“Jiang Zhaoxue!”

As Pei Zichen rushed toward Jiang Zhaoxue’s direction, in the bedroom on the other side, Jiang Zhaoxue hooked her finger. The chains tightened, and Shen Yuqing’s left and right hands were pulled apart and hoisted up. The red light bound to his body embedded into his flesh, locking his spiritual power circulation. Forced to kneel on the ground, he shouted in alarm, urgently saying, “Release me! Don’t act recklessly!”

Listening, Jiang Zhaoxue gasped for breath as she straightened up.

Her physical strength was poor. This set of spells nearly took her life. But upon hearing Shen Yuqing’s shouting, fire immediately rose in her heart. She stepped forward and kicked Shen Yuqing!

Struck by her kick, Shen Yuqing was provoked to struggle with all his might. The iron shackles clanged loudly, frightening Jiang Zhaoxue into retreating several steps. Then she saw thunder follow the iron chains and strike Shen Yuqing violently. The pain instantly drained his strength, and he knelt on the ground, breathing lowly.

Jiang Zhaoxue stood to the side observing. Seeing him completely locked down, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did she kneel down on one knee and study him through the barrier, saying quite happily, “Stop struggling. The Dragon-Locking Formation is specifically designed to deal with high-level cultivators like you. The higher your cultivation, the more painful the thunder. Don’t make trouble for yourself.”

“You think I truly have no way to deal with your formation?” Shen Yuqing spoke through gritted teeth. Jiang Zhaoxue smiled.

“I know you have plenty of methods, but whatever method you use requires channeling spiritual power to break through. But if you really channel spiritual power…” Jiang Zhaoxue’s gaze fell on the red light rope on his body, “you won’t care about your precious disciple’s life anymore?”

Hearing this, Shen Yuqing stiffened. Jiang Zhaoxue raised her hand to point at the red rope on his body, reminding him, “This is the Mandarin Duck Rope. The other end is tied to Mu Jinyue. Breaking the rope is simple for you, but Mu Jinyue’s life will be gone. If you don’t care, go ahead and break it.”

“Jiang Zhaoxue!”

Hearing this, Shen Yuqing was furious. Jiang Zhaoxue raised her hand to cover her ears, saying with distaste, “Speak quietly. I’m not deaf.”

“Release me!”

“Release yourself then.” Jiang Zhaoxue was magnanimous. “A small Dragon-Locking Formation can actually lock down our Pavilion Master Shen?”

“Stop this nonsense!” Shen Yuqing had obviously reached the peak of his anger, but he still hadn’t broken that Mandarin Duck Rope. Through gritted teeth, he said, “Let me go!”

Watching him, Jiang Zhaoxue sighed. “See, I told you that you have her in your heart. Look, just this little rope is enough to bind you. And you said ‘I can give you that too’?”

Jiang Zhaoxue stood up with some distaste. “These two hundred years you’ve been avoiding me like a cat avoids a mouse. Now you’re trying to act all mighty with me? If you were truly so capable, our child would be older than Pei Zichen by now. Would we have reached today?”

“Jiang Zhaoxue…”

“My Lady.”

Pei Zichen’s voice suddenly came from the doorway. Hearing Pei Zichen’s voice, Jiang Zhaoxue immediately stiffened, uncertain whether Pei Zichen had heard her reckless words just now. For a moment, she felt somewhat guilty.

And Shen Yuqing’s muscles tensed even more, his breathing stopping altogether.

Being humiliated before Jiang Zhaoxue and before Pei Zichen were completely different matters. He felt exceptionally ashamed and turned his head away.

Pei Zichen stood at the door, sweeping over the two of them indifferently. His heart felt obstructed, but knowing both were embarrassed, he looked over Jiang Zhaoxue and, after confirming she was unharmed, said, “My Lady, just now Junior Sister Mu told this disciple something and asked me to come question Master.”

Hearing this, Shen Yuqing seemed to already know what would be asked and instantly became nervous.

Jiang Zhaoxue looked at Shen Yuqing meaningfully, smiled, and moved aside, pointing lightly with her fan. “Go ahead and ask.”

