As New Year’s Eve drew to a close, the dawn of a new year arrived.
On this night, Xiao Changfeng led a vast army, swearing an oath to capture the rebellious son of the Xiao family and bring him back.
Having walked slowly to watch the stars for a while longer, Xiao Biehe and Lu Guanyan returned to the peach forest only to find a hellish scene: firelight touched the sky, the entire forest of peach trees had been put to the torch, and the horizon was a sea of soldiers from the General’s Estate.
The injured crane they had rescued and tended to for several days lay on the ground, its head severed from its body dead.
The moment Xiao Changfeng saw him, he issued a majestic command: “Capture him for this General!”
The soldiers, daring not to disobey, raised their swords and surrounded Xiao Biehe.
When the Crown Prince had made a sudden late-night visit to the General’s Estate, informing him that Xiao Biehe was with the “Mad Third Prince” of Yan whom the capital was hunting, Xiao Changfeng had been skeptical. Now, seeing those distinct blue eyes beneath the black mask, his rage boiled over.
“You, rebellious obstacle!” Xiao Changfeng barked at Xiao Biehe. “The Crown Prince already knows of your collusion with the Third Prince of Yan. How the Emperor and the Prince deal with you is beyond my concern, but I will give you one last chance. Now, kill him! Prove your loyalty to the Sovereign of Liang!”
Xiao Biehe stood tall and straight, neither humble nor arrogant. “I will not kill him.”
“Vile seed!” Using his heavy scabbard, Xiao Changfeng struck Xiao Biehe hard in the abdomen. He commanded the ten thousand gold-armored soldiers: “Bind this unfilial wretch and take him back! As for the rest of you, seize Lu Guanyan. He will not escape today even if he grew wings!”
A chill flashed in Lu Guanyan’s eyes. In a few swift moves, he broke through the frontline, appeared behind Xiao Changfeng, and pressed a stolen sword against the General’s throat.
Lu Guanyan reached up and removed his mask, looking completely at ease. “Brother, can I kill him?”
In terms of raw martial arts, Lu Guanyan could not face ten thousand men alone, but he was fast and in the world of kung fu, speed is the only thing that cannot be broken. Xiao Changfeng hadn’t even had time to react.
Xiao Biehe spat out a mouthful of blood, his arms pinned by several soldiers. The little color he had regained over ten days of recovery vanished instantly; his face was deathly pale.
“You must leave,” Xiao Biehe said. “That is my father. I beg you… do not kill him.”
Lu Guanyan had expected this answer, yet he had wanted to ask for himself. Hearing it, he felt a wave of disappointment and private fury.
How can someone be covered in bruises and still dream of so-called ‘family affection’?
Lu Guanyan curled his lips into a smile. “Brother, you still won’t come with me this time, will you?”
“No,” Xiao Biehe replied.
“Fine. Then I shall take my leave, Brother. We shall meet again tomorrow.”
The moment the iron sword hit the ground with a clang, Lu Guanyan had already leaped into the air and vanished from sight.
Xiao Changfeng trembled with rage. Unable to find a trace of the youth, he pointed a finger at Xiao Biehe and cursed: “You, monstrous blight! We return to the Estate first! I’ll deal with the rest later. But let me tell you Lu Guanyan is a demon who robbed this Estate, caused chaos in the palace, and nearly assassinated the Emperor and Prince. The Decree for his nationwide arrest has been issued. Your collusion with a foreign enemy is a capital offense! If His Majesty does not forgive you, even I cannot save your life! Escort this wretch back!”
The General’s Estate, Interrogation Hall
Xiao Changfeng demanded that Xiao Biehe account for everything that had happened with the “Yan demon” over the last ten days.
Xiao Biehe wouldn’t utter a single word. At that moment, Mo Sangn severely injured and missing a hand was found and brought back. With eyes full of venomous hatred, he embellished the story of what had happened to Xiao Changfeng.
Enraged, Xiao Changfeng broke another discipline whip across Xiao Biehe’s back. “You wretch, death is too good for you!”
The young man remained in his blood-stained robes, his posture still unyielding. Xiao Changfeng roared: “Are you worthy of the Liang Kingdom? Are you worthy of the ancestors of the Xiao family? Go and kneel before the ancestral hall! As for how the Sovereign deals with you, I will never plead for mercy on your behalf!”
By the latter half of the night, the fireworks had faded, and the Imperial City was deathly quiet. The stars grew sparse until they vanished entirely. After a sunny day yesterday, it began to snow.
Xiao Changfeng specifically ordered heightened security to ensure no one entered and Xiao Biehe didn’t slip away. He even assigned several men specifically to watch him as he knelt in punishment.
That night, Xiao Qingqu and Xiao Jinshi were in Lady Jiang’s courtyard, playing cards with their mother. The three of them were in high spirits. Before dawn, Qingqu returned to her own courtyard while Jinshi stayed in his mother’s room. Jiang Xu’er showered her beloved son with maternal love, gently tucking him in and telling him bedtime stories.
The night grew deep. Almost all the lights in the General’s Estate were extinguished. Those who were asleep fell into a deeper slumber; the guards on duty were all knocked unconscious by a drug. The Estate, usually bustling, was now as silent as a tomb.
Clad in vivid red with his long hair flowing, Lu Guanyan held an oil-paper umbrella and walked up to Xiao Biehe. Looking at the man kneeling in the snow, he saw that the robes which should have been white as lilies were now almost entirely soaked in blood.
