Chapter 856: Forced to a dead end
"hiss!"

Ding Chou's words caused a huge uproar, and the faces of Liu Xunyi and the other two immediately changed. Their horrified and confused eyes all turned to Qiu Han sitting on the bamboo chair.

"Boom! Snap!"

There was a burst of lightning and thunder, which instantly illuminated the sky and the earth as bright as day, and also made Qiu Han's pale face, whose eyes were open in death, even more eerie and terrifying.

His face was ashen, his facial features were hideous, his brows were tightly furrowed as if he was unwilling to give in, and his pair of empty and lifeless eyes stared ahead. A trickle of bright red blood slowly flowed out from the corner of his mouth, and was quickly washed away by the falling rain.

This scene not only caught Liu Xunyi's eyes, but was also deeply imprinted in his heart.

"Brother Qiu..."

Facing Qiu Han, who was filled with hatred, Liu Xunyi suddenly felt his mind go blank. His legs became weak involuntarily, and after staggering a few steps, he fell to the ground with a thump. His eyes were filled with shock and he looked at Qiu Han's body in disbelief.

At this moment, not only his eyes were trembling, his lips and teeth were shaking, he wished that all the muscles in his body were shaking violently like a sieve.

Too many surprises, too much confusion, too much grief, too much despair...

He could not predict, let alone understand, why Qiu Han, who had finally escaped from bad luck and had the opportunity to start his life anew, chose to commit suicide?

"Brother Qiu..."

Liu Xunyi was overwhelmed with emotions, and was finally completely broken down by a sudden wave of sadness. He realized it belatedly and, despite being covered in mud, he struggled and threw himself on Qiu Han, unable to control his tears.

At this moment, even Liu Xunyi couldn't tell whether he was crying for Qiu Han or for himself.
"Brother Liu, the dead cannot be resurrected, please don't do this..."

Li Haitang rushed forward and pulled Liu Xunyi away from Qiu Han's body. At the same time, he kept soothing him with kind words: "Maybe he is tired of this kind of life worse than death. A vigorous and agile master has now become a paralyzed living dead. This kind of torture is far beyond what ordinary people can endure. Death may be a relief for him..."

"It's my fault, it's all my fault..." Liu Xunyi blamed himself and felt ashamed, "I shouldn't have brought him here... Maybe when Brother Qiu proposed the worship, he had already made up his mind to die in front of the Marquis' tomb... Brother Qiu, why are you so stupid? Why..."

"Qiu Han has been loyal to his duties all his life, and has been with Tianji Hou through thick and thin. His loyalty and righteousness are unparalleled and admirable." Wen Tianxiang said, "Perhaps this is the best ending for him..."

"You are wrong!"

Just as Liu Xunyi was crying, Li Haitang was heartbroken, and Wen Tianxiang was filled with emotion, the expressionless Ding Chou suddenly spoke. He seemed to have grown up a lot in an instant. The childishness in his eyes disappeared, replaced by an indescribable melancholy and grief.

This look, which was totally inconsistent with his age, shocked Liu Xunyi and made him shudder.

"Xiao Dingzi, what do you want to say?"

"Lord Qiu's suicide was not the best outcome. On the contrary, death was the destination he least wanted to choose, but he had to choose it." Ding Chou cried with gritted teeth, "Because Lord Qiu was disheartened by the reality of good and evil, and because he could not see any hope of survival... He was completely desperate and could not bear to live in humiliation, so he died to show his determination... or to apologize for his sins..."

"To die as an apology?" In a trance, a terrifying thought suddenly flashed through Liu Xunyi's mind. Qiu Han's words in front of Zhao Yuan's tomb echoed in his ears again. Although he had some thoughts in his mind, he still didn't dare to believe it easily, so he cautiously probed Ding Chou, "Why did he die as an apology? To whom did he apologize?"

