Jiang Xingyan dragged Sun Yaxiang, who had already started dozing off, into Tuoba Hongxue’s tent.
At first glance, she saw Tuoba Hongxue sitting cross-legged on the campaign couch, eyes dull and lifeless, his face utterly blank.
His originally heroic features had now become refined and elegant, as if he had transformed from a military general into a civil official.
His long hair was loose, his clothes half-open, his body wrapped entirely in bandages—he looked utterly broken.
Sun Yaxiang leaned close to Jiang Xingyan’s ear and said, “I’m not responsible for treating heartaches, you know. If he starts threatening to kill himself, I won’t be able to do anything about it.”
Jiang Xingyan smiled helplessly.
This girl, after learning her true identity, had really let herself go.
“Just heal his wounds first, and we’ll deal with the rest later.”
Sun Yaxiang gave a huge yawn.
“I really do have the body of a young lady but the fate of a physician—always exhausted. Come, give me your hand so I can check your pulse.”
Before Sun Yaxiang’s hand could even touch Tuoba Hongxue’s sleeve, he flung it away.
“Get lost! Don’t touch me! Let me die!”
Jiang Xingyan was quick-eyed and quick-handed, catching Sun Yaxiang in time and saving her from falling to the ground.
“Hey, you really are like the dog that bites the hand that feeds it—you don’t know a good heart when you see one! Someone’s kind enough to treat your wounds, and you act like this? Has your brain turned to mush? Do you know who’s been taking care of you these past two days? Who bandaged your wounds? The fact that you’re alive at all is because I, your granny, saved you. Now that you’re awake, you don’t recognize anyone anymore? You’re just like the wolf in the tale of Mr. Dongguo and the Wolf—you’re that wolf!”
Tuoba Hongxue frowned. “So noisy!”
He grabbed the bandages with both hands and yanked hard, managing to tear a few layers, but not completely.
He stared in disbelief at the bloody welts on his palms, hesitated for a long time, then suddenly let out a bitter laugh.
“Good… good. I’m a dead man walking anyway. What does it matter if I have martial arts or not? Huo Ci, do it. Kill me with one strike.”
When Sun Yaxiang saw Tuoba Hongxue tearing at his bandages, she wanted to curse him out. But seeing him looking so pale and desolate, she swallowed her words.
She whispered in Jiang Xingyan’s ear, “Has he gone crazy?”
Jiang Xingyan tried to persuade her gently. “It’s fine. He’s just missing a few screws. Go back and catch up on your sleep. Don’t worry about him—he won’t die yet!”
Tuoba Hongxue: ?
Can you two be any louder?
I heard everything!
The moment Sun Yaxiang heard she could go back to sleep, she vanished in the blink of an eye.
Jiang Xingyan’s mouth twitched.
Didn’t you say you were so tired you couldn’t keep your eyes open?
And yet you can still run that fast?
Then what was I, the one who dragged you here just now?
Tuoba Hongxue’s eyes were hollow, as if nothing was worth his attention anymore.
“You still haven’t told me—what does that visitor from beyond the heavens want with you?”
“Huo Ci! Don’t push me!”
The moment this topic came up, Tuoba Hongxue became visibly agitated.
Jiang Xingyan clicked her tongue.
“You don’t have to say it. It’s fine. I’ll have a battle with that Linglong sooner or later anyway. I’ll ask him myself then.”
“Enough! Huo Ci, when did you become so womanish and wishy-washy?”
Jiang Xingyan didn’t like hearing that at all. Without hesitation, she slapped him across the face.
“If it weren’t for your mother, would you even exist? If your mother knew you were going around wanting to die like this, she never should have given birth to you!”
Tuoba Hongxue’s pupils shrank sharply. He looked up at Huo Ci in disbelief.
He remembered now!
That night in the Weiyang Palace of the Western Zhou, he had already noticed that Huo Ci was completely different from before—a completely different person.
And now, it was even stranger.
It seemed that apart from his appearance, nothing about him was Huo Ci at all.
“You… who exactly are you?”
Jiang Xingyan sneered. “You knew long ago that I’m not him, so why bother hiding it? Northern Luo has fallen. You’re my prisoner. Why not be honest? You and he have been entangled for so long—”
“What do you mean, entangled for so long?! He and I are just sworn enemies—can you understand that?! The one I love is a woman, a woman!”
Tuoba Hongxue’s eyes were bloodshot as he shouted out the anger he had suppressed for so long.
For a moment, the tent was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Jiang Xingyan: ?
I think I just learned something I really shouldn’t have.
“So… Linglong misunderstood your relationship?”
“I—”
Tuoba Hongxue suddenly vomited a mouthful of black blood and fell backward.
Jiang Xingyan was both speechless and amused.
Truly a visitor from beyond the heavens—even something this absurd could get tangled up together.
Look at what you’ve done to the poor kid. He nearly died on the spot, cut down in the prime of his life.
She remembered what Sun Yaxiang had said when she checked Tuoba Hongxue’s pulse earlier: “Him? He’s thick-skinned and tough. There’s nothing wrong with him—just some external wounds. But there’s a heartache stuck in his throat, neither going up nor down. If he can cough up that congested blood, he’ll recover immediately.”
Now it seemed his illness was almost cured.
Jiang Xingyan beckoned, and the two guards watching over Tuoba Hongxue stepped forward.
“General’s wife, what are your orders?”
“Keep an eye on him. Don’t let him try to kill himself. When he wakes up, have him come find me. I’ll bring your general to see him.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Before she could even take a step, another soldier came running, panting. “General’s wife, the general is awake!”
Jiang Xingyan couldn’t help but silently add another mark to the ledger of their fate.
“Well, isn’t that convenient.”
She didn’t rush to see Huo Ci. Instead, she made a round of the military camp along the way before returning to her own tent.
Xiaoya was playing on the bed. She was the first to notice Huo Ci had woken up and ran out to tell the soldier uncle standing guard at the entrance.
“Mommy, you’re back! Daddy just woke up calling your name.”
Jiang Xingyan scooped Xiaoya into her arms and rubbed her cheek affectionately.
“Xiaoya is amazing!”
After spending some time with Yun Chunfeng, Xiaoya’s awareness had made a qualitative leap.
Before, she couldn’t even speak a full sentence and was smaller and slower-growing than children her age.
Now, her body was growing taller by the day, and her weight was gradually increasing.
Her speech was sharp, her thinking agile—she was even more clever than a three-year-old child.
Especially after following her onto the battlefield, instead of being frightened, she had become even more emotionally stable. That was truly an unexpected blessing.
When Huo Ci heard the word “Daddy,” a bitterness welled up in his heart.
Although he hadn’t woken up these past few days, his ears could still hear the sounds around him.
What Ayan said to Yun Chunfeng, what Xin Zhui said to Ayan—he heard it all clearly.
He understood even more clearly that he had truly lost Ayan.
While unconscious, he had a dream.
In the dream, he and Ayan were a pair of immortal lovers that everyone envied.
Old Madam Huo passed away not long after their marriage, and no one stood in their way.
They loved each other deeply, and not only did they have Xiaoya, but when Xiaoya was five, they had a second child.
In the dream, their happiness was so vivid and effortless. He would rather believe that the pain he felt now was the real nightmare.
Somewhere in the depths of fate, he felt that something predetermined had been easily changed.
That was when he suddenly woke up, wanting to tell Ayan:
“Ayan, believe me—this isn’t how our story was supposed to end. Someone tampered with our fate!”
…
