Chapter 99: Little Xie Desecrates the Deity
[Verification Task: Establish an intimate relationship with a certain person (Complete or Die)]
The System had completely shut down before Ying Xi. The interface was extinguished. He couldn’t contact the Sweet System, and his consciousness continued to drain away incessantly.
Lian Qing said in a panic: “The two star generals who surrendered—their allotted fields are adjacent.”
“The land was originally all fertile. In the area where the two fields met, the rain washed out a few knife coins.”
“Those knife coins are ancient and exquisite. Someone suggested they keep digging, and the further they dug, the more treasures they found. There is an ancient tomb underneath!”
“Rumor has it that the King of Wu is buried in Xindu, and the burial goods are worth a fortune. The families on both sides claimed the find belonged to them, so they started a fight.”
“Their fiefs were Your Majesty’s arrangement, so no one can mediate this matter. Only Chen Anlan is trying to break up the fight; no one else dares to get involved…”
Ying Xi’s vision was dark.
He couldn’t hear the words clearly; everything was a cacophony of mixed sounds. He could only vaguely capture the gist.
Even though he sensed something was fishy, Ying Xi could only force himself to follow Lian Qing and settle this chaotic mess first.
The sound of the carriage wheels crushed Ying Xi’s soul. He felt as if he had completely fallen into a thick fog. He was in a daze, and he didn’t know how he reached the fiefs. The fiefs were just outside the city.
“Your Majesty, be careful.” Lian Qing helped him out of the carriage and shouted toward the distance, “The Emperor has arrived!”
In the open fields, a cry like a mountain’s roar echoed: “Long live the Emperor! Long live, long live!”
“Everyone, rise.”
Ying Xi lifted the curtain and went out. His vision grew even darker. Dark clouds loomed, and the tips of the crops in the fields drooped, a deep green that bordered on black.
The commoners who had been watching the excitement saw a riot had broken out, drawing the Emperor himself to preside over justice. Not knowing Ying Xi’s temperament, they didn’t dare watch the show and hurriedly dispersed.
The two families were still fighting non-stop. Both sides held farming tools, and their strikes were ruthless and heavy. In Ying Xi’s eyes, they appeared as a swirl of moving lights and shadows.
“Feng Wande! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking! You ran out of the city without bringing much silver. You want to build a house outside the city—your head is full of nothing but money!”
“Pah! Is your name written on the things in that ground? My father found the knife coins first! And those porcelain horses and bowls—why on earth should I give them back to you!”
“Porcelain horses are burial goods! Your whole family can wait for bad luck!”
“My son, my poor son…”
A sturdy man covered in blood lay paralyzed on the ground, several women surrounding him and wiping away tears.
A life had already been lost, yet neither family was willing to stop. The noise buzzed in Ying Xi’s head until it rang.
“Separate them.” Ying Xi issued a sharp decree. Land distribution was vital to whether Xindu could be taken peacefully. He said with difficulty, “Do not harm the commoners.”
“By your command!” The Longwu Army took the order to break up the fight.
There were about a hundred people in the melee. The Longwu soldiers moved in, each person pulling two people apart.
Once they engaged, they realized it wasn’t simple. Both sides came from martial families, and their relatives were no slackers. Even though they weren’t wielding sabers but sickles, hoes, and axes, the soldiers still had to deal with them carefully.
[Please execute the verification task: Establish an intimate relationship with a certain person (Complete or Die)]
Another wave of dizziness hit his head!
Ying Xi staggered half a step.
He nearly crashed into Lian Qing’s heavy armor, frightening Lian Qing into turning back: “Your Majesty, You…”
Although Lian Qing was careless, he paid special attention to the Emperor. Moreover, the color in the Emperor’s face had nearly vanished completely.
Lian Qing: “Is Your Majesty’s dragon body unwell? This subordinate will take Your Majesty back to camp immediately!”
Ying Xi waved his hand heavily.
He pushed Lian Qing away, his voice intermittent as he made arrangements: “Those who caused injury shall be dealt with according to the law. Digging up graves harms one’s hidden virtue. The ancient tomb shall be reclaimed by the Imperial Court, and a temple shall be built here in the future. Both families’ fiefs shall be compensated. Go, convey My decree.”
Lian Qing froze and then nodded.
Feeling as if something was about to happen, he looked back every three steps, his heart pounding hard. He had just approached the battle circle.
At that moment, the “corpse” that had been lying on the ground stood up!!!
The man pulled a dagger from his boot, his eyes flashing with a cold light: “By Master Fan’s command—kill the Jiangbei Emperor!”
The people from both fighting families all turned their spearheads, entangling the Longwu soldiers who had been trying to stop the fight.
Two defecting generals attacked Lian Qing together; both were already famous generals from the enemy army.
It turned out that the discovery of the King of Wu’s ancient tomb was fake, and the fatal fight was also fake. In reality, this was a plan to “use a person’s own scheme against them” targeting the land distribution policy.