"Lord Qiu bit his tongue and committed suicide in front of the Marquis's tomb. He was apologizing to the Marquis." Ding Chou cried and laughed, and his mind seemed a little crazy. "As for why he apologized, it was because he knew that the Marquis was killed by a traitor, but he could not avenge him..."

"What?" Ding Chou's explanation hit the mark of Liu Xunyi's heart. His eyes immediately changed and he asked suspiciously, "You said that Brother Qiu... knew that the Marquis was murdered by a traitor?"

"Exactly."

"But you clearly told me at the City God Temple..."

"That was just my wishful thinking!" Ding Chou said guiltily, "At that time, I only cared about Mr. Liu's future, but ignored Mr. Qiu's hatred."

"Who are you hating?" Liu Xunyi swallowed hard, "Could it be the real murderer who killed the Marquis?"

"Yes." Liu Xunyi fell into trouble, Qiu Han committed suicide, and the suffering that followed made Ding Chou feel the most grief-stricken. He could no longer care about being timid and said indignantly, "We only told half of what we said in the City God Temple that day. Lord Liu, are you curious about why we were hunted? Are you curious about what secrets we know?"

“That’s right!” Liu Xunyi’s heartstrings were tense. He looked at Zhao Yuan’s tombstone, then at Qiu Han’s body, his expression becoming more and more solemn. “Today… can you tell me everything you know…”

"Qin Wei!"

Before Liu Xunyi finished speaking, Ding Chou couldn't wait to blurt out the answer.

"Hiss!" Although Liu Xunyi looked horrified, he had actually expected this deep down in his heart. He just didn't dare to admit it and was even deceiving himself.

"Qin Wei..." Liu Xunyi was dumbfounded and stammered, "What did he do?"

"In fact, Qin Wei had already been bribed by the West Mansion and secretly colluded with them." Ding Chou said angrily, "I have discovered him and Bai Jin meeting secretly more than once, but I never exposed him. I thought he was just trying to make friends with the powerful officials in the West Mansion, but I never expected that his ambition would be so vicious that he dared to collude with the West Mansion to murder the Prime Minister and the Marquis. If I had known this, I should have exposed Qin Wei's scandal to the Marquis, and there would not be the disaster today."

"What?" Although he had some doubts about Qin Wei, they were not as unforgettable as Ding Chou's revelations. Liu Xunyi stared at Ding Chou anxiously and asked tremblingly, "You said that Qin Wei... colluded with the West Mansion to murder the Prime Minister and the Marquis... Is this true?"

"During the time when the Marquis was imprisoned in the prison, everyone in the Tianji Pavilion was under house arrest. Only one person was able to move freely, and he was the only one who visited the Marquis in prison. That person... was Qin Wei." Ding Chou sneered weakly, "However, on the night when Qin Wei visited the Marquis... the Marquis, who had always been in good health, died suddenly. Lord Liu, you are more knowledgeable than Xiao Dingzi, and smarter than me. Tell me... is there really such a coincidence in the world?"

"boom!"

Ding Chou's words were like a sharp knife piercing into Liu Xunyi's heart, making his heart feel as if it was being cut by a knife and his liver and gallbladder were broken.

Liu Xunyi knew that Qin Wei had some selfish and greedy flaws, and also knew that he was not as kind and righteous as she imagined, but Liu Xunyi never thought that he would murder Zhao Yuan, who was so kind to her.

The incident of "repaying kindness with enmity" happened to Qin Wei? Liu Xunyi was not unwilling to believe this thought, nor was he afraid to believe it, but he had never thought about it.

Friends who sing and respond to each other, brothers who share weal and woe, relatives who share life and death and joys and sorrows... They have been like brothers for more than 20 years and have been close friends from childhood to adulthood.

However, unexpectedly, Liu Xunyi...had misjudged Qin Wei.

Unconsciously, tears fell down. The pain and loss of being betrayed made Liu Xunyi dazed and confused.

At this moment, he was not speechless, he just didn't want to defend Qin Wei anymore.

He knew that although reality was cruel, it was the bloody truth and could not be changed by anyone's wishes.

