Chapter28—ThroughtheFire。
Thegreathallhadbeealmostunreizable。Smokedriftedbehthetimberbeams,swallowingthebannersandturningthebraziersintoblurredelights。Tableslayoverturnedacrossthefloor,andtheonce-loudhallhadfallenintoaneeriesilencebrokenonlybythecragoffire。
XieZhengsteppedthroughthesmoke。
Thenhesawher。
Acrossthehall,severalpacesaway,stoodayoungwomaninapaledress。
Foramoment,healmostmistookherforsomeoneelse。
Herlongblackhairhadged。
Strandsofsilver-whiteranthroughit,spreadingfromhertemplesdowntowardtheends。Herfacewasfrighteninglypale,andtherewasafainttraceofbloodattheerofherlips。Suyuan。。。。
Shelookedathimthroughthesmokeherofthemmoved。XieZhenghadimagihismomenttlesstimesduringtheridefromthefrontier。Hehadimaginedfindingafrightenedprincess,aprisoner,perhapsevensomeonealreadybeyondsaving。Hehadnotimaginedfindiandingcalmlyinthemiddleofaburninghall。
"Suyuan。"
Hisvoicecarriedacrossthedistance。
Sheblinked。
"GeneralSu。。。"
Shekhatname。
Thenephewofthemanhermotherhadloved。
Themanwhosefamilyhadlostsomeonebecauseofthesamewarthathaddestroyedhermotherslife。
XieZhengtookoepforward。
Suyuandidnotmove。
"Youcametoolate,"shesaidquietly。
"Iknow。"
Herlipscurvedintoafaint,tiredsmile。
"Youshouldnthavee。"
"Perhaps。"XieZhehiseyesonher。"ButIdid。"
Aloudcracksoundedabovethem。
Partofthewoodenstructureshifted。
XieZhengimmediatelylookedupwardbeforereturninghisgazetoher。
"Weoleave。"
Suyuanshookherhead。
"It。"
"Why?"
Sheglancedaroundthehall。
Therewasnoprideinherexpressionnow。Notriumpheither。
Onlyexhaustion。
"BecauseIhaveogo。"
XieZhenguoodmorethanshehadsaid。
Hestartedwalkingtowardher。
Suyuansuddenlycoughed。