The General Who Only Knows How to Spoil His Beloved and Write Stories 58

Chapter 58: The Dust Has Settled

The Sheng Luo prisoners of war were all locked up in the dungeon. At the far end, in a space that was more like a room than a prison cell, Mo Yan was lying lazily on a wooden bed.

Looking at the person standing outside the cell, he said coolly, “Has the King of Shahan come here to show off his power or to mock me?”

Wulanbaer didn’t beat around the bush and asked directly, “Did you poison the Sheng Luo army and Xuan Su?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I love him.”

The conversation flowed smoothly, seemingly without a trace of emotion. In reality, it was just a childish attempt to show their own nonchalance and disregard for the other.

“You love him like this?” Wulanbaer sneered. “By making him hate you?”

There was a pause in the cell. Just when Wulanbaer thought he wouldn’t answer, Mo Yan spoke.

“It’s impossible for him to be with me, and I can’t stay by his side any longer. The rest of my life without him is no different from being dead. Rather than living like a walking corpse, suffering for a lifetime, and dying old in bed, it’s better to die for him. At least I’ve done something for him, I’ve made a contribution. It doesn’t matter if he knows nothing, but at least I will die without regrets.”

“A person’s heart is not made of grass or wood,” Wulanbaer said. “You have been with him for many years. Perhaps he would not be willing to take your life.”

“Even so, I will surely die,” Mo Yan replied with a bitter smile. “You don’t know how much effort I spent to make the King of Sheng Luo trust me, including taking poison. Otherwise, do you think I would have had the chance to poison him? With Xuan Su dead, the antidote is gone. I don’t have much time left.”

Perhaps it was because he knew he didn’t have much time left that, even though his audience was Wulanbaer, he wanted to pour out the beliefs and persistence in his heart.

Wulanbaer stared at him for a long time, then flicked his sleeve and left.

As he turned a corner, as expected, he saw Rong Feijun leaning against the wall, standing silently in a corner, his eyes red.

But he couldn’t face him and just hurried away. Although he had mocked him, deep down, he felt a strange sense of respect for Mo Yan. If it were him, he could never love so greatly, so selflessly. He demanded returns, and even if he had to take them by force, he would achieve his goal. He could never be like Mo Yan… who even did things for his beloved without demanding that he know. Wouldn’t he feel unwilling?

He had won, yet it felt like he had lost. He had lost, yet it seemed he had won.

In the forest outside Xianju City, after having their fill, the two of them were nestled together, fast asleep. Qi Xiao had already cleaned Fu Yunzhi with river water.

He had a dream. In the dream, there was a transparent, spherical object.

“Boop—”

“Boop boop—”

The round creature emerged from the river, rolled over to his side, and rubbed its soft body against the back of his hand.

In a daze, he felt his wristband fall off, and then the jelly-like creature bit down hard on his pulse…

“Hiss!”

He woke up with a start and sat up abruptly.

Fu Yunzhi, who had been resting his head on his arm, was also awakened by his sudden movement.

Qi Xiao looked at his wrist. The band was still tied securely.

Was it really just a dream? But the pain had felt so real… And the little jelly in the dream seemed familiar… It was the unknown creature he had met on the ship when he went to exterminate the pirates! He had even given it some cookies.

He didn’t know why he had suddenly dreamed of it.

He shook his head, dispelling the strange feeling, and reached out to touch Fu Yunzhi’s forehead to check for a fever.

Fu Yunzhi suddenly slapped his hand away and got up with a blank expression, leaving.

…Is he angry?

Qi Xiao awkwardly followed behind him, softening his tone. “Wifey?”

No answer.

“Yunzhi?”

Still no answer.

The two of them walked back to the military camp in silence. Jiang Luori, who was on patrol, saw them and noticed Fu Yunzhi walking in front, his steps unsteady, his face full of anger, while his own Great General followed behind, looking pitiful, like a little wife.

…He couldn’t help but light a candle for the general. Perhaps he would have to borrow a subordinate’s bed again tonight.

So, Jiang Luori, who had originally had something to report, instantly stopped in his tracks, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.

“…” Qi Xiao said speechlessly, “Jiang Luori, what do you take me for? If you have something to say, say it!”

“A major event happened last night,” Jiang Luori said, “but it’s already been resolved.”

