The moment his feet touched the ground, Shen Qingfeng was fiercely pushed out of Lu Yan's embrace. Immediately afterwards, Lu Yan grabbed his shoulders tightly. It was so tight and painful that Shen Qingfeng gasped. His whole body trembled in pain.
"Shen Qingfeng!" Lu Yan's roar thundered in his ear. Shen Qingfeng shuddered and then slowly raised his head.
Looking at Lu Yan's heart - broken expression, he felt his whole body trembling uncontrollably.
In his memory, the looks Lu Yan gave him were always full of affection and deep love. His eyes welled up with tears. He suddenly turned his head away. His heart ached so much that it seemed to shrink into a ball. The intense pain made his whole body tremble violently, and even his lips began to turn pale.
His face hurt. The gravel had scratched a cut under his eye, and blood was gushing out. But that pain was far less than a millionth of the pain in his heart.
Lu Yan looked at the side of Shen Qingfeng's face. Filled with determination, he grabbed Shen Qingfeng's face and forced him to turn his head by pinching his chin, saying, "Shen Qingfeng... Why didn't you let me know what was inside?"
Even now, Lu Yan couldn't believe that Shen Qingfeng had been using him all this time. Suppressing his heartache, he spoke again, "Tell me..."
Say it, Shen Qingfeng.
If you say it, I won't be angry.
No matter what you say, I'll believe you.
On the other side, Xu Ruhui fanned his folding fan and leisurely stood in front of Yu Shuang, who was about to carry Xiang Cheng away. He snapped the fan shut with a "pop", raised his eyebrows and looked at Yu Shuang with a smile, saying, "You can't go yet, beauty."
Yu Shuang gritted his teeth. Although his martial arts were superior to Xu Ruhui's, he was carrying Xiang Cheng on his back at the moment. How could he be a match for Xu Ruhui? He paused for a moment, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. He turned his head to look at Shen Qingfeng.
He saw that Shen Qingfeng was being held tightly in Lu Yan's embrace, his shoulders firmly grasped. Behind them, the sealed tomb door that had just been blown up had long disappeared. The gunpowder was so powerful that it had blown the entire cliff platform into the mountain gorge. The tomb passage had also collapsed due to the violent explosion and was blocked tightly by the stones rolling down from the mountain. Looking from this side, it seemed there was no way to open it.
Shen Qingfeng had made up his mind. He didn't want Lu Yan to know, so he had lit the fuse without hesitation.
Lu Yan glanced at the blown - up area and then looked down at Shen Qingfeng. The two of them were in a tense stand - off. He stared stubbornly at the person in his arms, desperately seeking an answer.
Shen Qingfeng was silent for a moment, then averted his eyes again. He pursed his lips and said, "I've already said it's none of your business."
Lu Yan was shocked. The next moment, he let go of Shen Qingfeng's shoulders and took several steps back dejectedly. His figure wavered. He barely managed to stand still on his last step. He covered his face with one hand and suddenly let out a sad laugh.
"Hahaha... Shen Qingfeng, don't you even want to lie to me anymore?" Although Lu Yan was laughing as he said this, his voice sounded heart - rending, filled with indescribable pain and despair.
Shen Qingfeng gritted his teeth and lowered his head, not daring to look at him.
"I always thought that we liked each other, but it seems I was wrong..."
Hearing this, Shen Qingfeng suddenly widened his eyes. He looked up at Lu Yan, opened his mouth, and couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Lu Yan... What are you talking about?!"
"Do you like me?" Lu Yan suddenly stopped laughing and looked up at Shen Qingfeng. His eyes were like knives, stabbing fiercely into Shen Qingfeng's heart.
Shen Qingfeng took a step forward and said, "Lu Yan! What do you mean by this? Why do you think so?"
"Why do I think so?" Lu Yan said, "Because you've been using me from the very beginning!"
Shen Qingfeng stood there stunned. A sudden chill ran from his toes to the top of his head, "What... did you say?"
"You've been using me all along! You approached me just to help Xia Chuli seize the throne and to let him ascend the throne! Everything you've done is for Xia Chuli, isn't it? You've always liked Xia Chuli, not me at all!" Lu Yan roared. His eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was hoarse like a trapped animal.
"I didn't!" Shen Qingfeng gritted his teeth and said, "Didn't I tell you that helping Xia Chuli obtain the throne was not only for the common people but also for you? If it weren't for Xia Chuli, wouldn't King Xia Jie's next target be to kill you?"
Lu Yan gave a bitter smile and said, "I'm just an afterthought, right? You chose me only because I have military power and we have a marriage contract. You could just use me as a shield for Xia Chuli! If it were someone else, would you just throw yourself at him and sleep with him?"
Lu Yan was extremely angry and began to speak recklessly. Shen Qingfeng felt a suffocating anger welling up in his chest. He stared at Lu Yan, unable to believe that such vicious words could come from the mouth of the person he liked. His whole body trembled violently. In a daze, he seemed to see his heart oozing blood bit by bit, "Lu Yan, in your heart, am I such a person? I've been with you for so long. Do you think all my feelings were fake?"
Lu Yan stared at him coldly and gritted his teeth, "Then tell me, why did Xia Chuli kiss you in the Eastern Palace that day?"
Shen Qingfeng stared at him with wide eyes, frozen in place.
Xia Chuli kissed him? Did he mean the time when he went to visit Xia Chuli after Xia Chuli had been tortured? He clearly remembered that the moment Xia Chuli kissed him, he had pushed him away and then fled the Eastern Palace.
