Holding the script, I want to give up.

"Whoosh! Fresh air, free wind!"

Shangguan Zitong sat on the grass, took off her cloak, and opened her arms to embrace nature.

"Zitong, what do you think of my kite?"

Liu Yunwan twirled the kite string in her hand.

"It's very tall, not bad."

Shangguan Zitong gazed at the kite soaring high in the sky, squinting to make out the other kites. Liu Yunwan cut the kite string in her hand with a dagger, and the kite with the broken string flew further away.

"Hey? Why did you cut it?"

"It's placed so nicely! It's at least higher than everyone else's!"

Shangguan Zitong expressed her incomprehension with a few words of lament.

"Of course we should set it free!"

"Zitong, one day you will be free."

Liu Yunwan lectured her with profound principles, but Shangguan Zitong covered her ears to indicate that she didn't want to listen.

She started spouting platitudes right off the bat, it's so annoying, like I'm back in my old world, a model citizen. She said Liu Yunwan hasn't been acting quite right lately, always spouting platitudes and trying to give her positive energy. But she hasn't been that negative these past few days!

"Sisters, come and have lunch!"

Shangguan Zitong addressed the group of women who were playing and laughing.

"Hey~ Here it comes."

The woman in the pink dress replied, and the group of them walked towards Shangguan Zitong.

Whoosh—the arrow pierced the sky and struck one of the laughing women in a blue dress.

"Damn, this is ridiculous!"

"We were ambushed the moment we left the palace!"

Shangguan Zitong stood up and protected Liu Yunwan, watching as the arrows shot down the fleeing women one by one!

The Prime Minister led a group of assassins to surround Shangguan Zitong and her group! She was instead protected by Liu Yunwan.

"How have you been, Your Majesty?"

"Today is your death day. His Majesty won't make it in time!"

"Do you have any last words? I will convey them to you."

Prime Minister Song stroked his beard and chuckled sinisterly.

"How did you escape? So many Imperial Guards were watching you!"

"Bringing so many assassins? Just to kill me? What a waste of their talent!"

Liu Yunwan asked disdainfully, flicking out the long whip wrapped around her waist.

"Sister, don't talk big! There are so many of them, any one of them could take our lives!" Shangguan Zitong looked at the crowd surrounding her and Liu Yunwan, feeling both amused and exasperated. The problem was that Liu Yunwan was still trying to be brave. There were so many of them; wasn't it obvious they were doomed? Besides, she was now a sickly, dependent child.

"When I ordered the Imperial Guards to surround the Crown Prince's residence, you survived, so by the same token..."

"So, Liu Yunwan, stop struggling and surrender obediently, and I'll let you leave with some dignity."

Prime Minister Song snapped his fingers at the assassins, who prepared for a second round of shooting!

"Damn it, I only have one month left to live and they won't let me have a moment's peace!"

"I'm speechless. Even dying young is worse than this!"

Shangguan Zitong wanted to find a weapon to protect herself, but the Green Green Grassland was too vast, and she couldn't find anything.

"Here you go, Zitong, you must live!"

Liu Yunwan handed her a dagger for self-defense and then ran towards the Prime Minister and the others.

"...If you can't survive, what chance do I have? Let's attack together."

Shangguan Zitong followed behind Liu Yunwan, acting as her strong support. The Prime Minister, finding this amusing, dispatched six assassins to surround and attack the two of them.

Shangguan Zitong and Liu Yunwan worked closely together, engaging in a fierce battle with the assassins. Although she was physically weak, she had some prior training and was quite agile. Wielding her dagger, she skillfully dodged the assassins' attacks while searching for an opportunity to counterattack.

Liu Yunwan used her intelligence to launch surprise attacks on the assassins' weaknesses, making them defenseless. The long whip in her hand crackled.

However, the number and strength of the assassins exceeded their expectations. Gradually, Shangguan Zitong and Liu Yunwan began to feel exhausted, and both suffered multiple injuries. Shangguan Zitong wanted to curse inwardly; this was a complete massacre, with absolutely no chance of victory!

Just when they thought they had no way out, Shangguan Zitong suddenly discovered an opening in one of the assassins' defenses. Without hesitation, she seized the opportunity, rushed towards the opening, and used all her strength to stab one of the assassins in a vital spot.