To show his grace, the Jiangbei Emperor would surely accept surrenders without prejudice, which allowed them to smuggle in assassins.
Lian Qing’s voice cracked in horror: “Your Majesty!”
He couldn’t get away. The Longwu Army was scattered, and no one was protecting the Emperor’s side.
Ying Xi staggered a few more steps. He was about to meet a grisly end when a man blocked the path before him, taking a blade straight to the chest.
Chen Anlan gripped the assassin’s wrist, blood spilling through his fingers: “Your Majesty… flee…”
Ying Xi mounted a Longwu Army horse and patted its head. The horse moved.
Fortunately, the assassins present were all on foot, and they were all being held back by the Longwu soldiers. In an instant, Ying Xi opened up a distance of dozens of yards. The warhorse carried Ying Xi into the wilderness!
He couldn’t see the road clearly; he could only lie flat on the horse’s back.
Dark clouds shrouded the firmament, and muffled thunder rolled in his ears. Messy branches hooked his clothes, and fine, dense pain flared up all over his body.
The terrifying thing was that the sharp pain became numb, and his skin lost all sensation.
He had become like a wooden puppet.
The Dating System said: [Please execute the verification task: Establish an intimate relationship with a certain person (Complete or Die)]
[Please complete it as soon as possible…]
[You will lose your chance at rebirth. Reminding you again…]
“Get lost,” Ying Xi said to the System.
He gritted his teeth, supporting his body with his arms. He used all his strength to look back and saw that someone was still chasing him.
He couldn’t distinguish friend from foe, so he could only treat them as an assassin.
“Halt—”
The pursuer drew closer and closer.
Ying Xi’s feet left the stirrups, and he let go!
His body was thrown into the air, falling onto the wild road.
His back hit the ground completely. The impact seemed to make him spit out a mouthful of blood. The warm liquid slid down the corner of his mouth as his limbs sprawled out and he crashed into a deep pit.
The pursuer followed the horse, disappearing into the depths of the wilderness.
And Ying Xi lay alone at the bottom of the pit. His pupils grew turbid, reflecting the winding, twisted lightning in the sky. It began to rain.
The storm arrived, the sound of rain dense, yet it was separated from him by a layer.
Rainwater flooded the deep pit, completely soaking his clothes and disrupting his breathing. His fingertips twitched weakly as he took heavy breaths in and out…
[Please execute the verification task as soon as possible: Establish an intimate relationship with a certain person (Complete or Die)]
The System functions were all disabled. All that accompanied Ying Xi was the cold prompt:
[Respected User, due to your complete rejection of the System’s operational philosophy, you are about to lose your binding qualification. You may file an appeal before death.]
[Would you like to appeal?]
Ying Xi’s eyelashes fluttered. He nodded.
The appeal interface was a blank dialogue box.
The System prompt said: [Please state your recognition of the ‘True Love Above All’ principle, and your determination to resolutely execute the System’s tasks, find a desired partner, and complete the goal of leaving singlehood in the future.]
It was still the same old routine.
It wanted to brainwash him. The Dating System had used threats and inducements countless times.
It thought it could do it, but it didn’t understand him.
In both lives, he had always used logic to seize power, precisely because he wanted absolute control over himself.
—No one could make him yield!!!
Ying Xi lay in the mud and water, his lips slowly curling up. He let the rain wash away the color of his face and take away his body temperature.
He replied to the System coldly:
“I have never looked down upon a sincere romance.”
“However, unless one day I voluntarily surrender my heart, I loathe your coercion and induction. As long as I am still alive, I will continue to utilize you in reverse.”
After answering, the appeal was submitted.
There was a moment of silence from the System side. In the stillness, only the sound of falling rain could be heard. It hesitated:
[Your Majesty, would you rather die?]
Ying Xi replied with silence.
At the end of his life, he felt the flash of lightning. His dark gray eyes were filled with light, and his heart stung slightly.
He was left with only formless consciousness, his pupils dilated.
Ying Xi stared numbly at those thousands of rays of light. In his vision, a tall figure was automatically projected.
The heavy rain crashed down. Behind the curtain of rain was a vast, flickering horizon.
Xie Qianli stood outside the pit. He hadn’t had time to grab an umbrella, nor was he wearing armor.
Lightning illuminated his handsome silhouette. His jawline was cold and hard, and rainwater flowed along the bone lines.
His throat felt choked. Water droplets blurred Xie Qianli’s ink-like black eyes as his pupils reflected Ying Xi lying senselessly in the mud.
He wasn’t moving. He wasn’t speaking.
He hadn’t even called for help. Ying Xi appeared to have lost all consciousness. His deathly pale face was stained with spots of mud, and his brownish-brown hair was scattered in a mess. Only a weak rise and fall remained in his chest. The bright moon of the firmament had fallen into the mud.
Xie Qianli’s heart shrank into a ball.
