Chapter 247
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Chapter 247: Love and Hate
Liu Xiaowan had already lost a lot, her home was gone, her loved ones were gone, her town remained, but she wanted a family, a family that must include the person she loved, her childhood friend.
Everyone else, she refused stubbornly.
She didn’t care about the mortal world, didn’t care about the world fifty years later, she didn’t even think about revenge.
She just wanted to protect herself and the ones she loved.
She wasn’t evil like humans, she wouldn’t fall in love with all humans.
She said.
Either be with me and become mine;
Or kill me and fulfill your national mission.
There is no third option, only whether you compromise with me or I fulfill you.
Dual dwelling, or perhaps, life and death separation.
Seemingly not difficult, 99% of people can easily discard their swords and say, “I’ll just quit if things get tough.”
But is it really that easy?
Over the course of seven years, traveling all over the mountains and rivers, seeing countless landscapes, accumulating a team, planning, having successors follow, having the power of a reform institution that decides with a single word.
Countless efforts, over two thousand days and nights, hundreds of like-minded colleagues, scolding the highest authority in the Golden Palace, secretly planning to push for the crown prince’s ascension to the throne, even dabbling in political strategizing, hands dirtied, hearts dirtied, all for what?
Just to never see that nightmarish night again.
As long as another ten or twenty years are given, the Monster-slaying Bureau can truly operate as a system. At that time, the world will be much more peaceful, with many fewer deaths every year, every month, every day, and the demons will be rejected beyond the city walls and passes.
Once he is gone, all of this will collapse and be lost, without his sword as a deterrent, soon… it will regress ten or twenty years!
So, should he kill her?
Even more difficult… she is Liu Xiaowan, who has accompanied him since childhood, longer than the seven years.
Even though they haven’t married, she is still his future daughter-in-law, waiting for him in her hometown for seven years without blame or regret.
All she wants is a home, is that too much to ask? Is that being too greedy? Why does she have to die?
The young man grasps the hilt of the sword, holds it and then releases it, wanting to throw it on the ground several times, but failing each time.
Can pick it up, but can’t let go.
Those who can let go are sages, they are buddhas, but he is just a person.
His steel will collapses, Bai Wei’s head throbs with pain, boundless helplessness and confusion cover him like a dark cloud, not even heavy rain can wash it away.
After a long time, he says, “Go, leave.”
Liu Xiaowan’s gaze freezes, “Wood, what are you saying?”
“I won’t kill you, go.”
“Are you joking? Can I go anywhere? Where else can I go?”
“If you don’t leave, I will.” The young man turns around and walks back, since it is always a dilemma, it’s better to ignore it completely, as if it never happened!
“Stop!” Liu Xiaowan’s eyebrows stand straight up, she is angry, perhaps for the first time being angry at wood.
The past was a piece of wood, but now he has become a rock.
She stares at the young man’s figure that has stopped, angrily scolding, “You don’t even dare to slay monsters anymore!”
“You’re not a monster…”
“I am!”
“You are Xiaowan!”
“Then take me with you!”
Her voice hoarsely shouts, biting her lips until they break, blood mixing with rouge red.
If you want to slay monsters, I would rather die by your sword;
If you want to treat me as Liu Xiaowan, then take me away.
Just don’t ignore me, don’t leave me alone.
Liu Xiaowan is not afraid of death, she is only afraid he won’t want her anymore.
He still remains silent, then slowly takes a step forward, still trying to escape.
Liu Er angrily rushes up, wanting to fight for the Crouching Tiger Sword.
But pushed away.
Rushed up again.
Pushed away once more.
The bride fell to the ground, her hair wet and disheveled, her wedding dress dull and colorless. She looked up, facing the dark clouds and let out a hoarse and bitter laugh.
“You are not a block of wood, you are just a coward!”
“Uncle Liu can do it, but you cannot?”
“You just leave like this, run away like this, can you really turn a blind eye? Not only have you lost your own self-respect as Crouching Tiger, but you have also put me in an inhumane place…”
“There is no place for me, Liu Xiaowan , in this world anymore.”
She had two choices, a small home that could only accommodate her and you, or a grave.
What needs to be said has been said so clearly, what else needs to be said, so transparent and miserable?
The young man’s lips moved, he clenched his teeth, drew out the Crouching Tiger Sword, the knife glint illuminated by the lightning.
His left arm fell to the ground.
Crouching Tiger looked at his severed arm and laughed bitterly.
“I am not worthy of this sword.”
“I am not worthy of you either.”
“I leave behind one hand as a price, as my first failed monster-slaying; as if you were the one who stabbed the traitor with your own hands.”
He left the general’s house, riding through the rainforest.
Just like seven years ago, he left the girl behind in the same spot.
This time, Liu Xiaowan did not cry loudly, she just lowered her head, silently shedding tears. When her tears dried up, blood flowed, and as the blood gradually dried up and the rain stopped, her black hair turned white overnight.
