FBC – Chapter 185 Hidden Danger

Gu Hua watched as Mu Junyan led Ji Xuanyu toward the city wall, unease stirring in her heart.

Ji Xuanyu mounted the wall and slowly walked toward the flagpole. Looking across at the Luodian border city, his bound hands stretched toward the flagpole, which now bore the Mu army’s banner.

Mu Junyan’s gaze darkened.

Just as he was about to step forward, Ji Xuanyu pulled out a fuse hidden within the seams of the wooden flagpole.

Clutching the fuse in his palm, he turned to Mu Junyan with a half-smile: “You think you’ve won? You think you can march into Dali Commandery so easily? Didn’t you notice Dali never sent reinforcements to rescue Shicheng Commandery? That’s because enough explosives have been buried under this wall to blow you sky-high.”

Chiyu and the others instantly grew tense, a dozen pairs of eyes fixed firmly on Ji Xuanyu’s hand.

Ji Xuanyu continued, as if speaking to himself: “If Hua’er hadn’t been here just now, I would’ve already dragged you down with me.”

Mu Junyan said steadily: “What meaning does your death hold?”

“If I don’t die, will you let me live?”

Ji Xuanyu raised an eyebrow. “Mu Junyan, your battle merits are unmatched, you command hundreds of thousands of troops, but you cannot protect Hua’er. You have made too many enemies, all of them men of immense power. It’s not only the southern kingdoms that want you dead—those nobles in Great Liang want you gone too. I am doomed anyway, but if you accompany me to the grave, that is good enough.”

Mu Junyan asked calmly: “Who will protect Hua’er then?”

Ji Xuanyu froze slightly.

“Hua’er… she doesn’t want me anymore.”

“Ziyuan!”

A woman’s anxious voice sounded.

Both men turned to see Gu Hua, breathless from climbing, her cotton robe held up in one hand.

She suddenly saw Ji Xuanyu standing high upon the wall and rushed forward in panic: “Brother Ji… are you going to jump?”

The hand holding the fuse stiffened slightly.

Mu Junyan gripped the hilt of his sword, eyes locked on both Gu Hua and Ji Xuanyu. Should Ji Xuanyu make the slightest move, he would pierce his skull in an instant.

Gu Hua’s gaze fell abruptly on the fuse in his hand. Following its line downward, she saw it disappear into the cracks between the stones beneath the wall—something was hidden there.

A dreadful thought flashed across her mind, and her face drained of color: “Brother Ji, explosives are buried here?”

Ji Xuanyu looked at her. “And if they are, will you die with him?”

Her almond eyes widened.

So that was it!

It wasn’t winter clothes, or grain, or plagues of poison—it was explosives hidden beneath Shicheng Commandery.

Without thinking further, she spun toward Mu Junyan, seizing his arm. Looking back at Ji Xuanyu, she nodded firmly: “If you insist on killing Ziyuan and his soldiers, then I have no choice but to die with them.”

Ji Xuanyu’s pupils shrank.

Mu Junyan’s heart shook, his burning gaze dropping to her face.

Gu Hua raised her head, meeting his eyes, and smiled faintly.

Between Mu Junyan and Ji Xuanyu, Gu Hua would first choose righteousness, then follow her heart.

Ever since she met Mu Junyan, he had never harmed her. Whether her intentions toward him were genuine or manipulative, he had always protected and supported her.

There are countless ways to reach one’s goals.

To benefit both self and others—or to harm others for self-gain. Two realms, two worlds.

If one chooses the latter, even in success, what is truly gained?

Like Mu Junyan—even if he died in battle, he would remain a hero in the hearts of the people.

But Ji Xuanyu, even after killing rival after rival, remained shrouded in darkness and unhappiness.

Gu Hua’s small hand gripped Mu Junyan’s large one tightly.

At this moment, she understood why Mu Junyan could choose never to marry or leave heirs—for the sake of Great Liang, for the peace of the people.

Faced with Ji Xuanyu, one must cut cleanly when the time comes.

Blood pounded in Ji Xuanyu’s chest as his fingers slowly twisted the fuse.

Chiyu and the others were so tense their hands hovered over their blades, ready to strike at any instant.

“Hua’er, do you really think I’d want to hurt you?”

Gu Hua pressed her lips tightly together, heart in her throat.

Ji Xuanyu suddenly sighed.

How could he ever hurt Hua’er?

