Vol 7 Chapter 217 – White lilies, the norm for funeral flower

XH 217 - White lilies, the norm for funeral flower

"You want me to persuade your brother not to kill the Second Prince?"

What a scary request! Σ(°△°|||)︴

Long Lian's expression was full of awkwardness. "Everyone hated second brother, especially third brother. I...I am afraid of such third brother that would hate second brother so much that he wished him dead by torture."

Xiao Hua naturally could not tell Long Lian that the Third Prince's anger towards the hero was completely justified. Only a saint or a person without power to go against fate would learn to forgive their murderer when they were given a chance to travel back in time.

However, the Third Prince currently has more power than the hero and certainly would not choose to forgive him. 

"Long Lian, the Third Prince has his own reasons to hate the Second Prince. I can't tell you why, but it's enough to kill the Second Prince again and again."

That was certainly how cannon fodders felt when the world's favorite son or daughter destroyed their life, especially when the cannon fodder Third Prince was innocent! The only reason why he was killed was because of his father! 

"Another secret?" Long Lian was fed up with all this secret nonsense! 

Xiao Hua grimaced, unable to appease the princess' anger that was clearly expressed from her tone. "...Long Lian, what would you do if the Second Prince… successfully killed all your family?"

Xiao Hua could hear Long Lian's draw in a deep breath. The long pause afterward was nerve-wracking, not knowing if Long Lian had thought about it before and chose to still forgive the Second Prince, or she had not thought about it and got a shock of her life to imagine another path of possibility.

"Impossible." Long Lian finally spoke, her tone revealed her weariness yet her belief did not waver. "Second brother would never kill us."

Pushing down the bubble of irritation since she knew the hero would kill them if given a chance, Xiao Hua straightens her back, her sightless eyes stared straight at Long Lian's direction.

"Don't be foolish," Xiao Hua said sadly, holding back her snappish tone. "He is not the only one to make the decision whether to let you all live or not. Remember Liu Chu Chu? She certainly won't let you all go so long as you all have the royal blood. To her, you all are a threat to their goal."

"She is just the second brother's wife. Such matters should never allow her opinion to interfere!"

Xiao Hua sighed. "Even if she's not allowed to on the surface, that's not the case with how lovesick your brother is. He would seek even the stars if his wife asked for it. That's how crazy in love he is."

Long Lian certainly knows how crazy in love her second brother was towards Liu Chu Chu, to even blindly support her to get his own sister to marry the so-called 'bloodthirsty King'. 

"Even if you forgive your second brother, that might not be the case for your brothers. They will seek revenge for their dead parents and hate the Second Prince for being ungrateful. In their eyes, his achievements are all thanks to the Emperor's help."

"Father Emperor had never helped the second brother when he fought in wars. He won every war with his own strength!"

Xiao Hua laughed at how defensive and proud Long Lian was towards the hero. Xiao Hua pushed her thoughts of 'golden finger', 'world's favorite' and 'pitiful background but wonderful luck ahead' away.

"Long Lian, if the Second Prince is to be spared, what will you do if he once again seeks to kill you and your family?"

"He won't be."

"How do you know that?"

Long Lian let out a shaky breath. "Because I won't let him do it."

"How are you going to do it? He's much stronger than you that you won't be able to stop him from doing whatever he wants."

"Not if he -" Long Lian choked, sounded as if she forced herself not to cry. "Not if his cultivation is… is gone."

With a deep sigh, Xiao Hua closed her eyes, not that it matters when she could not see anything. It would be very difficult for the hero to accept such an exchange in return for sparing his life. After all, the one thing he was very proud about himself was his unique element, ice. 

"Can cultivation return once it's gone?"

Long Lian nodded and then realized Xiao Hua would not be able to see it. "Yes, if it is done without destroying the center of his energy." There were many cultivators that removed their cultivation if they found the teaching was not suitable for them and started over to learn the new path. 

"... Which will you wish for the Second Prince to undergo?" 

