# Chapter 74: The World of Bliss
It was deep into the night. Ever since Peng Hong had gone to Outer Bridge Pass, Mancheng had stayed in his room for a day and a night, then another day, and another night…
A lifetime of love and hate, resentments and attachments, all came flooding back before his eyes.
In the Anqing palace, there was a person who cherished him, holding his hand tightly, swearing to the heavens: "I will never leave you for the rest of my life…" In the Dudong palace, that same person held him tenderly, making a promise: "Once I become the king, I will be with you every single day."
There was another person, crying like rain through pear blossoms, leaning against his shoulder: "...I would be your servant, wait on you for a lifetime…"
There was another person, grasping his hands, pleading desperately: "If you just nod, I would abandon my family, forsake my children, ruin my reputation—nothing would stop me!"
There was another person, kneeling before him, tears pouring like rain: "...I never dared to dream of anything, only to protect you with my life…"
There was another person, silently serving and accompanying him, never complaining: "...This servant never dared to wish for anything, only that the general would be happy…"
There was another person, gently stroking his cheek: "Do you prefer sons or daughters?"
There was yet another person…
"I also think I've gone mad… Mancheng, ever since I met you, I've lost all ambitions and desires. I don't even know what my purpose in life is anymore. My whole heart is filled with thoughts of you! Mancheng, I…"
"Mancheng, from now on I can be with you every day. From now on, wherever we go, we'll be together."
"My greatest wish is… to be able to stay by your side for a lifetime…"
"Mancheng… isn't this place wonderful? Then we… stay here a few more days… okay?"
"...Because I'm thinking of you desperately."
"...If you just agree, I'll take you away from here!"
"In that other world, would you let me accompany you?"
"Your kindness to me lately is more than I can bear…"
"...If you just agree, I don't care about anything anymore. I'll take you away from here, and we'll live the life you want. I'll be with you every day, make you happy every day. Mancheng… I… I'm begging you, I'm begging you, I'm begging you…"
"Mancheng, you know full well how much I love you…"
Mancheng turned over in bed, the movement pulling at his shoulder wound, pain so unbearable he couldn't help it. Tears streamed down his face like hemp strings…
Zhongshan… you… you…
If I stay here, if I cannot wait for Zhangzhou, then I will be waiting for you…
When you appear before me, Zhangzhou must be dead by your hand. I would no longer be able to face you. When you come to this room again, don't be sad, don't be grieving, don't cry for me anymore…
When I die, you will be free. You still have a long, long road ahead. You won't be bound by me anymore…
He slept, then woke. Woke, then slept. In a haze, a life of hardships, stumbling and faltering, only to end up like this. Looking back, there was no hope.
Mancheng struggled to sit up, pushed open the door, and was stunned to find a person dressed in a pale yellow fur-lined silk robe, sitting composed on the stone bench in the courtyard.
"General!" The person saw him open the door and smiled gracefully.
Such a warm, comforting color! Mancheng's eyes went hazy with longing—as if that Yingyou, the one who had smiled at him on the tower in Zhenzhou, was right there before his eyes!
Then came another soft voice: "General! Are you hungry?"
Not Yingyou! She never could be!
"You… how long have you been sitting here?" Mancheng stepped out and asked her, "Didn't I tell you to leave with Sister Xiuyi?"
Lanxing rose gracefully, helping him over to sit down. She didn't answer his question, asking instead, "Are you hungry? Should I get you something to eat?"
Mancheng gazed at her pretty face, which held not a trace of color. He realized that while he had been lying in his room for two days and a night, she must have been sitting in this courtyard for two days and a night! Mancheng stared at her for a long moment, then said softly, full of tenderness, "Yes, please."
Lanxing quickly wiped away the tears beneath her lashes, then hurried out of the courtyard to prepare food. After some time, she returned carrying a steaming bowl. Mancheng smiled at her. "What's this?"
She carefully set the bowl on the stone table, somewhat shyly, and said, "Everyone has fled. There's not much left in the kitchen, so I could only make some noodles."
Mancheng glanced at her gratefully. "Whatever you make can't be bad." With that, he lowered his head and took a few bites. Lanxing watched his rough eating manner and asked quietly, "Is it acceptable?"
Mancheng had noodles in his mouth, nodded, and made a vague sound of agreement. "Delicious."
Lanxing rubbed her hands together, then relaxed into a smile.