Having received Jiang Zhaoxue’s permission, Pei Zichen shifted his gaze to Shen Yuqing. After thinking for a moment, he stepped into the room, proactively knelt down, and bowed. “Master.”

With this kneel, he was level with Shen Yuqing, which made Shen Yuqing seem not quite so pathetic.

However, Shen Yuqing was unwilling to accept this consideration and said directly, “Get out!”

“Master,” Pei Zichen knelt respectfully on the ground, acting as if he hadn’t heard Shen Yuqing’s words at all, calmly inquiring, “Just now Junior Sister told this disciple that if we don’t obtain the Divine Slaying Sword, My Lady’s life will be in danger. I wonder if this is true?”

“What?!”

A’Nan was the first to scream. To others’ ears, it just sounded like chaotic squawking.

Jiang Zhaoxue was also somewhat shocked, looking at Pei Zichen in surprise. “What does this have to do with me?”

Pei Zichen didn’t answer, staring at Shen Yuqing. Shen Yuqing never looked at him, suppressing his panic. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“This disciple thought as much.”

Pei Zichen’s expression was calm, showing neither joy nor anger. His tone humble and respectful, as if reporting an itinerary to Shen Yuqing, he said slowly, “The Dragon-Locking Formation specifically targets high-level cultivators. The higher the cultivation, the more difficult it is to break the formation. When My Lady leaves, it will automatically seal Master’s divine consciousness and five senses, ensuring Master sleeps.”

Listening, Shen Yuqing cast a cold glance over. Unmoved, Pei Zichen continued, “Afterward, My Lady will take this disciple to Xuecang Mountain, destroy the Sacred Pool, kill Xinluoyi, and save the people of this timeline.”

“Save?” Shen Yuqing laughed coldly. “What will you save them with? If you save the people here, you won’t take the Divine Slaying Sword? What about the True Immortal Realm?”

“There will always be other ways to obtain the Divine Slaying Sword, but these people only have one life.” Jiang Zhaoxue raised her eyes. “Shen Yuqing, the consequence here came from the cause we planted. If I hadn’t let Song Wulan discover this method of human sacrifice, and you hadn’t brought Mu Jinyue back, this calamity wouldn’t exist.”

“Things written in the Book of Fate will happen whether or not you and I return!”

“But now it’s because of you and me.” Jiang Zhaoxue emphasized. “Since it’s because of you and me, we are cultivators. How can we dig a pit for them, watch them jump in, wait for them to be buried alive and grow into trees, then pick the fruit and say this was their fate? From the moment you and I returned, we’ve already become part of history, not observers.”

“Complete nonsense!” Shen Yuqing shouted, his voice urgent. “You’re disregarding heavenly mandate and disrupting causality!”

“That doesn’t matter either.” Pei Zichen’s tone was flat, interrupting their conversation.

Jiang Zhaoxue and Shen Yuqing paused, turning their eyes to see Pei Zichen state calmly, “My Lady wants to save these people. This is My Lady’s decision. Just now, this disciple thought Junior Sister was lying to obstruct My Lady and me, but to be cautious, I came specifically to verify with Master. If Junior Sister was indeed just fabricating lies to obstruct My Lady, then this disciple won’t pursue it further. Master, rest well.” Pei Zichen bowed his head in salute. “This disciple and My Lady will take our leave.”

With that, Pei Zichen stood up and looked at Jiang Zhaoxue. “My Lady, is the formation set up?”

“Oh.” Jiang Zhaoxue snapped back to attention and, glancing at Shen Yuqing, estimating that Pei Zichen was forcing his hand, nodded. “Yes, it’ll take effect soon.”

“Then let’s go.”

Pei Zichen nodded. Without further words, Jiang Zhaoxue stepped to Pei Zichen’s side. Looking back at Shen Yuqing, she thought for a moment before saying seriously, “Rest well. When your formation is undone, we should be able to return. By then, I’ll probably already be back in Penglai. This will likely be our last meeting.”

