The dust has settled
When the final black demonic shadow, formed from the demonic thoughts of the first sect leader, completely vanished into ashes amidst the golden light of merit, the entire Kunlun Mountains fell silent. The blood-red magic array covering the entire Tianyan Pavilion, filled with evil and ominous aura, also shattered inch by inch, like a skeleton without support, turning into nothingness.
The sky cleared again, and a cool, full moon peeked out from behind the clouds, casting its gentle, holy light upon the scarred yet reborn land.
The battle is over.
The vast golden sea of merit behind Yu Jinli gradually became illusory after completing its mission, eventually dissipating into specks of golden light. An extreme sense of exhaustion, as if all her strength had been drained, instantly swept over her, and her body swayed, falling backward uncontrollably.
The next second, she fell into a firm and warm embrace—it was Feng Jinxuan. He had appeared behind her without her noticing, holding her tightly as if he wanted to meld her into his very bones.
"We...won?" Yu Jinli asked weakly, leaning against him.
"Yes." The man's voice rang in her ear, hoarse but filled with the relief of surviving a disaster, "We won."
...
The next morning, atop the Kunlun Mountains, a sea of clouds surged and the sky was ablaze with rosy light. A golden sun burst forth from the horizon, bathing the entire world in a warm and hopeful golden hue.
Yu Jinli and Feng Jinxuan sat atop this magnificent sea of clouds, the earth-shattering battle of the previous night feeling like an unreal dream. The Shadow Devouring Sect, a malignant tumor that had plagued the Xuanmen for a thousand years, had been completely eradicated; Xuanji had received his due end; and although the Tianyan Pavilion had suffered heavy losses, it had also been reborn. All the misunderstandings and estrangement between her and Feng Jinxuan had vanished in that life-or-death test of fighting side-by-side.
Everything has settled down, and everything is as good as an unreal fairy tale.
"What are you thinking about?" A deep voice, tinged with a hint of amusement, sounded in her ear.
Feng Jinxuan had appeared behind her without her noticing and draped a warm windbreaker, carrying the crisp scent of pine trees, over her shoulders.
"I'm thinking," Yu Jinli said sincerely, looking at the surging sea of clouds and the rising sun in the distance, "It's so good to be alive."
"Yes." The man sat down beside her, looking at the same scenery side by side with her. "It's good to be alive."
Neither of them spoke again, simply enjoying this hard-won tranquility and beauty. The sunlight shone on them, casting their shadows long and intertwined intimately.
After a long while, Feng Jinxuan seemed to suddenly remember something, turned his head to look at her, and his eyes became more serious than ever before: "Yu Jinli".
"Um?"
“I have something to give you,” he said, taking a familiar-looking velvet ring box from his pocket.
Yu Jinli looked at the box and a sense of foreboding suddenly rose in her heart—was this guy going to do it again?
Sure enough, the next second, the man slowly knelt on one knee to her astonishment. His movements were still somewhat clumsy and stiff, but his usually deep and cold black eyes were now filled with tenderness and affection that could melt a thousand-year-old glacier.
“Yu Jinli,” he looked up at her, his voice hoarse but unusually firm, “I know this scene might be familiar to you, and I also know that the last proposal was a disaster. I was domineering, immature, arrogant, and didn’t trust you. I lost you.”
As he said this, his eyes inexplicably reddened: "So God punished me, making me taste what it means to be utterly despondent. In those days without you, I finally understood that what I wanted was not a business empire, not supreme power, but only you from beginning to end."
He opened the velvet ring box, and inside lay not the dazzling pigeon egg from last time, but a simple-looking jade ring. This ring was carved from a single piece of Kunlun warm jade, the same material as the safety buckle around his neck, and a small, lifelike koi fish pattern was engraved on it with gold thread.
“I have nothing left to give you.” He looked at her, his eyes sincere and humble. “All my assets have been transferred to your name. I am now penniless and heavily in debt, probably even poorer than when you first met me. This is the only thing I can give you.”
He paused, his voice trembling slightly: "A completely new Feng Jinxuan, no longer plagued by misfortune, and Chase who is willing to spend the rest of his life, everything, even his life, to love you, protect you, and trust you without reservation."
“So…” He looked at her, his dark eyes filled with expectation and trepidation, “Miss Yu Jinli, are you willing to give me another chance? Are you willing to marry me, a penniless nobody?”
Looking at the sincere yet nervous expression on the man's face, Yu Jinli felt as if her heart was being gently held by a warm, soft hand, like a young man proposing to his beloved girl for the first time, his expression a mix of awkwardness and excitement. She looked at this man before her, a man who could laugh and cry, full of life and vitality, and saw a tenderness in his eyes that she herself hadn't noticed, a tenderness capable of melting even the coldest ice.
She didn't answer immediately, but reached out and pulled up the silly man who was still kneeling on one knee. Then, to the man's shocked gaze, she stood on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.
"I do." After the kiss ended, she looked at him, smiling through her tears, and declared clearly, word by word, "I do."
He looked at the girl before him, her face streaked with tears, looking so pitiful, as she awkwardly tried to comfort him. The last bit of coldness and hardness in his heart melted away. He could no longer control himself and lowered his head to kiss her back fiercely.
Sunshine, sea of clouds, snow-capped mountains—everything became their most beautiful backdrop.
After a long while, the two finally separated, panting. Yu Jinli watched as the man placed the warm, smooth jade ring on her finger, her heart overflowing with happiness. Looking at him, she suddenly remembered something, a sly smile playing on her lips: "Oh, right, Mr. Feng. This ring can't be reimbursed anymore, okay?"
(The End)
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