Other options?
Watching Bai Zili sneer, Xuanyuan Lige found himself sneering right back. “Senior, if I’m not mistaken, with the strength you currently possess, opening the exit of Lishang wouldn’t be easy at all, would it?”
At these words, Bai Zili’s laughter cut off abruptly, his gaze turning deep and thoughtful as he looked at Xuanyuan Lige.
“Senior, you and I are both people who understand music and understand feeling—why bother joking with me like this?” Xuanyuan Lige said with a smile. “Senior, you want to send young master Nangong away, and I want to send Ziqing away. In truth… we’re the same.”
Xuanyuan Lige’s mastery of music might not match Bai Zili’s, but he could clearly read the farewell and the guilt in Bai Zili’s eyes.
Though Nangong Jun had remained silent throughout, Bai Zili’s gaze had never once left him.
Bai Zili had already permanently sealed the exit of Lishang—once sealed, how could such an exit simply be reopened at will?
And with his current strength, it was simply beyond his ability regardless.
The only way was to extinguish his own spirit entirely, letting the Lishang illusion realm perish along with him.
Once the Lishang illusion realm perished, the living, naturally, could walk free.
Xuanyuan Lige understood all of this perfectly well. Hearing him say “we’re the same,” Bai Zili knew that Xuanyuan Lige truly understood him.
He indeed had little strength left. All these years, he had carefully hoarded what remained of his power, even sealing away his own soul, all in waiting for this very day—a day when he would give everything, pour out every last ounce of strength, to send Nangong Jun away!
To have had a kindred spirit accompany him this far in life—he was already content. What was there to fear in death?
“There’s only one thing I want to know—once Lishang’s illusion realm is destroyed, what becomes of the Great Gu Master’s spirit?” This was the only question Xuanyuan Lige truly cared about—or perhaps, in truth, he didn’t care about it himself; he was only asking on Ziqing’s behalf.
Yet Bai Zili merely smiled. “Aside from the living, I will destroy everything within the Lishang illusion realm. Every poison corpse, every spirit—all of it will turn to ash and vanish.”
With Bai Zili’s assurance given, Xuanyuan Lige felt at ease.
He gently plucked the zither strings and said, “Senior, I am willing to destroy Lishang together with you—I only ask one favor of you in return.”
“If it’s within my power, it would be my honor,” Bai Zili readily agreed.
“Before we send them away, I want to give them a dream,” Xuanyuan Lige said, and as he spoke, a light flickered in his eyes so bright it made anyone watching feel happy on his behalf.
“A dream?” Bai Zili didn’t understand.
“I want Ziqing to be married off from her natal family’s home, with Jun Beiyue coming to claim her with the realm itself as matchmaker, the nation’s rivers and mountains as betrothal gift, and an army as his wedding procession, arriving in person to receive his bride,” Xuanyuan Lige said, word by careful word, with utmost seriousness—as if he himself were the one seeking her hand, not Jun Beiyue.
He had heard from Baili Weisheng that Ziqing had once hoped to be married off from her natal family’s home, and that Jun Beiyue had delayed formally marrying her precisely because he’d wanted to first find the isolated island, so he could bring her home from her family in proper splendor!
He had remembered this all along, even though he would never be the one to marry her.
Bai Zili listened, brow furrowing tightly, and looking at this stubborn, earnest young man before him, he suddenly felt a pang of heartache, a sudden reluctance to let go.
No wonder—no wonder he was capable of playing Lishang.
For a young man like this, to be reduced to ash and dust seemed unbearably cruel.
“Is it possible? Or perhaps, rather than me asking your help—let me instead ask you, senior, to help me build one dream together, before we part,” Xuanyuan Lige said, still utterly earnest.
Bai Zili said flatly, “If you care for her so, why not keep her instead? Help me shatter the Lishang illusion realm, return to your own realm of Shangli, and you will become master of that world—you could give her everything she wants.”
Xuanyuan Lige smiled. “I am not the one whose heart she has given herself to. That alone means I could never give her everything she truly wants.”
