Chapter 147 Going Home
On the eve of the fierce battle, Tangyuan and Duan Lansheng became two separate individuals. Of course, if there hadn't been an unavoidable obstacle to separate them, Duan Lansheng would never have brought a child to such a dangerous place. Now, it's time to send Tangyuan away.
And that's where the trouble started.
Such a young child cannot leave the battlefield alone. With the fierce battle raging, Duan Lansheng, as the commander-in-chief, cannot abandon the front lines without authorization. Nor can he casually entrust his child to someone else.
Lu Yuanyuan knew that the best solution was for her to make the trip herself. Firstly, she was Tangyuan's blood relative, and secondly, she had no duties to perform and no need to stay behind. However... the Ghost Emperor would only die once, and he only had this one chance to return home. If she were to be sent away because of this, then the only opportunity she had painstakingly cultivated until now would be lost.
However, Lu Yuanyuan soon discovered that Duan Lansheng had not consulted her at all about what to do—he seemed to have already considered the unexpected situation that Tangyuan would need to go home halfway and had prepared a solution.
That's right. In Duan Lansheng's initial plan, she wouldn't have accompanied him on this mission at all.
Naturally, he wouldn't expect her to take Tangyuan away, so arranging for someone else to pick her up in advance was perfectly normal.
As expected, when they arrived at the Heavenly Peril Stone, the Martial God of Jin'ao Island had not yet appeared, but a ghostly man was already waiting there—Lu Yuanyuan remembered that the man's name was Bai Ye, and he was Duan Lansheng's deputy general in the Demon Realm.
Seeing Duan Lansheng appear, Bai Ye breathed a slight sigh of relief. When he saw Lu Yuanyuan behind Duan Lansheng, he seemed a little surprised, but he didn't ask anything. He quickly stepped forward and respectfully said, "High Priest."
Duan Lansheng nodded and handed the swaddled baby in his arms to him.
Bai Ye carefully took the swaddling clothes, parted them, and saw a little nine-tailed fox curled up inside. Tangyuan had seen Bai Ye before, so he didn't panic or struggle when he was held. But after a while, he wanted to get back into Lu Yuanyuan's arms from this hard embrace. He tried to turn over, stretched out his paws, and scratched at the air, but couldn't reach her.
Duan Lansheng glanced at him, seemingly with a warning: "Tangyuan, be good."
It was clear that Tangyuan was quite obedient to him; its fox ears drooped slightly, it let out a soft cry, and it became completely docile.
Lu Yuanyuan resisted the urge to reach out and touch the fox ears, trying to calm herself down, and turned to Bai Ye: "Deputy General Bai Ye, where will you take him to hide?"
Bai Ye glanced at Duan Lansheng, seemingly seeking his opinion on whether to answer. Only after receiving permission did he calmly reply, "I will return to Xuanzhao with the main force that is resting. The team has over a thousand people, including soldiers from the demon realm and martial gods from Jin'ao Island. No matter what happens, I will do my best to protect the young master's safety."
Xuanzhao...
Lu Yuanyuan's heart skipped a beat, and she asked, "Which route do you plan to take? How long will it take?"
Bai Ye didn't hide anything. After answering, he added, "The road back to Xuanzhao is a battlefield that has been cleaned up twice. Even if there are any Yin soldiers blocking our way, they won't pose a threat. We'll be back in Xuanzhao in no more than five days."
Duan Lansheng, who had been silent until now, glanced at the sky and interrupted the two: "Alright, Bai Ye, it's time for you to set off."
Lu Yuanyuan clenched her fist, then relaxed it and said, "Be careful in everything."
Bai Ye bowed slightly and tucked the swaddled baby into his robes. He was wearing armor, and his clothes were so thick that it was impossible to tell that there was a small child hidden inside. In a flash, he completely disappeared from their sight.
After Bai Ye left, the air fell into silence, so quiet that only the rise and fall of their breathing could be heard.
Which newlywed couple in this world isn't all lovey-dovey and sweet the day after their wedding ceremony? There probably isn't anyone quite like them.
But what do they have to compare with others? At least those people are in love, not a scam.
Now the scam is about to reach its climax.
Lu Yuanyuan looked at the weeds growing in the cracks of the rocks, took a slight breath, and tried to calm her heartbeat, which was starting to become unsteady again.
After she woke up this morning, Duan Lansheng's attitude towards her was no different, and he didn't press her for those questions again. It seemed that he had been appeased last night.
