#803 - The End of the Song

Night fell.

The festive atmosphere in Fengyuan City lasted throughout the entire day, only gradually calming down at this time.

In stark contrast, the New Feng Imperial Palace under the moonlight slowly began to bustle with activity.

With the great victory in the national war, Xu Sui Sui naturally had to hold a banquet to celebrate.

Although New Feng had just experienced a war and its national treasury was already empty, hosting a banquet was still feasible.

And so, lanterns were hung, decorations were put up, and dragon flags were raised high.

Starting from the end of the You hour (5-7 PM), nearly a thousand officials of all ranks, renowned figures, wealthy merchants, and powerful gentry filed into the brightly lit Linde Hall, which was exclusively used for banquets, and took their seats beside the dining tables.

Although the banquet had not yet begun, dancers and musicians were already performing in the hall.

Clear and melodious music filled the air, dancers moved gracefully to the rhythm, and their figures were captivating.

Nearly a thousand people enjoyed this rare and pleasant scene while chatting quietly, exchanging words of congratulations.

For most people, although the New Feng dynasty had only been established for a short time, they might not have a very strong sense of "national identity".

But regardless, no one wanted to experience the pain of "national subjugation" again.

Therefore, the smiles on everyone's faces at this moment were genuine, and they were also sincerely grateful that Wei Changtian had led his troops to aid them.

After all, everyone knew that without these 300,000 Ning Shu reinforcements, Fengyuan City would probably have already turned into a sea of blood.

Thinking of this, many people turned to look at Wei Changtian, who was sitting on the high platform, with a hint of admiration in their eyes.

However, the latter was only impatiently urging Xu Sui Sui to start serving the food as soon as possible.

"When are we going to eat? Hurry up."

"You!"

Xu Sui Sui, sitting in the very center of the high platform, was dressed in a gorgeous imperial robe, and the gold ornaments in her hair were incredibly intricate, resembling the empresses or queens in the dramas of her previous life.

Well, if there had to be a difference, it was perhaps that Xu Sui Sui was too young, which made her lack a kind of aloofness.

But she could still be considered dignified.

"It'll be about half an hour more."

She turned her head slightly and asked in a very low voice, "Are you hungry?"

"Nonsense."

Wei Changtian rolled his eyes and picked up a piece of pastry, throwing it into his mouth, "I'm almost full from eating this stuff."

". . ."

Xu Sui Sui looked at Wei Changtian helplessly, hesitated for a moment, and then waved a small eunuch to her side.

"Go, tell them to start the banquet now."

"Your Majesty, but it's still a ways off from the auspicious time . . ."

"Do as I say."

". . . Yes, this servant obeys."

Bowing, the little eunuch quickly retreated, heading off to deliver the order to start the banquet.

". . ."

Wei Changtian paused with the chopsticks he was using to pick up pastry, and didn't say anything upon hearing this, only raising his eyes to look at the first row of dining tables below the high platform.

Yang Liushi, Han Zhao, Liang Zhen, and even Tang Chen had already taken their seats, but only Chu Xianping and Li Zimu had yet to appear.

"I guess . . . they won't be coming."

". . ."

On the east side of the Imperial Palace, in a certain guest room.

While Linde Hall was starting the banquet early because "Wei Changtian was hungry," Li Zimu was sitting opposite Chu Xianping.

"Xianping, it's almost time, let's go."

Looking at Chu Xianping in grey clothing, Li Zimu softly urged, "It wouldn't be good to make Gongzi wait for us."

"I won't be going."

With a calm expression, Chu Xianping slowly shook his head, his expression unchanged, "I still have something to do later."

"Something to do?"

Li Zimu was stunned upon hearing this, "What is it?"

"I'll tell you later."

Chu Xianping smiled, not answering Li Zimu, but suddenly changing the topic, asking, "How are you and Tang Chen . . . now?"

"I . . ."

Li Zimu's eyes dimmed, and she lowered her head gently, "I have already made things clear to him."

"Is that so?"

Chu Xianping didn't seem surprised at all, "Then he's going to leave?"

"Yes."

Li Zimu buried her head even lower, "I don't want this, but I can't lie to myself anymore."

"Mm."

Nodding, Chu Xianping didn't make any comments on this, only suddenly asking an incredibly direct question after a moment of silence:

"Is it because of me?"

". . ."

Suddenly raising her head, Li Zimu stared blankly at Chu Xianping's eyes, which didn't have a trace of ripples, her heart churning with emotions because of this sentence.

Of course, she understood the meaning of these words, but . . .

The evening breeze slowly entered through the window, stirring the corners of their clothes, as if mixed with the palace music from Linde Hall.

