aircannonsinc Chapter 194 I can be shameless whenever I want, what can you do about it?
Chapter 194 I can be shameless whenever I want, what can you do about it?
Xiao Yu stared blankly at Qin Mu, her eyes filled with confusion.
She didn't quite understand what those words meant.
But she had a vague feeling that His Majesty was talking about something important.
About her.
Regarding her choice just now.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know what to say.
He could only lower his head again and bury his face in the shadows.
"Your Majesty...this humble woman...this humble woman is just..."
Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, broken and intermittent.
She didn't know what to say.
She just can't do it.
There's just nothing we can do about it.
only--
She didn't know how to describe that feeling.
Seeing her like this, Qin Mu didn't say anything more.
He simply reached out and gently patted her head, as if comforting a well-behaved pet.
Xiao Yu's body stiffened slightly, then relaxed.
She lowered her head, letting that warm hand land on her head.
Tears welled up in her eyes again.
This time, it's not fear.
It's an emotion that's hard to describe.
Warmth, grievance, and a strange sense of relief at being understood.
And at that very moment—
"snort."
A cold snort broke the brief silence.
Zhao Qingxue.
She remained seated at the far end of the carriage, her back ramrod straight, her deep purple phoenix eyes coldly fixed on Qin Mu.
The moonlight cast dappled shadows on her face, revealing an undisguised mockery on her stunning features.
"Qin Mu," she began, her voice cold and sharp like the clash of jade, "do you think everyone is as shameless as you?"
Those words were like a sharp blade tempered in ice, piercing straight at Qin Mu.
Xiao Yu's body stiffened abruptly, and she subconsciously looked up at Zhao Qingxue.
She saw flames of anger burning in those deep purple phoenix eyes.
They also saw what was hidden beneath the flames.
What is that?
She doesn't understand.
But she could sense that it was an emotion deeper and more complex than anger.
Qin Mu simply smiled at Zhao Qingxue's words, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.
"Shameless?"
He repeated the two words softly, as if savoring their meaning.
Then he nodded.
"That's right, I am shameless."
He admitted it frankly and openly, without any attempt to conceal it, and even with a hint of self-righteousness.
Zhao Qingxue frowned slightly.
She didn't expect Qin Mu to answer like that.
She thought he would defend himself, refute her, and use his high-sounding rhetoric to whitewash himself.
But he didn't.
He admitted it outright.
"So what if they're shameless?"
Qin Mu continued, his tone calm, yet each word clear:
"I have the right to be shameless."
His gaze fell on Zhao Qingxue's face, and in her deep eyes, there was a light she had never seen before.
That's not showing off.
It's not a provocation.
Rather, it is a calm and composed statement of facts.
"I possess immense power."
"I have great power."
"I possess immense power."
He spoke slowly and deliberately, each word like a boulder pressing down on Zhao Qingxue's heart.
"Therefore, I can be shameless whenever I want."
"What can you do to me?"
Zhao Qingxue's pupils contracted slightly.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found herself speechless.
Yes.
What can she do to him?
He was the Emperor of Qin, a powerful figure capable of crushing the Emperor's edicts with a flick of his wrist, and an existence that even Li Chunfeng was helpless against.
And she—
He is a prisoner.
They were prisoners sitting in his carriage, being taken to unknown lands by him.
What right does she have to criticize him?
What ability do they have to resist him?
Is there any way?
Change all of this?
Zhao Qingxue closed her eyes.
She felt a sudden, unprecedented sense of powerlessness.
That sense of powerlessness did not come from defeat, capture, or any external oppression.
Rather, it comes from the depths of one's heart, from that one fact that is finally forced to be acknowledged—
Faced with someone who possesses absolute power yet is shamelessly brazen.
She really had no other choice.
Language is powerless before him.
Dignity is utterly vulnerable in his presence.
Anger was like punching cotton in front of him, not even causing a ripple.
Zhao Qingxue slowly opened her eyes.
The burning flames in his deep purple phoenix eyes gradually died down.
Instead, there was an almost calm, resigned feeling...
No.
It's not about accepting fate.
It's something else.
