Chapter 12 You should have a courtyard full of spring sunshine, not cling to an old dream.
Jiang Yubai stared intently at the dark green lake, his fingernails digging deep into his palms.
Time passed by, second by second.
Sudden--
"Report! A discovery!"
A diver's hurried voice, tinged with tension, came from the surface of the water.
"Pull!" the commander on the shore immediately ordered.
The rope began to tighten slowly, making a friction sound.
Everyone's hearts were in their throats. An object, illuminated by a barrage of bright lights, was slowly pulled from the water.
A young woman wearing a tattered white dress that had been soaked in the lake and was no longer recognizable as its original color.
Her long black hair was plastered to her pale, swollen face and neck, and her body had become strangely swollen and bluish-purple from being soaked for a long time.
It vaguely resembles the image of a giant.
Her limbs hung stiffly at her sides, lifeless.
Although the face was distorted by swelling and death, the faint outline of the eyebrows and eyes was still discernible...
"Evening Star!"
Jiang Yubai let out a roar, unable to hold on any longer, his legs buckled, and he knelt straight down on the ground.
The salvage team carefully laid the body flat on the waterproof tarpaulin that had already been laid out.
Xiao Yizhou stood still, his posture still upright, but the frost on his face seemed to have thickened even more.
He walked slowly and heavily toward the corpse, step by step.
Finally, he slowly squatted down beside the body, but he did not break down and cry like Jiang Yubai.
He simply stretched out his long, slender hand with distinct knuckles and gently brushed away the few strands of wet black hair that clung to Xiao Wanxing's face.
"Wanxing, don't be afraid. Your brother is here to take you home."
Not far away, the security guard responsible for watching the villa was already pale with fright and collapsed to the ground.
When he saw the tattered white dress fragments on the female corpse who had been lifted onto the tarpaulin, a chill instantly shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
Something terrible has happened! Someone has died!
He scrambled to his feet and pulled out his phone, his fingers trembling as he dialed Shen Wangchuan's number, his voice shaking uncontrollably:
"Young...Young Master! Something terrible has happened! Someone has died! It's in the lake behind the villa! They pulled...they pulled a woman out!"
In the Xiao family's huge living room.
Xiao Wanxing's body, covered with a white sheet, lay quietly in the center of the living room.
Madam Xiao collapsed beside the sofa like a soulless puppet, silently weeping, her eyes vacantly fixed on the direction of the white cloth.
Only large, silent tears rolled down.
Xiao Zhengqing, the father of Xiao, a man who once dominated the business world, now stood stiffly beside the body.
His tall frame was slightly hunched, and he stared intently at the white cloth.
There were no tears in his bloodshot eyes, only a deathly stillness.
His fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked.
"Who...is the murderer?!" Xiao Zhengqing's voice was hoarse as he abruptly turned to Jiang Yubai, whose eyes were red-rimmed and who stood beside the body, and Xiao Yizhou, whose expression was cold and murderous.
Shen Yuepo stepped forward.
She ignored Xiao Zhengqing's anger and calmly glanced at Xiao Yizhou and Jiang Yubai.
"She's right here." Shen Yuepo's cold voice rang out clearly in the deathly silent living room. "Let her speak for herself."
Shen Yuepo slowly raised the Samsara Ring on her right hand.
With a gentle wave of her hand, a talisman-like object flew out into the air.
Countless tiny silver specks of light began to coalesce out of thin air.
A girl in a neat, pure white dress gradually materialized and appeared before everyone.
She regained her former beauty, with skin as white as snow, eyebrows and eyes as beautiful as paintings, long, smooth hair, and a flowing skirt.
However, her body had a translucent quality and emitted a soft glow, indicating that she was no longer alive.
"Evening Star...!"
"younger sister……!"
Jiang Yubai's voice choked with emotion, and Xiao Yizhou's call was trembling like never before.
"Xing'er! My Xing'er!"
Like a drowning person grabbing onto a piece of driftwood, Madam Xiao staggered toward the illusory figure, but passed right through it.
Shen Yuepo sighed softly, and another golden talisman flew out from her fingertip.
Xiao Wanxing's soul gradually solidified.
"You only have half an hour." Her voice softened. "Your soul is unstable. Entering reincarnation as soon as possible is the right path."
After saying that, she walked out of the Xiao family's gate, leaving the space to everyone else.
Xiao Wanxing's soul gently swept its gaze over her distraught mother and grieving father.
Jiang Yubai, his eyes bloodshot, finally focused on Xiao Yizhou, whose eyes were filled with pain.
She reached out her hand, and her fingertips finally touched Madam Xiao's palm.
"Mom..." This soft call caused Madam Xiao to completely break down, and she hugged her daughter tightly.
"Dad, Mom, brother, Yu Bai brother..."
She paused for a moment, her voice as soft as a snowflake: "The person who harmed me is... Shen Yurou."
The name resounded like a thunderclap in the living room.
The grief in Xiao Zhengqing's eyes was instantly replaced by overwhelming killing intent.
The Shen family!
Jiang Yubai clenched his fist tightly, his knuckles turning white.
It was her!
During the days and nights when Wanxing disappeared, Shen Yurou cried her heart out, even mobilizing the Shen family to search for her everywhere...
That sincerity and earnestness was all an act!
Xiao Yizhou felt a surge of cold energy emanating from his body.
Xiao Wanxing looked at her family, her soul flickering slightly due to emotional fluctuations:
"Promise me, don't seek revenge! There's something about Shen Yurou that keeps me at bay. I'm afraid... I'm afraid you'll get tainted by karma because of me."
A serene smile bloomed on her pale face:
"It's enough that I was able to see you one last time and know that you were safe. I hope you can live well, okay?"
Xiao Zhengqing's eyes were bloodshot, his chest heaved violently, and his jaw was clenched. The immense pain and helplessness almost tore him apart.
Xiao Yizhou stared intently into his sister's eyes. He slowly nodded, forcing out a single word through gritted teeth:
"……good."
Jiang Yubai closed his eyes in anguish, tears streaming silently down his face, and finally nodded heavily.
Seeing her family reluctantly agree, Xiao Wanxing smiled with relief.
Madam Xiao cried so hard she almost passed out, wailing:
"Xing'er... my Xing'er, Mommy promises you, Mommy will promise you anything... but please don't leave Mommy..."
Xiao Wanxing smiled, a smile as bright as the one she wore under the cherry blossom tree on her eighteenth birthday.
She wiped away Madam Xiao's tears: "In the next life, we will still be a family. I still want to be my mother's daughter."
When she turned to Jiang Yubai, her eyes were full of tenderness and reluctance.
"Brother Yu Bai..." she called softly, her voice filled with endless longing, "I thought I could spend my life with you, but who knew we were destined to be apart."
Her icy hand gently stroked his cheek. "Brother Yu Bai, forget me. You should have a garden full of springtime beauty, not cling to an old dream."
Jiang Yubai suddenly grabbed her wrist, his voice hoarse: "Without you, where would spring come from?"
At this moment, Shen Yuepo walked in.
"Time is up."
Madam Xiao stepped forward and hugged Xiao Wanxing tightly, with such force that she almost wanted to mash her daughter into her bones:
"No...don't..."
Xiao Wanxing gently patted the back of her mother's hand:
"Mom, I have stayed in the human world for too long. If I stay any longer, I will not be able to enter the cycle of reincarnation."
Her voice was soft, yet it struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.
Madam Xiao's body stiffened abruptly, and all color drained from her face: "How...how could this be?!"
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