The night was heavy, the wind ceased, and the rain stilled. In the continuous mountain range, the sword intent barrier silently collapsed, dissolving and crumbling into large pieces like remnant snow meeting the new sun.

The swamp-like, viscous sensation swept away completely. The view before them spread open. Lu Chengze shook his sleeves, pinching the ribs of his jade fan as they folded together one by one, snapping crisply against his palm. He looked at Su You, who had sheathed his sword and stood beneath the tree, saying in a deep voice: “At the Three Lands Grand Assembly, I look forward to fighting you again.”

In this regard, Sacred Land inheritors had their pride and backbone. They could accept defeat, but wouldn’t submit to it – striving to catch up and being diligent with themselves was inevitable.

What answered him was the sound of mountain sparrows flapping their wings as they swept overhead.

Hearing this, Lu Chengze said nothing more. Like a falling leaf, he turned and drifted lightly into the melting night.

After a long while, Su You slowly turned his eyes. His well-proportioned palm loosely gripped the sword hilt. For an extremely brief moment, he almost felt like he had sunk to the bottom of a sea with dark currents surging. The cold seawater passed over his limbs and head like mist, and the suffocating sensation of being bound transformed into wave after wave crashing over him in succession.

Su You had long anticipated the notion of a “previous life.”

On the day Xue Yu freed him from Yu Qingdan, she had spoken of Song Heng rather coldly, saying “Like you, I cultivated him for a long time.” After that sentence, he had listened to many people’s accounts, going through the roster of Yedu officials from beginning to end again and again. Past and present, he hadn’t missed a single name.

But facts proved that in Yedu, Song Heng was transparent as a person.

There were no traces of his existence, nor around Xue Yu either.

Given this, combined with Lu Chengze’s meaningful mention of previous and present lives when revealing Song Heng’s imperial lineage identity, certain things were sufficient to surface.

What he hadn’t anticipated and found difficult to accept was what Lu Chengze said afterward.

He found someone else. He sealed Yedu’s Baizhong Mountain.

Xue Yu carried too heavy a burden. She could never act freely and willfully, doing many things as she pleased. Her gaze would never rest solely on one person or one matter.

Love and affection were destined to occupy only a small corner in her heart.

But Yedu was different – it was her years of perseverance, the belief that had made her strictly demand of herself and lead by example from childhood, the softest yet most important part of her heart.

Su You closed his eyes and could even imagine what her feelings were like when she learned that Baizhong Mountain had been sealed.

She could accept someone she had cultivated for a thousand years betraying and turning against her. She could accept her pillow companion seeking new love. All the consequences and bitter pills resulting from this – she could swallow them all silently without expression. But she alone couldn’t accept Yedu suffering unwarranted disaster because she had trusted others lightly.

She would take all responsibility upon herself.

That kind of self-blame, regret, and sleepless days and nights could drag a person’s sanity into the abyss of collapse.

So after learning that Song Heng had understood his own identity from beginning to end yet concealed everything while following her, harboring ulterior motives and calculating against her, all her rejection, alienation, coldness, and suspicion toward him made perfect sense.

His talent, his strength – they weren’t like those of a demon-ghost struggling to survive in the cracks.

Her suspicion of him was natural and logical.

Presumably at this very moment, in her eyes and heart, he was no different from Song Heng – equally harboring ill intentions and hidden agendas.

A hundred years later, Su You felt as if he was once again standing in knee-deep snow, with stillness all around. He stared blankly at the lights ahead, yet was separated by a thick wall, feeling as cold as an ice cellar, falling silent in despair.

Only this time, even if he stood withered through the night until dawn broke brilliantly, he wouldn’t give birth to even the slightest thought of withdrawing midway and turning to leave.

Just half a month ago, on a night when the moon was bright and stars sparse, she had lowered her eyes, her fingers gathering his collar upward, her posture so natural it nearly displayed a kind of familiar and indulgent intimacy. She said she would give him the Young Master position.

Mountains of documents didn’t matter, being busy on both ends didn’t matter either. He sought neither fame nor illusory prosperity.

He only knew that only by standing in that position could he accompany her.

Always accompany her.

Su You’s jaw formed a lean, sharp line. His complexion was frighteningly pale, like some kind of newly fired glaze that, set against heavy black, appeared both rigid and fragile, like some kind of shell that would shatter at a touch yet stubbornly persisted.

He stared fixedly into the distance. His eye sockets unexpectedly caught a few raindrops from the sky, mixed with a hint of rouge color, slowly sweeping out misty moisture at the corners of his eyes.

