Rebirth

The air in the cavern was like frozen water; even the dripping sound of water against the rock wall was stagnant. As Yunxiu leaned against the bluestone to sit up, the moment his back touched the cold rock wall, a sharp pain shot through his wound, and cold sweat instantly soaked his underwear.

But she didn't care and just looked at Yan Xiu.

Yan Xiu's hand hanging by his side moved slightly, but then stopped in mid-air. In the end, he just withdrew his hand, and his fingertips unconsciously stroked the hilt of the Broken Water Sword.

"Xiaoyou, take a rest first."

His voice was deeper than usual: "Your spiritual veins haven't been repaired yet, so it's not appropriate to get angry now."

"Just move." Yunxiu answered immediately without any expression.

Yan Xiu seemed to choke, speechless. Suddenly, Yun Xiu laughed, a chilling laugh emanating from his voice, like icy shards from a mountaintop hitting the bluestone.

"Brother, do you think I should pretend I didn't see or hear anything?"

She raised her hand and pressed it against her chest, where the divine energy was still slightly warm.

The images seen in the illusion and the conversations heard before consciousness fell asleep surged in my mind like a kaleidoscope.

The hollow look in Senior Brother Yu Wei's eyes when he became blind, the blood-stained half of Senior Sister Jing Er's jade pendant, Yan Xiu's words "I regret it" beside the black stone, and the word "traitor" that the ancient god Gao called him when he confronted him...

Each fragment was like a thin needle, hanging in her heart.

"You knew Zhihuan would come to Yaoxi Mountain a long time ago, right?"

"You even knew his purpose, knew he was looking for me... but you didn't say a word! You watched me like a fool, going to Qinglan Sect to snatch the Condensed Jade Marrow, and fighting Zhihuan to the death, and you just stood there and watched!"

Yan Xiu's Adam's apple moved: "I wasn't looking at you... I went to Qinglan Sect just to protect you."

"Should I thank you? Protecting me? Not spying on me?"

Yunxiu leaned forward suddenly. The sharp pain from her wound made her vision go black. Sometimes, she felt like she was staring at nothingness.

"Then tell me, why can you mobilize the divine power that originated from me, but you have never mentioned it to me?"

The gravel on the top of the cave fell down, hitting the bluestone slabs with a dull thud. Yan Xiu's face paled slightly. He avoided Yun Xiu's gaze and looked at the scattered banyan leaves on the ground. His voice was so soft it sounded like a sigh:

"I……"

Yunxiu couldn't get an answer, but she couldn't help but let her tears fall, landing on the backs of their hands that had been clasped together.

"What about Senior Brother Yu Wei... those brothers and sisters who never returned after leaving the mountain, and the child who died on Yaoxi Mountain that day... Tell me, do those things also not count?!"

She suddenly remembered the conversation she heard outside the Qinglan Sect's guesthouse, and Yingtang's panicked back when he turned around - it turned out that everyone knew something, and only she was kept in the dark, like an outsider, risking her life for an outcome that had already been calculated.

"Were you the one who attacked Senior Brother Yu Wei and Senior Sister Jing Er?"

Yunxiu persisted in her questioning. She had seen it… she had seen it in that memory, a memory whose authenticity she couldn't tell, whose belonging it was.

Rather, she was even afraid—afraid that Yan Xiu would really admit that the man was him.

If this were true, how would she cope with it? Would she really be fighting Yan Xiu to the death, just as she remembered?

"Zhi Huan said that it was the remnant spirit of the ancient god who killed the immortals of Yaoxi Mountain... but the ancient god cannot appear at all. But you are different..."

Yan Xiu raised his head suddenly. His voice trembled slightly.

"Xiao You, why do you think so? How could I possibly..."

"Then tell me, why did Senior Brother Yu Wei say 'Don't trust anyone' when he saw me?"

Yunxiu was a little tired, she murmured as she recalled:

"He can't see... he can only see where divine power is. He was so frightened when he saw me because he saw the divine power in me. It must be someone with divine power who hurt him..."

"Is it you, or Zhihuan?"

Yan Xiu's breathing became a little faster, but he said nothing.

The cave fell into dead silence, with only the sound of dripping water echoing repeatedly on the rock wall.

Yan Xiu stood there, his dark-colored uniform soaked in blood, yet he hadn't had time to change. It felt like a heavy black cloth, weighing down his breath.

Looking at Yunxiu curled up on the bluestone and crying, I didn't know how to comfort her.

At this moment, hurried footsteps were heard at the entrance of the cave, and the figures of Wu Yi and Ying Tang rushed in. They had obviously heard the quarrel inside and hurried back.

"What's wrong? Why are you guys arguing?"

Wu Yi walked quickly to Yunxiu's side. Seeing her tear-stained face and the wounds on her body still bleeding, he immediately became anxious. He asked Yanxiu directly:

"Brother, what did you do again?"

Yingtang also walked to the other side of Yunxiu, hugged her gently, and reached out to help her comb her messy hair.

Yunxiu obediently followed Yingtang's actions and said nothing.