Everything was progressing as she hoped, yet she felt no relief whatsoever. The closer she got to the finish line, the more precarious it felt like walking on thin ice.
She was no longer sure what Duan Lansheng was thinking, and at this moment she didn't dare to take the initiative to speak, as if she was afraid of breaking the balance.
Just then, a cool, damp sensation brushed against Lu Yuanyuan's cheek. She looked up in surprise and realized it had started raining outside.
The warm, bright sunshine of early morning is a rare and precious miracle, but the sky over Guilao Mountain has finally returned to its usual state of continuous rain. Dark clouds hang heavy, making it seem like night.
Fortunately, not long after, the God of War from Jin'ao Island finally arrived.
They agreed to meet at the Tianxian Rock, a giant rock that seemed to have come from outer space. One end was deeply embedded in the ground, while the other end was embedded in the mountain wall, forming a triangular shelter that runs through both sides. The area underneath was large enough to accommodate a football field. People standing in the shade were like ants taking shelter from the rain under the leaves.
Lu Yuanyuan glanced around and saw that there were four Martial Gods present. Everyone was visibly surprised to see Lu Yuanyuan there, assuming she was there specifically to deliver a message from Jin'ao Island. Upon learning that she had come with Duan Lansheng, their gazes darted back and forth between the two, as if they understood something.
However, this was not the time for gossip. The group quickly sat down and began discussing their attack strategy.
A martial god sat down with an imposing air and said, "Since the Ghost Emperor Jiuli retreated to Ghost Prison Mountain, the number and strength of his Yin soldiers have greatly diminished. Last month, he was still in an offensive posture, but now he has gathered all the Yin soldiers to his side."
Lu Yuanyuan did not interrupt them.
When Xiao Ruo tried to persuade her to go home with her, she mentioned that she had a concept art book. The reason why Ghost Emperor Jiuli was so difficult to kill was because the old site of the Ghost Emperor where he was located contained a spatial rift that connected life and death. For many years, he had been firmly lying above the rift, absorbing the power of the dead, and had almost become assimilated with that rift.
Currently, the alliance of cultivators has successfully driven the Ghost Emperor away from that rift, effectively shutting down his floodgates. This is why the Ghost Emperor's henchmen have become fewer and weaker.
Although the cultivation alliance was unaware of the existence of this spacetime rift, their actions still objectively created this effect.
The Ghost Emperor wasn't stupid. Under these circumstances, he naturally stopped squandering his troops and instead recalled them to his side to protect himself.
But that doesn't mean he can't summon his henchmen.
A normal person who finds a treasure will try to take the treasure to a place only they know about for their own use, rather than foolishly guarding it. After all, if you can find it, so can others. If you're not powerful enough, the treasure will simply change hands.
The Ghost Emperor has monopolized the spacetime rift for hundreds of years, but he didn't do it for nothing. The spacetime tunnel in his right eye is essentially a miniature spacetime rift.
It's unclear how this guy managed to cut away a portion of the spacetime rift and hide it in his eye. Of course, if he had a way, the Ghost Emperor would probably have taken the entire rift with him. Unfortunately, it's too big for the Ghost Emperor to swallow or carry away. Taking even a small part of it is already quite an achievement.
Unfortunately, the time tunnel back to Earth happened to be located within the section he had taken with him. And it was only when the Ghost Emperor was on the verge of death that he lost control of the tunnel's entrance.
If the conditions for returning home weren't so stringent, Lu Yuanyuan wouldn't have needed to risk going to the Ghost Emperor. Finding a spatial rift at the old Ghost Realm site would have been far simpler.
Lu Yuanyuan pulled herself out of her thoughts.
As expected, none of those present knew the reason behind it, but they were even more certain that now was a good opportunity to annihilate the Ghost Emperor in one fell swoop.
However, although the Ghost Emperor's power has weakened, the number of Yin soldiers under his command is still unimaginable, as vast as the sea. Getting close to the Ghost Emperor is still very difficult, and no one has managed to do so yet.
Therefore, this war was not a one-man show; it required the cultivators to cooperate with the other martial gods of Jin'ao Island. They were responsible for dealing with the Yin soldiers and ghost generals blocking their way, so that Duan Lansheng and his group would not waste their energy on this, and like sharp blades, they could pierce straight into the Ghost Emperor's vitals.
