I've been bullied and humiliated for thirteen years; when I wake up, I'll be bloodthirsty.

Chapter 477 I'm always defenseless around you.

Blood slowly flowed from the corner of Zong Yujing's lips, and his consciousness began to blur.

Zong Yujing gripped the thin sword embedded in his body with one hand, while his other hand trembled as he clutched Zong Que's collar: "No, A-Que, you wouldn't do this, you wouldn't..."

Zong Yujing had imagined anyone could kill him, but it would never be Zong Que.

He had witnessed far too much darkness and awfulness in his life, until he completely let himself sink into darkness as well. But he had also seen the light. In his utterly terrible life, there were a few people who had tried for his absurd and nonexistent existence. One of them was Rong Che, who was willing to be his friend. Rong Che said that when he returned from the Northern Expedition, he would use his military achievements to ask His Majesty to grant him his freedom. He could go wherever he wanted, away from the palace and the capital, and live as an ordinary person.

One is Rong Xin, who said that you are yourself. No matter how similar two people look, they can never replace each other. You can have your own life.

But Rong Che died, and Rong Xin died too.

The siblings gave him his only salvation in the darkness, but Zong Lin destroyed them all.

It was then that he suddenly realized that perhaps twins really are incompatible. Zong Lin seemed to be taking away the things he cared about: his face, his life, the only friend he had, and the person he loved.

Everything about him.

Then came Zong Que.

When Zong Que was still a very young child, he stubbornly told him that he was himself and not someone else, and he even went to Zong Lin again and again to ask him to set him free.

It wasn't until after Rong Xin's death that Zong Lin, probably genuinely not wanting him to go mad, finally agreed to Zong Que's repeated requests, bestowing upon him the title of Prince Shun, and finding a pretext to demote him to Yuzhou, forbidding him from ever returning to the capital.

As a prince who was like a shadow, after arriving in Yuzhou, no one cared about him anymore. However, he also knew that sending him to Yuzhou was already the biggest concession Zong Lin had made. He would never leave Yuzhou in his entire life. Even if Zong Lin died one day, the first order before his death would definitely be to secretly execute him.

But in Yuzhou, there was truly no one left who could control him.

Later, when Zong Que grew up and gradually came to power, he opened up maritime trade and made a special trip to Yuzhou to see him. He told him that if he was not comfortable in Yuzhou, he could take a boat out to sea and leave Dazhao.

Zong Que never forgot him.

Therefore, he never believed that he would one day die at the hands of Zong Que.

The excruciating pain and the chill that gradually swept through his body finally made Zong Yujing realize that he was going to die; he was actually going to die.

"Ah Que, how could you, how could you do this? I thought, I thought at least you wouldn't do this to me..."

Zong Que's hand, gripping the sword, was covered in blood. His knuckles bulged from the force of his grip. "I only regret not killing you sooner."

“I personally brought you to Yuzhou, but you were fooled by Zong Ke’s words and completely lost your last shred of integrity. You wantonly conscripted people to work in the mines, built your mausoleum, and took in and controlled those vicious criminals to become pirates, burning, killing, and looting at sea to amass wealth.”

"What you've done deserves to die ten thousand times over."

"Zong Lin has wronged me!" Zong Yujing shouted with his last bit of strength.

"Uncle, are you still going to keep up the act?" Zong Que said calmly, "If you really recruited soldiers and marched back to the capital, and truly confronted Father Emperor head-on to reclaim what you feel he owes you, I would respect you more. But you are nothing but an incompetent coward. You dare not, you hate Father Emperor for ruining you, but you don't even have the courage to face him directly! Did Zong Ke tell you that he could help you take revenge, could kill Father Emperor and let you sit in that position, and then you were tempted, and you let him use your name to set up schemes in Yuzhou, causing chaos and suffering to the people of Yuzhou, you fool!"

Zong Yujing's eyes were wet with tears.

In that instant, countless memories flashed before his eyes, many bad, but also some good.

But why did he ultimately choose the wrong one?

Zong Que told him to stop pretending, and he was indeed pretending because he hated, he just hated.

Everything he wanted was destroyed by Zong Lin, how could he not hate him?

It wasn't that he didn't want to resist or take revenge; he simply didn't have the opportunity. So, he was tempted and allowed Zong Ke to use his name to orchestrate the destruction of Yuzhou.

How could he not know?

But he wanted to destroy everything, everything that belonged to Zong Lin, including Da Zhao.

It's just a few civilians dying, what does it have to do with him? These aren't his people. Even if the King of Hell were to settle accounts, he should hold Zong Lin accountable. This is all Zong Lin's doing.

It's all Zong Lin's fault!

But... Zong Yujing stared at Zong Que with blurred vision.

"Ah Que... I agree with everything you've said, but I'm always completely unguarded around you..."

Zong Que raised his hand and placed it on his brow. "I know, that's why I can only come to see you alone. Only in this way, when you think I'm useless and that I can't kill you, can I kill you."

If he hadn't been so certain that Zong Yujing wouldn't be on guard against him, or rather, if Zong Yujing hadn't been so confident that he would never kill him, then he wouldn't have been able to kill Zong Yujing from beginning to end. Even the few people hidden in this underground palace were just bluffing as a precaution. That would have been the fundamental reason why he was able to kill Zong Yujing.

That's why he came looking for me all by himself.

If it were anyone else, they would have been dead long ago.

Zong Yujing is a madman, but he is... too naive.

Zong Que took advantage of his naiveté.

"Ah Que, you'll regret this..." Zong Yujing's voice grew weaker and weaker until it was completely inaudible.

Zong Que's fingers trembled slightly, then gently fell, and he closed Zong Que's eyes with his fingers.

He pulled the long sword that had pierced Zong Yujing's body, coughed violently twice, and coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.

He lowered his eyes and quietly looked at Zong Yujing, then bent down and picked him up. He turned around and walked with difficulty to the coffin in the center of the underground palace, where he placed Zong Yujing inside.

The merits and demerits of an emperor's life will be judged by future history.

But Zong Yujing, like the innocent people he harmed, will eventually be completely obliterated in the dust of history, leaving nothing behind.

This is his greatest regret.

In his eyes, what was clearly just a momentary difference was the distance between the sun, moon, stars, and dust.

But he forgot that everything, from the sun and moon to the stars and even a speck of dust, has its own life. It takes countless specks of dust to form the sun, moon, and stars. Even if no one remembers, his own memories and experiences are real traces, and the convergence of countless traces is where the light of history has shone.

Zong Que lowered his eyes, really wanting to close the coffin, when the underground palace suddenly began to shake. A section of the floor was opened, and by the candlelight, Zong Que saw that there were still many craftsmen working below the palace. At this moment, the glazed wall began to slowly shatter.

The underground palace is about to collapse!