Chapter 35#
Kill That Emperor (35)#
In that instant, the ruined temple fell into utter silence.
Shen Jue first looked at Ni Xinyan in disbelief, and when he followed Ni Xinyan’s gaze to himself, his face flushed red and pale by turns. He angrily tried to pull his clothes back, but Ni Xinyan’s grip was stronger than Shen Jue’s. Shen Jue tugged, Ni Xinyan refused to let go, and the two were deadlocked until finally, the sound of fabric tearing was heard.
Shen Jue: “…”
Ni Xinyan wore a mask, obscuring his face, but his eyes remained fixed on Shen Jue’s exposed skin.
Scattered across the wheat-colored skin were a few red marks, as if they had been pecked out forcefully.
Shen Jue closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his expression had returned to normal. He looked at Ni Xinyan calmly, “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you just said, but you want me to leave Murong Xiu—that’s not possible yet. I can’t leave for now.”
A flash of displeasure passed through Ni Xinyan’s eyes. “Why? Those marks were made by him, weren’t they? No wonder he went to all the trouble to bring you along—so he had that intention. Since he treats you this way, why won’t you leave? Or do you actually enjoy being treated like this?” He paused. “I’ll say it again: if that’s what you like, I’m not opposed to it.”
Shen Jue felt utterly helpless. He now thought not only Murong Xiu was insane, but Ni Xinyan had also lost his mind—and badly.
“I need to kill him, so I have to stay by his side,” Shen Jue finally told the truth.
Ni Xinyan fell silent for a moment upon hearing this. “Kill him? With what strength? Don’t tell me you plan to kill him in bed?” He grew angry himself. “I won’t allow you to use that method!”
Shen Jue: “…”
“You’re insane,” Shen Jue finally cursed out loud. “What kind of nonsense is filling your head? Let go of my clothes.”
“No!” Ni Xinyan not only refused Shen Jue’s request but also stepped forward and embraced Shen Jue. “I won’t let you have any more contact with that sissy Murong Xiu. I’ll take you to Yong State. My general’s mansion is big now—you can live in whichever room you like. If you want to share a room with me, that’s fine too.”
Shen Jue frowned, wondering why he had fallen to such a state. When Ni Xinyan was being unreasonable, he was practically another Murong Xiu. Shen Jue struggled for a long time but couldn’t push him away at all; instead, Ni Xinyan held him even tighter.
Ni Xinyan, holding the person in his arms, suddenly felt the anger in his chest blocked, as if a small flame had risen in his heart, and after embracing Shen Jue, that flame was extinguished by clear water.
But though the fire in his heart was out, he felt a fire starting in his body.
While Ni Xinyan was locked in an inner struggle, he suddenly heard a noise outside.
He whipped his head around, and in the next instant, a sword thrust directly at him. Ni Xinyan’s pupils contracted, and he hastily dodged with Shen Jue in his arms.
The newcomer was Murong Xiu.
Murong Xiu seemed to have just gotten out of bed—he wasn’t even wearing an outer robe, his hair loosely tied with a cord, a strand hanging by his cheek. A storm gathered in his phoenix eyes, as if it would sweep down the next moment and destroy everything before him.
Sword in hand, he stared coldly at the two embracing figures. When he saw Shen Jue’s torn clothes, the anger in his eyes intensified, nearly blazing. “Shen Jue, come here.”
Shen Jue hadn’t expected Murong Xiu to arrive so quickly. He was momentarily stunned. Hearing Murong Xiu’s words, before he could speak, he felt the arm around his waist tighten.
“He’s not going over there,” Ni Xinyan spoke before Shen Jue could. As he said this, he intimately tugged at Shen Jue’s torn clothes. “Don’t worry, I won’t let him take you. Later when we leave, you can wear my clothes. Don’t be angry.”
Before his words even faded, Murong Xiu’s sword thrust forward again.
This time, the killing intent was even more pronounced. Murong Xiu was enraged by Ni Xinyan’s words. His eyes turned crimson, and he wished he could kill the troublesome man before him immediately. In the last life, it was Ni Xinyan; in this life, it was the same. Why did Ni Xinyan always stand in his way? He would kill Ni Xinyan, then lock Shen Jue up, hide him away, so no one could see him—then no one would vie with him.
Murong Xiu’s eyes grew redder, and his attacks became fiercer.
Under such deadly moves, Ni Xinyan was forced to release Shen Jue. He pushed the man into a corner and drew a soft sword from his waist. In an instant, the gleam of blades filled the air.
Shen Jue frowned as he watched them fight, finding it utterly absurd.
Murong Xiu and Ni Xinyan fought with increasing ferocity, but Murong Xiu was always the weaker one, no match for Ni Xinyan, who had fought on battlefields for years. Gradually, Murong Xiu fell at a disadvantage, forced back step by step. Shen Jue noticed this and instinctively took a step forward. When he saw Ni Xinyan’s sword about to thrust toward Murong Xiu’s throat, his pupils dilated. He quickly shouted, “Stop! Ni Xinyan, stop!”
As he shouted, he ran toward Murong Xiu.
