Chapter 76: Luo Tian's Calamity 6

  Bailing Tower

  The sky was faintly bright, the Bameng Building was pitch black, Nalan Xinnuo sneaked in from the back door and then turned into the horse stable in the backyard. A thick layer of hay was piled up under the manger. Nalan Xinnuo walked over and gently pressed down one corner of the manger.

  The manger moved slowly. Underneath the thatch, a narrow path leading to a hidden entrance was slowly revealed.

  Nalan Xixu held onto Dugu Han's hand and walked towards the secret path. The secret path was pitch black, Nalan Xixu took out a night pearl from her bosom, the weak light illuminated the road ahead. Nalan Xixu led Dugu Han all the way to the end, then put away the night pearl, sat down on the ground.

  "After a long silence, Du Gu Han said coldly: 'Thank you, Princess, for saving me. It's almost dawn. Tomorrow is the enthronement ceremony. You should hurry back now. My people will be here soon.'"

  "When the person you're waiting for arrives, I'll leave." Nalan Xixi replied.

  For a moment, the secret passage was silent again. There was no light in the passage, and it was pitch black. They couldn't see each other, but only heard each other's breathing. Then they wanted to speak but stopped themselves.

  "The princess is sympathizing with him below." After a long time, Dugu Han broke the silence.

  Nalan Xixi shook his head. He immediately realized he couldn't see. "No."

  Dugu Han didn't say another word. Nalan Xinnuo fell silent for a moment before continuing, "In the same forest path, thanks to the Crown Prince's rescue, today is what Xinnuo should do."

  Not sympathy. Just don't want to owe each other. Du Gu's cold smile in his heart. Why must you abandon the last bit of dignity as well?

  You know it well. In her heart, there is only Nan Gong Jin. You know it well. To you, she has only guilt.

  When she asked about the cause of his injury, he originally wanted to say it had nothing to do with her. He didn't want to tell her that this leg was broken because of her. He didn't want her to feel any guilt towards him. But at that moment, he also didn't dare to say it had nothing to do with her in such a righteous tone.

  Even if it's related, she only feels apologetic towards him. If it's unrelated, then there really won't be any more connections between them.

  Hmph. Dugu Han. How did you manage to get yourself into such a sorry state again?

  "You don't owe me anything. That day I willingly saved you, not expecting any return. Today you save me, and we're even." Dugu Han's tone suddenly turned cold, a painful distance that made one's heart ache.

  Even if others saved her thousands of times, she would not have any sense of guilt. As long as the debt is cleared, that's it. But this time, she doesn't know why, she always feels like she owes him. Afraid that even a lifetime won't be enough to repay.

  She cannot imagine a proud and unparalleled genius, matchless and perfect in every way, suddenly unable to walk or move freely, confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. As the future Holy Lord, he is determined to protect his people and reclaim what was lost in that battle.

  But he can no longer ride the battlefield. He can no longer stand in his most perfect posture in front of his people.

  If it were her. If she suddenly became like this. She would definitely not be able to accept it.

  But he was such a light cloud and gentle breeze, with such clarity, as if this kind of imperfection had never brought him any trouble. But under such a light cloud and gentle breeze, what kind of pain, what kind of sacrifice, and what kind of unwillingness...

  She owes him. Forever unable to repay.

  Nalan Xixi got up and prepared to leave.

  "Life is unpredictable. I will take it away."

  Nalan Xixi's body was slightly stagnant. "You know them."

  She also thought that Suō Mìng Wú Cháng was because of Dú Gū Jiǎo's pre-arranged instructions before his death, so he would appear to protect him when Dú Gū Hán appeared.

  Du Gu Han said calmly, "Suō Mìng Wú Cháng was originally my father's personal bodyguard. Later, in that battle, he disappeared while protecting... while protecting them."

  They. What he said they were. Must be Dugu Yan and Dugu Qi. In that battle, Nan Gong Jin did not kill the Holy Lord of Sheng Jin Country, who was also Dugu Han's father, Dugu Cheng.

  When Luo Tian was still a small country that everyone bullied, Dugu City took extra care of him. Nan Gong Jin ultimately didn't do it thoroughly and couldn't eliminate all the kings and marquises in the world. Even if they were sworn enemies who could not live under the same sky, he ultimately didn't wipe them out completely.

  What he said is right. The world is not a place that can be shouldered by people like him. As an emperor, one can have universal love but cannot have personal feelings.

  Having feelings is fatal.

  They are all men of feeling. They cherish heroic affection for each other. He once said that he did not want any one of them to be an emperor, born in the imperial family, so deeply aware of the loneliness of being a monarch.

  I thought of Dugu Qiu. A string of memories surged up in my mind, along with the shocking secret that Zhao Songjin revealed before his death. It was suffocating Nalan Xianuo to the point where she could hardly breathe. These secrets were supposed to be kept for a lifetime.

  Such a heavy secret, knowing it is a kind of torture, can't reveal it, but can't just sit back and do nothing, however, all she wants to do is protect her Jin.

  Let him never be lonely again. Never be penniless again.

  Thinking of Dugu Qiu, Nalan Xinnuo felt a sense of oppression in her heart. "Actually, Dugu Qiu he..."