“Hmm?”

“Last night, the four corners of our camp were attacked by the Junce army. The King of Junce took advantage of the chaos to sneak into the Langxuan army and release Zhuo Fang.”

Qi Xiao and Fu Yunzhi were both startled. Zhuo Fang was released? Wouldn’t Langxuan have suffered heavy casualties?

As if knowing what they were thinking, Jiang Luori quickly explained, “But after Zhuo Fang was released, he didn’t attack the Langxuan people. Instead, he killed the King of Junce, and in a very cruel way.”

Fu Yunzhi was a little surprised. “So Zhuo Fang has been locked up again?”

Jiang Luori shook his head.

“After killing the King of Junce, Zhuo Fang went straight to Cult Leader Mu’s tent. We tried to stop him, but we were all injured by him. Cult Leader Mu seemed to have discovered something and told us to stop attacking. Later, as he had thought, Zhuo Fang had no ill intentions. He just wanted to stand guard by Young Master Xiao’s bed. Since last night, he has been standing there motionless.”

“Are you sure he won’t hurt anyone?” Qi Xiao asked again.

“He won’t. And Alliance Chief Shen and Cult Leader Mu have been keeping an eye on him.”

Qi Xiao nodded and turned to ask, “Yunzhi, shall we go to Cult Leader Mu’s place and see?”

Fu Yunzhi ignored him completely and left on his own.

Qi Xiao: “…”

“Pfft…” Jiang Luori couldn’t help but laugh.

Qi Xiao: “…”

When the two of them arrived at Mu Linglong’s tent, they saw Gu Sanqiu crying outside, and Mu Linglong was standing behind her, his expression also not very good.

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine. We all did our best,” Gu Sanqiu said, wiping her tears. “I’ll go and calm down first.”

After she left, Qi Xiao asked, “The wolf… it failed?”

Mu Linglong nodded and, after taking a few deep breaths, walked into the tent and said to Xiao Zijun, “Young Master Xiao, you saw it. Do you still want General Zhuo to try?”

Xiao Zijun looked at Zhuo Fang, who was standing silently by his bed like a mountain, and asked softly, “The chance of success… is there not even a ten percent chance?”

“I was well-prepared,” Mu Linglong said. “The reason the wolf failed was because it was my first time cutting open a living creature’s body and working from the inside. Many things were different from what the books said and what I had predicted. But after this time, I have a better idea and more experience. Maybe next time I do a blood exchange, I will be more skilled, or maybe not. I can’t give you any guarantees. I can only say…”

“It’s fine,” Xiao Zijun said. “I understand.”

“Let me think about it again, okay?”

Mu Linglong nodded.

After leaving the tent, Qi Xiao thought for a moment and decided to go find Gu Sanqiu.

She had risked her life to block Zhuo Fang’s attack for him on the battlefield that day and had even been injured because of it. He still hadn’t found a chance to thank her. Now that she had lost her beloved pet and had no acquaintances here, there was probably no one to comfort her.

He waited in front of her tent for a long time before the flap was finally pulled open.

He sat down at the table and, seeing her red and swollen eyes, he deliberated for a moment before saying, “Miss Gu, people cannot be resurrected, and neither can animals. Please accept my condolences.”

“At least, it had a good life.”

“Brother Qi,” she asked, “can I hug you?”

“Ah… this…”

“As a friend, let me hug you for a while.”

She walked up to him and, bending down, threw herself into his embrace.

His embrace was warm and strong, his broad chest very reassuring. But this embrace did not belong to her. She gave a bitter smile.

“Thank you for coming.”

“Brother Qi, goodbye.”

“It is I who should thank you,” the flustered general said.

“I hope we can meet again in the Jianghu and have another drink, with your wife,” she smiled.

“Alright.”

After that, Gu Sanqiu properly buried her wolf, then packed her things and left.

Qi Xiao also led his troops and set off for the capital. Wherever they passed, the people of Langxuan came out to welcome them, offering blessings and local delicacies to the great general and the soldiers who had brought them peace.

Fu Yunzhi finally surrendered to Qi Xiao’s endless offerings of food, though he was still unwilling to let him have a go in the carriage.

Qi Xiao rode on his horse, looking at the thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, thinking, It’s finally over. The dust has settled.