Li Zimu bit her lip tightly, her eyelids lowered, as if it took great courage to finally say a word after a long while.

"Yes."

Everything was silent, the night was deep.

A trembling "yes" finally changed Chu Xianping's expression.

He gazed at Li Zimu, who was lowering her head and not daring to look at him, with a complicated expression, and then asked softly again:

"Then will you come with me?"

Come with me . . .

If this were a costume romance drama from her previous life, this sentence would actually sound somewhat Qiong Yao-esque "romantic."

But at this moment, Li Zimu couldn't feel any romance at all, and suddenly widened her eyes, her eyes filled with unparalleled astonishment.

Because these three words undoubtedly meant that Chu Xianping still wanted to "defect."

Of course, Wei Changtian already knew about this last night.

But Li Zimu didn't know, so it was naturally inevitable that she was stunned.

"Xian, Xianping, where are you going?"

She subconsciously asked a question, hoping to get an answer that meant "it turns out I was thinking too much."

But unfortunately, Chu Xianping didn't give her any false hope, only speaking truthfully, word by word:

"I already talked to Gongzi last night."

"Our aspirations are different, so we will go our separate ways in the future."

"If you are willing to come with me, then we will leave Fengyuan tonight."

"By the way, you don't have to feel guilty, I will leave something behind that will definitely repay Gongzi's life-saving grace for you."

"And if you don't want to come with me, then just pretend I never said these words, and we will meet again someday."

"Whether to leave or stay is your decision."

". . ."

After saying the last sentence, Chu Xianping stopped speaking, only silently waiting for Li Zimu to make a choice.

And the latter's thinking at this time was like a ball of mud, only slowly being able to operate again after a long time.

Her lips trembled, her eyes strained.

To be honest, the resourceful Chu Xianping was indeed the most perfect ideal partner that Li Zimu could imagine.

If everything Tang Chen had done only brought her a sense of being moved, then what Chu Xianping left in her heart was admiration and adoration.

Obviously, the latter was what a "true son of heaven" should look like, so Li Zimu undoubtedly wanted to marry Chu Xianping.

But if the price was leaving Wei Changtian . . .

"Okay, I understand."

After seeing the almost imperceptible change in Li Zimu's eyes, Chu Xianping slowly stood up without even waiting for the former to speak.

"Take care, we'll meet again someday."

". . ."

Under Li Zimu's anxious gaze, Chu Xianping swiftly and decisively struck several times, instantly sealing all of her acupoints.

Her Qi and blood became stagnant, and Li Zimu immediately slumped weakly onto the wooden chair, her eyes wide, still fixedly staring at Chu Xianping.

Undoubtedly, she had wanted to say something, but now she couldn't utter a word.

Chu Xianping merely took one last deep look at her before turning and pushing the door open to leave without a word.

“Creak~”

The door opened and closed, bringing a gust of breeze that caressed Li Zimu.

The moonlight was hazy, scattered among the shadows of the flowers outside the window, landing on the crystal bead curtain hanging outside the door, and finally drifting deeper into the courtyard under the woman's gaze.

“Young Master Chu.”

An hour later, as the Linde Hall was filled with singing and dancing, Chu Xianping had already left the palace and was standing beside a carriage.

Zhuang Zhiming and several members of the Kuilong Sect had been waiting there for a long time, their words and actions somewhat respectful.

Chu Xianping glanced at Zhuang Zhiming and asked calmly, “Sect Leader Zhuang, have you obtained what you wanted?”

“I have.”

Zhuang Zhiming's eyes couldn't hide his excitement: “Thank you, Young Master, I am extremely grateful!”

“Sect Leader Zhuang is too kind.”

Nodding, Chu Xianping asked again, “And my things?”

“It's right here.”

Zhuang Zhiming didn't dare to be negligent, and immediately took something out of his sleeve and handed it to Chu Xianping.

In the moonlight, the ghost-faced dragon carved on the front of the token was lifelike, exactly the same as the Kuilong Sect token that Chu Xianping had returned to Wei Changtian before.

Without a doubt, this must be the Yellow Stage Elder token that originally belonged to Lü Hongji.

With Lü Hongji dead, this item naturally belonged to Chu Xianping.

And what Zhuang Zhiming obtained was probably the 'Moon Picking Sword' manual.

“Okay, let's go.”

Looking at the token, Chu Xianping put it into his sleeve and walked to the carriage.

A member of the Kuilong Sect had already eagerly lifted the curtain for him, but before getting into the carriage, Chu Xianping turned back to look at it again.

