Chapter 200 Sister Bai Ye, you've really ruined my life...

A young man dressed in a bamboo green outfit stood in mid-air, and their eyes met unexpectedly. Si Liuhua saw anger rising on her brow.

The broken sword was gone; she had replaced it with a new one. Holding it in her hand, it was clearly nothing special, yet it gleamed silver, its texture like glass when illuminated by the dim halos floating in the sky.

Behind the young man, the silver-haired woman in green stood still for a moment, seemingly unwilling to leave.

Si Changxi didn't turn around. His voice fell silent, and when he spoke again, it was calm: "Aying, go and take care of Yueying and the others."

Ruan Luoying instinctively said, "But—!"

"This is between her and me," Si Changxi said in a deep voice. "Besides, her cultivation level is now on par with mine, so it's difficult for me to be distracted and protect you."

Hearing her say that, Ruan Luoying couldn't think of a reason to continue. She clearly couldn't persuade Si Changxi, and besides, although what she said was harsh, it was true. If Si Liuhua intended to use her as a hostage first, Si Changxi would only be implicated.

She clenched her fists, the brief moment feeling like an eternity. So much hesitation and unspoken words swirled between leaving and staying. Ruan Luoying took a deep breath, a trace of sorrow in her eyes, and glanced one last time at the now-quiet icy rain below. The large icicles had melted, leaving only a thin layer of frost, like a heavy winter fog, descending heavily upon her heart.

"Xueya is already..." she finally choked up, "You must not be hurt."

After saying that, the woman's figure disappeared into the night sky.

At this point, only the two of them remained.

Si Changxi slowly landed on the ground. As her boots stepped into the soft and crisp ice, she felt herself being swallowed by a chill that seeped out from within.

"Chang Xi, you've arrived." Si Liuhua smiled, pursing her lips.

She truly hadn't expected Si Changxi to break through that shackle, which meant that the memories of the past could no longer bind her. Perhaps Si Liuhua should be happy, because this child, who seemed to have been forever left in his childhood by her farewell and promise, had finally grown up.

Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, those cherished memories became mud, dissolved waste, left on the path she had walked, evaporated by the sun, and vanished without a trace.

Or perhaps it's something to be sad about.

Si Changxi remained silent for a long time before saying, "If I hadn't come, you probably would have razed this place to the ground. Isn't there even a trace of your memories here, Si Liuhua?"

Si Liuhua thought to himself, "Yes."

But everything had changed. The names Xuan Ying and Wang Shu were no more; there were many people, but none of them were faces she recognized.

All the people she cared about died too young, and only this one remained standing before her, so she realized that death and life were both hers. Si Changxi became her anchor.

The two figures seemed frozen in time within the sound of jade, and if not for the swaying moonlight, this moment would have seemed to last forever.

She was still soft-hearted after all. Si Liuhua composed herself, took the initiative to raise her sword first, and used her spiritual energy to create a breeze that swept over the tip of the sword, giving it a soft white glow. The wind howled again because of the sword energy, and the dust and debris on the ground were shaken.

Just as he was about to strike, a clear sob suddenly rang out.

Si Liuhua paused.

The young man before her suddenly lowered his head, quite forcefully, as if trying to curl up and let his disheveled hair cover his face. But drops of shimmering liquid still couldn't be concealed as they slid down to her chin and fell continuously.

Si Changxi's hands clenched tightly, causing the muscles in her shoulders to tense and tremble uncontrollably. Her sobs grew louder, echoing sorrowfully in the thick night, as if all her emotions were being released at that moment, turning into a torrential downpour.

After a long while, she managed to get her words out, still choking back tears as she murmured, "I hate you..." She had repeated this phrase far too many times, so she could sense how pale it sounded now.

Si Changxi couldn't see Si Liuhua's expression at this moment, but she could sense from the gradually receding pressure that she was no longer making any moves.

She suddenly felt a sense of peace, a sense of security amidst the battlefield where blood was as thick as fog and as viscous as mud, and the silence was like that of a ghost town, for Si Liuhua's waiting.

