“Jiang Zhaoxue.”

A voice came from the distance. Jiang Zhaoxue calmly raised her eyes.

She looked around and found herself standing quietly in the middle of a lake.

Darkness surrounded everything. Only the lake was smooth as a mirror, reflecting her body covered in blood lines.

Earlier, Xin Luoyi had taken advantage of her vulnerability. Xin Luoyi had created this illusory realm for her. Every moment she remained submerged in Xin Luoyi’s illusion, she contributed her life force to Xin Luoyi to help resist the evil-vanquishing formation she had set up.

Fortunately, before entering the realm, she had cursed to continue the array with her life—meaning she connected the formation to her own life. If she didn’t die, the formation wouldn’t be destroyed.

The two cycled together in a mutually destructive situation. No matter what, Xin Luoyi would certainly die.

She had always been of this temperament—if she had to die, no one else should think of living either.

But if she could break through the formation and escape, it would be Xin Luoyi who died.

She searched for flaws in this illusory realm. Just as she struggled to move, a voice came from beside her.

“Do you really want to leave?”

Jiang Zhaoxue paused and saw a figure appear on the lake’s surface.

That person looked exactly like her, only with a colder expression. Like looking into a mirror, those eyes dissected her heart as they said softly: “If you leave, you’ll never see Pei Zichen again.”

These words made Jiang Zhaoxue’s heart clench instantly. She immediately spoke: “He’s alive.”

“He’s dead.”

The other immediately responded without hesitation: “Li Xiuji entered reincarnation and has now returned. He is Li Xiuji. Pei Zichen was merely an extremely brief period in his destiny. Is he Pei Zichen?”

Jiang Zhaoxue’s breathing grew heavier at this question. The other stepped forward, walking toward her and continuing: “Black mixed with white becomes gray, yellow mixed with blue becomes green. In a person’s life, what makes them who they are? His temperament is different, his identity is different, even his memories are incomplete. Just because he inherited part of Pei Zichen’s memories, does that make him Pei Zichen? Who are you trying to deceive?”

The woman stopped before her, staring fixedly at her: “When he was alive, you never treated him wholeheartedly. Now that he’s dead, for your own selfish reasons, to ease your own conscience, you give to Li Xiuji what should have been given to Pei Zichen. If Pei Zichen has awareness in the afterlife, how sad he must be!”

“He is Pei Zichen—”

“He’s dead!”

In that instant, arrows rained down from Lingjian Immortal Pavilion. The scene of her tightly holding Pei Zichen exploded beside her.

He died in her arms.

She brought him back to Penglai.

He lay in the cold pool water, waiting for her to summon his soul day after day.

But what did she summon back?

“You just don’t dare to admit it.”

The world spun around her. Pei Zichen’s past transformed into fragments frantically surging around her. Jiang Zhaoxue desperately searched for his figure among these fragments, listening as the woman said calmly: “If you admit once that Li Xiuji is not Pei Zichen, then Pei Zichen will never be able to return.”

When a person’s soul leaves the body, it can be summoned.

If he didn’t return, she could wait—wait one day, ten thousand days, ten thousand times ten thousand days, until one day he came back and her Pei Zichen opened his eyes.

But he returned.

Returned only to tell her that from the beginning, he was Li Xiuji. Pei Zichen was just an accident in his life. So where was her Pei Zichen?

He was like white completely devoured by black, ultimately becoming gray. Was he still Pei Zichen?

So she couldn’t be willful anymore, couldn’t act spoiled anymore.

Couldn’t joke like in the past. She had to be careful, had to constantly speculate, had to think about what he liked. Every step was wrong, walking on thin ice.

Even expressing love left her at a loss. She had to ask—what could she do?

What did he want?

Everything she gave, Pei Zichen had taught her.

If he didn’t want it…

Then where was her Pei Zichen?

Where was Pei Zichen?

“Master’s wife.” The youth called softly from afar. The past swept by one by one.

Countless voices intertwined at her side, each one like a summons, like a cry for help.

“My lady.”

“Yaoyao.”

…

“Pei Zichen…”

She watched the fragments shatter around her one by one. For an instant, she seemed to return to that day at Lingjian Immortal Pavilion.

He couldn’t die. He couldn’t die today. He had to survive, or else she would never see him again.

Panic spread. She chased after him like a madwoman.

She had to catch him!

He couldn’t abandon her!

She had so much to say, so much to make amends for, so much to tell him.

“Pei Zichen…”

“Pei Zichen…”

“Pei Zichen!!”

She frantically tried to grab those fragments everywhere, but they shattered at the slightest touch.

She could only desperately move forward, exhausting her spiritual power to chase after them.

Vaguely, someone was calling her name, as if from far away.

But she couldn’t hear it. She couldn’t pay attention. She only knew she had to hold onto Pei Zichen. She must hold onto Pei Zichen!

She panicked helplessly. Her spiritual power scattered recklessly, transforming into an inescapable net, only wanting to hold that person for a moment.

