Chapter 84

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Chapter 84:

Everyone was frightened by his madness. Li Zhexuan faced off against Second Prince. In the corner of her eye, Li Chunzhou saw Jian Hou standing up, seemingly planning to leave in the chaos. Without thinking, she immediately shouted to Second Prince, "Second Master!"

Second Prince indeed turned his gaze to Li Chunzhou’s face.

Li Chunzhou carefully moved closer to the two, holding the arm of Second Prince that held the knife. She raised a pleasing smile and said, "I’ll stay with Second Master, won’t go anywhere. Second Master, please let A’bao go…"

"Let him go…?" The Second Prince’s voice was calm and he slightly lowered his head to look into her eyes, then raised his eyebrows and gently asked, "Lady Chun, do you want me to let him go… or let you go?"

Li Chunzhou didn’t know how much Jian Hou had told the Second Prince, so she forced a smile and said, "If we can’t kill Jian Hou, everyone will die, including the Second Master and myself… I don’t want the Second Master to die in front of me, so I have to kill him."

"Really?" The Second Prince’s expression was playful, as if he could see through all of Li Chunzhou’s thoughts. He deliberately prolonged his tone, watching Li Chunzhou becoming more and more nervous, and then smirked mockingly.

After seeing his expression, Li Chunzhou’s mood started to turn sour. Liang Changfeng now knew things that she definitely didn’t want him to know.

Liang Changfeng completely ignored everyone else in the room. His light-colored eyes stared coldly into Li Chunzhou’s eyes as he bluntly questioned her, "Let him go to kill Jian Hou, then what? You both leave this world together?"

The blood on his face made his complexion even paler, with a lifeless coldness. Li Chunzhou sensed the suppressed anger in his words, pursed her lips, and didn’t immediately deny it, as her initial thought was indeed to have Li Zhexuan devour the Administrator and then escape Dungeon World together.

Li Chunzhou was already tired of Dungeon World, finding it too backward and lacking in things for Li Zhexuan to imitate and learn.

However, those were just her initial thoughts at the beginning of this cycle. Due to too many events happening, even if she wanted to leave, she had to restart Dungeon again, wait for all important people to come back to life, and only then could she leave with peace of mind.

The prerequisite for all this was to force Jian Hou to restart Dungeon or directly devour the consciousness belonging to the Administrator inside Jian Hou’s body.

If Jian Hou is given the chance to escape and report to the Main God System, the difficulty of everything will greatly increase, and it is uncertain whether they can tolerate Li Zhexuan continuing to live.

Li Chunzhou thought about all of this in her heart. Perhaps Second Prince also knew, but he just didn’t want to let go, similar to how the former emperor refused to let go of Liang Changfeng in the past, regardless of his pain, he had to tightly control him. Second Prince also didn’t want to let go of Li Chunzhou.

She was raised by Liang Changfeng with great care, living a luxurious and carefree life since childhood. Li Chunzhou enjoyed a worry-free life, similar to his past self, innocent and vulnerable. Second Prince couldn’t bear to let go of her.

To Liang Changfeng, Li Chunzhou didn’t have the ability to survive on her own. She was the most precious canary, an artwork carefully crafted by him, his beloved little bird. Now, she wanted to sever the connection with him, displaying ignorance and audacity.

And all of this – Second Prince casting a disdainful gaze at Li Zhexuan’s face – was because of this monster.

Liang Changfeng’s long sword suddenly forcefully lifted the knife from Li Zhexuan’s hand. Before Li Zhexuan could pick up the second knife from the ground, Liang Changfeng emotionlessly raised his arm, the sword’s edge directly aiming at Li Zhexuan’s neck.

Li Chunzhou’s pupils shrank suddenly. Ignoring everything, she hurried forward, forcefully pushing aside the sword Liang Changfeng aimed at Li Zhexuan, using her own body to shield Li Zhexuan.

A momentary blank expression flashed across Liang Changfeng’s face. His complexion grew paler, and a dangerous undertone appeared in his seemingly smiling voice. He narrowed his eyes, looking at Li Chunzhou, softly asking, "Lady Chun… Is he so important to you?"

