name!
"You... who are you exactly?"
He forced himself to look at her.
Blood splattered onto Qin Jiujiu's hair, lingering without melting.
"My name is Qin Jiujiu, and you are Xie Jing! I told you before, but you didn't believe me."
Qin Jiujiu's gaze was sincere. The doubt in Yue Bei Yang's eyes gradually subsided. He inexplicably asked, "What is our relationship?"
Qin Jiujiu seemed taken aback. What was their relationship? They had done the most intimate things in this world, yet they were not lovers, nor were they husband and wife.
"I remember... I liked you a lot..."
He spoke with great effort, but a smile played on his lips. He continued, "If, as you say, we can get out of this illusion, I will go to Shangyang Town and propose to your father, how about that?"
A flicker of light appeared in his usually deep eyes, now as bright as stars. Qin Jiujiu was momentarily stunned and remained silent for a long time.
He didn't receive her answer, so he continued, "We've already consummated our marriage... You're not going to go back on your word, are you... cough cough..."
His face was pale, and the blood on it looked starkly red, making his complexion appear even more sallow.
Qin Jiujiu's heart fluttered at his words. "It's just that this illusion might never be broken..."
Yue Nan Sang was dead. The system had not appeared either. Qin Jiujiu's eyes welled up with tears, and she repeated to Xie Jing, "I can never go back..."
She felt extremely wronged at this moment. Xie Jing couldn't fully understand her words, but seeing her so heartbroken, he couldn't help but reach out and embrace her tightly.
The blood on his hands stained Qin Jiujiu's face and hair, but she didn't care. She sobbed softly on Xie Jing's shoulder.
She released all the pent-up emotions in her heart through tears. Xie Jing's hand gently patted her back. At first, his movements were somewhat stiff, but gradually, they became gentle.
"Host! I just reported this situation to my superiors. Your mission has not failed. Yue Nan Sang's resentment has dissipated. This illusion was woven from Yue Nan Sang's resentment. Now that her resentment towards Su Mu has vanished, this illusion naturally needs to break, but..."
Qin Jiujiu's sobbing abruptly stopped, but the system suddenly paused. Qin Jiujiu impatiently asked, "But what? Speak quickly! You're killing me with suspense!"
Only then did the system continue, "But in the original plot, Xing Ru was supposed to die. Therefore, the key to breaking this illusion in the end lies with you, the host..."
Didn't this mean she had to die?
Qin Jiujiu pouted. Dying wasn't out of the question, but she was afraid of pain.
"Um... what kind of death doesn't hurt?"
System: "..."