As she spoke, Jiang Zhaoxue nodded, her expression cooling somewhat as she made her final farewell seriously. “Take good care of yourself.”

Hearing these words, Shen Yuqing’s heart clenched. Watching Jiang Zhaoxue and Pei Zichen step outside, the two of them walking side by side, Shen Yuqing couldn’t help shouting loudly, “Jiang Zhaoxue, stop! Come back!”

The farther Jiang Zhaoxue moved from him, the less he could see and hear clearly. Panic spread from his heart, reaching his fingertips, bringing waves of pain.

He couldn’t help gasping for breath, calling out urgently, “Jiang Zhaoxue, Jiang Zhaoxue, come back! Jiang Zhaoxue—it’s true!”

Shen Yuqing finally lost control, raising his voice. “You’ll die! Without the Divine Slaying Sword, you’ll die!”

“Stop lying to me.” Jiang Zhaoxue waved her hand with her back to Shen Yuqing. “What does the Divine Slaying Sword have to do with me? I don’t believe your nonsense.”

“The Tianyan Vine is a companion plant of the Divine Slaying Sword!” Shen Yuqing shouted. Jiang Zhaoxue’s steps halted. Then she heard Shen Yuqing’s voice, sounding as if he were breaking down, shouting loudly, “A thousand years later, you used that Tianyan Vine that was planted when the Divine Slaying Sword appeared now. If you don’t take the Divine Slaying Sword, a thousand years later, you’ll die!”

Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue was stunned. In her mind flashed instantly that heavenly tribulation when she was just over twenty that nearly destroyed her. Her spiritual roots shattered. Everyone said her life wouldn’t last long. As she lay dying in bed, she wailed willfully again and again, calling his name.

“Shen Zeyuan, when will you come back?”

“Shen Zeyuan, I hurt so much.”

“Shen Zeyuan…”

What did he say back then?

He said, “Yaoyao, I’ll be back very soon.”

Later, Penglai found the Tianyan Vine for her. She finally repaired her spiritual roots and survived. But he never returned.

That youth in her memory who, though never willing to speak, had always silently accepted her, changed overnight. She went to the mountain gate to see him—he wouldn’t see her. She wrote letters—he didn’t reply. Only one phrase: “Our stations differ too greatly; we have nothing to do with each other.”

If not for the Battle of Cangming Sea where they formed the Heart-Linking Contract, he might have hidden from her for a lifetime.

The reversal was so drastic that she almost thought the “Yaoyao” that comforted her again and again in her daze was a memory she had imagined. These two hundred years, she didn’t even dare seek confirmation from him, treating this matter as a “possibility” all along.

But now what was he saying?

“Tianyan Vine?” Jiang Zhaoxue turned back, laughing coldly. “Where did the Tianyan Vine I used come from? How do you know?”

Shen Yuqing didn’t speak. He lowered his head without a word.

Jiang Zhaoxue’s anger immediately flared. She rushed back into the room, grabbed Shen Yuqing’s collar, and shouted sharply, “Speak! If you don’t speak, I’ll treat what you said as a lie. I’ll go kill Mu Jinyue right now. Without Pure Yin blood, the Divine Slaying Sword can never appear in this lifetime!”

“That Tianyan Vine was found by me.”

Shen Yuqing spoke hoarsely. Pei Zichen froze in place. He involuntarily raised his eyes to look at Jiang Zhaoxue beside him, only to see Jiang Zhaoxue staring intently at Shen Yuqing, correcting him, “That was found by my father and brothers.”

“After I found it, I sought out a disciple of Lingjian Immortal Pavilion and, through three intermediaries, had it delivered to Penglai.” Shen Yuqing spoke hoarsely. “They don’t know.”

“They don’t know?” Jiang Zhaoxue was amused by his words and mocked, “What a great benevolent person Pavilion Master Shen is. Going through tremendous hardships to find such a spiritual treasure, sending it over without a word, seeking nothing and wanting nothing. I didn’t know Pavilion Master Shen had such deep affection and friendship for me?”

