Chapter 169: True and False

"Pff!" Suzaku let out a short laugh and Xuan Wu's face darkened further.

Qi Yichen's taunting impressed Gu Qingyu immensely as well.

Ye Jin made use of the distraction they caused and moved towards the wall. Cloud immediately stepped into his path.

Before Gu Qingyu could act, Qi Wan sent out his ribbons and stopped Cloud from going after Ye Jin. Even with his injuries, he could still keep Cloud occupied.

"Qi Wan, just rest. You're really badly injured." Gu Qingyu looked at him with worry. Right as she finished her sentence, Qi Wan clenched his chest and coughed violently. He coughed so much that he spat out blood as he collapsed onto his knees.

Gu Qingyu immediately rushed to his side and helped him up while her chains zipped through the air and struck Cloud! Cloud turned to dodge her attack, but he was a moment too late. The chain grazed his face and left a clean red line on his cheek.

With Cloud taking Gu Qingyu's attention, Rain vanished into a blur for a moment before appearing right in front of Gu Qingyu. Gu Qingyu couldn't dodge her attack in time. In that moment, someone had appeared in front of her.His black brocade billowed behind him as he held her by her waist and shifted her out of the way as the sword in his hand blocked Rain’s attack.

Gu Qingyu returned to her senses as she gazed up at his cold, indifferent profile with surprise. “...Xian Di?”

"Are you calling me?" Xuan Yi looked at her, then the corners of his lips tugged into a faint smile. "A good name, I'll take it."

Gu Qingyu was stunned into silence. It turned out that Xian Di was named by her. Everything seemed to be connected.

Rain looked at the sudden intruder and laughed. "You're finally here."

"I can't tell that you were waiting for me." The faint smile on his face vanished and he swung his sword, Rain hopped away and dodged that blow. He released Gu Qingyu as he went after Rain.

Gu Qingyu watched them exchange blows as she knelt down to check on Qi Wan. "How are you feeling?"

"I...it's okay...." Qi Wan coughed lightly and stood up with her help.

"Stop using your powers." She frowned. "If you use them again, your body will..."

"It's okay." Qi Wan gave her a beautiful smile.

Yan Ruhuo took a step forward, and the white light on his hand gathered together.

"Have you made up your mind?" Gu Qingyu suddenly turned to look at the young man. Yan Ruhuo was taken aback, then shook his head. He did not know what to do.

"Then who are you going to help?" Gu Qingyu curled her lips and smiled as she waited patiently. Yan Ruhuo did not answer her question, but his action spoke louder than his silence.

A white figure danced with a black figure as they fought toe to toe against each other.

With Yan Ruhuo keeping Xian Di occupied, Rain jumped out from the battle and dusted her hands loudly. "What a pain, I even had to wage war for this.”

All colour was drained from Xie Li's face as she gazed into her blood red crystal ball. "Yu..."

"What?" She turned her attention to the priestess.

"The city is going to fall." Her hands shook as she gripped the crystal ball way stronger than she needed. "This is going to be the longest night, none of us would be able to see the break of dawn."

The priestess's prophecy made her blood run cold. She turned to Qi Wan, her confidence fading.

"Just what I expected of the most powerful clairvoyant. I believe you wholeheartedly." Rain laughed sweetly, without any sense of danger or worry.

And as if things could not get worse, Ye Jin chimed in. His hand was placed flat against the wall Gu Qingyu pointed him towards, his brows were knitted as he alerted her. "Xiao Yu'er, it's filled with magma inside here."

Meanwhile

"Burning Slash, Frost Moon Sword!" Murong Zuoyu gritted his teeth, the long sword in his hand illuminated the battlefield in dazzling purple light once again. He had already lost count on how many times he had done this. His ribbon had slipped off at some point, his hair fanned out wildly behind him and over his armour. As he cast that spell yet again, those jet-black locks turned white from its roots in an instant.

"He is already eating into his lifeforce." One of the enemy generals on horseback scoffed. "In another half an hour, Yan Yang City would be ours."

"But, we are losing a lot of men..." His lieutenant glanced at their charging soldiers, then at the piles of corpses near Murong Zuoyu with worry in his eyes. The remainder of the army went silent.

"Magma?" Gu Qingyu gasped "That makes no sense!"

How was that possible? The Spirit Gem was right there, just beyond that wall. Could it have been hidden in the magma? But wouldn't it have melted from the high temperature. Oh, it would be fine, precisely because it's the Spirit Gem.

