Xie Xun also thought about the Beiman incident involving the Gu poison planted on Emperor Jianming; it was truly impossible to guard against. At the ti, he and Second Brother conducted thorough checks on the household’s food every day and examined their family mbers’ health regularly, but nothing unusual was detected. Even then, before the Beiman departed, they dared not lower their guard.
During the bloody chaos in the Capital City, they were at an extre disadvantage. Out of fear of the peace agreent between Beiman and Yanyang, neither he nor Xie Jue dared to act recklessly. Second Brother’s eyes were injured, and they could only accept it. It was all to avoid having the negotiated agreent torn apart. But now, facing Sannan, what was there to fear?
"I understand now!" Xie Xun was not one to kill indiscriminately, but he would no longer gamble on the enemy’s rcy.
He was scared!
Once bitten by a snake, ten years afraid of the rope by the well.
What if, after he left, Han Ziqi truly acted against Second Brother and Fengyu as Fengyu had ntioned?
Fengyu knew her heart was much more ruthless than Xie Xun’s. Such brutality differed greatly from that of the battlefield; on the battlefield, you killed the enemy, knife falling swiftly, without hesitation—that was simply the enemy.
Excessive killing, however, was done to protect thousands of citizens.
Now, to take lives for sothing that had not yet occurred—this was true excessive killing.
Xie Xun draped an outer robe over himself and sat at the edge of the bed, lost in thought. Fengyu rely accompanied him, saying little. The room was lit by a single lamp, and the sound of the icy wind outside the window howled in his ears.
"Ayu, killing Han Ziqi would also lead to a series of problems," Xie Xun said contemplatively. "He must die, but he cannot die by our hands."
"Of course, there’s no need for us to kill him in West State City." Over the years, they’d acted with prudence, always thinking through the consequences. If Han Ziqi died in West State, Sannan’s original plans to wage war on Jiangnan could shift toward targeting the Twelve States; that wouldn’t be a good outco. "I’ll go find Second Brother."
"Second Brother applied dicine tonight and is sleeping deeply; wait until dawn." Fengyu tugged at him. Without Xie Jue’s approval, they would not make decisions on their own.
Xie Jue slept in a half-dazed state, feeling unbearably hot.
The dicine started to take effect, making him flush with heat, his body even hotter. Near dawn, the heat woke him. Lying on his side, he found himself held in soone’s arms, his back pressed against the burning warmth of that person’s chest. He rested his head on Fang Chuning’s arm, encircled tightly within his embrace. One of Fang Chuning’s hands looped around his neck, the other pinned his chest and stomach, while his legs clamped onto him—a downright strange and restrictive posture.
This was a habit they’d developed during their perilous days in Beiman. When stranded in the freezing snow mountains, only by embracing like this could they share warmth and survive. Even after returning to Ningzhou, they sotis shared a tent and slept in the sa bed.
Either Xie Jue went to bed early and pretended not to notice upon waking halfway through, or Fang Chuning would patrol the camp or rise early—both seed to share an unspoken agreent, never bringing up their sleeping arrangents. Their silent understanding of ignoring the matter was top-notch; if truly unavoidable, one of them would certainly stay awake all night, ensuring they wouldn’t lose composure.
Xie Jue wasn’t fond of this posture because Fang Chuning pressed down on his hair, making it impossible to move—extrely uncomfortable! Being a light sleeper by nature, Fang Chuning had sohow forced him toward a deeper slumber.
So matters were painfully understood in silence.
Not out of fear.
But because it was not permitted!
Fang Chuning’s slow, burning breaths lingered close to his ear; Xie Jue’s ears turned crimson, dripping blood. He removed Fang Chuning’s hand, ready to turn over, but rembering the dicine applied to his eyes, realizing he couldn’t see anyway, he gave up.
"Ting Feng, are you awake?" Fang Chuning murmured, burying his head against Xie Jue’s neck.
Xie Jue took a deep breath, suppressing his irritation. Pretending not to know the answer—was he not even trying to feign now?
"I like..."
"Awake!" Xie Jue interrupted him, elbow pressing against his chest. "Get up, you’re crushing my hair."
"Apologies." Fang Chuning half-heartedly apologized, gathering his hair and playing with it. "West State is so cold—why do you wash your hair every day? Aren’t you afraid of the cold seeping into your body?"
"Do you think this is an appropriate ti to discuss this?"
"Very appropriate. Whatever I want to talk about, you don’t want to talk about. Since I can’t sleep anyway, let’s just chat." Fang Chuning adjusted himself, freeing Xie Jue’s hair.
Xie Jue suddenly smiled; Fang Chuning was so close that he could hear the vibrations from his chest.
"Actually, I do have sothing I’d like to discuss."
"I suddenly feel a bit tired."
Ting Feng’s smiles, whenever paired with words toward him, usually did not spell anything good.
"I sent soone to kill Han Ziqi and frad you for it," Xie Jue said lightly, patting Fang Chuning’s hand. "You know, Ying Qi has never failed at killing."
"What did you just say?" Fang Chuning bolted upright in shock. "You killed Han Ziqi?"
Xie Jue leaned on Fang Chuning’s shoulder, slowly sitting up. "I let him live through the New Year out of a shred of... insignificant sentint."
Fang Chuning, "You’re insane! You killed Han Ziqi—Sannan’s spearhead will now point at you!"
"Did you not hear clearly?" Xie Jue repeated himself. "I killed Han Ziqi and pinned it on you!"
Fang Chuning’s drowsiness evaporated entirely, "..."
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