They're all smart people; there's no really complicated strategy to deploy. Most of the strategies were already agreed upon long ago, and today is just a final meeting. When it comes time to fight, the winner lives, the loser dies—it's that simple, and that cruel.
According to what she knew about the future, it was Duan Lansheng who would ultimately kill the Ghost Emperor Jiuli, a fact confirmed by Xiao Ruo's words. This was the predetermined ending.
But that doesn't mean she can win by doing nothing. The original text only specified Duan Lansheng's ending, but it didn't say that she would definitely survive to the end.
She could only do her best to survive, not to hold Duan Lansheng back, and hold on until the Ghost Emperor appeared.
Nighttime is when the demons are at their strongest, so attacking at night would be unwise. They will launch their attack at dawn. In fact, by the time they finished their conversation, there was very little time left.
As the sun set, its already meager light gradually vanished behind the mountains. The martial gods returned to their respective positions.
On the eve of the fierce battle, time seemed to stretch on endlessly. The rain was almost over, and the world was silent.
As dawn broke, the first rays of sunlight burst forth from behind the clouds. The final battle was about to begin; the very last moment had arrived.
...
Dark clouds filled the sky, and thunder rumbled.
Above Ghost Prison Mountain, two opposing camps faced off. In the center of the valley, as if a giant spring had been carved out, thick, purplish-black mist gushed forth, threatening to devour the sky and destroy the sun. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be countless, densely packed, wave-like ghostly soldiers and generals.
Above Ghost Prison Mountain, a magnificent and awe-inspiring pale golden halo appeared. It was formed by tens of thousands of cultivators and demon warriors, arrayed in formation, with thousands of them floating in the air on their swords. The sound of drums and gongs filled the air, and the dim light from the clouds reflected off their sword blades, creating a strong and brilliant radiance. From a distance, it looked as if the sun had sunk here, exuding an awe-inspiring and imposing aura.
"kill--"
The earth shook violently!
The golden mist suddenly dissipated into a shower of golden dust in mid-air, then shot straight into the howling black mist like lightning. The two shockwaves collided, exploding into a crimson blood mist!
Spiritual energy clashed with yin energy, righteous energy with resentment, embroiled in a chaotic battle in mid-air. This was the most brutal and spectacular decisive battle in hundreds of years. A single sweep of the Martial God's sword sliced off the upper bodies of several ghost generals, while on the other side, ghost generals' hands pierced the armor of cultivators, sending screams of agony filling the air…
Meanwhile, everyone in the midst of the fierce battle could see a beam of light, sweeping through the blood mist, flashing like a meteor from the middle of the battlefield, heading straight for the heart of Ghost Prison Mountain! Along the way, whether it was gold, black, or red, everything was swiftly cleaved open like waves being parted, and nothing could stop it, whether gods, demons, humans, or animals.
Lu Yuanyuan had prepared for battle, but found that she didn't need to fight at all; these small fry couldn't stop Duan Lansheng. They moved freely through this hellish battlefield, constantly bypassing obstacles and approaching their destination as quickly as possible.
Any ghosts or monsters that they passed by seemed to be half-ignited by the friction of a flint, quickly burning to ashes, and were then slashed to death by the swarming cultivators.
A roar came from the depths of the valley, causing rocks to tremble and fall, shattering broken stones. Lu Yuanyuan was startled and saw the enormous creature in the center of the valley, a chill running down her spine.
Lu Yuanyuan had imagined the final boss's appearance many times. Perhaps it would look like the traditional image of a red-haired, blue-skinned, fanged, and ferocious ghost king, or perhaps it would be the opposite, transforming into a handsome figure. But she never expected that this thing would look so disgusting—from a distance, it was a humanoid creature sitting cross-legged in a valley, its face far removed from that of a human, more like the head of a ferocious beast with exposed fangs and flared nostrils. A single hand could crush several adults, and its dark skin was covered with countless crisscrossing scars.
No, is that really a wound? There's no blood seeping from it at all...
At the same time, Lu Yuanyuan saw a dazzling golden light coming from three other directions in the dark sky... That was the Martial God of Jin'ao Island!
Suddenly, the Ghost Emperor's massive body stirred, as if sensing an enemy breaching his defenses for the first time, surrounding him from all sides. Lu Yuanyuan snapped to attention, thinking he was about to turn around. But what she saw next sent chills down her spine—white dots suddenly appeared on the Ghost Emperor's back, slightly bulging and somewhat murky in color, densely packed and standing out starkly against his dark skin. Suddenly, the dots rolled together, revealing a dark core in the center, and all turned toward them.
