Untouchable Lovers-Chapter 168 - 151: Life and Death or Dignity

Chapter 168: Chapter 151: Life and Death or Dignity

Rong Zhi walked step by step, slowly toward the open space ahead.

Although He Jue allowed him to move, he still remained highly vigilant, ready to react immediately to any unexpected move from Rong Zhi.

He wasn’t afraid of whatever Rong Zhi was planning.

He Jue had confidence in himself; no matter how great Rong Zhi’s understanding of swordsmanship might be, the body was fundamental. With his body so frail, even the highest swordsmanship couldn’t be of much use.

He just waited to see Rong Zhi’s so-called peerless swordsmanship.

Watching Rong Zhi reach the clearing, Chu Yu suddenly had a very ominous premonition. At that moment, Rong Zhi flashed a smile, different from any he had shown before—arrogant, mocking, and slightly cunning.

For the first time, his normally restrained dark eyes sparkled with a captivating radiance, making his entire being seem transformed. Even in the dim twilight, both Chu Yu and He Jue could see the incredible beauty on his pale and exquisite face, like the final bloom of a flower, like the clear, dying song of a nightingale.

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Rong Zhi didn’t look at Chu Yu; he gazed at He Jue, his lips curling into a sly smile, but his eyes held something akin to frosty, ruthless determination, “No one can kill me, except myself.” Having said that, he leapt backward, jumping off the cliff without any warning.

In front of a stunned Chu Yu, in the presence of He Jue who was too late to intervene.

Chu Yu stood frozen in place as she finally remembered where that ominous feeling had come from—it was the cliff behind Rong Zhi, which she had overlooked due to the fading light.

Rong Zhi was someone cruel to himself, but that cruelty was based on strong control and confidence. He didn’t seem like someone whose self-respect overwhelmed everything else, willing to die over a slight to his dignity.

This was what Chu Yu realized while reflecting on past events. Unlike He Jue and the others, as a martial artist with their dignity, she didn’t see much of a difference between dying at another’s hand or by her own. Because of this, she could more easily grasp Rong Zhi’s true intentions.

Rong Zhi was not seeking death; he was seeking survival.

Whether it was the extremely close call before or seeking life in a place of death now, Rong Zhi spared no effort to take risks, nor did he fear them. He took control of danger, manipulating it into an advantage. His earlier posturing was simply to make He Jue believe he was determined to die, to prevent He Jue from searching for them after descending the mountain.

He was not a swordsman passionate about honor but a player shrewd and decisive in his decisions.

At that moment, the two were curled up in a recess inwards in the cliff face, less than ten meters away from the edge, enveloped by the evening twilight and surrounding vines. The space here was so cramped the two had to lean against each other to fit. In the darkness, they couldn’t see each other’s faces, only their clear eyes meeting like water.

Rong Zhi had thrown his outer garment over the cliff. Through the thin clothes, Chu Yu felt Rong Zhi’s body temperature growing lower and lower, from initially slightly warm, now cold as ice. She couldn’t help but take his hand and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong with you?” When she had fallen, Rong Zhi had caught her, pulling her into this spot; his palms had still been warm then, but now they seemed to have lost all warmth, reverting to how he was before, almost lifeless.

Rong Zhi murmured, “It’s just exhaustion… Princess, let me rest for a while…” His voice grew quieter and quieter until it sank into the darkness, and his body gently collapsed onto Chu Yu.

All that Rong Zhi had done earlier was not with any particular plan in mind, but rather he preferred death by his own hand than to die at He Jue’s.

He had always been someone who could be ruthlessly harsh on himself, having laughed while setting his own broken arm twisted by Yue Jiefei, up till today where he deliberately harmed himself to seek life amidst danger…

Rong Zhi appeared delicate and beautiful, almost girl-like, but his inner will was unmatched in strength and resilience, like steel, unbreakable.

Chu Yu’s heart felt empty, staring at the space where someone once stood, as if she had lost all sensation. The entire world was just that void, and after Rong Zhi jumped down the cliff, He Jue stood dazed for a moment before rushing forward to look down, only to see a tiny white speck at the bottom of the deep cliff, which soon disappeared from sight.

Falling from such a height, even he might not survive, let alone a gravely injured Rong Zhi?

He Jue stood in a daze for a while, then solemnly took a half-step back. He lightly tapped his longsword on the ground as a sign of respect for Rong Zhi.

Although at this time Rong Zhi might not have needed it.

He wanted to kill Rong Zhi because he realized how dangerous Rong Zhi was from the standpoint of an assassin, but the sign of respect was due to the regard he held for his opponent. He now saw Rong Zhi as a peer, someone who could stand at the same level as himself.

Rong Zhi’s death certainly brought him a sigh of relief, but unavoidably, it also left a touch of irrevocable sorrow.

Without lingering too long, He Jue turned and walked a few steps, stopping beside Chu Yu. His eyes, however, stared into the empty space ahead, “Even though he just said taking you along is useless, now that there’s no proof of death, I still have to take you on the road.” Rong Zhi’s earlier actions seeking death still left him somewhat unable to snap back to reality.

Chu Yu didn’t speak, just silently nodded her head.

He Jue was not afraid of her running away. From here, there was basically only one path down the mountain, and even if she thought to flee, she wouldn’t get far. Seeing Chu Yu nod, he continued walking forward, but after a little while, the sound of Chu Yu’s footsteps awakens him from his daydreaming. Realizing something, He Jue’s face drastically changed as he turned around.

By then, Chu Yu was already standing at the edge of the cliff, her back to the precipice. She stood in the wind at the top of the mountain, her clothes billowing as she quietly smiled at He Jue, “I will go with Rong Zhi, not with you.” Then, just like Rong Zhi, without any hesitation, she jumped down.

He Jue was stunned.

The youth who had jumped from the cliff before did so to maintain his dignity rather than die by his hand; this, He Jue could understand. But Chu Yu, who jumped afterward, was beyond his comprehension. She could have chosen not to die, so why deliberately take the path toward death?

He Jue knew of the princess’s past deeds. It was difficult to associate Chu Yu’s behavior with “lovesickness.” However, this event unfolded before him, leaving him unable to comprehend.

He Jue held no particular deep affection for the two, and being an assassin who killed without batting an eye, with countless lives under his belt, even with Rong Zhi and Chu Yu successively jumping off the cliff before him, he was only briefly moved before he collected himself and proceeded to walk down the mountain.

He had not intended to shed blood but wanted to use hostages to lure Hua Cuo into seeking him out and vent some of his ancient resentment. Yet now, with this accident, the hatred deepened anew, likely evolving into a relentless feud.

After He Jue slowly walked away, faint noises finally came from below the cliff.

“Is he gone?” Chu Yu carefully looked up and asked softly. Her view was filled with rocks and climbing vines and could not see He Jue.

“He’s gone,” Rong Zhi, who had been watching Chu Yu, replied with a wry smile and a helpless sigh, “I jumped down to turn despair into survival, but He Jue didn’t plan to harm you; why did you jump?”

Chu Yu glared at him, “I suddenly realized just now, how could a cunning person like you just jump down so foolishly?”

He had used a silver needle to force out his body’s potential, but due to his poor constitution, in just a short while, he had already reached the brink of exhaustion.

Chu Yu, however, did not immediately check on him. She just held Rong Zhi’s hand, and after a long while, she lowered her head and whispered in a voice only she could hear, “I don’t even know why I jumped… Rong Zhi, I want to believe you, you must not deceive me.”