CH 161

When Huo Wujiu arrived at the Emperor’s bedchamber, what he saw was a sea of fire.

He had killed his way into the palace, and his iron armor was soaked with blood.

Alongside him were officers and soldiers who were anxiously trying to put out the fire, but no water source could be found. Next to him, the man who had long been escorted to kneel on the ground, was none other than the drunk and disheveled Emperor Jiang.

Huo Wujiu sprinted forward.

The soldier beside him quickly reported, “General! This dog emperor said that His Highness Jingwang is over there!”

Huo Wujiu raised his eyes only to see an ocean of fire that blasted his eyes red.

“It’s already starting to collapse, General. How can this…”

Before the soldier could finish speaking, cries of alarm burst around him.

All that the soldiers saw was a scarlet cloak whistling by. Their General stepped on the white marble steps, rushed forward, leaped onto the roof and landed into the raging fire.

“General!”

Alarmed exclamations erupted in all directions, and the other generals panicked.

Then they heard the Emperor, who was slumped on the ground, laughing heartily.

“Bravo,” he applauded. “Today I was able to burn them both to death with one fire. What a harvest!”

The soldier beside him was red-eyed and drew his sword to kill him, but was stopped by his fellow soldiers around him.

“Don’t be impulsive!” The man next to him said sharply. “Don’t kill prisoners without the General’s orders!”

The soldier said with red eyes, “But General is…”

Just then, a loud boom came.

The crowd looked up and saw the lofty Emperor’s chambers collapsing in a sea of fire.

The Emperor cackled even more unrestrainedly.

“Come on!” He laughed. “Kill me and avenge your General!”

But at the same moment, his laughter came to an abrupt halt.

The smile also froze on his face.

When he raised his head, he discovered that Huo Wujiu, who was soaked in blood from head to toe, was carrying a man wrapped in tattered robes. He stepped on the roof that was about to collapse and leaped across the palace the second the bedchamber collapsed.

The fluttering cloak behind him was already sizzling with fire. The scarlet cloak burned with fine embers, and sparks burst up, blending with the color of the cloak.

“The General has escaped!”

The officers and soldiers let out a chorus of cries.

Huo Wujiu landed steadily and extinguished the fire on his cloak with a flick of his frame.

He knelt on one knee and embraced the man cautiously yet firmly in his arms.

Immediately, some soldiers greeted him. However, they heard Huo Wujiu’s muffled voice ordering them in a deep voice, “Go find a doctor, hurry up.”

The crowd did not dare to delay and quickly dispersed.

Huo Wujiu knelt on the white marble brick floor in front of the burning ruins. He bent forward, hugging Jiang Suizhou with one hand, and gently caressing his cheek with the back of his other hand.

He wanted to wake him up, but was also afraid of hurting him.

“Jiang Suizhou,” he hoarsely whispered, “Suizhou, open your eyes for a moment.”

Wei Kai, who then arrived with his troops, saw this scene and stopped on his tracks, not daring to step forward.

He saw the charred burnt marks on the General’s cloak, and saw that the General’s scarlet eyes were all wet. He was kneeling on the ground and was apparently uninjured, but like a fierce beast that had been shot in his vitals, curled on the ground and lingering on with his last breath.

Wei Kai’s eyes also reddened.

But at that moment, a faint noise sounded from Huo Wujiu’s arms.

It was the sound of Jiang Suizhou coughing.

Wei Kai took a step forward, but stopped in his tracks and stood rooted on the ground.

Jiang Suizhou coughed a few times. His eyelashes fluttered, and he weakly opened his eyes.

“Jiang Suizhou!” Huo Wu Jiu’s hands trembled as he hugged him.

However, Jiang Suizhou coughed and struggled to raise his hand.

“How are you feeling? Where do you hurt? Don’t be afraid. The doctor will be here soon,” Huo Wujiu anxiously said with his hoarse voice.

But Jiang Suizhou raised his hand and placed it on his chest.

“Here.” His voice trembled, and his voice could barely be heard over the crackling flames.

“What? Are you wounded here?” Huo Wujiu panicked and hurriedly reached out to touch the spot.

However, Jiang Suizhou laboriously pulled out a few pages of paper from his lapel.

The pages were stained with mottled blood that all seeped out from Jiang Suizhou.

Huo Wujiu took the sheets, just gave them a passing glance, and then put them away.

“Don’t you know what’s happening now? Who cares about these?!”

He growled at Jiang Suizhou under his breath. He sounded quite fierce, but as his voice exited, his tears fell.

The two round and moist tears fell on the sheets of paper.

Jiang Suizhou strenuously tried to smile, but he could barely curl the corners of his mouth.

In the end, he raised his hand with all his strength, and touched Huo Wujiu’s face weakly. His tone sounded sapped, as if leaving his last words.

“Because I didn’t dare to tell you,” he said.

“I like you. This is the only thing I can do for you.”