Everything had happened unexpectedly, Curved Jade could only helplessly watch as Su Su pushed the dagger into Xiao Lin’s chest.
The dagger pierced through his heart and Xiao Lin fell to his knees with a loud thud.
He was still carrying Su Su on his back. An ignorant little demon who came over was killed by the swing of his arm.
Curved Jade’s heart quivered and he had a terrifying guess.
“Little Master, wake up! Wake up! Don’t hurt Xiao Lin!”
However, Su Su couldn’t hear it. There was no light in her eyes, they were as lifeless as a pool of stagnant water.
Blood soaked Su Su’s palm.
She blinked her eyes, and for a moment, her head ached like it was about to crack. Curved Jade’s scared and anxious voice rang in her ears, but in Su Su’s eyes, there was nothing but darkness.
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Rd y vaydnl, pbl pllxle vs byhl jkzzle y elxsd vbyv bye vakle vs byax bla, yde vbl pxlzz sq czsse kdpvydvzu bkv bla bspl.
Fbl qlzz sqq y rlapsd’p cynj.
Mbl qst kd bla blye pweeldzu ekprlaple yde bla czsnjle hkpksd nswze qkdyzzu pll. Mblal oyp y vlaakczl pxlzz sq czsse kd vbl yka, cwv kv oypd’v qasx y elxsd, kv oyp……
Fw Fw vwadle bla blye yde pyo vbl xyd okvb czsse prkzzkdt qasx vbl nsadla sq bkp xswvb.
Mbl czsse sd bla qkdtlavkrp oyp bsv, zkjl kv oyp tskdt vs cwad bla.
R……jkzzle Dkys Nkd……
G pbweelakdt qlya kdhyele Fw Fw’p blyav. Tla obszl cseu oyp nsze yp pbl qkdyzzu casjl qall qasx vbl qsanl vbyv vakle vs nsdvasz bla yde tsv wr qasx vbl taswde.
Ebyv kd vbl osaze byhl R esdl?
Su Su trembled and picked up Xiao Lin, “I’m sorry, Your Highness, I…… I……”
Big drops of tears fell from her eyes and Curved Jade spoke with difficulty, “Little Master, you’ve been hit by a puppet spell.”
It wasn’t the puppet spell from the pool that day, but a real black magic puppet spell.
Curved Jade finally figured out why it and Su Su woke up a month later. Due to being submerged in the weak water it couldn’t see or hear, it didn’t know what Tantai Jin had done to Su Su.
This past month, through the weak water, that person managed to control Su Su and put a puppet spell on her to let her kill Xiao Lin.
No one could see that Su Su was being controlled, not even herself.
The moment Xiao Lin’s heart was pierced through by the dagger, the puppet spell on Su Su finally broke, but it was already too late.
The man on the ground was pale, his white clothes soaked in blood.
It was the first time that Curved Jade saw Su Su so helpless. She’d never cried before ever since she came to this world, but at this moment, she was crying like a helpless child.
A hand struggled to lift up and touched her tears.
Su Su choked with sobs and looked down, seeing a pair of gentle yet tired eyes, “I know…… you didn’t do it on purpose.”
“Your Highness……”
Xiao Lin coughed out a mouthful of blood.
By now, the sky had already darkened. Almost all of the demons in the forest had been killed by his sword, and the rest had long escaped.
The moon came out and shone upon Xiao Lin and Su Su. Not far away, the mountain spring babbled, moonlight reflected on the stream, and the stretch of land was bathed in light.
Xiao Lin still had his final breath. He palely leaned against a tree and wiped the tears off Su Su’s face one by one.
He’d been smart since childhood, so in a split-second, he had guessed what had happened.
Su Su had been controlled.
Earlier, she had said that she didn’t know why Tantai Jin let her come back, and told them to be more vigilant.
But he…… didn’t guard against her.
He only wanted to bring her out of the forest, but now, it seemed like he couldn’t do that anymore.
The young girl’s face was soft, but icy cold.
Her teeth were chattering as fear and guilt overwhelmed her like a mountain. He suddenly remembered the little Sang Jiu that was crying on Shao Ju’s back.
