Chapter 3: 第080章 追杀，告白

The next day, Tianchen and the people of Yan set off to return to their respective countries.

Su Yunqing also obtained the Fire Spirit Lingzhi she desired, though she declined Gu Xiaowu's invitation.

"A-Zhi, once I have resolved my mother's matters, I will go to Yan to see you." Gu Xiaowu stood opposite Su Yunqing, the smile on her face exceptionally dazzling.

Su Yunqing's hand rested on Gu Xiaowu's wrist; it appeared as though she were holding her hand, but in reality, she was feeling her pulse.

"Xiaowu, don't keep traveling back and forth. In one year, I will go to Tianchen to find you." In a year's time, she should be able to develop the antidote. Furthermore, the poison in Xiaowu's body was already showing signs of being about to manifest; she had to speed up her pace.

"Alright." Gu Xiaowu nodded and smiled, "If Yan Shaoqing bullies you, come to Tianchen to seek refuge with me!"

After saying this, she didn't forget to cast a glance at Yan Shaoqing, who was standing to the side.

Yan Shaoqing turned his face away, looking as if he couldn't be bothered to argue with her.

Su Yunqing couldn't help but chuckle. She gently released Gu Xiaowu's wrist and said, "Alright, go on now. Don't make them wait too long."

"Mm. Well then, A-Zhi, have a safe journey." With that, Gu Xiaowu turned around and headed in the opposite direction of Su Yunqing without hesitation.

Unconsciously glancing at the place where Su Yunqing's hand had just been, Gu Xiaowu forced a warm smile.

That idiot A-Zhi—did she not know her own body? Yet she actually wanted to hide it from her and secretly develop an antidote!

That Fire Spirit Lingzhi... it was prepared for her, wasn't it?

She had originally wondered why A-Zhi had suddenly taken such a profound interest in that so-called treasure; who knew that A-Zhi had traveled thousands of miles to the Southern Barbarians just for her.

She had known for a long time that there was an extremely potent poison in her body, but it hadn't manifested in all these years. She didn't even know the composition of the poison, so she had no way of developing an antidote.

However, since A-Zhi was determined to keep it from her, she would act as if she knew nothing.

As long as it was something A-Zhi wanted to do, she would go along with it, no matter what it was.

"Xiaowu, your relationship with that Su Yunqing really is extraordinary!" Seeing Gu Xiaowu approach, Dugu Yi couldn't help but exclaim.

They had clearly only known each other for a short time, so why did they act like old friends who had known each other for years? He truly couldn't figure it out.

"Of course," Gu Xiaowu said proudly.

If her relationship with A-Zhi wasn't considered good, then no one's relationship was good.

"Since everyone is here, let us set off!" After glancing at Gu Xiaowu, Dugu Chen said indifferently. He then turned to instruct Luo Chen: "Pass the word down. Depart immediately."

Gu Xiaowu froze instantly. She had only just remembered that after Yan Feng left, there was no one left to drive the carriage for her.

Glancing at Dugu Xun, who was not far away, Gu Xiaowu ran over quickly.

"A-Xun, let's share a carriage!" Gu Xiaowu tugged at the corner of Dugu Xun's clothes, smiling obsequiously.

"I refuse," Dugu Xun rejected her request directly.

This was a joke; his Imperial Brother's attitude toward her was already very obvious. He didn't want to be targeted by his brother over such a trivial matter.

"Why?" Gu Xiaowu's smile grew even more brilliant, but to Dugu Xun, that smile felt exceptionally cold.

"I don't want to. You should go ride with Shiyi!" That single-minded fellow Shiyi certainly wouldn't think too much about it. So, if he didn't frame him now, when would he? Weren't younger brothers born to be framed by their older brothers?

"Compared to Shiyi, I still prefer riding in a carriage with A-Xun." The more Dugu Xun wanted to avoid being with her, the more she wanted to ride with him.

Dugu Xun's face darkened. Looking up at the large group that had already traveled a distance, he shook his head and quickly jumped onto a carriage.

He was fast, but Gu Xiaowu was not slow either. Just as Dugu Xun jumped onto the carriage, he saw Gu Xiaowu already sitting inside quite brazenly.

Dugu Xun let out a headache-inducing sigh and sat down beside her resentfully.

When did this girl get in? Why hadn't he seen her?

"Even if you want me to ride with Shiyi, you have to catch up to them first." Gu Xiaowu threw a provocative smile at Dugu Xun and unashamedly picked up some snacks from the carriage to eat.

Dugu Xun gave a cold snort and simply closed his eyes, deciding that out of sight was out of mind.

Leaving the capital of the Southern Barbarians, they had to pass through a forest. Dugu Xun and Gu Xiaowu caught up with Dugu Chen and the others at the entrance of that forest.

Although the weather in the Southern Barbarians was currently as hot as midsummer, the moment they entered the forest, Gu Xiaowu felt a bone-chilling coldness.

"A-Xun, be careful." Gu Xiaowu dropped her snacks and reminded Dugu Xun with a solemn expression.

