Chuyi and Shiwu had also gone out of the room and quietly stood behind Mo Qianxue.
Chuyi looked calm while Shiwu was a little annoyed.
By these words, Ning Shaoqing's frozen face finally melted a little.
"Xue…" Feng Yuchen's tone softened again, begging in a low gesture, the peace in the tone mixed with a ghost of invisible sadness, "Do you make up your mind?"
The begging was hidden deep, but it was his last compromise.
Mo Qianxue's face remained unchanged, "I'm sorry! I really can't remember the past. I believe you will find your girl in the future."
No. No. There would never be a girl taking her place!
Feng Yuchen felt his heart twisting and causing suffocating pain, but his expression became increasingly calm, his lips pressing tightly, not making any words.
Once upon a time, he had embraced the beauty in his arms, riding a galloping horse, dressed in fancy clothes, and sharing his political opinions with her.
Heaven, why did you let Ning Shaoqing exist after there was Feng Yuchen already?
There should be only one person standing by her side and promise her happiness.
Since she had already made a choice, then if he wasn't willing to respect her decision, he could only resort to force.
Once this idea occurred to him, the begging in his eyes was instantly replaced by fury and determination, and his tone became tough too, "Whether you're willing to or not, you must go back with me."
"You…" How stubborn! Mo Qianxue was speechless from irritation. Was violence the only resort to solve it?
Brother? She was afraid that once the fight started, he would be an enemy forever.
Xue, what you wanted was too difficult for me…
Seeing Mo Qianxue was silent, Feng Yuchen was reminded that she had always been fragile and feared that he had scared her, so at once his heart softened. Holding back part of his rage, he forced a touch of gentleness, "Xue, when we go back, I'll…"
He only wished that she could go back with him. By then, he would be able to regain her heart and let her remember their past and the man that she had loved.
In this life, you could only belong to me, and the person in your mind should only be me…
Ning Shaoqing had turned around and walked over with a sneer, "Shouldn't you ask for my permission if you want to take my wife away?"
He had given the man enough face and opportunity.
He couldn't bear it anymore. Nor did he have to!
Feng Yuchen looked up at Ning Shaoqing, "Your so-called marriage isn't guaranteed by parents' approval or the witnessing of a match-maker. Without an official letter and betrothal presents, you're not a legal couple."
This argument again? Ning Shaoqing's head was almost bombarded by it.
However, in rage, he didn't look at Feng Yuchen but pulled Mo Qianxue behind him to block Feng Yuchen's sight.
The more Feng Yuchen looked at Mo Qianxue, the more annoyed, jealous and anger Ning Shaoqing was.
Since the talk had gone this far, there wouldn't be an easy end.
Ning Shaoqing pulled Mo Qianxue behind him, biting his teeth, "Come on."
"Great!" Feng Yuchen had been waiting for this moment.
Meanwhile, two figures flew out of the yard, one in blue and the other in black.
This would be a confrontation between men.
When Mo Qianxue finally realized what was going on, the eighteen guards, she, Chuyi, Shiwu, Asan, Awu and the restless Mingyue and Caixia were left in the yard.
"Hurry… Take me to find them." Mo Qianxue panicked a little, grabbing Chiyi and Shiwu by the arm. Ning Shaoqing still had the cold poison in him. She didn't dare to imagine the outcome if the poison was trigger at certain moment.
"Yes." Chuyi and Shiwu replied simultaneously and then carried Mo Qianxue between them to chase in the direction where Ning Shaoqing and Feng Yuchen disappeared.
Lord Feng had solid internal strength, and he had failed on that day only because of his worries and the lack of a proper timing, place and people around him. It seemed that after these days, he had regained strength and coned his martial arts. The scholar-looking sickly lord Ning might not be an opponent of him.
Of course the two girls took Ning Shaoqing's side. However, before them was a wall of men who blocked the way.
Mo Qianxue looked to them and found they were Feng Bo and Feng Luan who were among the eighteen guards in black.
"Where are you going, lady? Lord asked me to pick you up." Lord Feng had ordered before they set off to take away lady when there was an opportunity.
This was to lure the tiger out of its den?
Mo Qianxue shook her head. She was afraid that this Feng Yuchen made the wrong plan.
As far as she knew, around this house, there were at least a dozen hidden guards protecting them in the shadow. And there were also Asan and Awu. The eighteen guards would barely defeat them.
As expected, as soon as he finished talking, on the roofs stood a team of people.
Asan said, "Lady, you can go with Chuyi and Shiwu to find lord. We'll handle theses rats."
There were so many people, and Asan feared that the blind sword and spears might accidentally hurt lady.
With the help of Chuyi and Shiwu, Mo Qianxue flew towards the forest at the back of their house. Then, Asan gave a look to Mingyue and Caixia who then cleverly went inside the house.