From this moment on, Liu Xiaowan was dead.
What remained alive was a reborn monster.
The deeper the love, the deeper the hatred, love turning into hatred, the more love, the more hatred.
On the night of the massacre of the general’s house, no one walked out alive.
The only ones who walked out were Crouching Tiger, merciless despite his severed arm, and the monster with nowhere to go, with gray hair on his head.
…
“This is the truth?”
“This is the truth.”
The old woman gazed silently at the still sky, “Are you satisfied?”
Bai Wei remained silent for a moment and continued, “I want to see the final outcome.”
“Alright then, let’s see what happens after fifty years.”
…
Fifty years is a long time, but also somewhat fleeting.
Enough time to bring about great changes in the dynasty, to restore the declining national strength to its prime, enough to ensure that the people have enough to eat and wear, enough time to establish an effective administrative system from scratch, enough to launch several wars.
Bai Wei spent most of his life in the position of the Pacification Officer of the Monster-slaying Bureau, and then rose to the position of commander before finally retiring.
He expanded the Monster-slaying Bureau to every county and district, responsible for handling all matters related to monsters, and unabashedly reached out to the emperor for military power, launching three self-defense wars, sweeping away the monster armies scattered across different places.
But just as Bai Wei did, a new generation of monster lords suddenly emerged outside the realm of humanity.
She rose to power and led a weak Demon Kingdom with great momentum, unified seventeen countries in just twenty years, and brought the vast Western Regions into her control. Then, in fifteen years, she established a series of facilities from scratch, incorporating various systems borrowed from the Human Kingdom. However, through enforced laws and regulations, stimulating the economy, and improving the people’s livelihood, she quickly brought prosperity to the country.
The resource-lacking demons survived by plundering resources from other countries. Due to their own lack of resources, they could only expand externally. This was the path that any grassland civilization had to take. But after fifty years, this form of war driven by plunder began to change, transitioning from ruthless aggression to a standoff between two major powers.
However, humans and demons still viewed each other with mutual enmity. They remained enemies.
From time to time, the Empress of the Demon Kingdom would lead the army to the frontlines.
With her white hair and always dressed in vibrant red, she appeared like a delicate beauty.
Under her command were tens of thousands of soldiers from the Demon Kingdom. Driven by their fierce genes as plunderers, the demons roared like a pack of wolves, sweeping through the heavens and the earth with their tsunami-like force.
Across from her, standing just a few hundred meters away, was the one-armed supreme commander.
As time passed, Crouching Tiger aged while the elixir of youth given by the imperial family preserved his youthful appearance. His gaze was filled with the weight of years.
Behind him stood tens of thousands of elite cavalry and soldiers, a dark cloud pressing upon the city. The iron armor remained, and the silent warriors awaited the beating of the war drums. The sound of their breath extended for miles, like steadfast peaks.
The Empress’s gaze crossed the long passage of time and landed on the supreme commander.
The one-armed Crouching Tiger looked back at his childhood sweetheart and lifelong nemesis.
Destiny brought them together on the battlefield once more.
In fifty years, they had only met three times.
Each encounter meant rivers of blood.
Fortunately, there would not be another time.
Bai Wei was going to die of old age.
After a lifetime of battles, he had accumulated countless hidden wounds. No matter how many miraculous medicines he took, they couldn’t preserve his vitality. He was destined to age prematurely.
So he left behind his command emblem as the head of the Monster-slaying Bureau, placed it on the table, and left it to whoever was willing to accept it. Then, leading a poor horse, he returned to his already prosperous hometown.
With a little privilege, he improved his hometown, which was not difficult. He left the Bai and Liu residences intact, effortless.
In the past, it was her who took care of the two residences, close by; but for fifty years, it was him who took care of them from afar, a thousand miles away.
He returned to his hometown once again.
His face still youthful, the past old people dispersed and gone, no one recognized him, no one remembered him.
He arrived at the Bai residence and sent the mediocre horse to the stable. As if in illusion, he heard laughter. Turning around, he realized it was a child running past.
Bai Wei laughed at himself and crossed the wide street to the Liu family’s residence. The willow trees were still there, their branches fresh and tender, in the early summer season.
He sat alone under the willow tree, not thinking about anything, just leaning against the trunk, closing his eyes, and fell asleep until evening.
When he woke up, he suddenly thought of something and began digging up the tree roots with his right hand. Before long, he dug out a jar of wine.
Fifty-seven years… Nearly sixty years of aged daughter red wine, still buried here.
He sat in a chair, looking at the daughter red, unsure whether to open it or not.
Then, he heard laughter.
“I haven’t married yet…”
Bai Wei turned around and saw a woman standing at the entrance of the Liu family’s residence, as beautiful as she was fifty years ago.
She was wearing the wedding dress from fifty years ago, standing at the doorstep.
Bai Wei stood up, perhaps because he had grown old, he wasn’t as excited as before. Instead, he instantly understood something.