Those scratches weren't scars at all; they were all from eyes!
This thing is covered in eyes all over its body!
What kind of serotype creature is this that makes your sanity drop like crazy?!
Not only does it disgust the enemy, but it also means that he can see in all directions and hear in all directions, so his enemies have no blind spots to hide in.
In the blink of an eye, the Ghost Emperor let out an angry roar. Lu Yuanyuan was caught off guard, and a mouthful of sweet, metallic taste rose in her throat. Not wanting to affect Duan Lansheng, she held back her anger and swiftly rolled to the side, slashing away several ghost generals who were closing in on her with a single sword strike. A gust of wind swept past her, and Duan Lansheng had already transformed into a shooting star, rushing towards the colossal object in the distance.
Enraged, the Ghost Emperor summoned his ghostly soldiers and generals to protect him. Though large in stature, he moved with surprising agility, showing no sign of sluggishness. Duan Lansheng and the three Martial Gods' movements resembled a golden net, their sharp sword energy trapping the Ghost Emperor. With each passing moment, more scratches appeared on the Ghost Emperor's body.
The immortals were locked in a magical battle, turning the night as dark as day, and causing the earth to shake violently.
Ordinary people who want to get close to him should first worry about whether they will be crushed into cannon fodder.
Lu Yuanyuan withdrew her gaze, a ruthless glint flashing across her face, and swallowed the blood in her mouth.
She had to trust Duan Lansheng, and trust the ending written by fate. Now, her only options were to either focus on the battle or survive on this battlefield!
Once she entered battle mode, she could no longer worry about that side and could only do her best to block all the ghost soldiers and generals who wanted to get closer to the Ghost Emperor to support him.
Blood mist sprayed down, filling the air and shaking the earth. Her palms were drenched in sweat, so slippery she could barely grip the sword hilt, her muscles aching uncontrollably. She had lost count of how many ghostly soldiers and generals she had slain.
Although unable to approach the center, it was still possible to observe that of the initial four beams of golden light, only one remained. However, the Ghost Emperor didn't fare any better; as his power weakened, increasingly dense black mist emanated from his body, gradually obscuring the scene entirely, replaced by billowing smoke.
Lu Yuanyuan's heart clenched rapidly.
boom--
Suddenly, a crimson light emanated from the thick, enormous black fog, as if a small atomic bomb had exploded. Lu Yuanyuan was thrown away by the violent impact. The loud noise caused her heart to ache terribly, and she vomited a mouthful of blood. Her ears were ringing, and she could no longer hear anything. Her vision went black for a while, and then she realized that the sky had darkened.
Tens of thousands of black rocks flew out from the epicenter of the explosion; the phrase "overwhelming" would be an understatement. The clouds were almost completely obscured, and an evil, malevolent aura filled the sky. It was like the perspective of someone standing at the bottom of a landslide—no matter which way they ran, it was a dead end.
Lu Yuanyuan knew that the shockwave had injured her, but fortunately, she had already transcended the physical body of a Golden Core cultivator. If a cultivator had been nearby, their body would probably have been shattered by now. She struggled to regain her balance and flipped herself over. Before she could catch her breath, the boulder, carrying scorching molten red liquid, flew right in front of her.
At the same time, the ghost soldiers and generals around them stopped moving towards the center of the battlefield to aid the Ghost Emperor, as if the command summoning them had suddenly vanished. They began to fight each other in place like madmen.
Ghost soldiers and generals who couldn't dodge in time were continuously struck. Their bodies quickly twisted violently around the "stone," emitting smoke, and were burned to ashes.
In the chaos, Lu Yuanyuan's celestial body was undoubtedly the most delicious feast to arouse the instincts of the ghost soldiers and generals. She dodged and cleared away one boulder after another, while simultaneously clearing away the approaching ghost soldiers and generals. However, there were simply too many falling rocks. In a moment of carelessness, she was finally grazed on the forehead and plummeted downwards.
Blood streamed down her forehead, blurring the whites of her eyes, making the whole world appear as if filtered through a crimson lens. Through the blur, she saw a ghost general raise a long sword made of bones, slashing down at her.
No, there's no way to completely dodge this! Lu Yuanyuan endured the dizziness, gritted her teeth, and rolled over, trying to minimize the damage. But for some reason, she couldn't feel any pain, as if the bone knife was made of sponge.