**
The flowers, grass and tree branches instantly broke into pieces by the palm wind and swirling down in the air.
In the falling petals and leaves, two figures leaped up and down in the dark, forming an enchantingly beautiful picture.
After their palm winds confronted each other, the two men both retreated a step and stood still in dancing leaves.
Ning Shaoqing put his hand around his waist, "For so many years, there are few people who are able to force me to take out my sword."
He must end this as soon as possible, otherwise when Mo Qianxue reached here, she would be begging to keep this man alive. Besides, his cold poison was about to be triggered, so he shouldn't use too much authentic qi.
It was really not a wise choice to fight head-on like this.
Feng Yuchen smirked, "So, I should feel honored." He had already figured out that Ning Shaoqing lacked internal strength. That day he had underestimated him, but today, it would be the date of his death.
Since he had decided to take Xue away, certainly he wouldn't allow this man, who had relationship with Xue, to live in this world. Ning Shaoqing looked calm, "It's indeed your honor to die by the Sword Chill." He already drew out the soft sword hidden around his waist.
This soft sword had always wrapped around his waistband and never been take off. As the soft sword was drawn out, Feng Yuchen squinted his eyes, shocked, "Sword Chill?"
As Ning Shaoqing shook his hand, the soft sword turned hard. He gently stroked the blade, "Yes."
A touch of respect appeared between Feng Yuchen's eyebrows, "You're Ning Shaoqing?"
Of course he referred to the noble person in the capital instead of the village school teacher.
There were so many people in the world shared the same names and surnames.
Hence, the first time that Feng Yuchen had knew that the school teacher was named Ning Shaoqing, he didn't associate him with the Ning Shaoqing in the capital.
But now, with the man standing before him and taking the sword, he had to believe it.
In Tianqi dynasty, people usually called a noble person by his literary name instead of first name.
Ning Shaoqing's literary name was Minzhi, and people usually called him brother Minzhi or lord Minzhi, or at least eldest lord. There were few who directly called him Ning Shaoqing. Who would expect that the eldest lord of the first noble family in Tianqi dynasty should give up his family property and live in seclusion in this unknown village?
To the public, the Ning family had announced that the eldest lord Ning had disappeared for no reason one year ago.
How many people were there that had disappeared every year! Disappearance meant to most people death.
Not being found for over a year and with that identity, very likely he had encountered misfortune. Therefore, most people believed that the mysterious eldest lord Ning in the capital had died. Being a lord in a similar mansion, Feng Yuchen was familiar with those bloody conspiracies and menace.
Ning Shaoqing slightly waved his sword, "I will never change my name. Yes, I'm Ning Shaoqing."
"Great!" At this moment, Feng Yuchen truly appreciated him and collected authentic qi, "It's indeed an honor to let you use Sword Chill." This was going to be a tough battle.
Once the blade was pulled out of the sheath, it wouldn't get back without drinking blood!
Hence, the sword was named Chill. It was said that all those who had seen this sword had died under its' sharp blade.
Feng Yuhcne had long heard about the eldest lord Ning's respectful character and unearthly martial arts and wanted to befriend with him, yet he hadn't had an opportunity to do so due to worldly affairs that always tangled him.
In addition, despite his reputation, the eldest lord Ning had always kept a low profile and even rarely showed up in a public occasion, so they had never met.
He hadn't expected that once they encounter, they were arch enemies already.
Meanwhile, Ning Shaoqing began to move!
His movement was as fast as lightning, and, with a flash of the sword radiance, it targeted right at Feng Yuchen's throat.
To this man who kept trying to take away his wife, Ning Shaoqing had born with him for a long time. A man should cherish things that he mustn't do and those that he must do. Even if he had the Feng family behind him, there wouldn't be any mercy.
At once, Feng Yuchen moved too, using his sword to deflect and cleave back.
To his surprise, both his deflection and cleaving missed and hit the wrong place as if on a soft cotton. Ning Shaoqing's sword stabbed over and his steps changed suddenly.
Feng Yuchen barely saw clearly the change when he was turned around to another direction. The sword aimed at his forehead, but as his body spun, the sword seemed to be coming from all directions. For a time, he couldn't tell which one was real and which was illusory.
He sunk his body and shouted, "Nice one!"
Feng Yuchen praised and gathered internal strength at his sleeves which rushed at Ning Shaoqing's head.
The technique of illusory sword was renown for its speed. If he fought against Ning Shaoqing on speed, it meant asking for death. He must utilize his advantage—internal force.
The power was as fierce as a penetrating blade, an excellent move to fight against Ning Shaoqing's shortcoming. What an unearthly sword!
However, as long as Ning Shaoqing took back his sword for a second, Feng Yuchne was able to escape from the predicament.
