Chapter 845: Her confession, his attachments (1/2)

Ning Cheng caught the item that Long Feiye tossed him and opened it up before his expression shifted. Han Yunxi was even more stunned by the sight. This was none other than East Qin’s imperial jade seal, which had been passed down through generations of the royal line.

Long Feiye was trading East Qin’s imperial seal for her!

It was a powerful yet resolute move!

Truth or lies didn’t matter now. Actions led to the ultimate conclusion that decided everything. The moment Long Feiye decided to leave her by his side, he had already made a choice between national enmity and herself as a person. He choose the latter. Thus, he dropped his hatred for the Di Clan and revealed his sincerity to cooperate. Of course, no one could say whether East and West Qin would reconcile or grow ever more combative once they dealt with the Wind Clan together. But at least Long Feiye had taken the first step.

Seeing such an impressive, no nonsense Long Feiye, Han Yunxi really wished she was a true and proper West Qin princess who had power in her hands. Then she could be like him and do as she wished, domineer as she wanted, intimidate and be spectacular at every scene! And yet even as princess, she still had to submit to Ning Cheng, wasn’t that right?

Ning Cheng scrambled to his feet and demanded, “Long Feiye, why?!”

The imperial jade seal was heavy in his hands, its weight a testament to its authenticity. Ning Cheng didn’t understand why Long Feiye chose to cooperate with West Qin of all options when he had so many alternatives, or why he’d use this to show his sincerity.

A single thread of worry rose in Ning Cheng’s heart. Before he could ascertain it, Long Feiye gave him an answer. “Because this crown prince wants her!”

It was a single, simple sentence, but it came to a strong and domineering point. Ning Cheng gave a start, while Han Yunxi was even more startled. She never thought Long Feiye would expose everything! She’d tried so hard to earn Ning Cheng’s trust, while Long Feiye himself faced heavy pressure from his own barracks.

How can he just…

Before Han Yunxi could recover, Long Feiye had already taken her hand. “Ning Cheng, is this enough of a reason?”

Ning Cheng had no time to attend to Long Feiye anymore. He looked at Han Yunxi with his brows tightly knitted and a demand for explanations in his eyes. No one saw the ache he hid behind his pain, or the pain he kept hidden in his left hand. Long Feiye’s heavy show of faith helped return Han Yunxi’s fake princess heart and her guilt and remorse for West Qin and the Di Clan.

She had lied to Ning Cheng, but Long Feiye didn’t!

Han Yunxi answered Ning Cheng herself, open and forthright. “I love him,” she said.

Ning Cheng’s right hand cracked as he formed a fist, hatred shining in his eyes. “Han Yunxi, don’t forget your vow!”

“I remember it! Even though I love him, I won’t make West Qin sorry!” Han Yunxi said coldly.

“You already have!” Ning Cheng raged.

“I haven’t!” Han Yunxi denied it sternly. “Ning Cheng, you should know better than me that West Qin has no choice. We can only stop the fighting and cooperate with Long Feiye!”

Ning Cheng laughed out loud. “Han Yunxi, have you considered that Northern Li will be easily attainable by Long Feiye once the Wind Clan falls? Are you naive enough to think that West Qin will be able to survive under such difficult circumstances?”

A moment of silence gave Long Feiye the chance to speak. He grabbed Ning Cheng’s cloak to stop the man from advancing any further towards Han Yunxi and looked at him scornfully. “Ning Cheng, when that time comes, it’ll purely be a test of ability. This crown prince isn’t yielding to you on the matter of the Wind Clan, but to Han Yunxi!”

Ning Cheng shoved Long Feiye’s hand aside as he looked icily at Han Yunxi. “West Qin doesn’t need such concessions!”

Han Yunxi helplessly shook her head. “Then you tell me, Ning Cheng. What should we do?” Have her lead the Ning Clan troops to a fight to the death while knowing full well that they’d be bringing destruction onto themselves like a moth to a flame?

They’d already sacrificed so many lives. Was it still not enough? Were successive generations supposed to keep giving injury for injury, reprisals for reprisals?

What was the point?

So what if they took revenge and restored the country? Would that guarantee they’d live in peace forever? East and West Qin used to be part of one empire and a single clan. They were a powerful and glorious empire. Whether it was hatred or pure misunderstanding that split them apart, could they resolve their differences? Can’t they exist together, just like the beginning?

“Ning Cheng, must you have me lead all of West Qin’s loyal adherents to certain doom with full knowledge of their deaths? Is this the only way to prove worthy of them?” Han Yunxi asked.

“At least it wouldn’t be a disappointment to West Qin!” Ning Cheng said coldly.

“Aren’t they West Qin as well?” Han Yunxi asked incredulously. “Ning Cheng, tell me. What is ‘West Qin?’ Who is it? Is it you? Or me? Is it the Di Clan? The Shadow Clan? Everyone? Or is it just a dream--a far-fetched, unattatined fantasy that demands generation after generations of sacrifices?”

“Ning Cheng, I can leave with you right now, but you have to tell me: where does West Qin go from here? West Qin...will it even have a tomorrow?” Han Yunxi’s voice grew hoarse.

Ning Cheng was silent. Actually, he didn’t know what to do either. He just didn’t want this woman to leave him and return to Long Feiye’s side.

“Ning Cheng, the civil war between East and West Qin started because of iron ore. Ning An said East Qin sacrificed the people downriver to protect the mine. But do you know how many mermaid soldiers were sacrificed by the Bai Clan[1] to protect the dam? How could East Qin ignored the Bai Clan’s sacrifices just for the sake of a mine? If that was the truth, how could the Bai Clan still be so loyal to East Qin today?” Han Yunxi said earnestly.

“Ning Cheng, East Qin sent out the Black Clan to grab what they could from the iron ore mines, but the Wind Clan stationed there by West Qin misunderstood them to be protecting the iron ore mine and destroying the dam for their own interests. Was this a misunderstanding between East and West Qin or the Black and Wind Clans? Or perhaps, a plot cooked up by the latter two?”