Looking at Chi Nanwei’s tear-streaked face, Ye Beizhi realized for the first time that his relationship with Chi Nanwei had changed. They were more than just travel companions.
Chi Nanwei could no longer live without him. He was not only a part of her past but also a part of her future.
Ye Beizhi raised his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then gently wiped away Chi Nanwei’s tears. His hand was rough, calloused from years of wielding a blade, but it still carried a comforting warmth.
Chi Nanwei opened her eyes and brushed Ye Beizhi’s hand aside with some resentment. She stared at him silently until Ye Beizhi averted his eyes, unable to look away.
Fang Dingwu, sensing the awkwardness in the air, coughed lightly and said, "Let’s not stand here. If there’s something to say, let’s go upstairs."
Chi Nanwei didn’t respond and simply turned to head upstairs. Ye Beizhi nodded at Fang Dingwu and followed her up. As Ye Beizhi climbed the stairs, he heard Xue Niang behind him ask Xue Qiming, "There’s no one left in the city to buy things from, so what was the point of picking up that silver?"
"Uh..." Xue Qiming’s expression froze awkwardly as he explained, "Heh, there was no reason to leave it there. It might come in handy later."
Upstairs, Ye Beizhi and Chi Nanwei entered the same room that Baili Gucheng had been staying in.
Ye Beizhi entered after Chi Nanwei and saw Rao Shuang looking over at him. Ye Beizhi nodded slightly in acknowledgment without saying much.
Rao Shuang frowned and said, "You’ve brought back a strong stench of blood. Killed quite a few, haven’t you?"
"Ha! Miss, your nose is quite sharp," Xue Qiming called out from the doorway, "We must have killed a few hundred barbarians just now."
"You didn’t even say anything before leaving. If you’d died out there, who would have collected your bodies?" Rao Shuang grumbled discontentedly.
Xue Qiming entered the room, found a chair, and sat down casually. Scratching the back of his head, he said nonchalantly, "I won’t die. My sins are so heavy that even the King of the Underworld wouldn’t dare take me."
Rao Shuang was about to scold him further, but Xue Qiming interrupted her. "Is Forsaken Phoenix still holed up in that room? The Northern Qiang outside have at least a hundred thousand troops, and their morale hasn't truly been shaken. This city will be hard to defend."
Rhe room fell silent as the conversation shifted back to the looming threat.
After a long silence, Baili Gucheng suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to everyone. "I’ve dragged you all down... there’s still time to leave the city. Alluring Elegy’s illness can be treated another time."
Ye Beizhi looked up at him but said nothing.
Fang Dingwu glanced at Chi Nanwei, but seeing her still-red eyes and her reluctance to speak, he stayed silent as well. He had little connection with Baili Gucheng and naturally wasn’t in a position to decide.
Xue Niang paid no attention to the conversation. She busied herself with stacking silver ingots on the table, arranging them into the shape of the character jin[ref]gold[ref/].
Rao Shuang bit her lip. She looked like she wanted to speak, but Xue Qiming cut her off.
"Your swordsmanship is useless, and if anyone’s dragging us down, it’s your lover, not you. And even if you wanted to leave, with the enemy at the gates and Liangzhou's gates shut tight, do you think you can just leave?
"A half-crippled man and a half-dead woman. Where could the two of you possibly go? I say we stay put and wait. There’s always a way out. With the four of us here, how could we possibly be trapped in Liangzhou?"
"There’s still another Heaven-ranker!" Rao Shuang chimed indignantly, then glanced at Yang Lu lying on the bed and added, "Well, one and a half..."
"The Northern Qiang troops outside are too strong," Baili Gucheng said with a bitter smile. He shook his head. "Liangzhou Prefecture most likely can’t be held..."
"Then we’ll talk about it when we can’t hold it anymore." Xue Qiming interrupted Baili Gucheng's pessimism with a carefree wave of his hand. "You're a cripple, why do you talk so much nonsense?"
Baili Gucheng fell silent, then after a moment bowed solemnly.
"I... must give my deepest thanks to all of you."
Ye Beizhi turned to look out the window; the rain seemed to have lessened a bit.
Rao Shuang glanced around at the others, then quietly left the room alone, heading toward Tang Jinnian’s quarters.
Rao Shuang hesitated outside the door for a moment before knocking.
"Come in," Tang Jinnian said hoarsely came from inside.
Rao Shuang pushed the door open and entered the inner room and she saw Tang Jinnian still sitting on the floor in a disheleved state. His gaze was fixed intently on the cauldron before him.
Neither of them spoke. Rao Shuang quietly watched Tang Jinnian, and Tang Jinnian quietly watched the cauldron.
Tang Jinnian was the first to break the silence.
"The Northern Qiang have raised an army of over one hundred thousand soldiers and gathered outside Liangzhou," Rao Shuang mentioned calmly.
Tang Jinnian acknowledged the new development out a soft grunt.
"Just now..." Rao Shuang bit her lip and continued, "They were debating whether to leave the city."
Tang Jinnian’s expression didn’t waver in the slightest. "And what was the conclusion?"
Rao Shuang exhaled and decided she no longer needed to hold back. "It was Impending Sword's idea. He didn’t want to drag us down and suggested delaying Alluring Elegy's treatment, but Unbound Bodhisattva persuaded him to stay."
Tang Jinnian nodded again but said nothing more.
"Stormqueller didn’t take a stance. Miss Chi and that man named Fang obviously listen to him... What’s your opinion?"
"Heheh..." Tang Jinnian gave Rao Shuang a wry smile. "Do you want me to leave?"
Rao Shuang didn’t hide her thoughts and nodded slowly. "If we stay, the day the city falls will be the day we die. Do you really think we can repel an army of one hundred thousand with just the few of us?"
Tang Jinnian ignored the question and asked with a sneer, "Do you know why Mute Ye hasn’t taken a stance?"
Rao Shuang furrowed her delicate brows slightly, but she didn’t respond.
Tang Jinnian continued, "The legendary blade Mute Ye wields could only be forged thanks to Impending Sword. He owes that man a huge debt of gratitude. It’s not that he hasn’t taken a stance... he made his decision long ago. He will repay that debt."
"He's going to give up his life for a favor?!" Rao Shuang’s voice rose against her will. "Even if he doesn’t care about his own life, what about Chi Nanwei?! Doesn’t he care about her?!"
Tang Jinnian shook his head, laughing coldly. "Flowerless Butterfly, you underestimate Stormqueller. He's a fiend who slaughtered the entire Yingtian Ghostbane Association without blinking... Do you think he would fear this tiny storm?"
Rao Shuang gasped, with a horrified expression.
"The Yingtian Ghostbane Association branch massacre... how could that be him?!"
Tang Jinnian sighed and shook his head.
"You’re always comparing yourself to others, but how can you know the gap between you and them? You think surviving a fallen city is impossible, yet to others, leaving and returning has never been a question."
Rao Shuang couldn’t help but raise her voice again. "That’s one hundred thousand troops!"
Tang Jinnian frowned, displeased, and cast a glance at Rao Shuang. "What difference is there between a hundred thousand troops and a hundred thousand blades of grass to me?"
"Heh... Say what you will." Tang Jinnian shook his head. "Besides, I’ve used so many materials, even sacrificed the Transcendence Stone. How can I just leave?"
"Tang Jinnian, you’re crazy!" Rao Shuang shouted without reservation.
"Crazy? No, I’m not crazy..." Tang Jinnian’s eyes glowed with fanaticism as he stared at the cauldron deeply. "Legend has it that the Transcendence Stone can heal the gravely injured and bring the dead back to life... Don’t you want to see if it’s true?"