Xie Qianli had seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the battlefield, and he had buried countless brothers-in-arms, but never before—not even once—had his hands trembled so violently as they did now while scooping Ying Xi’s thin body from the mud.
It was as if his hand had touched the moon, yet he was afraid he would shatter the moon’s reflection if he used too much force.
Xie Qianli pulled Ying Xi onto his horse and brought him back to the camp. He only let the Longwu Army spread word that the Emperor had returned safely, but he didn’t dare leak a single word about how the Emperor appeared to be gravely ill.
Xie Qianli could only bring Ying Xi back to his own tent, secretly summoning a military doctor for treatment.
Thanks to the fact that Ying Xi had forbidden him from participating in military actions these past few days, no one noticed this tent.
Before the doctor arrived, Xie Qianli wanted to let Ying Xi lie down.
However, Ying Xi’s loose robes were completely soaked with mud, dripping onto the ground.
Xie Qianli had no other choice. Ying Xi had gone from having half-open eyes to closing them tightly. The rain was still carrying away the other’s body temperature; Ying Xi couldn’t possibly take off his wet clothes himself.
He also didn’t want the military doctor to do it; the Emperor’s dragon body was precious.
Xie Qianli closed his eyes, his brow throbbing.
Placing the two of them in a position where they were closely pressed together, he tucked Ying Xi’s face into his shoulder. At this moment, Ying Xi’s cold nose pressed into the hollow of his neck, touching his hot artery.
Xie Qianli gritted his teeth fiercely!
Even though his mind was in a complete whirlwind, he didn’t want to produce any unnecessary lust while being close to Ying Xi. He was like a believer terrified of defiling the deity in his heart.
Xie Qianli intended to unfasten Ying Xi’s clothes. His fingers touched Ying Xi’s exquisite butterfly bones, and his fingertips burned fiercely.
And in his coma, Ying Xi felt someone touching him. He leaned against him, trembling extremely weakly. Like a butterfly flapping its wings.
Forbearing was painful. The taste of rust was already in Xie Qianli’s mouth.
Gradually unfastening Ying Xi’s clothes was a lingering torture.
Using his hands’ immense strength, he tore Ying Xi’s clothes from the back!
How impactful the sound of tearing silk was.
The moment he tore his beloved’s clothes, Xie Qianli’s chest almost felt like a wild beast was about to burst out.
He could only close his eyes tighter, feeling in the dark to pull off the battle robe.
He shook it out and wrapped Ying Xi tightly.
The silver-white kiring-patterned battle robe would absorb the rainwater from Ying Xi’s body.
He stabilized the person through the robe and only then dared to open his eyes. His vision was slightly blurred.
Inadvertently and subversively lowering his head, he sighed, noticing his beloved’s collarbone holding crystal-clear water droplets.
Xie Qianli pulled the battle robe up a few inches.
Wrapping him in the battle robe, he tucked Ying Xi into the bed, and through the quilt, he slowly pulled away the obstructive battle robe.
He had a clear conscience; his intent to protect was evident. He hadn’t seen anything he shouldn’t have, nor had he done anything.
Xie Qianli gently built a little nest for the person, then covered Ying Xi well with a dry, thin quilt.
Ying Xi only showed his pointed face now. his brow trembled, and his breathing gradually recovered. A faint bit of color seemed to return to his face, and Xie Qianli’s heart eased slightly.
He took a cloth towel and finally knelt to dry Ying Xi’s hair.
His rough fingers, through the cloth, used the most gentle force to rub the rainwater from the strands of hair.
While doing these things, Ying Xi didn’t speak. His limbs would move weakly under the quilt.
Compared to the length and width of Xie Qianli’s military cot, Ying Xi appeared slender. The precious Emperor appeared a bit piteous in his sickness.
The military doctor entered the tent with his medicine box: “This subject has come to examine His Majesty.”
“Mhm.”
The doctor entered the tent and was suddenly a bit surprised; he nearly couldn’t hold his medicine box steady.
The doctor seemed to see a smile appearing on General Xie’s lips, yet it also seemed to vanish in an instant. How could this cold, stern face, so familiar to the Longwu soldiers, have such an expression?
The young doctor’s heart pounded, but fortunately, he masked it well enough.
Xie Qianli moved aside, standing formally at the head of the Emperor’s bed. He briefly described the condition: “His Majesty suddenly lost consciousness and hasn’t awakened yet. Do not make a sound; check the illness first.”
“I obey the command.” The doctor knelt by the bed to check the Emperor’s pulse.
The Emperor’s brow knit again. The wrist being held up had skin as white as frost and snow, revealing the faint, light-purple veins underneath.
The doctor couldn’t help but look away.
But at this moment, his gaze drifted to the foot of the bed. The doctor discovered that on the ground were clearly silk clothes that had been torn by General Xie. The doctor’s heart tightened, and his skin felt a bit hot.
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