He asked nothing of the past, calculated no consequences, could yield on everything else – except for the matter of leaving her.

Absolutely impossible.

The next day at dawn, after experiencing the sudden arrival and departure of crowds, Xiaonan Mountain returned to its usual tranquility. Streets and alleys, deep residences and old courtyards were empty of human figures. Even the Chaotian Restaurant that had been full of guests yesterday now had only a few remaining establishments.

With matters settled, people from the Demon Capital and Sacred Lands had mostly withdrawn. Large clans like Qiongqi and the Sui family had left for other places before dawn. Only Jiu Feng, Feng Shangyu, and a few people around Xue Yu remained.

Su You arrived early, carrying frost and dew as he stood by the apricot tree in the small courtyard. A few scattered petals had fallen on his lean shoulders, as if he wanted to become an unconscious ice sculpture.

Chao Hua stood not far from him, restlessly supporting her body on her left foot, then switching to her right foot after a short while. Her palm-sized delicate face was filled with chaotic unease. She raised her chin toward Su You and asked in a low voice: “Did Young Lady summon you inside during the night?”

Su You’s lashes suddenly moved. Pressing his knuckles, he shook his head.

“Say less later.” Chao Hua looked at him, then at Chou Li, reminding them kindly: “Every time Young Lady falls into this state, she particularly dislikes talking with others.”

Among the three, Chao Hua had followed Xue Yu the longest and knew the most. Su You slightly raised his shoulders, turning his head to ask: “Every time?”

“Just two or three times.” Chao Hua squinted at the clouds layering the sky, as if pulling back an invisible curtain and clearly glimpsing certain scenes from the past. “The one I remember most clearly was during the time when Lord Hou and the old sovereign passed away one after another. Young Lady was still Yedu’s Second Miss then. The day she learned the terrible news, the sovereign held her and said that from then on, she would have to start learning many things and shoulder heavy responsibilities.”

“At that time, Young Lady was also like now – not wanting to see anyone, not wanting to say anything. But it only took two or three days before she returned to normal and handled everything at hand excellently.”

Not long after Chao Hua finished speaking, Xue Yu and Jiu Feng came down the stairs one after the other.

Jiu Feng was as ostentatious as always, her hair ornaments piled with golden hairpins and hair combs, tassels falling gracefully and swaying back and forth with her movements. After several days of rest, her previously sickly appearance had become full again, her every frown and smile dazzlingly eye-catching.

In comparison, Xue Yu could only be described as plain and elegant. Her satin-like black hair was completely loose. Having applied no powder or rouge, her almond eyes contained smoke, her lips were naturally red without rouge – neither too thick nor too light, just the right touch. Standing beside Jiu Feng, her temperament was like a clear moon, unreachably noble.

Jiu Feng swayed her head full of pearls and jade ornaments, like a noble lady from the imperial palace. She walked before Su You, her eyes sweeping over him: “Your Young Lady will be taken away by me.”

Xue Yu ignored her subtle provocation. She looked up at the several people and said: “I’m following Jiu Feng to gather the spirit plants needed to prepare the Yu Qingdan antidote. You three go separately, mind the time, don’t go too far, and wait for my message.”

After speaking, she waved at the three. Her lustrous jade bracelet slid down halfway with the motion, revealing a section of pristine skin. Her features appeared clear and cold in the sunlight.

Indeed, she didn’t say a single extra word.

Chao Hua and Chou Li responded solemnly, while only Su You, his eyes containing deep, heavy ink colors, finally pressed his lips after a moment and said “alright” softly and slowly.

The three traveled together out of Xiaonan Mountain’s city gate, with Chou Li being the first to stop.

After experiencing a whole night of wind and rain, today finally quieted down, softly spreading a layer of fine, brilliant golden light across the sky. In such weather, even the cold atmosphere that had persisted all along seemed to ease somewhat.

“Yesterday, Young Lady summoned me into the room for a few words.” Chou Li looked at her two colleagues, her voice gentle and reserved: “Yu Qingdan is the most reliable and reassuring method of controlling Yedu’s subjects. Both the elixir and antidote belong to the category of absolute secrets. Usually only the current sovereign and young sovereign know the specific formula proportions, so we shouldn’t follow during the medicine gathering process.”

She looked toward Chao Hua: “Young Lady said you could visit Ningshui City, where there might be an opportunity for you.”

