Chapter 74
Chu Xianyue clearly sensed that after that, Xie Wen was absent-minded in everything he did. He would often stare blankly at a certain place deep in the bamboo forest.
What is she looking at? Is she trying to glean something from it?
Seeing Xie Wen like this, Chu Xianyue felt a pang of sadness; his heart was tightly bound to her emotions. Every fluctuation of her emotions deeply affected him.
As dusk fell, Chu Xianyue wouldn't let Xie Wen stay outside. From then on, he rarely left her side, staying by her side. He heard her murmuring more and more frequently in her dreams, sometimes covered in sweat, her body trembling uncontrollably, unconsciously pulling at her hair, murmuring, "White hair, white hair... why can't I pull it out..."
Chu Xianyue held Xie Wen's hand tightly and called out to her, "Xie Wen, don't be afraid, I'm here. It's just a dream. It's just a dream."
He comforted her while channeling his spiritual energy into her, and it often wasn't until late at night that things calmed down. She seemed to have no strength left for fear, as if she had resigned herself to her fate. Received what? Accepted the dream, and let herself go.
Watching Xie Wen tormented by the white hair in her dreams every night, and watching her scream in fear during the day while muttering to herself, "Jin Huaran isn't dead. He just appeared."
Chu Xianyue was at a loss, feeling as if his heart was being torn apart. Later, he realized that he could no longer run away; to solve the problem, he had to address its root cause. Xie Wen's fear stemmed from Jin Huaran.
They had to start with Jin Huaran. He wanted Xie Wen to see with his own eyes that Jin Huaran was already dead, his body suppressed by heavy magical artifacts, with no chance of ever turning the tables, and that he could never appear before Xie Wen.
As dusk fell, Chu Xianyue didn't force Xie Wen into the house this time. He let Xie Wen sit quietly in the courtyard, watching the moonlight gradually rise and engulf her. He let her look into the deep bamboo forest. This time, Xie Wen showed no reaction to anything she saw.
She seems to have accepted it, to have gotten used to it.
When Chu Xianyue pulled her along, intending to lead her away, Xie Wen froze. Chu Xianyue said, "I'll take you to the Canglan River, to see his body, which was suppressed at the border." He wanted her to see with her own eyes that he was dead.
Xie Wen did not struggle or react much. He was still being carried by Chu Xianyue, flying over thousands of miles of mountains and rivers. Under the moonlight, Xie Wen looked down and saw that everything below was so small. At the same time, he saw the rivers they had cleaved together, each one intricate and stretching for thousands of miles. Those rivers, filled with the flowing water of the Canglan River, were bathed in moonlight, shining brightly, like a colorful ribbon inlaid with jewels, adorning the mountains.
As they approached the border of the Canglan River, a vast river came into view, stretching across the northeast and southwest. Above the Canglan River, however, lay a massive black hole, with swirling, dark clouds. Chu Xianyue descended with Xie Wen, who surveyed the area around the Canglan River. This place was different from, yet similar to, the Canglan River of her memory. The last time she had seen it was on the day the barrier was broken and the Heavenly Lock reappeared.
At that time, the world was in turmoil, and everyone was gripped by fear.
Now, the Canglan River is utterly tranquil, its surface shimmering with moonlight. Large and small boats remain moored along its banks as always, and the surrounding houses have been renovated—everything is just as it was before. Except for the enormous black hole above the Canglan River, which hangs silently like a closed eye.
As Xie Wen stared at the closed "eye," a sudden, overwhelming fear surged within her, like a tidal wave engulfing her completely. She had a feeling that it might suddenly open its "eye" at any moment. At that time, everyone would be doomed.
Chu Xianyue paid attention to Xie Wen's emotions and said, "It won't open. The Spirit Transformation Pendant is shattered, and Jin Huaran is dead. There is no one in this world who can open the Heavenly Fate Lock. No one can open it, and the Underworld can never reappear in the world."
The river under the moonlight was a deep, still blue, its surface shimmering with light, a light reflected in Xie Wen's eyes. Her hand was pulled by someone behind her; Chu Xianyue led her to a tower constructed of various magical artifacts. Chu Xianyue said, "His corpse saint body is inside, suppressed by these artifacts."
Even if his resentment cannot be quelled, it cannot transform into evil spirits; even if his soul leaves his body, it cannot enter the cycle of reincarnation and be reborn. As a member of the Feathered Clan, as a sinner, he will be nailed here for all eternity. He will never be able to escape, forever burdened by his sins.
Xie Wen suddenly said, "Is this the fate of the Feathered Clan?"
They will never see the light of day. Anyone born with the blood of the Feathered Clan is burdened with immense sin. In life, they are imprisoned in the Sea of Nothingness, suffering torment every moment. After death, they will be forever nailed to the pillar of shame, subjected to the gaze of the world.
Chu Xianyue said, "Xie Wen, these things have nothing to do with you."
Xie Wen turned to look at Chu Xianyue, his gaze inscrutable, reflecting the waters of the Canglan River with a hint of sorrow. He then glanced at the tower constructed of various magical artifacts, used to suppress Jin Huaran's corpse. A mere corpse was worth so many magical artifacts and treasures. It seemed no one in the world was unafraid of him.
No one in the world is unafraid of the Feathered Clan. The calls for their destruction are largely driven by fear.
Xie Wen couldn't see Jin Huaran's corpse hidden beneath the pile of magical artifacts. She peered down through the gaps between the artifacts and saw a sliver of moonlight shining down onto a tightly closed eye. Xie Wen stared at that closed eye—Jin Huaran's eye.
The eye suddenly opened, and the cold light of the moonlight refracted through that eye and returned to Xie Wen's eyes.
When Xie Wen and Chu Xianyue returned to the bamboo house in Youzhou, it was already late at night. The small house was even more desolate in the dead of night. Upon closer inspection, they saw a child sitting upright in the courtyard, staring expectantly at Xie Wen.
Honghong woke up in the middle of the night and suddenly discovered that Chu Xianyue was gone, and Awen was gone too! She thought that Chu Xianyue had kidnapped her Awen and abandoned her. She kept cursing Chu Xianyue in her heart.
Honghong rushed over to Awen when she saw him return, crying, "Awen, where did you go? I thought you didn't want me anymore, waaaaah!"
Xie Wen was both amused and exasperated. He patted Hong Hong'er's head and said, "Good girl, I won't abandon you."
Honghong looked up, her tearful eyes gazing pitifully at Xie Wen. Chu Xianyue, his face full of disdain, frowned and forcefully pried Honghong apart, then grabbed her and tossed her into a side room, coldly saying, "Get out of here. Don't disturb her rest."
Xie Wen couldn't help but smile. Chu Xianyue returned to her side, and she suddenly had a strange feeling that she seemed to have emerged from the shadow of that nightmare, from the shadow of Jin Huaran. No longer living in constant fear, no longer restless and gloomy. It seemed that this was all thanks to her trip to the Canglan River just now.
Seeing Xie Wen's smile bloom again, Chu Xianyue felt as if a gentle stream had cleared a long-standing blockage in his heart. He took her hand and said, "Let's go back and rest."
Xie Wen nodded. That night, after confirming that Chu Xianyue was asleep, Xie Wen opened her eyes. The cold moonlight shone into her eyes through the window lattice, and on the window lattice was the shadow of another person. This shadow could only be seen by Xie Wen.
He followed them all the way up the Canglan River.
Xie Wen had always known that there was another person who had returned with them.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