Ning Shaoqing stepped slightly aside and avoided the upcoming palm. The momentum of the sword rushing forward only reduced a little and then headed for another direction.
When other people changed a move, they only changed the part attacking the opponent, yet when Ning Shaoqing shifted his sword's momentum, the whole direction changed. The sword originally dashing to the east instantly turned into the west.
In fact, Ning Shaoqing's sword didn't change at all. It was his footstep that changed.
With a clang, Feng Yuchen's sword dropped to the ground, and his clothes were cut off by half.
Feng Yuchen retreated in a hurry.
Ning Shaoqing, his sword radiance turning into a long rainbow, seemed to melt with the sword into a unity.
As the rainbow spread, he and the sword also sprinted over.
The sword was unsparing.
Speedy, accurate, and unavoidable.
In despair, Feng Yuchen closed his eyes and waited for death.
"No." In the nick of time, a scream rang.
With the shouting, a light blue figure rushed over to shield before Feng Yuchen, and the unavoidable sword stabbed into the light blue body.
All this happened in a split second.
"Lady…"
"Xue…"
"Qianxue…"
"No…"
Several screams rang at the same time.
Feng Yuchen held the collapsing body in light blue, while Mo Qianxue spared no effort in pushing him away, "Leave at once."
She hadn't expected to witness the fight developing to such an extent that they must kill each other. She feared that if Feng Yuchen didn't go at present, Ning Shaoqing would definitely kill him before her eyes. Although she didn't regard herself as a benevolent person, she knew gratitude. It was an undeniable truth that she was able to meet Ning Shaoqing because she had taken Xue's body.
If it wasn't Xue's summon, probably she could never know, for a lifetime, what love was, what a promise was, and what it was like to share a bitter-sweet life with a man.
A life without all these was only killing time and waiting for an end of her life.
Moreover, she had promised her.
Feng Yuchen was pushed away by Mo Qianxue, staring at her fresh blood on his hand, heart broken like being cut up by a knife.
She still cared about him, or she wouldn't have saved him with her own body.
He blamed himself for not having escorted her on the way back to the capital so that she had been attacked by assassins.
He hated that there was a Ning Shaoqing in this world that was so outstanding.
He resented the heartless assholes of the Mo family…
She refused him because of female virtues, because he couldn't defeat Ning Shaoqing, and also because…
For a moment, he found countless excuses for Mo Qianxue's refusal.
He shouldn't fail her kindness. He must live. Feng Yuchen stamped his feet and flew out of the forest, yet leaving behind his heart forever here.
The long-lasing sorrowful roaring was the best proof.
Ning Shaoqing had taken back the sword, flying over to catch Mo Qianxue's body.
Her face pale, she gasped heavily, blood blossoming all over the light blue clothes.
Chuyi and Shiwu was frightened by this scene. Last time lord Ning won because of the assistance of his hidden guards. This time, they had thought that if lord Feng powered up, lord Ning might get injured, so their plan had been to give lord Ning a hand.
Seeing Mo Qianxue collapsed in the pool of blood, they stepped forward to held her but was forced back by Ning Shaoqing's piercing eyes, so they tearfully kneeled before her.
It was their fault that they hadn't taken good care of lady.
They hadn't expected that lady should rush over desperately.
Didn't lady forget the past? Didn't she forget lord Feng? Why had she rushed over to save him?
Chuyi couldn't figure it out. Neither could Shiwu.
Ning Shaoqing's eyes were bloody-red, big tears brimming off. The loads of rage and irritation, in the face of Mo Qianxue's pale face, still turned into gentleness and a trembling voice, "Why…did you do that?"
She just had promised him that she would never leave him, but the next moment she saved another man with her own body. How could him not be heartbroken?
He didn't believe at all that her sacrifice meant nothing.
Mo Qianxue gasped weakly and said intermittently, "Because…I feel sorry to him. I…need to pay him back…for three times. This…is the first…" The identity of Xue also brought her responsibilities.
She was grateful for Xue's body, so she must pay back.
She believed that three times of paying back for her cousin should be enough…
Undercurrents began to surge within Ning Shaoqing's body. He felt a welling blood in his throat and swallowed down, promising word by word, "The remaining two times shall be done by me."
He would pay back on behalf of his wife!
The words were decisive and heavy as mountains, pressing towards Chiyi and Shiwu and this forest.
He didn't want any connection between she and that man.
Mo Qianxue's eyes suddenly wetted.
She had promised to stay by his side forever, yet now she did a stupid thing.
Reaching out, she touched Ning Shaoqing's face, choked, "I… I only cared about you…" Somehow she was reminded of a song—You are the Only One I Love.
She wanted to sing to him but didn't have the strength.
"Talk no more."