V2C96

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When he said this, despite his best efforts to restrain himself, a slight rise in the trailing voice still revealed a hint of upheaval. Zhu Yan’s heart ached, and she couldn’t help but reach out her hand and hold his.

“In that moment, I was practically consumed by hatred. I punched the stone wall until my hands were covered in blood – if one more thought had crossed my mind, I might have actually returned to the Imperial Capital to kill my father and usurp the throne, then slaughter the harem!” He lifted his hand and pressed it against the old traces of blood on the stone wall, his voice suddenly becoming gentle, “But it was as it was meant to be: at that very moment, Ah-Yan, you walked in here – and you stopped me.”

Such a short sentence sent a sharp shiver down Zhu Yan’s spine, like an enlightenment. She remembered that day. The ignorant child lunged and tried to hold back the self-inflicted blood-covered hand, only to be knocked away and left dying by the teenager in a raging frenzy. By the time she came back to her senses, he was carrying her on the back of Chongming and had already crossed the Gate of Hell once back and forth.

So that’s how it all started and how everything turned out to be.

“Ah-Yan, you appeared in my life in that moment for a reason. Although you never realized it by yourself.” Shi Ying’s voice was light and gentle, like a thin mist, “So you don’t have to feel guilty at all: for you have saved me several times – and yet you have only killed me once.”

“…” she was at a loss of words for a moment.

Shi Ying didn’t look at her the entire time he was speaking, only gazing at the fire dancing in the fire pit, and with a sudden flick of his fingers, a flame swooshed into the palm of his hand.

“This time, I wasn’t leaving myself a way out. I planned everything and originally I expected everything to end on that day at the Star Ocean Cloud Pavilion, so I poured out my heart and soul in front of you without holding back, before heading to my demise.” He stared at the ball of flame in his palm, his voice getting lower and lower as he shook his head and smiled bitterly, “But I was so mistaken… It didn’t end that day ten years ago, nor did it end at the Star Ocean Cloud Pavilion… Every time I think my destiny should end, it continues against my will, again and again! And it doesn’t even matter…” At this point, his voice paused and he slowly closed his fingers, extinguishing the scorching ball of fire in his palm as he murmured in a low voice, “And yet, regardless of the continuation altogether, how should one be able to face this crumbling… mess?”

“Master!” Zhu Yan faltered, trying to stop him from this self-harming act, but this time he just squeezed his fingers to the bottom until the flames between his fingers went out.

Zhu Yan felt pain and confusion in her heart, vaguely aware of the meaning of these words, but not sure how to react.

Is Master saying that he was determined to die that day, and that’s why he gave up his life and said those words to her? But he didn’t expect that he wouldn’t die in the end, now that he was back alive? He was embarrassed to face himself and didn’t know how to deal with it. That’s what he… meant, right?

But… But she didn’t know how to deal with it either! She didn’t know what to do, she just felt that her ears were getting hot.

“You say you don’t hate me anymore, is that true?” Shi Ying loosened his fingers, and the ball of fire burned his hand, as he frowned while looking at it, “If you still have an ounce of hate in your heart, then just kill me right here… There is a time period of ‘concealment’ after the Star Soul Blood Oath has been performed. Removing the spell during this period does no harm to the caster. Whereas beyond that period, it would be very problematic to remove the link between us again.”

“No… No!” She was startled and stammered, “I… I had such a hard time getting you back!”

Shi Ying looked at her without speaking, as if he was weighing the true thoughts in her heart, and finally breathed a sigh of relief and murmured, “Well, it’s also true that I killed Zhi Yuan and you killed me, one retribution for another, so it’s all settled… Now that the big event is over, since I can still return to this world again, there is no use of dwelling on the grudges of the previous life.”

She nodded vigorously in agreement, but still unable to speak. In any case, it was impossible to really have a clean slate, was it? After what happened, they could never go back to being like they were in the past.

