The Finale
"Sect Master, that group of people is here again," an inner disciple said cautiously, standing beside the table.
"Should we still refuse to see him?" the disciple asked.
Qi Yuan impatiently put down her pen, leaned against the table, stood up, and walked towards the door with her hands behind her back: "See you."
A large crowd was blocking the entrance to the Silver Bamboo Sect, all looking for Qi Yuan, which prevented Sima Chu and others who genuinely wanted to see her from getting in.
"What is it?" she asked coldly, frowning with one hand and raising the other.
A cultivator asked first, "Sect Master, do you know that the world now calls you Lord Ling Shuang? Although you are still so young, you have already reached the Mahayana stage..."
"Speak your mind, stop rambling on," Qi Yuan interrupted him.
"Was there any hidden story behind Xuan Yang Zhenren's ascension back then? Did you already know that Ruan Yiyun was the Ghost King? How did you become the Ghost King?"
"I will only answer the first question. Ascension is a fabrication. True Man Xuan Yang sealed the demon array with Lord Jin Yue back then, and now they have both paid the price with their lives."
The crowd gasped in astonishment, speechless with shock.
A woman seized the opportunity to rush up and ask loudly, "Lord Ling Shuang, what is your relationship with... Demon Lord Mu Qinghuai? The entire Three Realms are very interested in this matter."
Qi Yuan was unusually silent for a few seconds, then sighed softly, "We are Daoist partners."
Everyone was excited; the answers to these two questions were enough to cause a huge uproar throughout the Three Realms.
The ultimate goal of all cultivators is ascension, but this so-called "ascension" is actually fake. How can this not be shocking?
Qi Yuan, Ghost King and Sect Master of the Silver Bamboo Sect; Mu Qinghuai, Demon Lord—the next Demon Lord in many people's eyes.
These two are currently a hot topic in the cultivation world. Two months have passed since the great battle, but the discussions about them have not subsided at all; on the contrary, they have intensified. If it were revealed now that they are cultivation partners, it would cause another huge uproar.
"Sect Master, since he is your Daoist partner, do you know where he has been these past two months? Why hasn't he shown up? Will he become the next Demon Lord?"
When the topic came up again, she still couldn't remain calm, her hands behind her back unconsciously tightening: "He will come back."
Qi Yuan's face turned cold as she said in a deep voice, "You may all leave now. I will not answer any other questions!"
With that, she turned and left. The swarming cultivators were stopped at the entrance by the five newly added gatekeeper disciples, leaving only a clamor: "Don't push! The sect leader said that none of you are allowed to set foot in the Silver Bamboo Sect!"
She stood on the main peak, looking up at the sky, her eyes dark and unfathomable, and finally let out a heavy sigh.
"Support the demon".
"Lord Ghost King," Fu Yao appeared in the next instant, speaking respectfully.
Since the great war, the three realms have been at peace, and everyone is living in harmony. Many people have even formed Daoist partnerships with demons, ghosts, and monsters.
Because Qi Yuan had two identities, the final agreement was that Yan Gui would stay in the Ghost Realm to assist the Ghost King, while Fu Yao would stay in the Silver Bamboo Sect to assist the Sect Master. To alleviate the pressure, Qi Yuan also specially established two Ghost Lords and one Deputy Sect Master.
The original deputy sect leader was Ye Hanyun, but he withdrew from the Silver Bamboo Sect and joined forces with Ye Ting, who had also left the Water Spirit Sect, to revitalize the Ye family. After Ye Ting's departure, Cheng Jin became the senior disciple of the Water Spirit Sect, and she and Qi Yuan remained the same, never reconciling.
It is said that he had already sought out Xie Juxing on the eve of the great battle, and in the end, only Xie Juxing knew the truth about the massacre of the Ye family. Of course, perhaps he also told Ye Ting.
Before leaving, Ye Hanyun only said one sentence: "Congratulations, Sect Master, on avenging your grievances."
Thus, the responsibility of deputy sect leader fell on Ye Munian's shoulders. He had grown a lot, changed his bratty temper, and became a qualified deputy sect leader.
As for the original deputy sect leaders, Huiguang-jun and Jinyan-jun, they simply waved their hands, saying they would teach these few disciples for a few more years before retiring.
Pei Yin publicly revealed his identity as the founder of Tianxin Tower and resolutely withdrew from Lingjian Sect.
Lu Wenxing felt he had repaid all the debts of gratitude he owed, and made up his mind to leave the Liugong Sect. The sect leader hesitated but didn't stop him. So he joined the major sect, the Nanjian Sect. He became a personal disciple, going from the senior disciple to the junior brother of Sima Chu and Qi Xie.
Qi Yuan said, "I have some personal matters to attend to and will need a few days to handle. Go and tell Yan Gui and Mu Nian." As she stepped onto her sword, she added, "No one needs to follow me."
"Understood."
She disguised herself as Zhu Rongfei, just like when she was with Mu Qinghuai.
Fearing that the Zhu family might react subtly upon seeing this face, Qi Yuan simply stood on her sword and gazed at it from afar, feeling only nostalgia in her heart.
The Zhu family is doing very well. She has returned to this place after more than a year. Zhu Cheming and Li Mei have managed the Zhu family very well, and there are signs of a resurgence.
She then went to Xueya in Quanzhou, a place that hadn't seen many people lately, and the trampled snow was now covered with white snow again.
Back then, Mu Qinghuai even called himself Mu Huai. Qi Yuan's expression softened unconsciously.
Celestial Bird Secret Realm.
Just like this time last year, nothing had changed. She went to see the old maple tree, and after hesitating, she went to the area outside the secret realm wall.
