Returning to the old place, a scene that pierces the heart.
I stood before the ruins of the Temple of Fate, my feet seemingly bound by invisible chains, unable to take a single step forward.
Ling Yuan had long since vanished, leaving me alone to face this ruin that held a thousand years of memories. He said he wanted me to see the place where Yun Xi finally disappeared, but I knew his true purpose was to make me witness the destruction I had caused with my own hands.
The barrier surrounding the temple was shattered; the once radiant protective shield was now reduced to a few wisps of broken golden light, swaying in the wind. I reached out and touched the broken spots of light, feeling a familiar surge of spiritual energy emanating from my fingertips—this was a barrier personally set up by Yun Xi, and even in its broken state, it still retained his aura.
Passing through the collapsed temple gate, the sight before me took my breath away.
The Jade Pool has dried up.
The Jade Pool where I lived for a thousand years is now nothing but a cracked bottom. The lush green water plants have withered and died, and the celestial carp that once frolicked have vanished without a trace. Only a few tattered fish scales lie scattered on the dried-up bottom, gleaming coldly in the moonlight.
I staggered to the edge of the pool, my fingers trembling as I ran them over the cracks. This place had once shimmered, every drop of water imbued with the divine power bestowed upon it by Yunxi. But now, even the last wisp of moisture had vanished.
Just then, I saw a faint glimmer of light in the crack at the bottom of the pool.
That's... the warm jade I often lie on.
I jumped into the dried-up pool and carefully picked up the jade stone. To my astonishment, a trace of pure divine power remained at the center of the jade stone—the original divine power that Yunxi had used to nurture me, which had not dissipated even after this catastrophe.
"Why..." I pressed the warm jade to my chest, tears welling up again, "Why keep these..."
This divine power seemed to be silently condemning my betrayal. Even its last ounce of strength was used to protect any trace of me, while I...
I fled Yaochi in a panic and headed deeper into the temple.
The study door was ajar. I pushed it open and entered, a cloud of dust hitting my face. It seemed to be better preserved than the other places. The bookshelves, filled with countless books of destiny, were scattered all over the floor, yet miraculously undamaged.
My gaze was drawn to a scroll of fate unfolded on the desk.
That was Yunxi's handwriting; I recognized it. And clearly written in the Book of Fate was my name.
I walked forward tremblingly, and by the moonlight, I could make out the words on it. Beside my birth chart was his powerful, bold red annotation:
"I am willing to bear this calamity in your place."
Those five simple words exploded in my mind like a thunderclap.
So he knew all along. He knew I would betray him, knew I would bring disaster, knew it was all a predetermined fate. And he chose to bear it all for me.
I slumped onto the cold ground, the Book of Fate slipping from my hand. At that moment, I finally understood why he had asked that question that night, and why he had looked at me with those eyes.
"If one day I can no longer protect you, what will you do?"
He had long been prepared to take the blame for me.
I frantically searched through the scattered scrolls, trying to find more about my destiny. My fingertips were cut by the paper, and blood stained the yellowed pages, but I was completely oblivious.
Finally, in a hidden drawer, I found a sandalwood box.
The box wasn't locked; I opened it with a gentle touch. When I saw what was inside, I froze completely.
Inside, there was a thick stack of drawings neatly arranged.
The top picture depicts the black carp in the Jade Pool—at that time, I was chasing the light spots in the water, and the way the fish's tail swayed was incredibly lifelike.
I flipped through the next image with trembling hands. It was my appearance when I had just taken human form, still wrapped in a white veil formed from clouds and mist, my eyes filled with a bewildered yet curious look.
One after another, he painted every pose I took in the Jade Pool, every expression I made after transforming. He depicted me languidly sprawled at the bottom of the pool, blowing bubbles; I painted me joyfully chasing after the fairy butterflies; I painted my silly, drunken state amidst the flowers after stealing a sip of celestial wine...
Every stroke is meticulous, and every line is full of deep emotion.
I never imagined that the god who always coldly reviewed the Book of Fate would, in the dead of night when no one knew, meticulously sketch my likeness with his brush and ink.
When I flipped to the very bottom, my breath caught in my throat.
In the painting, I am dressed in a wedding gown, wearing a phoenix crown, my eyes smiling. The style of the wedding gown is exactly the same as the moon-white dress he prepared for me, modified into a wedding gown. And in the corner of the painting, he wrote a line of small characters:
"It's unlikely that things will go as planned."
These four words encapsulate the deepest longing and helplessness he harbored in his heart.
He finally planned for the future, a future that included both of us. But I, with my own hands, destroyed it all.
I clutched the stack of sketches tightly to my chest, as if I could feel the warmth of the artist at the time. These portraits were a silent indictment, each stroke condemning my blindness and betrayal.
"Are you moved?"
Ling Yuan's voice suddenly rang out at the door. I looked up abruptly and saw him leaning against the doorframe, a mocking smile on his lips.
"It's a pity that all he painted for you," his voice was as cold as ice, "is less than one ten-thousandth of what he endured for me."
He approached slowly, the moonlight shining on his dark robes, making him appear like a vengeful demon. After stopping in front of me, he slowly rolled up his sleeves, revealing a hideous scar on his arm.
"This was left to shield you from calamity." His voice held an indescribable meaning. "Your Yunxi witnessed it all."
My gaze was fixed on the scar, my mind a complete blank.
To shield me from disaster? Yunxi just watched helplessly?
This is impossible...
However, the scars on Ling Yuan's arms were real, and the residual divine power fluctuations on them did indeed belong to Yun Xi.
Could it be... could it be that there really is some past between Yunxi and Lingyuan that I don't know about?
At that moment, I felt as if I were standing on the edge of an abyss, with precarious rocks beneath my feet. I thought I had touched the truth, only to discover that there were even deeper mysteries hidden beneath it.
Ling Yuan leaned down and gently lifted my chin with his fingertips, forcing me to look him in the eye.
"Little carp," his voice held a seductive allure, "how much do you think you know about him?"
I clutched the sketches tightly to my chest, my fingernails digging deep into the paper. The smiling faces I had drawn now seemed so ironic.
Yunxi, how many things are there that I don't know about you?
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