Until finally, a gentle call came from behind her: “My lady.”

Jiang Zhaoxue froze. That voice was right behind her, coming too real, too tender.

She hadn’t heard such a voice from him in so long. Incredulous and trembling, she turned back to see a young man in white robes standing not far away. His body emitted a fluorescent glow. He extended his hand toward her and called again gently: “Come here.”

Hearing this voice in that instant, Jiang Zhaoxue’s eyes immediately reddened.

She looked at the person before her with an expression as gentle as the bright moon, her heart trembling.

“You,” she spoke hoarsely, unable to help saying, “you won’t detest me, right?”

“I won’t detest you.”

“You’ve always thought I was especially good, that everything about me was good, right?”

“I’ve always thought everything about you was good. You are my best Yaoyao.”

“I know I’m willful. I know my temper isn’t good…”

“No.” The other interrupted her, saying gently, “You are the best lady in my heart. Pei Zichen will always love you.”

Listening, tears suddenly fell from Jiang Zhaoxue’s eyes. She looked at that extended palm, uncontrollably reaching out her hand.

Pei Zichen was alive.

Pei Zichen would always love her.

“Pei Zichen…”

Jiang Zhaoxue reached out trembling. At that very moment, the surroundings suddenly shattered. Behind her, someone spoke clearly, their voice exploding throughout the entire illusory realm—

“Jiang Zhaoxue!!”

Jiang Zhaoxue turned back in shock to see the lake water behind her transform into countless ice swords stabbing toward the incoming person. Yet the other person disregarded everything, piercing through all memory fragments, facing all the ice swords as they rushed straight toward her. Only in the instant Jiang Zhaoxue turned back did he fiercely pull her into his embrace!

Ice swords pierced through his entire body. The scent of blood and icy snow hit her face together, accompanied by that person’s body trembling violently from fear.

He hadn’t used the old form of address. He called her Jiang Zhaoxue.

Yet when he grabbed her, when he embraced her without hesitation, when he came covered in the scent of blood and ice and snow, when he trembled violently from fear of losing her—in that moment, she so clearly realized—

“Pei Zichen.”

The instant this name was called out, Jiang Zhaoxue’s eyes snapped open. Pei Zichen simultaneously severed the blood lines. His other hand raised and pulled, drawing Jiang Zhaoxue behind him!

In the instant they switched positions, Jiang Zhaoxue saw the young man before her unhesitatingly blocking in front of her. Her heart trembled slightly. Then she saw Pei Zichen raise his hand and wave. Black energy transformed into hundreds of sword formations, stabbing urgently toward the direction in the darkness.

“By Heaven’s mandate,” after the swords left, a force nearly divine spread through space. From within the black energy came a clear male voice: “Sword formation, open.”

As the sound finished, from the darkness, hundreds of golden swords burst forth, simultaneously crashing together with Pei Zichen’s light swords!

Enormous pressure exploded at the same time. The earth shook. In that brief moment, the golden swords severed the iron chains. Xin Luoyi took advantage of the chaos to transform into a wisp of black smoke and escape.

Seeing this, Ye Tianjiao threw out a talisman: “Don’t go!”

However, just as the talisman emerged, black energy suddenly exploded from the ground again, rushing toward everyone. Pei Zichen raised his sword and slashed. When the black energy stopped, Xin Luoyi and the others had long since vanished without a trace.

Everything quieted down. Everyone breathed heavily. Jiang Zhaoxue turned to look at Pei Zichen beside her.

His breathing was still unsteady. He still tightly gripped one of her hands, his muscles taut, the hand holding hers trembling slightly.

Sensing her gaze, Pei Zichen turned his head. As their eyes met, Jiang Zhaoxue remembered he had just entered her sea of consciousness.

Having entered her sea of consciousness, he naturally saw those past events. She pressed her lips without speaking. For an instant, she felt somewhat embarrassed and instinctively wanted to withdraw her hand, but he gripped it firmly.

“Let’s go back first.”

He spoke in a low voice, turned to scan everyone, and finally let his gaze fall on Ye Tianjiao’s face.

The moment Ye Tianjiao saw his gaze, he felt somewhat intimidated and immediately grew nervous.

Pei Zichen thought for a moment, suppressed his breathing, and commanded Ye Tianjiao with a calm tone: “You lead them back. I’ll deal with my lady’s wounds first.”

Hearing this “my lady,” everyone was stunned.

Jiang Zhaoxue looked at him incredulously, only to see Pei Zichen turn to open a space portal. He scooped her up horizontally and said to everyone: “Let’s go.”

With that, he carried Jiang Zhaoxue and strode into the space, disappearing from sight.

Only then did Ye Tianjiao react. He immediately called to everyone: “Alright, you all follow me…”

Before he could finish, Ye Tianjiao suddenly realized something and turned back in shock.

Wait, he was currently Jiang Zhaoxue’s small Golden Core disciple. Why was Pei Zichen having him lead the team?!

He wouldn’t have discovered who he really was, would he?!