She didn't understand why all the preparations she had made along the way had collapsed at this moment, and tears welled up again. It was as if reason was telling her to hate, but life had not forgotten that she could lean on this person's arms and cry freely, and had not forgotten the feeling of her dry palm wiping away her tears.

She didn't understand why she still had to cry.

Si Changxi said in a low voice, "...But the one I should hate is the part of myself that still loves you at this time. You have never come to see me."

“You have those people from the past,” she gritted her teeth, “but what about me? You know perfectly well that I only have you.”

“You always avoid me, but sometimes I still think that if we could sit down and talk like before, I would invite you to come with me. All worldly matters would no longer be relevant to us. We could go to the secluded mountains to rest, fetch water from the stream every day, and occasionally pick some fruit with the mountain people... You can continue to sit at the table copying those prescriptions and teach me to read obscure words... I, I have always been waiting for you.”

She didn't look up. The more she spoke, the more familiar the words became, until the moment they were completely spoken, Si Changxi suddenly realized that this was the life they had once lived in the Demon Realm.

That little wooden house, which had confined all the boy's spirit and which she had once despised, was a place she could never return to.

Why won't you give up all of this and spend the rest of your life with me?

Si Liuhua finally took a step and walked towards her. She had already sheathed her sword sometime earlier, and a hint of panic flickered in her lowered eyes.

"Why are you crying...?"

She still treated her like a child. Just a moment ago she had grown up, and now she had become that child again, pressing her cheek against her hand and curling up in her knees.

Si Changxi refused to speak or look at her anymore. She stubbornly turned away slightly, not wanting Si Liuhua to see the expression on her face.

Si Liuhua sighed, raised his hand and placed it on the other person's shoulder, gently but irresistibly turning her around and forcing her to raise her head.

Her hair was disheveled and stuck to her cheeks. Si Changxi's face was covered in tears, and her lips were pressed so tightly they were white. The moment she felt Si Liuhua's gaze fall on her eyes, she instinctively tried to back away, but was held firmly in her grasp. She could only suppress the surging bitterness and shame in her heart and wipe away the crisscrossing tear tracks with the back of her hand.

......childish.

It was as if I would hear her question at any moment.

Sister, sister, why does it hurt so much?

Have you ever experienced this kind of pain?

Her dark eyes were like underground rivers, their light faint and moist, the water flowing uncontrollably.

Si Liuhua met her gaze, and for some reason, felt a little timid.

Si Changxi sniffled and said in a hoarse voice, "You lied to me..."

"You say it's for my own good, but it means destroying the place where I spent most of my life, imprisoning me and killing my best friend and student, and finally drawing your sword against me?"

In the dampness, a cool touch suddenly pressed against her. Si Changxi subconsciously tilted her head slightly, completely burying her cheek in it.

Si Liuhua gently touched her face. His slightly cold hand was like a small boat, which had always belonged only to Si Changxi, lifting her up from the turbulent waves.

Her lips moved slightly, but she couldn't speak. After a long while, she regained her soft and gentle tone, as smooth as glass: "Don't cry." But the tears in front of her eyes only increased, making her palms hot.

It was damp, just like Si Changxi's feelings for her flowing through his eyes, with a slightly salty and astringent taste that stung the skin hidden in its softness.

The questions she raised were too distant for Si Liuhua; she couldn't feel their weight, nor could she find corresponding answers.

Si Liuhua said softly, "Chang Xi, listen to me... Stop resisting, stop being the world-renowned righteous man of the human race."

She wanted Si Changxi to follow the path she had laid out for her, and she wanted Si Changxi to be her alone, the unparalleled moon.

The moonlight flickered, filling the air with a clear glow. Si Liuhua realized then that this was the light reflected from the sword as it swept past.

Blood gushed out almost instantly as the sword pierced her abdomen squarely. Si Liuhua immediately heard the sound of her meridians rupturing. The essence of spiritual cultivation lies here; once the cultivation is damaged, no matter how many tricks the opponent has up their sleeve, they will be unable to use them.