“Go to sleep.” After a moment of silence, he spoke faintly, “We’ll discuss more tomorrow if there’s anything else.”

Yes, tomorrow. She was secretly relieved in that moment as well, not daring to raise her head to look at him.

Shi Ying was seated on his knees by the roaring fire, with his eyes closed in meditation.

Zhu Yan, however, could not sleep, rolling over and turning around, raising her eyes from time to time to look quietly at that silhouette, her thoughts churning in her heart like a tidal wave: at one moment, she remembered the deadly duel under the Cloud Pavilion of the Star Ocean, but next, she remembered the curse of the Grand Master, while at the same time, she thought about her parents and her clan…

Her mind was in turmoil as she fell asleep without realizing it.

When she woke up the next day, the fire in the fire pit had been extinguished and it was so bright outside that appeared to be nearly noon.

She was taken aback and jumped up in a daze – damn, how could she sleep for so long? If she gets up so late and delays her training, she will be scolded by the Master!

The next moment, however, she suddenly remembered that she was no longer required to get up early to do her assignments as she had long since left the Master. It is amazing how a momentary sense of disappointment comes over you when you wake up from a great dream.

“Awake?” She heard the familiar voice speaking, “It’s time to go.”

Going? Where to? She stared at him blankly. However, Shi Ying just gazed outside with his hands crossed, looking calm, as if he had figured out something overnight and said, “Since I have survived, I can’t just stay here forever… whatever is going on out there, eventually we have to go out and face it.”

Whatever is out there? Zhu Yan instantly remembered the Grand Master and her parents, and her heart suddenly became heavy. She could only hastily tidy up her hair and clothes, then followed him and walked out of the grotto.

It was still cloudy and rainy outside, and countless thin, hazy rain was gathering and scattering like smoke in the empty valley.

She looked at her Master’s figure. He appeared like a deity descended from Heavens, immortal and unspoiled by the light from the entrance of the cave – his return to this world appeared to be a reminder of his distant and unapproachable existence, and she dared not speak of what he used to say that day, and even the thought of it pierced her heart.

Yes, at this point, how do you pick up the pieces? Maybe it’s not as hard as you think, right? Just have to pretend it didn’t happen.

With her head bowed down and her heart heavy, she followed him out of the grotto. Outside, as soon as the two of them emerged, the Chongming Divine Bird let out a delighted whistle and flew over with a swish of its huge wings, encircling Shi Ying with its enormous feathers, lowering its head and banging it against his chest, pushing hard against him and rubbing from side to side.

“Why are you acting like a puppy?” Zhu Yan couldn’t help but crack a smile.

Chongming rolled up its four eyes and gave her a blank look, pushing her aside with a sweep of its wingtips, rearing his head against his shoulder, and actually making a sound similar to a puppy’s purr.

“Thank you.” Shi Ying raised his hand to stroke the bird’s head and whispered, “It has been hard for you.”

The bird rubbed its head against his shoulder, shook its feathers and suddenly wriggled its neck and threw something in his hand; it was a large bunch of bright red fruits with a rich fragrance.

“Oh my, you picked another bunch? You’ve finished plucking all the vermilion fruits on Meng Hua Peak, haven’t you?” Zhu Yan was stunned and couldn’t help but feel distressed, “Wouldn’t those Wretched ones fighting you to death?”

Chongming tilted its head proudly, grunting, and flapped its wings to reveal the new pink flesh growing up from the old wound, and with a twist of its head, threw off an additional purple Ganoderma mushroom.

“Thanks.” Smiling, Shi Ying placed the vermilion fruit and the Ganoderma in his palm and walked over to the white stone where the young man had been cultivating over the years and sat down on his knees. He closed his eyes slightly and placed the jade slip on his knees, closing his palms to absorb the power of the spiritual herbs, and his pale face gradually improved a little – after all, he was still debilitated from his rebirth, and needed to reinforce his foundation cultivation.

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