The moment Leng Yunchuan stepped into the Yellow Springs Tavern, a chilling feeling hit his face, as if the entire space had suddenly cooled down. Ling Hao's eyes widened, his fingers unconsciously gripping the edge of the table, his gaze barely able to move away from her figure. His heart was beating violently, his emotions intertwined: excitement, doubt, anger, and that hint of pain that he himself was not willing to admit, buried deep in his heart.
How could she be here? How did she die?
Ling Hao had never thought that he would see her in a place like the Yellow Springs - the person whose fate had intertwined with his. Their past was as vague as the mist in the Yellow Spring, but every fragment was deeply embedded in his memory. Leng Yunchuan's appearance seemed to have once again torn those memories that he had forcefully sealed open with blood.
Leng Yunchuan stood in the center of the tavern, her white robes looking particularly cold under the dim candlelight. Her face was still as flawless as ever, her contours cold and cold, as if carved out of ice and snow. Those eyes, like two deep black jewels, were calm with a hint of imperceptible indifference and detachment.
Ling Hao remembered those eyes - once, they would penetrate warmth, and would show tenderness at certain moments. But now, they were like a pool of stagnant water, so calm that it sent chills down one's spine, as if nothing in the world could move her heart anymore.
She stood there, erect as a sword, her posture as graceful and calm as ever, as if she had never been eroded by death. Her long, dark hair hung down over her shoulders, swaying slightly, but it was not disturbed in the slightest by the chill of the Yellow Springs.
Leng Yunchuan's gaze gently swept over Ling Hao, as if she was looking at someone who had nothing to do with her, and a hint of a smile or a laugh hung on her lips, carrying an icy irony.
Ling Hao's heart tightened. He knew that she still harbored resentment towards him. He could feel it, that subtle emotion, not just anger, but also a wound hidden deep underneath the indifference. As for himself, he should clearly harbor hatred towards her, but for some reason, the emotion could never be completely severed.
"You ... also died?" Ling Hao's voice was hoarser than he expected. He tried to calm his inner fluctuations, but his voice still revealed a trace of shock and confusion that he couldn't hide.
Leng Yunchuan hummed lightly, his tone carrying undisguised sarcasm, "Aren't you looking forward to my death? Great General Ling."
Her tone was so cold that it was like the cold winter wind, piercing the bones to the marrow. Ling Hao felt a stabbing pain in his heart, as if he had been viciously whipped by her words.
"How ... why ..." Ling Hao's brows were locked, his thoughts in chaos. How could Leng Yunchuan, that such a smart and cunning strategist, die just like that?
Leng Yunchuan glanced at him, his smile deepening and filled with sarcasm, "And this is thanks to your army?"
Ling Hao's demeanor instantly froze, a flame of anger igniting in his eyes. "My army? What do you mean?!"
Leng Yunchuan looked at him coldly, a hint of contempt in his gaze, as if he was looking at an ignorant child, "Don't you know? Your army, colluding with the chaotic party, betrayed their trust and called in foreign aid, joining forces with the chaotic party to overthrow our country. And where the hell were you at that time?"
Ling Hao's face instantly turned iron blue. His fists clenched tightly, his body tensed, his eyes filled with unbelief and anger, "Nonsense! You think I don't know? I fought my hardest to defend the country, I personally led the army ... and you're engaging in this kind of small action behind my back!"
"I engage in petty maneuvers behind the scenes?" Leng Yunchuan sneered disdainfully, a hint of contempt in his eyes, "You really can't see the truth, Ling Hao. Those so-called loyal subordinates that you think you are, chose to mutiny at the critical moment. Do you think that the ones standing beside you are all loyal ministers?"
Ling Hao stared wide-eyed, the anger in his heart burning hotter and hotter, but he was speechless. He had always regarded himself as proud and confident, but every word of Leng Yunchuan was like a sharp knife that pierced his soft underbelly. Whether he was willing to admit it or not, every word Leng Yunchuan said could be the truth.
"Shut up!" Ling Hao finally couldn't help but roar angrily, his fists clenched and knuckles white. He was unwilling and unable to accept this reality.
"Shut up?" Leng Yunchuan raised his eyebrows, a hint of contempt in his tone, "Ling Hao, are you still unwilling to face it? If you were willing to see a little more clearly back then, perhaps you and I wouldn't be standing here today."
Ling Hao's heart was like a million horses galloping, his mind stirring. He wanted to retort, but realized that he couldn't find a reasonable reason at all.
Every word of Leng Yunchuan's words was like an invisible dagger, ruthlessly stabbing at his heart. He hated her, hated her indifference, hated her intelligence, hated her ruthlessness. But at the same time, he also hated himself, hated himself for not being able to truly read her mind in the first place, not being able to stop all of this from happening.
"You don't understand at all!" Ling Hao's voice was hoarse, and his emotions became more and more agitated.
Leng Yunchuan's expression was always calm, the corners of his mouth carrying that faint trace of sarcasm, "I don't understand? You tell me instead, what have you understood? What do you understand about loyalty, or what do you understand about betrayal?"
The atmosphere between the two grew more and more tense, as if the air had frozen. Ling Hao's chest rose and fell violently, every word from Leng Yunchuan set off monstrous waves in his heart. She didn't fear his anger, instead, she was like a mirror that mapped out the darkest corners of his heart.
Just as their argument grew more and more white-hot, a low vibration seemed to come from the depths of the earth, and the entire Yellow Spring Tavern felt like it was instantly strangled by an invisible force. The surrounding air seemed to have been compressed to the extreme, and the four walls trembled slightly, as if they might break apart at any time. Ling Hao and Leng Yunchuan glanced at each other, their arguments with each other interrupted by this sudden vision.
