In Yelü Huangwu's memories, the faint warmth of familial affection came entirely from her father. Her mother was a woman consumed by power and ambition, dedicating her entire life to the pursuit of authority.
Some said Empress Xiao had once had a childhood sweetheart, but their connection was severed when she was married into the royal family. Later, she sought to stand at the pinnacle of power to reunite with her beloved. Yelü Huangwu didn’t know whether this was true, but she knew her mother was a selfish woman.
Mind Control!
Yelü Huangwu suddenly raised her eyes, breaking free from the illusion cast by Gu Jinghong.
Gu Jinghong spat out a mouthful of blood, staggering backward in panic. He collapsed into the snow, his hair turning completely white at a visible rate as he rapidly aged. His once-clear eyes were now clouded with a bloody haze.
He exhaled a misty breath, blood tears streaming from his eyes. In the end, he had failed at the last step! He couldn’t even kill Yelü Huangwu, let alone the person in the sedan chair.
Under the gray sky, heavy snow fell swiftly, burying his aged face in moments.
Yelü Huangwu clutched the wound on her chest, gasping for breath. Breaking free from the illusion had drained her strength, leaving her face as pale as paper. Her beautiful eyes fixed on the spot where Gu Jinghong lay. "Check if he's dead."
Her cold voice pierced through the snow curtain, snapping the others out of the remnants of the illusion.
Five burly men, still shaken, cautiously approached with their blades drawn. A surge of True Energy scattered the thin layer of snow covering Gu Jinghong, revealing his withered face.
One of the men nudged him with a scabbard. When there was no response, he reached out to check his pulse. "No heartbeat."
Ning Yanli was bandaging Yelü Huangwu’s wound when the latter pushed her away. "Leave me. Extract the heart blood first."
Ning Yanli hesitated before setting down the wound medicine. "Understood."
Approaching Gu Jinghong, Ning Yanli crouched and checked his pulse, carefully removing the silver needles embedded in his chest. She examined the color on the needles closely. Since the medicine man had been taken by Mo Sigui, there was a chance he had left some trap behind.
Finding nothing unusual, she tore open Gu Jinghong’s clothes, exposing his upper body.
The onlookers gasped in shock. His body was covered in scars—new wounds layered over old ones—to the point where barely any skin remained visible. It was clear he had narrowly escaped death many times.
Ning Yanli sighed, recalling his once-handsome face and now seeing this ravaged body. She drew a short dagger and pressed it against the scar over his heart.
The first stab pierced the flesh, but no blood flowed. Only when she pushed deeper did a few drops of blood emerge.
Just as Ning Yanli was about to press further, her wrist suddenly went numb. A blizzard erupted from the snow-covered ground. By the time the snow settled, Gu Jinghong—who had been right before her—had vanished!
Yelü Huangwu closed her eyes.
The sedan chair shifted slightly. A slender, well-defined hand lifted the curtain, and a tall man wrapped in black fox fur stepped out. His sharply chiseled face was half-hidden in the fur, his pale skin contrasting with his deep, penetrating gaze. His brows were striking, arching sharply toward his temples, exuding an air of cold severity. Even the snowflakes seemed to tread lightly as they landed on his shoulders. His dignified features bore a sixty to seventy percent resemblance to Gu Jinghong’s, though his expression was far more solemn and mature.
A sudden gust of wind made the man narrow his eyes slightly. The swirling snowflakes slowed in front of him.
"Brother," Yelü Huangwu called out. "Aren’t we going after him?"The man gazed in the direction where Gu Jinghong had disappeared for a while before turning back to enter the sedan chair, speaking lightly, "Let's go."
Yelü Huangwu pressed her lips together slightly, remaining motionless as Ning Yanli approached to bandage her wounds.
"My lord, shall we mount the horses?" Ning Yanli asked softly.
Without a word, Yelü Huangwu swung onto her horse and proceeded slowly with the escort clearing the way.
This was the familial affection of the Yelü imperial clan. A bitter smile surfaced on Yelü Huangwu's face as she closed her eyes, silently reminding herself that she must remain heartless. Without a heart, there would be no desires, no heartache from disappointment. She was not born foolish, so her short life was destined to be one of schemes. Once, she had the chance to escape this fate, but she hadn't trusted that person.
Yearning yet unable to trust—thus, there was never any hope from the start. When the Madman died, Ning Yanli had said, "There will never be another who treats you so well again." Did she regret it? Yes, she did! But unless he had proven the loyalty of his feelings with his life, she would never have believed it. At least now she could rest assured—someone had loved her so deeply. Keeping this person in her heart, she would never be lonely...
"Actually, the Madman wasn't truly mad," Yelü Huangwu murmured. "I am."
Her voice was swallowed by the howling wind, heard only by Ning Yanli, who was closest to her.
The one seated in the sedan chair was the next emperor of the Liao Kingdom. That Medicine Man had been cultivated for him. When Yelü Huangwu took charge, the Medicine Man had already been fed for many years. Back then, she knew the Medicine Man was her own clansman, but in terms of relation, he was more distant than the brother in the sedan chair. If this was the only way to ensure her only brother's survival, she would not hesitate to sacrifice her clansman.
But... blood ties... Yelü Huangwu smiled.
The snowstorm grew fiercer.
Ten li away, inside a snow cave, a figure in black robes sat quietly. The withered man lying on the ground stirred slightly and slowly opened his eyes.
Their gazes met, and after a moment of silence, Gu Jinghong mustered the strength to speak. "Chu Dingjiang?"
"Hmm." Chu Dingjiang frowned at him. "What happened?"
"Did they not pursue us?" Gu Jinghong asked.
"Rest assured, they won't find us." Assuming Gu Jinghong had taken on some mission, Chu Dingjiang said, "If you can't win by force, use strategy. Why push yourself so hard at such a young age?"
Gu Jinghong sighed. "What use is even the greatest wisdom? Since childhood, I've been fed all kinds of rare medicines. Over time, I became dependent on them. Every year, I scour the ends of the earth, risking my life on missions to earn money and access to top-tier medicine vaults, exhausting every means to gather those medicines myself. But alas..."
Hearing this, Chu Dingjiang vaguely understood his meaning. "You're a Medicine Man? Whose Medicine Man?"
"I don't know. From birth, I was raised in a cellar. By seven or eight, I followed my master." Gu Jinghong's eyes were filled with desolation. "I once thought he truly cared for me, but it turned out he was merely the pharmacist who fed me."
The thought of having revered him for so many years deepened his sorrow. He would rather have remained ignorant, living and dying in blissful ignorance—at least he would have been happier while alive.
"I won't survive, will I?" Gu Jinghong asked.
Chu Dingjiang shook his head. "Your pulse is weak, yet it holds firm. There may still be a chance, but I'm no physician."Gu Jinghong's clear eyes brightened for a moment before dimming again. "That female shadow unit member said I'm a selfish coward who killed so many people just to save my own life."
"Aren't we all the same?" Chu Dingjiang didn't even need to think to know these were An Jiu's words. "Her heart is dark—just treat whatever she says as nonsense." (To be continued...)
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