Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 216 Killing the Boy in My Heart
"How long have I been unconscious?"

Zhu Wen opened his eyes and found himself lying on a clean bed in a bright room, apparently in a mansion in Chaozhou.

Duan Hongyan lowered her head, her bright eyes gazing at him with concern.

On the bedside table was a half-finished bowl of sweet soup, with a small silver spoon stuck in it.

While he was unconscious, Duan Hongyan, and possibly others, must have fed him small sips of chicken soup to replenish his fluids.

"Ten days," Duan Hongyan replied. "The lizard is quite badly injured and can't get out of bed yet. These days, Zhizhen usually takes care of you, but she's tired and asleep, so I'll take over."

"As for going to the toilet, that Rose woman named Mira helped me. She's been with a lot of men, so it's nothing for her to take a look."

Duan Hongyan spoke casually, but the bloodshot in her eyes was hard to hide.

"so long……"

Even if a person falls into a coma due to grief, they will usually wake up in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Zhu Wen remained unconscious for longer than he had been injured in his life-or-death battle with Commander Yan.

Upon receiving news of Zhu Cun's death, Zhu Wen indeed felt a sense of despair and a loss of will to live.

While he was unconscious, he saw his second brother's figure many times, floating around. When he reached out, he could only grab at empty air.

Without my second brother, everything in the world seems to have lost its meaning.

Zhu Wen murmured softly, "Thinking of the fleeting nature of life, there is nothing to hold onto; seeing all the vibrant colors, they all turn to ashes before my eyes."

He knew that his second brother would never come back.

“Immortal Doctor Luo has come to see you. She said that she has never seen someone in a coma for so long because of grief, but since you have a heart full of revenge, you will definitely wake up.” Duan Hongyan said softly, “Immortal Doctor Luo instructed Zhizhen and me on how to feed water to a comatose patient, and we will take turns guarding your bedside.”

Zhu Wen felt a surge of warmth in his heart, but the thought of Zhu Cun's death caused a sudden, sharp pain in his chest.

Duan Hongyan placed a long cloth wrapping next to Zhu Wen. A familiar aura resonated with Zhu Wen's spirit, invigorating his will.

"The knife you lost has been retrieved. But we haven't found Second Brother." Duan Hongyan said softly, "I think he might still be alive."

Zhu Wen sat up abruptly, exclaiming in surprise, "Second Brother is still alive? Why didn't he come back to find me?"

“I think…” Duan Hongyan hesitated slightly: “He did too many things for you in the past, but now he feels it wasn’t a good thing, so he’s hiding away and doesn’t plan to see you again for the time being.”

My junior sister is really understanding.

This explanation was far-fetched, but it provided Zhu Wen with a lifeline of comfort.

"Yes...it must be like this..."

Zhu Wen grasped Duan Hongyan's hand, muttering to himself, tears streaming down his face.

Reason told him that he would probably have to spend his whole life searching for his second brother.

Even if it's self-deception, you should still give yourself a glimmer of hope.

Duan Hongyan hugged Zhu Wen's head, stroking his hair, and said softly, "Cry, there's nothing shameful about a man crying. You have more to bear in this world than we women..."

Her soft hands slid through Zhu Wen's hair, her fingertips kneading his scalp, bringing a subtle tactile sensation. Duan Hongyan's exquisite and curvaceous figure exuded a faint fragrance, filling the room with an unspeakable ambiguity.

Compared to You Di, the Flower King who relies on the Heavenly Fragrance Technique of the Demonic Sect to create her body fragrance, Duan Hongyan is truly born with a unique fragrance. The rose scent emanating from her body is very strong and easily detectable, sometimes even attracting butterflies to keep her company.

Duan Hongyan's gentleness, coupled with the release of her tears, eased Zhu Wen's pain somewhat.

Seeing that Zhu Wen had stopped crying, Duan Hongyan carefully wiped away his tears with a handkerchief and gently blew on Zhu Wen's red eyes.

Their eyes met, their faces close together, and Zhu Wen could see every detail of Duan Hongyan's exquisite and flawless features.

He suddenly felt a surge of heat gathering in his lower abdomen.

The Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Treasure Sword placed on the bed seemed to sense something, emitting a soft chime and a faint red light through the cloth.

