“Yes?”

“I will kill the prince. But you must promise that you’ll leave the dirty eunuch forever. For you, I am willing to do anything. I will even commit this crime just to save you.”

“I will, on my honor,” Cold Rose frowned and sworn.

The news got out that the prince had died mysteriously while in jail. He was found with a rope hanging around his neck. The news shook the justice seekers. The Conscientious Camp and other justice gangs tried their best to find out who killed the prince. They began to suspect that Liu Cheng betrayed because of his love affair with the female killer Cold Rose. The gangs decided to kill him. Liu Cheng had to escape.

Cold Rose kept her promise to ask the eunuch for her freedom. However, this request only made the eunuch suspicious of her motives. He granted her freedom on the surface and invited her to a big party. After the meal, Cold Rose returned to her room when she suddenly heard some noise on the roof. A man jumped down from the roof into her room, telling her to escape. He said that the eunuch wanted to kill her because she was no longer loyal or useful to him. He asked Cold Rose to pretend to be dead, and helped her escape from the palace that night.

The wine at the party was poisonous. Cold Rose’s kong fu was impaired by the wine and she was very weak in her legs. She exerted all her efforts to jump out of the high wall of the palace, but she knew that the eunuch would find out about her escape sooner or later, and that the man who helped her escape would be killed too. All she wanted was to see Liu Cheng one last time in her life.

“I must find Cold Rose before I die,” Liu Cheng pondered while being chased by a gang.

“I must find Liu Cheng before I die,” Cold Rose was running from the court.

Both of them escaped into the woods where they had first met, almost as though they had heard each other’s thoughts. At dawn, the sky was still very dark, but a slight orange was blooming on the horizon, gradually tinting the sky red. They met each other again, with two groups of people closely behind. They knew they could find nowhere to escape. Neither the just society nor evil gangs would accept them.

They met under a tree. They stared at each other, with their lips trembling. No one could utter a word.

“Cold Rose,” Liu Cheng spoke first. “I have killed the prince.”

“I know,” Cold Rose said. “I have also kept my promise.”

“My gang is chasing me. I will die soon,” Liu Cheng looked back as he spoke.

“That’s bad,” Cold Rose stared at him sadly. “I am also being chased by the eunuch. I will die too.”

They stared at each other’s face, hoping they wouldn’t forget each other in their next life. Maybe they had done too few good things in this life, so God wouldn’t grant them love in this life. They wished that in the next life, they could still meet each other and live in a world with less wickedness and where romance could flourish.

“Do you regret this?” The chasers were getting closer. Cold Rose was in Liu Cheng’s arms. They looked towards the beautiful sky, with the first rays of sunlight falling on the trees. The outline of the people far away was becoming clearer. Cold Rose looked at Liu Cheng and asked.

“No,” Liu Cheng’s face was resolute. “I can betray the whole world, but I will never betray you.”

Cold Rose smiled faintly. She whispered something in Liu Cheng’s ears, “Thank you. I know what love is and I am truly happy now. Liu Cheng, tell them you have killed me and it is I who killed the prince.”

“No,” Liu Cheng stopped her. “We die together, or we live together. Let’s fight for our last chance. I think we can get away using martial arts.”

“No, no more blood. I have shed too much blood in my life and I want God’s blessing,” Cold Rose said hurriedly. For the first time, Liu Cheng perceived fear in her eyes.

“But it’s too late,” Cold Rose continued saying sadly. “I am really happy now. Forget me!” Cold Rose gazed at Liu Cheng with a smile.

Before Liu Cheng realized what Cold Rose was doing, Cold Rose plunged her sword into her heart. She died in Liu Cheng’s arms.

The justice camp approached. They saw Cold Rose in Liu Cheng’s arm, while Liu Cheng looked on in anguish and shock.

“Who killed Cold Rose?” the old master asked Liu Cheng.

Liu Cheng didn’t reply.

“I don’t think it was him who killed the prince,” a disciple of the gang pleaded on behalf of the old master for Liu Cheng’s life. “Please give Liu Cheng a chance to live.”

“Who killed Cold Rose?” the master looked at Liu Cheng sharply. Truthfully, he also didn’t want Liu Cheng to die.

“Me,” Liu Cheng said with difficulty.

“Why?”

“Because she killed the prince.”

“Hooray!” everyone was relieved.

“Good. You will be rewarded. We will raise your position in the Consciousness Camp. You will be appointed as the next master of the camp!” the old master smiled.