Chapter 96: No Other Choice

Looking at Ye Xuan, Si Nuosang seemed to trust him completely. She never doubted anything about him. If he had not deliberately made things turn out this way, perhaps she would have never found out.

“Alright, I’ll tell you. I don’t want to deceive you, even if you find out and drive me away. I think I must speak the truth. After that, whatever you choose to do is up to you. After all, my initial approach was never sincere.”

“Go ahead,” she said.

Hearing this, Si Nuosang felt a pang of complexity, but she still wanted to know.

“I’m from Minglou, and so is Qin Li. We approached you only to get closer to Xuanyuan Juesi. There’s a legend surrounding Xuanyuan Juesi. Minglou received orders to obtain a certain stone from Xuanyuan Juesi’s subordinate. After Qin Li failed, the head of Minglou commanded me to get close to you.”

Si Nuosang was taken aback. She hadn’t expected it to be like this.

There was a part of her that didn’t want to hear any more.

“So, you mean you’ve been deceiving me all along?”

Si Nuosang wasn’t angry; she just looked at Ye Xuan with a weary expression.

“Yes, I was deceiving you. I was only following orders to get close to you. But later, I saw something different in you. I wanted to change, I wanted to protect you. So, I proposed to the head of Minglou that I wanted to leave.”

“Leave Minglou? Is it so easy to leave such an organization?”

“Not easy, but I want to be open and honest. Meeting you changed me a lot. So I had to reevaluate everything. Though leaving Minglou seemed impossible at first, the head eventually set a condition.”

“What condition?”

Si Nuosang stared at him, her eyes full of questions. Honestly, she wasn’t angry with him. She just thought it was good that he wanted to turn back.

“Find the gem of Xuanyuan Juesi.”

“I’ve never heard of any gem there worth fighting over like this. The place has plenty of ordinary stones, though.”

Si Nuosang didn’t understand—was the gem they wanted one of those?

“I don’t know either. It’s just a legend. Whoever obtains that gem can change everything.”

“A legend? Just for a legend?”

“Maybe to you and me it’s just a legend. But to the head of Minglou and the leader of Qianmen, that legend is real.”

If it were merely a baseless legend, they wouldn’t have made such a big fuss. So the legend must be seven or eight parts confirmed.

“Is the Qianmen incident true?” she asked, referring to the murder case.

“That incident should be true.”

“You and Qin Li were acting together all along?”

Si Nuosang asked calmly, showing no sign of anger, but it was clear she didn’t care much anymore.

“I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize. You were just carrying out orders from the start.”

Si Nuosang looked at Ye Xuan as if he were a stranger.

“I’m really sorry. But I’ve told the head—I've decided to leave. Even if it kills me, I will leave.”

Staring into Si Nuosang’s eyes, Ye Xuan suddenly felt afraid. He shouldn’t have said that. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have come to this. The trust and light that once shone in her eyes were gone.

Now she was as calm as a still lake, but beneath that calm, disappointment was faintly visible.

“That’s good. Your injury was caused by your head, right?”

“Yes, I angered him.”

He answered truthfully, no longer daring to deceive even a little.

“Ye Xuan, I’ll help you. But first, does Xuanyuan Juesi really have that gem?”

Si Nuosang’s reaction exceeded Ye Xuan’s expectations; she actually wanted to help him.

“I don’t know, but I’ll handle this myself. I don’t want to trouble you.”

“Trouble me? Ye Xuan, what are you saying! Although you deceived me, you genuinely did many things for me. Now that you want to turn back, that’s a good thing. Honestly, I am a little disappointed, but more than that, I feel I should be happy for you. Ye Xuan, leave Minglou. Start over.”

Si Nuosang truly sounded like a good friend, offering him advice.

“You don’t hate me? You’re not angry with me?”

“Why would I hate you? Why would I be angry?”

Looking at Ye Xuan, she realized why he always spoke cautiously—because he was afraid she would hate him.

“I really feel sorry for deceiving you.”

“It’s not really deception. Stop thinking like that. The fact that you told me this shows you’re not a bad person. That’s enough. As for everything else, I don’t want to pursue it. We both need to start over and forget everything. How about it?”

Si Nuosang’s heart ached painfully. If Ye Xuan hadn’t held her, she might have really hurt Xuanyuan Juesi. If she had hurt him, she would have deeply regretted it. Fortunately, Ye Xuan stopped the mistake from happening. Otherwise, she definitely would never have forgiven him. Without a doubt, it was a blessing that Ye Xuan corrected his own error.

“Are we still friends?”

“Of course, we are friends.”

Si Nuosang stepped forward and looked at Ye Xuan. She didn’t know his past, but he must have endured a lot.

“Thank you.”

Suddenly, Ye Xuan embraced her, deeply grateful she still considered him a friend. He had thought that once he confessed, there would be no turning back. But Si Nuosang’s forgiveness surprised him.

Her perspective was truly different. Yet the more this was so, the heavier his guilt grew.

“Let’s go. Let’s not worry about whether that stone can change everything. Let’s leave here and live somewhere else, shall we?”

Ye Xuan held her as he spoke, and Si Nuosang was slightly moved. But thinking of Minglou, she knew they wouldn’t let him go so easily. This matter was bound to be difficult.

“We can’t leave. If Minglou isn’t dealt with, you won’t have a peaceful life.”

“Minglou may be terrifying, but I can return to the Ye Manor. Once I take over Ye Manor, Minglou won’t dare to harm me. And then I can protect you.”

For Si Nuosang’s sake, he was willing to return to the place he hated most—the Ye Manor.

“Ye Xuan, didn’t you hate going back there? Didn’t you swear you’d rather die than return? Why have you changed your mind now?”

“Because I want to become stronger. I want to protect the people I care about.”

“Is it for me?”

“No. But I really should go back. No matter the conflicts with my father, I am still his only son.”

He said this to lessen Si Nuosang’s burden, but in truth, he would never forgive that man. Yet right now, he simply had no choice.