"...Destroy his center of energy." Permanent cripple in cultivation.

《Save him.》 

Xiao Hua was able to stop herself from jumping up from her seat in time. That voice in her head belonged to the one that had saved her from the green-eyed man.

'Why do you want to save him?' Xiao Hua thought, but fortunately the voice could hear her mind.

《Talk to him.》

'Talk? What's there to talk about? Therapy?!'

But the voice did not speak anymore, making Xiao Hua even more confused. It could not be that the world will end if the hero dies, right?!

...Wait, that would be too stupid to be true. 

Unless the hero was an immortal with everlasting lifespan, the world would end once he died of old age then!

Xiao Hua could just imagine God sneering at her for being foolish. 'Why would I destroy a still healthy world for a mere mortal?'

Long Lian stared at Xiao Hua that remained silent and still. If it was not for her moving fingers, she would have suspected her to be sleeping. 

"Xiao Hua? Can… Can you help me?" Even if her second brother still hell-bent on continuing his plan, her beating heart could not forget the familial love she felt from him. His actions were not false, she was sure of it. Or else, he would not stop Liu Chu Chu from killing her, even going as far as asking a doctor to tend her injuries.

Truthfully, Xiao Hua would not agree to help. After all, even if his cultivation was gone, it might not mean his ambition was too. So long as he was determined, he can gather his own men and continue the failed plan again, acting as the mastermind.

But that unknown voice wanted her to save the hero. 

"Okay, I will help." Xiao Hua added quickly before Long Lian went hyper. "But I want to speak to the Second Prince first." She does not know what to do, so she will test the water first by speaking to the hero. 

"I will sneak you in!" Long Lian immediately agreed, even without knowing why Xiao Hua wanted to speak to her second brother.

Two days.

Long Shan's mind was still clear even after being tortured and healed continuously. As the hero, his specs would be high, so his durability was tough, and his firm mentality allowed him to go through the harsh torture without breaking down. 

However, when the third day approached, there was no sight of Long Zhu with his cold, piercing eyes with a smile filled with dark malice. 

Could it be Long Lian did something?

If she could get him out of here, that would be better. 

Long Zhu had taunted him with the death of his parents, but he was not bothered by it. He was prepared to accept their death if their plan failed. All his remaining concern was whether his wife managed to escape safely. 

It was the mocking words from Long Zhu that his wife escaped with the King of Gu Dan and abandoned him that affected Long Shan’s emotions. But he believed that his wife would save him if she had the chance. He would rather she stayed away and remained safe than risking her life to get him out.

The silent place was suddenly invaded with sounds of the outer door opening, accompanied by four sets of footsteps. 

Long Shan controlled his expression to one of indifference, preparing himself for today's torture. But the scent of flowers confused him. 

"Second brother."

To this non-biological sister of his, it could not be said he does not have affection for her after being her brother for fifteen years. Concubine He had only revealed his true parentage when he was five, old enough to learn how to read and write. His mother does not care if he betrayed his emotions, only aimed to stop him from getting close to the Long family. Even so, Long Shan knew better than to alienate them once he was old enough to look at the larger picture.

Long Shan had fully expected his fake siblings to look at him in disgust and hatred once his true parentage was revealed. But Long Lian acted against his expectation. On the other hand, the hatred from Long Zhu was in line with his expectation, but the extremeness of it had bewildered him. 

"Someone wishes to speak to you."

Someone want to speak to him? His parent's family were all dead, a fact he heard from Long Zhu. His soldiers were all captured and interrogated. 

Could it be his wife? Eyes blazed with hope, he raised his head, only to see unfamiliar faces standing beside Long Lian. His eyes dimmed and no longer interested in them. 

The scent of flowers he had smelled before was from the flowers that a blind girl was holding. It was white lilies, its color was a stark contrast to this dim cell.

Holding up the white lilies, the blind girl smiled brightly, her cute childish voice echoed around the cell. "I'm here to pay a visit~"

With white lilies that was the norm to be used as funeral flowers.