In the year of 231 B.C., during the Mo Dynasty, in the third month when Spring arrived, Prince Yue, Mo Shenrong, the third prince of the late Emperor and Noble Consort Qi Huaqing, rebelled against Emperor Mo Chouyi, son of the Empress Dowager, Bai Suixin.
As soon as Spring arrived in the nation of Mo, Mo Shenrong rebelled, taking more than one-third of all the ministers and generals to his side, waging war against Mo Chouyi. Along with these minsters and generals, Mo Shenrong had won the favor of the Fox Demons, who bowed down and followed his bidding, using their powers to create ruins for Mo Chouyi as he fought to reclaim control of the nation.
In the fourth month, Qi Fei, Qi Meizhen tried to poison Mo Chouyi and Empress Hui Yin, succeeding in taking down the Empress, but was ultimately thrown into prison. Mian Fei, Mian Huaran’s child resulted in a stillborn, an effect from the poisoning of Qi Fei.
General Tang Qingshan was in the middle of this war and along by his side, the Royal Strategist, Qi Longhai had returned to help Mo Chouyi win this war and settle down the rebellion.
Unfortunately, even with Tang Qingshan and Qi Longhai, fighting against the fox demons were not an easy feat.
By Mo Shenrong’s side, he had five fox demons leading his soldiers, creatures with great power and bewitchment, able to easily defeat Mo Chouyi’s soldiers. Hong Daiyu and Lu Yingyue, two of the leading fox demons of Mo Shenrong’s troops, easily defeated Tang Qingshan’s soldiers, resulting in Mo Chouyi taking a step back.
The Mo Nation suffered through a time of rebellion and wars, two different sides fighting against one another.
“Hahahah! Oh, Mo Chou, you were fooled.” Within the prison, a woman hung from the wall, her skin filled with red scars, madness within her eyes, her clothes in tatters.
Standing outside of the prison, Mo Chou looked coldly within. “Meizhen, you are to die soon. No matter what, you will have to confess sooner or later.” His face was pale.
From inside the prison, Qi Meizhen smiled wickedly, “The truth?! Oh, but the truth is just too unbearable for someone like you! Dying will bring me peace, having already seen that cursed woman laying so weakly in her palace!” Her wrists clattered, the chains rattling as she moved her arms, her eyes flickering dangerously.
“Your children are bearing the weight of your sins. At least let them know what you have done before you die.” Mo Chou calmly explained, blue eyes looking forward.
Qi Meizhen paused for a second, grunting. Rolling her eyes, she finally mumbled. “Where to start? Ah, let us start off with that Mian wretch! That bit*h, having acted so haughtily before me, now look at her fate. Her son had long since died in her womb. Funny thing is, Mo Chou, that child was truly yours. Why would Yue Junwang even think about sleeping with that hag when he has a beautiful woman by his side, currently helping him rebel? But, watching you be such a fool and falling right into your brother’s hands made me so happy. Everyone had praised you to be the perfect Emperor, but it was only because your brother hid his potential.” The way she sneered made her appear mad.
Mo Chou furrowed his brows but did not interrupt her.
“Oh, and my brother. I have long since known your ill ties with him. The thought of it makes my blood boil till this very day. Such a happy couple, yet his position was obviously mine, I should be the one you love. So I schemed, I wanted to tear you two apart. You know, that night you slept with me, I drugged you. As soon as I consummated with you, my innocence gone, I knew you would have to marry me no matter what. Even if you loved my brother, you would have to marry me, so I drugged you. Of course, when you realized what you had done, you had to marry me. Ohhhh, the delight when I finally achieved my goal.” Qi Meizhen smiled widely, eyes rolling to look at Mo Chou.
Mo Chou clenched his fist, anger rising in his eyes. “What did you do?” Bubbling anger rose within him, the sudden feeling of wanting to kill this woman.
“You know, as soon as you announced your engagement with me, I had another thought. Since I have already broken you two up, why don’t I give my dearest brother one finally gift? So I did. I poisoned him. I fed him the Tomb Poison, lying to say that the other poison had been given to you. I told him that he had the right to choose who would live. He chose you, and lives till this very day with death approaching and chasing him. I had never fed you the poison, so the antidote is still in my very hands.” Qi Meizhen smirked, her gray eyes filled with vigor and calculation.