At that time, she asked him if she was going to turn into a demon. She was so scared that she would turn bad, so how did Shao Ju answer her?
No, you’re an immortal.
Xiao Lin paused for a moment, then suddenly smiled, “D-don’t be afraid, I won’t die for now.”
Su Su raised her teary eyes and looked at him.
Xiao Lin said, “You can save me, I won’t die. There’s a medicine in my lapel, if you feed it to me, I’ll slowly get better.”
Su Su hurriedly took out a bottle from his lapel.
Like what Xiao Lin had said, there was a red pill inside.
Curved Jade looked at the pill in shock, and suddenly understood what Xiao Lin was trying to do. It suddenly felt sad, but it didn’t stop it.
Su Su’s mind was blank, Xiao Lin took the pill and ate it by himself.
After taking the pill, he really seemed to be much better. He calmly looked at her, from her messy hair, to the bright red tip of her nose.
Xiao Lin’s eyes were very gentle, “I’m fine, help me up and let’s leave the forest, okay?”
Su Su flurriedly wiped away her tears, then nodded and helped him up. She had fought all day, and every part of her body ached, she barely had any strength. The moment she helped Xiao Lin up, she almost fell down with him.
Her face was deathly pale as she steadied herself.
The blood on the corner of his mouth didn’t dry up and Xiao Lin softly said, “Yes, go forward, to the path that’s illuminated by the moonlight.”
Su Su didn’t know how long she’d been walking. She was muddled, afraid that the body temperature of the person she was supporting would suddenly disappear.
Fortunately, although Xiao Lin’s body temperature was very low, he didn’t lose his breath.
The closer he got to where Martial Uncle Ji was stationed, the more stable his vital signs became.
Until later, he didn’t even need to lean on Su Su to stand up straight and continue walking.
For a moment, Su Su was hopeful that the pill he’d taken would really work, that it would restore his fatal wound and make him well again.
He suddenly stopped.
Under the moonlight, the man looked like a banished immortal. Although his white clothes were stained with blood, it didn’t lessen his elegance at all.
“What’s wrong?” Su Su asked.
Xiao Lin looked at her, pursed his lips and said, “You go back first, I’ll go back later. You mustn’t let anyone know that you were being controlled. Remember, I was injured by a demon. That snake demon was too powerful, I was momentarily no match for it and suffered some light injuries.”
“No, i-it was me……”
Xiao Lin stared at her quietly, and Su Su’s throat seemed to be blocked, unable to utter a single word.
Her eyes turned bright red as she suddenly understood what was going on.
Xiao Lin will die, he lied to me! There’s no medicine that can bring people back to life1起死回生 (qǐsǐ-huíshēng) – to rise from the dead (idiom); fig. an unexpected recovery; (of a doctor’s skill) bring the dying back to life; snatch a patient from the jaws of death. The green World Toppling Flower was eaten by Sang Jiu long ago. All the gods have fallen, no one can save him.
He took a strong medicine to prolong his life, but it was only for a short period of time.
Xiao Lin calmly said, “Since ancient times, might makes right2成王败寇 (chéngwángbàikòu) – lit. called a king if successful, called a bandit if defeated (idiom), and there can never be too much deception in war3兵不厌诈 (bīngbùyànzhà) – an idiom; All’s fair in war; in war nothing is too deceitful. For the Zhou Kingdom, this is indeed the easiest way. Third Miss Ye, it has nothing to do with you at all.”
“Consider it as fulfilling my final wish,” he said in a low voice, “A general should die on the battlefield.”
He looked at her, and Su Su silently nodded.
He suddenly smiled, and his smile had a tiny hint of satisfaction, “Then don’t look back, move forward.”
Su Su closed her eyes and turned around to walk to the other side. Xiao Lin watched her back and waited until she couldn’t see him anymore, his eyes containing a tinge of tenderness.
Right now, he still knew who he was.
He wanted to be Shao Ju, but he was Xiao Lin, so he said, “Third Miss Ye, I humbly request of you, if one day, if Bing Shang has a conflict with you, please spare her life, no matter what.”
The young girl did as she was told. At his words, she only paused for a moment and didn’t turn her head.
