Chapter 2: The smoke of wolves rises, so the country is far away (Part 2)

Underneath the city wall, pairs of eyes were fixed on her feet, ready to push her off the high wall to her death. The tension was palpable, and even the distant sounds of battle seemed to fade away.

The wind howled, and a suffocating sense of dread hung heavy in the air.

She looked down at the people below, and suddenly, she smiled.

Her smile was enchanting, and her eyes swept over the faces of those who had plotted against her: "You wanted the crown prince, didn't you? You wanted to surrender the city, didn't you? You have already taken the life of my father, my sisters. You have offered enough sacrifices to that man, and now you want the heads of my brother and me?"

Suddenly, her eyes filled with intense hatred, and she spoke slowly and deliberately: "Then step over our bodies!"

"No!" Several generals were shocked and pale.

Two lifeless bodies were nothing compared to the living prince and princess. Moreover, what that man wanted was the woman standing before them, not the corpses.

He said, alive.

Not dead, not maimed, but alive.

No one dared to defy his will, no one in the world dared.

But now, no one had the courage to go up to the high platform and pull the siblings down. They were afraid, but they didn't know what they were afraid of.

Clearly, they were just two powerless women and a child. Yet, they were truly afraid.

As Qingyuan's voice fell, she took a step back, ready to jump decisively.

Suddenly, a roar echoed: "Princess! I'm here to save you!"

Qingyuan trembled and looked in the direction of the voice. A figure in a blood-stained robe was charging up the city wall, cutting down several soldiers with his sword. In the midst of the bloodshed, a man in a white robe, stained with blood, rushed towards her.

Amidst the cries of agony, he landed on the city wall and urgently called out to her, "Qingyuan, I'm here!"

Qingyuan couldn't believe her eyes and her cold expression was suddenly filled with joy: "Ming, you're not dead!"

"I'm not dead! If I die, I want to die with you!" The man in the white robe fiercely swung his long sword, cutting down the soldiers in his way as he rushed towards her.

As Qingyuan stepped back, the man in the white robe crossed the crowd and embraced her, while his other hand's sword plunged deep into the chest of the boy in her arms.

"Qingyuan, I'm sorry," his blood-stained handsome face looked so ferocious.

He was the most evil demon she had ever seen.

Qingyuan was stunned, and everything seemed to slow down. She stared blankly as the man before her resolutely pierced her younger brother's heart. The boy in her arms turned pale.

"Ugh..." The boy groaned softly.

In the next moment, blood splattered, and she watched helplessly as her younger brother was lifted by the sword and fell heavily off the city wall.

"Qier..." she seemed to say something, but she couldn't think anymore.

There was a tender laughter that echoed like silver bells.

...

"Sister, is Qier smart?"

"Sister, tonight I want to sleep with you."

"Sister, Qier wants to be with you forever..."

"Sister..."

...

"No..." Qingyuan stared blankly at the man before her, as if she had to muster all her strength to utter that word.

A hint of apology flashed in the man's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by coldness. He leaned in close to her ear and coldly smiled, "He said, he only wants you, alive."

After speaking, he held her and leaped off the high city tower, shouting to the crowd, "Princess Qingyuan has surrendered! Open the city gates and welcome King Lie!"

The world was filled with blood, and all the voices merged in her mind, eventually becoming a deafening roar. Qingyuan watched silently as the demons danced, and the world collapsed.

There was still warmth in her arms, and she could even faintly feel her brother's tears. But all she held was his blood, bright red, her brother's blood.

She looked up in a daze, and on the city wall hung familiar, grotesque heads.

Her homeland was gone, and her last relative was gone.

The prophecy from ten years ago had come true today.

...

She sat on the broken city wall, like a white butterfly with its wings cut off. What had stripped her of her pride and left only a shell of her former self?

The man in the white robe laughed at her, his eyes filled with fanaticism. "Qingyuan, don't blame me. I want to live, I want to live better. Only fools like Vice General Wu would want to perish with this decaying Tang Kingdom."

"Live? Live better?" She laughed softly, her voice as deep as a ghostly wail from the depths of the earth.

She raised her black and white eyes and looked at the handsome man before her.

Xie Yuming, the legitimate son of the Prime Minister Xie, the most talented figure in the Tang Kingdom, excelling in both literary and martial arts. He could read at the age of three, compose poetry at five, and was charming enough to win the hearts of countless young ladies. She had fallen for him at first sight, and vowed to marry no one but him.

A hint of mockery flashed in her eyes, not for him, but for herself.

When had she been blinded? How could the man she had loved for years turn out to be like this?

Why had she fallen for such a hypocritical beast? Why had she believed that a man born in the luxurious and gentle Xiangguo Village would have even the slightest loyalty to this crumbling kingdom?

Xie Yuming wiped his blood-stained sword and sheathed it with a graceful flourish.

Only she knew that the blood on it was that of her loved ones.

Her beloved brother's blood.

Facing her gaze, Xie Yuming's expression turned ferocious. "Qingyuan, I'm sorry. It's because you are so beautiful. He wants you, alive."

Qingyuan suddenly smiled slightly, her red lips parting, "So that's it. No wonder you went to such lengths to stage this act. I actually believed you. Killing those surrendering generals without hesitation, you are truly ruthless, Ming gege."

Xie Yuming laughed, "Qingyuan, it's not that I am ruthless. Don't you know? It's always good to have one less person to share the rewards."

Qingyuan chuckled softly.

She asked in a soft voice, "Including me?"

"Qingyuan, you are too beautiful. If it weren't for that person wanting you, I really wouldn't bear to give you away." Flames burned in Xie Yuming's eyes, with the word "greed" written plainly on them.

Qingyuan's red lips curled up, realizing she had been blind. She had mistaken a wolf for a loyal dog, and hidden a viper in her embrace.

Today, at this moment, there are only two words: deserved it.

She looked at the smug Xie Yuming in front of her, and the blood in her heart silently flowed, converging into a black river.

Some hatred cannot be washed away, engraved in the heart and soul for eternity. Fortunately, it's not too late. Before she dies, she can finally see through and understand.

She sighed softly, "Ming gege, if I die, perhaps your reward will be gone. Or maybe that person will blame you and kill you with a sword!"

Xie Yuming was stunned, and by the time he reacted, a white figure had passed by him, as graceful as a celestial maiden from the heavens.