Chapter 1155: May we never meet again (2/2)
Gu Beiyue sighed softly. “Young General, I came just to tell you about these matters. The princess and His Highness won’t visit you again.”
Mu Qingwu fell silent. Gu Beiyue’s serious expression made him uneasy. Then the doctor told him all about Bai Yanqing blackmailing Mu Yuanbo, the use of an entire city as hostages to lure the princess to Tianan, and how everything had led to Long Feiye slaughtering the Li Clan’s Mu family.
Mu Qingwu could only gape at the revelations, too stunned to speak.
“Young General, your father and little sister have already left this world. I was the one to personally carry out the burials of the Mu Clan. In the end, I could only make sure their corpses were intact. May they rest in peace.”
Mu Qingwu suddenly rose to his feet and ran out of the room. He punched the stone walls, leaving a large hole behind. Turning to Gu Beiyue, he snarled, “Why?!”
Gu Beiyue remained calm. “Young General, this is the punishment the Li Clan deserved. You can resent or hate His Highness, but these are the facts. Those who turned the city into a slaughterhouse would have been killed off by the world’s people even if His Highness spared their lives. I ask for Young General’s understanding and acceptance of these matters.”
“I can’t accept this!” Mu Qingwu cried, his eyes brimming with tears. He was even hoping that the princess and His Highness’s rescue would help him convince his father and Long Tianmo to surrender themselves. But who knew everything could change overnight!
The Mu family really were descendants of the Li Clan, the noble family he scorned the most! He’d lost his father, his sister, and his entire clan! He was the only survivor and now public enemy number one!
Mu Qingwu fell to his knees in front of the wall, completely exhausted.
Gu Beiyue’s eyes flashed with a hint of pity. He had interacted often with Mu Qingwu back in Tianning and understood him well. If it wasn’t necessary, he would never have come here today on his own. Now he went to crouch by the man’s side and pull him over so Mu Qingwu could rest his head on his shoulders. They were thin shoulders, but capable of bearing any burden in this world, even if it weighed as much as a mountain.
Mu Qingwu’s own shoulders were shaking as he leaned against Gu Beiyue. Perhaps he was already crying.
Like a brother, Gu Beiyue’s tone was gentle but filled with strength. “Young General, the people of Tianan refused to bury the bodies of the Mu Clan. They wanted the corpses cremated, so I had their real bodies interred in the mountains of Tianning’s western outskirts, on the Li Clan’s property. Their gravestones are unmarked. Some of the Li Clan managed to escape, so His Highness might hunt them down in the future. Perhaps...not a single one of them will be spared. I’ll help you off the mountain and out of Medical City. Then I’ll tell His Highness and the princess that you accidentally activated a trap and perished in the maze, alright?”
Mu Qingwu’s head whipped up. He asked, “Gu Beiyue, aren’t you afraid that I’ll gather the remnants of the Li Clan and raise a rebellion in revenge for my kinsmen?”
“You won’t,” Gu Beiyue was very firm. Before Mu Qingwu could refute him, he added, “It’s also impossible. What the Li Clan lost were people’s hearts.”
How could the upright and abovebroad Mu Qingwu not understand this principle? He stared at Gu Beiyue for a long time without speaking.
“Young General, just pretend...just pretend the princess never turned down that alley and saved your life back then,” Gu Beiyue intoned.
Mu Qingwu suddenly laughed. “I wish that was the case! I really do!” If the princess hadn’t saved him from poison back then, he would have died long ago! He would never have experienced this much or learned about everything. His heart wouldn’t be hurting right now!
Gu Beiyue gently patted his back before quickly releasing him to stand up.
“If you want it that way, then let it be so. Young General, it’s getting light. Let’s go,” Gu Beiyue said calmly.
Mu Qingwu shut his eyes in silence. By the time he opened them again, there were no sign of tears. He followed Gu Beiyue out of the maze and to the outskirts of Medical City.
“Doctor Gu, many thanks! May we...never meet again!” Mu Qingwu cupped his hands and gave him a deep bow.
It was identical to the bow he gave Qin Wangfei at the Duke of Qin’s estate when he came to thank her for saving his life.
“May we never meet again,” Gu Beiyue replied. He watched Mu Qingwu’s figure disappear into the morning light before heading for the medical academy. There he ran into Long Feiye drinking tea with Han Yunxi by her side.
“Your Highness, princess, good morning,” he smiled.
Long Feiye personally poured him a cup of tea and gestured for him to sit. “You took an entire night to get there and back?” he asked.
Naturally, Mu Qingwu’s existence couldn’t be hidden from Long Feiye. Han Yunxi seemed to know something too, but kept quiet.
“Mu Qingwu accidentally fell into a trap and died. I buried him on the way before I returned,” Gu Beiyue replied.
Neither Long Feiye nor Han Yunxi spoke. But Long Feiye didn’t press the issue and soon summoned someone to urge Fourth Young Miss Ren to come. Since they didn’t ask, it meant they wouldn’t pursue the matter either. Gu Beiyue didn’t offer any more details after that.
In the end, Baili Mingxiang and Su Xiaoyu arrived ahead of Fourth Young Miss Ren.
1. There seems to be another continuity error because the raws mentioned Baili Mingxiang here in the same sentence, but she obviously knew HYX and co were back since she greeted them at the cave entrance like all the other guards.