I am invincible, that's why I lie down. You're using your entire clan to rebel?

Chapter 537 Hating one person is too tiring

Yun Suxin's breathing became more rapid.

She shrank back slightly, but her knees seemed to be nailed to the ground, and she couldn't move them no matter what.

Qin Mu's hands did not stop.

With a gentle tug of his fingers, the tie came loose.

The snow-white undergarment slipped off her shoulder, falling silently like a cloud blown away by the wind.

Her skin, exposed in the interplay of candlelight and moonlight, resembled a jade statue bathed in moonlight—warm, delicate, and subtly glowing.

Her shoulders were thin, her collarbones were prominent, and her neck was slender, like a crane that might fly away at any moment.

Red marks remained on her chest, left from the struggle, like plum blossoms blooming on the snow, a shocking sight.

Yun Suxin's tears finally fell, silently welling up from her eyes, streaming down her pale cheeks, and dripping onto her bare collarbone, glistening in the candlelight.

She closed her eyes, tears clinging to her eyelashes like two strings of pearls scattered by the wind.

Qin Mu looked at her for a long time.

Then he reached out and gently stroked the tear stains on her collarbone.

"Don't cry. You don't look good when you cry."

Yun Suxin's body trembled again.

She bit her lip, suppressing the surging, inexplicable, and complex emotions she was unwilling to acknowledge, little by little.

Chen Ruoyao stood aside, watching this scene, her complex emotions churning even more intensely.

Qin Mu looked at Yun Suxin and slowly spoke:

Do you hate me?

Yun Suxin's body stiffened abruptly.

She opened her eyes and looked at Qin Mu.

She remained silent for a very long time.

Then she spoke, her voice hoarse, yet each word clear.

"hatred."

Qin Mu didn't turn around, he just smiled.

"So, do you want to kill me?"

Yun Suxin's fingers clenched tightly inside her sleeve, her nails digging into her palms, a sharp pain shooting through her.

She fell silent again.

"I want to. But I know I can't kill you. So, hating you is useless."

Qin Mu looked down at her.

His gaze was calm.

"Then don't hate."

"Hating someone is exhausting."

Yun Suxin's tears welled up again.

This time she couldn't hold back, nor did she intend to.

She lowered her head, buried her face in her arms, her shoulders trembling violently as she let out suppressed, broken sobs.

She didn't speak, but her body answered for him.

Chen Ruoyao stood aside, watching this scene, and the complex emotions in her heart finally found an outlet.

She stepped forward, squatted down, reached out, and gently put her arm around Yun Suxin's shoulder.

Her movements were very light and gentle, like comforting a child having a nightmare.

Yun Suxin's body stiffened for a moment, then went limp, letting Chen Ruoyao hold her.

Qin Mu looked at them without saying a word.

He simply stood there, the moonlight shining on him, making his pale figure stand out clearly.

He turned around and walked towards the door.

"Get a good rest tonight. We have the martial arts tournament to watch tomorrow."

He didn't turn around, but stepped across the threshold and disappeared into the night outside.

The door closed slowly behind him with a soft "bang".

Only Chen Ruoyao and Yun Suxin remained in the room.

Chen Ruoyao was still holding her, gently patting her back, as if comforting an injured child.

Yun Suxin leaned against Chen Ruoyao's chest, like a small animal whose strength had been drained.

Her crying gradually subsided, turning into intermittent, suppressed sobs. Her shoulders were still trembling slightly, and tears soaked the fabric of Chen Ruoyao's clothes, leaving a small, dark stain.

Chen Ruoyao looked down at the person in her arms.

Moonlight streamed in through the cracks in the window, illuminating Yun Suxin's face, which was identical to hers.

That face was as pale as paper, its eyes were red and swollen, and tiny teardrops clung to its eyelashes like two strings of beaded curtains ruffled by the wind.

Her lips were still trembling slightly, her breathing was rapid and disordered, and she looked like a flower broken by a storm, with petals scattered all over the ground.

She had never seen Yun Suxin like this before.

there has never been.

In her memory, Yun Suxin will always be that woman standing on the high platform, dressed in white like snow, wearing a mask, with eyes as cold as two bottomless ancient wells.

Her voice was never loud, yet it could make tens of thousands of believers kneel in worship.

Her demeanor was never deliberate, yet it possessed an inherent, intimidating aura that made people afraid to look directly at her.

She was like the moon hanging in the night sky, cold, distant, and untouchable.

Chen Ruoyao had thought about this countless times when she was alone late at night.

What would it look like if Yun Suxin fell off the high platform one day?

She fantasized that she would be angry, resentful, and would curse the person who betrayed her with the most vicious language.

She had fantasized that she would remain calm, strategize, and use her remaining strength to devise a counterattack.

She also fantasized that she would despair, accept her fate, and be like a caged beast with its claws and teeth pulled, curled up in a corner waiting for death.

But she never imagined that Yun Suxin would cry.

It will be like this now, like a homeless child, crying and trembling in someone else's arms.

Chen Ruoyao's heart suddenly softened.

She couldn't quite describe the feeling, only that it felt like something was blocking her chest, a dull, aching sensation that made it difficult for her to breathe.

She recalled the first time she saw Yun Suxin many years ago, when she was still a village girl chopping wood and carrying water in the mountains.