Mo Chou felt his legs go weak, anger flooding him. This woman! No. What about Qi Longhai? What about their relationship that ended all because of this woman? Back then, he had married Qi Meizhen because he had took her innocence, at least, back then, that was what she had said. He had always thought he had gotten too drunk and had done such a thing to Qi Meizhen, thus, Mo Chou did the right thing and married her.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Looking back at it now, was this why everything was falling apart? And Qi Longhai, the man that he loved most, he was suffering, dying at this very moment.
“The antidote, where is it?!” Mo Chou’s voice rose, blue eyes lit in anger.
But Qi Meizhen laughed, long and loud.
This made Mo Chou even angrier, knowing that everything was his fault. All these years, Qi Meizhen had lied and played him like a fool. And Qi Longhai had suffered so much without him knowing… why?
“As if I would tell you where the antidote is! If I am to die, I will drag Longhai down with me. I want you to look at his face when he dies, I want you to suffer knowing that you had hurt that man till his very death. I want you to go through death for torturing my heart, knowing that all because of you, you created this demon within me, and it came to torture both of you.” Qi Meizhen began laughing wildly, long and loud, looking like a possessed person. Then, looking straight into Mo Chou’s pained eyes, she smiled. Suddenly, black blood spilled from her mouth, her body was left hanging weakly.
A few people ran into her cell.
“She poisoned herself, Your Majesty.”
Mo Chou looked at Qi Meizhen’s lifeless body, holding back a cry in his heart. His hand weakly came to lay on top of his heart, closing his eyes in pain. Qi Longhai… if he had not been drunk, if he had known he was drugged by Qi Meizhen, none of this would have happened…
Fate was truly cruel to them…
–
Yang Delun held a map in his hand, dressed in a silver armor as he looked at Lu Fengmian’s full face, the beautiful man in front of him.
Yang Delun nodded his head, already used to Lu Fengmian after all the months they’ve spent together. “I was able to get some information from Qi Longhai, although it was rather vague. Tang Qingshan’s army is surrounded around the palace, so there is no way to intrude unless we dispatch the fox demons instead, but the casualties will be quite high. On the other hand, there are seven other generals guarding each of the major cities and towns, so we will target there first. Our aim is to not take down the capital but to destroy their other troops.” Yang Delun pointed at a map and explained.
Lu Fengmian nodded his head, an expression as cold as ice was displayed. Yang Delun was worthy of his title. After all, while the man had deflected to their side, his yearning to remain by Qi Longhai’s side was stronger than anything else as he tried to limit the damage he would cause if Qi Longhai ever found out.
“How is everything?” From outside, an elegant figure walked in the tent. There was a small smile on his lips, a face without any worry.
These months, Lu Fengmian discovered that Mo Shen was not the evil person he thought of him as. While the man had rebelled, his cause to do this was only right. After all, Mo Shen wanted a world where the humans and demons could coexist, something that Mo Chou was not willing to do and something Tang Qingshan wouldn’t allow.
Lu Fengmian nodded his head towards Mo Shen, throwing away formalities. “Everything is going well. Three more generals have already fallen, and it won’t take long for Yingyue and Daiyu to claim victory. The seven generals left guarding the cities won’t be able to last long, their supplies will not last.” Lu Fengmian’s voice was calm, as if he did not care for these human lives.
That was true. Having made his decision, Lu Fengmian’s heart was now steeled, to the point where one would never know that he had once wanted to protect these people. Lu Fengmian knew how evil he had become, but his emotions were no longer in his control. His emotions were slowly dying, and the demon within him was slowly rising to overtake him. Lu Fengmian accepted it, not fighting against it.
Mo Shen nodded his head, his smile getting wider. “Well, then let’s try to drag it out longer. I want to see just what my brother will do.” Staring at the two men, he then continued, “I will have to thank you for everything you’ve done. This rebellion will cease soon, and the Nation of Mo will no longer be a place where demons are killed. I will do everything in my power to fix this problem.”
A female’s voice called out for Mo Shen. The only woman who could do this was Bingqing.
“Shenrong!”
Mo Shen turned to look out, shaking his head with a doting expression. “I will have to take my leave first. Please continue the work, General Lu and Duke Yang.” Saying this, he cupped his fist as he stepped out, running to the woman who was waiting for him.
Yang Delun turned to look at Lu Fengmian, setting the map down. “I will have to leave for a while after this. I will contact you when I know of more information, so until my next visit, please work hard, General Lu.” Yang Delun was very respectful as he said this.
“Of course, Duke Yang. Please be careful, Mo Chou’s side is getting worried. The Royal Strategist has always been cunning. Although you want to protect him, be mindful that he may not think of your actions as such.” Lu Fengmian’s blue eyes glazed over, looking away with his emotions hidden.
