FBC – Chapter 184 A Dying Struggle

Ji Xuanyu looked toward the horizon where the sky was gradually whitening.

Perhaps, in the dark, fate truly had its cycles of cause and effect.

Again and again, he had personally hurt her; again and again, he had pushed the one he loved into another man’s arms.

He had thought everything he did was to draw closer to her, but in truth, she was drifting farther and farther away.

Taking a deep breath, Ji Xuanyu gazed at Gu Hua with deep affection: “Hua’er, I never wanted to hurt you. Come here, and I’ll tell you the way to cure the poison.”

Gu Hua shook her head firmly. “I’m not going over. If you really want to save me, then just tell me directly.”

Suppressing his temper, Ji Xuanyu kept his tone calm: “This poison will make you wish you were dead. Aren’t you the one most afraid of pain? Every time Concubine Pei abused you, you cried for such a long time.”

Gu Hua closed her eyes, then slowly reopened them, calming her heart. “That was before.”

That was in her past life.

She had already died once—what else was there left to fear?

Ji Xuanyu stared blankly at her. The familiar face he had dreamed of day and night now carried only a stranger’s expression.

What had Hua’er gone through during the years he was gone?

He did not regret following Yifeng Hall. He did not regret killing so many people of Great Liang. He did not regret lowering himself to act as a base plaything, humiliated for the sake of his goals.

To achieve his end, he had been willing to sacrifice everything.

But now, seeing that blood-soaked, slender figure leaning in another man’s arms, remorse surged within him, choking him, nearly suffocating.

She had stabbed him twice with her own hands.

Even after knowing who he was, she had still pierced him without hesitation. The wound in his chest still throbbed faintly to this day.

That pain was worse than death itself.

He shut his eyes against the ache, then reopened them, his tone carrying a trace of pleading.  “Hua’er, I wronged you. Whatever you want, it doesn’t matter—even if you want to be with him. But come here first. Take the antidote. Otherwise, you’ll die.”

Mu Junyan gave a cold laugh. “You’re already a prisoner, what right do you have to demand Hua’er go to you? If you really have medicine, we’ll search you. Insisting she go to you—you want to use her as a hostage, don’t you?”

“You slander me! I’m not like you, heartless enough to use her as bait, disregarding her safety!” Ji Xuanyu roared.

Mu Junyan, unwilling to waste words, cut straight through: “If you truly want to save her, why not hand over the antidote directly?”

Ji Xuanyu fixed his gaze on Gu Hua, who stood unmoving, his heart gnawed at as though by venomous insects.

Yes, he wanted to use her as a hostage—but more than that, he wanted to take her away with him.

Gu Hua’s long lashes lowered slowly, her heart twisting in agony.

Brother Ji… had truly changed.

He was no longer the Ji-ge of the past.

Suddenly, Ji Xuanyu smiled. “Hua’er, I left you one last gift. Gu Wanru deserves to die—you’ll know when you return.”

Gu Hua widened her eyes, staring at him in confusion.

He suddenly lifted his bound hand. “Cut my veins. Drink my blood—you’ll be saved. All those poisoned can drink my blood. No medicine works as well as my blood. Come—drain me, and save your people.”

Gu Hua’s head snapped up “You—!”

Mu Junyan’s gaze darkened. “Why?”

Ji Xuanyu gave a bitter laugh. “What is Yifeng Hall? There is no such thing as father-son affection there. This poison is used to control us. Every one of us carries it. We take the antidote regularly, but the doses they give never fully purge it. I secretly stole three pills. One I saved for you, the other two I swallowed myself. But… the one meant for you—I don’t know when it was lost.”

Gu Hua’s heart ached. “Then why did you still devote yourself so blindly to him?”

Ji Xuanyu lifted his eyes to hers, his expression desolate. “Because I had no way out. When I fell from that cliff, my body was shattered. He saved me. He gave me life, gave me the chance to take revenge. I tried to escape this identity, but I am only a commoner. How could I fight the Pei clan? How could I fight the Marquis of Wenchang’s household?”

