Stealing the Pen: Kirin's Primordial Lotus

Cheng Ye knelt on the ground, his body trembling slightly, as fragile as a candle flickering in the wind. His right hand gripped the crumpled handkerchief tightly, while his left hand hung limply at his side.

He parted his lips slightly, spitting out a mouthful of bright red blood that trickled down his chin, staining his seemingly pristine robes. Yet, seemingly oblivious to his grievous wounds, he continued to mutter intermittently: "Gaga... I... I can't... I can't see you again... I won't see you one last time..."

At this moment, Wu Xie stood quietly in front of Cheng Ye, like a silent statue. His deep, pool-like eyes showed no emotion, yet they exuded an indescribable sense of oppression.

Facing the man before him, Wu Xie neither uttered a question nor roared angrily like a normal person. He simply looked down at Cheng Ye, who was kneeling on the ground, with an almost indifferent attitude, as if he were scrutinizing a stranger.

Finally, Cheng Ye struggled to lift his head and meet Wu Xie's gaze. His eyes were filled with endless sorrow and despair, like two stars about to be extinguished. After a moment, he sighed softly and said in a hoarse, low voice, "I really miss her so much..."

After saying that, Cheng Ye slowly stretched out his hands and carefully handed the handkerchief to Wu Xie. His movements were gentle and devout, as if he were holding a rare treasure.

Then, as if remembering something, Cheng Ye continued to murmur softly: "I remember you, and someone else. You two once traveled to the Northwest region. When you encountered danger, I was the one who saved you. At that time, I hadn't yet embarked on this path of no return. Actually, I've always regretted it. If time could turn back, I would rather never have met you, so that perhaps this tragic ending could have been avoided... But now, it's all too late. The only thing I can do is look at my Jiajia one more time... even just one more time..."

Wu Xie remained silent, simply standing still, his gaze fixed on the other person.

I haven't seen Gaga for six whole years... That's a long time—seventy-two months, two thousand one hundred and ninety-one days, fifty-two thousand five hundred and eighty-four hours! In all those days, all that sustained me was a handful of photos and a few videos. Cheng Ye's voice was filled with endless sorrow and longing.

My longing for her grew stronger and stronger, beyond words! He continued, his eyes gradually welling up with tears, but he held them back.

Despite knowing deep down that this was wrong, it was still Jiajia! The woman who restored my former glory; the woman who gave me the courage and strength to be reborn! Cheng Ye's eyes were shrouded in deep sorrow, as if the whole world had lost its color.

In truth, Cheng Ye knew perfectly well that Yang Shu's claim that bringing a hundred people to this place would bring Jiajia back to life was a complete lie. However, how could he resist the temptation of his beloved? How could he possibly avoid falling into this meticulously crafted trap?

"So, how could you so cruelly slaughter so many innocent people?" Wu Xie asked angrily, his eyes wide with righteous indignation.

What wrong did these poor people do? Did they have to suffer such a terrible fate just because of bad luck? He became more and more agitated as he spoke, his emotions almost on the verge of collapse.

"How innocent am I and... how innocent are Fatty and the others? How innocent are Brother Chen and the others? Just for you alone, you want... you want us all to die?" Wu Xie said, choking back tears.

“You said you only have Cheng Jia left, but do I only have a lot left? I only have Fatty as my brother! I... after my family was destroyed, I... I don’t even know who I am! It was Fatty Wang who held me and pulled me along during that time.”

Wu Xie stared wide-eyed at the scene before him in disbelief—Cheng Ye was standing there, and not far behind him, Fatty Wang lay silently on the cold, icy stone platform, already lifeless. That once vibrant face, always full of laughter and banter with him, was now deathly pale, as if all life had been drained from it.

Recalling the time they spent together, Wu Xie felt a pang of sorrow. Wang Pangzi had always been his strongest support, always by his side, offering endless courage and strength, no matter the difficulties or challenges. But now, this dear friend who had fought alongside him was gone forever…

Just then, Cheng Ye's voice reached Wu Xie's ears: "Wu Xie, we both have reasons for saying things we don't mean!" These words pierced the sky like a sharp sword, jolting Wu Xie back to his senses. He stared at Cheng Ye, suddenly realizing that the two of them were so similar, but because they made completely different choices, they embarked on entirely different paths and met with vastly different endings.

After a moment of silence, Cheng Ye spoke again: "If it were you, and sacrificing others could bring back the life of the person you cherish most, what would you do?" His tone was as light as a breeze brushing against the strings of a zither, as if afraid of disturbing something.

Wu Xie was stunned by his words, momentarily at a loss for words. He stood there blankly, his gaze fixed on the lifeless Cheng Ye, his mind a jumbled mess. After a long while, he slowly exhaled and said, "Perhaps...perhaps we are all the same, each of us saying things we don't mean." As he finished speaking, two lines of tears slid down his cheeks.

Butler Xu had already woken up. He witnessed the confrontation between Wu Xie and Cheng Ye, but only he could experience it for himself; no matter what others said, it would be useless.

"Boom!"

As Steward Xu watched the huge boulder fall from above, he sensed that the place was likely to collapse, so he quickly ran up to the altar and grabbed Wu Xie.

"This place is about to collapse, we have to get out of here as soon as possible!"

Wu Xie shook off Butler Xu's hand and ran to Fatty Wang's body, wanting to take Fatty home.

"Wu Xie, we can't get out of here with Fatty in tow."

Butler Xu grabbed Wu Xie, who was trying to carry the fat man on his back, and said, "The fat man did everything he could to keep you alive. Are you going to let him down?"

"But should the fat man be buried here all alone like this?"

Wu Xie didn't believe in giving up; he only wanted to bring Fatty back to Yanjing, back to the home where they had weathered the darkest times together.

“Wu Xie, this is not giving up, it’s just a roundabout way. We’ll find someone to come and take Fatty back once we’re safe.”

Butler Xu forcibly brought Wu Xie to the edge of the cliff and tied the rope that Cheng Ye and the others had used to come down to Wu Xie. "Wu Xie is not even a tomb, so it is not a problem for the Zhang family."

Wu Xie rose higher and higher, while beneath his feet lay an altar slowly filled with rubble, and the fat man gradually disappeared from sight.