pappabearbooks Chapter 553 Xu Longxiang once again pushes the person he likes to someone else!
Chapter 553 Xu Longxiang once again pushes the person he likes to someone else!
Chen Ruoyao sat there quietly, her mask concealing all her expressions.
But her eyes never left Xu Longxiang.
From his clenched fist to his loosened fingers, from the fleeting struggle on his face to the momentary daze when his gaze returned to her.
She could see it all clearly; she saw Xu Longxiang's hesitation, wavering, retreat, and probing.
Chen Ruoyao sneered inwardly.
This fool has been completely controlled by His Majesty, yet he is still unaware of it.
He thought he was weighing the pros and cons, that he was making a difficult decision, and that he was sacrificing himself for a greater cause.
In reality, he was simply walking step by step down the path that had already been laid out for him, stepping into the very spot His Majesty had calculated, and believing that he could turn back with each step.
Chen Ruoyao didn't speak, but just sat there quietly, waiting for Xu Longxiang to speak first.
Sure enough, Xu Longxiang's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then he turned his head and looked towards the training ground, as if looking for a place to settle down.
He was silent for a moment before speaking again, his voice lower than before, as if he were deliberately suppressing something:
"Miss Suxin...did you hear what that person said just now?"
His tone carried a hint of probing, as if he were confirming something, or perhaps trying to conceal something.
Chen Ruoyao turned her head slightly, glanced at him, and said in a very soft voice, like a statement: "I heard some."
Xu Longxiang's fingers clenched tightly for a moment.
He opened his mouth as if to explain something, but the words caught in his throat before he swallowed them back down.
His gaze fell back towards the training ground, and after a long while, he muttered, "This person is delusional and shameless."
After saying this, Xu Longxiang fell silent.
Because that's not what he really thinks.
What he really wanted to say was, "What do you think, Miss Suxin?"
But he was worried that Su Xin would be angry, so he didn't dare to say it.
After all, this kind of thing is just too humiliating.
Su Xin is the Moon Goddess, how could she be willing to suffer such injustice?
Moreover, Su Xin still likes him.
She would never be willing to submit to someone else.
Xu Longxiang thought to himself.
Chen Ruoyao's eyelashes twitched slightly.
Then she spoke softly, "But we desperately need his strength."
As soon as those words were spoken...
Xu Longxiang's body suddenly stopped.
He turned to look at Chen Ruoyao, his eyes filled with an indescribable complexity: "Miss Suxin... what do you mean by this?"
His voice was a few decibels tighter than before.
Chen Ruoyao did not answer immediately.
She simply shifted her gaze from Xu Longxiang to the gray-clothed figure walking on the distant arena, as if looking at something unrelated to herself.
Then she spoke, her voice as calm as if stating something she had already decided: "What I'm saying is, I'm willing to sacrifice myself for your great cause."
She spoke very calmly, as if she were talking about someone else's affairs.
But when those words reached Xu Longxiang's ears, his pupils suddenly contracted, as if he had been struck by something.
He wanted to say "No need for that" immediately; those four words were almost on his lips, his lips were slightly parted, as if he was about to say them.
But those four words got stuck in my throat once they were on the tip of my tongue.
Xu Longxiang didn't say it, because he suddenly realized that he couldn't bring himself to say it.
That thought...
The thought he had suppressed deep in his heart, the one he himself was unwilling to admit, was gently, like plucking a string on a musical instrument with a feather, stirring the most secret string in his heart.
Xu Longxiang had a voice inside him telling him something.
If the Moon Goddess were truly willing, he could immediately receive the full assistance of that senior.
With Zhao San, Bai Yujing, the Moon Goddess Sect's forces, the 300,000 iron cavalry of the Northern Border, and the alliance with the Northern Barbarians, his chances of winning would rise from less than 50% to over 70%, or even higher.
The moment this thought came to mind, Xu Longxiang felt a surge of inexplicable excitement, but at the same time, he also felt an equally inexplicable nausea.
He felt as if he were being torn apart by two forces at the same time: on one side was reason and ambition, and on the other was the little dignity he had left.
Xu Longxiang opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the words were stuck in his throat, as if something was choking him.
Besides, he was also moved because the Moon Goddess said that she was willing to do this for his great cause.
What does this mean? It means that the Moon Goddess has feelings for him.
Chen Ruoyao looked at him quietly.
She saw the fleeting excitement in his eyes, the self-loathing he struggled to suppress after that excitement, and his open mouth and silent throat.
She sneered inwardly. This man who claimed to like her was now seriously considering using her to exchange for the loyalty of a powerful figure.
How much is this so-called liking really worth?
That's disgusting.
But her face was expressionless; the mask concealed all her emotions, leaving only her quiet eyes visible.