Gu Hua’s chest clenched in pain, and tears spilled uncontrollably. “Brother Ji… was it all just for my revenge?”

Mu Junyan’s face was icy. He gently stroked her arm, calming her.

In a flat tone, he said, “And yet—how many officials and common people of Great Liang did you kill? You know it in your heart. Do you think your so-called tragedy cancels out their blood debt?”

Gu Hua’s tears slowly ceased. She looked fixedly at Ji Xuanyu.

Curled in a corner, he resembled a beaten, abandoned dog.

“That’s why I ask you to drain my blood.”

Gu Hua lifted her head toward Mu Junyan.

He saw the thought flickering in her eyes.

“Chi Yu.”

“Yes.”

“Let his blood be drawn into a bowl. Give it to the poisoned brothers to try.”

“As you command.”

Chiyan pulled the dagger from his waist, approached Ji Xuanyu, and sliced open his wrist. Blood was collected into a bowl, then the wound was bound. The bowl was carried away.

Through it all, Ji Xuanyu’s brow never twitched; his eyes never left Gu Hua for a second.

Held within Mu Junyan’s long arms, Gu Hua dared not meet his gaze. Her head hung low, her long lashes trembling with tears.

Her slender hands clutched Mu Junyan’s robe so tightly her knuckles turned white.

So—she did still care about him.

Ji Xuanyu lowered his eyes, a flash of icy rejection crossing them.

Before long, Chi Yu returned, his face alight. “My lord, it works! The poisoned brothers who drank his blood are already recovering swiftly.”

Mu Junyan and Gu Hua raised their eyes to Ji Xuanyu at the same time.

Mu Junyan said slowly: “You’ve committed treason and murder. Death is inescapable. Once you’re escorted to the capital, you’ll be judged according to law. But since you willingly gave your blood—if this counts as surrender, I’ll report it to His Majesty, and ensure you at least leave a whole corpse.”

Gu Hua’s eyes reddened. She bit her lip hard, unable to speak.

Ji Xuanyu burst into laughter. “What use is a whole corpse? Even the noblest person becomes nothing but a mound of dirt. Won’t worms devour the flesh all the same?”

Gu Hua shuddered at his laughter.

Secretly tugging Mu Junyan’s sleeve, she exchanged a glance with him—both sensing something amiss.

“I have only one request,” Ji Xuanyu said. “Let me stand upon the walls of Shicheng County and gaze at Great Liang. There, I will drain my blood myself.”

Yifeng Hall was indeed vicious. Many Shicheng soldiers had been poisoned. During battle, even the blood splattering into the nose or mouth of Mu’s men had infected dozens.

The pills were gone. Blood was the only cure.

Gu Hua’s eyes lit up. “Ziyuan, that means the blood of all Yifeng Hall men should work as antidote.”

Mu Junyan stroked her cheek, murmuring, “You want to spare his life?”

Her eyes grew red. “I won’t argue with the law. I just fear one man’s blood won’t be enough.”

“Mm.” He nodded, instructing Chi Yu to test the blood of captured and slain Yifeng Hall members, to identify usable sources.

Ji Xuanyu struggled to his feet. “Let me stand on the walls and see Great Liang one last time. I want to bow and confess my sins.”

Gu Hua frowned, suspicious.

Mu Junyan nodded. “Fine.”

Ji Xuanyu’s eyes lit up with a strange excitement.

Chi Yu seized him and led him out.

Mu Junyan lowered his voice. “Will you come, or return first?”

“Let her leave! I don’t want to see her again!” Ji Xuanyu suddenly snarled, turning back viciously.

Gu Hua frowned, her small hand clutching Mu Junyan’s tightly. “You mustn’t go either.”

Ji Xuanyu’s gaze grew cold as he watched them. “Duke Yong, I have a secret to tell you. It concerns your final victory. So, please—come with me to the wall.”

A sudden unease gripped Gu Hua’s heart. “Don’t go.”

Mu Junyan stroked her face, reassuring her softly: “It’s alright. Take some of the Yifeng Hall prisoners back to Juzhou City first. Juzhou still needs you.”