Ignoring the sour pain in his own heart, without waiting for Li Chunzhou’s response, he turned his gaze back to Li Zhexuan, thinking to himself, observing the monster behind him looking pleased, with a face strikingly similar to Shouchang’s, it made one feel disgusted.

At this point, Li Chunzhou couldn’t pretend anymore. She looked at Liang Changfeng with coldness and even a hint of disgust, and said firmly, "Yes, Axuan means more to me than anyone else, even more than you! More than the whole world!"

Without Li Zhexuan, Li Chunzhou would not have these memories from over a hundred lifetimes. She feels trapped and can only live her life like a precious bird in a cage, following the rules.

Li Zhexuan is more important to Li Chunzhou than anyone else because only he can help her take control of her own life. Li Zhexuan’s presence represents Li Chunzhou’s existence. Mi Hongbao, Liang Changfeng, Gu Lingfan, and Xu Yanqu are not as important as Li Zhexuan because Li Chunzhou loves herself more than anyone else.

Liang Changfeng’s face became even more unpleasant as he looked down at Li Chunzhou, her anger making her more alive than ever. They both knew she was not willing to accept defeat.

In the first half of her short life, Li Chunzhou clung to Second Prince for survival like a vine. Second Prince could provide her with money and status. By pleasing him, she could get everything she desired in the material world. However, these were just self-deceptive and numbing words.

Deep down, Li Chunzhou always hated the man who controlled her life.

She did everything to gain money and status in pursuit of dignity. Before falling into this cycle, Li Chunzhou thought that climbing up the social ladder, achieving wealth and status, was the best thing in the world. She didn’t want to end up like those poor girls living in the dark corners of Shengjing City.

So she became a "toy" of the powerful for money. But as she grew older, her desire to break free from this life became stronger.

Second Prince never restricted Li Chunzhou from learning and studying; he even encouraged it, teaching her in his own way and broadening her horizons. Sometimes, Li Chunzhou resented him for it, for teaching her these things and allowing her to form her own thoughts, instead of remaining a pretty, simple fool – when she was too young. She sold her life too early without realizing that living consciously was more painful than living in ignorance.

Now, Li Chunzhou can never forgive those who used to control her and treat her like a toy. Even though she tries to deceive herself time after time, deep down she still despises them.

Despite this, she continued to work as a prostitute for ten years. She was like a flower blooming slightly brighter in the Spring Flowers Tower, obliged to seek favor from the Second Prince, allowing him to manipulate her life as he pleased.

All these pains are understood only when one grows up. Li Chunzhou, unable to let go, feels a deep disgust. If Liang Changfeng had slapped her in the face, that would have been better. Instead, he showered her with the favor of many higher-ups, treating her as a thoughtless object, manipulating her life at his whim. This constant pain prevents Li Chunzhou from loving him entirely or hating him completely, leaving her to struggle in a twisted and unhealthy manner in the hands of the Second Prince. All of this results in an indescribable and inexplicable pain for Li Chunzhou, leaving her with no choice but to distance herself from him as much as possible.

Seeing the anger on Li Chunzhou’s face, Liang Changfeng suddenly felt that everything was meaningless. His desire to live was already weak, and as he looked at Li Chunzhou’s determined face, he felt that everything in the world was disappointing.

Born as a prince, Liang Changfeng enjoyed a luxurious but empty life from a young age. The departure of the former queen completely cut off Liang Changfeng’s chance to find himself. His life resembled a grand sacrifice, where firecrackers and red paper scraps were scattered by the wind. The incense ash, when smelled for too long, no longer felt suffocating. Yet, everything would eventually disappear. As the wind blew in the first month of the year, Liang Changfeng knelt in the grand hall, lighting the incense. It didn’t matter whether he believed in ghosts and gods, but he still looked up, as if acting, expressionlessly gazing at the emotionless Buddha statue.

Rumors of Liang Changfeng matricide had long circulated in Shengjing City. Yet, the greatest regret of Liang Changfeng’s life was not personally killing the woman who gave him life and led his life into the grave. However, at this moment, looking at Li Chunzhou’s stubborn face, Liang Changfeng inexplicably felt like he understood how his mother felt when she deceived him into eating the flesh of sky-reaching birds.

