Holding Shu Yao's body, Huo Jingsha knelt before the old Taoist priest, his expression frantic. This man was indeed the one who had predicted Yao'er's untimely death at the street corner that day. "You are truly a prophet, foreseeing my wife's fate today. I will grant all your requests that day, as long as you can bring my wife back to life!" he pleaded fervently.

Seeing this, the old Taoist remained calm and composed. "Since you believe what I say, you should remember what I said before. If you want your wife to come back to life today, you will have to pay a very high price. Before you ask me to save her, you should think it through."

Huo Jingsha said without hesitation, "Just tell me how much money you want. I can give you everything I have, just to save my wife's life!"

Even if it meant losing everything, he wouldn't even blink. Those material possessions were nothing compared to a single hair on Yao'er's head. If this old Taoist priest wanted his life, he would not hesitate to cut his own throat without a moment's delay!

The old Taoist priest gave a cold, ruthless smile. "Is that so? Even if this girl comes back to life, you must sever all ties with her, break off the engagement, and from then on, you will not be her husband, and she will not be your wife. You will never be able to stay together, even if you are acquainted?"

"A complete break in ties? Acquaintances who can't stay together?" Huo Jingsha was completely stunned. He never expected that the price the old Taoist priest wanted him to pay would be like this.

"That's right!"

"Why? Why?" he kept asking, his thin lips trembling slightly.

"Do you know that you and she have a nine-life connection, and that you have been sworn enemies in every lifetime?"

"A blood feud? How could that be? I love her so much, how could I bear to hurt her?" Huo Jingsha immediately retorted.

"Do you remember your past life? I'm afraid you can't even remember this one completely, can you?" The old Taoist smiled sarcastically. "But I don't mind helping you review it. In these nine lifetimes, she was trapped in an unsolvable cycle of suffering, always lurking by your side as an assassin, but always dying a gruesome death at your hands—slowly sliced ​​to death, having her tendons severed, being cut in half at the waist, her head separated from her body..."

"Stop talking!" With each word the old Taoist spoke, Huo Jingsha's face grew paler. He could hardly believe that he had used such cruel methods to deal with Shu Yao. If the old Taoist continued, he wouldn't need to beg him to save Shu Yao's life, because he had no face to face her anymore. He might as well just kill himself with a palm strike and go with her.

“In this life, she also died indirectly at your hands. So… can you guarantee that she will forgive you if she comes back to life?” The old man chuckled and said, “This is because you should never have fallen in love in the first place. Once you fall in love, you are destined to have a bad end. Your hands are stained with blood in every life, and you treat human life as worthless. This is God’s punishment for you.”

"Why didn't God come after me? Instead, He let the innocent Shu Yao die." Huo Jingsha hated God's injustice. He was willing to accept any punishment, even eternal damnation, as long as Shu Yao could be spared.

“You Shuyao’s mistake is her stubbornness. I have said that you have too much evil energy and a tough fate. Minor disasters will not harm you in the slightest. If she could have laid down her butcher’s knife and changed her mind about killing you earlier, she would not have been affected by you.”

"According to you, the young mistress didn't harm the master in this life. On the contrary, she saved the master's life twice. How come she still couldn't escape her fate in the end?" This time it was Xu Chang who spoke. He felt uncomfortable whenever he saw the woman being held tightly in the master's arms. He felt that the old Taoist was speaking in a roundabout way and might just be fooling their master who was "grasping at straws in desperation".

"Hehe..." The old Taoist priest stroked his beard. "I'll say it again: her mistake was falling for you adults. Two people who have accumulated such deep hatred should never have been together. The movement of the Red Phoenix Star foreshadows that tragedy is bound to happen."

Huo Jingsha suddenly realized, "You mean, if she didn't love me, or hated me, she wouldn't have died?"

The old Taoist priest nodded, "Yes!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned. But now that the person is dead, what is there to hate?

"This is what I'm about to say. I can save her, but if you want her to die peacefully in her sleep, the price you have to pay is that after she regains consciousness, you have to do everything you can to hurt her, to make her hate you and despise you. Otherwise, her life will still be in danger... So, do you still want to bring her back to life?"

"Yes, I want her alive!" Huo Jingsha answered decisively, her face cold and her expression stern, but without any hesitation.

"Fine, this is your choice. If you can't handle it in the future, or even suffer unbearable pain, don't blame me for not telling you in advance!"

Huo Jingsha's face hardened. "I will never regret it!"

“Very well! Since Your Excellency has made up your mind, then bring the person to the front of the hall, where this humble monk may chant scriptures and perform magic.”

*** ***

A faint light flickered, and a figure as light as smoke appeared, graceful and elegant. A handsome and resolute man smiled gently at her, a smile... like the warm sun in June, warming her heart. Moreover, his eyes were filled with her image, only her... only her!

In her dream, the man nuzzled her with the tip of his handsome nose, whispering in her ear again and again, "Yao'er... Yao'er... wake up quickly," and then kissed her with his warm lips. It was so sweet and gentle that she didn't want to wake up.

She gave a helpless smile. She really couldn't do anything with him; why was he so clingy? He wouldn't even let her sleep a little longer. What time was it? Should she get up? But why wasn't she hearing the baby's babbling urging her to get up?

She stretched lazily with her eyes closed, then reached out to touch the side—but there was nothing there. She instinctively shifted her body, trying to snuggle into the man's warm embrace; usually, just rubbing her face against his chest a few times was enough to wake her. She tried again and again, but couldn't find that warm embrace anywhere. She opened her eyes…and there was no one beside her.

Has he gotten up yet? It's possible. That person is always busy with work, and it's common for her to not come home for days on end. Most of the time, she relies on Xiao Bao to "greet" her, and then plays with her son in bed for a while before getting up. But why hasn't Xiao Bao come today?

This is truly an unpleasant morning.

Shu Yao yawned, her long eyelashes blinking a few times before she finally opened her still sleepy eyes. Ouch…it hurts so much to move; every bone aches. It's all that man's fault for being so aggressive last night. His forceful movements felt like he wanted to tear her apart. His uncontrolled lovemaking with her, especially since it was their first time together after marriage, left her completely weak and powerless.

I'm going to give him a good scolding today, and see if he dares to act so recklessly again.

Lying in bed, Shu Yao chuckled to herself. Recalling the madness of the previous night, her face turned even redder. She never imagined that she would cooperate so readily with him like that. Now that she thought about it, it was truly shameless and dissolute.

Is she really trying her best to get a little sister for her son? She's really going all out.