Chereads / "Whispers of Yanjiang: 燕江幽语" / Chapter 21 - A Bitter End

Chapter 21 - A Bitter End

Certainly! Here's an extended version of the ending, deepening the emotional weiA "A A

Yan Jiangri's body bore countless wounds, so deep and numerous that she no longer knew where the pain began or ended. Her chest heaved with each breath, but it felt like the very air she fought to draw in was suffocating her. Tears trickled down her cheeks, reaching the corner of her lips, leaving a bitter taste. Was it her tears that were bitter, or her broken heart?

A sharp ache rose from her chest to her throat, and with it came blood—warm, metallic, and unrelenting. As she collapsed to her knees, the red flames consuming the Yanjiang Palace painted the world in a fiery haze. Smoke filled the air, but amidst it all, a familiar fragrance drifted in—a soft, sweet scent of jasmine.

It was the scent of memories, of fleeting happiness. She saw him then, standing tall in his red attire, the blue sash at his waist as vivid as the skies she would never see again. The man she had loved, the man who had torn her heart apart, now standing before her as the embodiment of everything that had gone wrong. He was a stranger, yet she knew him so well—too well.

Lin Shaungwei knelt before her, his expression unreadable, like a frozen statue carved by the gods. He tilted her chin up, forcing her to meet his gemstone-like eyes—cold, distant, and yet, in the depths, something unspoken stirred. There was no remorse there, only a suffocating, endless abyss where her love had once lived.

"Yan Jiangri, are you afraid?"

His voice was calm, devoid of emotion, yet it carried a quiet satisfaction that made her chest tighten. Yan Jiangri, though broken, held her ground. She looked into his eyes with unwavering defiance. He had taken everything from her—her trust, her heart, her kingdom—but she would not give him the final victory. Not now.

"I, Yan Jiangri, will never fear you."

A faint smirk tugged at his lips, a shadow of something that could have been tenderness, had the world been different. The way he looked at her now was foreign, as though he had never known the warmth of the woman who once loved him with everything she had.

"Will you regret it?" he asked, his voice softer now, almost mocking. The question carried a weight, pressing on her chest like an iron shackle.

The weight of his words pressed against her like an unseen chain. But she, too, was shackled—by her love, by her duty, by the burden of a crown that was never meant for her. And so, with the final remnants of her strength, she let out a soft laugh, one filled with sorrow and the faintest flicker of peace. She had given everything, and it had all been shattered. But in this moment, she was free. Finally, free.

Reaching for the dagger in his hand, she cut through the blue sash, the thread of their bond severed with a single, final act. The act that would mark the end of everything. Their love, their shared pain, their promises—all reduced to this one decisive moment.

"If I have one regret in my life, Lin Shaungwei, it is loving you."

The blade pressed against her neck, sharp and unforgiving, as warmth spilled over her skin. Her vision blurred, and her last breath carried a whisper, almost lost in the smoke-filled air:

"Perhaps, in another life..."

She closed her eyes, feeling the weight of the world lift from her shoulders, even as her body crumpled. The scent of jasmine lingered in the air—soft, eternal, as though the memories of their once-joyful days could never truly be erased.

As her body fell, a strange peace enveloped her. In her final moments, she was no longer angry. No longer sad. Just... tired. Tired of the lies, tired of the war, tired of the never-ending cycle of betrayal. And as the flames around her roared louder, she let go, drifting into the darkness.

The last thing she heard was Lin Shaungwei's voice, soft and distant, almost like a prayer:

"Goodbye, Jiangri "

But whether it was a farewell or a curse, she would never know. Her heart, now broken beyond repair, would never beat again.

thanks for reading my novel ..

Vol 1 is end. i will come back with next Vol