CHAPTER 105: CHAPTER 104: BATTLE OF THE BORDER CITY

Due to anger, Xie Jiuxiao used brute force, drawing the two so close that their breaths intertwined.

After calming down, Xie Jiuxiao felt this posture was a bit awkward.

Looking at the beautiful face so close at hand, Xie Jiuxiao’s eyes grew deeper, like a black vortex trying to draw someone in.

"Xie Jiuxiao, calm down!" Yu Nianzhao pressed her hands on his chest, instinctively feeling it.

Hmm, Xie Jiuxiao’s physique was already quite impressive in his youth.

"I’m very calm. If you want to find someone to try, you can... find me." Xie Jiuxiao lowered his gaze, speaking in a hushed voice.

"Ah?" Yu Nianzhao saw his earlobe redden, and couldn’t help but feel playful. She grabbed his arm, lifted his chin teasingly with the other hand, and smiled, "What do you want to try with me? A sweet romance? Or something else?"

"You haven’t told me your name yet!" Xie Jiuxiao stared at her, not answering but questioning instead.

"Yu Nianzhao!"

"Zhaozhao?" Xie Jiuxiao instinctively murmured.

Yu Nianzhao watched him closely, thinking maybe this guy has returned to normal.

"Didn’t you say you’re the future Princess Consort Su? Whether it’s this or that matter, the person you should look for is me," Xie Jiuxiao’s deep, magnetic voice rang in her ear, his tone brooking no argument.

"Tch, Xie Jiuxiao, you’re really a reserved romantic!" Yu Nianzhao couldn’t help but laugh softly.

"Ziyin! I go by Ziyin, you can call me that too."

"Ziyin?"

"Didn’t your future self address me that way?"

"No, your future self is even more reserved than now."

"... Is that so?"

"Yes, so if you believe me now, we can leave here. Look at the sky, it’s frighteningly red. Have you ever seen such fiery clouds? This is a sight only found in dreamscapes."

Xie Jiuxiao followed her gaze and saw the sky full of red light, "Indeed, quite eerie."

"Jiu, open the dreamscape exit and let us leave!" Yu Nianzhao began to call for Jiu Ying.

The usual chatter in her mind didn’t arise, Yu Nianzhao frowned slightly and murmured, "What’s going on? Could it be that entering the dreamscape, Jiu is no longer here?"

"Zhaozhao!"

Xie Jiuxiao’s voice grew distant.

Yu Nianzhao looked up to see a flicker of panic and reluctance in Xie Jiuxiao’s cold gaze. He stretched out to grasp her, but his hand passed through her body, and the view before her darkened once again.

In the blink of an eye, Yu Nianzhao found herself on a battlefield strewn with corpses, the backdrop still a sky full of red light, corpses underfoot.

Xie Jiuxiao, clad in armor, held a long sword, blood still dripping from the blade.

This was the most intense the Evil Qi had ever been since Yu Nianzhao met him, as if the Taiyin Evil were about to burst from his body.

"Xie Jiuxiao!" Yu Nianzhao saw the empty eyes of Xie Jiuxiao filled with loneliness and darkness, and couldn’t help but call out.

Xie Jiuxiao’s fingers twitched but didn’t respond.

"Ziyin!" Yu Nianzhao stepped forward two paces, calling again.

When he heard a familiar voice, Xie Jiuxiao finally stiffly turned his body, his gaze shifted slightly to look at Yu Nianzhao.

"You’ve finally returned?" Xie Jiuxiao’s voice was hoarse, the aura of killing had not fully dissipated.

"Yes, where is this? A battlefield?" It seemed Xie Jiuxiao was the only living person here.

"Border City battle; we didn’t just kill people but also lurking ghosts. Whether army or Dragon Shadow Guards suffered heavy casualties. It is my body’s Taiyin Evil helping me slay those generals coexisting with the ghosts." Xie Jiuxiao released his grasp on the long sword, and removed the damaged armor, "But I feel my life is ceaselessly slipping away, as the Dongfang Family once said, destined not to live past twenty-six."

"You’ve regained your memory?" Yu Nianzhao keenly realized that the current Xie Jiuxiao was different from before.

"The Dragon Shadow Guards were handpicked by me and followed alongside me from a young age, meticulously chosen! They followed me unreservedly and even in death, I must take them back." Xie Jiuxiao seemed deaf to her voice, speaking to himself, "You can’t imagine the shameless lengths they go to seize the city, slaughtering their own soldiers, using their souls for Evil Qi, controlling their bodies to battle. They feel no pain, fear no death, only know ceaselessly killing."

In front of Yu Nianzhao’s eyes, the scenes of the recently horrific battle seemed clear.

"It’s equivalent to using puppets for war, it is indeed sinister."

"I once detested the Taiyin Evil, but at the crucial moment, I had to rely on it to save my life."

Xie Jiuxiao’s empty eyes looked towards Yu Nianzhao, word by word, "Do you know what Taiyin Evil did? They helped me kill the ghost general, and likewise devoured all souls here, whether ghost’s, my dynasty’s soldiers, or Dragon Shadow Guards’ souls. I clearly felt it, but I couldn’t do anything; even my brothers didn’t get a chance for reincarnation because of me..."

The winds whistled past...

Yu Nianzhao suddenly understood why treasures couldn’t last in Prince Su Mansion.

While caring for Dragon Shadow Guards, Xie Jiuxiao was also atoning for his fallen brothers in the Border City battle.

"Ziyin, don’t burden yourself with guilt for this. Taiyin Evil’s natural instinct is to consume souls and Evil Qi; they want to enhance their strength, break free of shackles, it’s their evil, not yours! Dragon Shadow Guards and soldiers were killed by the enemy army, independent of you."

Yu Nianzhao rested her hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

Xie Jiuxiao closed his eyes, "I used to comfort myself the same way, but when the nightmare repeated in my mind, I realized I couldn’t forget. I even feel Taiyin Evil growing stronger by the day. Back then, if my royal brother and I remained in the cold palace, losing imperial energy would be inconsequential, the dynasty’s end irrelevant. But now, the flourishing dynasty is my royal brother’s; should Taiyin Evil return, what would he do?"

"I’ve been in Shangjing for quite some time," Yu Nianzhao stared at him for a moment, then sighed softly, "Everyone calls Prince Su ruthless, an iron-faced fiend, but I found you to be the most rich with emotion, filled with deep feelings, clear in your loves and hates! But you are a living person, Xie Jiuxiao, can’t you live for yourself, just once?"

Xie Jiuxiao opened his eyes, a complex thought enveloping his gaze, unclear to her, "I used to think life was a mere short span of decades, one life worthless! Now... I do wish to live for myself for once, but unfortunately, it’s a bit difficult."