webnovelvip Chapter 558 Xu Longxiang was gradually becoming distorted; he had become accustomed to giving away t
Chapter 558 Xu Longxiang was gradually becoming distorted; he had become accustomed to giving away t
Xu Longxiang fell silent.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but the words got stuck in his throat.
He wanted to say, "Then don't go," those five words were almost on the tip of his tongue.
But he closed his mouth in the end, because another voice rose from the bottom of his heart.
The voice was softer, yet clearer. It said, "How can you not go? We need his power right now. If we can keep Zhao San in check, we can obtain two powerful figures who are close to being terrestrial immortals at once. This will greatly help our great cause."
The two voices were fighting in his mind.
One said, "You can't do this anymore; you've already sent Jiang Qingxue away."
Another said, "But this is for the greater cause, for the future of the North, and so that 300,000 soldiers will no longer shed blood."
His hands clenched and unclenched, unclenched and clenched again.
Then the voice of "for the great cause" gradually grew louder, until it drowned out everything else.
It pushed all those hesitations, guilt, and struggles into a corner.
He told himself this was the last time.
But when he said those words, even he knew it wasn't true.
He spoke, his voice slightly hoarse: "But didn't you also say that we need his power right now? If we can keep that Zhao San in check, we can obtain two powerful figures who are close to being terrestrial immortals at once. This will greatly help our great cause."
After he finished speaking, he fell silent.
He realized that he couldn't take back what he had said.
He could even feel a gentle throbbing in a more hidden corner of his heart as he spoke these words—it wasn't guilt, nor reluctance.
What is he excited about? Is he excited that he can finally pave the way for his grand undertaking?
He shook his head, trying to shake the thought out of his mind, but it wouldn't leave him.
Chen Ruoyao looked at him.
She didn't answer immediately, but remained silent for a while.
The silence lasted just right—not too long, not too short, just enough for Xu Longxiang to think she was struggling, but not enough to make him feel that she was deliberately stalling.
Her gaze fell on the window, as if she were looking at something very far away, or as if she wasn't looking at anything at all.
Then she sighed softly, her voice carrying just the right amount of weariness: "That was indeed what I initially thought. But then I thought, the other party is so powerful, what if I get taken advantage of?"
There was a hint of hesitation in her voice.
When that hesitation reached Xu Longxiang's ears, he felt as if the stone in his heart had been gently pushed aside again.
But he still spoke up: "No, that Zhao San may seem like a womanizer, but he should be a law-abiding person."
Chen Ruoyao turned to look at him: "What would you do if someone took advantage of me? Would you be disgusted by me?" Her voice was very soft.
Xu Longxiang paused for a moment, then shook his head: "Of course not."
When he uttered those three words, his voice was a little faster than before, as if he was eager to prove something, or as if he was trying to convince himself.
But after he finished speaking, he fell silent for a moment, as if to confirm whether those three words were true.
Chen Ruoyao looked at him and chuckled inwardly.
She knew that Xu Longxiang had been completely persuaded.
He remained silent for a moment, then lowered his head: "In that case, I'll give it a try."
Her voice carried just the right amount of hesitation.
She lowered her head, took out the white jade mask from her sleeve, and slowly put it on her face.
As Xu Longxiang watched her put on the mask, a complex mix of emotions welled up inside him.
He felt like something was stuck in his throat, but he still said, "Then I'll take you there."
Chen Ruoyao nodded and stood up.
The two walked out of the side hall one after the other.
The chill of the autumn night swept over us, instantly dispelling the remaining warmth in the side hall.
Moonlight peeked through the clouds, illuminating the bluestone path with a soft glow.
Xu Longxiang walked half a step ahead, with Chen Ruoyao following behind him, an arm's length apart.
The moonlight cast their shadows on the ground, one in front of the other.
Xu Longxiang stopped when he reached the entrance of the small tavern.
He didn't turn around, but stood on the bluestone slab in front of the tavern, illuminated by the oil-paper lamp, looking at the gray-clothed figure inside the tavern, and then at the moon-white figure beside him.
He paused for a moment before speaking, "We've arrived."
He wanted to say "I'm sorry you had to go through this," but the words lingered in his throat and he ultimately didn't say them.
Chen Ruoyao neither looked at him nor answered.
She simply nodded slightly and stepped across the threshold.
The moon-white dress swayed gently in the candlelight of the tavern before landing on the chair in front of the wooden table.
Xu Longxiang stood outside the door, looking through the half-open door at the moon-white figure sitting down opposite the gray-clothed figure.
Then he looked away, turned around, and walked back the way he came.
The night wind swept through the streets and alleys, causing the hem of his dark python robe to flutter and rustle.
His back appeared more hunched in the moonlight than when he arrived.
As he walked, his pace suddenly slowed down.
He wanted to turn around and take a look—just to make sure she hadn't been wronged.
But in the end, he forcefully suppressed that impulse.
He was afraid that if he saw it, he would lose the courage to continue.
Xu Longxiang took a few steps forward.
The night wind blew in through the cracks in the alleyways, causing the hem of his dark black python robe to flutter loudly.
But he didn't continue walking.
His feet seemed to be nailed to something, stopping him in the middle of the bluestone path.
The image of Chen Ruoyao's quiet demeanor when she put on the mask flashed through his mind, as did the image of her robes swaying gently in the candlelight as she sat opposite the gray-clothed figure, before settling back down.
He didn't know what he was thinking, or why he had stopped.
He just stood there.
Then he turned around.
He moved faster than he had anticipated.
He walked back to the alleyway opposite the tavern and disappeared into the shadows of the corner.
Moonlight filtered through the eaves behind him, casting a faint glow at his feet.
He didn't get too close, nor did he go too far; he simply stood in a spot where he could see the tavern entrance but wouldn't be easily spotted.
He didn't know why he looked back.
He stood in the shadows, his gaze fixed on the doorway.
The dim candlelight leaked through the crack in the door, spreading a small patch of warm light on the bluestone slab.
Then he saw Chen Ruoyao sit down in that light.
Her posture remained composed, and her moon-white dress shimmered with a warm glow in the candlelight.
But her body was slightly tilted towards the gray cloth figure.
The angle was so subtle that you wouldn't notice it unless you stared at it intently, but it was definitely there.
Xu Longxiang's breath hitched for a moment.
Then he heard a voice in his head, so soft it was like talking to himself.
The voice said: She's just acting. She has feelings for me, otherwise she wouldn't have hesitated so much.
After he finished speaking, he fell silent.
He found that the inexplicable excitement did not disappear because of his comfort.
It was still there, vibrating gently in his chest.
He tried desperately to suppress that feeling back into his heart, but every time he tried to push it down, it would resurface on its own.