“Alright,” she said.
Xiao Lin didn’t speak anymore until she walked out of his sight, step by step, then he softly said, “I’m sorry.”
There were actually so many things that he wanted to say, such as this dynasty is in turmoil, and Tantai Jin is even willing to use you, so what will you do from now on?
Xiao Lin took out the dagger in his chest, and there wasn’t a drop of blood on it. His face was icy-cold and pale like the face of a corpse.
He was no longer breathing.
*****
It had been a chaotic night for Su Su.
She hugged her knees and Curved Jade was silent along with her. It knew that to the people of Great Xia, Xiao Lin was originally a god-like figure. If the people knew that Su Su had killed him, no matter what the reason, the whole Ye family would be executed4满门抄斩 (mǎnménchāozhǎn) – to execute the whole family and confiscate their property..
No one would believe that Su Su had been hit by a puppet spell. Such an unheard of thing was impossible to defend.
Su Su would be spurned by the whole world, and her life would surely be difficult. If there was still a place to take her in, it would be by Tantai Jin’s side.
But Curved Jade knew that Su Su had never hated anyone like this before.
Her soft heart from the past was also pierced by that dagger tonight. Su Su held the Soul Extinguishing Tear and didn’t speak.
The young girl’s pale face looked extremely pained in the dim light of night.
She looked at her own palm and hoarsely said, “Curved Jade, I killed Xiao Lin.”
Curved Jade said, “Little Master, it’s not your fault. You did it involuntarily5身不由己 (shēnbùyóujǐ) – without the freedom to act independently (idiom); not of one’s own volition; in spite of oneself.”
“No, it’s my fault,” Su Su said, “It’s my fault for being arrogant, thinking that going to Tantai Jin’s side would change the situation, but it became what it is today.”
Curved Jade was also so sad that it wanted to cry. It knew better than anyone else that for Su Su, being controlled by the puppet spell to kill Xiao Lin was even worse than letting herself die.
It cursed Tantai Jin innumerable times in its heart, but it could only emit a warm yellow glow to warm Su Su a little.
The young girl’s hoarse voice flowed into the night, Curved Jade heard her whisper, “I hate him.”
*****
The moment the red thread disappeared from Tantai Jin’s little finger, the old Daoist happily said, “Your Majesty! It worked, Xiao Lin is dead!”
Tantai Jin didn’t speak. The moment the puppet spell disappeared, it could only mean one thing—— The young girl who had been hit by the puppet spell had completed her mission.
The young man’s cold and ruthless expression seemed especially calm in the dim light of the night.
He leaned against the seat of the carriage engraved with a nine-headed bird and decisively ordered, “Attack Cangzhou!”
The army that was ready to attack began in full force.
Yang Ji stroked his beard, knowing that Cangzhou could no longer be defended.
So what if Ye Xiao comes? Xiao Lin is dead, Great Xia’s fighting spirit will be gone from now on.
In terms of city defense and military force, no one in the world could match Xiao Lin.
Not to mention that His Majesty still had the tiger demon and corpse demons.
Torches illuminated the night sky, and the dark-robed emperor narrowed his eyes as he looked out at Cangzhou’s city wall.
Countless soldiers climbed up the siege ladders6 Something like this:
, blood and wailing resounding in the darkness of the night. Some time later, someone came to report——
“Report—— Your Majesty, Xiao Lin has returned!”
As soon as his words came out, Tantai Jin was stunned and raised his eyes.
Sure enough, he saw a figure in white armor standing on the top of the city wall.
Xiao Lin’s face was pale, like a lifeless piece of white paper. His eyes were lifeless, but his body was like a huge mountain, standing motionless on the city wall.
He stiffly raised his hand and the soldiers neatly released their arrows.
The old Daoist in the Soul Eating Flag coldly snorted, “Eating the Jade Blood Pill condensed by the corpse demon is nothing but an arrow at the end of its flight7强弩之末 (qiángnǔzhīmò) – an idiom; fig. spent force, he’s about to transform into a corpse demon, Your Majesty need not worry.”
Yang Ji glanced back and saw that His Majesty’s originally relaxed expression had suddenly turned perplexed.
