Chapter: Chapter 296, No One Will Remember, Nor Will Anyone Call Me Little Li Again
Did… did it explode?
Long Li’s eyes widened in shock. It was only when someone fell with a loud thud that she snapped back to reality and quickly pulled the man out of the ground.
“Prime Minister Father… how did you do that?”
Looking at his extremely pale face, she couldn’t help but exclaim.
Long Yintian was a true dragon, and he wouldn’t have been blown to smithereens by such a simple collision. If the Dragon clan were that weak, how could they possibly be the overlords of all demons? Logically speaking, an attack like the previous one, capable of piercing his protective dragon scales, would already be considered extremely powerful…
Amidst the drizzling rain, a weak response reached her, dispelling her doubts.
“Cough, cough…”.”
“Hold this.”
Chen An slightly raised his hand and passed the long sword in his hand over. As he made this movement, his body visibly trembled, as if even such a small action required all his strength.
Long Li pursed her lips, her eyes started to redden again, but she still took it obediently. The sword felt stiff and cold at the hilt, but the blade itself was still as sharp as ever.
“Turn it over.”
A faint voice followed, like a candle flickering in the wind. Long Li did as she was told. She saw two peculiar patterns carved on the hilt. The front was inscribed with human characters: ‘Non-Aggression’. The back, however, bore the ancient dragon markings unique to her Dragon clan, difficult for anyone without a core bloodline to discern. It was… ‘Dragon Slayer’.
Long Li was startled. She couldn’t help but recall that night before her father’s death. This sword was personally handed over by her father to the ‘National Teacher’, and had since gone through a mutiny of the guards, traveled thousands of miles, and followed them all the way here, finally showing its power today. So… her father had foreseen this?
At this thought, a bitter feeling welled up in Long Li’s heart. So-called family affection and blood ties were utterly insignificant in the face of true vested interests…
“Cough, cough…”.”
Two more pained coughs pulled Long Li out of her thoughts. She quickly put down the sword and rushed to embrace the man, trying to warm him with her body heat in the cold wind and rain.
“Actually, the old man told me a lot that night. If you’re interested in the origin of this sword, I can tell you about it in detail another day, but for now… cough cough.”
“No…”.”
Long Li interrupted him, cupping his face. She looked at him nervously, “Prime Minister Father, you promised me, you can’t die…”.”
It was only then that she suddenly realized that Prime Minister Father’s condition was extremely dire. His long robe was torn to shreds, stained with blood, tattered like pieces of rags. The exposed skin was covered with countless tiny cuts. Crimson bloodstains were slowly oozing from these wounds. At a glance, there wasn’t a single intact spot… Perhaps because the man had always appeared so powerful, making her feel endlessly secure and unknowingly overlooking these details. But Prime Minister Father was also a person… He felt pain, bled, and could die…
Overwhelming panic enveloped her heart, and Long Li’s hands holding his face began to tremble uncontrollably. What… what should she do? Her mind went blank, her movements becoming stiff and slow.
“Little Li.”.”
His gentle voice was like the only star appearing in the darkness, pulling her away from this panic. Her vacant pupils refocused, and she responded anxiously, “I’m here, I’m here, Prime Minister Father…”.”
“Do you remember what I told you before?”.”
Chen An looked at her, managing a strained smile. “The road ahead is one you must walk alone. That dragon is dead, and the only remaining demon king in the vicinity has been held up by your Sister Qing… So what you need to do is leave me here, then avoid the pursuit of the pursuers from behind, and return to the right path.”.”
“I know this may be very difficult for you, but you must do it, otherwise…”.”
“I won’t!”.”
The man’s soft instructions were interrupted by a trembling voice laced with tears. The girl’s eyes were red, and she shook her head desperately, “I won’t! No, no!”.”
Several repetitions, as if to declare her resolve. Chen An saw it in his eyes and sighed. He now wished he could see the proud and cold princess from the beginning. At that time, she likely wouldn’t have been so impulsive.
“Insisting on taking me with you… you won’t get far.”.”
Even at this moment, Chen An’s tone remained steady and calm. He was simply stating the pros and cons to the young ruler. But the girl clearly didn’t want to hear him. She hooked her arms around his neck, her amber vertical pupils staring directly at him, murmuring, “You all talk about pros and cons, always thinking about balancing things, but Prime Minister Father…”.”
“Little Li hates this…”.”
“I don’t want to balance, I don’t want to, I just want Prime Minister Father to stay with me…”.”
By the end, her voice had become extremely faint. The rain drizzled down as the girl leaned close to him, close enough to even kiss his cheek. Chen An was not moved by this fleeting warmth. His gaze remained steady, and his words became even colder.
“But you will die.”.”
These four short words laid the brutal reality bare before the girl.
“But what about you?”.”
Long Li quickly retorted. As she spoke, she suddenly smiled again, “It’s okay, Little Li isn’t afraid…”.”
Chen An took a deep breath. The cold air mixed with rain barely kept him lucid. He changed his address. “Your Highness, you are different from me. You are the future Lord of all demons, a true dragon destined to soar in the heavens.”.”
“You are still young, and your future will be brilliant. As long as you can survive and reach Dragon City, they will have no chance to make a move.”.”
“You must conquer the four directions, be the co-lord of the world, have your name written in the annals of history for a thousand years, have all beings shout your name, and sing praises of your great achievements…”.”
The man spoke softly, explaining each point to her. As long as she could get through today, the life that awaited her would be magnificent and spectacular.
“Your story is still very long, it shouldn’t end here.”.”
After saying his last sentence, Chen An looked at her quietly.
“But what about you?”.”
A familiar response, two lines of scalding hot tears fell onto Chen An’s face. He instinctively wanted to reach out and wipe them away, but his severe injuries made him unable to muster the strength.
“Yes, it’s so beautiful, it makes one yearn…”.”
The girl didn’t shift her gaze, but her tone became increasingly sorrowful. “But what about Prime Minister Father?”.”
She lowered her head. “You will be buried here, with only the chirping of insects as your companion for eternity.”.”
“No one will remember, nor will anyone call me Little Li again.”.”