Chao Hua nodded.

Seeing this, Chou Li couldn’t help but look at Su You with some worry. Usually, he was the one Xue Yu valued most, yet now among the three, she and Chao Hua had both received Xue Yu’s guidance, while regarding him, there wasn’t a single word.

As if he had been completely forgotten.

Such a contrast was hard not to overthink.

Her thoughts were delicate. After working together for a period, she knew well that the person before her always presented himself as gentle as a breeze and bright moon, tender and sweet, but that was only limited to when he was in front of Xue Yu. His true thoughts were hidden deeply and strictly – definitely not as docile and pleasant as he appeared on the surface.

After saying what needed to be said, Chao Hua and Chou Li each headed toward their respective directions, one east, one west. Their figures were like brightly colored silk, blown forward by the wind, quickly disappearing from sight.

In front of the small, broken city gate, not far away was a simple checkpoint set up by the Demon Capital. Two or three heavy, clumsy wooden barriers were distributed haphazardly, as if they had been heavily impacted by a dispersing crowd and were maintaining their final form under great strain.

Su You stood in place, his thick lashes distinct and drooping in varying depths, remaining motionless for a long time.

He thought about Chou Li’s two implicit, deeply meaningful sentences, almost able to completely and thoroughly guess Xue Yu’s meaning without omission.

—Yu Qingdan was already resolved. Opportunities in the secret realm were individual matters. If he truly had ulterior purposes, he could leave now, and considering their past relationship, she would let bygones be bygones.

Time seemed to flow backward, circling back to a hundred years ago. At that time, he had finally lost hope in the Xuan family, feeling his debt of gratitude was repaid, so he resolutely stepped forward into the vast, prosperous world. After various ups and downs, he finally had the ability to establish himself.

At that time, he thought that from then on, with heaven and earth so vast, he could come and go freely in the mortal world.

But when he truly reached the crossroads of parting, only then did he feel so directly and clearly that all that enviable, stirring freedom was an illusion.

He was trapped between ice mountains and flames, drawing his own prison, with no path forward at all.

Su You remained silent for a long while, then removed the spirit talisman he carried. His fingers were very cold, each straight and slender. When pinching the spirit talisman, fine veins emerged, like the vivid, crisscrossing patterns on leaf surfaces.

After a while, the spirit talisman flickered, and from the other side came Shen Jingshi’s somewhat surprised voice: “Su You?”

Su You responded low and softly: “It’s me.”

“It really is you.” Shen Jingshi laughed: “I thought I misread the name.”

“What’s wrong? Looking for me about something?”

“A small matter.” Su You gazed straight ahead. The morning sun finally broke through the clouds, swaying and spreading across the horizon like someone generously scattering a handful of brilliant gold across the mortal world. In such tranquil scenery, he slowly spoke: “I heard that the Thousand Vine Bind from the Northern Wasteland is in your possession.”

“Yes, but only three remain.” It was indeed a small matter. Shen Jingshi didn’t deny it. He understood the intention immediately and even asked with considerable interest: “Those who can enter Feiyun Peak are all decent prospects. How could you need such a thing?”

Su You rubbed his fingertips, calmly fabricating a highly credible lie: “Regarding Jiu Feng’s matter a few days ago, we found some clues. The person won’t tell the truth and keeps thinking of escaping, so I thought to borrow a Thousand Vine Bind from you to use.”

“So it’s about that matter.”

“Since you’ve asked, naturally I must lend it.” Shen Jingshi had no suspicions. When it came to the actual exchange, he explained all the necessary words and reminders very clearly: “However, I’ll say this upfront – Thousand Vine Bind isn’t as precious as your Yedu’s Yu Qingdan, but it’s extremely domineering. Not only can it instantly determine the life and death of the bound person, but if the holder has significant emotional fluctuations, they might also be affected, and it’s extremely difficult to release. If you want to use it, exercise caution.”

“I understand.”

“Alright then.” Shen Jingshi gave his location and laughed again: “We happen to have a Heaven-grade Spirit Array Master’s ascension site here. I heard there are several spirit array diagrams inside. You could fight for them on behalf of Yedu’s sovereign.”

Time passed swiftly, sun rising and moon setting. Over ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, Xue Yu’s group identified various poisons and spirit medicines in the continuous mountain ranges outside Xiaonan Mountain. The days remained unchanged, falling into a kind of repetitive tedium.

