Chapter 120: Brothers
At this moment, half of his shoulder and arm had been sliced off by Chen Changsheng's blade, and one of his eyes was blind. If one were to say he resembled a dog, then he was surely a stray dog driven from its home.
Xue Xingchuan furrowed his brow and said, "Just calm your mind and focus on healing."
Zhou Tong still did not listen to him. He turned his neck with difficulty, looked toward the palace entrance, saw that chair, and knew that Xue Xingchuan had been guarding that spot earlier. He was silent for a long time.
Then he asked, "Did Her Majesty come?"
The night sky was adorned with stars like brocade, and starlight spilled onto the ground outside the hall, as clear as water, very tranquil.
Xue Xingchuan was silent for a moment, then said, "You know the situation in the capital is tense tonight. Her Majesty needs to monitor the movements over at the Detached Palace."
"Is that so?" Zhou Tong squinted his eyes like an old dog. The pain from his left eye made him frown, and his voice trembled as he continued, "Then... did Her Majesty say anything?"
This time, Xue Xingchuan was silent for an even longer time. He said nothing.
Zhou Tong curled his lips into an ugly, even terrifying smile, looking at him and saying, "You see, I really am like a dog. Even if I'm about to die, my master doesn't care at all."
Xue Xingchuan looked at him, silent for a moment, then said, "When we were children, I told you that you didn't have to live this way."
Despite being severely injured, Zhou Tong somehow found the strength to speak, his voice venomous: "If I don't live this way, should I live like you?"
Xue Xingchuan fell silent again.
"Ever since we were in the womb, I could never compete with you. When you were born, you weighed a full eight jin and eight liang. Me? Less than five jin. That's fine, I suppose—our family was poor anyway, and however we were raised, that's how it was. But when Madam Xue of the Xue family couldn't bear a son and wanted to secretly adopt one, she came to our house... If it had been me, I would have chosen you, the chubby white one, and not me, the scrawny monkey."
Zhou Tong continued, "Later, Madam Xue gave birth to another son and decided to pass the family estate to her biological child. Afraid you'd resent her, she secretly told you the truth on her deathbed. I admit, after that, you treated your parents well, and you treated me even better—taking me to school with you, studying together. But have you ever thought about this: I had to pretend to be your bookboy just to stay by your side. Why should I have to do that?"
Xue Xingchuan said, "In public, there was no other way. But in our own courtyard, I always treated you like a brother."
Zhou Tong sneered, "But that only happened when no one else was around. In front of others, I could only watch you and Xue He play the loving brothers. How do you think that made me feel?"
Xue Xingchuan was silent, no longer speaking.
"I was born deficient in the womb, and even my cultivation talent couldn't match yours. If I hadn't later entered the Qingli Department, met that old ghost in the prison and learned the Scarlet Robe Secret Art, and later ransacked homes and confiscated techniques everywhere, how could I have cultivated to this level? How could I ever catch up to you?"
Zhou Tong stared blankly at the ceiling of the palace, continuing, "But the Scarlet Robe Secret Art has its flaws, and the techniques I cultivated later were too scattered. I'll never reach that final step in this life, while you're steadily advancing toward it. I just don't understand—we're twins, born from the same womb. Why are our fates so different?"
"Years later, when I met you again in the capital, I never expected you had already joined the Qingli Department... But even if you had started to change back then, it wouldn't have been too late."
"Too late for what? If I don't work for Her Majesty, if I don't kill for Her Majesty, I'll lose her favor, and those people will kill me."
"Don't worry. Her Majesty will give you an explanation," Xue Xingchuan comforted him.
But deep down, he didn't even believe that himself.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the palace. It wasn't the Saintess Empress who arrived, but a medical officer delivering medicine.
After a careful examination, the medical officer cautiously carried a wooden tray holding a bowl of medicine to the bedside.
From the moment the footsteps began, Zhou Tong had been staring at that medical officer. His face was pale, and his one eye gleamed with an unusually sharp light. Xue Xingchuan knew what he was thinking—how disappointed, even desperate, he was—but there was nothing he could do to comfort him. He took the medicine bowl from the medical officer, propped Zhou Tong up with one hand, and prepared to feed him the medicine.
Zhou Tong looked at the dark, murky liquid in the bowl, sensing the sacred aura and medicinal fragrance within it. His expression suddenly turned strange.
"What's wrong?" Xue Xingchuan asked.
Zhou Tong's voice trembled slightly, inexplicably unsettling: "I... don't trust it."
"It won't come to that." Xue Xingchuan knew what he was worried about, looking at him seriously and saying, "Her Majesty isn't that kind of person."
"I've done more for Her Majesty than all of you combined. I know better than you what kind of person she is. I don't trust it, no matter what."
Zhou Tong's voice grew sharper, but due to his injuries, it lacked strength, sounding like a broken bellows, wheezing loudly.
At this moment, he looked like a stubborn child who, disliking the bitterness of medicine, turned his face away, clamped his mouth shut, and refused to drink the bowl no matter what.
Xue Xingchuan looked at him in his arms, remembering many years ago in the old house, when he had refused to take medicine just like this. A nostalgic smile crept onto his face.