The assassin screamed and collapsed to the ground. The other assassins hesitated for a moment upon seeing this. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shangguan Zitong and Liu Yunwan escaped their encirclement.

But with so many assassins, how could they possibly escape? It was just the Prime Minister playing a cat-and-mouse game.

......

Seeing that they were exhausted from running, the Prime Minister, confident of victory, sent an assassin to finish them off! Upon seeing this, Shangguan Zitong quickly pushed Liu Yunwan aside to shield her from the assassin's flying kick, knowing she wouldn't live much longer anyway.

The impact sent Shangguan Zitong crashing into a large tree, causing her to cough up blood. Before losing consciousness, she seemed to see Liu Yunwan rushing towards her in a panic. She smiled faintly and then collapsed under the tree.

"Liu Yunwan, how come your companion is so weak? She died so quickly?"

"Or is she faking death and just falling into a deep sleep?"

"What a touching story of sisterly love! It's a pity it's coming to an end!"

The Prime Minister gestured to another assassin, who drew his bow and aimed an arrow at Liu Yunwan, who was crying while holding Shangguan Zitong.

"Zitong, don't blame me, I'm coming to be with you now."

Liu Yunwan gently placed her under the tree, secretly slipped a pill into her mouth, and then slipped one into her own mouth before walking step by step toward the Prime Minister.

"Just kill me, I'm not going to live anyway! Give me a quick death!"

She threw down the whip in her hand, and one assassin shot her with an arrow, while another stabbed her in the abdomen before turning and leaving.

"This is what you requested, so don't blame me! The next person is Mu Rongyi Ke."

After the prime minister finished speaking, he prepared to leave with the assassins and head towards the palace.

"Zitong... hang in there... hang in there, we..."

Exhausted, Liu Yunwan collapsed to the ground. She endured the pain as she pulled the arrow from her heart and immediately lost consciousness.

"Sister Liu..."

Shangguan Zitong crawled towards Liu Yunwan, crying, picked her up, and checked her breath with his index finger. She was cold, completely cold!

Why...why...did you do this to me?

Shangguan Zitong looked up to the sky and wept bitterly, trembling as she held Liu Yunwan in her arms. She couldn't believe that Liu Yunwan had died so easily! It seemed that there was no point in her living anymore! Where were Mu Rongyi and Ke? Why were they always absent at crucial moments?

"Wanwan! Let her go!"

"It's all because of you! What are you doing flying the kite?"

"Couldn't we have released it in the palace? Why did we have to come all this way? Now, are you satisfied?"

"They can't be with you anymore, you jinx!"

Mu Rongyi pushed Shangguan Zitong away and hugged Liu Yunwan, bursting into tears. Shangguan Zitong was stunned after being pushed to the ground. She clutched her chest in pain, gasping for breath! It was a sign that she was about to have a relapse.

No, I can't let my temper flare up yet. I have to hold on. I can save her! Shangguan Zitong covered her head, trying to force herself to calm down.

"I'm sorry, she... is dead!"

Shangguan Zitong stared blankly at Mu Rongyi Ke.

"You're talking nonsense, she's just asleep!"

"She still has the system, doesn't she? We'll meet again eventually! She'll definitely be able to be resurrected like you!"

Mu Rongyike, holding her, roared at Shangguan Zitong.

"Her system...is with me..."

Shangguan Zitong said in a low voice.

"Why...why did you take away her system?"

"She could have lived...because of you..."

Mu Rongyi asked, her eyes red and on the verge of collapse.

"No...you were afraid she'd want to go back to her original world...so you made me take it?"

Shangguan Zitong's mind seemed to have crashed, and she sat there blankly staring at Liu Yunwan. She wanted to reach out and touch Liu Yunwan, but was stopped by Mu Rongyi's unfriendly gaze.

"Let me try, maybe I can save her."

"It will be too late!"

Shangguan Zitong prepared to summon the system to try it out.

"Ah Li, please help me one last time! Just this one last time!"

"Her soul hasn't completely dissipated yet. Could you use a fragment of her soul from my space to save her life? She's truly about to vanish from this world."

I can't do it. Please accept my condolences.

"Why? I beg you!"

You only have three soul fragments; you need five to complete...

"Then take my life; I don't have much time left anyway!"

"A life for a life, it's a good deal!"

"Ah Li, please help me!"

Shangguan Zitong could barely hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground, but the white-haired boy appeared just in time to catch her.

......