It won't kill you, but it won't hurt you much.

Si Liuhua lowered her eyes, blood welling up from the corner of her lips, hot and bitter, just like the tears she had just touched. Her hand was still on Si Changxi's cheek.

Tears streamed down her face as she drew her sword. Si Changxi cried uncontrollably, yet she steadily thrust the sword into the most vulnerable spot of the person before her.

“You are not her…” she said hatefully, “You have not been her for a long time, I will free you.”

Si Liuhua smiled slightly: "Very good."

Her voice was devoid of emotion, yet Si Changxi instinctively sensed a chill in it.

It's as if... she's angry.

But that feeling was fleeting. Si Liuhua withdrew her hand and instead grasped the sword blade that was deeply embedded in her body. The sword was incredibly sharp; with a firm grip, crimson blood welled up in her palm and seeped through her fingers.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

Tears and blood mingled together, indistinguishable from one another.

Si Liuhua slowly retreated, accompanied by a chilling, sticky sound. With spiritual energy wrapped around her hand, she pushed the sword back and forcefully pulled it out of her abdomen.

Si Changxi was forced to retreat several steps. The pure white spiritual energy looked flawless, yet it exuded a chilling aura.

Blood stained his white robes, and Si Liuhua's already weak face looked even more exhausted. But the bleeding wound healed rapidly before Si Changxi's eyes, and soon it was completely healed except for the bloodstains.

Si Changxi shook off the dripping blood from her blade. Her sword strikes were incredibly fast, no less so than Si Liuhua's. When their swords clashed, they were like swans with intertwined necks, intimately connected. The next moment, a string of blood-stained jade beads rolled down, splattering and splashing, raising a sky full of feather-like sword light.

She knew the direction her sword would point in the next instant, just as Si Liuhua could deftly block every single one of her sword strikes. They moved around each other effortlessly, Si Changxi's spiritual power flowing warmly, like a thin mist rising from spring water evaporated by the sun, damp and heavy. The two were trapped in the middle, their figures constantly changing and flashing.

The shrill and sharp sound of the sword was like the magnificent sound of a stringed instrument.

Every rise and fall, every lingering sentiment, every rise and fall, reveals the fact that they were killing each other.

Blood flowed down quickly, and Si Changxi could no longer hear anything else. She felt her eyes burning; the blood had flowed in, sticking her eyelashes together like tiny thorns and staining her vision red.

The sound of Si Liuhua's panting could be heard.

She was tired—of course she should be. After a fierce battle, in which she killed countless of her comrades, her spiritual energy should have been depleted by more than half.

Sword after sword, her hands went numb from the shock, her tiger's mouth split open, her once flowing clothes now soaked in blood. Her boundless spiritual power was a manifestation of her rage; vines bursting from the ground and branches entangling her spread like wildfire. Si Liuhua stood amidst them, severing them all without hesitation.

Her clothes fluttered, her dark hair was spread out, and her gentle, jade-like face came into view. A faint smile was playing at the corners of her lips, but it disappeared upon closer inspection.

Elder sister, elder sister.

The moonlit night was chilly, and the wind whistled through the trees. The young man walked forward, sword in hand, but he could never quite hit the person in front of him. His elder sister said that if he hit her, the day would be over, but this hit was as difficult as climbing to heaven, just like the hazy smile on the young man's lips, seemingly within reach, but shattering completely when she reached out.

Where is the real moon, really?

After a few rounds, the boy was so tired he couldn't lift his arms anymore, so he simply started to act spoiled. She had indeed been spoiled and developed a bad temper at that time. She stood still, not knowing what she had done wrong, and turned her head away angrily.

Then Si Liuhua would walk over. She would reach out and lift the boy's chin, stroking it with her fingertips, raising an eyebrow and chuckling softly. The sword would slip from her hand, enveloped in pure white spiritual energy, and change direction, gently pressing against the young man's chest before snapping back into its sheath at his waist.