At that time, the Moon Goddess Cult had just set up an altar in the town to spread their teachings. She squeezed into the crowd, stood on tiptoe to look ahead, and saw a woman in white standing on a high platform. The moonlight shone in from behind her, making her figure seem otherworldly.

At that moment, she felt that this woman was the most beautiful, the most powerful, and the most unattainable person she had ever met in her life.

Later, Yun Suxin chose her, took her out of the mountains, gave her resources, gave her cultivation, gave her power, and gave her a face exactly like her own.

At first, she was indeed very happy, but later she began to hate the other person for imprisoning her, hating that the other person controlled her and turned her into a puppet, unable to be herself for the rest of her life, and only able to be her substitute.

She hated Yun Suxin so much that she gritted her teeth and couldn't sleep at night.

She was unwilling to accept this; she wanted to break free from him, to be herself, and to become the true moon goddess.

So when Qin Mu appeared, she didn't hesitate, stepped on Yun Suxin's back, and climbed to a higher place.

She thought she would continue to hate forever.

She thought that when she saw Yun Suxin fall from the platform and kneel at Qin Mu's feet, she felt only pleasure and relief.

But at this moment, looking at the woman in her arms crying like a child, she suddenly felt that the hatred was like smoke blown away by the wind, fading away, dissipating, and disappearing without her noticing.

Chen Ruoyao opened her mouth, her voice slightly hoarse, carrying a gentleness she herself was unaware of.

"Stop crying... You don't sound like the Moon Goddess when you cry."

She was stunned for a moment when she said those words.

She didn't know whether she was comforting Yun Suxin or feeling sorry for the once high and mighty Moon Goddess.

She just felt bad seeing her cry.

Yun Suxin's crying paused for a moment.

She slowly raised her head, looking at Chen Ruoyao with her red, swollen, and tear-filled eyes, her gaze filled with confusion and disbelief.

She never expected Chen Ruoyao to comfort her, never expected that the person who betrayed her would hug her, pat her back, and say, "Don't cry."

Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something.

The next moment, her eyes reddened again, and tears welled up once more, this time even more turbulent than before, like a flood bursting its banks, unstoppable.

She suddenly threw herself into Chen Ruoyao's arms, wrapped her arms tightly around her waist, buried her face in her shoulder, and cried her heart out, as if she wanted to cry out all the humiliation, all the grievances, and all the resentment of the past few months.

Chen Ruoyao froze for a moment, sitting there motionless as if she had been paralyzed by an acupuncture point.

Her hand hung in mid-air, unsure of where to put it.

After a long, long time, Chen Ruoyao's hand slowly fell down, gently patting Yun Suxin's back.

The movements were very light and gentle, like soothing a child having a nightmare.

The night breeze seeped in through the cracks in the window, causing the candlelight to flicker gently.

Two women who looked exactly alike embraced each other, one crying and the other patting, like two rootless grasses that had finally found a foothold to lean on.

The moonlight shone on them, casting their shadows on the wall, overlapping and making it impossible to distinguish one from the other.

Chen Ruoyao leaned back in her chair, her gaze fixed on the closed door, and spoke after a long while.

He's gone.

Her voice was very soft, as if she were talking to herself, or as if she were speaking to Yun Suxin.

"I know." Yun Suxin's voice was muffled, coming from Chen Ruoyao's shoulder, with the nasal tone characteristic of someone who had just cried.

She didn't look up, but just leaned against Chen Ruoyao, like someone who had been adrift at sea for too long finally grabbing a piece of driftwood and never wanting to let go.

Chen Ruoyao looked down at her. On that face that looked exactly like hers, there were still tear stains, red and swollen eyes, slightly parted lips, and her breathing gradually became steady.

Do you really hate him?

She asked.

Yun Suxin remained silent for a moment.

"What does it matter if I hate you or not?"

"Then do you still hate me?" Chen Ruoyao's voice was even softer, carrying a hint of unease that she herself did not realize.

Yun Suxin fell silent.

Then she spoke, her voice hoarse.

"have no idea."

Chen Ruoyao's eyelashes trembled slightly, like the surface of a lake being rippled by the wind.

She didn't speak, but simply reached out and gently stroked Yun Suxin's long hair that fell over her shoulder.

The movements were very light and gentle, like an older sister taking care of her injured younger sister.

Yun Suxin's body stiffened slightly, but she did not dodge.

She simply leaned on Chen Ruoyao's shoulder, closed her eyes, and let that hand run through her hair.

"I used to hate you."

Chen Ruoyao's voice was very soft, as if she were talking about something from a long time ago.

"I hate that you chose me, I hate that you gave me a face that doesn't belong to me, I hate that you made me live in your shadow."

Yun Suxin's eyelashes trembled slightly.

"But later I stopped hating it."

Chen Ruoyao paused for a moment, then continued.

"Because Your Majesty is right, hating someone is exhausting. And now I've realized that you're not as strong as you seem. You also feel fear, make mistakes, and are trampled underfoot."

Her voice carried a hint of something indescribable.

"Like now."

Yun Suxin did not answer.

She simply leaned on Chen Ruoyao's shoulder, her eyelashes trembling slightly, her breathing gradually becoming steady and long.

Like a tired cat that has finally let down its guard.

Chen Ruoyao didn't say anything more.

She simply sat there quietly, gently stroking Yun Suxin's hair with one hand, her gaze fixed on the deep night outside the window.

Length of night.