Jiu Feng had neither too many nor too few people with her. This young lady had grown tired of familiar faces in the Demon Capital. This time, rarely traveling with Xue Yu and occupying the home advantage, she unconsciously talked more.

“Why didn’t you bring that little Young Master of yours this time?” One morning, Jiu Feng played with a golden fan, leisurely covering half her face and asking with a trace of smile: “Every time I meet you, I see you two inseparable. What happened? Tired of him?”

What a thing to say.

Feng Shangyu pressed his hand to his forehead: “Chu Yaoxiang, be proper.”

“Where did I speak wrongly?” Jiu Feng’s eyes rolled in a circle as she argued convincingly: “All things have a heart for beauty, and preferring the new over the old is also natural. This isn’t a big deal at all.”

“Preferring the new over the old?” Feng Shangyu displeasedly pulled her hand over, pressing her knuckles: “All day long, can’t you think of something good?”

The small hills were covered with dense flowers and grass reaching mid-height, occasionally interspersed with small, delicate trees. Xue Yu bent down to push aside a clump of thorns growing crosswise. Before she could straighten up, she heard Jiu Feng’s emphatic words.

Her movements imperceptibly paused.

Chao Hua was right – every time she encountered something that made her waver or was difficult to accept, Xue Yu would unconsciously find a quiet corner, sorting through things again and again until they were straight and smooth before coming out.

She wasn’t accustomed to facing familiar people’s probing attempts at nonchalance, their concern and comfort.

“It’s nothing.” Xue Yu weighed the medicinal herbs in her hand, then cut several more plants at the waist and placed them in the grass basket held by Jiu Feng’s attendant.

Jiu Feng pursed her lips, listlessly playing with the herb leaves: “Don’t tell me it’s about personally taking action to keep the formula from being exposed. Whether your commanders believe it, I don’t know, but I don’t.”

“We’ve met before. If you have something to say, just say it directly.” She hugged her arms and rubbed them, muttering: “You being like this makes me feel quite embarrassed.”

“There is indeed something to ask you.” Xue Yu turned around, her previous coldness changing to frank seriousness. Her peripheral vision traced Jiu Feng’s beautiful contours as her lips parted: “All demon clans must rely on bloodline power. Those with thin, impure bloodlines often achieve little. How many demon clans does this represent?”

“Almost all of them.” Jiu Feng had no hesitation about this question, answering quickly and smoothly: “Actually, since you’re managing Yedu now, you understand this somewhat. Let me put it differently.”

“Demon clan bloodlines are equivalent to human clan spiritual meridians and comprehension. Look at Kunlun and other sects that have been passed down from ancient times – when they choose disciples, they often want those with high talent, good foundations, and excellent comprehension. It’s not that diligence can make up for lack of talent or that steady accumulation doesn’t exist, but compared to the former, the latter find it too difficult to stand out. They often need thousands of years of daily bitter practice and unwavering, rock-solid dao hearts. This alone is enough to screen out over ninety percent of people.”

“Demon clans with thin bloodline power can achieve something through various opportunities over tens of thousands of years, and might even surpass all the prodigies of their generation. But among the younger generation, the outstanding ones are definitely demon clans with pure bloodline abilities.”

Xue Yu understood these principles. She remained silent, and only after a long time asked her second question: “If one is a great demon, they would awaken ancestral memories shortly after their growth period. Is this true or false?”

“Supposedly, yes.”

After two consecutive questions, Jiu Feng gradually understood who she was asking about. She shook the bell on her wrist, producing tinkling sounds, answering quite conscientiously: “This depends on the race. Like Qiongqi, they awaken early – they don’t even need to wait until maturity to awaken. But the Jiu Feng clan is very slow in this regard. I still haven’t awakened such a thing.”

Seeing Xue Yu’s slightly surprised expression, Jiu Feng couldn’t help but laugh: “What’s strange about this? Ancestral memories aren’t anything special – just some vague fragments that at most tell you what race you are and explain some racial talents and how to use them. Adults can teach these things – there’s no need to rely on ancestral memories.”

Su You had no father or mother, stumbling along all the way with no one to teach him.

He firmly believed himself to be a demon-ghost. During his growth period, he dared to act so recklessly, taking risks. If he hadn’t awakened ancestral memories, even if he had some awareness or suspicion, he had nowhere to verify it.

“What? So you’ve been so dejected this whole time because of Su You?” Jiu Feng laughed and shook her fan, seeming quite puzzled: “He’s not of your kind to begin with. If you’re suspicious, just investigate thoroughly. If problems are found, punish according to the situation. If no problems are found but you still can’t feel at ease, simply dismiss and expel him.”

