Tan Hua - Chapter 92: I Only Lost to You

Chapter 92: I Only Lost to You

The blood from Jun Qiyu stained Song Liqing’s hands, the slippery, warm sensation making Song Liqing shiver, as if struck by lightning. He instinctively let go of the dagger.

“Jun… Jun Qiyu… Why… didn’t you dodge?!”

“Dodge?” Jun Qiyu’s lips parted as he said suddenly, “Why would I dodge you?”

“You’re so skilled, surely you could have dodged! You could have dodged!” Song Liqing babbled, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me… what’s wrong with me…”

“Don’t apologize.”

Jun Qiyu stopped his words, but couldn’t hold back, spitting out a small mouthful of blood, his dry lips stained with crimson.

Watching him spit blood, Song Liqing’s knees buckled, almost causing him to collapse, but a strong arm caught him and lifted him up.

Song Liqing was pressed against Jun Qiyu’s chest.

This embrace, unfamiliar yet long-missed, made Song Liqing breathe in the scent unique to him, awakening many memories he had avoided thinking about.

“Why?” Song Liqing’s eyes reddened. “Jun Qiyu, don’t… I almost killed you! If you want to fight back, just kill me already.”

Jun Qiyu whispered in his ear, his breath warm against his skin.

“Don’t say such foolish things. This wasn’t your intention, I don’t blame you.”

Song Liqing bit his lip, trembling as he spoke loudly, “What do you mean by ‘intention’? You think I wouldn’t kill you? Someone like me who hates you… and you didn’t dodge… why are you so foolish?! If you die here…”

A kiss landed on Song Liqing’s lips, silencing him.

His eyes widened in shock, his thoughts stopped. Everything around him seemed to disappear, no sound, just a long stretch of empty silence with no passage of time.

It took him a while to regain his senses, only to find that Jun Qiyu had firmly wrapped his arm around his waist, making it impossible for him to move.

“Don’t… ugh… don’t touch me!”

“I can’t help kissing you, Liqing. Even if you point a sword or a dagger at me, even if you really kill me, I don’t care. In this life, I only lost to you, Liqing.”

Jun Qiyu said these words whimsically, yet firmly.

Song Liqing was stunned. He couldn’t think straight. All he felt was fear—would this dagger take Jun Qiyu’s life?

“Jun Qiyu… will you die?”

Unable to hold back his crying voice, Song Liqing was truly scared.

“Of course not,” Jun Qiyu said softly.

“But you’re hurt, and they…”

“Don’t worry, no one can kill me, unless I willingly allow it,” Jun Qiyu reassured.

Song Liqing didn’t understand where this immense confidence came from. Or was it that Jun Qiyu, having fallen into an impossible situation, was only speaking to comfort himself?

Seeing that Song Liqing had indeed injured Jun Qiyu, Xiao Taizi wasted no time. He drew his bow and nocked an arrow, silently aiming at Jun Qiyu.

Whoosh—

The long arrow shot through the air, but it wasn’t perfectly aimed. The arrowhead flew straight for Song Liqing’s back. Jun Qiyu’s ear twitched, and he immediately swung his sword to intercept the arrow.

Had his eyes been fine, blocking an arrow would have been easy, but relying only on his hearing to track the weapon’s trajectory, he managed to cut the shaft, though the arrowhead still flew into Song Liqing’s back.

“Liqing!”

Jun Qiyu’s face paled in panic, shouting.

Song Liqing groaned in pain, enduring it as he said, “I’m… I’m fine, just a flesh wound.”

Fortunately, the arrow’s force was reduced by Jun Qiyu’s sword, and it only sank into Song Liqing’s flesh a little over an inch. It hurt, but the wound wasn’t severe.

“Qi Miao!” Jun Qiyu ordered.

Qi Miao understood the command and assessed that Song Liqing’s injury was shallow. However, with no means to stop the bleeding, he hesitated to remove the arrowhead.

Jun Qiyu spoke gravely: “Stay close to him and take care of him.”

Though Song Liqing wasn’t in mortal danger, Jun Qiyu’s killing intent surged.

Song Liqing could sense Jun Qiyu’s chilling aura, and he immediately grabbed his arm.

“Jun Qiyu! Don’t do anything reckless! You… you still have Qi Miao to protect you!”

“Such a pain…”

Xiao Taizi’s surprise attack had failed, and he spat in frustration.

“Liqing, well done, as expected of my good brother. Wounding Jun Qiyu like this, you’ve done great, you’ve defected. Come over here, there’s no need for weapons anymore, lest you get hurt,” Xiao Taizi said with a mocking smile.

Jun Qiyu tightened his grip on his sword, and Xiao Taizi instinctively felt a cold chill.

But before Jun Qiyu could make a move, a sword light flashed towards Xiao Taizi’s face. Xiao Taizi barely avoided it, using all his strength to evade, and his guards stepped in to block the sword.

The sword was wielded by Pei Xingxu, who coldly stared at Xiao Taizi.

Xiao Taizi, still rattled, coldly yelled, “King of Loulan! What the hell are you doing?”

“Why hurt him?”

“Him?” Of course, he was referring to Song Liqing.

“I said it was just an accidental injury!” Xiao Taizi scoffed. “Didn’t you see him and Jun Qiyu being all lovey-dovey? The one you should kill is Jun Qiyu!”

Pei Xingxu didn’t listen to him, raising his sword and striking again. This time, Xiao Taizi had prepared and dodged backward.

“Why hurt him?” Pei Xingxu repeated.

“So what if I hurt him? As long as I can kill Jun Qiyu, what’s a hundred injuries to him?” Xiao Taizi was enraged, “King of Loulan, are you defecting just because of this minor injury?”

“Defecting? Who’s your ally?”

Pei Xingxu had long been disillusioned, his eyes filled with numb sorrow.

“I don’t care if you kill Jun Qiyu, but you shouldn’t hurt him.”

“Such emotional fools… what magic does a lowly bastard like him have?”

Xiao Taizi exhaled sharply and laughed loudly, his laugh growing more manic.

“Haha… Hahahaha!!”

Xiao Taizi’s laughter wasn’t out of triumph, but a release of pent-up frustration.

“Now that it’s come to this, I won’t hide anymore… anyone who opposes me won’t get away!”

After finishing, Xiao Taizi clapped his hands, and within moments, a troop of soldiers appeared from behind the sand dunes. They wore the uniforms of the previous dynasty’s soldiers, clearly well-trained.

Then came the second, third group… a whole army of several hundred surrounded the area tightly.

One of Xiao Taizi’s subordinates raised a flare, shooting a fireball into the sky. Soon after, another fireball shot up in the distance, and multiple flares illuminated the vast desert as night fell, creating a bright spectacle.

“What is this…”

Song Liqing’s gaze shimmered as he looked at the army, feeling an overwhelming sense of helpless despair.

Jun Qiyu, hearing the sound of the flares, said, “It’s a method of communication commonly used by the previous dynasty. Xiao Taizi has finally made his move.”

Author’s Note:

The additional chapter will come a bit later, no need to wait.