The walls of the Yellow Spring Tavern were like a thin film of skin, trembling irregularly, as if something huge was moving stupidly behind it. The dim oil lamp suddenly swayed violently, its wick nearly extinguished by an inexplicable gust of wind, and the remnants of light reflected distorted shadows all around it, as if all objects were repeatedly changing between melting and reshaping. The candle flame flickered and dimmed, and every time it shook, it seemed to be signaling something ominous.
Ling Hao felt an inexplicable sense of oppression coming over him, the air became sticky, and breathing became more and more difficult. It was as if the gravity of the whole world was instantly doubled, and everything around him seemed to be squeezing towards him. The paintings on the wall began to rotate on their own, the scenes that were originally fixed on the canvas became alive at this moment, and the dead souls that had been trapped in the frames seemed to be screaming silently, their faces twisted as if they were about to crawl out of the paintings. The space inside the tavern seemed to become less fixed, the corners of the walls faded away, and the jugs and furniture began to slide from the floor as if they were floating in an invisible river.
The air around them began to fill with an eerie scent of decay, as if from some distant abyss. In the corners of the tavern, black mists rose up noiselessly like ghosts, slowly traveling through the air like countless twisted tentacles quietly probing around. Those black mists were not static, but carried an eerie vitality, as if they were catching odors and searching for prey.
"There's something odd." Ling Hao's voice was low and cold as he gripped the longsword at his waist tightly, his brows tightly locked, and a strong wariness in his eyes.
Leng Yunchuan did not respond, she quickly scanned the surroundings, her eyes as sharp as a blade, her fingers gently resting on her saber, her body slightly leaning forward, waiting for the black fog's next move.
All the objects in the tavern seemed to be affected by the erosion of the black mist, the wine jugs slid down from the counter noiselessly, accompanied by the sound of shattering, the fragments splattered on the floor, and the fragrance of the wine spread out in the air, but with a strange putrid odor. On the floor, those wine liquids quickly seeped into the ground along the wooden cracks, as if they had their own life, constantly flowing deeper and deeper.
Ling Hao felt the sense of oppression in the air getting thicker, as if there were countless pairs of invisible eyes peering at them in the dark. His palms began to sweat slightly, and that inexplicable chill made every single one of his nerves tense up to the extreme.
Just then, the ceiling above the tavern let out a low vibration like thunder, as if the entire skeleton of the building was being torn apart by an invisible force. Then, a black figure slowly emerged from the ceiling, its form vague and uncertain, as if it was condensed from countless black mists. The black figure had no entity, and its silhouette appeared and disappeared with the fluttering of the black mist, as if it didn't belong to this world at all.
Ling Hao immediately drew his longsword, and Leng Yunchuan quickly retreated as well, both of them entering the battle state almost simultaneously. Despite the gap between their hearts, they both showed a high level of alertness and tacit understanding in the face of this unknown threat.
The black shadow floated in mid-air, soundlessly, but as it appeared, the atmosphere of the entire tavern instantly became dull and depressing. The surrounding air seemed to freeze, and time seemed to stand still at this moment. That black shadow was like the embodiment of death, radiating endless coldness and despair, making people shudder.
Ling Hao felt an inexplicable fear welling up in his heart, and his palms began to tremble slightly, and even though he tried his best to restrain himself from showing any weakness, that indescribable feeling of oppression still deeply affected his judgment.
"What the ... hell is this?" Ling Hao's voice was low and hoarse, he had never seen such a bizarre sight before, and a few moments of astonishment came through his eyes.
Leng Yunchuan's gaze remained calm, but a thin layer of sweat also appeared on the palms of her hands as she said softly, "It seems that there are other uninvited guests in this Yellow Spring Tavern."
The black shadow hovered in the air, as if it was slowly devouring the space around it. As its presence became clearer and clearer, the light inside the tavern became even dimmer, the few remaining oil lamps were already like dying embers, and the weak light could barely dispel the black mist. Ling Hao's heartbeat accelerated, and the long sword in his hand was tightly gripped, but he felt that the oppression brought by the black shadow was getting stronger and stronger, as if his spirit and physical strength were being deprived little by little.
Without any warning, the black shadow suddenly moved, its form rapidly expanding like an angry cloud, instantly enveloping the entire tavern. Ling Hao and Leng Yunchuan almost simultaneously felt a strong dizziness coming on, the feeling was as if they were pressed directly into their minds by an invisible force, their consciousness began to blur and their limbs became heavy.
Ling Hao tried to concentrate, his eyes struggling to see everything in front of him, but the world in his vision had started to twist and distort. The black fog seemed to be eroding his mind, Ling Hao's body gradually lost its balance, and the scene in front of him became more and more blurred. Leng Yunchuan's voice seemed to come from a distant place, but he could no longer hear what she was saying.
"You ..." Ling Hao wanted to say something, but his throat felt like it was sealed, his lips moved slightly, but he couldn't make any sound.
Leng Yunchuan similarly felt that she was losing her strength, the world in front of her eyes began to slowly fade, and everything around her seemed to disappear under the erosion of the black fog. She clenched her teeth and tried to hold on with her willpower, but the power of the black fog was pervasive, it was like it was pressing in from all sides, completely devouring her consciousness.
The two's bodies gradually shook, and eventually both lost consciousness under the shroud of that black shadow, collapsing onto the cold floor and falling into the boundless darkness and silence.