If that's the case, how were they going to get it? No matter how powerful each of them is, none of them are immortal! They would be burnt at the slightest touch, breaking that wall directly would spell their death!Not to mention, each of their enemies was skilled and determined to stop them. It added another difficulty level to the puzzle. They finally got to this point and now they're forced to give up? How can she face Yan Zun, who she promised to free? How can she face Qian Cheng? And how can she face Murong Zuoyu, who was still fighting, buying time for them with his very life?

"Xiao Yu'er, don't worry. I will definitely get this Spirit Gem for you." Ye Jin said softly yet with conviction.

Gu Qingyu pursed her lips and looked at Rain. "What if I win this battle?"

"That would not change the ending, because you can't win." Rain laughed once again. "Yu, there can only be one White Tiger in this world."

"That's the real reason why you targeted me, right?" She ripped off Rain's facade calmly.

"You're right, that is why I want you dead." Rain admitted it. She stared closely at Gu Qingyu as if she did not want to miss even the slightest microexpression.

Gu Qingyu also laughed. "But the real White Tiger can't be decided even if one of us died. It was already set in place."

"Yeah, even so, I..." Rain clenched her fists till her knuckles turned white. "I don't want to give up so easily!"

From their conversation, it was clear that who the real White Tiger was. Rain had been the imposter from the very start.

"You said that I was just like you, that I was your reincarnation, that I was your replacement. All of it was just to pacify yourself, to minimise your self-hatred." She looked at her imposter with contempt. "I despise you.

She had cut to Rain's core with the precision of a surgeon that it shocked her, but she soon collected herself. "It doesn't matter anymore, Yu. As long as I kill you, then I'll be the only White Tiger in the world."

"Oh, what are you waiting for then?" She taunted lazily. "And I'm curious. Just how much does the fake differ from the real deal?"

She kept reminding Rain that she was a fake, which made her face turn red with anger and green with envy.

Rain raised her hand and a scythe popped into existence.

"Oh, what a scary weapon..." Gu Qingyu clicked her tongue as the Soul Chain formed around her.

"There's nothing to be scared of, she's just a fake." Qi Yichen shook his head with a sigh as he corrected her while fanning himself.

Rain knew that if she listened to the combined banter from Gu Qingyu and Qi Yichen, she would lose her cool. So she cut short of their jeering and rushed towards Gu Qingyu.

Xie Zang hesitated and was about to intercept Rain's attack when Gu Qingyu lifted her hand and stopped him.

"This is a battle between men, don't interfere." She looked at Rain with a cool, boyish smirk. If she was dressed in a set of armour, she would pass perfectly as a general.Her statement, however, let both Xie Zang and Rain fairly confused.

On the other hand, Qi Yichen took her idea and ran with it. He closed his fan calmly and pointed forward as her threw a wink in her direction. "Go, go, Xiao Qing Qing! If you win this, I will give myself to you!"

Gu Qingyu nearly slipped and for a moment, she considered losing just to avoid Qi Yichen.

Suzaku, was fighting against Xuan Wu near them, was rather speechless as well. She did not think she was poor at judging someone's character, and he was the same person she had been looking for. But how did he change so much in just a few short years?

If only she knew that a few years in her lifespan was the equivalent of a few hundred years in a human's perspective. She had already gotten too used to the passage of time as an immortal being.

To her, it felt like a blink of an eye. To her, it was just seeing the empty valley that was covered in fields of flowers turn barren and empty. To her, it was just the blooming and wilting of the poppies in her backyard. All of that, to her, was just the empty hollow days before his arrival.

Which was why no matter if he was good or bad, if he remembers her or not, she would always stay by his side, as long as she could see him once more.

Gu Qingyu grabbed her chain and swung it towards Rain like a whip. However, Rain jumped onto the chain instead, and her scythe sliced at her. Gu Qingyu shifted her center of mass as she leaned back as far as she could, narrowly avoiding the blade that glided against her face and chopped off a few strands of her hair.

Qi Wan panicked and tried to step in, but Xie Lie gripped his shoulder and stopped him. She watched calmly as the two nearly identical figures danced through the air and shook her head. "Yu was right, this battle is between the two of them. They have to settle this, and they are the only ones that can settle this. “

Qi Wan looked back at her with a steely gaze. "Didn't you predict that none of us would survive this? If that's the case, I will kill that imposter first, then kill all of her accomplices. Let's see who else would dare to hurt boss!"

Xie Li sighed softly, "This is the first and only time I wish I've made a mistake."

Even though she knew what failed predictions entail for her.

Qi Wan gritted his teeth and shrugged off Xie Li's hand as he remained at the same spot. He understood that there were just some things that he has to let his boss face on her own, so he relented.

Go ahead and do whatever you want, boss. Just know that I'm right here with you. No matter what happens, whether you win or lose, just go and do whatever you want. Because if you lose, I would paint this place red and protect you against fate itself.