The sky was a dull, overcast gray, with flashes of lightning and a chilling wind whistling.
Xiao Chizhan's expression was grim as he raised his alluring eyes to look at her.
Their gazes met in the air.
"I know you value your life, there's no need to threaten me with death."
The maiden on the city wall smiled, a brilliant smile.
The string pulled taut in Xiao Chizhan's heart snapped.
"I'm not even holding your feigned death and elopement against you, what are you even throwing a tantrum about?"
"I'm throwing a tantrum?" Ye Luan sneered at him, "Xiao Chizhan, you will never understand, you will always be like this, always!"
Her eyes, as dazzling as black pearls from the depths of the ocean, seemed incredibly desolate despite her smile.
"I don't understand, why, when I treat you so well, you repeatedly try to leave me. What's so good about Lu Feibo?"
A bloodthirsty killing intent lay hidden in his sinister eyes.
Heavy rain poured down frantically, blurring the world.
A flicker of mockery crossed Ye Luan's eyes.
This was precisely how he was, always!
Arrogant, cruel, insidious, utterly incapable of learning respect, unable to comprehend love.
"Xiao Chizhan, you always blame others, you are cold-blooded and ruthless, and you never look for problems within yourself."
"Heh, you constantly call me heartless, yet every word you speak defends him. Have you forgotten, you are my Princess Consort?" He paused, his voice growing more menacing. "He took you away without permission, and deserves to die. I haven't settled scores with him yet, where exactly have I gone wrong?"
Ye Luan responded coldly, "You're not wrong, you are always right."
Their verbal sparring filled the air with a palpable tension, a clash of swords that even the relentless rain could not conceal.
Li Qiongyu glanced at the person on the city wall. "I'm freezing to death, quickly persuade her to come down and enter the city."
Xiao Chizhan ignored him, his deep, alluring red eyes flashing with anger, which he forcibly suppressed.
"As long as you come down, I'll agree to anything."
How could she possibly be suicidal? She was clearly testing his soft heart.
She only knew how to manipulate him, that's all she knew!
Upon hearing his words, a hint of an imperceptible change flashed in Ye Luan's eyes. Her tall figure stood on the battlement, her fair, delicate face cold and indifferent. Her crimson lips parted slightly.
"I don't want to be your prisoner, let me go."
Her words fell, and a deathly silence ensued.
The dark, imposing army surrounded the base of the city tower, creating an atmosphere as if dark clouds were pressing down, threatening to crush the city.
Xiao Chizhan had never felt so cold. The pain in his leg seemed to have vanished, replaced by a cramping ache in his heart, causing him to curl his lips in a sardonic smile.
"Prisoner?!"
He raised his alluring eyes and stared at her intently. "Let you go? I would die before I let you go, so give up on that thought."
He slowly rode his horse towards the base of the city tower, his sinister gaze sweeping over towards Tantai Ye, who immediately understood and quietly gave a few instructions to the deputy general behind him.
"Yes."
Ye Luan peered down from the city wall, her foot slowly extending outwards.
Everyone watched her movement in horror.
The hand holding the reins of his horse turned slightly white. He gritted his teeth and spoke with chilling coldness.
"You're doing this on purpose, intentionally testing me, using your life to test me. Ye Luan, you are truly something!"
Ye Luan smiled. "Yes, I am doing it on purpose. It's because Prince you loves me."
"You're threatening me with your life?"
Xiao Chizhan had never felt his heart ache like this before.
What exactly had he done wrong?
That she would torment him like this.
"Xiao Chizhan, I am gambling my life against yours. If I lose, I die."
The maiden's bright, radiant face was a mask of indifference. Standing precariously on the city wall, she made Xiao Chizhan feel both furious and pained.
He looked up at her, his alluring red eyes seeming to bore into her face.
"Why can't you try to love me?"
The Prince of Dingbei of the great Liang, begging for love in the rain, was something no one had ever anticipated.
Tantai Ye looked at the pathetic Xiao Chizhan, his hidden weapon loosening slightly in his hand. He hoped he wouldn't hurt the man, lest he be scolded later.
"Love you?"
Ye Luan, perhaps due to the heavy rain striking her face, felt a chilling sensation. A fear began to rise from the depths of her heart.
She suppressed it forcefully, regaining her composure.
"I don't love you, and I never will."
Xiao Chizhan!
Our past was too humiliating, it was wrong from the start.
That night, being forced, was a humiliation I will never forget.
I cannot let go of the suffering I endured, nor forget the look on your face when you knew the child was lost. The damage has been done, it cannot be undone.
How can I love you without any reservations?
There's no going back! No going back!
"Never will?! Heh!"
A fierce glint flashed in his blood-red eyes, tinged with a near-obsessive madness. "Fine, very well! We'll torment each other, and neither will let go, even in death."
Without her, he could not live.
He would never let go.
Once Xiao Chizhan sets his mind on someone, he would never let go, not even in death.
Ye Luan, lacking internal energy, could not hear his muttering. She quietly looked at him through the rain and mist.
"Has Your Highness decided?"
Xiao Chizhan rode his horse towards the base of the city tower, his sinister, cold eyes sweeping over Tantai Ye, who nodded in understanding.
"I promise you, I will come down."
Ye Luan said, "I don't believe Your Highness's words. You all retreat first."
Everyone, "-----"
Raindrops, fine as needles, fell densely on the battlements, seeping into the bricks. The surroundings were shrouded in a haze.
The moment an almost imperceptible attack came from behind, Ye Luan, who was already on guard, turned and grabbed Tantai Ye's arm, her body leaning back smoothly.
"You are truly despicable!"
Tantai Ye licked his lips and smiled, showing no shame for being discovered.
He forcefully pulled her down. Ye Luan directly pressed the knife hidden in her sleeve against her neck, her body leaning out of the city wall, startling Xiao Chizhan and turning his face pale.
"Let her go."
Tantai Ye raised an eyebrow and released his grip.
Ye Luan lowered her gaze and looked at the man below the city wall. He stood at the base of the tower, a few steps away from the city gate.
Xiao Chizhan!
I'm gambling my life, gambling that you can!
She curled her lips into a cold smile. "Xiao Chizhan, a heartless and indifferent person like you must stay alive. I wish you eternal life, prosperity, and many descendants."
The maiden's graceful figure, like a butterfly, leaped down resolutely, shocking everyone.
Xiao Chizhan was greatly alarmed, his eyes bloodshot, and he leaped from his horse.
Tantai Ye, holding a long sash prepared in advance, swung it downwards, wrapping around the falling person.
Ye Luan was yanked hard mid-air, and the next second, Xiao Chizhan lunged forward.
Without hesitation, she directly pulled out her knife.
Xiao Chizhan was terrified, his hoarse, desperate cry echoing faintly in the rain.
"No. I promise you, I promise you."
Unless he believed she was truly going to die, he would not feel fear.
She wanted to make Xiao Chizhan afraid to imprison her.
The cold, sharp blade flashed, and the long sash snapped.
Xiao Chizhan, almost desperately, his eyes red, lunged forward.