Once these matters in the capital were settled, he would have someone send him back to the old house to retire. He believed that aside from Her Majesty, himself, and Xue He, no one else would know he was there.
Thinking these thoughts, Xue Xingchuan picked up the medicine bowl and took a sip, saying, "See? The medicine is fine. It's not bitter, either."
Many years ago, when he coaxed Zhou Tong into taking medicine, this was how he did it—he would take the first sip for him.
Watching this scene, Zhou Tong suddenly began to cry, sobbing hoarsely.
Xue Xingchuan was also moved.
After crying, Zhou Tong looked even more exhausted, but much more relaxed.
He looked at Xue Xingchuan and smiled with difficulty, saying, "I've figured it out. As long as I'm alive, that's enough."
Xue Xingchuan was relieved, saying, "It's good that you've figured it out."
...
...
When the carriage returned to the National Academy, it was already surrounded.
Imperial troops and cavalry of the State Religion had cordoned off the area from the main street to Baihua Lane to the walls around the academy, leaving no gap.
Chen Changsheng got out of the carriage, bid farewell to Prince Chenliu, and walked into the National Academy under the gaze of countless eyes.
The gate of the National Academy was pushed open, revealing a blaze of light within. Though it was deep into the night, none of the hundreds of teachers and students were asleep, because no one could sleep tonight.
The sword formation formed by the female disciples of Nanxi Zhai had moved from beneath the small building to behind the gate. Sensing the chilling sword intent, one could believe that if the imperial soldiers tried to force their way in, they would pay a very heavy price. But for some reason, the faces of those female disciples showed not their usual calm and confidence, but anxiety.
"Where did you go?" Tang Thirty-Six asked him.
The teachers and students of the National Academy were all looking at him.
Chen Changsheng had left the National Academy two hours ago. He had gone to the bottom of Beixin Bridge, to the Plum Garden Inn, and finally to the North Military Command Alley, doing many things.
Because of his departure, the situation in the capital had suddenly grown tense. The State Religion cavalry and the Imperial Guard had arrived one after another. The people in the National Academy naturally knew something had happened, just not what. The battle in the North Military Command Alley had just ended. Tang Thirty-Six had connections in the capital, but news didn't travel faster than Chen Changsheng's return.
"It's nothing. Everyone, go to sleep first."
Chen Changsheng signaled Su Moyu to take the teachers and students to rest, then led Tang Thirty-Six and Zhexiu to the small building.
The Nanxi Zhai sword formation naturally followed him, and soon they arrived by the lakeside. Su Moyu also caught up.
"Really nothing?" Tang Thirty-Six looked into his eyes, asking very seriously.
They knew Chen Changsheng's current physical condition and couldn't joke around as usual. They had thought that after Chen Changsheng left the National Academy, he wouldn't come back. Who would have thought that when the night was already so deep, he would return? This relieved them a lot, but they couldn't be completely at ease.
"Really nothing," Chen Changsheng said. "I just went out to take care of some things."
"What things?"
"I... went to kill Zhou Tong."
At these words, the area in front of the building fell into absolute silence.
The night wind gently brushed the banyan tree but couldn't stir its green leaves. It brushed the lake's surface, but no ripples were seen.
Everyone was shocked, especially the young women of Nanxi Zhai.
The unusual atmosphere in the capital tonight, the signs of an impending storm—Zhexiu and the others could guess it was related to him, but they never imagined he had gone to do something so monumental.
Countless people in this world wanted Zhou Tong dead, but how many dared to turn that thought into action?
Su Moyu looked at him, his face full of admiration.
The young women of Nanxi Zhai looked at him, their eyes suddenly brightening, thinking that he was indeed worthy of being the man their Zhai Master loved—truly remarkable.
"I said that Zhou Tong was mine to kill."
Zhexiu looked at him and said, "Considering your special situation, I won't hold it against you."
Chen Changsheng looked at him and said, "Back then, you were thrown into the Xia Prison because of me and the National Academy, so I always thought I should settle this matter before leaving."
Leaving? Going where? The young women of Nanxi Zhai felt confused and puzzled at these words.
Tang Thirty-Six and Su Moyu understood the meaning of "leaving." Their hearts, which had just felt a surge of excitement, suddenly turned cold.
"I said, just add more money," Zhexiu said.
Chen Changsheng didn't argue with him about this. He said, "Sorry, I failed to kill him."
A voice rang out from among the Nanxi Zhai young women: "Just daring to go and kill him is already impressive."
The speaker was Ye Xiaolian, once an admirer of Qiushan Jun, later an admirer of Chen Changsheng, and now an admirer of Xu Yourong.
Tonight, she suddenly felt that her past admiration for Chen Changsheng had been very justified.
Chen Changsheng noticed that the mood of the Nanxi Zhai women was somewhat off and asked, "What happened?"
Ye Xiaolian said uneasily, "The Zhai Master hasn't come back."
Chen Changsheng thought for a moment and said, "Maybe she's staying overnight in the palace?"
Ye Xiaolian shook her head and said, "The Zhai Master instructed that she would definitely return after nightfall. If she couldn't come back..."
Hearing this, Chen Changsheng and Tang Thirty-Six realized there might be a problem. Their expressions grew serious.