“It seems that you’re unwilling to let me die of old age.”
“No wonder you were my biggest trouble… Yes, I can’t sleep or eat in peace until I kill you with my own hands.”
This conversation instantly brought them back to their rightful places, looking at each other, with a will to kill each other.
Then Bai Wei hugged the daughter red and said, “Want a drink, Xiaowan?”
She immediately ran over and sat down, saying, “Of course, dumbhead, do you know how many decades I’ve been waiting?”
Their identities were set aside, and they were still childhood sweethearts.
The aged daughter red wine was intoxicating, and Bai Wei was truly drunk. He said, “Now I finally understand Uncle Liu’s feelings back then.”
Liu Xiaowan leaned on her cheek, her cheeks flushed, emitting a captivating fragrance, and exhaled softly, “What were Uncle Liu’s feelings back then?”
“Guilty, but no regrets.”
“But I regret it so much, I still regret it until now, why didn’t you kill me?” Liu Xiaowan said.
“Xiaowan, I can let go now.”
“Dumbhead, I can’t let go.” She looked at him with a slightly drunken gaze, “You don’t know how much I like you, the longer we’re apart, the more I like you. The more I like you, the more I hate you. Fifty years has deepened these feelings bit by bit. Besides love and hate, I hardly have any other emotions.”
“At over seventy years old, you still talk about this?” Bai Wei smiled bitterly.
“But you and I are still the same as before.” Xiaowan crossed her arms and rested her head on them, looking sideways and gazing at him, “Have we changed?”
Bai Wei looked at his young hands, seemingly unchanged except for the internal decay.
“Perhaps not.”
“Yes, you’re unmarried, and I’m unmarried.”
“Do you really want to be my daughter-in-law?”
“Yes.”
“Even though you hate me to the core.”
“I won’t let you die of old age. You have to die by my hands.”
“Aren’t you afraid of dirtying your hands?”
“No, because I feel that the price of just one hand isn’t enough, far from enough.”
“Seems like you’ve had a hard fifty years.”
“It’s not that difficult on the demonic side. As long as you know how to kill, it’s enough. And I’m good at it.”
“When did you become good at it?”
“Maybe it started from the General’s Mansion. I don’t know what fear is anymore. When I have nothing to do, I just go and kill something. Demons are great. As I kill more of them, they start to worship me as their king. Strange, isn’t it?”
“I don’t want to hear this.”
“That’s great. I will tell you all night long.”
“Don’t… let’s just get married, pay respects to the heavens and the earth.”
“Alright, at your place. I have already prepared it in advance.”
“… When did you do that?”
Xiaowan pulls Bai Wei’s hand, just like when they were young. They cross the street and run to the Bai family’s house. They push open the door, and the room is filled with red lights and candles.
There are no guests, only two young people in their seventies.
Bai Wei is also wearing a red groom’s outfit and stands at the door.
They bow to the heavens and the earth.
They bow to the ancestors.
The couple bows to each other.
After the bows, they drink from the same cup, and Xiaowan’s face flushes even more.
There is a moment when Bai Wei really feels as if he has returned to when he was twenty years old. The past few decades feel like a dream.
He lifts his right hand, slowly revealing the red veil.
Under the red candles, Xiaowan’s smile is as beautiful as a flower.
A sense of unprecedented happiness fills him. He suddenly realizes that this kind of happiness is so fulfilling. It is warmer than all the achievements he has accomplished with his own hands. The world may not be big, but it is still good and beautiful.
Xiaowan seems impatient and takes the initiative to step forward, tiptoeing and kissing him.
Her soft lips cover his, and a surge of electricity runs through his spine. Bai Wei feels as if his heart has been pierced.
Blood spills out.
He looks down and sees the Crouching Tiger Sword piercing his heart, also piercing Xiaowan’s heart, connecting the hearts of the bride and groom.
The Tiger Head Sword mourns, trembling and wailing from the blood of its master and the demon king. Its spiritual nature is tainted, almost turning into ordinary iron.
However, Xiaowan still embraces and kisses him with abandon. Her love and hatred reach their peak at this moment.
Until the last moment of their lives, she releases her grip, gently caressing his face, her fingertips brushing his cheek.
“I have finally fulfilled my wish.”
“But how can I fulfill your wish?”
“To stop at the best moment, that’s my revenge. Let you experience the beauty of home, and then destroy it with my own hands. I want you to regret not choosing me in the first place!”
“But…” Her voice instantly becomes gentle and affectionate. “I won’t let you go alone, lonely. I will be with you, from life to death, from home to the grave.”
“I don’t care about the demon king’s thousand-year lifespan. If you die, who will hear my love and hatred? Don’t try to escape, Xiaowan, you are mine…”
“You are mine.”
She repeats, her crimson lips expressing deadly love and hatred, turning obsession into a curse engraved on their souls that time cannot erase.
“If there is another life, I will find you too.”
“In the next life, I will remember you and find you…”
“You, are mine.”
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