She couldn't explain what it was.
But she knew that at this moment, she was no longer able to argue with this man.
She could only—
and so on.
Waiting for the Imperial Preceptor.
Wait until the sun is gone.
Waiting for any possible turning point.
Zhao Qingxue's gaze pierced through the gaps in the car wall, looking at the fleeting moonlight outside the window.
The moonlight was bright and cool, shining through the forest, on the mountain road, and behind the carriage heading into the unknown.
Imperial Preceptor...
She whispered silently.
You absolutely must come.
Absolutely.
Behind her, at the receding Nujiang ferry crossing—
Li Chunfeng slowly stood up.
The moonlight shone on his aged face, making the wrinkles etched by time exceptionally clear.
Kneeling before him was Hu Er, a lean middle-aged man who called himself "the manager of the Nujiang Gang's fleet."
Hu Er trembled violently, his forehead pressed against the cold ground, afraid to look up.
Behind him were the boatmen, also being escorted by the Imperial Guards, huddled together in fear.
They've all confessed.
Under Li Chunfeng's interrogation and the oppressive aura of that half-step immortal, they confessed everything they knew, didn't know, guessed, and heard—
They confessed to everything.
The Nujiang Gang's backer is the Northern Border.
He was the grain and fodder transport commissioner under the General of Fuyuan, Shen Zhong.
He was a trusted confidant whom the Xu family had cultivated for many years and placed in a key position.
They helped the Nujiang Gang to smooth things over and protected them as they ran rampant in the area.
The Nujiang Gang provided them with manpower, relayed messages, and even—
This boat tonight was prepared by the Nujiang Gang on orders.
By whose orders?
By order of Shen Zhong.
Whose orders was Shen Zhong acting on?
Hu Er didn't know.
But he knelt on the ground, trembling, and uttered one sentence:
"Lord Shen... is General Xu's man."
General Xu.
Xu Longxiang.
Li Chunfeng listened quietly.
Under the moonlight, his aged face was expressionless.
Only in the depths of those half-closed eyes surged complex emotions that were difficult to describe.
for a long time.
He spoke.
The voice was old and ethereal, drifting away in the night wind.
"It really is the North..."
he murmured.
His white beard fluttered gently in the night breeze, and his greyish-white Taoist robe rustled in the wind.
His gaze was fixed on the north.
There, the night was deep, and the stars and moon were dim.
That's the direction of the North.
That's also the direction Xu Longxiang is in.
Li Chunfeng closed his eyes, then opened them again.
Those eyes, once so insightful, were now filled with only a cold, clear glimmer.
He remembered everything that had happened that night.
Dense fog.
A giant dragon.
The edict of Emperor Taizu has been dispelled.
His Majesty has disappeared.
and also--
The black figure that emerged from the dragon's body.
Black crow.
One of Xu Longxiang's five top advisors, at the early stage of the Celestial Phenomenon Realm, specializing in stealth, assassination, and intelligence infiltration.
His lightness skill was unparalleled in the Northern Territory. He once infiltrated the Northern Mang royal court alone and returned unharmed with the enemy chieftain's head seven days later.
He was Xu Longxiang's most trusted hidden blade.
All the clues, all the evidence, all the testimonies—
They are all pointing in the same direction.
north.
Xu Longxiang.
Li Chunfeng's fingers slowly tightened inside his sleeve.
The knuckles turned slightly white from the exertion, and the veins on the back of the hand were faintly visible.
He remembered Xu Longxiang's eyes.
Those eyes that looked towards His Majesty from outside the east gate of the imperial city—
Eyes burning with complex emotions.
In that gaze, there was admiration, longing, and an almost obsessive possessiveness.
At the time, he just felt it was inappropriate.
Thinking back now—
That was clearly the look a hunter gives his prey.
It's him.
It must be him.
Xu Longxiang has long coveted Your Majesty.
He sent men to kidnap His Majesty, intending to seize him for himself.
He used the Nujiang Gang, Shen Zhong, and all available resources.
He set up this trap, waiting for His Majesty to walk right into it.
And they—
He, Fang Hecheng, and all the Imperial Guards of Liyang—
They were completely unaware.
