NOVEL NEXT Chapter 445
Chapter 445: A Single Sentence Shatters Gao Zhanli’s Resolve!
“Insignificant, insignificant,”
Gao Zhanli repeated, looking utterly devastated.
“In my eyes, I can kill you anytime. Taking your life doesn’t require me to dirty my hands.”
Li Mo, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, took slow steps closer.
As he walked, he added, “If I wanted to kill you, Zhang Han would have acted yesterday. Xi’an is not Yanjing; with a mere command, you wouldn’t escape.”
Gao Zhanli slowly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot.
In a low voice, he asked, “Are you pitying me?”
Li Mo shook his head expressionlessly, “Not in the least; you brought this upon yourself.”
“Is it… is it Xue’er? Did she stop you from killing me?”
Gao Zhanli’s hope seemed to flicker back as he fixed his gaze on Li Mo, asking.
Li Mo replied, sidestepping the question, “You’re still the same as before.”
Gao Zhanli paused, confused: “What do you mean?”
Li Mo’s gaze darkened slightly as he said, “You’re too sentimental!”
“You-”
Gao Zhanli choked; words failed him.
After a long pause, he finally steadied himself to stand.
“I… I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it. I need to find Xue’er. I must see her! I need to let her know I’ve come!”
“She doesn’t want to see you!”
Li Mo stood like an immovable mountain in his path.
Gao Zhanli froze once more.
“She knows you’re here but doesn’t want to see you, and…”
Li Mo looked at him, articulating each word, “Xue’er is not someone you can call; please refer to her as Snow Woman.”
“No! I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it!”
Gao Zhanli suddenly whirled around, knocking the guqin off the table.
Almost in madness, he cried, “It can’t be! Xue… Xue…”
Boom!
An invisible pressure suddenly descended!
The water in the lake rippled as if responding to some unseen force.
Gao Zhanli’s heart jolted, feeling as though the gaze upon him were the scythe of a soul-reaping messenger.
“Xue… Xue… Snow Woman won’t refuse to see me.”
Finally, he uttered the words under that overwhelming aura!
“You see? You can’t even bear this slight threat; what makes you think you have the qualifications or ability to protect her?”
Li Mo shook his head, maintaining his usual look as he spoke.
Gao Zhanli’s face turned red at Li Mo’s words.
But Li Mo had no intention of sparing him; every sentence pierced right into the heart.
“Xue’er’s beauty is world-renowned, her fame spreads far and wide; countless want to pursue her. Even if she wanted to leave with you, do you think you have the ability to protect her?”
Gao Zhanli stuttered, “I… I…”
Li Mo directly interrupted him, “Moreover, she doesn’t even want to see you, let alone leave with you.”
“Clinging to her like this will only annoy her.”
“If I didn’t keep in mind the intent behind your attempted assassination of Lord Yan Chun being for her sake, you’d have been dead by now.”
“Just because Lord Yan Chun couldn’t kill you doesn’t mean I can’t either.”
“You profess to love her, but when have you ever considered her feelings? When have you viewed things from her perspective?”
“That’s not love; that’s infatuation.”
Gao Zhanli gradually calmed down and asked him, “What’s the difference?”
“There’s certainly a difference,” Li Mo explained, “Love is about giving, while infatuation is about taking. You just selfishly want her by your side without considering if she will be happy.”
Gao Zhanli countered, “Aren’t you the same?”
“I certainly am not,” Li Mo replied firmly.
“If I had the same selfish intentions as you, she wouldn’t even know you were in Xi’an! You wouldn’t have had the chance to see me.”
If Li Mo were indeed driven by personal desires, wishing to claim Snow Woman for himself, upon discovering Gao Zhanli had appeared in Xi’an, he would have already ensured his death.
He wouldn’t let Zhang Han drag him here.
Nor would he first consider Snow Woman’s feelings before addressing this matter.
That is where the essence of their differences lay.
Narrow-mindedness and petty actions would only degrade his image in Snow Woman’s eyes.
So he aimed to let Snow Woman know with grace and to make Gao Zhanli understand why he wasn’t worthy of her.
“Now do you understand why I didn’t kill you?”
Gao Zhanli sat slumped at the low table, staring vacantly at the ground.
Murmuring incoherently, he said, “It’s because… it’s because… even if you don’t kill me, even if… even if I meet her… Snow Woman, she wouldn’t leave with me.”
Li Mo finally nodded, acknowledging, “That’s not too foolish.”
“Ha… Haha!”
Gao Zhanli suddenly let out a cold laugh.
Li Mo tilted his head, confused.
Gao Zhanli raised his head, tears streaming silently down his face.
With a heart full of despair, he declared, “I’ve lost!”
“No.”
“No?”
Gao Zhanli looked at Li Mo, puzzled.
Li Mo pursed his lips and corrected, “You never had the qualifications to compete.”
Gao Zhanli:
His resolve shattered in an instant!
Thud!