We Agreed On Experiencing Life, So Why Did You Immortals Become Real? Chapter 380: Big Brother, Tell Me, Did I Win This Time?

In the imperial palace of the Qin Kingdom, deep within the Imperial Study.

The sovereign of the Qin Kingdom was seated at his desk, intently dealing with the stack of state documents piled up from recent days.

All this while, his mind had been in utter chaos, fixated on the distant battlefield at Huaishan Pass a thousand li away. He could scarcely find rest day or night, anxiously awaiting updates from the front.

Moments after he lifted his vermillion brush to examine a memorial, a faint "crack" echoed. The brush clenched in his grasp broke cleanly in half out of nowhere.

Before he could shake off his astonishment, hurried footsteps echoed from beyond the Imperial Study.

Right then, Eunuch Li rushed inside, his face ashen white, almost slithering on the floor. His voice quivered wildly, "Your Majesty... something terrible... something terrible has happened..."

"What matter causes such panic?"

The sovereign of the Qin Kingdom lifted his gaze, brows knitted tightly, his voice laced with clear irritation.

Deep in his heart, a foreboding feeling stirred.

With those words spoken, Eunuch Li kowtowed even more. In the hushed study, only muffled sobs and the thuds of his forehead against the floor resounded.

The sovereign of the Qin Kingdom stood rigid. The snapped brush slipped gradually from his fingers, landing with a gentle "tap" on the open memorial.

Vermillion ink bloomed like blood, slowly soaking the paper in crimson.

…

In the Mind Nurturing Hall, tendrils of incense smoke wafted lazily upward.

Empress Shi knelt on the cushion before the Buddha statue, her fingers gently rotating the prayer beads as she murmured sutras in a soft voice.

Empress Shi wasn't typically devout to Buddha, yet lately she had fervently prayed for her two sons battling at the border. But midway through her sutra, eyes shut in focus, a subtle "snap" rang out.

The string of beads in her grasp shattered abruptly without cause.

Dozens of sandalwood beads flew apart, clattering and rolling every which way across the floor, their erratic taps shattering the hall's silence.

Her chanting halted instantly.

Empress Shi gazed dazedly at the beads strewn about the ground. Her heart pounded uncontrollably, a chilling wave of dread surging from her core like frigid waters, overwhelming every prayer.

She remained kneeling, unmoving, her eyes vacant on those scattered beads.

After what felt like ages, as Empress Shi's awareness slowly returned, a piercing ache seized her chest.

Tears welled up unbidden in her eyes, streaming down her face endlessly, mute and relentless.

In the courtyard of the Frost Prince's manor, sunlight bathed everything softly.

Qin Siyao sat calmly by a stone bench, head bowed as she focused on her embroidery.

Though not adept at crafting shoes, her needlework was decent enough. Lately, the young lady had stitched numerous handkerchiefs.

She envisioned presenting them all to Xiao Mo upon his return from the front lines.

As her thoughts drifted, a sudden sting pierced her fingertip.

"Hiss..."

Qin Siyao sucked in a sharp breath and glanced down. Crimson blood oozed slowly from her finger, beading up fully, yet she ignored the injury.

A strange void invaded her chest.

Oppressive, bone-chilling.

"Second Brother..."

Qin Siyao instinctively clutched her heart. Sensing something amiss, she raised her head and stared vacantly at the far-off sky.

…

Thirty li beyond Huaishan City, in the Jin Kingdom's army camp.

Ji Yue gradually opened her eyes.

She pushed herself upright, only to feel her head spin and throb, as though she'd slumbered for days on end.

"Husband..."

Once her mind sharpened, she automatically scanned the tent, searching for her husband's form, but found none.

The tent lay still, filled solely with the rhythm of her breathing.

That's when her eyes caught an item by the pillow.

A jade pendant.

Ji Yue knew it intimately—this was the pendant her husband always kept against his skin, never parting with it.

Under the jade pendant rested a letter.

A fierce unease crashed over her heart.

Ji Yue snatched the letter hastily, her fingers shaking as she unfolded it.

Her eyes trembled fiercely as she read, with something deep within her pupils cracking bit by bit.

"Husband!"

Clutching the letter and jade pendant, she staggered out from the tent.

The sunlight outside pierced blindingly through the sky.

Corpses of soldiers from Jin Kingdom and Qin Kingdom lay piled in layers across the ground.

A gust of wind swept by, whipping up a dense, choking reek of fresh blood.

Ji Yue clamped her lower lip fiercely, holding back the sourness surging in her chest and the spinning in her head. Ignoring all else, she dashed toward the Black Beast Forest.

In the Black Beast Forest, the clamor of combat slowly faded away.

Jin Kingdom's massive army had crumbled: the dead lay slain, the captured yielded, the rest scattered in flight.

Qin Jingsu continued rummaging through the fallen bodies in the Black Beast Forest.