The imperial city of Xin Feng, with its twin phoenix towers, ten thousand families amidst spring trees in the rain.

The Xin Feng Imperial Palace in the night was like a coiled giant dragon, its body towering in the darkness, with sparks of fire resembling scales.

For some, this was a symbol of wealth and power.

For others, this was a quagmire of cruelty and danger.

But in any case, this was the power center of Xin Feng, the most important heart of a nation.

But if you look at the world at large... what does mere Xin Feng amount to?

Withdrawing his gaze, Chu Xianping stepped into the carriage, and after sitting down, he took out a small porcelain bottle from his arms.

He was silent for a moment, then gently pulled out the stopper and poured a black pill into his palm.

If Wei Changtian were here, he would definitely recognize this item.

Because this was a brand new Puppet Pill, and it was the one he thought Chu Xianping had already taken.

“Drip.”

Inner force surged to his fingertips, forcing out a drop of blood.

The blood dripped onto the surface of the Puppet Pill, instantly melting into it, turning into strands of bloody lines, adding a touch of eeriness to the entire pill.

Looking at the pill in his hand, Chu Xianping suddenly sighed for no reason.

But when he remembered what Wei Changtian had said last night, he no longer hesitated, and finally raised his hand and swallowed the Puppet Pill.

“Crack.”

A faint cracking sound seemed to ring out deep in his heart, and some kind of restraint or connection completely collapsed with it.

The sound of “glug glug” of the wheels melted into the silence of the night, slowly disappearing into the distance.

Just like that, Chu Xianping left.

And only two hours after he left, Tang Chen also led a horse out of the Xin Feng Imperial Palace step by step.

Both of them chose to leave tonight, but what they did before leaving was completely opposite.

Chu Xianping left quietly, seeing no one except Li Zimu.

But Tang Chen left in a “grand” manner, and even said goodbye to everyone except Li Zimu.

To be honest, everyone had not spent much time with Tang Chen, so they could not be said to have deep feelings.

However, many people knew more or less the inside story of his affair with Li Zimu, so now they inevitably felt some sympathy and sighs.

“Young Master Tang, take care, I will go to the Ghost Valley Sect to find you for a drink if I have the opportunity in the future.”

“Brother Tang, listen to my advice, a man must not let affairs of the heart delay his great ambitions!”

“General Liang is right, as the saying goes, there is fragrant grass everywhere, there are so many women in this world, Young Master Tang will definitely find a good match.”

“Alright, alright, don't mention Young Master Tang's sad affairs anymore.”

“Yes, yes, Young Master Tang, take care!”

“...”

Facing the “chattering” of Shen Ran, Liang Zhen, Han Zhao, Yang Liushi and others, Tang Chen just smiled and kept cupping his hands in response, never asking where Li Zimu had gone, as if he had really let go of everything.

Then, he led a horse alone out of the palace, out of the bustling Fengyuan City, until there was no one around him.

He walked silently in the night, with only a post station in the vicinity lit with a little light.

And in this post station, Wei Changtian quietly watched the man and horse walking on the official road not far away, making a final decision in his heart.

Without a doubt, now, as long as he wanted to, he could kill Tang Chen effortlessly, earning 1500 system points and gaining a powerful divine ability.

And if he killed someone here, including Li Zimu, no one would know.

So, should he kill him or not?

His hand was on the hilt of his sword, but his body did not move.

Wei Changtian just watched Tang Chen walk step by step from far to near, and then from near to far past the post station, and finally silently released his hand.

Damn it, he was still soft-hearted after all.

Cursing inwardly, Wei Changtian realized that he really couldn't be a completely bad person.

At the same time, he also sighed at the trickery of the world.

Although the whole thing was undoubtedly Li Zimu's fault for letting Tang Chen down.

But without Li Zimu, Tang Chen would not have been alive until now, and would probably have been killed by himself in Liangzhou.

Thinking about it this way, Li Zimu's deception saved Tang Chen's life instead?

Smiling wryly and shaking his head, Wei Changtian was too lazy to think about these broken things anymore, and once again focused his gaze on Tang Chen's back.

The stars tonight are not those of last night, for whom do you stand in the dew in the middle of the night?

Behind him, Fengyuan City was brightly lit, full of joy.

The official road in front of him was pitch black, not knowing where it led.

At some point, the chestnut-red horse seemed to be a little impatient to walk, suddenly stopped, panting roughly while stubbornly raising its head and stomping its hooves.

Tang Chen didn't urge it, just stood there gently patting the horse's head, his movements very light.

The moonlight was bright, falling on the man and horse, as if it were the purest white snow in the world.