If Murong Xiu died at Ni Xinyan’s hands, what would this life mean for him?
Wouldn’t all his suffering be for nothing, only to have to go through it again?
Ni Xinyan hadn’t expected Shen Jue to forbid him from killing Murong Xiu. Gritting his teeth, he stabbed even more fiercely.
Seeing this, Shen Jue charged directly in front of Murong Xiu, blocking the sword.
Neither of them expected Shen Jue to rush between them. Ni Xinyan tried to withdraw his sword, but it was too late. Murong Xiu, seeing Shen Jue charge over, revealed a smile on his unnervingly beautiful face. He grabbed Shen Jue and turned around.
The sword pierced Murong Xiu’s back.
But he still held Shen Jue tightly, not letting go.
Shen Jue quickly turned to check Murong Xiu’s condition. When he saw the wound wasn’t deep, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Murong Xiu was still smiling at Shen Jue, the corners of his eyes curved.
Ni Xinyan pulled the sword out in one motion. Watching Shen Jue examine Murong Xiu’s injury, his expression turned grim, almost as black as storm clouds. “Do you know what you’re doing? If that sissy hadn’t had some conscience left, that blow would have hit you just now.”
“I told you, you can’t kill him,” Shen Jue said as he moved to release Murong Xiu, since the wound wasn’t deep. But Murong Xiu refused to let go. He deliberately went limp in Shen Jue’s arms, wearing a face that said, “I’m heavily wounded and can’t get up.”
“Why?” Ni Xinyan suddenly tore off his mask, revealing his scarred face. He roared, “He harmed my father, harmed me, and harmed countless innocent civilians and tens of thousands of soldiers in the city! Why can’t I kill him?!”
Shen Jue was silent for a moment, then shielded Murong Xiu behind him. “He is indeed unforgivable, but the one who kills him cannot be you.”
Hearing this, Murong Xiu’s expression shifted slightly.
But to Ni Xinyan’s ears, Shen Jue’s words sounded like he was still protecting Murong Xiu.
He trembled with rage. “Fine. I won’t kill him now, but I will on the battlefield in the future. Shen Jue, you can protect him once, but not forever. If you dare shield him again, I’ll—” He slammed his mask hard onto the ground; the golden mask broke in two. “I’ll make you regret being alive.”
With that, Ni Xinyan strode away.
Murong Xiu didn’t watch Ni Xinyan leave. Instead, he quietly stared at Shen Jue.
Once Ni Xinyan was gone, Shen Jue turned to face Murong Xiu.
Murong Xiu’s face was somewhat pale from the injury, but his lips remained crimson red, his features gorgeous, almost like a beautiful woman. He stared fixedly at Shen Jue and asked softly, “What did you mean by that just now?”
“What?” Shen Jue said.
“‘The one who kills him cannot be you’?” Murong Xiu repeated Shen Jue’s words. “Then who should kill me? You?”
Shen Jue paused for a moment, then nodded.
Murong Xiu’s gaze changed abruptly. The warmth from before vanished, replaced by a cold stare. “Why?”
Shen Jue looked back at him, his expression calm. “Because in the last life, the one who killed you was also me.”
Murong Xiu’s pupils shrank. After a moment, he forced the words through clenched teeth, “So you have memories too. I thought I was the only one. Hah, no wonder you’re so different from the last life. Good, now I understand. Before, when I asked why, you wouldn’t answer. Now you can finally tell me.”
“Because I had to kill you,” Shen Jue said, his voice devoid of emotion. “Murong Xiu, if you loved me, I would kill you.”
Murong Xiu seemed stunned. He stared at Shen Jue for a long time before letting out a laugh that wasn’t quite a laugh. “If I love you, you’ll kill me? Is there such a thing in this world? How interesting. Then Ni Xinyan loves you—why don’t you kill him?” The last sentence was almost a roar.
At that moment, he was like a wounded beast, roaring in pain.
“Killing him would be meaningless.”
Shen Jue said coldly.
In Murong Xiu’s eyes, Shen Jue at that moment seemed to overlap with the him from that snowy night in the previous life. That night, Shen Jue had looked at him the same way, as if looking at an ant, at a person who might as well not exist.
Murong Xiu raised his hand and grabbed his own hair, his face showing clear pain. “Why? Why, after everything I’ve done, do you still want to kill me? Shen Jue, do you even have a heart? Huh?”
He suddenly leaned close to Shen Jue, his gaze wild. “Shen Jue, then why haven’t you killed me yet?” He paused, as if a thought occurred to him, and his eyes shifted. “Ah, you’re waiting for the right moment, aren’t you? You didn’t go with Ni Xinyan because you’re waiting for the moment to kill me?”
Murong Xiu suddenly grabbed Shen Jue’s shoulders. “When is the time you should kill me? Tell me!” As soon as the words left his mouth, he fiercely kissed Shen Jue’s lips, and even started to undo Shen Jue’s clothes regardless of anything.
He had thought he could take things slowly with Shen Jue, that one day Shen Jue would forget Ni Xinyan and willingly be with him. But now he knew—Shen Jue wanted to kill him, no matter what.
So why should he hold back?