Zither Emperor

Chapter 35 – Sura’s Story (II)

“Crazy? Me? Elder Brother Oliveira said that war is like a game, and the commander is the game master. In order to ultimately attain victory, any and all methods should be used, even if we need to sacrifice our own troops to obtain it. I am merely following his military strategy and tactics! Was I mistaken?” Ye Yin Zhu hadn’t seen the bloody battlefield properly, so he was currently unable to imagine the scene of exploding dragons killing the army of several tens of thousands of beastmen back then.

Sura smiled slightly and said, “No, of course you’re not mistaken. You saved Konya City and even all of Puglia Plains. You’re a hero. It’s just very difficult for me to imagine someone like you being capable of turning this absolutely disadvantageous situation around. Perhaps only Blue Dias would’ve been able to achieve this. Sometimes, I really suspect that you are from Blue Dias.”

“Sura.” A voice as pleasant as a phoenix’s cry came from behind the door. The door opened, and Xiang Luan entered the room. Today, she wore a pink cheongsam, completely covering up all of her skin. Even her neck was covered by a little collar. A smile graced her beautiful, delicate face. Clearly in a good mood, her remarkable beauty naturally stunned Ye Yin Zhu every time he saw her.

“Princess Xiang Luan.” Sura got up to salute her, but his expression was very cold.

Ye Yin Zhu struggled to sit up. He didn’t care very much about the Ruler and Subject Etiquette, but since this girl came, he felt that it wouldn’t be good to be lying down.

“Ah! Yin Zhu, you’re awake.” When she saw that Ye Yin Zhu had already woken up, Xiang Luan immediately overlooked Sura and sat near Ye Yin Zhu, leaving little space between them. She scanned him from top to bottom, fearful that Ye Yin Zhu was missing a body part.

Ye Yin Zhu looked at her with a blush on his face. “Senior Xiang Luan, I’m fine.”

Xiang Luan relaxed and said, “Fortunately, you are alright, my great hero. If Sura hadn’t said that it would be inconvenient for a girl to take care of you, Hai Yang and I would’ve stayed.”

With a faint fragrance emitting from her body along with her body practically next to his, Ye Yin Zhu couldn’t help but flush. “Senior Xiang Luan, thank you for your concern.”

Xiang Luan giggled and said, “Don’t be so awkward, okay? When we climbed the mountain, you had already carried me. You weren’t like this back then.”

Ye Yin Zhu embarrassedly said, “It was an emergency at that time. I…”

Xiang Luan smiled and said, “Come on, I know you are a shy shota, but sometimes I can’t see through you. I even saw your reluctance to kill the beastmen. Yin Zhu, I realize that you are becoming increasingly similar to the ideal hero of my heart. How about you pursue me? As long as you continue to try hard, maybe you really can succeed.”

“Cough cough.” To the side, Sura coughed twice. “Senior Xiang Luan, you didn’t come to see us in order to have Yin Zhu chase after you, right?”

Xiang Luan sent Sura a deep look. “I came to tell you to immediately go to Sacred Heart City. The battlefield here has already been swept through, and the reinforcements have also arrived. Generalissimo Maldini doesn’t feel at ease with Fisichella and I here, so he is making all of the Institution students go to Sacred Heart City. After we get there, we’re to return to Milan City.”

Ye Yin Zhu said in surprise, “Return? The war is already over?”

Xiang Luan nodded and said, “We just received news earlier this morning. The beastmen of Mjolnir Stronghold might not have known the legion sent to ambush Konya City were completely wiped out, but they had already completely retreated back to Mjolnir Stronghold to defend it. According to Generalissimo Maldini, Thor Tribe’s losses were tremendous. They are unable to recover their strength in a short amount of time, so our frontier will have a comparatively longer period of peace once more.”

Sura sighed lightly. “No war is always good.”

Xiang Luan got up and said, “Okay, I’ll take my leave and let the two of you prepare. If Hai Yang knew Yin Zhu was awake, she will certainly be very happy. Oh, right. Yin Zhu, you need to be a bit more careful. Try to be together with the students as much as possible. Right now, the Dragon Cavalry have very strong complaints about you. After all, you killed their mounts, many of which could’ve been lifelong companions.”

Xiang Luan then left.

Ye Yin Zhu looked seriously at Sura and asked, “Is it not good to kill so much?

Sura shook his head and explained, “That depends on what kind of killing. If you kill in order to protect your friends and country, then it isn’t wrong. Yin Zhu, don’t think too much on this. You didn’t willfully slaughter the innocent at all. If you didn’t kill those beastmen, even more of the Milan Empire’s population would’ve been killed. You only killed because it was necessary.”

Ye Yin Zhu smiled. “I also think so. Zi said that in order to protect yourself, you should deal the strongest blow to your enemy. The best solution is to kill your opponent, especially so they won’t become an inconvenience again.”

