Chapter 126: Reduced to Dust

The Ugly Dowry Bride

Time passed swiftly. Duan Nanyu hesitated, his lips moving several times. A careful observer would have seen that he was murmuring, “Yan’er…”

Awakened by the cold, desolate wind, Yun Xiyin opened her eyes and took in the scene before her. Then she glanced at the sheer precipice behind her and immediately began to scream.

“Your Highness, save me! I don’t want to die! I’m carrying your child, Your Highness!”

“Shut up!” Duan Nanyu snapped coldly, frowning in irritation.

In that instant, he understood everything. Yun Xiyin must have gone looking for trouble with Yun Xueyan, and that was how they had ended up in this situation.

Ignoring Duan Nanyu’s anger, Yun Xiyin continued to wail, “Your Highness, you said you owed me a favor, so you can’t let me die!”

She had no idea what that favor was, but it was the only thing she had left to wager. Otherwise, Duan Nanyu would certainly choose Yun Xueyan.

A favor…

Duan Nanyu ignored Yun Xiyin and turned toward Yun Xueyan. He saw the hope in her eyes with perfect clarity. Her calmness meant that she was waiting for him to choose her.

“Yun Xiyin, you have obtained everything. I even gave you your life. The debt I owed you has been repaid in full.”

The wind tore wildly through the air, making Duan Nanyu’s voice hoarse and ragged.

“Choose… her!”

He pointed toward Yun Xiyin and spoke only those two words.

Yun Xueyan froze. Her heart shattered in an instant, and tears had not even had time to fall. She had thought he would choose her. She had thought…

Everything she believed was always wrong. She could never understand his heart or his thoughts.

Now she knew. At this moment, the person he cared about was still Yun Xiyin.

She stubbornly lifted her head, refusing to let the tears hidden in her eyes fall. She wanted to curse him, yet not a single word would come. Every accusation lodged itself in her throat, and she no longer even had the strength to berate him.

All the happiness they had shared seemed to crumble before her eyes…

His coldness once again cut into her like a blade, inflicting pain that reached the depths of her soul.

Her body, her heart, her child, her mother—she had sacrificed everything. And she herself had become hopelessly trapped in the false tenderness he had shown her.

Her heart twisted with unbearable pain, yet she laughed bitterly.

“Duan Nanyu, you have always protected her!”

She stared at him with hollow eyes, condemning herself as she spoke. Her despairing voice echoed through the valley.

The hair that had been pinned up came loose and whipped through the wind, both tragic and breathtaking.

The agony in her heart was beyond measure. He had forced himself to make a choice, and that choice was cruel to her—but cruel to him as well.

Yet… only one person could be saved.

“Very well. You want her, don’t you? Then she must die!”

The man seized Yun Xueyan by the chin, gripping so hard that she frowned in pain.

“Let her go! Don’t touch her!” Duan Nanyu roared.

Flames blazed in his ink-dark eyes. His fists clenched with a sharp crack, and he longed to tear the man before him to pieces.

This was the choice he had made, though he had no alternative. He had never been one to forget a debt of gratitude. Who could understand the pain in his heart as he made such a decision?

Perhaps he did not need anyone to understand. He, too, was suffering. He, too, was in pain—so much pain that even his heart had turned bitter.

“Do you see the bottomless cliff behind you?” the man sneered. “You… Prince Xiao, just how heartless are you? Show me!”

He released Yun Xueyan and pressed the knife against Yun Xiyin’s belly.

“Well?”

The moment the words left his mouth, the man saw Duan Nanyu rush forward like a howling gale, moving so swiftly that he was almost impossible to see. The man immediately prepared himself. Even if Duan Nanyu reached them, he could save only one person.

“Yan’er, I owe her a debt. I must repay it!”

There was pain in Duan Nanyu’s voice, but Yun Xueyan could no longer hear it.