Bai Zili studied Xuanyuan Lige for a long moment, and at last steeled his resolve. “Very well. I agree.”
Xuanyuan Lige smiled and nodded, letting his ten fingers fall—with a sharp ting, he struck the zither strings.
He thought, this was the best way to part: destruction!
Ting, ting—the melody was Lishang once more.
Bai Zili was even pleased with how Xuanyuan Lige began the piece, quickly falling into step with his melody, dragging his heavy iron chains as his fingers lightly caressed the wuzheng.
Soon, the sound of the blood zither and the wuzheng merged together, blending into a single piece.
The music soared, the music surged, the music rang out clear and strong, the music turned soft and gentle… amid its rising and falling currents, a joyful dream of farewell began to unfold…
A sea breeze drifted gently, gulls skimmed low over the waves, and the white sand and clear air were spotless, lifting the spirit—it was springtime, and the isolated island’s mountains were carpeted from end to end with wildflowers in bloom.
At that moment, atop the isolated island’s highest peak, inside a house, Ziqing was already dressed in wedding attire, sitting before a mirror applying her makeup, attended by none other than Hongyi.
She was still, in truth, inside the Lishang illusion realm, still lying with everyone else at the mouth of the cave, waiting for Bai Zili to tell them the way out!
How could she possibly be here now?
Yet Ziqing seemed to have forgotten everything about the Lishang illusion realm entirely, accepting everything before her without the slightest question.
“Mistress, in another hour, Prince Yao’s fleet will arrive,” Hongyi said, beaming with joy.
Ziqing pressed her lips together in a soft smile, studying herself carefully in the mirror. Her makeup was exquisite, light yet perfectly applied, paired beautifully with her wedding gown—she looked as though she’d stepped straight out of a painting, a gentle and lovely bride.
Yet no matter how beautiful her makeup and gown, nothing could compare to the blush on her cheeks, nothing could compare to the happiness and sweetness at the corners of her lips.
Seeing this, Hongyi smiled even more brightly. “Look at that—even our mistress knows how to blush.”
“You cheeky girl, chattering away all morning without a moment’s peace—are you asking for a beating?” Ziqing shot her a sideways glance.
Hongyi hastily retreated a good distance away, laughing. “Fine, fine, I’ll stop. I’ll go find out how far along Prince Yao’s party has gotten!”
But Hongyi had barely left before she came running back—this time not with simple joy, but with breathless excitement, her voice arriving before she did. “Mistress! Mistress! Prince Yao, he… he…”
Ziqing thought something had gone wrong and hurried up to chase after her, nearly colliding head-on with Hongyi as she rushed back in.
“What’s happened?” Ziqing demanded sharply—and in that sharp tone, her true nature showed through; she really wasn’t such a gentle, delicate bride after all.
“Prince Yao, he… he… mistress, come see for yourself!”
Hongyi couldn’t quite explain it either, pulling Ziqing along as she ran outside. Ziqing’s chambers sat at the very peak of the isolated island, and from the terrace outside her room, one could gaze far out over the sea.
When Ziqing and Hongyi reached the terrace and saw what lay upon the water, she froze in astonishment!
Far off across the vast, boundless sea, a magnificent fleet approached—towering warships, one after another, the banners of Da Zhou flying high, every single banner emblazoned with a single massive character: “Yao.” Even from this distance, Ziqing could make it out perfectly clearly.
A fleet of this magnitude—even the great naval battles of Nanzhao might never have seen its equal!
And that wasn’t all—every single ship was decked out in festive lanterns and colorful streamers, radiating an atmosphere of celebration and joy. The fleet seemed to carry no small number of musicians as well; faintly, she could hear the sound of grand yet lively wedding music drifting across the water. Watching and listening, Ziqing’s heart began pounding wildly—whatever calm she’d managed to hold onto vanished in an instant, replaced by fluttering nerves and tension!
“Mistress, look, look over there!” Hongyi pointed down the mountainside, urgent and excited.
Ziqing looked down, and there she saw…