Suddenly, Qi Yuan's mind flashed back to the faces of Yun Qing and Xie Juxing. Her thoughts were in turmoil, and she felt as if something was blocking her heart, making it hard to breathe.
Can she hate Yun Qing and Xie Ju?
Hate.
But no matter how many times she recalled the obedient and sensible Yun Qing and Xie Juxing who smiled and served her osmanthus cake, she still couldn't connect them with the two strangers.
There was a strange feeling, like it was gripping her heart, causing a slight sting.
Qi Yuan didn't linger and went to Ouyang Lanyue's inn based on her memory.
Just as she expected, no one lived there.
She never saw Ouyang Lanyue or the two "time travelers" again.
Yansha Kingdom.
In such a short time, the king that Qi Yuan had seen before had become the former king, and the people, dissatisfied, had changed to a new king. The current king cares for his people, and they are living relatively well.
After searching for a long time, Qi Yuan finally stopped in front of a statue.
Gu Youtian's statue is still here. However, because it has been neglected for a long time, it is covered with dust. If it is left any longer, its original appearance may become unrecognizable.
She used her spiritual power to clean away all the dust, looked at it for a long time, and then put a protective shield on the statue.
The statue will never get dirty again.
On the sword, Qi Yuan looked down and saw the river from back then, and was startled. Quan Lai, are you alright down there?
In the very end, she returned to Yanglin West Lake, went to the now-defunct demon array, and visited the Temple of Prayer.
Two months won't change anything.
So, nothing has changed here.
Mu Qinghuai did not return either.
December, the New Year is coming again... Qi Yuan returned to the Silver Bamboo Sect and continued to bury herself in sect affairs.
The Ghost Realm has been peaceful recently, and she has ordered that people can freely enter and leave the Ghost Realm. Therefore, the cultivation world tacitly accepts the arrival of demons and ghosts.
Although the Demon Realm has lost its Demon Lord, it remains relatively stable. The young master and the palace master lost their mother many years ago, and now they have lost their father as well, but neither of them seems particularly saddened.
To them, Xinggui-jun was merely a nominal father figure, responsible only for giving them money and power; they had never experienced love from him.
The young masters are all cold-blooded and ruthless. Even the most sentimental young palace mistress only grieved for an hour before continuing to seek out male lovers.
It snowed again at the beginning of the year.
Looking out the window at her disciples having a snowball fight below, Qi Yuan asked softly, "Are you going?"
"...I won't go. Sect Master, there are still many matters waiting to be dealt with." Ye Munian lowered his head and remained silent for a long time before speaking, his tone carrying a resentment that he himself did not realize.
"I see." A faint bitterness welled up in her heart.
As dusk fell, the lantern festival was held on the eve of the Lunar New Year, just like in previous years.
Qi Yuan should have stayed in the Silver Bamboo Sect and not participated in those trivial entertainments, but when her gaze fell on the fox mask, a thought crossed her mind.
Ignoring Ye Munian's advice, she put on a fox mask and escaped from the Silver Bamboo Sect.
That's right, it's escape.
She's only eighteen, so she absolutely has to go to the lantern festival. Where can you expect something to be changed only once and then reverted to its original state?
No one could recognize her after she put on the fox mask, which allowed her to stroll through the lantern festival with peace of mind.
"Bai Zhuo, do you think Senior Sister Qi will come to the lantern festival?" Wu Shangyao secretly stuffed the snowflakes from his palm into Bai Zhuo's neck.
"What the hell?" Bai Zhuo jumped up from the cold, then rubbed his forehead and replied, "You shouldn't call her Senior Sister Qi, you should call her Sect Master or Lord Ling Shuang."
Wu Shangyao pouted: "What about Senior Brother Ye? Why isn't he here either?"
Lu Wenxing said softly, "He has become a very busy person since he became the vice sect leader, and he has no time to come here. Speaking of which, he has really matured a lot, like a different person."
"Junior Brother Lu, are you still in contact with Ye...Hanyun?" Sima Chu asked.
"……No."
She paused as she passed Duan Yu and his group, but ultimately fled in disarray.
"It's a riddle!" someone in the crowd shouted.
Qi Yuan hadn't intended to participate, but upon hearing the words "riddles," she slowed her pace. A casual glance upwards revealed a familiar figure behind the white veil.
"Our young master Ouyang said that besides guessing lantern riddles this year, he also wants to give a message to someone," the man shouted.
"Don't stop, the person you are looking for is not far away."
After saying this, Qi Yuan ran wildly through the lantern festival, her eyes quickly filling with tears.
Suddenly, a person rushed out, and she collided with him, falling to the ground.
Ignoring the pain, she frowned and tried to get up to continue searching for someone, but before she could get up, she was hugged tightly.
She opened her eyes and froze when she saw the rabbit mask lying on the ground.
"Does it hurt?"
Qi Yuan's pupils contracted sharply as the familiar scent and the aroma she had longed for enveloped her entire body.
"Where did you go... I, I can't find you..." She hugged the man tightly, unable to stop crying.
Mu Qinghuai patted her back soothingly and rested his head on her neck: "It won't happen again... never again!"
"Happy New Year!" As midnight struck, laughter rang out from everyone.
Fireworks burst in spectacular fashion, sparks leaping across the night sky. The moment the fireworks bloomed, it was as if time itself stood still.
The two embraced and kissed, vowing never to be apart.
At this moment, Mu Qinghuai's feelings reached their peak. He loved Qi Yuan, and that would never change.
—The End—
by Peach Blossoms Dyed Crimson
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