Chapter 77 Reunion "Let's go back."
The fog dissipated once more within the abyss. Shen Lixia emerged from it, holding a jade-shaped magical artifact in her hand.
She withdrew her spiritual power, and the light on the magical artifact dimmed. After putting the artifact back into her storage bag, Shen Lixia turned around and walked towards the broken sword stuck in the center of the ruins.
In the distance, layers of ruins loomed in and out of sight. Before the war, these places were inhabited by different merfolk, and this place should have been a grand and prosperous place.
However, only this corner remains to reveal traces of the civilization that once existed.
Standing before the broken sword, Shen Lixia stopped in her tracks and suddenly asked, "Do you want to see her?"
Luo Yang, standing behind her, paused for a moment upon hearing this, then replied with a wry smile, "It's better not to meet."
Neither Qiao Yanshen nor Cang Yu should ever see each other again.
“However, please tell her I’m sorry.” Her voice softened. “It was my fault to make her atone for her sins so that her soul could rest in peace.”
Without needing to ask further, Shen Lixia already knew that Qiao Yanshen must have suffered a lot during this time. She had no intention of responding to him, so she simply replied "okay" and placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.
"Also, she won't tell you."
“I know,” Shen Lixia said in a muffled voice. “Senior sister would love for me to be a fool, so that I can happily be taken care of by her every day.”
It seems that Qiao Yanshen and Luo Yang are indeed similar, not only in appearance but also in their unwavering determination to protect those around them. But Shen Lixia is unwilling. She has already received enough; it's time for her to do something for Qiao Yanshen.
The boy took a deep breath, gripped the hilt of the sword, bent slightly, and pulled the sword out sharply.
In an instant, the seawater swallowed the remains, the countless white bones turned into dust and merged with the white sand, the palace collapsed, and the last traces disappeared in the years that followed the dissipation of spiritual power.
Luo Yang's figure gradually faded away. She gazed at the feather that had lost its color as the sword was pulled out, feeling herself growing lighter and lighter, as if she, like the feather, was about to return to the moment the war ended a thousand years ago, to rest peacefully with the destroyed mermaid kingdom.
The broken sword shattered in Shen Lixia's hands. She walked towards Luo Yang, gazing into his calm eyes. There was no reluctance, no regret, nothing at all.
Seemingly noticing her confusion, Luo Yang smiled, "I am merely a remnant soul. Even if I have feelings, they are only a fraction of what I feel, not as strong as my true self."
She raised her hand and touched Shen Lixia's forehead.
"However, I can still give you a sweet dream. Little bird, keep going forward and don't look back."
A beam of silver-blue light entered Shen Lixia's forehead, and a chilling sensation surged in the boy's mind, only to vanish in an instant. Luo Yang withdrew her hand, turned around, and slowly walked towards the distant ruins that had long since disappeared.
Not long after, her figure disappeared into the sea and was never seen again.
Shen Lixia didn't linger and quickly flew off on her sword in one direction. The seal had disappeared, and she sensed Qiao Yanshen's spiritual energy fluctuations; he wasn't far from her, just behind the palace.
She vaguely heard something cracking on the way, but she didn't pay attention to it. She just secretly remembered the sound and kept it in mind.
Passing through the palace and arriving at the open space behind, a young man in magnificent robes was kneeling on the ground, clutching his right shoulder. Opposite him was Qiao Yanshen, his long sword gleaming with a bright blue light, showing no intention of sheathing it, but rather about to raise it to attack Cang Yu again.
Her sword strike was too fast; Shen Lixia didn't have time to speak before she immediately stepped between the two, hastily blocking Qiao Yanshen's attack with her sword. The two swords clashed, producing a crisp sound. This strike revealed her killing intent. Shen Lixia's cultivation was already inferior to Qiao Yanshen's, and she was immediately struck so hard that her wrist and entire arm felt a stinging pain, and a trickle of blood slid from the corner of her mouth.
Qiao Yanshen's expression changed drastically. He sheathed the Rain Blade and was about to reach out to support Shen Lixia when the boy pulled her into a tight embrace. She panicked, all her previous ruthlessness gone, her voice trembling slightly: "Lixia..."
The bloodstains on his body had not yet been cleaned, and his white clothes were already stained dark red. Qiao Yanshen felt that he was filthy and did not want Shen Lixia to see him, let alone smell the pungent smell of blood.
