Douluo Continent: Copying Ya Li, the Carefree King of the Sun and Moon

Xu Yanli froze for a moment, so that's why Huo Yuhao's mother died?

Just because they look a bit alike, but their personalities are different?

Xu Yanli slowly closed his eyes.

The Duchess of the White Tiger has gone mad.

"But whenever I think about bowing my head, about accepting my fate, about just making do for the rest of my life..."

"I will think of her."

"I remember her standing in the sunlight."

"I remember what she said."

"I can't turn back now, just kill me."

Chapter 74 Broken Idols, Broken People

Xu Yanli just quietly watched her, watching her face, which was sometimes bright and sometimes dim, under the dim light.

He suddenly laughed.

The smile was remarkably calm, but for some reason, Duchess White Tiger felt a sudden chill run down her spine as she looked at it.

It was as if the person in front of me had gone mad.

"Are you done talking?"

His voice remained calm, yet it carried an indescribable sense of oppression, making it hard to breathe.

Duchess White Tiger opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Xu Yanli took a step forward.

He didn't go through the door, but jumped in through the window, stepping into the room, into a place filled with incense ash and broken idols.

He walked to the altar and gently touched the wooden carving that had been scratched to pieces.

"You knelt before her for twelve years."

His voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself.

"You treat her like a goddess."

"But after she died, you were the one who slashed her face."

He turned around, his gaze fixed directly on the Duchess of White Tiger's face.

Those eyes now revealed an indescribable sadness and a kind of madness.

However, he had an inexplicable premonition that if he hadn't been lucky, his fate might not have been much better.

If the divine realm hadn't been blocked, I wouldn't be important. But since the divine realm is blocked, he should prepare for the worst.

"Are you kneeling here now out of genuine repentance, or just making excuses for yourself?"

The Duchess of White Tiger trembled slightly.

“You sent people to kill me, but you didn’t really want to kill me.” Xu Yanli walked towards her step by step. “You just wanted to see what the child she left behind looked like.”

"You want to see if she and I are really alike."

His voice suddenly became very low, as if it were coming from hell.

"Now you see it."

The Duchess of White Tiger abruptly raised her head and met his eyes.

In that instant, she seemed to see the woman who stood on the training ground seventeen years ago.

The same look in their eyes, calm yet unsettling.

“So much like…” she murmured, “So much like…”

Xu Yanli stopped three steps away from her.

"You hate her."

His voice was soft, yet it was like a knife, piercing her heart.

"Hating her showed you another way of living."

"Your hatred for her makes you believe that women can live such dazzling lives too."

"But what you hate most is..."

He paused, a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips.

You hate yourself.

The Duchess of White Tiger's pupils suddenly contracted.

You hate that you don't have her courage.

You hate that you don't have her abilities.

"You hate yourself for having seen the light, yet choosing to rot in the darkness."

Every word felt like a dull knife cutting into her flesh.

Duchess White Tiger's face grew paler and paler, and her breathing became more and more rapid.

"Enough..." She took a step back, her voice trembling uncontrollably, "What do you know..."

Xu Yanli didn't stop, and took another step forward.

"You killed Huo Yun'er because she looked like my mother?"

"No."

His voice turned cold.

"You killed her because she lived like a human being."

The Duchess of White Tiger froze instantly.

"She was just a maid, with no background or backing, yet she dared to stand tall in the White Tiger Duke's mansion. She dared to talk back to the Duke, dared to protect her child, and dared to stand up instead of kneeling in front of those who wanted to trample on her."

"She lived like a real person."

Xu Yanli's gaze pierced straight into her eyes.

"And you, the Duchess of the White Tiger, born into nobility, married into a wealthy family, powerful and influential, yet you live like a dog."

"So you can't tolerate her."

"You can't tolerate the fact that there is someone in this world who looks like the god in your heart, living right under your nose, and doing well."

The Duchess of White Tiger began to tremble.

She opened her mouth, wanting to refute him, wanting to scold him for talking nonsense, but she couldn't utter a single word.

Because everything he said was true.

Not a single word of it is false.

Xu Yanli's eyes revealed a hint of disdain.

"You knelt before my mother for twelve years, not because you were so devout."

Xu Yanli's voice grew softer and colder.

"You are kneeling before yourself."

"Kneel before the person you can never become."

"Kneel before the one who showed you the light, but then threw you back into the darkness."

The Duchess of White Tiger finally couldn't hold on any longer.

His legs buckled, and he collapsed to his knees.

It's not the kind of kneeling that comes from sincere worship; it's the kind of kneeling where all your strength is drained, and you can't stand up anymore.

"What do you know..." Her voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible, "What do you know..."

“You have lived in the light since you were a child.”

"You've been able to walk the path you want to walk since you were a child."

"You've had so many people protecting you, helping you, and loving you since you were little..."

Tears finally streamed down her face.

"And me?"

“When I was twelve, I saw her and thought I had finally found a way. I thought I could live like her, and that as long as I was devout enough, hardworking enough, and obedient enough, one day I could crawl out of this filth…”

"But she's dead."

"She just died like that."

"When that light fell, my god shattered."

She looked up, her face streaked with tears, her eyes eerily empty.

"Tell me, what should I do?"

"What should I do?!"

Xu Yanli looked dejected. Who could tell her what to do back then?

If he hadn't awakened his martial spirit, if Kong Deming hadn't passed through that palace back then, he probably would have died in some corner of the palace long ago.

Xu Yanli's expression flickered slightly, but he quickly composed himself. In a sense, he hated the Sun Moon Empire's royal family, but so far, the Sun Moon Empire's interests were intertwined with his own.

Her voice rose higher and higher until it was almost a shout.

"I don't have her talent, her skills, or those people who were willing to risk their lives for her! I only have myself! I can only kneel here, guarding her statue, guarding that dream that can never be returned!"

"Do you think I want to kill Huo Yun'er?!"

"Do you think I wanted to end up looking like this?!"

"But what can I do?!"