Why is this happening?
No, now is not the time to think, this is an opportunity not to be missed!
The moment the ghost general approached, Lu Yuanyuan pierced its chest with her sword and kicked it away.
She could hear her lungs panting like a leaky bellows, and her arm muscles ached terribly at the slightest touch—all signs of excessive exertion.
At this moment, her vision finally cleared up, the double images disappeared, and she could see clearly those so-called boulders, each topped with a white sphere—which turned out to be the Ghost Emperor's fragmented body.
So, the Ghost Emperor exploded?
Separated from his main body, the flesh became stone-like in texture, and the glasses above stopped rolling, frozen as if lifeless, staring intently at her.
Another boulder fell, but Lu Yuanyuan dodged it with a swift movement. She looked up, holding a long sword, and floated blankly in mid-air.
She saw that the blood rain covering the mountains and fields had not stopped, just like a torrential downpour common in Ghost Prison Mountain, pelting down with a crackling sound.
The number of ghost soldiers around her had decreased significantly. At the same time, a series of ghostly wails and howls came from the air below her, the demonic sounds making one's blood boil.
As the Ghost Emperor began to perish, his ghost soldiers and generals also went mad. The ghost generals could still dodge in the air, but the ghost soldiers could no longer maintain their soldier form and turned into the appearance of newly unearthed corpses. They could no longer fly into the air, and below they tore at each other's flesh and blood.
Not only do they kill each other, but any living thing that falls among them will be torn apart and devoured in an instant.
It felt like being in the eighteenth level of hell.
Lu Yuanyuan forcefully wiped the blood from her face, panting.
Where is Duan Lansheng?!
The smoke that obscured the view was dispersed by the strong wind, and in the heart of Ghost Prison Mountain, Lu Yuanyuan saw the Ghost Emperor's mountain-like body slowly tilt to the ground. Even though most of it had been blasted apart, a massive core remained, slowly dissipating into the wind.
"The Ghost Emperor is doomed—Kill him—"
Indistinct cries echoed from afar, seemingly from cultivators on the outer perimeter, their swords flashing like meteors in the mist. Strangely, the ghost generals' blades were still capable of wounding cultivators. Just moments ago, she had wondered if the Ghost Emperor's impending death had rendered his disciples and followers powerless, causing the blade to strike her solidly in the back without harming her. But now, it seemed that wasn't the case.
Lu Yuanyuan touched her back, gritted her teeth, and while awkwardly dodging the still-falling rain of blood, flew towards the direction where the Ghost Emperor had fallen, searching and roaring, "Duan Lansheng! Where are you?!"
After searching for an unknown amount of time, she finally spotted a weakened figure, falling like a startled bird. The figure almost merged with the rain of blood, appearing and disappearing intermittently.
Lu Yuanyuan didn't dare to gamble on whether she had seen correctly. She rushed over with all her might and finally caught the figure in mid-air.
The force of the fall was so great that, despite being prepared, Lu Yuanyuan felt her arm was about to break. Even so, she didn't let go of Duan Lansheng; the two clung to each other as they plummeted. Fortunately, she quickly regained her balance and didn't fall completely into the midst of the dying ghost soldiers below.
Lu Yuanyuan looked down and saw Duan Lansheng leaning against her, his face as white as paper, with large patches of bluish-green veins on his neck. From the front, there seemed to be no visible wounds, but she could feel that her hands, which were wrapped around his back, were wet and sticky. When she pulled them away, they were covered in blood.
There was a deep, bone-revealing knife wound on his back, still bubbling with fresh blood, in the same spot as when she had been stabbed. Perhaps due to excessive exertion, it showed no signs of healing.
The vague guess in her mind was finally confirmed. Lu Yuanyuan's sleeve was also soaked with sweat, and the heat made her fingers tremble. At this moment, she finally understood why Duan Lansheng did not stop her.
Suddenly, she felt a pure white light emanating from behind her. Turning around, she saw that the Ghost Emperor's body had dissipated into a skeleton, with a piece of white bone supporting his drooping head.
His left eye was tightly closed, but his right eye shone with a brilliant white light, which was an entrance to a void, with no end in sight.
The entrance to the time tunnel has truly opened!
The road home is right in front of me.
But... in Duan Lansheng's current state, can he withstand the removal of the Soul-Crossing Thorns?