However, the boy refused to let go, and she lost the strength to push him away. The thick ice that had been frozen in her heart cracked at that moment, almost burning her with the warmth emanating from him. This was the person she had been thinking of even in her delirium in the water prison. Only now did Qiao Yanshen realize that she had been waiting for this embrace for a long time.
I've been waiting for this warmth for a long time.
Pain had robbed her of the ability to cry, so she couldn't sob at this moment. Instead, she forced a smile, her lips barely moving as she spoke, her voice so soft it sounded like she was choking back tears, "You didn't lie to me."
Sure enough, she was found quickly. Sure enough, she would remember what kind of person she was. Even though she had accepted that she had to atone for Luo Yang's sins, learned Luo Yang's sword techniques, and become more and more like Luo Yang in Cang Yu's memories, Shen Lixia still regarded her as Qiao Yanshen, and not anyone else.
"I won't lie to you, never." Shen Lixia whispered in her ear, "Senior Sister, let's go back."
She released Qiao Yanshen and took out an outer garment from her storage bag, draping it over his shoulders. Shen Lixia had noticed the bloodstains and the congealed scent, detectable only when their skin was close, the moment she drew near. What she could glean from them was only a part of the torment Qiao Yanshen had endured recently, but it was already enough to pierce her heart.
Yu Xiang was taken out and held in her hand. Shen Lixia lowered her eyes and took out some pills for Qiao Yanshen, "Senior Sister, please heal your injuries first. I have something to tell her."
After saying that, she turned and walked towards Cang Yu. She hadn't noticed before, but now she saw that the right shoulder the merman boy was clutching was empty, his arm was broken off and lying to the side, thick blood gushing out.
Cang Yu's face was gloomy, and he said coldly, "You are in cahoots with her, aren't you? Come on, let's end this."
Although she didn't know why the person in front of her had just blocked the sword for her, Cang Yu no longer cared about such things. The sword technique was complete, but Luo Yang couldn't recall it at all, or perhaps she did remember it but simply disdained to tell him.
It's always been this way. The person who always smiled and talked with her only had one person in his heart; otherwise, how could he have done such a cruel thing to the merfolk? Teaching her sword techniques and playing music for her were nothing but a facade of tenderness. It was also her own foolishness that prevented her from hearing the genuine affection hidden beneath the music played by those gentle hands caressing the strings.
Luo Yang.
The boy's gaze passed over Shen Lixia and landed on Qiao Yanshen behind her. However, the woman lowered her head, making it impossible for him to see her expression.
The expected sword did not fall; instead, a glass-like bead was thrown over. Cang Yu caught it, a look of confusion appearing on his pale face.
Shen Lixia sighed and said, "You should still have some spiritual power left. Take your time and see."
Above the jade bell, a mirage formed by spiritual energy gradually appeared, pushing the truth of the past before Cang Yu's eyes. Along with the reappeared history, what came into view was also that belatedly expressed true heart that never had the chance to be spoken aloud.
Xiao Yu, your mother wishes you peace and well-being, and so do I. Before staying in Luochuan with the River Goddess, I was just an ordinary child, always yearning for greater power to protect those I loved and to eliminate all injustice in the world.
Unfortunately, I accomplished nothing in the end. From beginning to end, I failed to protect anyone, failed to stop the war. I thought everything was destined to be this way, and that I should bid farewell to my past self, but then I met you. You harbored similar wishes, saying the same words I had back then—making me feel once again that perhaps I could still make amends in some way.
Like a flame rising again from the embers. Unfortunately, not only did I fail to protect that flame, but I also confined you here, trapping you for such a long time.
You can resent me, hate me, that's fine. I know that one person's atonement is not enough, but unfortunately, the original soul is gone, and I will also disappear. Therefore, all I can say is I'm sorry.
I've heard that the best way to punish someone isn't through hatred, but through forgetting. So, you've been trapped long enough; take a trip down the River Styx and forget your past. Don't remember me anymore.
May your next life bring you all the happiness you desire. Perhaps I will still be watching you secretly from somewhere, making a little effort to ensure you don't trip over a stone or choke on a fish bone while eating.