"It turns out that the Marquis's old injury did not relapse, but was murdered..." Liu Xunyi's eyes were dull, and he muttered to himself, "It turns out that the turmoil in the East Palace was not caused by the emperor's anger, but the mischief of villains... It turns out that the change of ownership of Tianji Pavilion was not Qin Wei's good luck, but the reward he and the West Palace got in exchange for a dirty deal... So many adults in the East Palace were confiscated and executed, so many elders in Tianji Pavilion were excluded and dispersed, and the Marquis died unjustly, Qiu Han committed suicide out of hatred... There are so many blood debts, it turns out that everything is not a natural disaster, but a man-made disaster... What's more tragic is that the man-made disaster did not come from external enemies, but from... traitors."

Seeing Liu Xunyi's distraught and miserable appearance, Wen Tianxiang was powerless and could only whisper to comfort her: "Lord Liu, the intrigues in the court have always been a life-and-death struggle since ancient times..."

"Master Wen..." Liu Xunyi murmured dejectedly, "I wanted to endure the humiliation of Jingyun Pavilion for the sake of the young prince, and go far away to hide my identity. But I didn't expect that the West Mansion would not give in, and used the Pan family to force me to live, vowing to cut off my life. Now, I have learned the truth about the great changes in the East Mansion and the death of the Marquis... I can't just leave. Both things are related to the West Mansion. Since they have forced me into a desperate situation, I can only sacrifice my life to accompany them and fight to the death."

"Master Liu, what do you want to do?"

Faced with Ding Chou's horror, Liu Xunyi smiled sadly but said nothing.

"Brother Liu, this matter needs to be carefully considered. You must not act on impulse." Li Haitang advised earnestly, "Lin'an City is full of tigers and wolves, and the West Mansion is rich and powerful. If you and I want to fight them with our meager strength, it will be like hitting a rock with an egg..."

"Snapped!"

Before Li Haitang could finish his words, Liu Xunyi attacked without warning, slashing the back of his neck with a lightning-fast knife. Li Haitang's voice stopped abruptly, and his eyes went black, and he lost consciousness.

"Master Wen, please take Li Haitang with you. The farther the better. Master Wen, don't worry about where he will go after he wakes up. Just let him do whatever he wants."

"Do you want to go back to Lin'an alone?" Wen Tianxiang was horrified and could not believe it. "Do you know that going to the meeting alone will only lead to death..."

"What's the joy of living? What's the pain of dying? Since everyone in the world covets my life, Liu Xunyi, I'll give it to them." Liu Xunyi laughed up to the sky, and the cold rain "crackled" on his face. However, he felt unprecedented relief and liberation at this moment. "The Pan family treated me sincerely, and I had to save them when they were in trouble. The Marquis treated me with great kindness, and I had to avenge him. What you said just now is right. Compared to living a miserable life, perhaps death is the real relief for me."

After saying that, Liu Xunyi took a deep look at Zhao Yuan's tombstone and Qiu Han's body. A cold light flashed in his eyes and he clenched the sword in his hand tightly. Then he made up his mind, and regardless of Ding Chou's crying and dissuasion and Wen Tianxiang's melancholy sigh, he suddenly turned around and walked away with big strides on the muddy ground.

"Lord Liu, if I can one day put my knowledge to good use and achieve great things in the court, I will definitely vindicate you and make your name known in history."

"Thank you for your kindness, Master Wen, but I'll leave the history books to you talented gentlemen! I've been a passer-by for hundreds of generations, and I've been through a dream. Living is exhausting. How can you bear to let me have trouble after death? Haha... I don't seek fame in my lifetime, and I'm even more afraid of leaving a name after death. I'd rather... leave my life and death to fate and be nameless."

Accompanied by Wen Tianxiang's heartfelt words and Liu Xunyi's jokes, he walked further and further away until he disappeared at the end of the cold and dark rainy night.

……

(End of this chapter)