His face showed desperate frenzy, though as the leading general, he forced himself to stay composed.

Right as Qin Jingsu teetered on the edge of hopelessness.

A soldier dashed up to him and blurted out in haste, "Crown Prince, we've located him! The Second Prince is found!"

"Where?" Qin Jingsu's eyes burned red as he seized the soldier's shoulders hard.

The soldier flinched and hurriedly gestured ahead, "Answering Your Highness, the Second Prince lies under a tree twenty zhang off. The medical cultivators are already there treating him."

Qin Jingsu bolted in that direction before the soldier could finish.

Moments later, Qin Jingsu spotted his second brother.

Qin Jingyuan slumped against a tree trunk, surrounded by the army's healers working on his wounds.

Upon Qin Jingsu's arrival, the healers rose, then shook their heads with heavy sighs toward him.

Qin Jingsu's fists balled up tight, his lips quivering nonstop. A heavy weight crushed his chest, stealing his breath.

"I get it," Qin Jingsu said, his voice shaking but oddly steady. "Tend to the other injured troops now."

"Yes, Crown Prince."

The healers saluted respectfully. With mixed feelings, they cast a final glance at the Second Prince before departing.

Now, only his elder brother remained by Qin Jingyuan's side.

Qin Jingsu advanced slowly, step by step to his brother. At last, he settled down next to him against the tree, reminiscent of their childhood days.

"How goes the battle?"

Qin Jingyuan tilted his head toward his brother nearby. His face drained of all color, his vital spark flickering fainter by the second, on the verge of snuffing out.

"Yan Liuyun is dead. Of Jin Kingdom's seven hundred thousand troops in the Black Beast Forest, more than half are dead or wounded. Of the remaining three hundred fifty thousand, about one hundred thirty thousand surrendered, and the rest fled.As for outside the Black Beast Forest, of the two hundred thousand troops Yan Liuyun left behind, about half fled as well. However, I had General Yang lead the Qin Kingdom army in pursuit. We should be able to expand our victory."

"Mm, is that so? Very good, about what I expected."

Qin Jingyuan nodded casually, as if holding an everyday chat with his elder brother.

"This million-strong army was Jin's main force. After this battle, Jin Kingdom has suffered grievous damage.Upon learning of Jin Kingdom's defeat, the morale of Chu and Yan kingdoms will surely be affected as well.If all goes smoothly, our brother-in-law can conquer Chu Kingdom.The Northern Pacification Prince has also dealt with Zhei Kingdom's remnants. As long as he joins forces with the Western Pacification Prince, they can also conquer Yan Kingdom.As for Jin Kingdom, that will depend on Big Brother and if the three kingdoms of Chu, Yan, and Jin are taken.Our Qin Kingdom can achieve hegemony!"

By the final words, Qin Jingyuan hacked up coughs relentlessly, yet blood no longer came.

Qin Jingsu gripped his fists hard, staring at his second brother. "Why keep this from me!"

Throughout, Qin Jingsu remained unaware of his second brother's scheme, though he trusted his brother would never betray Qin Kingdom. There had to be good cause. Then, five days prior, a missive from the Qin ruler reached from the capital, revealing all to Qin Jingsu.

Once informed, fury exploded in Qin Jingsu, for he realized the scheme held nine deaths to one slim chance of life! His brother might perish right here!

Yet Qin Jingsu possessed no alternatives.

Father and Second Brother had sealed every path.

He was compelled to follow Second Brother's directives.

Lest all of Second Brother's schemes dissolve into nothing.

Furthermore, should Huaishan Pass fall, the Qin Kingdom would face a genuine peril of life and death.

"Of course, I had to keep it from Big Brother."

Qin Jingyuan grinned, "Without hiding it from Big Brother, how could Big Brother allow me to proceed? He wouldn't just try to talk me out of it; he'd even bring Third Sister to convince me.

Big Brother, you get it, right?

What we brothers can least resist is Third Sister, after all. Back then, I might have really wavered."

"There were other ways!" Qin Jingsu's clenched fist dug fingers deep into his palm. "We could have proceeded gradually! Us brothers still have ample time, and Brother-in-law is with us too! Together, the three of us will surely secure hegemony for Qin Kingdom!"

"Could we truly afford to go slow?"

Qin Jingyuan chuckled, "Big Brother, cease fooling yourself. This age of chaos has dragged on for millennia. You know it well. Had slow progress been possible, this turmoil would have concluded ages ago.

Certain chances, once missed, vanish forever. They may never return, and I must grasp this one for Qin Kingdom!"

His words quickened Qin Jingyuan's breath, yet it soon steadied once more.

"Big Brother, do you realize?"

Qin Jingyuan lifted his gaze, peering at the blue heavens through the dappled shadows of leaves.

"Ever since childhood, I've never once bested you.

I really, really... longed to defeat you just once."