Amidst the jade-like sounds, the woman's voice was gentle, growing softer and softer. Cang Yu saw many things within it—in the illusion Shen Lixia had finally arrived in, Luo Yang had poured out her remaining spiritual power, recreating all her memories since meeting Cang Ming. She saw herself as an egg, saw her mother and the woman in white anxiously pacing back and forth during the time the egg was slow to hatch, saw the gentle expression on the usually stern woman's face as she watched her practice swordsmanship. Words could not express it all; time, lifted by spiritual power, slowly flowed into the boy's sea of consciousness.
Qiao Yanshen is not Luo Yang; Cang Yu finally understands now.
Finally, Luo Yang found the dying Cang Ming, listened to her last words, and then used all her spiritual power, cultivation, and divine sense to create the scene of this secret realm. The sword she cherished so much was broken in two without hesitation, serving as a medium to preserve Cang Ming's intact body and as the key to maintaining this place's formation.
Before leaving, Luo Yang walked to the sleeping boy and left behind the conch shell that belonged to Cangming. Tears welled up in his pale blue eyes and silently streamed down his face.
Looking back now, this was the first and last time she saw Luo Yang shed tears.
From that time on, that person never existed again.
Cang Yu felt the chill within her gradually disappear, and her almost cursed connection with this place was severing. Dark resentment, obsession, or something else surfaced and then dissolved into the sea. The deep, still waters swallowed everything. She no longer hated, as if she had just woken from a ridiculous dream, and now that she was awake, it was time to leave.
Mermaids are born in the sea and return to the sea, where their mothers also lie in eternal rest. She is about to return to her mother's embrace.
When Cang Yu returned the jade ring, Shen Lixia was about to ask her about the specific events that had occurred during this time when she suddenly felt a chill beside her. In the blink of an eye, Qiao Yanshen had pierced Cang Yu's heart with a sword. This sword strike was filled with undiminished killing intent, devoid of hatred, only a resolute determination to end the other's life.
The boy, already beginning to fade away, looked at Qiao Yanshen and gave a bitter smile. The jade pendant fell to the ground, blood gushing from her mouth. Her words were muffled, but Shen Lixia knew she was saying "I'm sorry." She was sorry for mistaking Qiao Yanshen for Luo Yang, sorry for doing such a cruel thing for that remnant soul.
Qiao Yanshen did not hesitate, seemingly unconcerned about what the other was saying, and drew his sword again, thrusting it in once more. Shen Lixia had never seen her with such a cold expression, and forgot to stop her, watching as Cang Yu fell down with the second thrust of his sword, his figure quickly dissipating into the seawater.
Qiao Yanshen took the jade ring, sheathed his sword, and sensed something was amiss. "The ground is shaking."
As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of something breaking grew louder. The sea surged, and the ground suddenly collapsed. Qiao Yanshen, already weak, was caught off guard and fell in.
A vast expanse of white stretched before her eyes. Qiao Yanshen felt strangely calm, as if she had experienced intense joy and sorrow, leaving only ashes. Or perhaps all her obsessions and desires had vanished the moment she saw Shen Lixia, leaving her with no further aspirations.
My face felt warm; I didn't know what was flowing out.
Perhaps it was blood, she thought.
Qiao Yanshen only snapped out of her daze when Shen Lixia grabbed her wrist. The boy held her tightly, biting his lower lip, his eyes red-rimmed. Tears seemed to fall onto her face, mingling with the ones that had just flowed, a salty, warm taste, without the metallic smell. She finally knew these were tears, not blood. Her heart pounded wildly at that moment, thump, thump, making her gasp for breath, cold sweat already beading on her back.
Before she could react, Shen Lixia choked back tears, "I don't want to lose you too..."
She used all her strength to pull Qiao Yanshen up, as if she could no longer hold back, and started sobbing as she ran, not caring how disheveled she looked. The sound of her crying reached Qiao Yanshen's ears, driving away the last trace of numbness.
"I won't leave you," she sighed softly.
Shen Lixia wiped away her tears, "But I feel like you're so far away from me... What happened?"
After she finished speaking, Qiao Yanshen withdrew his hand first. Shen Lixia tried to grab him again, but instead, her wrist was grabbed and she was dragged by a long sword.
"Let's leave here first," Qiao Yanshen said.
She glanced around, then seemed to suddenly remember something, and her tone became worried.
Where's Simmons?
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Author's Note: Xia the Crybaby
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