But the blood kept dripping. He had no choice but to slow his steps, dropping down from the tree and pulling himself up by grabbing onto each trunk.

Chen Yi climbed higher bit by bit. Only by standing higher could he discern what was truly the glints of blades and swords, and what was merely branches obstructing his view.

His vision grew blurrier. Leaves mingled with leaves, trees blended with trees, indistinct and unclear. Chen Yi staggered forward, his eyes a misty haze.

In the distance, fireworks exploded into the night sky, their already blurry outlines now even harder to make out.

Blurred, too blurred...

So blurred that...

He couldn't recognize it was a sword!

Shhh!

A chilling gleam swept toward him. Chen Yi's pupils contracted suddenly as the blade collided with his body, producing the sharp clash of steel against bone, before plunging into his abdomen. Only then did he realize what had happened.

The spy before him gripped the short sword with both hands, exhausting every last ounce of strength in a desperate thrust.

But Chen Yi had already torn apart his heart with a single stroke of the sword.

"Cough, cough..."

Blood stuck in his throat erupted forcefully.

Having trained in Copper Bone Skill, the short sword had not penetrated deeply. Chen Yi yanked it free with brute force and flung the blade onto the ground.

He couldn't understand why he failed to recognize the sword.

He had always been able to see clearly before... As this fleeting thought flashed across his mind, Chen Yi suddenly realized something—he could indeed die. Despite everything he had, he could still die.

Death chased his footsteps, waiting for the perfect moment to deal the fatal blow.

Mere moments ago, he had said he couldn't die. But now, he murmured, "I don't want to die..."

Under the moonlight, he trudged on alone, his steps more unsteady than before as the blood continued dripping, impossible to stop...

He couldn't just die here like this...

His body strained forward, the wind howled furiously around him, and Chen Yi moved ahead with all his might.

His consciousness grew rapidly fainter, fallen leaves brushing past his ear as his head swam in dizziness.

It truly felt as if he was about to die...

Turning his head slightly, his peripheral vision caught a detail.

Blood had pooled all over the ground, stretching out into a long, winding trail.

Behind the bloodstains, shadows teemed and surged...

Was he really about to die?

Before he could complete the thought, an arrow pierced the air.

He twisted violently to one side, evading the arrow, his body tumbling like a boulder down the hillside.

"It's him! It's him!"

"He's over there!"

Hyena-like voices rose and fell in waves. Chen Yi's body rolled and collided between the trees, crashing all around. Who would have imagined that the once high-ranking West Factory Thousand Households would end up in such miserable plight?

By the time he stopped rolling, who knows how much time had passed. His clothes were torn to shreds, his body battered and bruised.

Chen Yi had no idea where he was. His face contorted with the agony that gripped him, heavy despair weighing on him like a mountain.

"Is this really... the end?"

He tried to climb back to his feet, but as his foot grazed against a jagged stone, he fell once more.

Lowering his gaze, he could see the blood covering the ground, suffocating him, choking him.

His will grew dimmer, blurrier, as death drew closer and closer.

The night was pitch-dark. The mountains and forests stood silent in their stillness, drowned in deathly stillness. Chen Yi glanced around, gripping his sword, trying to rise. His gaze flickered with so, so many scenes...

Inside Yintai Temple, Yin Tingxue hugged him as she wept; Zhou Yitang stood resolute in the rain, staring at the broken Ruoque Sword; Min Ning, before leaving, led him up the highest tower, pointing at the skies beyond; Zhu E entrusted her loved one to him with tender concentration; Qin Qingluo removed her hairpin and shot her arrow through the scattered strands; Lin Family Young Lady bid him a wistful farewell with a fleeting kiss; Yin Weiyin stretched out his hand feebly in the waters of Huangquan River...

He had once had so, so much...

The fleeting images sped past his eyes like scenes from a lantern show. Just ahead, just nearby, it seemed as though they were right there, those figures. Chen Yi reached out to touch them, but realized he couldn't grasp anyone—it dawned on him that they were illusions, unreachable mirages.

Death... it turns out, was just this close.

The Laughing Pelican would die, the Impermanence Eagle would die, the Death-Wailing Crow would die... Everyone he killed would die, so why wouldn't he?

His vision grew blurrier and blurrier, the loss of blood was overwhelming...

Chen Yi suddenly felt something more terrifying than death—failure, complete and utter failure.

He wanted to retrieve something, grasp it, but everything slipped through his fingers.

Bang!

Another firework exploded, its abrupt roar snapping him back to reality.

"I will die too..."

Chen Yi murmured.

The answer was simple. He was always bound to die. No matter what he did in the past, he would still die, and everything would come to nothing—would be for naught.

He really was going to die.

There were still so many things yet undone, so many...

At least, at least he wanted to see one last thing...

In a daze, Chen Yi remembered something—he wanted to see something one more time. What was it? Engulfed in endless darkness, his consciousness slipped away, but still, he longed to see...

Chen Yi slowly drew out the tiny paper boat, now tattered beyond recognition. He remembered that Yin Tingxue had written something on it. He wanted to look at it, to read what it said—if only right before he died...

With trembling fingers, he unfolded the paper boat. On the crumpled sheet, elegant handwriting spelled out one line:

I like you.

...

At that moment, fireworks bloomed in the far sky, bursting behind him, scattering brilliance and carrying icy winds that drowned his vision—and drowned his tears.

"Fool,"

He thought about the sorrow he had brought that young girl,

"I'm sorry."

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