Just as Sura tried to correct him, Ye Yin Zhu suddenly said, “Sura, now that it’s just the two of us, you should explain this.” As he spoke, he lifted his hand and revealed the space ring upon his finger, flickering with a silvery light.

Looking at the ring sparkling with silvery light, Sura remained silent. Ye Yin Zhu also didn’t feel anxious as his clear eyes looked at Sura. He waited, waiting for Sura to explain.

“Yin Zhu, you are a good person. When we first met, I knew you were a good person. Yes, that beggar was me. You gave me money, and I still stole your ring. Aren’t I so despicable?” Sura laughed self-deprecatingly.

Ye Yin Zhu lightly shook his head and said, “No, in no way are you a despicable person. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been friends.”

Sura’s vision was somewhat blurred. “I love money a lot. At least, before I knew you, I felt that money was my everything. With money, I could go to school at Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts. I could buy tasty things to eat, buy weapons and equipment that I liked, and also live more comfortably. With more money, I could do a lot of the things I missed doing.

“At that time, I didn’t have money, so I pretended to be a beggar in order to steal. The predecessors of assassins were, for the most part, thieves. Of course, I’m an expert at martial arts. I never believed that this world had any good people, so even if you didn’t give me money, I would’ve stolen from you. That is my explanation.”

As he said this, Sura felt for Angel’s Sigh and the Silver Dragon reverse scale up his sleeve before placing them in front of Ye Yin Zhu. “These were the things you had given me, and now I’m returning them to you. I can also forcefully sever the contract between Yin Bi and I, and you can gift him to someone else in the future. For example, Xiang Luan is very fond of ‘Yin Bi,’ and with her identity as the Imperial Princess, I believe she will also treat Yin Bi well. Unfortunately, the Eternal Substitute Puppet cannot be separated from me. In the future, I will think of a way to return something of equal value to you.”

Sura’s expression was very indifferent. His indifference didn’t contain even a single tinge of emotion. Having quietly settled all that he needed to do, he stood up and lowered his head. Although his body seemed very tranquil, at this moment, his heart shook.

Ye Yin Zhu’s gaze was also very serene, but it wasn’t indifferent. He saw that Sura had finished. “Are you done speaking?”

Sura nodded.

Ye Yin Zhu asked, “Nothing else to explain?”

Sura raised his head to look at him, before dully saying, “What other explanation do you want to listen to? Don’t tell me that you let me cheat you? Do you want me to tell you that I was forced by circumstances to steal from you at that time? No, I wasn’t. I stole from you because of my greedy heart. That’s all.”

Shaking his head, Ye Yin Zhu said, “No. That’s not what I want to hear. Sura, do you believe that returning these two things to me represents the end of our relationship?”

Sura raised his head, a light flashing through his eyes. “What more do you want?”

Ye Yin Zhu smiled. “I don’t want anything. But, you already promised to give me food and help me tidy up my rooms for a lifetime. I have already paid the money for this. Even if you want to go back on the deal, I’m afraid it’s too late.”

“You…” Sura stared at him blankly, somewhat unwilling to believe him. He said, “You don’t blame me for lying to you for so long? For stealing and walking away with your important possessions?”

Ye Yin Zhu pressed Angel’s Sigh into Sura’s hand first before grasping the Silver Dragon reverse scale and pressing it against Sura’s chest. “People shouldn’t always live like this, no? Regardless of what you have previously done, I know of your sincerity toward me. We are best friends, good brothers. That is enough. Everyone has their own past. I don’t want your past to influence our relationship. Yi, Sura, why are your pectoral muscles so soft? Your undergarments seem very thick as well!”

Sura immediately reacted, slipping out of Ye Yin Zhu’s ‘clutches.’ Blushing heavily, he asked, “Why are you randomly groping my chest?” At this moment, his eyes were filled with shyness and embarrassment, but his heart no longer trembled. His body, however, began to shake slightly because of Ye Yin Zhu’s accidental groping just now.

“Well, the past has already past. Let’s not mention it in the future, okay? We are still the same as before.” From then on, pure Ye Yin Zhu never saw anything more from Sura’s body again.

Sura protected his chest with both of his arms. “That’s no good. Even if you don’t blame me, I don’t want to be forgiven. Yin Zhu, didn’t you know? When I met you again, I immediately wanted to return it to you, but I hesitated at that time. We became roommates, and I didn’t want you to despise me. Later on, we actually became friends, so I was even more reluctant to return it to you. I really didn’t want to lose you. I didn’t know that the things in this ring were so important to you.” As he said this, tears involuntarily fell from his eyes.

“Eh?” Ye Yin Zhu stared at him blankly. “Sura, don’t be like this. Didn’t I already say that it’s all in the past?