Chapter 785 - Enemies from the north (1/2)

Spring had already arrived, and the northern grasslands were no longer covered in snow. Rather, there was a sense of life all around.

The soft green pastures of the steppe were mentally refreshing, and the transparent and clear rivers winding across the meadow stirred the heart.

White clouds hung low in the sky, the heavens almost within reach.

But for some reason, Yan Liuyuan kept getting the feeling that the sky was all gloom on the way back. The dark clouds did not dissipate at all.

It wasn’t until the moment he saw Xiaoyu that the dark clouds in the sky suddenly dispersed. Sunlight penetrated through the dark clouds and covered the ground, illuminating the abyss.

Initially, when Xiaoyu saw Yan Liuyuan, she felt he had changed into a different person. But when he saw her, he immediately changed back to his usual self.

For Yan Liuyuan, Xiaoyu was his solid anchor. As long as his anchor was still around, he would not get lost in the ocean.

In front of her, he was no longer a god or a young lord of the steppe. He was just Yan Liuyuan.

“Big Sister Xiaoyu, my brother is still alive,” Yan Liuyuan said softly as he sat in the royal tent.

Xiaoyu, who was sewing Yan Liuyuan’s clothes, froze. She turned around and looked at Yan Liuyuan. “Wh-Where is he?”

Yan Liuyuan removed his black faceplate and said, “But I didn’t go and look for him.”

Only the two of them were inside the royal tent. Xiaoyu could see a hint of sadness in Yan Liuyuan’s expression. She said, “Is it because you’re afraid?”

Yan Liuyuan suddenly started talking about something else. “Big Sis, you know about my power. In the past, I would always experience backlash whenever I used it.”

Xiaoyu said with a gentle expression, “The first time I realized you had a superpower was when all of your brother’s bones were broken. At that time, we were held hostage by the Yang Consortium’s troops and forced to perform manual labor. You would fall down every day until your face was bruised and swollen, while those who were cursed by you ended up falling to their deaths.”

“Mhm.” Yan Liuyuan nodded. “The backlash from those curses was very straightforward. Whatever curse I wished upon others, a corresponding backlash would befall me. But it’s been different since the battle in the valley. After the ground started splitting and the cracks on the ground spread out, I did not suffer any backlash at all. It was as though the split ground had undone the shackles on my body. Every time I use my power now, the shackles break a little more.”

When Xiaoyu heard this, she did not respond immediately. Instead, she just listened quietly as Yan Liuyuan continued.

Yan Liuyuan said, “The cracks on the shackles are like gaps in the void. They’re constantly expanding. It feels like there’s some kind of will summoning me to become a part of it. No, to be more precise, it’s summoning me to take over that immense will. Only when I return to your side do I feel the cracks slowly knitting together, and only then do I regain more of my… humanity.”

“Liuyuan, you’ve already unified the grasslands. Don’t use your power anymore,” Xiaoyu softly said, sitting down across from Yan Liuyuan.

“Mhm, I’ll try my best to control myself,” Yan Liuyuan promised.

“What are your plans for the future?” Xiaoyu asked.

Yan Liuyuan stayed silent for a long time. “Thousands of innocent people died in the massacre of the city during our raid on the South this time, and some of the women there were violated by the Khoton tribe. I don’t know how to face him anymore. I don’t know how to tell him that his closest brother has become the type of person that he hates the most.”

“But you should know that even though he wants you to be a good person, he definitely won’t abandon you just because of something like that. Have you ever thought about how hard he’s trying to look for you? You know your brother’s character too. As long as he doesn’t see you, he’ll keep looking for you until the day he dies,” Xiaoyu said.

Yan Liuyuan stopped talking.

Xiaoyu looked at Yan Liuyuan and realized it was not Ren Xiaosu he could not face but himself.