With a “clang,” Yoshida Chūji’s body fell to the ground, dead with his eyes still open.
Ye Qiu turned his head, looked at Akiyama Nanka, and said with a smile, “Can the misunderstanding between us be wiped clean now?”
“Not a chance!”
Akiyama Nanka raised her hand to strike Ye Qiu, but before she could act, there was a thud, Ye Qiu collapsed to the ground.
Akiyama Nanka looked down and saw blood flowing from where a dagger had pierced Ye Qiu’s abdomen.
“I’m already dying, won’t you even clear the air with me now?”
Ye Qiu spoke weakly, “I didn’t know you were Qianshan Xue’s master before, so those things, I didn’t mean them.”
“Hmph, you think I’d believe your nonsense?” Akiyama Nanka said, “There’s only one outcome for humiliating me, death.”
“I’m nearly dead already, this dagger’s coated in deadly poison.” With that, Ye Qiu’s head tilted to the side, his breath gone.
“You, you dare fake your death?”
Akiyama Nanka’s fingers trembled slightly, for some reason, seeing Ye Qiu like this stirred an inexplicable sadness in her heart, “Wake up right now! If you don’t, believe me, I’ll chop you into eighteen pieces…”
No matter how she threatened, Ye Qiu didn’t react, lying motionless on the ground.
The scene grew eerily silent.
Akiyama Nanka’s face turned deathly pale in an instant, she slowly crouched down, because her movements were so deliberate, they carried a strange, graceful beauty.
“Ye, if you’re tricking me, I’ll grind your bones to dust.”
As she spoke, Akiyama Nanka extended a delicate finger to check Ye Qiu’s breath.
No sign of life.
Suddenly, her nose stung with a sharp ache, as if pierced by a thousand arrows, the pain so intense it nearly stopped her breathing.
“How could this happen, how could this happen…”
Thud.
Akiyama Nanka slumped to the ground, her mind blank, murmuring in a daze, “You, how could you just die like that?”
“To be honest, I didn’t come to China to kill you, I just wanted to see what kind of man Xiao Xue liked.”
“But I never expected the people from the Amaterasu Shrine to chase me down.”
“I was actually going to tell you something, Xiao Xue, she’s already, sigh, no point telling you now.”
At this, Akiyama Nanka turned to glance at Ye Qiu, then suddenly laughed, “You little brat, so rude to me, I, I really wish I could’ve killed you myself.”
“In my half a lifetime, I’ve been obsessed with martial arts, detached from everything, no man ever caught my eye, no one ever stirred my heart even slightly, except you…”
“I don’t know why, but the moment I saw you, I got angry, it’s got nothing to do with Xiao Xue, I just got angry.”
“You’re such a fool, why did you take that stab for me when we first met?”
“Did you think that’d make me forgive your rudeness? I won’t.”
“Ye Qiu, I order you, wake up right now, or I’ll never forgive you, ever.”
As she spoke, tears streamed down her face.
“Ye Qiu, you’re a bastard, a complete bastard!”
Akiyama Nanka laughed and cried, then softly recited from her red lips, “I was born before you; you came when I’m already old, I hate that we weren’t born together, to be with you day after day.”
After reciting the poem, a hint of shyness flashed across her face, looking at Ye Qiu again, her gaze turned resolute.
“Ye Qiu, I won’t let you die in vain, I’ll head back to the East and slaughter every last bastard in the Amaterasu Shrine.”
Akiyama Nanka slowly reached out, brushing toward Ye Qiu’s cheek, a trace of tenderness flickering in her eyes.
But as her hand touched his face, she suddenly felt warmth, and breath coming from his nose.
The next second, Ye Qiu opened his eyes, smiling at her.
“You, you!”
Akiyama Nanka leapt up, hastily wiping her tears, and kicked Ye Qiu hard, “You bastard, faking death in front of me, I’ll kill you.”
“Ow, that hurts!” Ye Qiu yelped, “I wasn’t faking, the pain in my gut just knocked me out, I thought the dagger was poisoned.”
“Hmph, I’m not buying your rubbish.”
Tricked by him, Akiyama Nanka’s fury erased any pity, she landed a few more kicks on him.
“I took a stab for you, and you treat me like this? No conscience at all.”
Ye Qiu scrambled up, yanking the dagger from his abdomen.
Yes, he’d been faking.
Though Yoshida Chūji’s dagger was sharp, it hadn’t done much harm, with his innate qi circulating, the wound healed quickly.
When he pulled the dagger out, the gash closed instantly.
Akiyama Nanka stared at him coldly, suddenly recalling what she’d just said, embarrassed and furious, she snapped, “You didn’t hear what I said earlier, right?”
“I heard everything.”
Ye Qiu’s reply nearly sent Akiyama Nanka into a rage.
You little brat, couldn’t you just say you didn’t hear?
How am I supposed to keep talking to you now?
“‘I hate that we weren’t born together, to be with you day after day,’ tsk tsk, didn’t know I was that charming,” Ye Qiu grinned cheekily.
“Ye Qiu, you wait, I’ll come for you again.”
Akiyama Nanka couldn’t bear to stay any longer and turned to leave.
“Hold on,” Ye Qiu called out.
A flicker of secret delight sparked in Akiyama Nanka’s heart, was he asking her to stay?
“What do you want?” she asked, face stern.
Ye Qiu said, “You mentioned earlier that you came to China to tell me something, what’s happened to Qianshan Xue?”
Hearing that Ye Qiu wasn’t trying to keep her, Akiyama Nanka’s annoyance flared, “Want to know? Go to the East and find her yourself.”
Ye Qiu frowned, exasperated, “You came all the way to China to tell me something, and now you won’t say it?”
“None of your business!”
Akiyama Nanka turned back, glaring at him icily, “Don’t let me see you again, or I’ll tear you to pieces.”
She stormed off.
This place was unbearable, she’d lost all face.
“Wait a sec,” Ye Qiu called again, “Sect Leader Akiyama, I won’t stop you from leaving, but before you go, could you return what you took from me?”
“What thing?” Akiyama Nanka was puzzled, she hadn’t taken anything.
Ye Qiu sighed, “Sect Leader Qianshan, please give me back my heart.”
Shameless!
Akiyama Nanka’s heart raced, she bolted away, vanishing into the darkness.
Watching her flee in a panic, Ye Qiu chuckled, then furrowed his brow.
“This woman, leaving without finishing her sentence.”
“What was the news she meant to tell me?”
“What’s happened to Qianshan Xue?”