Si Liuhua took her hand and said, "Alright, let's go back."

We can't win.

As her memories faded, Si Changxi suppressed the tears welling in her eyes again. The salty wind stung her face. This time, she couldn't cheat; she had never won. She couldn't win.

But she wanted to kill Si Liuhua.

If she doesn't kill her, how can she give an explanation to her deceased best friend and to the world that propelled her to her high position?

Yet I so desperately wanted to hear the answer from her.

The sword slashed heavily across her shoulder, blood gushing from the gaping wound, and then another strike followed. Si Changxi groaned in pain, her hand gripping the sword trembling. She knew she was still wondering why everything had come to this, why her elder sister had been so resolute in wielding the sword against her; she felt so wronged. But now, responsibility compelled her to keep swinging the sword, as if she had been torn in two.

Half of her is the real her, watching the battle like an outsider, her trembling sword-wielding body no longer belonging to her, only endless tears remaining; the other half is herself, clashing with the enemy.

But Si Changxi did not hesitate. Feeling her spiritual energy dissipate, she gritted her teeth and spoke, her voice still somewhat hoarse: "Stop."

Si Liuhua turned a deaf ear to this.

"Stop..." A chill swept over her, and just as the blade was inches away from her, Si Changxi finally called out—

"Sister!"

At this moment, the pain overwhelmed her, and she felt as if she had lost all her strength, but she managed to stop the sword in Si Liuhua's hand as she had hoped.

How long has it been?

She hadn't heard Si Changxi call her that in a very, very long time. This name, which she had been accustomed to since childhood, had become an unspoken taboo between the two of them, as if uttering it would seal the past and make it irretrievable, completely dissecting the bloody reality; it was a desecration of memories.

She really wanted to hear Si Changxi call her name again.

I just didn't expect it to happen at this time.

But Si Changxi did not stop. Unlike the sadness in her eyes, her sword pierced Si Liuhua's heart more decisively than ever before.

As if fearing that he wouldn't be able to kill her, Si Changxi bit his lip and pushed the sword a little further until it completely pierced her body.

The sky suddenly brightened.

A ray of dawn fell upon the sword's edge.

The sword energy shattered all her meridians, causing her life force to rapidly disappear and her spiritual power to begin to deplete.

Si Liuhua hesitated for a moment, then faced her sword and approached step by step. Si Changxi tried to draw her sword, but found that her hand was powerless, and could only let Si Liuhua slowly approach...

He hugged her.

Then, he leaned weakly on her shoulder.

The young man was covered in blood.

The flesh and blood that did not have the opportunity to merge during the embryonic stage finally overcome countless obstacles and joyfully meet.

At this moment, Si Changxi was finally able to draw his sword.

She could no longer hold the sword hilt and threw it aside, only caring about hugging Si Liuhua tightly, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.

Tears fell on Si Liuhua's face, their warmth quickly turning to cool, like a torrential summer rain.

She felt herself becoming lighter. Of course, for someone who doesn't reincarnate—someone without even a soul—how much weight does a soul actually weigh? She was merely experiencing a brief moment of lucidity before death, a fleeting recollection of what she had abandoned.

I recalled Jiang Wangshu's loving yet regretful expression as she held the litter of monster cubs. Her voice was blurred in the snow.

She remembered that she didn't like snow. It was cold and slippery, nothing compared to the vibrant springtime of her tribe, even though springtime was so desolate when she returned.

I remember Si Changxi holding me and saying, "You have to come see me," his eyes glistening with tears. So pitiful yet so adorable. The grown-up boy doesn't cry as frankly as he did when he was a child; he always manages to put on a tearful, half-crying expression.

And there's also myself at that age, always smiling proudly.

Memories began to seep into her, tinged with the salty bitterness of tears. Si Liuhua tried to speak, but her lips were stained with blood, and she coughed up another mouthful of bright red. Her vision grew increasingly blurry, so she slightly curled the corners of her mouth and raised her hand to touch it.