For Liang Changfeng, the best outcome between them would be to die together here. A slightly better outcome would be to stay with Li Chunzhou, endlessly reincarnating in this futureless world. The only terrible outcome would be to let her leave this world with Li Zhexuan, completely relinquishing his control and protection.

Standing helplessly in the distance, Li Li grasped a short sword with her claws, struggling to fly into the air, shouting loudly, "Lady Chun!"

He threw the sword towards Li Chunzhou from the air, Li Zhexuan caught it, and then Li Chunzhou took it from him. The Second Prince watched quietly, not raising a hand to stop them.

Many people present were briefly attracted by the sight of Li Li flying in the air, as they had never seen a talking chicken before. The Lin Lang party immediately realized that this chicken was also a player.

Liang Changfeng looked down at Li Chunzhou’s face, silent for a while. He glanced at his proudest work, then lightly chuckled, gripping his sword again. Pointing the sword at Li Chunzhou with a look she couldn’t understand, almost teasingly, he said, "Lady Chun… If you want me to let you go, there is only one possibility, and that is if I die."

He repeated his mistakes on Li Chunzhou, just like how Li Chunzhou hated the Second Prince controlling her life, similar to Liang Changfeng hating his own mother. Yet, like the former emperor, he still wanted to bind her to him against her will, just like his mother.

Li Chunzhou’s hand holding the sword trembled slightly. She bit her lower lip forcefully. Her feelings towards Liang Changfeng couldn’t be simply summed up as love or hate. It was a mix of attachment to elders, natural aversion and fear towards authority figures. Li Chunzhou knew it was absurd, but even at this moment of facing swords, she still hoped he would compromise for her as always.

Even though she knew she was the one who started it, when Li Chunzhou saw Liang Changfeng pointing his sword straight at her, she still felt a sense of empty disappointment. The Second Prince’s previous favoritism towards Li Chunzhou was too domineering and comprehensive. He knew Li Chunzhou’s flaws better than anyone and was more capable of tolerating her capriciousness.

At the same time, he used his care for Li Chunzhou to firmly control her.

Li Chunzhou would say she didn’t need it, but just like a teenager yearning to break free from the elders, when the people she depended on took back all their care and favoritism, taking away the carefully woven dreams, Li Chunzhou would feel lost and desolate.

When their hidden conflicts didn’t erupt, Li Chunzhou and Liang Changfeng maintained a delicate balance. Li Chunzhou pretended to have freedom, while Liang Changfeng pretended to give her freedom. So their relationship appeared harmonious, but when all the beautiful illusions were stripped away, the true nature of their relationship was already crumbling.

Li Chunzhou had to face the fact she had always vaguely known but was unwilling to confront— all the love Liang Changfeng gave her was conditional, transactional, and manipulative. When she wasn’t circling him like a puppy anymore, Liang Changfeng could retract that love at any moment, revealing his cruel true self.

He is like a colorful python that rustles like scales, maintaining his beautiful and enchanting appearance. However, when Li Chunzhou tries to leave his territory, the python moves slowly and silently, giving off a misleading sense of tenderness, strangling her in its embrace.

Looking at Liang Changfeng’s cold snake-like gaze, Li Chunzhou’s breathing became rapid.

"Ah–"

She closed her eyes and screamed, using the force of the shout to thrust the short sword in her hand forward. Activating her leg muscles, swiftly twisting her hips down, transmitting the force to her waist, then to her chest, and finally to her shoulders which moved her arms in a fluid motion.

Almost simultaneously, Li Zhexuan lunged towards Jian Hou not far away.

Li Chunzhou had tried to learn martial arts in a hundred and twenty cycles, but each time the cycle restarted, her trained body reverted to its original state. So, Li Chunzhou gradually gave up on this choice, not expecting to do much to Liang Changfeng herself. Just delaying for some time to let Li Zhexuan deal with Jian Hou was enough.

Unexpectedly, Liang Changfeng did not evade the short sword in Li Chunzhou’s hand, instead meeting the blade head-on.

As the sword plunged halfway into Liang Changfeng’s body, Li Chunzhou’s face turned as pale as a freshly painted wall.