“They found it in a village called Lingfang Village. A Golden Core cultivator gave them directions. That cultivator was the husband of one of my martial uncles.”

Shen Yuqing spoke of details unknown to outsiders. Back then, the matter of the Tianyan Vine was extremely confidential. Penglai had never disclosed it externally.

Jiang Zhaoxue paused. She stared at Shen Yuqing’s appearance, studying his expression to discern truth from falsehood. She only felt breath continuously surging into her chest. She took deep breaths, adjusting her state of mind, forcing herself to calm down. Through gritted teeth, she said, “Why didn’t you say so back then?”

“I didn’t want you to owe me.”

“Didn’t want me to owe you?” Jiang Zhaoxue found this reason absurd and couldn’t help laughing. “Were you afraid I’d cling to you? Then why save me? Why risk your life to find the Tianyan Vine?”

Shen Yuqing clenched his fists. Jiang Zhaoxue sorted through her thoughts, thinking desperately, “If you went to find this thing, you had feelings for me. If you had feelings for me, why wouldn’t you see me when you returned? Why wouldn’t you marry me? Why treat me like this for two hundred years? If you treated me like this, so afraid to even see me, would you go find the Tianyan Vine for me? Do you think I’m a three-year-old child you can casually fool? Do you think I’m stupid?!”

Jiang Zhaoxue grew angrier as she spoke. Remembering the past, she couldn’t help standing up to mock, “Shen Yuqing, you truly dare tell any lie for the Divine Slaying Sword…”

“I’m not lying.”

“If you’re not lying, why didn’t you come back?”

“I’m not lying!”

“If you’re not lying, why have you treated me like this for two hundred years? What reason do you have to treat me like this?”

“I didn’t…”

“You’re deceiving me! Otherwise, why didn’t you come back then…”

“Because my junior sister lost her spiritual roots!” Shen Yuqing lost control, roaring out, “When she went with me to retrieve the Tianyan Vine, her spiritual roots were devoured by the Tianyan Vine. Without spiritual roots, she can’t survive. The only solution is to use Lingjian Immortal Pavilion’s dual cultivation technique and marry me, using my spiritual power to sustain her life. Until I found another solution, I had no way to return!”

At these words, Jiang Zhaoxue was stunned.

Shen Yuqing breathed rapidly. Head lowered, gripping his clothes tightly, he spoke hoarsely, “My junior sister, Song Qingyin, was also a genius as renowned as you back then. She was more suited to sword cultivation than me, more valued by the pavilion. If she were alive, the position of Pavilion Master shouldn’t be mine. She was Lingjian Immortal Pavilion’s hope. She should have been the True Immortal Realm’s foremost female cultivator.”

Thinking of that person, Shen Yuqing closed his eyes and turned his head. He desperately controlled his emotions, saying with difficulty, “But it was because of me… because I insisted on going to the Mortal Realm to find the Tianyan Vine. She betrayed pavilion rules, opened the passage to the Mortal Realm for me, and descended with me. We arrived at Xuecang Mountain together, Xuecang Mountain a thousand years later. Ancient formations were everywhere, ice and snow filled the sky. We searched for five days and five nights before finally finding the Tianyan Vine. I originally thought, thought this was the outcome. My heart was full of joy then. I went over with her, but never expected…”

“Never expected what?”

Jiang Zhaoxue couldn’t understand. She heard Shen Yuqing clench his fist and say hoarsely, “The Tianyan Vine suddenly devoured her.”

“Impossible!” Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue immediately denied it. “The Tianyan Vine only devours the host who planted it. It takes five hundred years to bloom and five hundred years to bear fruit. Song Qingyin was less than twenty years old then. How could a mature Tianyan Vine have been planted by her?”

If it wasn’t planted by Song Qingyin, why would it devour her?

“Unbelievable, isn’t it?”