A surge of desire instantly filled Zhu Wen's mind. He pushed Duan Hongyan down onto the bed, held her arms down, and began to tear at her clothes, while his lips pressed indiscriminately against her face.

"What...what are you going to do?"

Duan Hongyan struggled to exclaim, but still kept her voice low.

Zhu Wen seemed not to hear, his eyes bloodshot. "If you keep this up, I'm going to yell!"

Zhu Wen still ignored it.

Then he felt a sharp pain in his lower abdomen; it turned out that Duan Hongyan had hit him hard with her knee.

The excruciating pain brought Zhu Wen back to his senses instantly.

Seeing Duan Hongyan's clothes disheveled and torn, Zhu Wen felt ashamed and slapped himself hard, leaving five red marks on his face.

Zhu Wen held Duan Hongyan in the cave for five days and four nights without ever having any impure thoughts.

He never imagined that, while his brother was gone and Duan Hongyan was thinning and haggard from taking care of him, he would act like a shameless scoundrel and make unwanted advances towards his junior sister.

"You bastard, you've already ruined Zhizhen and the four-legged snake, and now you're trying to take liberties with this young lady?"

Duan Hongyan said coquettishly, without appearing angry, and gently rubbed the redness and swelling on Zhu Wen's face with her jade-like hands.

"It's probably because of the Demon Blade. When a man and a woman are alone together, it's easy to lose control." Duan Hongyan changed her tone and said softly, "You have nothing to blame yourself for. Let's be more careful in the future."

She instantly found an excuse for Zhu Wen. So, the reason Zhu Wen was able to maintain his mindfulness in the cave was because the Demon Blade was lost and not with him.

However, Zhu Wen had physical intimacy with Tian Jun and Lan Suting on several occasions. At most, he couldn't resist and rubbed Tian Jun's thigh shortly after they met.

He was quite confident in his composure, believing that he could completely control the demonic nature of the magic blade and would not be countered by it.

Zhu Wen was also unaware of what had caused this loss of control.

Duan Hongyan was so considerate; any words of apology at this moment would seem superfluous.

After Duan Hongyan straightened her clothes, he grasped her hand and solemnly said, "Thank you."

Duan Hongyan nodded: "Go see the lizard. She's always thinking about you."

In a clothes chest at the foot of the bed, there was a clean outer robe that had been prepared. Zhu Wen picked it up, put it on, and walked out of the room, feeling that his steps were still a little unsteady.

It was partly due to physical weakness from being unconscious for too long, and partly due to the grief that had been building up in his heart.

Zhu Wen knew that he would have to adapt to life without his second brother's help from now on.

In the past, he would even entrust more than two-thirds of the military's administrative affairs to Zhu Cun. Even after becoming a general in the rebel army, he still slept for five hours a day, just like when he was a wandering knight.

His second brother knew he disliked trouble, so he indulged his laziness.

After this battle, Zhu Wen had to consider whether he could have changed this tragic outcome if he hadn't been so lazy and had planned more carefully before the battle.

Zhu Wen's initial reason for wanting to rise above others was quite simple.

He felt that all the rules and regulations in the world had caused him too much trouble. Once he became a superior person, he no longer had to abide by most of the boring worldly rules.

Only today did Zhu Wen realize that this idea did indeed seem childish and irresponsible.

To climb to the top of the celestial palace in chaotic times, one should be prepared to endure everything, far beyond mere troubles.

Kao Yu-ti once said that Zhu Wen was not powerful enough, and he was right.

I'm not talking about his martial arts skills, but his heart!

Young people often need to lose something important to kill the boy inside them and fully take on the responsibilities of a man.

What we lose is often a burden that life cannot bear.

The harsh reality has made everything crystal clear.

Even though Zhu Wen's wisdom was enough to rival the four most powerful generals in the land, and even though he was experienced and dignified in his actions, deep down, there still lived an innocent and imaginative child.

When the howling wind dried the last tear from Zhu Wen's eyes, he understood that the boy in his heart had finally been killed by Gao Yan.

As dusk fell, the fiery clouds piled up on the horizon resembled a vast expanse of battle blood.

Zhu Wen, however, felt unusually calm.

This cause and effect can only be ended with a vast pool of blood.

(End of this chapter)