His voice grew fainter with each word.

Pupils widening, Qin Jingyuan's sight blurred more and more. Just a subtle smile lingered at his lips.

"Big Brother... Tell me, this time... did I prevail?"

With those last words from Qin Jingyuan, his eyes stilled, fixed eternally on the sky above.

The smile on his lips appeared locked in that instant forever.

"You won."

Qin Jingsu tilted his head up too, staring at the far-off sky. Tears traced silent paths down his face.

"Jingyuan, this time, Big Brother has truly been defeated."

After the time of two incense sticks, Qin Jingsu bore his younger brother from the Black Beast Forest.

As Qin Jingsu exited the Black Beast Forest, a woman rushed toward him just then.

She gazed upon her husband with eyes shut tight.

No spark of life emanated from her husband's form.

Tears welled crystalline in her eyes. Clutching her skirt firmly, she advanced one step at a time.

"Crown Prince, my husband..." Ji Yue uttered, her voice quivering.

"Second Brother is weary. He fell asleep ahead of us," Qin Jingsu replied, eyes rimmed red.

Ji Yue extended a hand, softly touching her husband's cooling lips. "When my husband drifted off... he must have felt great joy, yes?"

Qin Jingsu nodded. "As he slept, he felt no pain at all."

"Before leaving, my husband penned a letter for this sister-in-law." Ji Yue looked up. "Crown Prince, might you hand my husband over to me? I want to arrange his final rites myself."

"Mm." Qin Jingsu lowered Qin Jingyuan gently, as though reluctant to disturb his brother's rest.

"Husband..."

Ji Yue caressed her husband's cheek tenderly, offering a soft smile, her voice trembling beyond control as tears streamed down her face.

"Let's... head home."

Shouldering her husband, Ji Yue proceeded step by step toward Lu Province.

[To my wife Ji Yue:

The Qin-Jin alliance held no ties to you from the beginning.

When our kingdoms sealed this marital pact, both sides pursued their own agendas, the courts weighing every gain.

At first, I saw you only as Jin's spy, so I kept a cold distance, showing no affection.

After years sharing the same home, I realized you were also ensnared in this game of strategy, a gem shrouded in dust.

You desired nothing but simple lanes and markets, the tranquility of everyday life, yet destiny toys with mortals. Upon entering Qin Kingdom, you tumbled into this intrigue.

Cold and unyielding by nature, I sought to guard myself with aloofness, but three years of daily life together—seeing you sew by lamplight, brew tea, cook meals through spring mists and autumn chills without respite—wove feelings unnoticed even by me.

I cannot say when those threads of emotion quietly bound us. Unexpectedly, I remained oblivious.

Every memory of that summer day by Lu Province's stream returns: you hiking up skirts to splash in the water, laughter dancing across the clear ripples, jade hairpin slipping loose as dew dampened your temple locks.

This moment etches itself into my very marrow, impossible to erase in dreams or wakefulness, yet with the immense burden of the Qin Kingdom pressing down, how could fleeting personal sentiments block its path?

As a scion of the Qin Kingdom's royal bloodline, I shoulder the sacred mandates of realm and ancestors, a sharpened blade of destiny hovering above our precarious frontiers. How could I surrender to selfish emotions and neglect the paramount duty?

My past icy rebuffs and refusals, barring doors and shunning meetings, those cruel deeds were all calculated by me. Not from any waning of my love for you, but from terror that deep-rooted feelings would rob you of your best youthful years.

Now, at the head of death-defying elites storming the deadly barrier, life or demise hangs on Heaven's whim. I compose this note especially: first for an ultimate parting, second to restore your unbound freedom.

By the streams on Lu Province's western fringe, amid secluded hills, I've raised a bamboo-enclosed thatched home with a few chambers. Red peonies flourish in the yard, while windows gaze upon shrouded summits.

Should my complete remains make it back, let burial occur right here.

This existence left your profound love unreturned. Come next life, I'll bear ring in beak and bind grass into shoes, and even gulping Forgetfulness River's flow, your streamside smile shall linger in my memory.

Should rebirth hold truth, may we entwine as roots and soar as mated wings, honoring this life's broken pledges.

Your spouse, Jingyuan, pens this.]

One month following the close of the Huai Pass Battle in Black Beast Forest, First Prince Qin Jingsu had reclaimed Jin and Lu provinces.

Beside a modest brook in the western suburbs of Lu Province's capital, a gravestone rose.

The gravestone featured a plain design, resembling common folk's, and close by stood a simple farmhouse enclosure.

Within the enclosure dwelt a lone woman.

Renowned for her stunning beauty across distant lands, yet every Lu Province governor in turn banned any disturbance to her solitude.

Countless springs and autumns swept by.

She held her faithful watch at the window, unmarried till her final breath.

Until silver threads wove her hair, and she rested forever beside the gravestone.