Take a gamble
Yun Qian turned her head and looked at Bai Ji. Her calm eyes seemed to hold a thousand words and complex emotions, making it difficult for Bai Ji to see clearly for a moment.
"Senior Sister," Bai Ji called softly, his voice carrying a trepidation he himself was unaware of.
Yun Qian looked at him and suddenly smiled softly. That smile lacked its usual ease; instead, it carried an indescribable sense of relief. She raised her hand and gently stroked his head, just as she had a hundred years ago when he was still her little junior brother who needed her protection.
It was this familiar, comforting gesture that made Bai Ji suddenly realize something. The bitterness and panic he had been trying so hard to suppress burst forth like a flood, instantly overturning the dam of reason. His eyes suddenly reddened, and tears welled up uncontrollably.
"You're lying to me." His voice trembled uncontrollably, choked with sobs. "This divination... is yours."
Tears finally rolled down his cheeks, landing on his clothes and leaving dark stains. The sorrow in Bai Ji's heart was like a surging sea, one wave stronger than the next, assaulting him and almost drowning him.
Lin Huaiyu is a chosen one, inheriting the power of the gods, his destiny transcending the mortal realm. No one can predict his future! The so-called "divination for Lin Huaiyu" is clearly something Yun Qian made up to reassure him. Because the people she knows are just a handful.
He had clearly tried his best to change things, so why couldn't he protect everyone in the end? Bai Ji closed his eyes in pain and covered his face with his hands, not wanting his senior sister to see him in such a wretched state.
He didn't want his senior sister to think that, after a hundred years, he hadn't made any progress and was still the same junior brother who needed her to shield him and comfort him.
"Don't cry." Yun Qian's voice was still very soft. She reached out and gently patted Bai Ji's shoulder, which was trembling slightly from suppressing her sobs. Her tone was a kind of tired calm. "I've comforted you... enough."
"What should I do... Senior sister, tell me, what should I do to change all of this?!" Bai Ji suddenly raised her head, her bloodshot eyes filled with resentment and despair.
“This is destiny.” Yun Qian looked at him, a faint smile still on her lips, yet one that made one’s heart ache. “Just like how Master was destined to leave, and you… were destined to step into the demonic path. Some trajectories seem unchangeable no matter how much you struggle.”
"Senior Sister?!" Bai Ji's pupils shrank suddenly. He suddenly remembered the exquisite talismans that Yun Qian had given him when he injured Bai Chuan and left Cangmin Mountain. Those talismans that could save his life in critical moments were prepared for him by Yun Qian long ago.
"How...how did you know?!"
“I know everything.” Yun Qian sat down on the ground casually, as if she had unloaded a heavy burden. Finally, she calmly laid out the truth that she had buried deep in her heart and wanted to tell Bai Yan many times but could not. “I have seen the ending of each of you. In the final battle, Cangmin Mountain was destroyed, and Qin Wu, Bai Chuan, and you… all died in battle.”
She paused, then looked up into the void as if gazing at some invisible yet heavy presence. The smile on her lips carried a hint of self-mockery, yet also a sense of resigned acceptance: "I am an outsider. I think I was probably sent by heaven to save Cangmin Mountain, so... the price I need to pay may be a bit higher."
"Senior sister! Let me do it! I can do it!" Bai Ji grabbed Yun Qian's arm frantically, her voice urgent, almost pleading. "I'm very strong now, even Qin Wu might not be my match! Let me take the blame! Don't let it be you..."
Yun Qian grasped his cold, trembling hand in return, her gaze gentle yet firm as she looked into his tear-filled eyes: "Bai Ji, I'm only saying these words to you. Because you and I are both chosen, people who can glimpse fragments of destiny in advance."
Her voice was deep and clear, each word striking Bai Ji's heart: "Death itself may be meaningless. But if my death can save Cangmin Mountain and bring back the lives of the three of you, then it has meaning."
"I don't want to! Senior sister! I can die! Let me die! Don't save me!" Bai Ji shook his head violently, uttering incoherent words as he rejected this cruel ending.
"What about Baichuan and Qin Wu?" Yun Qian looked at him quietly and asked the most crucial question, "What about Cangmin Mountain? Aren't you going to care about it either?"
We can't ignore this.
Bai Ji felt as if all his strength had been drained away. He slumped down, tears falling one by one onto the cold ground. A profound sense of powerlessness enveloped him like an abyss. He hated it too, hated his own inability to do anything!
Why...why is it always like this?! No matter how desperately he tries to catch up, how hard he tries to become stronger, in the end, it seems he still can't change anything at all?!
He cried like a lost child, his emotions a mix of grievance, resentment, anger, and sadness, almost tearing him apart.
“So, Xiao Ji,” Yun Qian’s voice pulled him back from the brink of collapse. She looked at him earnestly, her eyes filled with unwavering trust and entrustment, “you must help your senior sister. Help your senior sister keep this secret, help your senior sister… complete the last thing she must do.”
Bai Ji raised his head, his eyes red-rimmed, tears still wet on his face. He bit his lower lip hard, staring at Yun Qian for a long time. His gaze held struggle and pain, but ultimately, all his emotions coalesced into a heavy, blood-red resolve. He nodded heavily, as if using all his strength.
"……good."
Yun Qian breathed a soft sigh of relief and told Bai Ji her plan in a low but clear voice. It was the only way she could think of that might save everyone after countless days and nights of deliberation and struggle.
Bai Ji listened, her brows furrowing deeper and deeper, her face filled with disapproval and worry: "This... is too risky, Senior Sister!"
“In this world, everything involves taking risks.” Yun Qian appeared unusually calm. She gazed at the deep night sky in the distance, her eyes seemingly piercing through the void, seeing a faint but necessary hope. “How can you know if it will work if you don’t gamble everything?”
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