Hearing Jiang Zhaoxue’s words, Shen Yuqing also seemed to find it absurd. Thinking of that year, remembering the shocking scene of the Tianyan Vine suddenly rising up and dragging Song Qingyin away, he seemed somewhat dazed. “For a very long time, I couldn’t understand it either. But at that time, I just watched helplessly as the Tianyan Vine devoured her. I just reacted quickly and severed the Tianyan Vine in time. Even so, Junior Sister still had her spiritual roots extracted. That Tianyan Vine, after devouring Junior Sister’s spiritual roots, fully bloomed.”

Shen Yuqing’s smile carried a touch of madness. “It bloomed, fully matured. But my junior sister had her path to immortality completely severed. Jiang Zhaoxue, how could I return?”

He raised his eyes to look at Jiang Zhaoxue, his voice hoarse. “Come back by stepping on my junior sister’s life?”

Song Qingyin lost her spiritual roots, and lost them while retrieving the Tianyan Vine to save her. If it were an ordinary cultivator, death would be certain. But she was a disciple of Lingjian Immortal Pavilion. Using Lingjian Immortal Pavilion’s dual cultivation technique, she could share the spiritual power of fellow disciples.

To use spiritual power to sustain one person’s life requires enormous consumption. Ordinary cultivators wouldn’t be willing. The most suitable person, and currently the only one willing to take responsibility for owing Song Qingyin, was only Shen Yuqing.

If he didn’t stay, if he didn’t marry Song Qingyin, Song Qingyin would die.

But if he married Song Qingyin, how could he possibly have any connection with her again?

Listening, Jiang Zhaoxue understood, but she still couldn’t comprehend. “Then you… why didn’t you tell me?”

She remembered waiting day after day at the Lingjian Immortal Pavilion gate in her youth and couldn’t help saying, “If you had told me, I wouldn’t have pestered you. Since I owed her, I would have repaid her.”

“We didn’t want you to feel you owed her.” Shen Yuqing raised his eyes to look at Jiang Zhaoxue. For a moment, he seemed to see Jiang Zhaoxue’s youthful appearance. “Your temperament was different from Qingyin’s. Actually, she really liked you. She didn’t blame you for this matter. Neither she nor I wanted you to feel guilty. Moreover…”

Shen Yuqing seemed to feel embarrassed. “At first, I kept thinking, was there another solution? So I kept trying to delay this matter. In the year we were apart, although Master urged me, I didn’t dual cultivate with her… I was searching everywhere for something to sustain her life. Even knowing this wasn’t a long-term solution, even knowing I shouldn’t harbor false hopes, I still kept thinking—perhaps I could turn back.”

“And after that?” Jiang Zhaoxue suppressed her anger. “Before, when I pestered you alone, it was understandable you didn’t say. But later, when we discussed marriage you didn’t say, when we married you didn’t say. She… she’s been gone so many years, yet you never once told me!”

“Because I couldn’t afford to gamble.” Shen Yuqing said calmly. “After she died, I had to seek a way for her to live. The Tianyan Vine devoured her spiritual roots. You used the Tianyan Vine, so your body contains remnants of her spiritual essence. I needed to take her spiritual essence from you, summon back her soul, and send her into reincarnation. Once you refused, if I couldn’t obtain her spiritual essence from you, she would be finished. So I had to hide it from you and quietly obtain the spiritual essence.”

“And after that?” Jiang Zhaoxue frowned. “You succeeded, didn’t you? Mu Jinyue is her reincarnation, correct? Back then, you searched everywhere for infants because you knew Song Qingyin had entered reincarnation and you wanted to find her. Since you succeeded, why not tell me? If you had told me, I would have felt guilty, I would have fulfilled your wishes, I would have been grateful to Mu Jinyue and never made things difficult for her—”

“Because I didn’t trust you.” Shen Yuqing spoke truthfully. Jiang Zhaoxue froze.

As Jiang Zhaoxue spoke, desperately following traces from the past, she suddenly realized something. “How exactly did Song Qingyin die?”

“How did she die…”

Seeing her reaction, Shen Yuqing couldn’t help laughing. His voice was very soft, yet he said, “I don’t know.”

