I am the villain in the book

Outside Yuanzhou City, on Mount Mei.

Perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps it was predetermined.

When Youjia followed Ning Yongnian and stood on a boulder halfway up the mountain, looking down at Yuanzhou City, which was engulfed in a raging fire yet eerily silent, she felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity.

Three months prior, she had been here.

At that time, Wei Changtian came to Yuanzhou to rescue Liang Zhen and Liang Qin, and they had bid farewell at this very spot.

Back then, Yuanzhou City had not yet fallen, and the city was surrounded by densely packed Great Feng soldiers. Wei Changtian was preparing to enter the city alone, and she had wanted to go with him but was stopped.

She remembered saying at the time—

“Young Master, you must return safely. Sister Xu is still waiting for you at home.”

The first half of the sentence was her sincere wish, and the second half was an addition to cover up her embarrassment.

But even more unforgettable to Youjia than this sentence was Wei Changtian's reply.

“I cherish my life very much. Besides, even for your sake, I wouldn’t put myself in danger.”

“…”

A single “you,” made the infatuation in her heart blossom and bear fruit.

After that, she followed Wei Changtian to Fengyuan.

The days in Fengyuan were the happiest time in Youjia's life.

She could see Wei Changtian every day, eat with him, play cards with him, and discuss the Yama case with him… although they would always end up talking about something else.

Youjia still remembered how she would always be amused by Wei Changtian's occasional “new words and phrases”; she remembered how Wei Changtian would always try to drag her down with him whenever he lost to Chu Xianping at cards; she remembered the occasional bickering between Wei Changtian and Li Wutong, and how he would secretly complain to her about the latter's wilfulness.

Li Wutong probably likes Young Master, but I don't know how they are now.

I also don't know if Young Master will still remember me in the future…

Her memories came to an abrupt halt, and tears unconsciously filled her eyes.

Unlike the pampered Lu Jingyao and others, Youjia's experience in the Dragon Guards meant that she rarely cried before.

But ever since she met Wei Changtian, she had changed.

A happy smile suddenly appeared on the corner of her mouth, and her left hand gently grasped the dagger hidden in her sleeve.

Youjia had also received the assassination order sent to everyone in the Same Boat Association.

Although Wei Changtian said, “Don’t act unless you are absolutely certain.”

Although Ning Yongnian was already a Second Rank, and the chances of her, a mere Fourth Rank, succeeding were slim.

But Youjia still decided to try… even at the cost of her own life.

This was both for Wei Changtian.

And for the lives of the two million innocent people in Yuanzhou City.

“…”

But if it was a sneak attack, perhaps she really could succeed.

“Thump, thump…”

Feeling her heart beating faster and faster, Youjia's hand holding the dagger also trembled uncontrollably.

But just then, the man in front of her, who was within easy reach, slowly turned around.

“Youjia, do you want to kill me?”

Without a trace of surprise in his expression, nor any attempt to fight back.

Ning Yongnian simply asked a question that could be considered completely redundant, and then, in Youjia's panicked gaze, he said a second sentence.

“If that’s the case, then I’ll let you kill me.”

“Do it.”

“…”

Without a doubt, Ning Yongnian's current actions greatly exceeded all of Youjia's expectations.

Her eyes suddenly widened, staring intently at Ning Yongnian's calm eyes.

At this moment, Youjia suddenly had a feeling.

The man in front of her was not lying to her, he was truly willing to be killed by her.

“Wh-why…”

More tears welled up in her eyes, Youjia didn't know why she had to ask this question.

Ning Yongnian didn't answer, he just looked down at the slowly approaching cold light, and then closed his eyes.

“…”

“Bang!!!”

The rapid mountain wind mixed with a muffled sound echoed in the valley, and then returned to silence.

The hillside was empty, without a single figure, only a small peach blossom petal scattered on the ground.

Of course, it was no longer spring, so this object could not possibly be a real peach blossom.

It was actually a hairpin with a peach blossom-shaped pendant.

This hairpin was a small object that a man had won from an old man by playing chess.

It was also the only object that this man had given to a woman.

And it was also the woman's most precious object.

Fresh blood soaked the peach blossom pendant, and a floral fragrance wafted in the wind.

This day last year, peach blossoms and faces.

Lost without a trace, do not laugh at the spring breeze.

Yuanzhou City, Stone Mill Lane.

Looking at the huge fire burning in the city through the cracks in the window, Li Si scratched his head in confusion.

Everything that happened in the city today was too strange.

All the city gates were completely sealed off, and Great Feng soldiers were running around in the streets, even rushing into his house to search thoroughly.

Fortunately, he was usually cautious enough, otherwise those Masonic relics would probably have been found.