She spoke again, her voice even softer than before, carrying a just-right, insincere gentleness:
"Don't worry, I won't let him get away with this."
When those words were spoken, the chord that had been plucked in Xu Longxiang's heart finally stopped trembling.
Those hesitations and struggles seemed to have been soothed by something.
He heard himself say a sentence, faster than he expected, so fast that it slipped out of his mouth before he could even fully process it:
"Then... I'm sorry to trouble you."
Xu Longxiang was stunned for a moment after saying that.
He didn't understand why he spoke so naturally and smoothly. Was it because he had already had this experience a few times, so this time it went so smoothly too?
Xu Longxiang paused for a moment, feeling utterly unfamiliar with himself as he thought about his current state.
Chen Ruoyao's lips curved slightly.
Her gaze fell on Xu Longxiang's face, her voice carrying just the right amount of composure: "It's all for the greater cause. This little thing is nothing, and besides, as long as we succeed, none of this matters."
Xu Longxiang did not respond.
He stood there, his gaze fixed on Chen Ruoyao's mask, his lips moving slightly as if he wanted to say something more.
But in the end, he swallowed those words back, along with the thought that was still gently echoing in his mind.
Xu Longxiang turned around and looked back towards the training ground, his voice regaining its usual calm: "Then I'll go find him and tell him you agree."
After saying this, he didn't turn around and walked towards the gray-clothed figure at the edge of the training ground.
Chen Ruoyao sat on the edge of the high platform, watching that figure gradually walk away into the distance.
Through the mask, the corners of her mouth slowly and silently curved upwards, like a flower quietly blooming in the shadows.
When Xu Longxiang walked back to the old locust tree, Qin Mu was leaning against the trunk, his posture relaxed.
His gaze was fixed on the distant arena, not on Xu Longxiang.
Xu Longxiang stopped in front of him without saying a word.
He was silent for a moment.
Then he spoke, his voice much calmer than before: "I agree."
Qin Mu did not respond immediately.
He glanced at Xu Longxiang, then looked back at the arena, as if waiting for him to finish speaking.
Xu Longxiang did indeed have more to say.
He stood half a step away from the stone table, his gaze not on Qin Mu, but on the trunk of the old locust tree, as if speaking to the tree: "However, you can't force it."
Qin Mu finally turned his head.
He looked at Xu Longxiang and smiled slightly, "Forced? What constitutes forced?"
Xu Longxiang's fingers curled slightly inside his sleeve:
"She has her own wishes. You can try to win her over, but you can't force her. If she doesn't want to, you can't do anything to her."
After he said that, he himself found it somewhat ridiculous.
A man who is willing to give up the woman beside him is still talking about "not being able to force" her.
But he still said it.
Perhaps it was meant for Qin Mu, or perhaps it was meant for himself.
Qin Mu looked at him for a while, then smiled, a smile that held an unfathomable meaning: "Okay. I promise you."
He agreed so quickly that Xu Longxiang became somewhat uncertain.
But he couldn't show this uncertainty; he simply nodded.
Qin Mu then asked, "What's her name?"
Xu Longxiang was silent for a moment.
"Pure Heart".
When he finished speaking those two words, a complex mix of emotions welled up inside him: frustration, discomfort, bitterness, and even a hint of excitement that he couldn't quite explain.
Qin Mu nodded, his gaze lingering on Xu Longxiang's face for a moment before he straightened up and adjusted his robes.
"Su Xin, what a nice name. I'll go find her now."
Xu Longxiang stood there, watching the figure in the gray robe walk towards the high platform, the figure gradually disappearing into the distance.
The autumn wind blew from the direction of the training ground, carrying a few withered yellow leaves that swirled around his feet.
He suddenly felt a little cold.
Xu Longxiang slowly loosened his clenched fingers. He knew this wasn't the first time he'd done something like this, and it might not be the last.
But each time, the reason "for the greater cause" became thinner and thinner, so thin that he could hardly see it anymore.
He lowered his eyes, as if putting that thought into a box he didn't want to open for the time being, and then raised his head again.
He turned around and didn't look in that direction again.
When Xu Longxiang found Bai Yujing, Bai Yujing was standing under a willow tree at the edge of the training ground.
Most of the leaves on that willow tree had fallen, and the few remaining branches drooped in the wind, occasionally brushing against his shoulder before falling back to their original place.
He wasn't looking at the ring or the crowd; he just stood there quietly, as if waiting for Xu Longxiang to arrive.
Xu Longxiang walked up to him and stood still, without rushing to speak.
He also looked towards the arena, as if he were looking at something that had nothing to do with him.
The two stood side by side, an arm's length apart, in silence for a while.
Then Xu Longxiang spoke first, his voice hoarse:
"Mr. Bai, I had wanted to have a chat with you while we were offstage earlier."