Chapter 106: Heart Bleeding

Early the next morning, while the sky was still dimly lit, Arthur rose from bed. The phone call from yesterday’s conversation with Xiahou Yu had haunted him throughout the night. He couldn’t find rest, his dreams filled with the sorrowful face of Yingyue. Each time he reached out to pull her into his embrace, she would vanish before his eyes. The entire night was an endless chase after her.

Arthur rubbed his aching temples thoughtfully.

At that moment, a steady knock came at the door.

“Your Highness, there is news regarding the two matters.”

“Come in,” Arthur replied, rising to pour himself a glass of water. The cool liquid soothed his restless nerves.

Hill entered hesitantly, glancing at Arthur and lingering before speaking.

Seeing Hill hesitate, Arthur looked up, impatience creeping into his voice. “What is it? Speak clearly—stop beating around the bush.”

“Yes, Your Highness. There’s news about the investigation you ordered yesterday.”

Arthur remained silent, prompting Hill to continue.

“Since Miss Maria kidnapped Miss Yingyue, she hasn’t engaged in any suspicious activities or been seen with suspicious people. The changes in Miss Maria began right after she abducted Miss Yingyue,” Hill explained, then fell silent, awaiting Arthur’s instructions.

Arthur pondered deeply. Why had Maria changed so drastically, almost unrecognizably? What transpired between her and Yingyue that he did not know? However, at present, whatever the change was, it seemed to bear no harm to him. So for now, this matter could be set aside.

“And the other matter?”

“No developments.”

“No developments? What do you mean?” Arthur frowned.

“Miss Avril Weyting—apart from being the only daughter of the Weyting family—there is no information available.”

No information? If not the mundane absence of records, then it must be an impenetrable mystery. That woman...

Arthur’s face darkened with gravity, but he said nothing. Hill stood silently by his side.

The heavy silence filled the room.

Suddenly, the shrill ring of a phone shattered the stillness.

Arthur’s phone rang.

He answered quickly. “Hello?”

“Arthur… something’s happened.” Xiahou Yu’s voice trembled before he managed to choke out the words.

“What happened?” Arthur felt his heart skip several beats as panic surged through him.

“Ying… Yingyue… is missing.” Xiahou Yu’s voice was vacant, disregarding Arthur’s urgency, speaking in broken phrases. “Blood… so much blood… Yingyue… she disappeared…”

With a sharp snap, Arthur dropped the phone to the floor, his expression blank as Xiahou Yu’s words echoed in his mind.

Blood… Yingyue… disappeared…

Hill saw Arthur’s face go pale in an instant, then slump seated on the bed, dazed. Sensing trouble, he hurriedly picked up the phone, calming his voice.

“Hello?”

There was no response. Hill lifted the phone away from his ear; the screen displayed “Xiahou Yu—call ongoing.” He pressed the phone back to his ear, urgently calling out.

“Mr. Xiahou, please respond! Mr. Xiahou, please speak!”

Arthur snapped back to reality, snatching the phone from Hill’s hand with haste.

“Yu, tell me everything that happened in detail.”

Xiahou Yu was on the verge of a breakdown, ignoring Arthur.

“Yu, Yu, Xiahou Yu!” Arthur shouted desperately, trying to restore his friend’s wits.

Far away, Xiahou Yu, still vacant-eyed, gradually regained some composure under Arthur’s repeated calls, then replied in a daze.

“Arthur… I… I’m sorry… I… I lost Yingyue again.”

His hands covered his face as he finally pulled himself from the abyss of despair. In the empty wooden cabin, he wept silently.

“Yu, what exactly happened? Tell me quickly! This is no time for regret!” Arthur’s voice cracked with urgency, trying to pull Xiahou Yu from the depths of grief.

“Yu, tell me what happened. I’m coming to you now!”

After a moment, Xiahou Yu’s voice steadied somewhat. He took up the phone again, sobbing.