At this moment, the weakened Duan Lansheng was only protected by her. If she left, it would undoubtedly push him into the final abyss.
The incantation to awaken the Thorns of Soul Crossing had already slipped to his lips, but he abruptly stopped.
Just then, a desperate cry rang out from the fierce wind: "Lu Yuanyuan! Thank goodness, you're here! You're alive!"
In the rolling dark clouds in the distance, a small dot appeared, which quickly grew larger. It was a girl riding a silver wolf, none other than Xiao Ruo!
Seeing the white light in the Ghost Emperor's right eye, Xiao Ruo was overjoyed: "That's the entrance to the spacetime tunnel! It really appeared! See? I did what I promised you!"
The silver wolf was just an ordinary mount. Fueled by the intense resentment, its tail tucked up, and Xiao Ru's body swayed precariously, almost being thrown off. She clung tightly to the wolf's neck, as if afraid Lu Yuanyuan wouldn't hear her, and roared, "What are you waiting for? Do it now! This world is nothing but a third-rate, melodramatic novel! Now we can go back to our real home! The entrance to the time tunnel has a time limit. If the Ghost Emperor completely dissipates and the entrance closes, you'll never be able to return to Earth!"
At the final moment, no persona mattered anymore. Xiao Ruo completely stopped hiding the fact that she was a time traveler, and no longer cared that Duan Lansheng was listening nearby.
"There's no time! The system is taking me back to Earth. Hurry up and catch up! I'm outta here!"
Xiao Ruo didn't need to go through the space-time tunnel of the Ghost Emperor's right eye to get home; the system would take her there. After shouting out everything she wanted to say, Xiao Ruo's body gradually became ethereal and suddenly disappeared into thin air.
The silver wolf that Xiao Ru was riding, now without its master, fled in panic, its tail between its legs.
At this moment, Lu Yuanyuan felt a gaze and was startled. She looked down and found that Duan Lansheng had woken up at some point. His long eyelashes fluttered slightly as he opened his eyes.
He didn't seem surprised that Xiao Ruo was there. Even though he had heard what Xiao Ruo said, he didn't show much shock.
He just kept watching her quietly.
It's as if I want to see through her outer shell and see her true inner self.
Her head buzzed, and Lu Yuanyuan's lips moved as a ridiculous thought popped into her head: "You know?"
The question seemed abrupt, but she felt that Duan Lansheng understood what she was saying.
As expected, Duan Lansheng slowly lowered his eyes: "That day, I entered your sea of consciousness."
...
That year, she stabbed him in the chest with a sword, sending him on a journey through hell before returning to the world of the living. By a twist of fate, he learned that she harbored some secrets, but could not uncover the whole story.
She is neither the princess of Yan Kingdom nor Lu Yuanyuan of Shu Mountain, so who is she?
Her home is in a very, very far place. What exactly is that place?
Like trying to see through a fog, he wanted to ask but dared not, wanted to investigate but withdrew his hand. Enough, enough. If he could spend his life with her like an ordinary couple, he was willing to wallow in this confusion.
The turning point was the night spent in the cave on the eve of the decisive battle.
He had always been the sole provider of Tangyuan's food. But lately, due to his numerous battles with the Yin soldiers, his body felt as if it had been soaked in resentment.
Children's souls are pure, making them exceptionally sensitive to evil auras. Perhaps disliking its smell, and sensing the presence of another, cleaner and warmer source of power connected to its own bloodline, Tangyuan subconsciously changed its "power-absorbing" object that night.
Lu Yuanyuan was caught off guard; Tangyuan was young, greedy, and didn't know how to control her appetite.
When he realized something was wrong, Lu Yuanyuan had already collapsed into his arms, having lost much of her power. With the decisive battle approaching, worried that something might happen to her, he used a side branch of puppetry to manipulate her body, just in case, to transfer the pain. Unexpectedly, this very act of mutual fusion caused Lu Yuanyuan's mental barrier to open up to him.
In that burst of illusory light, he felt as if he had been struck by a heavy blow, and saw a scene that flashed by like a revolving lantern.
...
In the magnificent palace, Xiao Ruo, her face filled with anxiety, stumbled down the stairs, shouting at the departing figure with all her might: "Lu Yuanyuan! Don't you want to go home?"
"Do you want to go home? Back to the modern world, your real home!"
...
The magnificent palace vanished in the wind and smoke, transforming into a lush and tranquil garden. Behind the trees, two familiar figures whispered to each other.