Yang Delun showed a sad smile, “I know. But unfortunately, his heart is loyal, willing to protect a man who has done him harm. I can only hope that when Yue Junwang wins this war, Longhai will forgive me for what I’ve done.” Yang Delun’s eyes misted over.
From the side, Lu Fengmian looked at him and shook his head. He knew too well, Yang Delun was going to be hurt, both him and Qi Longhai were going to suffer. But he did not say anything, keeping his silence. He should not intrude in something that didn’t involve him. After all, his only task was to protect Lu Yingyue and then he could leave this world, no longer having to stay in this world that only brought him pain.
–
“Delun.”
As Yang Delun entered his residence, having entered his room, another man was already sitting inside. The man was paler than before, having lost a bit of weight during this time. If there was one thing significant, his expression was now warmer towards Yang Delun.
Yang Delun smiled as he greeted back, “You have already returned?” Walking towards Qi Longhai, Yang Delun’s long hair that was tied into a ponytail moved with his steps.
Qi Longhai’s gray eyes held a soft light within them, a very light smile on his lips. “Yes, I talked with General Tang for a bit. Unfortunately, the people that Mo Shen has by his side are too strong, especially since he has the support of the demons.” Saying this, Qi Longhai softly sighed.
Yang Delun moved forward, sitting on the bed as he reached for Qi Longhai, pulling the man gently. “Here, lay down on my lap so I can massage your temples for you.” Yang Delun’s face was perfect, disguising all of his previous concerns easily.
Qi Longhai nodded his head, letting Yang Delun pull him. As his head rested on Yang Delun’s lap, there was not a single muscle within him that was on-guard against Yang Delun. In fact, he even closed his eyes with a soft smile on his face that gave Yang Delun’s stomach butterflies.
Yang Delun looked at the beautiful man in front of him. While his expression remained peaceful and calm, his heart died a bit inside. If Qi Longhai found out that he was working against Mo Chou, just what would happen to their relationship?
Now that they were closer than before, Yang Delun would find it unbearable to part.
As Yang Delun’s hand gently massaged Qi Longhai’s temples, he thought of the words Lu Fengmian said months ago.
To save Qi Longhai, he would have to sacrifice the life of a fox demon’s. Yang Delun had already thought it through.
If Qi Longhai ever finds out about what he did and still didn’t blame or hate him, then Yang Delun would find other alternatives, seeking other fox demons for their help.
If Qi Longhai did blame and hate him, then Yang Delun was willing to give up his own life. After all, if Qi Longhai hates him, that would be even more unbearable than death. At least with him dying, Qi Longhai would be able to live.
“Delun, thank you for everything.” Qi Longhai broke the peaceful silence with this sudden remark.
Yang Delun’s hand froze for a second before quickly resuming its action. “For what?” After all, he still betrayed Qi Longhai even if the man didn’t know…
“For everything. When I was lost, you promised to stay by my side.” Qi Longhai opened his eyes, his gray eyes looking straight into Yang Delun’s.
Yang Delun smiled lightly in turn, “Of course, I’m quite glad I made that decision.”
Until the truth came out, Yang Delun was willing to continue pretending. At least then, he would be able to make more memories with Qi Longhai…
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“Sect leader of Fushui, I will help you eliminate all the threats in your path. So long as you follow what I say, I will be able to help get rid of the Zhu brothers and Fei Qianchi. As long as you help me with my plans, there will be no threats blocking you.”
“Hahaha! He really fell for it, he has fallen under demonic energy! Hurry, throw him into prison along with Zhu Luishui, they have already harmed and killed disciples from this sect, even going as far as killing a sect elder. This will be enough to justify throwing them into prison.”
“These two have gone against the principles of Fushui Sect. Until further notice, they will be locked within the Evernight Prison!”
“It’s amazing how loyal Zhu Longwang is. I admire his bravery for going against everyone to protect who he loves. It’s only a shame that I will have to get rid of him. Right about now, I’m sure that Baicheng has already disguised himself as Fei Qianchi. That man will deal the final blow by killing Zhu Longwang, using the face of the man he loves most. What an amazing play I’ve thought out! Wouldn’t you agree, Fallen Immortal?”
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WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ISSSSS THISSSS!!!!
OH MY GOD.
OH.
MY.
GOD.
I’ve wanted to comment for ages but I always clicked the next button before I could 😭
Shelly, thank you so much for writing this glorious raw union of a book, I’m loving it!!!!!