The usually calm Prime Minister Gu’s pupils suddenly dilated, quickly walking towards them, some nobles hesitating to step forward. Qi Leyuan shouted without hesitation, "Stop them if you want to leave the Dungeon! Stop these NPCs!"

The situation right now is very chaotic. Most players don’t have time to think about whether what the chicken just said is true or false. Qi Leyuan’s player identity naturally adds credibility to his words, so some players started to block those approaching Li Chunzhou and Liang Changfeng.

"I’m sorry," Li Chunzhou said shakily, "I’m sorry…"

Li Chunzhou stared at the blood spreading on the Second Prince’s stomach, tears welling up in her eyes. Liang Changfeng, on the other hand, started to smile.

"What’s wrong?" The Second Prince’s tone changed, not sure if it was due to pain or something else. "The knife has already stabbed in, and now you’re scared? Why cry…?"

The colorful summer sunlight danced among the green leaves, dreamlike and surreal. Li Chunzhou felt like the chirping of cicadas in her ears was incessantly loud, making her dizzy. The sweaty palms reminded her of the harsh reality she had to face.

Liang Changfeng, however, didn’t think too much. He simply focused on the messy-haired Li Chunzhou in front of him. She stood there dazed, like a child who had just realized she had done something wrong, at a loss, as if unable to accept what had just happened.

She was so young, so innocent, reminding Liang Changfeng of the newly sprouting branches in spring, and rain-soaked flower buds. He reached out to embrace her, grabbing Li Chunzhou’s neck and exchanging a kiss filled with the taste of blood. Liang Changfeng didn’t mind the knife stuck in his stomach; he even felt it wasn’t enough.

Tears streamed down Li Chunzhou’s face, the hot flow rushing to her throat. She hurriedly wiped her face, but the tears kept flowing. Finally, Li Chunzhou burst into tears, not understanding why their relationship had to lead to such a drastic situation.

Liang Changfeng had no tears, the hot blood trickled along the groove of the sword, dripping to the ground, forming his tears.

Liang Changfeng pulled Li Chunzhou close, let her rest her head on his shoulder, gently patting her frail back like he used to, his actions were incredibly tender, transferring the love he once felt from the former empress to the gentle pats on Li Chunzhou’s back.

Suddenly, Liang Changfeng remembered a long time ago, on a spring day filled with blooming flowers, sitting in a pavilion, watching Li Chunzhou running barefoot in the garden with joyous laughter, her face full of lively happiness, causing him to unconsciously smile.

This smile had nothing to do with love, it was simply because Li Chunzhou was beaming under the sunlight, stirring a warm feeling of love in Liang Changfeng’s heart from holding something fragile and small, so he found himself smiling then as well.

That period of time seemed really distant for them, a rare time in Liang Changfeng’s life when they could escape the shadows left by the former empress.

"Lady Chun…" Liang Changfeng’s voice started to falter, as if asking Li Chunzhou, and also himself, "Can you really distinguish… what is hatred, what… is love?"

Li Chunzhou simply stared at Liang Changfeng’s profile resting on her shoulder, asking with a tearful voice, "Will you die? I don’t want you to die…"

"Don’t you… want freedom?" Liang Changfeng held her hand, grasping the short sword in his abdomen, pulling it out with effort, his face becoming paler, panting as he said, "To kill me, this one sword is not enough…"

Liang Changfeng guided her hand to place the sword tip at his heart, his voice weakening, but his eyes held a mad yet joyful smile, saying, "If you can’t do it, then you’ll have to join me… forever die here with me, Lady Chun…"

In his final moment of life, the last thing Liang Changfeng could tell Li Chunzhou was to prove with his life — no matter how high and untouchable those who treated her as a plaything were, they were nothing more than mere mortals.

Liang Changfeng’s head resting on Li Chunzhou’s shoulder felt heavier and heavier. He could clearly feel his energy draining away. However, he suddenly smiled and softly said, "Lady Chun… take action."

Li Chunzhou had been stuck in this part of the river of life for a long time. She had been standing still for a month, with people coming and going around her. Some left early, while others stayed by her side. But at this moment, the dead end that once trapped her life was winding endlessly ahead, and the fireflies flickering on both sides of the road urged her to move forward.

Many things that seemed difficult actually just needed a confused start. So, Li Chunzhou trembled as she once again gripped the knife.

