The windows of the cool pavilion were wide open on all four sides. Archers surrounded the area with arrows nocked, but since the Crown Prince was inside, they could only remain on alert, ready to seize the right moment to act.

There was a thud, and the sound of a qin, clear and spiritual, came from inside.

Everyone stopped in their tracks at the same time. The music from within floated out, heralding the knowledge of spring's arrival, with a light breeze and the splendid early spring vista thriving and brimming with life, lighthearted and brisk.

It was as if the severe winter was passing, and soon, spring would come, bringing growth to all. From such a piece of music, anyone could hear the hope in the heart of the player, as if he had stepped out of despair and seen the light of hope.

"That An Jin...sigh!" Xie Jing sighed softly.

An Jin's skill with the qin was indeed unparalleled; even when he was still in the music academy at a young age, he was already outstanding.

Ran Yan didn't understand these things, but she also felt that he played well. A person not very old, yet with masterful qin skills, bravery, wisdom, and high martial arts proficiency... These weren't favors bestowed by the heavens, but the result of his relentless self-encouragement and persistent effort amidst adversity.

Clang!

The sound of the qin abruptly stopped, followed by the sound of a loud crash inside the cool pavilion.

One could imagine that the qin player must have smashed the qin without warning.

The scent of osmanthus wafted as Li Chengqian lay tied up and resting sideways on a couch in the cool pavilion, staring in shock at the broken wood and snapped strings scattered all over the floor.

An Jin stepped forward with a sword, cutting the ropes that bound Li Chengqian and shoved the sword into his hands, "I'm giving you a chance to kill me."

Li Chengqian forcefully threw aside the sword and grabbed his hand, saying, "An Jin, stop joking."

"Let go of your hand." An Jin looked at him coldly, "Your touch only makes me feel disgusted!"

"An Jin..." Li Chengqian slowly released his hand. He understood the situation well but was afraid to confront it.

"You gave me unlimited indulgence, unlimited power, but Crown Prince, as long as I am alright, as long as I am still a man, I can work hard to free myself from lowly status, return to my hometown, marry a wife, raise a family, and carry on the lineage of the An family!" An Jin's eyes reddened, but no tears fell.

His tears had already run dry.

That incident was a nightmare that could never be absolved; he dreamed every night of unexplainedly fainting in the music academy and waking up on a morning after an unknown number of days had passed, with something taken from his body.

He had attempted suicide several times, but people closely supervised him. He knew martial arts, yet under those circumstances, he could not muster even a hint of strength. He felt his world collapse in an instant, everything he saw filled with despair. He had secretly trained in martial arts and studied, enduring hardships many times over what ordinary people faced, but all this effort, at that moment, simply went down the drain, meaningless.

Just as Ran Yan had said, choosing to live in a desperate situation required even greater courage. An Jin sustained himself on hatred and despair to continue living.

Watching An Jin, who appeared calm but seemed to have long since become hysterical, Li Chengqian felt a sharp pain in his heart. He did not fancy men, had never even tried to touch another man—just the thought repelled him. It was just that, the person he fell in love with happened to be a man.

He had fantasized countless times about being intimate with An Jin, but he had never forced the issue. His love had remained pure, never once tainted with a hint of lust.

So humbly, he only wished for the person he loved, the person who understood him, to walk with him forever, till their hair turned white.

But at this moment, Li Chengqian's hopes shattered just like the qin in An Jin's hands, all over the ground.

An Jin looked at him and smiled faintly, no different from before.

Only now did Li Chengqian understand that all the gentleness, all the smiles, were just a facade; An Jin hated him, and hatred was all there was.

The people waiting below felt they could not delay any longer, so He Sizheng ordered someone to call out.

A guard with a robust voice said, "An Jin! Release the Crown Prince, and you will be granted an intact corpse!"

At that moment, An Jin was lifting a jug of wine to pour, but upon hearing these words, he burst into laughter. His laughter was so strong that his hand became unsteady, spilling wine all over the table.

A hissing sound began as the wine started to corrode the wood of the table.

"Poisoned wine!" Li Chengqian exclaimed, rushing forward to snatch it away. But unbeknownst to him, An Jin knew Martial Arts and easily dodged his attempt.

An Jin walked towards the window, one hand holding the jug and the other a wine bowl.

Knowing there were archers below, Li immediately followed and shouted loudly to those below, "Do not shoot arrows! Whoever dares shoot, treat it as the crime of plotting to murder the Crown Prince!"

When An Jin appeared at the window, it was a perfect opportunity for the archers, but they were stunned by Li Chengqian's words and dared not shoot rashly.

A few archers were very close to Xiao Song. He took a swift moment to ponder and then let Li Chengqian go. It was best if he survived, but it would be easier if he died. With those words, Xiao Song could absolve himself of responsibility before the Emperor. After all, the Emperor had never said to depose Li Chengqian, and as long as Li Chengqian was still the Crown Prince, his words held weight.

Ran Yan looked up to see An Jin, dressed in loose robes, leaning against the window, holding a bowl of wine with a relaxed air, his eyes looking down at the feather arrows aimed at him, as if he were a breathtaking man admiring the scenery.

"An intact corpse? Who can give me an intact corpse?" An Jin scoffed coldly.

"An Jin, do not drink it, do not drink," Li Chengqian was as if speaking to An Jin, yet it seemed like he was muttering to himself.

However, in the midst of his voice, An Jin tilted his head back and drained a bowl of wine, then he lifted the jug to pour himself another.

Li Chengqian, as if mad, lunged at him, but An Jin was faster, swooping down from the tower like a hawk.

Ran Yan's heart skipped a beat, vaguely guessing what he intended to do, and she immediately said to Xiao Song, "He knows Martial Arts, and his skill is not low."

Xiao Song immediately raised his voice, "Be alert, the criminal is skilled in Martial Arts!"

The instant An Jin landed, Ran Yan caught sight of his lips curving into a smile—his striking face momentarily like that of a devil.

With a clang, he threw the wine at the Archers, and a cold glint flashed as he shook a long sword from his wide sleeves, slicing into the midst of the archers like a specter.

Arrows were deadly at a certain range but were almost useless at close quarters against a master like An Jin.

In the blink of an eye, the ground below was a maelstrom of blood and carnage.

Blood stained his undyed robe, blooming into blossoms of red plum.

"Bow and arrows," Xiao Song said.

Someone promptly brought him a bow with three feather arrows. Ran Yan pressed her lips together, not uttering a word. Tragic as An Jin's plight was, they could not allow more innocent lives to be lost at his hands.

Xiao Song nocked an arrow to the bowstring, waiting for the opportune moment. With a whoosh, the arrow flew like lightning towards An Jin, who deflected it with his sword. Quickly following that, a second arrow shot towards his chest. The poison An Jin had ingested had started to take effect; he could barely divert the arrow, which grazed past his rib side. However, before he could raise his sword to defend, a third arrow, charged with an earth-shattering force, had already pierced his chest!

These three arrows—feinting and relentless—would have been difficult to dodge even if An Jin had not been poisoned.

Li Chengqian, who had just run down from the tower, saw what happened to An Jin and, ignoring the multitude of arrows, rushed towards him without hesitation. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) and cast your recommendation ticket and monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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