hotmtlnovel Chapter 374 Yearning for Freedom
Chapter 374 Yearning for Freedom
Chapter 374 Yearning for Freedom
After speaking, Zhu Zhuqing felt a little more relaxed, and her heart seemed less depressed.
These things have been weighing on my mind, with no one to confide in and no one to listen.
Saying it out now made her feel much better.
Just like the floodwaters that had been dammed up were finally dredged, I felt incredibly comfortable and relaxed for a moment.
She hadn't spoken this much in a long time.
Since awakening her martial spirit at the age of six, she, like her older sister Zhu Zhuyun, has been listed as a candidate successor by the family.
From then on, all those who were close to her before, whether family, friends, or playmates, distanced themselves from her.
She gradually became cold and indifferent, and there was no one left to talk to.
Although she had several guards assigned by her family, these guards were not loyal to her. Apart from obeying the family's orders and fulfilling their duties as guards, they could not get close to her at all.
After all, in the eyes of these guards, she was just a whetstone arranged by the family for her older sister Zhu Zhuyun, a sacrifice, and there was no way she could defeat her sister.
Unable to wrest the family inheritance from her sister, no one was willing to be close to her, let alone pledge allegiance to her.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Zhu Zhuqing was a complete loner in the family.
Originally, Zhu Zhuqing didn't want to bring up family matters, but when Ye Qifeng asked, she was very willing to talk about it.
She even wanted to tell him all her worries, the pressures she faced, and her suffering.
For some reason, Ye Qifeng seemed to possess a magical power that filled her with trust in him.
After Zhu Zhuqing finished speaking, Ye Qifeng glanced at her and said calmly:
"I've heard about the family rules of the Zhu family of the Star Luo Netherworld Grand Duke's Mansion. To put it nicely, it's called competition; to put it bluntly, it's called raising poisonous insects."
"In the end, it's nothing more than infighting and the supremacy of strength."
"That's true."
Zhu Zhuqing thought for a moment, then nodded slightly, agreeing with this statement.
But she had no choice. If she wanted to survive, she could only follow her family's arrangements, abide by the rules of the game, and accept her fate.
Looking at Zhu Zhuqing's youthful yet cold face, Ye Qifeng felt a pang of pity. After thinking for a moment, he asked softly:
"What are your plans next? Return to Xingluo City and go back to the Zhu family?"
Zhu Zhuqing held a roasted rabbit in her hand, her eyes slightly unfocused, seemingly somewhat lost:
"I don't know either."
At this moment, Ye Qifeng asked again:
"I remember that the Dai family of the Star Luo royal family and the Zhu family of your Netherworld Grand Duke's Mansion have an extremely close relationship and a tradition of intermarriage for generations."
"Now that you've been listed as a potential heir to the Zhu family, shouldn't you have a marriage proposal in mind?"
Zhu Zhuqing paused for a moment, then nodded slightly:
"some."
"His name is Dai Mubai. He is the third prince of the Dai family, the royal family of the Star Luo Empire. He is three years older than me. We got engaged shortly after I awakened my martial soul at the age of six."
"Where are the others?"
Ye Qifeng looked at Zhu Zhuqing and asked in a calm tone.
For the past two weeks or so, he has been staying in the Star Dou Great Forest and has not paid much attention to what is happening in Star Luo City.
He wasn't entirely clear on how many things would unfold.
Zhu Zhuqing pursed her slightly oily lips, a hint of sadness flashing in her eyes:
"He ran away."
it is as expected.
It seems that the world's development has not been completely disrupted by my intrusion; some things are still proceeding according to their original course.
Dai Mubai really abandoned Zhu Zhuqing and went off to the Heaven Dou Empire to live a carefree life.
Ye Qifeng thought to himself silently.
Then Zhu Zhuqing spoke coldly, her tone seemingly tinged with resentment:
"That coward Dai Mubai secretly left Xingluo City a month ago and ran away to the Heaven Dou Empire, leaving me alone in Xingluo City to fend for myself, leaving me to face my sister Zhu Zhuyun and Davis alone."
"Davis is the eldest prince of the Star Luo Empire and Dai Mubai's older brother. He is six years older than Dai Mubai and is an outstanding candidate in terms of intelligence, talent, and strength."
"Dai Mubai and I were betrothed since childhood, as were my sister Zhu Zhuyun and Davis."
"Originally, we were competing within our respective families. Dai Mubai was dealing with his brother Davis, while I was dealing with my sister Zhu Zhuyun."
"But now that Dai Mubai has escaped to the Heaven Dou Empire, without his restraint, Davis can free up his hands to help my sister target me."