After Mancheng finished the noodles and drank some soup, he broke into a fit of coughing, so he set the bowl aside and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
Lanxing noticed he hadn't raised his left arm the entire time. Her nose stung, and tears gathered in her eyes. Mancheng's lips curved slightly upward. "Why are you crying?" He reached over to wipe away her tears, then sighed. "I really regret it… If I hadn't taken you back then, how happy would you be now? Even if you went to Jianqing City now, what difference would it make? You'd be like my sister—having lost everything…"
Lanxing remained silent, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Moonlight broke through the gray clouds. Mancheng gazed at the northern sky and said softly, "I thought I could wait for him to come back to his senses, but now I can only wait for death."
Lanxing knew the direction Mancheng was watching—toward Outer Bridge Pass.
Another fierce resistance at great cost. Inside Outer Bridge Pass, the soldiers were nearly all gone. The wounded lay everywhere, their groans a chorus of sorrow. Although the Yongzhao army had temporarily retreated, the soldiers had grown slack from years of brutal war and grueling hardship. Complaints kept rising.
Zhangzhou's thoughts churned: The Yongzhao army would launch another attack sooner or later. Tomorrow? Or the day after? How many more days could he hold this Yuanliao? One day? Two?
Mancheng, this Yuanliao—you gave it to me in the first place, and you've been protecting it for me all these years. I'm so useless; without you, I would lose it immediately!
You often don't understand why I would be so attached to a piece of land. I often don't understand why your desires are so empty, why you have not a trace of ambition.
It was nearly midnight. He would surely have another sleepless night.
Mancheng, have you reached Jianqing City by now? Weiyang can love you in my place for a lifetime. You're really foolish. Your child—I looked forward to that child so much. That child, he must be like the you in the Anqing palace, pure and innocent, almost naively blank… That lovely you, how did you become what you are today? I asked too much of you. Do I not know? I was too greedy. I destroyed you!
"Zhangzhou!" Peng Hong entered, saw Zhangzhou standing by the window gazing at the bright moon in a daze. "Zhangzhou!" He called again. When Zhangzhou turned, he smiled. "Jinlu and Shen Kang have already led several groups of men to Jianqing City."
Zhangzhou spoke in a low, somber voice: "Then you should prepare too. Sister Xiuyi will worry if you wait too long."
Peng Hong laughed lightly. "Zhangzhou, when we swore to become blood brothers, didn't we promise to share life and death?"
Zhangzhou could do nothing but feel resigned. He furrowed his brow and said, "What I say never counts."
Peng Hong laughed as he walked over. "Isn't that what Mancheng always says? It sounds strange hearing it from you!" He sat on the chair by the window, putting on an expression of complete nonchalance.
"I remember when I found you two in that crowd of refugees. You were both filthy beyond description. Jinyin said to Mancheng, 'Quick, call brother-in-law and Bohe.' He hid behind Jinyin, blinking those glistening eyes, and said very quietly, very softly: 'Brother-in-law, Bohe.' I was wondering about that when Bohe reached out to pinch his cheek and tell him to say it louder. He flushed with fright, then said again: 'Brother-in-law, Bohe.'" Zhangzhou couldn't help but smile too.
"Later I found out that he would blush whenever he spoke to strangers, and if you weren't by his side, he would be lost and distracted. Every time you went to battle, he would cry his heart out. He was already over ten years old, but acted like a child being separated from his wet nurse. Back then I would laugh to myself, thinking: what will Mancheng be like when he grows up? No matter how I imagined it, he was just so adorable, I was afraid he would never grow up…"
Zhangzhou's heart sank to the bottom. He asked quietly, "Are you blaming me?" Peng Hong said nothing. Zhangzhou changed the subject. "Hurry up and go. There's no time for idle talk!"
"Zhangzhou, go to Jianqing City!"
"Peng Hong!" Zhangzhou hissed. "I don't want to end up like Zhang Shun! Don't force me to turn against you!"
"Zhangzhou, why do you do this to yourself?" Peng Hong stood up and strode forward to block him. "I faithfully conveyed your words to him. He has words for you too. He said if you die at Outer Bridge Pass, he will not survive you. He also said… he's a coward who is terrified of death, begging you to leave him a way to live. He's still in the city, waiting for you."
Zhangzhou suppressed the throbbing pain in his heart, clenched his teeth, and said, "I knew he would pull this move! I've already sent Wu Lianheng back to the city to find him. He has no strength to resist now—even if I have to knock him unconscious, I'm forcing him to go to Jianqing!"