Jiang Zhaoxue’s intuition sensed something wrong. She saw Shen Yuqing turn to look at her, suppressing hidden resentment. “At that time, your father and brothers condescended to visit, bringing Penglai elders and you to Lingjian Immortal Pavilion to discuss marriage. That morning, I told Master to make things clear to them—that Qingyin and I were in love and had already arranged our engagement. If necessary, to tell your father and brothers about the Tianyan Vine matter. Master went in the morning, and in the afternoon…”

Shen Yuqing fell silent. After a long while, as if only then having the ability to speak, he said hoarsely, “Junior Sister’s serving maid came to tell me that Junior Sister had taken her own life.”

Hearing this outcome, Jiang Zhaoxue’s eyes moved slightly, but she no longer had the capacity for surprise. She only said numbly, “And then?”

“When I went to see her, she had only her last breath remaining,” Shen Yuqing’s tone was weary. “She told me this was her own choice, that she didn’t want to drag me down. She told me to treat you well, that you were good to me, and I shouldn’t feel guilty toward her.”

As he spoke, Shen Yuqing smiled. “But she had been recuperating in her room for nearly a year. I ordered people not to let her know about these troubling matters. How did she know I still had a connection with you?”

“Who do you think told her?”

Jiang Zhaoxue knew he had an answer in his heart.

Shen Yuqing looked calmly at Jiang Zhaoxue, as if looking at a murderer, saying coolly, “She praised you to me.”

Listening, Jiang Zhaoxue met his gaze and heard him say expressionlessly, “She said the pomegranate hairpin on your head was very beautiful. After she was gone, could you bury one with her?”

Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue closed her eyes.

She didn’t have many pomegranate gem hairpins, but she remembered that when going to Lingjian Immortal Pavilion to discuss the marriage, she had specifically brought it, seeking an auspicious sign and wanting to dress up nicely to see him.

And Song Qingyin, who hadn’t left her room for a year, accurately described what she was wearing that day before her death.

“So I came to ask you. That day I asked if you had gone to the back mountain. You said no,” Shen Yuqing smiled. “You said you were waiting for me the whole time.”

“You thought I lied.”

Jiang Zhaoxue understood. “You thought I was jealous and hateful, that I deliberately went to see her and drove her to death?”

Shen Yuqing didn’t speak. Jiang Zhaoxue knew this was tacit acknowledgment. Jiang Zhaoxue laughed mockingly. “So you didn’t trust me?”

“How could I trust you?”

Shen Yuqing couldn’t help becoming agitated. “I didn’t know how she died. It’s possible Lingjian Immortal Pavilion forced her to die to curry favor with you and facilitate this marriage. It’s possible your father and brothers forced her to death. It’s also possible it was you… I couldn’t trust anyone, I couldn’t trust anyone at all! I could only hide her away and find ways to repay what I owed her!”

“How to repay?” Jiang Zhaoxue inquired calmly.

Hearing her voice, Shen Yuqing calmed down somewhat. After struggling for a moment, he still said, “The reason the Tianyan Vine is a companion plant to the Divine Slaying Sword is because the Tianyan Vine grows at the junction of extreme yin and extreme yang. Extreme yang is the seed, extreme yin is the embryo. When the Divine Slaying Sword appears, as an object of extreme yang, combined with Pure Yin blood’s extreme yin and borrowing the enormous energy from the Divine Slaying Sword’s emergence, one can obtain a Tianyan Vine seed to take root and sprout. But if there are two extreme yang objects at that time, one can obtain two Tianyan Vine seeds.”

Listening, Jiang Zhaoxue understood. She looked at Shen Yuqing and saw him raise his eyes, staring at her. “The reason the fire poison in your body is so difficult to eliminate is because a Fire Qilin demon core is planted in your body. This is an object of extreme yang. Now with two million people sacrificed, the power of all living things is sufficient to nurture two Tianyan Vine seeds. This is the only opportunity to plant two seeds simultaneously.”

With two Tianyan Vine seeds, one would go to her a thousand years in the future, and the other could be kept until they all returned to the True Immortal Realm, when he would retrieve it for Mu Jinyue.

