Chapter 153: Everything is for the Horde... Cough, for Freedom!
Chapter 153: Everything is for the Horde... Cough, for Freedom!
"Qingmo, I want to ask you... to help me become stronger!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Zhu Zhuqing felt it was a bit abrupt.
She pursed her lips, her voice unconsciously softening slightly, carrying a hint of self-deprecation.
"Of course, if this is your secret, or a secret of that Titled DouluoSenior behind you, and it’s inconvenient to say, then act as if I never asked."
She paused, her gaze very serious.
"I just... don’t want to let go of any possibility."
She looked at Lin Qingmo, and in those cat-like eyes, something was burning.
"I want to become stronger so badly, faster, even faster. Even if it’s just hearing a different direction or grasping at a straw, I have to try."
The room fell silent, save for the occasional soft crackle of the candle wick.
Lin Qingmo didn’t respond immediately.
He slowly walked to the table, picked up the kettle, and poured half a cup of warm water into an empty cup.
The sound of the flowing water was exceptionally clear in the silence.
Picking up the cup, his fingertip slowly traced a circle along the warm rim, as if feeling that bit of warmth.
Then, he turned around and leaned against the edge of the table, his gaze falling on Zhu Zhuqing’s face.
That gaze was very calm, devoid of emotion, yet heavy, like the midnight sky pressing down, making one involuntarily hold their breath.
"The method isn’t something we can’t talk about."
He spoke: "But before that, you have to answer one question first."
"What exactly are you becoming stronger for?"
He asked, his eyes looking straight at her, not letting her dodge in the slightest.
"Don’t give me those polite words like ’for the academy’ or ’for the team’."
"What I want to hear is the truest reason in your heart, perhaps the ugliest one, even the one you yourself are reluctant to admit."
"It’s not about being decent, only about your true heart."
He added, his tone showing no ripples, yet carrying a weight that brooked no perfunctoriness.
"Think clearly before you tell me."
"..."
Zhu Zhuqing clearly hadn’t expected him to ask this.
She froze for a moment, then lowered her eyes.
Her long eyelashes cast a small shadow under the candlelight, masking the emotions in her eyes.
She didn’t answer right away.
Her fingers curled up unconsciously, her nails pressing against her palm, bringing a slight but sharp sting.
The candlelight danced on her profile, half bright and half submerged in shadow, making her look somewhat unpredictable.
The room was so quiet that the breathing of the three people could be heard.
Xiao Wu looked at Zhu Zhuqing a bit nervously, then at Lin Qingmo.
She wanted to say something, but in the end, she pursed her lips tightly.
After a long while.
Zhu Zhuqing slowly raised her eyes.
The usual layer of coldness and distance from before, like a thin mist brushed away by the night wind, slowly dissipated.
What appeared in her eyes was a deep fatigue and a tightly strung, unyielding stubbornness.
"For... freedom."
She spat out those few words, her voice a bit dry.
"I want to become stronger so that I can truly master my own fate and break free from the shackles of my Family."
She took a deep breath, as if to expel the stagnation in her chest.
Then, she began her narrative.
"I was born in the Star Luo Empire, in the Zhu Family."
"Our Family’s LegacySpirit is the Hell Civet. This Spirit itself isn’t considered top-tier, but it has one special feature—it can undergo SpiritFusion with the Evil Eyes White TigerSpirit of the Star Luo Imperial Family’s Dai Family."
"The fused form is called the ’Hell White Tiger’, and its power... is said to be very strong."
The corner of her mouth twitched slightly; it wasn’t a smile, but more like a cold self-mockery.
"Therefore, the Dai Family and the Zhu Family have had intermarriages for generations. The purpose is clear: to use the Martial Soul Fusion Skill."
This was also why the Star Luo Empire’s Imperial Family had not been wiped out despite not having any Titled Douluo.
Two Spirit Douluos using a Martial Soul Fusion Skill were enough to rival a Titled Douluo.
When she mentioned the word "intermarriage," the irony in Zhu Zhuqing’s tone almost overflowed.
Her fingers unconsciously rose, lightly pressing a spot on her shoulder through her clothing.
There was a very faint old scar there.
"The rules of the Star Luo Imperial Family are very cruel."
She continued, her voice lowering but becoming clearer.
"There is only one position for the heir."
"So, not only do the princes have to compete, but even their fiancées, the daughters of our Zhu Family, are also dragged into this game of life and death."
"I and my elder sister, Zhu Zhuyun, were placed on opposite sides from childhood."
"One day in the future, between her and me, only one person can remain standing in the Star Luo Empire."
She paused, a very faint, almost numb emotion flickering in her eyes.
"The loser has no way out; they are either completely erased from existence or imprisoned for life in a place that never sees the light of day, like a discarded object—living, but only just living."
The candle flame jumped violently.
Lin Qingmo’s expression was calm.
He had known all this long ago; having Zhu Zhuqing say it herself was just to see her sincerity.
Xiao Wu’s hand unconsciously gripped Lin Qingmo’s fingers with great force.
Zhu Zhuqing didn’t look at them.
Her gaze seemed to pass through the walls, falling on a very distant and cold past.
"I think you already know; Dai Mubai is my fiancé, the third prince of the Star Luo Empire."
"But, Dai Mubai..."
Her throat moved, and for the first time, a hint of hard-to-conceal trembling appeared in her voice.
"He fled."
"At the time when we most needed to face my sister’s oppression and pursuit together, because he feared Dai Weisi’s power, he ran away alone."
"Leaving me behind, leaving everything in Star Luo behind, he ran here."
She closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, that sliver of fragility in her eyes was quickly frozen over, leaving only a piercing cold light.
"I faced the people my sister sent alone. How I made it through that journey, I sometimes can’t even remember. I only remember that I couldn’t stop, couldn’t die."
"With great difficulty, I also came here and found him."
She looked out the window at the thick night, her gaze as cold as a frozen lake.
"I thought I could at least find some support, or a comrade-in-arms who was equally unwilling and wanted to resist."
"And the result?"
Zhu Zhuqing let out a soft laugh, a laugh without any warmth.
"I found out he had long since become a waste."
"Indulging in wine and women, letting himself go, with no fighting Spirit left, like a fatuous coward."
"From that moment on, I completely understood."
Zhu Zhuqing turned her head back, her gaze falling once more on Lin Qingmo’s face.
This time, her gaze was incredibly clear and firm, like a blade tempered by fire.
"No one can be relied upon—the Family can’t be relied on, the fiancé can’t be relied on. The only one who can grasp fate is myself."
"I must become strong, strong enough to tear apart the net that shrouds me, strong enough to decide where I should stand and how I should live."
"That is my purpose."
She said word by word: "For freedom, to survive, and to live according to my own will."
(End of Chapter)
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