He just didn't know what had happened.

Although he was a "high-ranking" Mason as a hall master, Li Si had no intelligence support other than a few low-ranking "business partners" in the Great Feng army, so he couldn't find out anything after tossing around for half a day.

He actually felt a little guilty about this.

“Forget it, it’ll be fine slowly in the future…”

Comforting himself, he took out a piece of Mother-Son Jade from his arms, preparing to report what happened in Yuanzhou City today to Chu Xianping.

But just then, Li Si suddenly felt a little dizzy.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

He reached out and tapped his forehead twice, cursing inwardly.

As a martial artist, Li Si had forgotten how many years he had not been sick, so he didn't take it seriously.

But when his brain began to become sluggish little by little, and he couldn't even control his body anymore, he finally seemed to understand something.

He suddenly understood why there were fires everywhere in the city, but no one was putting them out.

He suddenly understood why the old man next door who had lung disease and coughed every night hadn't made a sound tonight.

He suddenly understood what was about to happen to him…

“Glug, glug…”

The milky white Mother-Son Jade fell from his hand, rolled a few times on the ground, and stopped at his feet.

No.

It can't be.

He wouldn't just die like this.

The fortune teller clearly said that he could live to be seventy years old, and it was still far away.

He clearly had just had a stroke of good luck, met Young Master Wei, and become the hall master.

He clearly hadn't married a wife or had a baby yet.

He clearly hadn't died on the battlefield.

Right!

He definitely wouldn't die…

Thinking this, he seemed to have gained strength out of thin air.

Li Si smiled and bent down, wanting to pick up the Mother-Son Jade, tell Chu Xianping everything that had happened, and then have a good sleep, and when he opened his eyes again, it would be a new day.

But once that hunched figure bent down, it could never straighten up again.

A residential house several miles away from Stone Mill Lane.

“Wah yah yah!”

“Heroes from thirty-six prefectures are ready to be called, retaking Yuanzhou is more than a lone army!”

“The righteous army will surely be victorious, why should heroes be full of tears!”

“Let’s just pretend to stand on the snow and drink to our heart's content at Huanglong!”

“Crossing the Mang River, sweeping away Li Feng, advancing wave upon wave, rising up in angry mourning!”

“…”

The great fire that spread throughout the city had already reached the vicinity of the small courtyard, and amidst the “crackling” sound of the fire, there were resounding and powerful lyrics coming from the house.

This was originally a gathering of “people with lofty ideals” in Yuanzhou City, singing a play about “expelling foreign enemies and reclaiming Yuanzhou.”

Although most of the Yuanzhou people didn't care whether their surname was “Ning” or “Li,” there were always some people who had different patriotic feelings.

They often gathered here to discuss how to cooperate with the imperial army to drive the Great Feng army out of Yuanzhou.

These people certainly knew the risks of doing so, and many had already lost their heads because of it.

But from the day the Great Feng occupied Yuanzhou City, the number of people in such an organization only increased.

“Ambitious before success… cough!”

“Cough cough cough!”

The thick smoke squeezing in from outside the house caused the old man in the tattered costume on the stage to cough a few times, and the lyrics were interrupted for a few breaths.

He struggled to raise his eyes and looked at the hall full of "audience" under the stage, and there was no longer the familiar sound of drums and clappers in his ears.

The old man had been singing operas in Yuanzhou City all his life, so he naturally understood the rules that singing operas must have a beginning and an end.

And since he was willing to come here to sing operas, he understood the principle of “loyalty to the monarch and righteousness to the country” even more.

However, perhaps until the last moment before his death, he would not believe who these people died for.

“…”

Trembling, he straightened his body, shook the flags on the back of his costume vigorously, clenched his left hand into a fist on top, and dragged his palm down with his right hand, posing in a posture symbolizing “loyalty and righteousness.”

Then, with all his strength, he dragged out a long, rhythmic tune and sang the last two lines of the play.

“Ambitious before success, return my rivers and mountains to my children and grandchildren!”

“This life is not in vain, I will devote my whole life to serving the country with utmost loyalty!”

“Serving the country with utmost loyalty, I will devote my whole life!”

“…”

The fifteenth year of Tianji, July 15th.

Yuanzhou City, this ancient city with a thousand years of history that had experienced countless vicissitudes and changes, and whose ownership had changed hands several times between the Feng and Ning countries, was thus reduced to ashes overnight in a great fire.

More than two million people in the city, more than 500,000 Great Feng soldiers, a total of nearly three million people…

All died.

Having finished writing this chapter with complex feelings, it is already midnight. I originally had a lot to say, but I don’t know where to start, so let’s wait for the end-of-volume summary in a few days.