“I… I don’t know. After I called you, I went to find Yingyue, worried she’d be upset about your troubles. But she wasn’t in her room. Then I went to the beach and found her sitting alone, staring at the sea.”

He paused, then continued.

“As I was about to speak, I heard a rumbling from the sky. Looking up, I saw a black aircraft speeding towards us. I wondered what it was, then I saw numerous black openings appear on the plane. I realized—they were gun barrels, all aimed at Yingyue.”

Xiahou Yu forced himself to calm down, his voice trembling as he skirted the edge of collapse.

Arthur clenched the phone tightly, his eyes blazing red as he turned to Hill.

“Has the aircraft arrived?”

“Yes, Your Highness. It’s on the lawn outside.”

Hill’s calmness belied his inner tension; he knew now was the moment to stay composed.

Arthur immediately strode toward the villa’s lawn.

Hill followed a few steps, then turned back to the hall to make a call.

“Charles, this is Hill. Miss Yingyue is in danger. His Highness is en route to Sirius Island. Have Newt depart immediately to protect His Highness. Investigate what’s happening on Sirius Island.”

“Understood.”

Charles hung up without further words; more pressing matters awaited him.

Arthur dashed to the plane and commanded,

“Full speed to Sirius Island.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

On the other end, Xiahou Yu’s voice continued, fragmented.

“As I ran toward Yingyue, shouting her name, it was useless—she couldn’t hear me. By the time I realized the danger, gunfire had already erupted.”

Arthur felt a surge of metallic bitterness rising in his chest but suppressed it; now was not the time to falter.

“The gunfire was intense, within ten meters of her. I couldn’t get through. Smoke filled the beach, obscuring the path. When the gunfire ceased, I moved toward her. The smoke hadn’t cleared, so I went slowly. As the smoke cleared, the beach was empty, as if nothing had happened—if not for the scattered bullets… if not for—”

Xiahou Yu’s voice choked, trembling, “if not for the pool of blood.”

Suddenly, Arthur could no longer contain the overwhelming taste of iron flooding his mouth; he spat a mouthful of blood.

“Your Highness!” The pilot turned in alarm.

Arthur waved him off calmly.

“Don’t worry about me, I’m fine. Just fly faster!” he said, clutching his chest with his left hand.

The pilot gritted his teeth, nodded, and pulled the throttle. The plane surged forward and vanished into the sky, leaving only a thin white streak that soon faded.

After Arthur coughed up blood, Xiahou Yu snapped out of his terror, anxiously calling out.

“Arthur, what’s wrong?”

Arthur forced calm, his voice steady.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry. I’ll be there soon. Wait for me.”

When Arthur’s plane finally landed on Sirius Island, Xiahou Yu had been waiting by the shore for some time. As Arthur stepped off, Xiahou Yu rushed to him, fragile as a child, resting his head on Arthur’s shoulder with soft sobs.

Arthur patted his back reassuringly.

“Yu, don’t be afraid. I’m here. Take me to where Yingyue disappeared.”

Only then did Xiahou Yu realize Arthur had not shed a tear, while he himself, a grown man, had wept. He quickly suppressed his tears and led Arthur toward the scene.

When Arthur saw the sand where Yingyue vanished, the pool of blood stained upon it—

Again, he spat blood.

“Arthur!” Xiahou Yu cried out, trembling as he steadied Arthur’s hand.

He had been lost in his own sorrow and guilt, forgetting Arthur—the one who suffered the deepest blow. Yingyue was Arthur’s heart’s treasure. Now, Arthur’s heart must be bleeding openly.

Arthur felt as if a great piece of his heart had been torn away, leaving a hollow void, bleeding profusely, yet he felt no pain.

He stared blankly at the bloodstains, two pools mingled—a hauntingly vivid scarlet.

Blue, Blue, my Blue… have you left me?

Are you playing a cruel joke?

Are you punishing me? Punishing me for becoming engaged to another woman? Is that why you left me?

No, Blue, even in death, you shall perish with me. You shall not leave alone!

Arthur’s vision darkened; he fainted.

“Arthur!”