Hidden Shadow – CH 213

Chapter Two-Hundred-Thirteen: Cheng Yan

Gu Jinghong smiled faintly, but the smile was almost invisible on his aged face. “Physician Mo said he could save my life.”

Chu Dingjiang pondered for a moment. “I will find a way to send you back.”

“No need.” Gu Jinghong pulled out a dagger from somewhere. “You are currently hovering at the second level of the Transcendent Realm. My blood can help you break through quickly. This is something they desperately want. I will give it to you.”

“You gave me the Dragon Martial Guards and your heart’s blood; is there something you want?” Chu Dingjiang asked.

Gu Jinghong said, “If you have the chance, wipe out the Yelu royal family for me.”

Chu Dingjiang remained silent. Gu Jinghong was not usually a talkative person, but now he spoke so clearly; it seemed he already had the will to die.

“From the first moment I saw you, I knew you harbored great ambitions.” Seeing his hesitation, Gu Jinghong, using his mind-reading ability, discerned the subtle shift in Chu Dingjiang’s mind. His words paused, his chapped lips parted slightly, and for the first time, despair appeared on his face. “You…”

“You noticed,” Chu Dingjiang said slowly. “I’ve already considered retiring, but I am still considering it.”

“Why?” Gu Jinghong murmured. “Why?”

“For that dark woman in my heart.” Chu Dingjiang smiled. “Life is short. I am wondering whether to pursue my ambitions or retire early.”

He knew An Jiu had joined the Konghe Army for Mei Yanran. Once she found Mei Yanran, she would quickly find a way to leave the army, possibly even finding a place to herd sheep and marry. Chu Dingjiang had used countless schemes, but he did not want to use them to bind a woman to his side.

He thought that after An Jiu found Mei Yanran, he would either let her go gracefully or travel with her.

“If you have hatred, then strive to live and fulfill it yourself.” Chu Dingjiang took the dagger from his hand. “I enjoy getting something for nothing, but I would not take advantage of a dying man.”

Gu Jinghong lowered his eyes. “The blood, take it.”

Chu Dingjiang paused.

Gu Jinghong was already heartbroken. “I am just a crippled body. The living can only watch helplessly as the Yelu royal family reigns supreme; it is torture for my heart. At least I’ve tried… You are the first person in my life to reach out and save me. I will repay your kindness in the next life…” Born to help others, struggling to survive. Choosing death for liberation. This was Gu Jinghong’s life.

Chu Dingjiang saw a trickle of blood spill from his lips, flowing down his cheek to his ear. The light in his phoenix eyes flickered for a moment, then quickly dissipated. An assassin had many ways to kill and many ways to commit suicide.

The heart’s blood must be taken while the man was alive. If it were taken at the moment of death, it would be useless. Chu Dingjiang gripped the dagger in his hand, then finally released it.

His skill had been honed through the teachings of a senior, allowing him to rapidly break through to the next level. Lacking a solid foundation, he feared that if he were to greedily accelerate his power, he might suffer a qi deviation.

Chu Dingjiang was not immune to despicable and ruthless acts, but he always achieved his goals through his own abilities. He felt that taking Gu Jinghong’s heart’s blood was not the act of a true man.

He gently stroked Gu Jinghong’s open eyes. “May you rest in peace.”

Chu Dingjiang had witnessed too much tragic death, but Gu Jinghong’s last words still touched him deeply.

In truth, with Gu Jinghong’s abilities, he could easily have lived and caused trouble for the Yelu royal family from time to time. However, he was weary of this life, weary of this monotonous existence.

Chu Dingjiang removed his outer robe to gather the body and found a quiet place to bury it.

Standing before the bare grave, watching the snow slowly bury it, he thought, “May you find warmth in the world in your next life.” A fleeting glance, and he was gone.

Chu Dingjiang vanished in a flash, leaving only a solitary grave in the vast snowfield, surrounded by endless snow, deserted and desolate, as if from another world.

At that time, Gu Jinghong’s life had also held a touch of something different: the woman who lay in a tree herding sheep and reading; the woman who ruthlessly ripped off his mask; the woman who was sometimes gentle, sometimes strong; the woman who scolded him yet drank with him until dawn…

Bianjing under the moonlight.

Inside, the lamp flickered dimly. An Jiu was soaking in a steaming tub of medicine, her brow furrowed.

Waves of pain washed over her, numbing her body and causing a moment of hazy consciousness. She seemed to see sparse sunlight, lying in a tree, reading, with flocks of white sheep grazing below.

Suddenly, a figure hung upside down from a branch, his ink-black hair cascading down, smooth and lustrous like black satin. An Jiu saw his fair, jade-like forehead and exquisitely handsome features, the lower half of his face veiled by a black mask. A smile played in his long, narrow phoenix eyes, reflecting her image clearly.

She brushed off the man’s mask and leaped down from the tree. He followed, bending down to pick up the mask that had fallen to the grass, his long hair slipping from his shoulders with the movement.

“We will meet again,” he said, his jade-like figure dissolving into dust with a gust of wind.

An Jiu’s heart skipped a beat, and she abruptly opened her eyes.

Mo Sigui was about to bend down to observe her when he was startled by her sudden movement. “What are you doing!”

“I had a dream,” An Jiu said hoarsely. “I dreamt of a man.”

Mo Sigui stroked his chin, his peach blossom eyes holding a half-smile. “Spring has arrived… that’s normal. But to dream of a man amidst this excruciating pain is truly extraordinary; I can only dream of him.”

“I dreamt that he disappeared; it was probably…” An Jiu lowered her eyes and said in a deep voice, “…dead.”

Mo Sigui was overjoyed. “Was it Chu Dingjiang?”

“No,” An Jiu said.

Mo Sigui was disappointed, but also quite interested. “Besides him, you have other men? Hmm, that’s good news.”

An Jiu glared at him. “We’ve met a few times; you might even know him. It is Gu Jinghong, the Deputy Envoy of the Divine Strategy.”

“What?” Mo Sigui’s face immediately turned serious. He roared, “I went to great lengths to protect him, and he dares to die so easily?!”

“I only had a premonition; I did not say it was certain!” An Jiu said coldly.

Mo Sigui, still fuming, said, “To die without my permission is utterly ungrateful!”

“Give me a break,” An Jiu said weakly. She had a clear feeling that Gu Jinghong was gone, though she did not know where that feeling came from.

Mo Sigui sat down in the chair in front of her, arms crossed. “I deliberately sat here so that the first thing you see when you open your eyes is my handsome face, pleasing to the eye and perhaps easing some of your pain. Such thoughtfulness—no need for gratitude.”

An Jiu stiffened, turning her face away with difficulty. “Get out of my way! My situation is already difficult enough; do not make it worse!”

“Tch!” Mo Sigui stood up, annoyed. “Just like that Gu Jinghong, ungrateful!”

Mo Sigui walked to the window. The clear sound of bells rang out. He opened the window, gazing at the soul bells swaying in the wind, and sighed sadly, “Why did you die?”

Why must you be a shattered piece of jade, fallen to dust, trampled underfoot?

I would be an ugly tile, standing firmly at the highest point, fearless of wind and rain, scorching heat and freezing winter, looking down upon you, becoming mud on the ground.

In short, this was a revenge story, a work by Liu An Hua Ming, book number 3103042.