The following night, the post house suddenly caught fire. At that time, Xiao Chi Zhan was in the East Palace, planning to deploy troops to force a coup, kill Emperor Ming Ji, and seize Zhong Zhou. Once Qi Lin Zhou ascended the throne, the attack on Northern Qi would be imminent.
However, who would have thought that the vast post house would be completely burnt down by arson? Over a dozen palaces blazed, and everything was in disarray. Countless envoys from various countries were killed or injured.
When Xiao Chi Zhan and his group returned on horseback, the entire post house was engulfed in flames. He rushed towards Mo Yun Tang like a madman. The garden was filled with corpses, blood, and the glow of fire.
"Where is Ye Luan? Has she come out?"
Long Tian’s entire body turned pale with pain from the immense force with which he was squeezed. He respectfully replied, "We searched the entire room but could not find Miss Ye."
Before the sudden fire, many assassins, all highly skilled in martial arts, had broken into Mo Yun Tang. During the fierce fighting, the garden suddenly caught fire, and flames soared into the sky. They immediately disregarded the fire and went in to save Ye Luan, but they couldn't find her anywhere, and many of the hidden guards had died.
Xiao Chi Zhan’s eyes widened, his heart feeling as if it were being sliced by a knife. He instantly pushed Long Tian away and was about to rush into the flames.
"Your Highness, Miss Ye is not here. With such a massive fire, you will die if you rush in."
"Get lost!"
Tan Tai Ye had gone to save Lan Mu Rou and had not followed. When Li Qiong Yu arrived, he saw Xiao Chi Zhan's back as he rushed into the inferno. He was shocked and roared, "Are you crazy? Hurry and extinguish the fire and save people!"
Everyone hastily fought the fire, and various shouts of anger, noise, and crying mingled together, causing utter chaos throughout the post house. All the elite guards who had accompanied Xiao Chi Zhan into the fire had not emerged. Li Qiong Yu was trembling with anxiety.
"It's on fire, why didn't you save Ye Luan first? Why didn't you save Ye Luan first? Are you all tired of living?"
Long Tian also wanted to rush into the fire to find Xiao Chi Zhan, but upon hearing Li Qiong Yu's words, he quickly said, "We went to save her, searched the entire room, but never found Miss Ye. His Highness went in, but couldn't find her. Young Master Li, what should we do?"
Li Qiong Yu walked back and forth with his hands on his hips in anger. Seeing the corpses on the ground, he angrily asked, "Who are these corpses? Did someone break into Mo Yun Tang to assassinate?"
"Before the big fire, many assassins suddenly broke in. They were extremely skilled in martial arts, like elite guards. During the fight, it caught fire, and all of us rushed into the flames, constantly searching for Miss Ye, but we couldn't find her."
Upon hearing this, a flash of brilliance flickered in Li Qiong Yu's peach blossom eyes. He suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice, "Move these corpses out. We will investigate thoroughly when His Highness comes out."
After speaking, Li Qiong Yu glanced at the main house. Seeing that Xiao Chi Zhan and the elite guards still hadn't come out, he cursed a few times, grabbed a jar of water, doused himself with it, and then rushed in. Xiao Chi Zhan, I truly owe you from my past life.
When Tan Tai Ye arrived with Lan Mu Rou, who was unharmed, he saw the scene of devastation, with the most severe damage being here. His hawk-like eyes narrowed, and he called out, "Ying Yi, don't go in anymore. Come here."
"General," Long Tian hurried over.
"When did His Highness go in? Where is Li Qiong Yu?" Long Tian said urgently, "Both of them went in and haven't come out yet." Hearing this, Tan Tai Ye's chest heaved violently, clearly greatly angered.
"Ying Yi, go in and save them. If they don't come out, even if I have to kill them, drag them out."
For the sake of a woman, do they not want to live?
"Yes."
Flames soared all around, devouring the land like a prairie fire. Tan Tai Ye looked at the corpses, blood, and swords on the ground, remaining silent for a long while. A moment later, he turned his gaze to the crying Lan Mu Rou.
'Rou'er, you're lucky you weren't in the house at the time.'
Lan Mu Rou was startled and covered her face with a handkerchief, crying. "General, what should we do? Luan'er won't be dead, will she?"
"You ask me? Don't you know?" His sharp phoenix eyes fixed intently on her face. Lan Mu Rou's heart pounded. Unable to bear it, she tilted her head and fainted. Tan Tai Ye frowned and immediately reached out to catch the soft figure, holding her in his arms. Always fainting.
The sky was gloomy, overcast with dense clouds, and the cold wind was as sharp as a knife, piercing to the bone. As Tan Tai Ye grew impatient waiting, inside the house, the red-eyed, white-haired man was finally forcefully brought out by Li Qiong Yu and the elite guards. He leaped out, bearing injuries to varying degrees. In his arms, he held a corpse whose face was unrecognizable due to the burning.
"Ye Luan is dead?!" Seeing this, he was greatly shocked and immediately shook Lan Mu Rou awake, rushing towards the corpse. Lan Mu Rou did not follow. She straightened up, stood under the ruins, and calmly watched Xiao Chi Zhan kneeling in the courtyard, holding the corpse.
With just one glance, she was stunned. That man, who had always been arrogant and invincible, was actually shedding tears. Silent tears slid down his face, filled with sorrow. His aura was desolately chilling. She tightly clenched her handkerchief, suddenly feeling as if the man who struck fear into the hearts of the capital, as proud as a god, had had his bones shattered. His pride was broken, utterly broken. Under the bright moonlight, she could see with her own eyes that his red pupils no longer held ferocity or殺戮, but were filled with vulnerability, deathly stillness, and heartache.
For so many years, she had known Xiao Chi Zhan for so long, and she had never seen him cry, never seen him so vulnerable. Could that bloodthirsty man also cry? He was someone who wouldn't even frown while plunging a knife, to what extent of grief was he driven that he too would weep.
Lan Mu Rou wanted to laugh. Laugh at his current dishevelment. Laugh at his current pitiable foolishness. Xiao Chi Zhan, oh Xiao Chi Zhan, do you regret it now? Do you regret how you trampled on her before? You are now holding a corpse that isn't hers at all, and doesn't your heart bleed? But she, she doesn't want to see you again in this lifetime. What's the use of your tears? You will never see each other again!
At some point, the overcast sky suddenly began to rain. The post house, in chaos from the fire, was quickly extinguished by the sudden downpour. Lan Mu Rou kept her eyes on the figure kneeling in the rain, a faint sadness slowly appearing in her gentle eyes. She could never have imagined that one day she would witness such a scene. The esteemed Prince of Dingbei of Great Liang, a devilish god of war, kneeling in the rain and crying for a woman. This was something she had never dared to imagine since knowing Xiao Chi Zhan. She hadn't even dared to dream of it! Looking at the humble figure in the rain, she smiled and glanced into the distance.
Luan'er, I saw it for you. I saw how he was consumed by grief and heartbroken for you, how laughable and pitiable it was. When he tormented and imprisoned you, did he ever think of this day? Did he ever think he would be driven to such madness for a woman? Retribution! It's all retribution! Luan'er, do you know? You are free, and he has gone mad!
The rain fell harder and harder! The chilling raindrops struck Xiao Chi Zhan’s face. His indifferent pupils stared unblinkingly at the corpse in his arms. His tall, upright posture seemed as if his bones had shattered as he knelt on the ground, his face etched with a pathological madness. "Dead, dead?"