Chapter 1 - Two Hearts Pierced by One Arrow
Beichen, the sixth year of Yonghe, winter.
The sounds of bloody battle resonate within the royal city, punctuated by a thunderous crash as the city gates are breached by the enemy.
An armored army swarms in, trudging through the sea of blood and corpses.
Atop the city tower, a man cloaked in a royal python robe signifying his status as emperor, clutches a dagger, holding a bound woman hostage. The icy edge of his blade rests against her neck, drawing a line of blood.
“Xiao Chengyi, I order you to withdraw your troops immediately, or I will kill her!”
The dagger in the man's hand moves slightly, deepening the wound on Mu Yun'an's neck by an inch. The chilling wind blows against them, ruffling her hair to reveal a face marked with crisscrossing scars.
She seems oblivious to the pain, her eyes as still as ancient waters.
This is the man she has loved for ten years.
For him, she betrayed her family, stole her father's military seal, causing the extermination of the entire Mu family. But what was the outcome?
From the very beginning, Yuan Qingrui was merely using her. After Xiao Chengyi acquired the real military seal, he imprisoned her in the palace and allowed those whom she had offended to insult and beat her at their will.
He spared her life only to blackmail Xiao Chengyi.
Little did she know, Xiao Chengyi was the one who loathed her to the bone!
Sure enough, a derisive snicker echoed from beneath the city tower.
Mu Yun'an slightly raised her eyes to see the man leading the troops. He was clad in a black cloak, sitting atop a tall horse, without any armor.
With such calm and leisure, leading his iron-clad cavalry to the city gates, it was as if he wasn't there to usurp power, but for a casual visit. He lifted his gaze, giving her a quick contemptuous glance.
"I couldn't ask for more!" he exclaimed with evident disdain.
On hearing these words, Mu Yun'an burst out laughing. Unmindful of the chilling feeling around her neck, she turns to look at Yuan Qingrui, "In this world, the one person who would be happiest upon my death is him. You're using my life to threaten him to withdraw his troops. How foolish!"
Saying this, she turned to the man below the city tower, "Isn't that so, Brother Yi?"
Upon his horse, Xiao Chengyi felt a sudden stiffness in his body when he heard the phrase 'Brother Yi.'
A moment later, he casually reached out, took a bow from the hand of a deputy, and retorted, "You think you're worthy of calling me brother?"
He drew the bow full stretch and aimed the arrow at Mu Yun'an on the turret.
All of a sudden, black clouds enveloped the sky and a cold gust stirred up.
Yuan Qingrui exclaimed in horror, "Xiao Chengyi, she is your sister, the only descendant of the Mu family! Don't forget how you got the Mu family troop behind you! And what you promised General Mu; you said that you would protect…"
Before he could finish, there was a whoosh sound and the arrow whizzed from Xiao Chengyi's hand. The sharp arrow pierced right through Mu Yun'an's heart and then into his body.
An arrow piercing two hearts.
"Sister? Haha! I, Xiao Chengyi, don't have a sister like that, and the Mu family doesn't have a foolish daughter like her!"
Xiao Chengyi's voice, full of disgust, echoed through the cold wind, reaching Mu Yun'an. Her eyes shut, and she fell from the city tower like a kite without a string.
With a thud, blood spewed three feet around the city tower.
The figure on horseback stood tall and unmoving, indifferently glancing at the figure lying in the pool of blood below.
Looking at him, Mu Yun'an twitched the corner of her lips, a tear of blood slid from the corner of her eye, a lifelong regret. "Brother Yi, I'm sorry!"
At the instant her soul departed from her body, she saw her pitiful and ludicrous life again.
If she could, she truly desired to go back ten years, back to the day when the tragedy began, to that winter, to change everything!