  "Gong Zhu." Dugu Han interrupted her. "This is a family matter of the Dugu household. There are many things that Gong Zhu does not know about. So, please, Gong Zhu, do not speak further."

  Looking at Du Guhan's cold warning, Nalan Xianyu suddenly felt a deep sense of injustice for Dugu Qiu. "You clearly know they're not dead, why do you want to shut them out? It's not their fault."

  "They're already dead." Dugu said coldly. "They died in that battle."

  Long dead. Dead. What's wrong with being better off? Alive, just hating every moment.

  Nalan Xixi's heart suddenly ached. Perhaps it was because when he mentioned this matter, his speech suddenly accelerated, as if wanting to gloss over it. Many memories were painful for him.

  Maybe it's because of the sudden chill in his tone. He still hates him.

  She has never cared about others' affairs before, but this time is different. One is the person she loves most. One is the person who has risked his life to save her multiple times. One is the person who has been loyal and accompanied her through her darkest years.

  No matter the painful memories that cannot be recalled, or the shocking secrets unknown to others, they all make her unable to remain indifferent to this matter. She must stop this absurd and endless war of hatred. It must be stopped.

  "He didn't kill them then. The War of Unification was inevitable. Even if it wasn't him, someone else would have brought about that war. To unify the Luotian continent."

  "Oh, is that so." Dugu's cold laughter echoed. "So, the princess means to say that Nangong Jin is a great and benevolent ruler who not only unified the continent with his mighty army but also spared the life of his former friend out of nostalgia."

  His tone was full of sarcasm. "He didn't kill them. He just flattened a country with tens of millions of people. Just let me witness my mother and sister die under the soldiers' swords. Just let his former friend almost lose his life at his hands. Just ruined the face of his former friend. Just made the whole world's family broken, wife and children scattered. Just made the place he passed through a river of blood. He did what was right. He just did what he should have done."

  This was the first time Nalan Xixi heard a slight tremble in Dugu Han's voice that he couldn't control. She didn't dare to imagine what kind of scene it was. She had killed countless people in her life, but she had never experienced such a feeling before.

  Watching one's own loved ones being slaughtered yet can only watch. Just a day ago, it was a country that everyone looked up to with fear and reverence, having the strongest military in the world. Overnight, it became a city of blood flowing like rivers, with corpses scattered all over the fields.

  The day before, they were still riding horses and playing together with their brothers. The next day, some of them had died, others were wounded, and there was no chance to meet again.

  In an instant, everything changed. From the pinnacle, she plummeted into the abyss of despair and suffering. Those things, she had never experienced before.

  "You hate him."

  "Yes." Cold as he was.

  "He will give you the world." Nalan Xixi clenched her fist lightly and tried to make her voice sound calm and unruffled.

  "Hmph." Dugu's cold laughter sounded. "Is that so?"

  Nalan Xixi nodded. "Tomorrow, at the ceremony of the imperial seal, he will announce..."

  Dugu Han's voice was extremely cold. "I don't need his charity. Even if he hands over the world to me, I won't accept it. Nor will I forgive him for what he has taken from me. I will take back everything one by one. What he gave me, I will return in full."

  That's the answer.

  She knew it all along. This would be the answer.

  In the end, it's inevitable a duel. Who lives. Who dies.

  She would never let anyone hurt her Jiner, not even a little bit. But she also didn't want to hurt him, not even a little bit.

  "Master." At this time, footsteps echoed from the secret passage.

  He Xian led the Dark Guard team into the secret passage. The Dark Guards held up torches as they entered, and the passage was suddenly brightened.

  "Dugu Cold..." Who saw Dugu Cold first? Some surprise.

  At this time, Huo stared at him and stepped forward respectfully: "It turns out that the Dugu prince is also here. We didn't entertain you well and let the prince be startled. The king specially sent us to come and pick up the prince to go back."

  Nalan Xixi's eyes trembled slightly, and she suddenly remembered the expression on Nan Gongyin's face at the palace gate earlier. At that time, he had told her to go back, his eyes telling her to leave.

  He thought she would understand.

  Actually, she understood. It's just that at that time, she couldn't abandon Du Guhan.

  Nalan Xixi turned around, slightly lowered her head and said, "I've wronged the Crown Prince."

  Dugu Hansheng got up. Several dark guards walked over to his side and supported him.

  "Your Highness needn't be so polite. Thank you for saving me, I'm deeply grateful."

  Huò looked at the two of them chatting, his expression paused for a moment, then he retreated to one side. Hé Xiān was flustered and out of breath. "Master, in the middle of the night, you only brought him out of the palace alone. When that guard reported back to me, he said that the princess and Dú Gū Crown Prince had eloped... I was scared to death..."

  Huo was almost knocked unconscious by He Xian's anger. Seeing Nalan Xianyu's slightly cold expression, he hastily made excuses. "It's this subordinate's fault for not handling things properly, startling the master and the prince."

  Nalan Xixi nodded slightly. "Nothing's wrong. Let's go."

  "What's wrong? Master... didn't you see the king's face? I was so scared that I couldn't even speak..."

  Nalan Xixi's face turned even uglier. "Can you see my face?"

  "Really." He nodded first, then looked up and suddenly closed his mouth.