Ashina Chengguang gazed at her reddened eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing with effort as he swallowed hard. In the distance, the wails of wounded soldiers drifted by, yet they could not pierce the heavy, stagnant silence of this small space.
Finally, he lowered his gaze and spoke softly, "He said... you mustn't hold Pei Huaiyu back."
The words struck Ruan Jiaojiao’s heart like a cold dagger. Memories shattered like broken glass—the figure always lurking in the shadows, who had blocked fatal blows for her time and again; the cold exterior she had so misunderstood, which actually masked a vow to "guard the young master's charge at all costs"; and in those final moments, the sight of him covered in blood, stubbornly shielding her to the end. It turned out that every instance of "simply doing his duty" was a protection heavier than any mountain.
Chapter 151