He would rather kill the world than harm her.

Then suddenly, his hand moved. Amid the startled cries of everyone present, Gu Hua instinctively buried her head in Mu Junyan’s chest.

But Ji Xuanyu pulled the fuse out completely—eliminating the hidden danger once and for all.

The surroundings fell utterly silent.

No explosion came. Gu Hua looked up at him.

“Hua’er, your brother Ji is still someone you can trust.”

Her heart twisted painfully, tears threatening to fall.

The soldiers gripped their swords, eyes wide, but none dared act rashly, fearing he was deceiving them.

Gu Hua stared at him, stunned.

Seeing her disbelief, Ji Xuanyu let out a self-mocking laugh.

Perhaps he had been the Young Master of Yifeng Hall too long. To others, he was nothing but a monstrous scourge—untrustworthy even on the brink of death.

Sensing the desolation in his eyes, Gu Hua released Mu Junyan’s hand, turned to Ji Xuanyu, and gave him a proper bow.

“Brother Ji, on behalf of the Mu army and the common people, I thank you for your great deed.”

Ji Xuanyu gave a bitter smile. “I have no great deed. I only have you.”

Gu Hua froze.

“You don’t believe me?” Ji Xuanyu suddenly crouched down, picked up a fallen sword, and drove it into his own chest.

“Don’t!” Gu Hua cried out in terror.

Blood gushed from his chest as he slumped against the flagpole base, supporting himself on the sword.

Yet he smiled: “This is the place you stabbed me last time. This time I did it myself. I don’t blame you—truly.”

Gu Hua shook her head violently, tears streaming. “Brother Ji, you don’t need to do this. You shed blood to save others and removed the explosives—I know you’d never harm me. I never believed you would.”

The gloom in Ji Xuanyu’s smile slowly faded, his eyes reddening as he laughed softly.

Gu Hua saw the brother Ji she once knew again.

Though his appearance had changed, his gentle eyes, when smiling, were as warm and beautiful as before.

“Hua’er, will you come closer? I want to tell you something.” His voice was weak.

Gu Hua, her face streaked with tears, turned to Mu Junyan.

He stepped forward, tucking her stray hair behind her ear, and said softly: “Follow your heart.”

She broke into sobs, throwing her arms around him.

He gently held her waist, comforting her.

After a moment.

Gu Hua rose and turned toward Ji Xuanyu.

As she drew near, he suddenly pulled her into his arms.

Chiyu and the others nearly struck, but Mu Junyan waved them down, eyes fixed on Ji Xuanyu’s hand gripping Gu Hua’s arm.

Ji Xuanyu’s pupils dilated with emotion, dark as a bottomless abyss that swallowed every feeling.

“Hua’er, whether you believe it or not, I never once wished to harm you. But each time I ended up hurting you—it was never my intent.”

Gu Hua, tense and stiff, nodded: “I know.”

“You fear me?”

“No.”

Ji Xuanyu smiled helplessly, his gaze softening. “When you lie, you always curl your fingers.”

Gu Hua quickly straightened her hand.

His eyes fell on the blood-stained kerchief at her neck.

“Does it hurt?”

Before she could answer, he shook his head. “I have no right to ask.”

He recalled the last time he saw her, dressed in a sky-blue gown. Though she had suffered terribly, she always smiled brightly in front of him.

“Hua’er… did you ever think about leaving with me?”

When Concubine Pei had him pushed off the cliff, she said he was unworthy of Hua’er.

He wondered—if not for her, would Hua’er have gone with him?

Tears welled in Gu Hua’s eyes as she nodded. “Of course I thought about it. That day, I was imprisoned.”

Something seemed to untangle in Ji Xuanyu’s heart. Glancing at Mu Junyan behind her, ever watchful, he asked: “If he and I stood before you together, who would you choose?”

Gu Hua shook her head. “It’s not the same. If it weren’t him—if it were anyone else—I’d probably already be dead.”

So that was it.

He could be replaced by Mu Junyan.

But Mu Junyan could never be replaced.

Ji Xuanyu’s heart ached bitterly, yet strangely, he also felt release.

In her darkest hour, he was absent.

In the end, it was fate’s cruel trick.

And he knew—Mu Junyan truly treated Gu Hua well. Only he could keep her safe.

“But why… why does he not give you the position of his proper wife?”

A trace of coldness flickered in Ji Xuanyu’s eyes.