Lu Guanyan didn’t speak. He simply clenched his free fist so hard that blood dripped from his knuckles onto the snow. He held the umbrella over the “beauty.”
How ridiculous, Lu Guanyan thought. In this moment, he felt that this “favored son of heaven” lived a life more miserable than his own “demonic” existence.
Xiao Biehe’s body had reached its limit. His face was whiter than the snow. His cold, pale eyes moved slightly, catching the flash of red fabric at his feet, before he collapsed into unconsciousness.
Lu Guanyan’s fury from earlier had not dissipated, and seeing the beauty wounded like this only fanned the flames. His eyes looked as though they could devour a man. Forgetting everything else, he dropped the umbrella and scooped the man off the ground. “Brother! Wake up!”
The Emperor had long wanted to seize the military power of the General’s Estate but had struggled to find a suitable excuse. Now, with this scandal, there was no need to fabricate charges.
His meticulous planning had not been in vain; the General’s Estate no longer held its former level of public and official support. When Mu Hongmiao moved to strip Xiao Changfeng of his power, not a single official stepped forward to plead for the Estate.
That day, the Emperor’s dragon carriage personally visited the General’s Estate.
As the household gradually recovered from the drugging, unable to remember what had happened the night before, they all knelt to welcome the monarch. Mu Hongmiao’s usually benevolent expression was replaced by imperial majesty and displeasure. “Great General, today I take back the tiger tally in your hand. Do you have any complaints?”
Xiao Changfeng knocked his head against the floor. “This sinful subject dares not!”
After taking Xiao Biehe away, Lu Guanyan found a secluded inn. He watched the night turn to day and day back to night, but the beauty did not wake. The youth, who thought he had nothing left to care about, had not felt this anxious in a long time.
He frantically kidnapped countless doctors, even snatching imperial physicians from the palace. Yet, no matter how many came or how much rare medicine was used, they couldn’t wake the man on the bed.
Eventually, the “madman” fell into despair, kneeling by the bed. “Brother, wake up! Wake up, please? This time I will definitely take you away. I won’t let anyone hurt you again!”
Xiao Biehe never opened his eyes. Lu Guanyan stayed by his side, feeding him medicine and checking his breathing and heartbeat every few minutes in a panic.
Because Lu Guanyan was frequently showing his face to kidnap doctors, Mu Hongmiao’s citywide search eventually closed in. Imperial guards surrounded the inn and the surrounding area.
Forced to move again, Lu Guanyan wasn’t afraid of dying himself, but he was terrified that he wouldn’t be able to protect the beauty against so many people, that he would be snatched away and killed. Holding the man tight, his blue eyes bloodshot, he fought a desperate battle. He didn’t allow a single scratch to touch the man in his arms, though his own body was marked with several new wounds. Finally, he escaped.
“Brother, wake up. Don’t sleep anymore. You’ve been asleep for nearly two days.”
This time, he fled to a location two cities away from the capital, even more remote than before. He used a bag of gold to buy out an entire small tavern. Once again, he treated every one of the beauty’s wounds and sat by the stove as the medicine brewed. He knelt by the bed, tucking Xiao Biehe’s hands into his own clothes to warm them, muttering worriedly over and over.
Day turned to night. It was now the third day. There was still no sign of him waking.
Lu Guanyan had stayed awake for over two days straight. That night, he accidentally nodded off while holding the man’s hand. The moment the hand slipped from his grasp, Lu Guanyan jolted awake and caught it.
Hot.
Lu Guanyan’s pupils shrank. He felt the man’s hands again—they were burning. He touched his forehead, his cheeks, his chest. Everything was scorching. Xiao Biehe’s heartbeat was erratic, and his breathing was shallow and uneven.
Terrified, Lu Guanyan scrambled up. “Brother!”
He went back to the palace to kidnap another physician. “If you can’t cure him, I will strip every bone from your body!”
The chosen physician’s legs shook uncontrollably. “I… I will do my best.”
A few more hours passed. It was morning again. Xiao Biehe still hadn’t woken, though his fever had lowered slightly.
Knowing his tracks would be exposed again, Lu Guanyan moved further away from the capital.
On the night of the third day of his coma, Xiao Biehe opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the youth’s hand tightly interlaced with his own. The second was that unique, exotic face now worn with exhaustion and filled with endless worry.
The moment Lu Guanyan saw him wake; the fatigue vanished. He cried out in joy, “Brother! You’re finally awake!”
Having been unconscious for over three days despite being seen by numerous doctors showed just how dire Xiao Biehe’s condition was. Being born three months premature and growing up in such a neglected environment meant his constitution was naturally frail; people had only forgotten that fact because he was so gifted in martial arts.
Because they forgot, they felt no fear in hurting him over and over again.
Xiao Biehe was awake but still incredibly weak. His thin lips were colorless. He exerted a great effort to turn his head slightly, his cold, pale eyes resting on the “little madman.”
Xiao Biehe let out a faint, forced laugh and asked: “Do you hate me… or do you like me?”
Growing up under constant bullying had given him a high level of subconscious awareness. Even though he couldn’t wake up, he had heard and remembered fragments of the past few days. He remembered the boy risking his life to save him, refusing to let go even at the brink of death, and taking blades meant for him.
No one had ever gone to such lengths for him before.
Xiao Biehe’s gaze followed their interlaced fingers to the youth’s arm. “You’re bleeding,” he whispered. “Aren’t you going to treat it?”