With the Tianyan Vine, Mu Jinyue could also have heavenly spiritual roots. What Song Qingyin lost back then could be returned to her.

This was a plan spanning nearly two hundred years. From the moment Song Qingyin died, he had been scheming.

Taking the spiritual essence left by Song Qingyin’s spiritual roots from her to summon Song Qingyin’s soul, nurturing the soul, then sending Song Qingyin’s soul into reincarnation. Searching for the Fire Qilin demon core, finding the reincarnated Mu Jinyue, bringing Mu Jinyue back to a thousand years ago to now. At the moment Song Wulan sacrificed two million people, planting two Tianyan Vine seeds.

“If you wanted to save her so badly, why bring her back at all?”

Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue understood. The moment she spoke, Shen Yuqing froze.

Seeing his expression, Jiang Zhaoxue said with confusion, “Since you understand the cause and effect so clearly, you should have also guessed that the reason Song Qingyin was devoured was because Mu Jinyue planted the Tianyan Vine seed now. As long as you don’t bring Mu Jinyue here, or don’t let her plant the Tianyan Vine, or destroy it after planting, then Song Qingyin a thousand years later won’t die, and you won’t need to repay her anything.”

Without this Tianyan Vine planted by Mu Jinyue, Song Qingyin a thousand years later wouldn’t have her spiritual roots devoured.

If her spiritual roots weren’t devoured, with Song Qingyin’s qualifications and Lingjian Immortal Pavilion’s protection, no one could harm her.

“Since that’s the case,” Jiang Zhaoxue was momentarily confused, “why still bring her back to plant the Tianyan Vine?”

Shen Yuqing didn’t speak. He sat in place. Jiang Zhaoxue quietly waited for him.

After waiting a moment, Jiang Zhaoxue suddenly realized what answer this question might have. She suddenly felt it meaningless and waved her hand. “Never mind…”

“Because I wanted you to live.”

Shen Yuqing suddenly spoke. Jiang Zhaoxue froze.

She looked up to see Shen Yuqing slowly raise his eyes, staring at her. As if all his flesh had been torn away, revealing the beating heart beneath white bone—with nothing left to conceal, nowhere left to hide—he finally admitted, “Jiang Zhaoxue, even if you’re covered in sins, I still want you to live.”

He wanted her to live.

He knew full well that planting the Tianyan Vine now would cause Song Qingyin to die a thousand years later. Yet he still insisted on bringing Mu Jinyue here, desperately determined to plant this Tianyan Vine.

He scolded her, blamed her, hated her, resented her.

He said her demonic nature was untamable, that she was frivolous and wanton. He treated her as consumed by jealousy, suspected her of poisoning his junior sister again and again. But faced with life and death…

He still chose her.

He was so absurdly unjust, violating everything he’d been taught his whole life. So he reflected and disciplined himself, taking her sins as his own sins. For two hundred years, every single day, he tortured her and tortured himself, atoning for the sins they committed in their youth.

That’s why he never felt he chose Mu Jinyue. Even though time and again he protected Mu Jinyue, chose Mu Jinyue, he never felt he did wrong.

Realizing what he had been thinking and struggling with for two hundred years, Jiang Zhaoxue was shocked into stillness. But very quickly, fury rapidly rose within her.

Two hundred years… Even if there was forced control from the book, those were still her actual two hundred years.

He obtained the Tianyan Vine without telling her and left. He left her like a joke going to Lingjian Immortal Pavilion day after day. When she risked her life to save him, he still said nothing. In the end, he believed Song Qingyin’s deathbed manipulation, treating her as a murderer and torturing her for two hundred years. And now he came to tell her he chose her?

He said it was for her good, said he loved her, yet never trusted her.

Jiang Zhaoxue’s chest and abdomen churned like raging seas. Looking at the youth before her who remained righteous throughout, she clenched her teeth and couldn’t help mocking, “So should I thank you for your great kindness and virtue?”

Shen Yuqing’s gaze trembled slightly but remained unmoved.