"How can I possibly withstand the combined pressure from my sister and Davis? It's already difficult enough facing my sister alone. If Davis joins the fight, I will have no chance of winning and will surely die."
At this point, Zhu Zhuqing's icy tone was filled with even more hatred:
"That coward is clearly very talented. He has a top-tier martial soul and is a genius with innate level nine soul power. He can be said to be the strongest among the four of us."
"But he just doesn't work hard to cultivate, and even degenerates into himself, giving up on himself, thinking that there is no hope of winning, and now he has run away."
"If he hadn't run away, I wouldn't have ended up in this state, being chased all the way here by my sister."
As she spoke, the chill emanating from Zhu Zhuqing was almost enough to freeze into ice, and the hatred in her eyes surged fiercely, as if she wanted to tear Dai Mubai to pieces.
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing's face full of resentment and hatred, Ye Qifeng did not speak immediately, allowing her to vent for a while.
Have you thought about going to find him?
After a moment of silence, he finally spoke and asked.
"I've thought about it."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing's aura instantly faltered, her expression turning dejected once more. She gave a soft "hmm" and nodded.
"Brother Ye, to be honest, the reason I came to the Star Dou Great Forest this time was to find him."
"I don't want to die, but I'm simply not capable of defeating my sister. Her talent, strength, wisdom, and political acumen are all superior to mine; I can't possibly match her."
"But I can't defeat my sister on my own, not to mention Davis is watching me like a hawk."
"If I stayed in the Zhu family, even if my sister didn't assassinate me, I would still be doomed when she turned twenty-five."
"And the only way I can think of to survive is through Dai Mubai."
"Only by going to the Heaven Dou Empire to find him, follow him and urge him to cultivate, and by relying on his talent and strength, can I have a chance to survive and carve out a future."
"Of course, the reason I want to leave Xingluo City is also to get away from this place of trouble and the vortex of family infighting, so that I can be more free."
After explaining her reasons for going to find Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing then described her escape plan in detail to Ye Qifeng.
"More than half a month ago, I reached the bottleneck of the Soul Master realm—the top level 20. After that, I began to plan to take advantage of the opportunity to hunt for my second Soul Ring, directly cross the Star Dou Great Forest, and escape to the Heaven Dou Empire."
"Although time was a bit rushed and my plan was extremely secretive, and I didn't tell anyone else, for some reason, my sister still found out about it."
"Moreover, because he underestimated the danger of the Star Dou Great Forest, he was unable to escape his sister's pursuit and ultimately fell here."
"I'm so lucky to have met you, Brother Ye, otherwise I might be dead."
Upon hearing this, Ye Qifeng smiled slightly and said:
"Actually, even if you hadn't met me, you wouldn't have died. Your sister would have saved you."
Upon hearing Ye Qifeng speak well of his sister Zhu Zhuyun, Zhu Zhuqing became quite agitated, her little face puffing up.
"How could that be? Why would my sister save me? She'd rather I die sooner."
"Brother Ye, you have no idea, all the injuries on my body are thanks to her."
Father, like son.
Zhu Zhuqing did not see the truth of the matter, nor did she truly understand her sister Zhu Zhuyun, and she was unaware of her intentions.
But Ye Qifeng saw something unusual.
He knew very well that Zhu Zhuyun did not really want Zhu Zhuqing dead; otherwise, Zhu Zhuqing's injuries would not have all avoided vital organs.
Zhu Zhuyun still cares a lot about her younger sister, Zhu Zhuqing.
Little did he know that he had only touched Zhu Zhuqing's body before Zhu Zhuyun had scratched him countless times.
To say I don't care would be a lie.
Regardless of the circumstances, even though Zhu Zhuyun had her own reasons for targeting Zhu Zhuqing and cared about her deeply, she still caused her great harm.
Ye Qifeng didn't say much.
He shook his head, not saying anything more about Zhu Zhuyun's question, and instead said:
"So what are you planning to do now?"
"With your current strength, let alone crossing the Star Dou Great Forest, even if you went to the Heaven Dou Empire through normal channels, you might not be able to arrive successfully."
"The outside world is much more dangerous than you imagine. It's very dangerous for a pretty young girl like you to travel alone."
"Besides, the Zhu family might not let you leave."
Zhu Zhuqing sighed:
"Brother Ye, you're right. I'm too weak. With my current strength, I can't possibly go to the Heavenly Dou Empire alone. I need to become stronger."
"Therefore, I plan to return to my family to continue my cultivation and increase my strength."
