Chapter 836: Chapter 836: Trading Death for Freedom from Imprisonment
That night, after it rained all night, An Ruo fell ill.
The servant who brought her meals delivered breakfast in the morning, and when they returned in the afternoon to bring lunch and collect the morning dishes, they found the breakfast untouched.
She didn’t think much of it, as An Ruo occasionally skipped meals.
That evening, when she came to deliver supper, she noticed that lunch was still untouched. Feeling suspicious yet not daring to make any decisions on her own, she reported the situation to Xingtian.
Xingtian’s first reaction was that she was on a hunger strike, but on second thought, she had never done so before. Even if she sometimes skipped meals, it was typically because she ate too much in the morning. However, she would always have some supper.
She hadn’t eaten all day; she must have fallen ill.
Reviewing the surveillance footage, he saw the confined An Ruo curled up on the bed, asleep. She appeared peaceful, yet her face was unusually flushed.
An Ruo was sick, and seriously so; by the time she was discovered, she had already lost consciousness.
Even though Xingtian took her back to her old bedroom and called a doctor to treat her, she didn’t wake up.
The doctor said she lacked the will to live, and if she didn’t wake up, her condition would remain perilous.
Xingtian stared at her pale and thin face, his expression deep and somber.
During this time, he had hardened his heart not to see her, and he hadn’t expected her to become so frail. If she hadn’t fallen ill, perhaps by the time he saw her, she wouldn’t be recognizable anymore.
Is this still the same An Ruo who once looked so delicate and bright?
Xingtian stayed by her bedside for two days before she hazily opened her eyes.
An Ruo slightly moved her eyes, saw him sitting by the bed, and asked in confusion, “What happened to me?”
Xingtian replied blandly, “You’re sick.”
An Ruo recalled the high fever she had that night and thought she was surely doomed.
Her life was indeed cheap; she kept surviving and always managed to pull through.
“Why did you save me?” she asked him, “Staying alive only means being imprisoned by you forever, I’d rather die.”
“Do you really want to die that much?” Xingtian leaned toward her and asked coldly.
“Who wants to die? But right now, living is worse than dying, so I might as well be dead.”
The man spoke expressionlessly, “This living hell is your own doing. If you hadn’t resisted me, would you be in this situation? An Ruo, you’re fighting against yourself!”
An Ruo couldn’t help but sneer, “Is the caged thrush forced to sing every day to blame as well? It yearns for freedom, exchanging death for relief from captivity, is that wrong? Xingtian, I’m just the bird in the cage; the cage is not my Heaven. Sooner or later, I’ll die.”
Xingtian’s eyes widened in shock, and he stood up, his voice sullen, “But I can’t let you go! I know you will die, but what should I do, let you go and lose you forever?!”
“You never truly had me,” An Ruo said lightly, causing the man to feel a loud boom in his mind, as if something exploded.
Never had, so there’s no losing…
Xingtian felt a sharp pain in his heart, realizing that no matter how powerful he was, she could shatter his iron bones with just a single sentence, leaving him utterly devastated.
“Yes, I’ve indeed never truly had you,” he laughed coldly. That smile was somewhat difficult to watch, “And precisely because I can’t have you, no one else should ever think of having you either!