Chapter 154: Painful Separation

Dusk descended, casting long shadows that danced ominously over the cobblestone palace grounds. Peng Xiu sprawled on the ground, her limbs splayed awkwardly as crimson pools formed around her feet like macabre petals fallen from a dead flower. 

Her breath came in ragged gasps, pain etched across her delicate features, yet there remained an ember of defiance in her gaze, a fierce spark that refused to be extinguished. 

Xiang Yu approached slowly, his presence a palpable force that seemed to warp the very air around him. Though he appeared human, his aura was anything but. It roiled and twisted like a caged beast, a dark, primal energy that surged through his veins, making his skin almost seem to pulse with its intensity. 

He moved with a predatory grace, each step deliberate as he hovered over her like a storm cloud ready to unleash its fury. His chest heaved with each breath, the rise and fall a testament to the barely contained power within.