Shen Ao cried out hoarsely but was too late to stop Ge Chong’s final strike. Ge Chong laughed wildly as he brought his fist down over Xue Ling’er’s head. At this critical moment, a hand suddenly appeared out of nowhere, swiftly rescuing Xue Ling’er from beneath Ge Chong’s fist. A voice said coldly: “Ge Chong, you seem to have forgotten there’s still one living person here.”
The voice came from Li Si. It was also Li Si who reached out to rescue Xue Ling’er.
Ge Chong fell to the ground, strange moaning sounds coming from his throat. His head tilted to the side, and there was no more sound.
Xue Ling’er was tossed into mid-air by Li Si, frightening her into screaming in panic. A door suddenly appeared in mid-air. Shen Ao emerged from the door and caught Xue Ling’er in his arms. Looking at her, he said gently: “It’s alright, everything is over.”
Xue Ling’er also gradually calmed down, repeating Shen Ao’s words, saying: “Yes, everything should be over.”
Black accompanied by red fell down. Large patches of blood splattered out. Li Si stared in confusion at everything before his eyes. In Shen Ao’s embrace, Xue Ling’er lay quietly like an infant. In her hand she tightly grasped a short blade. The sharp blade had already pierced into Shen Ao’s chest.
Fresh blood flowed in great quantities from the corners of Shen Ao’s mouth. He shook his head, murmuring: “Why? Why is it like this?”
Shen Ao lost his strength. Xue Ling’er lightly jumped down from his body, smiling gently and saying: “There is no why. Everything is only your own fault—you trust others too easily. Just as you were deceived by Ge Chong many years ago, many years later, today at this very moment, you still haven’t escaped his lies.”
“Lies?” Shen Ao looked at Xue Ling’er.
“As you said, everything should be over. I want to tell you the truth. Actually, there is no such person as Xue Ling’er in this world. There is only a Xue Yan, and I am Xue Yan.”
“Yan’er, you are Yan’er?”
“That’s right, I am your Yan’er. I just didn’t expect you would be foolish to this extent. Twenty years ago, the reason I appeared before you wasn’t at all because I was being pursued by evil people, but for the secret of Mo Lian that you guarded. However, we worried you would rather die than hand over this secret, so I appeared before you. Using your love, after obtaining the Mo Lian secret treasure, it was also I who sent people to kill you, yet you managed to survive by luck.” Xue Ling’er—no, Xue Yan’s voice was moving, but the content she spoke was cold as ice stone. “This time when Nan Jian and Zhan Xin died one after another, I knew you were seeking revenge. So Ge Chong and I designed this plan. I appeared in the identity of Xue Ling’er in order to deliver you a fatal blow when you were unprepared and caught off guard. This is everything, Shen Ao. You can close your eyes in peace.”
“But your appearance… is exactly the same as twenty years ago…”
“Like your black door secret arts, Ge Chong’s Shattering Fist, Nan Jian’s Flying Swallow Sword, and Zhan Xin’s Life-Death Eye—this is also a secret art I obtained from the Mo Lian ruins, the art of eternal youth! How about it, is there anything else you want to know?” Xue Yan laughed lightly, her laughter like needles stabbing into Shen Ao’s heart.
Various emotions flashed through Shen Ao’s gaze—anger, agitation, regret, grief—all kinds of feelings. Finally, all these emotions vanished without a trace in his gaze toward Xue Yan. Shen Ao just looked at Xue Yan like this, like this, and said: “Are you truly my Yan’er?”
Xue Yan nodded: “Yes.”
Shen Ao smiled. His smile was clear. He suddenly grasped Xue Yan’s hand. Xue Yan’s other empty hand thrust the dagger in Shen Ao’s chest even deeper. The blood from Shen Ao’s chest flowed faster and more profusely, but he didn’t care at all. He only looked at Xue Yan and said: “Yan’er, I just want to hear you say one sentence. Can you?”
“What sentence?”
“I… have returned.”
Xue Yan’s body trembled. She stared blankly at this man who had loved her for twenty years. She parted her crimson lips lightly and said: “I… have… returned…”
Twenty years. Twenty years of waiting, twenty years of obsession and resentment, twenty years of longing for you in dreams—all of it merely to wait for such a brief sentence. Even if we missed each other, even if we can never be together, even if life and death separate us into vast unknowns, it is enough!
Shen Ao coughed up fresh blood. He said softly: “Mo Lian, Mo Lian! Yan’er, do you know what Mo Lian truly means?”
Xue Yan shook her head.
“Ancient Sanskrit: Mo Lian—Mo means without cause and without effect, Lian means realm of calm waves. The meaning of Mo Lian is the gate without consequence—no love, no hate, no keeping, no returning, no cause and no effect. This is the true essence of Mo Lian. Yan’er, I don’t blame you… don’t blame you…”
Xue Yan’s gaze became strangely entranced. She murmured in a low voice: “I’m sorry to you.”
Xue Yan avoided Shen Ao’s eyes. Suddenly behind her came a ghostly shout. Ge Chong, his face covered in blood, propped up half his body, pulled the dagger from his chest and flung it over, stabbing directly toward the space between Shen Ao’s brows. Shen Ao’s body swayed, his smile gradually stiffening, as he said: “I have no regrets!”
With a muffled “pff!” a slender body, at the instant the dagger was about to pierce between Shen Ao’s brows, threw herself forward without hesitation, then lay sideways in Shen Ao’s embrace. Blood flowed from her throat. She said: “This is what I owed you. Actually, I know I was wrong, but I can no longer go back, can’t go back… If there were truly a chance, I really wish I could return to Yingxue Town once more… return to when I first met you…”
Xue Yan’s final words remained by Shen Ao’s ear. Shen Ao held her and roared to the heavens! But in the end, there was no way to reverse fate. The two fell together. At the instant they hit the ground, Shen Ao’s mask finally fell off. Li Si looked in shock at the face beneath the mask—it was actually Feng Cheng!
Shen Ao was Feng Cheng?!
Ge Chong had already perished, and where Shen Ao and Xue Yan’s bodies fell, a pitch-black door slowly opened. The stone chamber began to collapse. Li Si glanced at the black hole and jumped down without hesitation.
Time seemed to pass for a long while. Li Si awakened and opened his eyes to see Xuan Yuanshan’s anxious face. When Xuan Yuanshan saw Li Si wake, he finally said with relief: “You’ve finally awakened. After you jumped out from the tree door, you’ve been unconscious for a day and a night. So, what exactly happened inside the door?”
Li Si paused and said: “Ge Chong and Xue Ling’er are dead, and the murderer was Feng Cheng.”
“Feng Cheng?” Xuan Yuanshan found it unexpected.
“Do you have any findings?” Li Si asked in return.
Xuan Yuanshan produced a black bundle from behind him, saying: “It’s all here.”
Li Si opened the black bundle. Inside were a piece of paper, a fan painting, and a silver needle.