"You…" Peng Hong's anger flared. He grabbed Zhangzhou by the collar, tightened his fist, and swung.
Zhangzhou had no intention of dodging. He took the punch full on, staggering back several steps.
Silence hung between them. Peng Hong heaved a heavy sigh. "When I escorted Mancheng back to the city, he was unconscious the whole way, coughing ceaselessly. Once we reached the city, I invited Doctor Xie from the Ruyi Palace to take his pulse. Doctor Xie said Mancheng had already been unwell several months ago. He prescribed tonic medicine, but Mancheng had barely taken a few doses before rushing off to support Deguo. When he returned after repelling the Yongzhao army, his complexion was even worse. But Mancheng never saw a doctor again, and Doctor Xie didn't dare say more. Not long after, you had him put under house arrest. When Doctor Xie heard that you ordered Doctor Hu to prescribe a heavy dose of Songluo Powder, he knew something terrible was coming. He wanted to plead for leniency, but the moment he opened his mouth, you cursed him to no end."
Zhangzhou's expression shifted. A nameless fear rose in his chest.
Peng Hong continued, "Jinlu told me that a prostitute in Qiuting tricked Mancheng into taking some kind of folk sorcery drug. When taken too much, it causes hallucinations and addiction. Mancheng took it for over ten days straight… When Cheng Zhongshan took him back, he vomited everything he ate. Once the addiction hit, he cried and raged day and night without rest, and it took half a month to shake the habit… Did he ever tell you about any of this?"
Zhangzhou clenched his fists. His face, which had been as cold as ice, twisted violently with regret and anguish.
"His vital energy was completely drained, yet you forcibly dragged him to Dudong, and then he was struck by a poisoned arrow… At Pingbei Pass, Sihu secretly told me that Mancheng, on his rush from Jingcheng, never rested nor took any supplements. He kept coughing up blood… Doctor Xie said his lungs and liver were already destroyed beyond repair…"
Zhangzhou's vision went black. But Peng Hong's trembling voice still reached his ears: "Zhangzhou, next month is Mancheng's birthday. Don't you want to give him something? It's his last birthday…"
The memories pounced like a wild beast, savagely tearing and gnawing at his heart and flesh.
"Zhangzhou, I won't live much longer. Stay with me for another decade or so…"
"Zhangzhou, I only have ten years left…"
"Zhangzhou, I only have a few years left…"
"Zhangzhou…"
He had been so desperate, so terrified!
But how had he responded?
"Lanxing!"
"…"
A flicker of excitement crossed Mancheng's face. He took Lanxing's hand and asked, "Is my child a boy or a girl?"
"It's… a boy."
Mancheng froze.
Lanxing choked on her words. "He looks so much like you, General. His temperament is the same—hot-tempered, crying at the slightest thing, and when he cries he calls for his mother… When I left him, he could barely speak…"
Mancheng couldn't help but laugh bitterly, his tone overflowing with guilt and helplessness. "From now on, he has no family's protection. If he doesn't die, he will be drawn into the chaos of this world early on, suffering endlessly… He will probably be like me—his life short but full of endless torment. I actually hope he dies, so he can quickly go to the Western Paradise… Lanxing, I'm saying this now, do you resent me?"
Lanxing wept like rain, shaking her head slowly.
Mancheng gazed at her intently. "Lanxing, you've never asked for anything. Even now, you're still here with me. What is it that you want from me?"
Lanxing asked back simply, "General, what do you want from the king?"
Mancheng laughed—a laugh as innocent and pure as it had been in the Anqing palace. "I really don't know…"
The two looked at each other and smiled, but it was a desolate, tragic smile.
"Lanxing, does that Paradise that Yingyou talked about really exist?"
"It does."
"If there's such a wonderful place, where there is no love, no desire, no hatred, no pain… why does everyone cling to this life full of love, desire, hatred, and pain?"
"General… this servant doesn't know either…"
Suddenly, a deafening roar erupted. Countless brilliant, colorful sparks exploded across the northern sky, breathtakingly magnificent, dazzling all who looked upon them.
From the direction of Outer Bridge Pass!
Mancheng released Lanxing's hand, standing transfixed as he watched those dazzling fireworks bloom in the sky.
Crimson, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, violet—flying mists and flowing smoke, magically captivating every sense. Gorgeous blooms burst forth in profusion, and even the amber-colored crescent moon dimmed in comparison.
The shifting, magical flames dyed Mancheng's dazed eyes with color. His lips and cheeks overflowed with a vague, spellbound tenderness.