Chapter 921: Don't Cry

While Li Fu was letting his imagination run wild, the imperial shadow spoke again:

"You, what is your name?"

"...Li Fu."

"Fu? Which Fu?"

"The Fu of subversion."

Hearing this answer, the dim imperial shadow was slightly startled, and then a faint smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

He stepped on the void, walked down from the empty throne, and the imperial robe in the candlelight carried vast imperial might as he walked slowly toward Li Fu.

"In the dark, there is a destiny... I know that the Imperial Path will eventually reappear one day."

"You cannot bear the imperial fate, my soul can bear it for you..."

"I just don't know, after my soul intervenes, how much of yourself can you keep?"

The imperial shadow grew larger in Li Fu’s eyes, and a wave of fear surged into Li Fu’s heart. He instinctively wanted to stay away from the imperial shadow, but under the imperial pressure, his legs were like they had been nailed to the ground, unable to move a single bit!

The imperial shadow and Li Fu’s figure grew closer and closer, and the candlelight road on both sides also extinguished toward the center. When the imperial shadow and Li Fu completely overlapped, the last few wisps of candlelight suddenly disappeared, and the entire hall fell into abyss-like darkness again!

The next moment, a heart-wrenching wail resounded through the hall!

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Even Li Fu, who was always good at enduring, couldn't help but roar hysterically. As the imperial shadow’s soul merged into his body, his consciousness felt like it was being torn in half. Another personality, older and heavier than his own, burrowed into his memories, and the sharp pain from his soul filled his mind!

In a trance, Li Fu seemed to be suddenly placed in ancient times, pushing for new policies in the desert of civilization; sometimes he came to a chaotic battlefield, leading troops to fight in blood; sometimes he stood on the peak of the border, and as he raised his hand, the Great Wall was slowly built; sometimes he was in a continuous magnificent hall, overlooking the world kneeling at his feet...

More than forty years of life were stuffed into Li Fu’s mind all at once, like a surging river pouring into a lake, washing Li Fu’s own memories and consciousness into pieces. Unknowingly, some of his concepts and thoughts changed during the fusion of the two.

"I am... Li Fu... I am not Ying Zheng... I am Li Fu..."

Li Fu’s painful voice rang out from the darkness. He was trying his best to retain his true nature amidst the impact of the soul intervention.

If he couldn't do it, then everything about him would be assimilated by that soul, and Li Fu would disappear from the world completely.

"I am Li Fu... I am Li Fu!! I am not Ying Zheng! I am Li Fu!!"

"I am... I am..."

Li Fu’s voice grew smaller and smaller. His body curled up in the darkness, like a weary, aged soul.

At the same time, surging imperial might poured into Li Fu’s body. Under the nourishment of that soul, his height grew visibly, and his facial features and limbs underwent subtle changes. Time washed over his body, and his temperament underwent earth-shaking changes.

The hall fell into dead silence.

……

A-Qian opened her eyes dimly in the ruins.

The first thing that caught her eyes was a lead-gray sky so oppressive it was almost suffocating. She stayed in place, dazed for a while, before turning her head stiffly to look around...

"...Brother Li?"

The daze in A-Qian’s eyes faded. She immediately began to search for Li Fu in the ruins, calling out while using her hands to struggle to push aside every heavy stone, her little face full of anxiety.

But she searched every corner of the ruins and didn't find Li Fu’s shadow. Her panicked heart sank to the bottom, and she was trembling with anxiety.

"Brother Li!!"

A-Qian kept calling out until her throat was a bit hoarse, but she still didn't give up.

CREAK—

I don't know how much time passed, but a low roar came from behind her.

The heavy door of the hall opened slowly, and from the abyss-like darkness, a young man wearing simple hemp clothes walked out slowly...

He was very tall, his ink-black eyebrows were as sharp as swords, the corners of his eyes were slightly upturned, and his messy black hair fell to his shoulders. He looked like a beggar, but in his every move, there was an indescribable majestic temperament.

A-Qian turned to look, and seeing that person, she suddenly froze in place...

She looked at the strange yet familiar figure and said uncertainly: "...Brother Li?"

The young man ignored her call, walked through the ruins alone, and walked forward without looking back.

After confirming it several times, A-Qian finally stopped hesitating. She immediately ran toward the young man, shouting with a hint of crying in her voice:

"Brother Li, where did you just go?? I looked for a long time and couldn't find you, I was so afraid something happened to you..."

"Brother Li, why did you grow taller? And you look a bit different too..."

"Brother Li, why aren't you answering me..."

A-Qian reached out her hand, wanting to grab the young man’s hem like usual, but every time before her hand touched it, the young man would flicker forward like a ghost, lightly avoiding her fingertips.

A-Qian grabbed several times, and seeing that the young man had no reaction and didn't even look back, she stopped her footsteps slowly in a daze.

She looked at the young man’s departing back, and her eyes turned red immediately.

"Brother Li, did I do something wrong?"

"If I did something wrong, tell me, I will definitely change it... Can you please not ignore me?"

"Brother Li..."

A-Qian’s tears flowed out in grievance. She didn't know what had happened to Li Fu, nor why he didn't pay attention to her. The fear brought by this strangeness and unknown could easily shatter a girl’s heart.

She ran forward desperately, wanting to hug the young man’s waist, but just as she was about to catch up, she stumbled and fell heavily to the ground, her whole body splashed with dust and mud.

A-Qian hugged her blood-stained elbow, her face twisted in pain, and sobbing sounds rang out in the wind.

The young man who was walking indifferently stopped slowly.

He stood there for a long time, but still turned to look. Seeing A-Qian, who had fallen and was covered in blood, crying uncontrollably on the ground, his pupils trembled imperceptibly...

A strange emotion surged into his heart, and those indifferent eyes began to recover a trace of emotion, as if a certain personality deep in his soul began to overlap with him.

He sighed deeply.

The young man was silent for a moment, but finally took a step, turned back, and walked to A-Qian’s side.

A-Qian curled up on the ground, already crying into a tear-stained mess. Seeing the young man walk over, her crying finally weakened a little, and her young eyes were filled with deep fear and worry...

The next moment, the young man’s palm gently stroked the top of her head, and a mature and gentle voice rang out in the wind:

"A-Qian, don't cry..."

Hearing these four words, A-Qian’s pursed lips trembled again. She finally let go of all her worries and fears, threw herself into the young man’s arms, and wailed even louder.