Wait, how did he know that Xia Chuli kissed him? The Marquis of Dingbei couldn't enter and leave the Eastern Palace casually. Did he send someone to monitor me? Has he suspected me for a long time? Lu Yan... has he long thought that I've betrayed him?
Suddenly, his heart felt as if it had been trampled by ten thousand horses. Someone had broken a mirror, and the shards had pierced deeply into the softest part of Shen Qingfeng's heart.
Shen Qingfeng felt as if all the blood in his body was about to freeze. He gritted his teeth and said, "I didn't kiss him. He kissed me on his own initiative."
"Did you push him away?" Lu Yan asked coldly.
"I did!" Shen Qingfeng suddenly roared. Lu Yan's distrust of him was like a ferocious flood, pounding Shen Qingfeng's heart into a thousand pieces, "Lu Yan! Why did you send someone to monitor me!"
"Because I don't believe it!" Lu Yan roared back, "Everyone knows that you're crazy about Xia Chuli. Why did you suddenly start liking me just because of a marriage contract?"
Saying this, Lu Yan suddenly covered his chest as if he had been injured. The humble love he had hidden for Shen Qingfeng for so many years finally erupted at this moment.
In the past, he had loved Shen Qingfeng so humbly. He didn't dare to have excessive hopes or overstep his boundaries. He just wanted to watch him from afar. But now, Shen Qingfeng's attitude towards him had changed so much. Although Shen Qingfeng had emphasized many times that he didn't like Xia Chuli, it was not that easy to change one's feelings.
Just like Lu Yan, he had fallen in love with Shen Qingfeng when he was eleven. Although it wasn't love at first sight, he had almost exhausted the first half of his life. He couldn't forget Shen Qingfeng and had been thinking about him for so many years.
Similarly, Shen Qingfeng had loved Xia Chuli for so long. Could he really let go so easily?
Lu Yan wanted to believe, but he didn't dare to.
Hearing this, Shen Qingfeng suddenly felt as if all his strength had been drained. He lowered his head and gave a bitter smile.
Yes, it's not that easy to forget the person you like. It had taken him a whole lifetime and even his life to forget Xia Chuli.
How could he explain to Lu Yan that he was a reborn person?
Such a ridiculous thing. If he said it, Lu Yan would probably not believe him even more.
Shen Qingfeng finally understood that Lu Yan's suspicion of him was because he didn't believe that Shen Qingfeng could forget Xia Chuli and fall in love with him in such a short time. But how could he explain this?
He simply couldn't explain that he was a reborn person...
Lu Yan looked at Shen Qingfeng in front of him. His face was full of desolation, and his pale face was as white as the remaining snow on the ground. He lowered his head, looking so weak that it seemed a gust of wind could blow him down. Lu Yan felt extremely heart - broken. He wanted to reach out and pull Shen Qingfeng's slender body into his arms, but his hands just couldn't lift up.
"Shen Qingfeng, I only have one question for you. I want you to answer me honestly." Lu Yan stared at Shen Qingfeng intently, not wanting to miss any expression on his face. He was almost eager to find a trace of trustworthiness on his pale face.
Shen Qingfeng gave a self - deprecating smile and said weakly, "Ask."
"Are you using me?" Lu Yan raised his voice. There was still a glimmer of hope in his heart, hoping that Shen Qingfeng would say no from his thin lips.
But what could Shen Qingfeng say? He could say that he didn't use Lu Yan, but he had indeed used his military power and his identity to help Xia Chuli ascend the throne. He had even planned that after Xia Chuli ascended the throne, he and Lu Yan would return to the Northern Kingdom together and spend the rest of their lives.
Thinking of this, Shen Qingfeng suddenly felt extremely angry. After all these years of planning, he had ended up being distrusted. He suddenly raised his head, looked at Lu Yan, and said fiercely, "Yes, you think I can't like you, so you think I must have used you, used your military power, and used your love for me, right? Lu Yan, after all this time we've been together, can't you see even a bit of my true feelings?"
"Your true feelings?" Lu Yan also became determined and shouted coldly, "What true feelings do you have! You were using me even at the moment of life and death just now! You knew I would definitely save you, so you sent Yu Shuang to save that guy!"
Shen Qingfeng had indeed been taking a gamble just now. He had gambled that Lu Yan would save him. In order to blow up the sealed tomb door as soon as possible, he had no other choice.
He bit his lower lip and glared at Lu Yan. He felt his heart had been crushed into pieces. Suppressing the intense pain in his heart, he said tremblingly, "Lu Yan, you never believed that I could like you from the very beginning. You said I didn't trust you, but have you ever trusted me?"
"Did you give me a chance to trust you?" Lu Yan roared. He stared at Shen Qingfeng firmly and said, "I know you've been secretly planning to let Xia Chuli ascend the throne, but have you ever thought about me? Why do you do everything behind my back? Why have you met Xia Chuli in private so many times? You say you don't like Xia Chuli. Can what you've done be trusted?"
Shen Qingfeng's voice trembled. He took a sudden step back and roared, "Lu Yan! You're really blind! You're crazy! I don't want to talk to you!"
"If you want me to trust you, fine!" Lu Yan quickly stepped forward and grabbed Shen Qingfeng's wrist. Amid Shen Qingfeng's violent struggle, he pointed at Yu Shuang standing beside them and said, "Then tell me, who is the person he's carrying on his back?"