Ye Qifeng glanced at her, somewhat surprised that she had taken the initiative to suggest returning to her family:
"Aren't you afraid your sister will harm you?"
"I'm not afraid."
Zhu Zhuqing shook her head, her face cool and extremely serious:
"My sister wouldn't kill me in the family; she wouldn't dare. At most, she would just use some tricks to make things difficult for me."
"The family has a rule that prohibits family members from fighting each other and killing each other."
"As long as I don't leave the family, I won't be in any danger. I will also try my best to avoid meeting my sister so as not to give her any opportunity to make things difficult for me. Then I will focus on cultivation and strive to improve my cultivation level."
"Within the family, I can obtain some cultivation resources, although not much, but it's still better than outside."
"Once I have enough strength and the time is right, I will plan carefully and I will definitely be able to reach the Heaven Dou Empire next time."
As expected, he's still hoping to rely on that lecherous tiger, Dai Mubai.
But that's understandable.
Zhu Zhuqing is still young, with limited vision and insight, and lacks talent and strength, so she can only place her hopes on Dai Mubai.
Unfortunately, Dai Mubai, that lecherous tiger, didn't cultivate properly at all after escaping from Xingluo to the Tiandou Empire.
Instead, he indulged in debauchery and self-degradation outside, becoming hopelessly addicted to women.
Can you believe that someone who is already a seasoned womanizer at only a teenager?
Both Dai Mubai and Dai Mubai bear the fate imposed upon them by their families, yet Dai Mubai can live a carefree and unrestrained life outside.
Zhu Zhuqing, on the other hand, could only fight desperately to survive.
At a young age, she was burdened with a tragic fate, forced by her family to be bound to someone else.
How utterly worthless!
Ye Qifeng stared at Zhu Zhuqing's serious little face for a while, then smiled and asked:
"Zhuqing, haven't you ever thought about breaking free from the shackles of your family, escaping your cage, and changing your own destiny?"
Zhu Zhuqing bit her lip, first nodding slightly, then shaking her head:
"I want to, but I can't. It's the family rule, my destiny, an inescapable fate."
Ye Qifeng chuckled and said:
"Zhuqing, you must understand that rules are made by people. Since they are made by people, they can make mistakes, and they can also be changed."
"Just like the competition between you and your sister, and the marriage agreement between you and Dai Mubai, these were imposed on you by others, not your own will. So they are wrong, and can be corrected. Naturally, they are not so-called destiny."
"Rules are made by people. They can be wrong, changed, and corrected. Are family rules not one's destiny?"
Zhu Zhuqing murmured softly, repeating Ye Qifeng's words, trying hard to digest and understand their meaning.
This was the first time she had heard someone tell her that the family rules were wrong and that so-called destiny was also incorrect.
At that moment, she felt as if she had been enlightened, and the door to the world had been opened for her.
"in addition."
Ye Qifeng then continued:
"Fate is never fixed or immutable; it is something you have to strive for."
"Zhuqing, have you ever heard this saying?"
"What did you say?"
Zhu Zhuqing asked subconsciously.
"My fate is in my own hands, not in the hands of heaven!"
Ye Qifeng smiled slightly and explained:
"This is a famous saying by a deity who possesses the supernatural powers of having three heads and six arms."
"It means that as long as you are strong enough, strong enough to break the shackles of fate, strong enough to change the rules, or even make the rules, then you can control your own destiny, and even God can't do anything to you."
Looking at Zhu Zhuqing, whose eyes were wide with shock, Ye Qifeng smiled gently and said softly:
"Zhuqing, I know that deep down you really yearn for freedom."
"However, in this world where strength reigns supreme, one must possess great power to gain freedom."
"As long as you are strong enough, strong enough that no one can rival you, strong enough to make everyone fear you, then no one will be able to restrict your freedom. You can go anywhere in the world, and no one will dare to talk nonsense or criticize you."
Zhu Zhuqing's beautiful black eyes widened, as if a sharp light was flashing within them.
Ye Qifeng's words struck a chord with her.
If she could, she certainly wouldn't want to be a candidate for family heir, nor would she want to be the head of the family, and she certainly wouldn't want to enter into a marriage agreement with that coward Dai Mubai.
Compared to power and status.
She longed for freedom, for a carefree, unrestrained life.
Instead of being trapped in endless family struggles and dangers, unable to control their own destiny, and constantly at risk of losing their lives.
Thank you to [Unexpected] for the 200 Qidian Coins! Thank you to [Unattainable Rose] for the 688 Book Coins!
(End of this chapter)