"...We already know the coordinates of the time tunnel!" Xiao Ru pointed to her right eye with her index finger: "It's in the Ghost Emperor's right eye!"
"You want me to go with Duan Lansheng to subdue the Ghost Emperor?"
"That's what I mean... If you want to go home, find a way to get Duan Lansheng to take you with him at that moment... when Duan Lansheng kills the Ghost Emperor... open the time tunnel."
"That's your best and only chance, you must seize it!"
...
He finally learned everything.
It turns out that it was all a deception from beginning to end. Lu Yuanyuan's home isn't here; like Xiao Ruo, she comes from another, faraway world. Her painstaking efforts to get close to him are simply a ploy to return home.
All the sweetness, care, and vows that preceded him became bloody daggers, piercing his body.
Love breeds resentment, love breeds hatred, love breeds fear.
My heart hurts so much it feels like it's going to split in two.
If you're going to lie to him, why not lie to him for the rest of your life?
Why give him hope only to shatter it all yourself?
He wouldn't let Lu Yuanyuan go. Even if she hated him, it was better than never seeing her again. Let them be entangled in the underworld for all eternity.
But he didn't expect that he would change his mind.
That day, behind that secluded, dilapidated temple, he stood silently behind the lush grass, his body hidden by the wall.
The reason he remained silent was simply because he masochistically wanted to see if she would show a genuinely relaxed and happy expression in a situation where she didn't need to feign affection to deal with him.
But what he saw was Lu Yuanyuan sitting in the sunlight on a swing, holding a snow-white little fox.
The warm sunlight bathed her, making her radiate an unreal glow. He saw Lu Yuanyuan gently stroking Tangyuan, her expression complex—a mixture of reluctance, guilt, and above all, deep tenderness and affection. She gazed at Tangyuan, and finally, slowly lowered her head, planting a kiss on the little fox's head.
There was clearly no third pair of eyes watching her anymore; she no longer needed to painstakingly act and gain his trust.
Why would she show such an expression when no one is around, when faced with an innocent child who doesn't know anything about the world—or more precisely, a child who was forced to "come into being" by someone she doesn't love, a burden?
Witnessing that scene, the trembling in his body was no less than when he first discovered the truth in his sea of consciousness; it was like a torrent rushing through his veins.
An irrepressible affection, accompanied by resentment, sprouted and grew wildly in his heart.
He had clearly decided to cut off her path home. But, in that instant, standing in the warm sunlight, he suddenly forgave her deception.
There is never pure love or hate in this world; the human heart is inherently complex.
Perhaps she has many secrets she cannot reveal, but those memories in Mount Shu, the laughter and tears, the days and nights spent together, the moments of life and death, are not all lies.
Even if she was pretending in front of him, there was no need to pretend when he wasn't looking. So, she must have some genuine feelings for him and for Tangyuan, right? It's just that the weight of those feelings couldn't compare to her desire to go home.
He thought to himself that this time he was finally not just imagining things.
At the moment of parting, she hesitated because of him, giving him her final tenderness.
...
Lu Yuanyuan stared blankly at the person in her arms.
Duan Lansheng said softly, "May I know what your real name is?"
Lu Yuanyuan's eyes stung with tears. She didn't know why, but just asking her name brought tears streaming down her face like beads: "My real name... is also Yuanyuan."
Duan Lansheng's hand slowly caressed her cheek, paused, and left a few blurry bloody finger marks.
“I know you didn’t stay by my side willingly. But Yuan Yuan… I’m willing to take you home.”
As soon as he finished speaking, his hand came down. Lu Yuanyuan felt her shoulder being pushed away decisively, and she quickly moved away from Duan Lansheng.
As if slowing down the motion, Duan Lansheng's lips parted slightly as he recited the incantation she knew by heart—he had actually memorized the way to awaken the Soul-Crossing Thorns in her sea of consciousness.
Bright, firefly-like lights emerged from his chest; it was a bundle of blood-red thorns, which coiled and took shape in the air, carrying her away from the bloody smoke and flying towards her gentle world.
At the very last moment before the entrance to the time tunnel closed, what Lu Yuanyuan saw was a splash of ink-like red flower blooming behind Duan Lansheng—it was blood.
In the bloody light, his life seemed to be rapidly withering away. He closed his eyes and fell into the midst of the hungry ghost soldiers below.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