Tantai Jin abruptly picked up the Soul Eating Flag and the young man asked the old Daoist in a panic, “Didn’t you tell me that she would come back!”
The old Daoist froze for a long time before he understood what Tantai Jin meant——
In their plan, once the people of the Great Xia Empire knew that it was Ye Xi Wu who’d killed Xiao Lin, then she’d be spurned by the entire world. She would have nowhere to go but to stay by His Majesty’s side.
However, in the end, Xiao Lin actually chose to protect Su Su. He ate the Jade Blood Pill, helped her to conceal the truth and block the world’s scorn.
Xiao Lin held on to his last breath, stepping inch by inch with heart devouring pain, he came to the battlefield and commanded the soldiers to fight, even if it was doomed——
The young girl he had shielded behind him remained noble and benevolent8光风霁月 (guāngfēng-jìyuè) – lit. light breeze and clear moon (idiom); period of peace and prosperity;, untainted by even a speck of dust.
She was never coming back.
Edited by: Gaze
Translator’s Note: (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`)
Oh my heart! Xiao Lin 😭😭😭😭 poor Su Su! Even though Xiao Lin is setting this up so it looks like he died in battle, Su Su will have the truth heavy on her heart. How are these two even going to become a couple? That’s what the BE ending is huh? They don’t get together! 😭😭😭
More tragedy to come……
(TT-TT)
Absolutely BAD MOVE™
The move was so bad that I needed to make an account and say it is a bad move.
I can feel the angsttttt, ahhhhhhhhh!
yeah TT more bad moves to come…… and wow u made an account xD
I had to vent here or I’ll blow😂
😂😂😂
The green world toppling flower was eaten by sang jiu? And not susu? Forgive me i have a very bad memoryTT
There are three colours, Sang Jiu used the green one and Su Su ate the purple one. Purple World Toppling Flower is the last world toppling flower in the world. The other one was destroyed during the great war between gods and devils
Thank you
Oh my god! I didn’t expect this…i used to kind of support tantai jin because he was bullied by that other kingdom’s people all his life..but xiao lin..ah…such a perfect male lead …i can’t accept his death…even though he might somehow find a way to become an immortal in the future…but still it hurts…also i wonder if ye xiao made that red pill from corpse demon’s blood as an experiment
Uhhh… I cried for Sang Jiu and now I cried for Susu…
You’re gonna cry more for her later on TT
This makes me so sad and so angry. Tantai Jin really fighting for the top evil ML list. How do you get redeemed from evil behaviour like this?!. So angry and just want to cry for Susu.
And so begins… the heavy angst ahead. Oh man, Tantai Jin and Susu’s love story is an entangled web of hate, lies, deceit and a whole lot of angst. I’m gonna be crying lots from here on out. ToT
Oh lord… I must remember to only read this when I come home! I must not cry in school!
Reading this novel now after having watched the entire series. The series is good but not as good as the novel. TTJ is so evil here, the hate YXW feels for him is warranted. I love the dynamics between the two leads. I can’t even imagine how the two might fall in love!
This was so sad! ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ I feel so sorry for Xiao Lin. He was a good man. He didn’t deserve this at all. Tantai Jin is too evil, tbh. I don’t like him 🙁
You know what? Just by the merit he’s done in this chapter, XL (GyJW) has every right to be trusted, to be loved; that he’s worthy to be saved when he’s demonized by all the people who loved him.
Meanwhile, TTJ? Sure, he’s sick and full of resentment. But, it’s still a fact that he’s pulling big aggro anywhere all the time. So, you can’t expect people to treat him as good as they treat XL.
I am extremely disappointed to ttj. This ch made me cri a lot
Now I feel like I’m regretting whatever the decision that urged me to Read this. This is going to be a BE right?? As what stated in the title?! 😭😭😭
XL’s death is probably one of the most tragic things I have read! It destroyed me that with his last breath, he protected SS! The way it was written/translated, it was so absolutely heart wrenching and beautiful and tragic…. I tried to explain this scene to people who aren’t even in this universe… they didn’t understand!!! 😭😭😭