Yingtang's palms were cool, and his fingertips gently combed through her hair. But Yunxiu suddenly froze, and a faint sound entered her ears.

It was a sticky, gloomy sob, like countless cold needles, piercing deep into the consciousness along the ear canal.

This voice is so familiar.

That morning, she was lying on the bamboo couch in the attic of Yaoxi Mountain, and this kind of crying sound was in her nightmare.

Fine, sharp and dull, it surged in from all directions, like a tide that was about to drown her.

At the time, she thought it was an illusion. But now, the voice rang out again, so clearly that she could discern the anxiety and guilt wrapped in it...

"Xiao You? What's wrong?" Yingtang noticed her stiffness, stopped, and gently touched her cheek with his fingertips.

"Does the wound hurt again?"

Yunxiu didn't answer. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, the moisture in them had been replaced by an almost icy clarity.

This is not an auditory hallucination, nor is there really someone crying.

This was probably the voice of the heart. Somehow, she could capture the surging emotions and unspoken thoughts in the hearts of those close to her.

But this time, the voice in her heart was more turbulent than any other time before, like a broken dam, flowing wildly along with her perception.

She straightened up slowly. Sharp pain shot up her spine, like a blade scraping against her skin with every movement. Cold sweat dripped down her jawline onto her clothes, leaving a small, dark, wet streak. But she ignored it, using the pain to steady her wavering consciousness.

"Wu Yi."

Yunxiu's voice was hoarse, but it was filled with unmistakable certainty, and his gaze was fixed on the panicked and bewildered young man in green.

Wu Yi was startled by her gaze, and just as he was about to ask "What's wrong", he heard Yun Xiu continue:

"You're thinking now—you should have killed him sooner, right?"

The panic on Wu Yi's face froze instantly, as if he was under a spell.

"Xiao, Xiao You, why are you..."

Yunxiu interrupted him, his voice calm.

"Kill...who?" Yunxiu was indeed a little confused. From her perception, Wu Yi didn't seem to want to kill Zhi Huan or the Ancient God.

"No! I didn't..."

Wu Yi subconsciously wanted to defend himself, but the words got stuck at his lips.

Every word Yunxiu said hit home with the precise words he had been hiding in his heart for the past few days. These thoughts turned around in his mind like a revolving lantern, but he had never told anyone.

Yingtang's arms around Yunxiu suddenly tightened, the warmth of his fingertips instantly turning icy cold. Yunxiu could clearly feel Yingtang's body trembling slightly, even his breathing becoming labored. She turned her head, her gaze landing on her senior sister's moon-white robe, still stained with blood from the time she'd stopped the bleeding.

"Senior Sister."

Yunxiu's voice softened a little:

"I'm fine, don't worry about me. But why are you thinking in your heart - 'I should have killed him earlier'?"

Yingtang's face turned pale, and his lips moved, but no sound came out.

She hid this matter from everyone, not even Yan Xiu, but Yun Xiu told it word for word.

"And more." Yunxiu's eyes swept over Yingtang's hand hanging by his side, which was still shaking slightly.

"When you were hugging me just now, you were thinking, 'Last time she was in front of the barrier... I was right next to her, but I didn't hold her back. This time, no matter what, I can't let anything happen to her.' - Senior Sister, this is also what you were thinking, right?"

Yingtang couldn't hold back her tears any longer and they fell on the back of Yunxiu's hand.

Yunxiu gently broke free from her embrace, stepped back, and leaned against the cold rock wall. The pain from her wounds made her vision blur, and she could hardly sit still.

"You all...know something I don't, right?"

Finally, her gaze fell on Yan Xiu, who remained silent the entire time.

Yan Xiu stood in place, the shoulder lines of his dark-colored tights stretched extremely tight, and his knuckles turned white from gripping the hilt of the Broken Water Sword.

He looked at Yunxiu, at the wound on her body that was still bleeding, his Adam's apple moved, but he said nothing. But Yunxiu could clearly "hear" the voice in his heart, like a bell sunk in the deep sea, hitting her eardrums.

"Why... does she know what we're thinking? When did it all start? There are so many variables this time. If that's true..."

"If this is the case, I can only calm down..."

Yan Xiu recited the Soul-Calming Sutra in his heart, and Yun Xiu heard it clearly.

Who is carrying the memories of the past, trying desperately to make up for past regrets?

"Senior Brother Yan Xiu."

Yunxiu looked at the other person steadily:

"'There are so many variables this time'—what do you mean? This is something you've experienced more than once, right?"

Yan Xiu raised his head suddenly, as if he had not expected her to say this.

The cave was completely quiet.

Yingtang covered her mouth, tears streaming silently; Yan Xiu stood there, with complex emotions surging in her eyes.

The sound of water dripping from the rock wall was amplified in the silence, and every drop seemed to hit the hearts of several people.

"In late June... on the morning of the 22nd. When I woke up, I heard crying. I told you all that, you said at the time that I was having a nightmare."

"But it's not a nightmare, it's the voice of your heart, right?"

She took a deep breath and looked into everyone's eyes——

"Did you use some method to return to the past with your memories, hoping to 'start over'?"