Fury surged in Jiang Zhaoxue’s heart. Her tone grew more vicious. “Thank you for being so magnanimous, silently sacrificing for me. Even though I might have killed your junior sister out of jealousy, you still chose to protect and tolerate me. Do you think you’re deeply devoted to me? That I should be immediately moved upon learning these things, weeping bitterly, filled with regret, understanding your painstaking efforts? But what did I do wrong?”

“You did nothing wrong?” Shen Yuqing struggled to control his emotions. “If you hadn’t pestered me back then, Qingyin wouldn’t have died. Whether or not you went to find her that day, from the moment you formed a contract with me, neither Lingjian Immortal Pavilion nor Penglai could keep her anymore. Don’t you understand?!”

“So that’s my fault?” Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue laughed in anger. “Did I tell you to find the Tianyan Vine? Did I kill Song Qingyin? Did I tell you to conceal and not report? Did I tell you to sacrifice for me?! If you had told me back then, I absolutely wouldn’t have pestered you. Whether Song Qingyin took back her spiritual roots herself or I spent my life repaying her, I would have been grateful to you both! But you were self-righteous, deliberately concealing things under the guise of being good to me. I knew nothing yet became the murderer who drove Song Qingyin to death, having to bear two hundred years of debt to you. Shen Yuqing, is this being good to me?”

Jiang Zhaoxue grew angrier as she spoke. She couldn’t help stepping forward to grab Shen Yuqing’s collar and shouting sharply, “You’re satisfying yourself!”

“So what?!” Hearing this, Shen Yuqing suddenly raised his voice. Looking up at her, exhaustion mixed with obsession, he said through gritted teeth, “Whether satisfying myself or for your sake, you owe me!”

Jiang Zhaoxue’s eyes trembled at these words. Shen Yuqing stared at her intently. “Jiang Zhaoxue, you and I are destined bonds written in the Book of Fate. My bringing Mu Jinyue to a thousand years ago to plant the Tianyan Vine that saves you is the cause. Your loving me a thousand years later is the effect. You and I are destined by Heaven, entangled by cause and effect. As long as you live, you owe me for each day. No matter what,” Shen Yuqing’s eyelashes trembled slightly, meaningfully, “we cannot be separated.”

At these words, Pei Zichen couldn’t help gripping his sword hilt tightly.

Dead leaves outside the window were swept into the room by wind, shattering against his cheek. Standing to the side, he seemed to return to when he had just fallen from the cliff in his youth—his heart empty and hollow, not knowing where he came from, not knowing the way back.

Standing to the side watching this person seemingly entangled by vines, his whole being felt somewhat adrift.

Jiang Zhaoxue’s eyes filled with fury. She gripped Shen Yuqing’s collar tightly, hearing him say calmly, “Jiang Zhaoxue, you survived.”

She used the Tianyan Vine nourished by Song Qingyin’s spiritual roots, survived by stepping on Song Qingyin’s corpse.

These words made Jiang Zhaoxue’s heart turn cold, her chest feel suffocated. She looked at Shen Yuqing’s eyes that seemed to see through her and heard him say seriously, “No one can take you away. We won’t be separated either.”

“What if I don’t want this life?”

Jiang Zhaoxue spoke hoarsely. Both people beside her were shocked. Jiang Zhaoxue suppressed her breathing, her tone trembling, each word solemn. “I don’t want this Tianyan Vine. You don’t need to plant it. You and I won’t owe each other…”

“Stop this nonsense!” Hearing this, Shen Yuqing panicked and shouted. “It’s written in the Book of Fate—you can’t change it!”

“But I…”

“Sis!”

Before Jiang Zhaoxue could finish, a huge “boom” came from the distance. Pei Zichen instinctively shielded Jiang Zhaoxue. Without waiting long, Ye Tianjiao’s voice rang out urgently from outside. “Sis! Something happened, Sis!”

As he spoke, Ye Tianjiao stumbled in, pressing his wound, supporting himself at the door, urgently saying, “Mu Jinyue… Mu Jinyue escaped!”