Chapter 176: 194. Zhu Zhuqing's Death
Between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire lay a dense forest. If one did not take the official road, they would have to face the dangers and accidents within the jungle. Soul beasts that roamed about could bring fatal peril to Zhu Zhuqing at any moment. Confronting these terrifying soul beasts, her only option was to keep fleeing.
Of course, even more terrifying were the pursuers behind her.
She ran until she was gasping for breath. When she lay down under a tree to rest, an arrow whistled through the air and embedded itself in the tree right next to her head.
"My good sister, where exactly are you planning to go?"
Zhu Zhuqing fixed her gaze and saw Zhu Zhuyun leading the Zhu family's trained soul master private soldiers appearing ahead of her.
"Sister, even at this point, you still don't intend to let me go?" Zhu Zhuqing demanded.
"Let you go?" Zhu Zhuyun replied. "If I let you go, my position as empress would never feel secure."
Zhu Zhuqing forced her weary body to hurry deeper into the jungle.
"Chase her," Zhu Zhuyun ordered.
And so, under Zhu Zhuyun's relentless pursuit, Zhu Zhuqing didn't dare stop for even a moment. She drew closer and closer to the border of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Neither of these two groups noticed that atop the distant mountain peaks sat a man of short stature, cloaked in a way that obscured his face. He spoke in a child's voice: "Aiya, little girl, I can tell you're trying to drive your sister toward the Heaven Dou side. But sometimes being too soft-hearted won't do. Let this old man lend you a hand."
How could a level 27 great soul master like Zhu Zhuqing possibly escape the layered pursuit of the Star Luo Zhu family's soul master private soldiers? This glaring flaw was obvious to any outsider at a glance.
As they closed in on Zhu Zhuqing, Zhu Zhuyun commanded: "Loose arrows! Shoot her down!"
Her subordinates halted in their tracks, raised their bows, and took aim at Zhu Zhuqing, inadvertently revealing the slightest opening.
Several kilometers away, the cloaked figure produced a bow that emanated chilling frost. He casually drew an ordinary arrow, nocked it, and locked onto his target—
The arrows fired by those men swept past Zhu Zhuqing's surroundings as if traced in outline.
With agile grace, Zhu Zhuqing dodged the barrage of arrows hurtling from behind. She had already spotted the forest's exit, and hope for survival flooded her heart.
Almost there. Once she crossed this forest, she would be in Heaven Dou Empire territory, and then she would be safe.
A silent arrow streaked through the air from several kilometers distant. Just as Zhu Zhuqing was on the verge of bursting out of the forest, the shaft pierced straight through her back, transfixing her heart and emerging from her chest.
From behind, the pursuing Zhu Zhuyun watched as her sister's body arched halfway, her hair in wild disarray, blood and flesh erupting from her chest. Then Zhu Zhuqing's body collapsed to the ground.
"Zhuqing!" Zhu Zhuyun cried out, rushing to her sister's side. She saw Zhu Zhuqing lying in the muddy forest floor, her eyes glazed and unfocused, a pool of blood spreading across her back.
Zhu Zhuyun cradled Zhu Zhuqing's corpse and wept uncontrollably. She had never intended to kill her sister; she still harbored genuine feelings for her. Yet their fates were destined to collide. In Zhu Zhuyun's original plan, she meant to herd Zhu Zhuqing into the Heaven Dou Empire, let her witness just how worthless her fiancé was, shatter any lingering will to compete, and force her to hide away obediently for the rest of her life.
This was the final kindness this sister could offer her—who could have foreseen this?
With tears blurring her vision, Zhu Zhuyun turned to glare at her followers and demanded: "Who shot that arrow?"
The Zhu family archers exchanged uneasy glances. One of them picked up the arrow and approached Zhu Zhuyun, explaining that it could not possibly have come from any of them.
Not one of my people? Zhu Zhuyun was momentarily stunned. A possibility dawned on her: Davis didn't fully trust her and had dispatched another force to lie in wait for Zhu Zhuqing along the Star Luo-Heaven Dou border.
This struck her as the most plausible explanation. In anguish, she reached out to brush Zhu Zhuqing's cheek, gently closing her eyes. "Sister, this is the inescapable fate that befalls us women of the Zhu family. At least in death, you won't have to learn what a utter failure your fiancé truly is. All the injustices you've endured—someday, I'll reclaim them from him."
Zhu Zhuyun gathered Zhu Zhuqing's body and led her troops back.
"Work's done. Heading home." The black-cloaked elder with the child's voice stowed his bow and turned to depart.
Far away in Soto City, Dai Mubai was bidding farewell with a kiss to a pair of twin siblings. He had severed every tie he could and made preparations to receive Zhu Zhuqing's arrival.
But suddenly, a wave of unease washed over him, as if a chunk of his flesh had been brutally torn away.
Dai Mubai felt a moment of disorientation. "What's happening to me?"
Zhu Zhuyun returned to the Star Luo Empire with Zhu Zhuqing's corpse. The Zhu family held a funeral for this scion of the royal line. After the burial, Zhu Zhuyun reported the outcome of the operation to Davis.
Davis nodded in satisfaction. "Zhuyun, you've done well. With Zhu Zhuqing gone, that waste Dai Mubai has no chance left at all."
"My sister is dead now. Does the ceremony still proceed?" Zhu Zhuyun inquired.
"Of course it does," Davis replied. "Once selected as heir, one must face that competition after turning twenty-five. If you fail to protect your partner in the process, that's on your own incompetence—but you still have to compete."
A glint of cold resolve flashed in Zhu Zhuyun's eyes. "Davis, when that battle comes in the future, will you let me handle Dai Mubai?"
"You..." Davis said. "Of course. You won't let me down, will you?"
"Of course not."
On the Douluo Continent, death was not the end. As long as a person's soul endured, they could either reincarnate or, with the mighty power of the gods, reverse life and death itself.
Zhu Zhuqing's soul remained intact after her death. Within it, she witnessed the aftermath: her sister collecting her body and transporting it back to the Star Luo Empire for burial.
Only in death did she finally understand that her sister had no desire to kill her. The true culprit was someone else entirely. But with her life ended, pursuing the truth served no purpose.
To think, in the end, this is where I stop. A flicker of sorrow passed through Zhu Zhuqing's eyes. Suddenly, a torrent of memories surged into her soul.
It was as if she lived through an entire lifetime once more!
She possessed a previous life. In that prior existence, amid her sister's pursuit, no mishap befell her, and she successfully fled to the Heaven Dou Empire.
In Soto City, Zhu Zhuqing beheld Dai Mubai embracing a pair of twins. Her heart turned to ash in that moment, yet compelled by their martial soul fusion, she ultimately joined Shrek Academy and forgave Dai Mubai, who in turn mended his ways.
With Tang San's aid, they vanquished Dai Mubai's elder brother and her own sister. They ultimately triumphed in the war against the Spirit Hall and ascended to godhood.
(END CHAPTER)
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