As she picked up the knife, the similarity between her and Liang Changfeng peaked. Two shades of youthful pain overlapped slightly across time. What Li Chunzhou was about to do to the Second Prince was what Liang Changfeng couldn’t do to the late Empress.

She didn’t know how many times she stabbed into Liang Changfeng’s body, only that she mechanically kept pulling out the knife, maybe four times, maybe ten times… She couldn’t remember. She just stared into Liang Changfeng’s eyes, trembling, repeating over and over, "I don’t want this! I don’t want to be stuck here… I want to move forward…"

As Li Chunzhou spoke, tears streamed down her face once again. She couldn’t help but think of the deceased Gu Lingfan, Chihong, and Mi Hongbao. So many people had supported her to get to this day, she couldn’t turn back now. On this path, she was about to add the weight of Liang Changfeng’s life.

So, for my brand new life, please go die.

Blood seeped out of Liang Changfeng’s mouth due to ruptured organs, flowing out through his esophagus and respiratory tract. Still, he continued to smile, exhaustedly closed his eyes, and whispered in a weak voice to Li Chunzhou, "Your freedom is my freedom."

By taking Liang Yongyuan with him to bury the entire Daliang, Liang Changfeng achieved the literal "patricide," and by having Li Chunzhou kill him with her own hands, he achieved the symbolic "matricide," ultimately completing his own life of paranoia and madness.

Li Chunzhou felt like everything was getting blurry, all her awareness, thoughts, and love turned into shapeless, flowing blood. She couldn’t hold up Liang Changfeng’s unconscious body anymore and let him fall to the ground.

Li Chunzhou watched as his breathing went from calm to rapid to weak. After witnessing the death she had caused with her own hands, Li Chunzhou couldn’t calm the shaking of her chest from sobbing.

Life and death in the world are intertwined like a huge river, connecting end to end. Each life is like a water droplet circulating within it endlessly, repeating without rest, fragmented, and noisy.

With trembling hands, she picked out small pieces of flesh from the blood foam. The strong smell of blood made her nauseous, but Li Chunzhou still forced herself to swallow the little flesh from Liang Changfeng’s body, pinching her throat.

"A’xuan…" Li Chunzhou struggled to stand up, intending to see if Li Zhexuan had successfully dealt with Jian Hou.

However, Li Zhexuan pierced Jian Hou’s heart with a sword on the ground, who should have died, but Jian Hou opened his golden eyes again, accurately looking in Li Chunzhou’s direction.

His consciousness stubbornly stayed in this body, having just witnessed Li Chunzhou eating Liang Changfeng’s flesh. In a calm but emotionless voice, he said, "No wonder I couldn’t find its heart, it was inside you."

Li Chunzhou sneered, signaling Li Zhexuan to bring a strand of the body to merge with Liang Changfeng, then she stared straight at Jian Hou and asked, "So, what can you do now?"

"I just need to rewind time to before you encountered it…" Jian Hou said, but his face suddenly changed as the time reversal process just stopped suddenly, apparently sensing the presence of a barrier in an earlier timeline.

Li Zhexuan didn’t give him a chance to struggle anymore and quickly consumed Jian Hou’s consciousness. But the next moment, a golden light separated from Li Zhexuan’s body and flew straight towards Li Chunzhou like an arrow.

The sudden change happened too fast for Li Zhexuan to stop. In a flash, he quickly realized his only way out, mimicking the procedure Jian Hou had just performed and reversed time.

A bright light flashed before their eyes, and everyone involuntarily closed their eyes.

***

When Li Chunzhou opened her eyes again, all the bodies and the flames of war in front of her had disappeared.

She saw a magnificent palace not far away, with colorful lights shimmering on the glazed tiles, carved with auspicious dragons and phoenixes on the roof ridges. The inner courtyard was filled with blooming flowers and lush trees, with winding paths leading to secluded places. The palace maids were graceful and elegant, exuding charm and grace. The elegant palace exuded a tranquil and peaceful atmosphere, embodying a flourishing era at its best.

A calm river twisted under the bridge, its clear waters shimmering in the sunset.

It was now the 608th year of Daliang, forty years before everything had happened.