Li Chunfeng paused slightly in his breathing.
He felt a chill run down his spine.
Xu Longxiang.
The prince of the Northern Border who suffered humiliation in the capital and was publicly shamed by Qin Mu.
That young man who lost his older sister, his childhood sweetheart, and was driven to the brink of despair.
He thought he would be patient, wait, and accumulate strength.
But unexpectedly—
He actually dared to do such a thing.
They kidnapped Empress Li Yang.
This is going to provoke a major war between the two countries.
This would drag the entire Eastern Continent into war.
Has he gone mad?
Li Chunfeng didn't know.
But he knew one thing—
After tonight, there will be no turning back for either Liyang or the Northern Border.
He slowly turned around and looked at the multi-story ship moored on the riverbank.
On the boat, Fang Hecheng was reorganizing the Imperial Guards, taking inventory of personnel, and preparing to cross the river overnight.
Liyang is on the opposite bank.
Your Majesty is on the other side.
He has to go back.
Everything that happened tonight must be reported to the court.
Gu Jiantang must know, Zhang Julu must know, and all the officials of Liyang must know—
Their emperor has been kidnapped.
Xu Longxiang, the Crown Prince of the Northern Border.
Li Chunfeng took a deep breath.
The night wind, carrying the moisture from the Nu River, rushed into my lungs, chilling me to the bone.
He strode towards the ship.
His greyish-white Taoist robe billowed in the night wind, and his silvery-white beard and hair fluttered wildly in the breeze.
His steps were slow and heavy.
Every step felt like walking on a knife's edge.
Every step felt like walking into an unavoidable storm.
And on that mountain road that was gradually receding into the distance.
Inside that carriage heading towards the imperial city.
The moonlight remained cold and clear.
The sound of horses' hooves still lingered.
Zhao Qingxue closed her eyes and leaned against the car wall.
Countless images flashed through her mind.
Imperial Advisor.
Liyang.
Gu Jiantang.
Zhang Julu.
A million-strong army.
Lancang River.
as well as--
The shameless man sitting right across from her at that moment.
Her fingers slowly tightened inside her sleeve.
She didn't know what judgment the Imperial Advisor would make.
It's unclear how Li Yang will react.
I don't know where this game will ultimately lead.
But she knew one thing—
She will never give in.
I will never yield to this man.
We will never yield to any power.
Because she is Zhao Qingxue.
She is Empress Li Yang.
She was the woman who made the vow to "unify the nine provinces" on the star-gazing platform.
She slowly opened her eyes.
The helplessness and confusion that had flashed across her deep purple phoenix eyes had receded like the tide.
All that remains is a cold, hard, and unmelting expanse—
Resolute.
The moonlight shone on her face, outlining the cold and aloof contours of her stunningly beautiful features.
Qin Mu looked at her quietly.
Looking at the rekindled flame in her eyes.
He smiled.
"Your Majesty," he began, his tone still languid, "what are you thinking about?"
Zhao Qingxue did not look at him.
He simply said:
"I'm thinking about how to kill you."
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?" He sat up slightly, looking at her with interest. "Have you figured it out yet?"
Zhao Qingxue finally turned her head and looked at his face.
The moonlight was reflected in his deep purple phoenix eyes, as was his smiling face.
She stared at him for a long time.
So long that the air inside the carriage seemed to freeze.
Then she spoke.
The voice was calm, yet every word was clear:
"I've figured it out."
Qin Mu's eyebrows twitched slightly.
Zhao Qingxue continued:
"But I won't tell you."
Qin Mu was stunned for a moment.
Then he smiled.
The laughter was soft, yet exceptionally clear in the quiet carriage.
"it is good."
He said.
"Then I'll be waiting."
Under the moonlight, the two looked at each other.
One was as cold as ice, the other was all smiles.
A prisoner, a player.
One is waiting for a turning point, while the other is admiring its prey.
And in that exchange of glances, something was subtly changing.
What is that?
Nobody knows.
Only the carriage continued on its way, crushing fallen leaves, crushing withered branches, crushing through the long and endless night.