There was a very intense killing intent ahead. Her experiences in her past life made her exceptionally sensitive to killing intent, so her intuition would not be wrong; something was definitely waiting for them ahead.

Dugu Xun slowly opened his eyes and said, "Just mind yourself. Don't hold me back!"

He had joined the army at thirteen and had been fighting in the wars of the Tianchen army until he returned to Jiangning City at seventeen. Therefore, he was naturally very sensitive to killing intent as well.

Although he was unsure of what awaited them, with his Imperial Brother ahead, he wasn't overly worried.

Sure enough, after entering the forest for less than half an hour, the group came to a halt. Waiting for them in the forest was a pair of black-clad, masked individuals filled with killing intent.

"Attack!"

Upon seeing Dugu Chen and the others, the black-clad men swarmed forward.

On the Tianchen side, the best martial artists were Dugu Chen, Dugu Xun, and Gu Xiaowu. Although the others' martial arts were not as exceptional, they could still manage to hold their own given their ample physical strength.

Once the group stopped, Gu Xiaowu gripped the whip she had prepared long ago and leaped down from the carriage.

She didn't care about fancy techniques or forms; she only knew that the only thing she needed to do now was kill these black-clad men. Those who performed beautiful moves were only doing it for show; for killing, it was far from enough.

Just like Sang Xianxian—every move and stance of hers was beautiful, but they were not very effective.

Every whip was used with full strength. With every strike, someone's skin was torn and flesh was exposed.

This was the first time the three Dugu brothers had seen Gu Xiaowu looking so ruthless. It was completely different from her usual playful demeanor; at this moment, Gu Xiaowu was filled with killing intent.

In contrast to Gu Xiaowu, every move Dugu Chen made was elegant. Nevertheless, wherever he passed, black-clad men would fall.

Dugu Xun was even more formidable; he had already killed many black-clad men, yet not a single drop of blood had stained his body.

This group of black-clad men was clearly well-trained. The Tianchen guards were no match for them. Although Dugu Chen, Dugu Xun, and Gu Xiaowu were holding the front line, more than half of the Tianchen guards were still killed or wounded.

***

Meanwhile, inside the Southern Barbarian Imperial Palace.

"Xiling, didn't you say you had something to tell me? Why are you hesitating to speak?" Seeing Feng Xiling remain silent for a long time, Gu Xizhi finally spoke up to ask.

He had intended to return to Tianchen with Cheng'er, but before leaving, Xiling had detained him.

Because of her countenance, which was extremely similar to Xi'er's, he found himself unable to refuse.

Or rather, it should be said that he could not bear to see any expression other than happiness appear on a face so similar to Xi'er's.

Feng Xiling unconsciously fiddled with the handkerchief in her hand, looking as if she wanted to speak but hesitated.

"Xiling, if there is nothing, I shall leave first." If he was too late, he feared he wouldn't catch up with Cheng'er and the others before dark.

"No, you cannot leave." In her panic, Feng Xiling actually blurted out the words in her heart.

"Why can I not leave?" Gu Xizhi frowned slightly, having a bad premonition, though he didn't know why.

"Because... because..." Feng Xiling bit her lip, tears already overflowing from her eyes.

Gu Xizhi showed no pity. His gaze toward Feng Xiling was exceptionally sharp, and his voice was somewhat cold: "Because of what?"

He naturally knew about yesterday's events. Could it be... could it be that the Southern Barbarian Emperor could not swallow his anger, and would therefore send people to intercept and kill Cheng'er and the others on the road today?

If that were truly the case, then Cheng'er and the others right now...

"Because I love you, Xizhi! I love you, so you cannot leave! If you leave, what will I do? I really... I really cannot live without you!" Feng Xiling closed her eyes and shouted her heart's truth.

Having finally uttered the words she had hidden in her heart for so long, Feng Xiling collapsed weakly onto the ground.

Seeing this, Gu Xizhi did not reach out to help her up.

He stood where he was, looking coldly at Feng Xiling, his pleasant voice carrying a bone-chilling frost: "I will act as if I never heard those words. We will not meet again in the future. My heart was given to Cheng'er's mother long ago; in this lifetime, I will never love another woman."

"But... but if you don't love me, then why were you so good to me before? Tell me, why? Why?!" Feng Xiling struggled to stand up, her face already drenched in tears.

Gu Xizhi sighed softly, his tone still as icy as ever. "Because you look very much like Cheng'er's mother, that is why I unconsciously treated you well. However, no matter how much you resemble her, a counterfeit is ultimately just a counterfeit; it can never replace the original."

He was truly excessive—abandoning his own daughter while running here to be so good to someone else's daughter. He truly deserved to die!

If Xi'er knew he treated their daughter this way, she would probably be so angry that she wouldn't speak to him for days, wouldn't she?

Hearing this, Feng Xiling could no longer restrain her wailing.

A counterfeit... so in his heart, she was merely a counterfeit, not even a substitute!

How ironic! But why, after hearing him say this, did she... not feel even a shred of resentment toward him?

If... if only she could hate him, how wonderful would that be? But why could she not bring herself to hate him?

Gu Xizhi coldly allowed Feng Xiling to wail, neither speaking nor leaving.