“Trust those you employ, don’t employ those you don’t trust – we should both understand this principle.”

Xue Yu stood silently for a long while.

Jiu Feng made sense, and this was also the most correct approach. But even though Song Heng’s betrayal was still vivid in memory, even though she clearly knew Yedu couldn’t bear another unexpected disaster, she kept remembering that day when he uncontrollably half-knelt on the ground, presenting a potentially fatal vulnerability to her with that obedient and innocent appearance.

She actually trusted him.

Trusted that he wasn’t like Song Heng, much less would become Song Heng.

“Actually, in my opinion, Su You’s identity does have suspicious points.” Jiu Feng thought of his rate of progress: “Ten years ago in Suzhou City, I already noticed something wrong. Those wings of his are indeed beautiful. You probably don’t know – for those of us who fly in the sky, the magnificence of wings often determines the strength of the race. But strangely, I’ve never seen a race with this kind of wings.”

“Speaking of winged ones.” Jiu Feng painfully hissed: “The Sui family is such a huge headache. I originally thought Su You might be their lost child, but comparing him with Sui Jinyu, I found they’re still different – the patterns and colors are at two extremes.”

“With such vast heaven and earth, high mountains and distant waters, where am I supposed to find a cub lost two hundred years ago?”

Mountain wind blew through the treetops. The flowers and grass on the small hills all bent in one direction, as if pressed into an amazing arc by someone, and a clear fragrance rushed toward them.

Xue Yu pressed her brow and suddenly said: “Perhaps I’m being too suspicious.”

She was in the situation, unable to see clearly. She had been too affected by Song Heng’s influence.

On the day Xuanji absorbed blood energy, she had seen Su You’s memories completely and clearly. Everything he had done in Yedu, she had seen with her own eyes.

There was nothing to suspect.

She was just unable to afford the gamble, and couldn’t use Yedu as a stake to completely trust one person.

“If you truly can’t let it go but are reluctant to do anything to him, just let him leave. He can go wherever he wants – he’d be happy too. A solution that benefits both sides, how about it?” Jiu Feng clicked her tongue and said.

Xue Yu lowered her chin as if some secret matter in her heart had been touched, and after a moment, pressed the corner of her eye.

All these days, struggling with herself, she actually just couldn’t understand herself.

—Let him go.

From then on, with high mountains and distant roads, they might never meet again.

It seemed she was also somewhat unwilling.

Just then, the spirit talisman at Xue Yu’s waist ignited one after another. She picked it up and looked, then extended her index finger to touch it.

From the other side of the spirit talisman came Shan Shu’s gentle, water-like voice: “A Yu.”

“It’s me.” Xue Yu bent down, using her finger as a blade to cut the stem of a spirit medicine. Just as she was about to rise and put it in the medicine basket, she heard thunderous clamor from the spirit talisman side. She frowned slightly, and before she could ask about the matter, she heard Shan Shu speak first: “That Cangsheng Array Diagram – do you want it?”

Cangsheng Array Diagram.

Xue Yu’s expression condensed slightly. She said: “I have the upper formation of this incomplete diagram, but haven’t had the chance to obtain the lower formation. What’s wrong?”

“No wonder.” Shan Shu seemed to laugh helplessly, saying softly: “We’re in Ningshui City. Over ten days ago, a Heaven-grade Spirit Array Master’s ascension site was discovered in the city, containing several array diagrams and some of the Spirit Array Master’s lifetime insights.”

“Among them is this Cangsheng Array Diagram’s lower formation. Your Young Master happened to arrive here too. After seeing the characters marked on the array diagram, he entered the formation alone.”

Xue Yu’s palm holding the spirit medicine slightly tightened. She frowned, thinking she had misheard, and asked: “What?”

“Really reckless.” Shan Shu sighed lowly: “I know your rules – only Spirit Array Masters can enter formations designed by Spirit Array Masters to test successors. If a sword cultivator enters by mistake, it will be considered provocation, triggering suppression and killing backlash.”

“What I need to tell you is that Su You has been inside for over ten days. Just now he triggered spiritual power waves, as if he’s about to succeed.”

“However, the situation isn’t good – he’s quite seriously injured.”

Xue Yu’s intertwined fingers unconsciously curled. She closed her eyes and took a breath. After calming down, she said: “Shan Shu, please watch over him for me. I’ll come right away.”

“Alright.”