Without even seeing them, those features, which had been sketched countless times in my heart and mind, were already etched into my memory. My fingertips touched the corner of their trembling lips, and I suddenly paused.

He tremblingly smeared the cold bloodstains onto it.

Like a kiss.

Salty, astringent, warm, and bitter.

All Si Changxi could hear was a sharp ringing in her ears; she felt a thin, detached distance from the world. She stared blankly at Si Liuhua, watching as those dark eyes, no longer stagnant pools, began to come alive, their luster like stars adorning the sky.

She didn't know if this was the shadow of dawn, or everything that Si Liuhua once possessed.

They were so close that they could feel each other's breath.

A moment later, the stars slowly dimmed, but her lips still moved slightly. Si Changxi lowered his head, pressing his ear to her lips, expecting to hear words of regret, unease, repentance, or even suffering…

The only thing that wouldn't clearly reach her ears was this sentence:

"I love you."

Si Liuhua closed her eyes, smiled, and whispered, "I will always love you."

Their horoscopes are paired, and they are also successive high priestesses. They should have joined hands to ascend to the heavens and send the souls of their people back home.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.

But then again, where in this world is there perfect happiness without being cursed by fate?

Her hands fell limp, her breathing grew lighter and lighter, until finally she seemed to fall asleep, her blood drained away, and she leaned pale and peacefully against Si Changxi's arm.

There's no need for resentment anymore, no need for hesitation, for the end has come.

And this ending is good enough, it couldn't be better.

As dawn breaks, all meaning vanishes without a trace when the light fades.

Si Changxi held the gradually cooling person in his arms and slowly pressed his head against her chest. The blood was still flowing, warm like the membrane that had once enveloped her inside the eggshell, full of nutrient-rich moisture.

She had the idea of ​​wanting to stay close to him forever, only to discover that this was a fatal wound.

The nightmare that had plagued Si Changxi all her life finally vanished at this moment, but she had long been accustomed to floating in dreams, so she felt as if a fish had been suddenly pulled away from the ocean beside her, unable to breathe.

Sister...

My elder sister, once tall and reassuring, gentle yet strict. An elder sister who seemed forever out of reach, forever unattainable.

How could she have died?

How could she bear to leave me?

Whether she's a villain or something else, Si Liuhua should live on forever. After all, the fear she brought has always lingered so deeply in everyone's hearts, becoming a persistent dark cloud.

She shouldn't be dead.

Si Changxi felt no satisfaction at having avenged her great enemy. She realized that all the complex emotions—pain, confusion, and resentment—had not vanished with Si Liuhua's death. She had killed her best friend, she had brought calamity and destroyed the sect, and killing Si Liuhua was the way to console all the dead. But why did she only hate herself? She hated herself for not even understanding why things had come to this.

She once thought that hatred could be severed with a single sword strike, but it was insignificant in the face of the bond between blood. Only when the bond was broken did the impurities fade away, revealing its true nature.

That was love.

Si Changxi remained motionless, as if time itself had frozen at that moment amidst the heavy smell of blood, yet everything had irrevocably grown cold. She heard an uncontrollable roar of anger within her, disbelief, childlike, a desperate desire for the person in her arms to wake up.

But it was she who decided to give her sister a break, because she understood that her sister was no longer the same. Yet, Si Liuhua finally said that she had always loved her.

She had always loved her.

Si Changxi's eyes trembled with tears as she softly called out again and again:

"Sister, sister..."

A person whose soul is no longer present can no longer give her any response.

...

The wind was mournful and the sun was dim; few people were visible in the vast fields.

The morning light shone on the lifeless corpses scattered on the ground, like a huge, cold white sheet covering them.

The long night has finally ended, and dawn has arrived.

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The author's note: There is an accompanying image on Weibo.

The sect leader didn't disregard her friends; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so resolute. Although she was constantly in tears, she would have done the same thing even if she had to do it all over again.