The soft sash flew backward like lightning, wrapping around the precious steed’s hind hooves and firmly anchoring it to the bridge. The horse neighed, its body instantly losing balance and swaying as if about to topple sideways.

Shen Qiyuan reacted extremely quickly, executing a sparrowhawk flip to land beside it, steadying the horse with one hand and slowly calming it down.

Ruyi dismounted behind him, the sash in her hand immediately coiling toward him.

He reached out to catch one end of the sash, forcing her into a standoff with her.

“I won’t let you pass.” Liu Ruyi’s pupils were slightly reddened with fury. “Today, you either kill me or retreat.”

“Ruyi.” Shen Qiyuan couldn’t help but sigh. “How could I ever kill you?”

He wouldn’t kill her, but now he refused to open his heart to her, even going so far as to become her enemy.

Ruyi glared at him fiercely.

The river water surged below the bridge, the wind making their hands bone-chillingly cold. After long contemplation, Shen Qiyuan finally explained: “I promised the emperor of Great Qian that there would be no warfare for ten years.”

“You only said there would be no warfare, but you didn’t say whether Great Qian should continue ceding territory to enemy nations.” She laughed coldly. “In your eyes, all beings are equal, so ceding a few cities is just giving people places to live, no different from anything else. But in the eyes of those who stake their lives defending their homeland, that represents a lifetime of blood and tears that can never fill the regret and shame carved onto tombstones.”

“What gives you the right to casually promise ten years without warfare just so you can complete your mission?”

Shen Qiyuan pressed his lips slightly: “War would kill even more people, leaving countless bones exposed in the wilderness, elders losing sons, children losing fathers, wives losing husbands. Compared to these, what are regret and shame worth mentioning?”

“Does Lord Shen believe that ceding cities can perpetually avoid war and preserve lives?” Ruyi mocked. “How strange then that Great Qian has already ceded seventeen cities in the north, yet villages are still being massacred. Now there’s still Huizhou to cede, but what about next time? And the time after that? Will it only end when we’re reduced to the nation of Lin’an?”

“Great Qian needs time to train troops. This war absolutely should not be fought now.”

“Someone said these exact words years ago, and then what? Our emperor seized the throne by leveraging military power to force abdication. Do you think he’d truly be willing to cultivate several more imposing generals to threaten himself?”

“Ruyi.” He lowered his eyes, his hands tightening slightly within his sleeves. “Are you debating with me for the sake of all living beings, or Wei Zijue?”

Ruyi was momentarily stunned.

The fierce aura around her body dissipated by more than half as she raised her hand to adjust the hairpin in her coiffure: “The facts are as they are. Why bring others into this?”

Shen Qiyuan looked up at her, the color draining from his lips by another shade: “If it were for all living beings, you should understand my intentions and stand shoulder to shoulder with me as before, sharing the same goal.”

But she didn’t. Not only did she fail to understand him, but she even opposed him.

Shen Qiyuan wanted to laugh but couldn’t, feeling only as if a stone hung from his heart, constantly pulling his entire being down into an icy river.

“Between him and me, you always seem to choose him first. It was so before, and it is so now.” He said, “Could you choose me just once?”

A large cloud drifted over, blocking the warm spring sun. The surroundings darkened, making her water-red dress appear even more brilliant and striking.

Ruyi stepped back.

She looked at the person before her, her brow relaxing then furrowing again: “You…”

The turbulent flow in the river made rushing sounds, carrying the fresh scent of mint leaves.

The two faced each other, and Ruyi studied him seriously for a long while before saying with feigned casualness: “You’ve remembered everything?”

The memory-less Shen Qiyuan had been confident and assured, never believing she would choose another. Only Shen Qiyuan with restored memories would say such words to her.

Shen Qiyuan lowered his head, essentially acknowledging it.

The already stiff atmosphere became even more awkward. Ruyi turned her head away, squinting slightly at the wine banners fluttering in the distant sky.

When he had lost his memory due to heavenly punishment, many matters had been left unresolved. Now that he remembered everything, she seemed to owe him an explanation.

Why had she forcibly rescued Yuncheng from the imperial prison, even at the cost of damaging his divine consciousness? Why, for Wei Zijue’s sake, could she disregard even him?

She considered her words and was about to speak when a sudden killing intent struck from behind.

“Demon, behold this talisman!”

Her earlier fury had been too intense, and she hadn’t concealed the demonic aura around her body. Lin’an was currently experiencing a peak period of demon-expelling practices, so such a large disturbance would naturally attract some Daoist cultivators with decent abilities.

The yellow talisman, infused with cinnabar, flew directly toward her back. Ruyi glanced at it and had just raised her hand when her waist tightened.

Shen Qiyuan had pulled her into his embrace, bringing her away from the talisman’s path.

She looked up at him in surprise, her eyes flickering with emotion.

The ground beneath their feet suddenly shook several times, jolting intermittently as if something were breaking through the earth.

Ruyi’s expression changed drastically. No longer caring about anything else, she grabbed Shen Qiyuan’s arm and hissed: “Quick, let’s go!”

Shen Qiyuan used the force from her arm to pull her back toward him.

He looked down at the trembling ground and said softly: “How could I have reason to flee?”

Conflicts between Lin’an’s Daoist cultivators and demons had occurred extremely frequently in the past two months. There had already been rumors that even the Demon King of the Ten Thousand Demons’ Den had been forced into the world. Now that he was about to reveal himself, Shen Qiyuan naturally had to protect these cultivators’ lives.

The ground shook more violently, startling birds and domestic animals into scattered flight. The thick demonic aura attracted nearby Daoist cultivators, while simultaneously, more minor demons rushed toward this location, seeking the Demon King’s protection.

Amid the intense trembling, the hands they had been holding somehow came apart. Ruyi was driven step by step to the right side of Tonghe Bridge by the attacking yellow talismans, while Shen Qiyuan, protecting several cultivators beside him, slowly retreated to the left side of the bridge.

“Your talent far exceeding ordinary people and two thousand years of cultivation—was it all for avoiding those small yellow talismans?” Under the dark clouds, something stood behind her like a mountain, blocking out the sun and sky.

Panic filled Ruyi’s heart as she turned sideways and lowered her eyes: “Master.”

The enormous shadow loomed within the undispersing thick fog as the Demon King said disappointedly: “Your fellow demons are being driven away by these minions, which can be excused by insufficient cultivation. Your cultivation far surpasses all the Daoist cultivators in Lin’an City, so why didn’t you directly kill him just now to honor your fallen kin?”

Ruyi didn’t answer, only cutting her finger according to protocol.

The finest demon blood scattered like pearls, seized and devoured by the minor demons clustered around the Demon King.

She sensed Shen Qiyuan’s gaze falling on her back from across the way, shocked, disappointed, and tinged with disgust.

She paused, then nonchalantly withdrew her finger and pressed it to her lips.

Shen Qiyuan didn’t know what true demons looked like. He had only seen her twice after she became a demon. Once was in the ruins of her enemy nation’s capital city, where he had thrust a sword at her. The other time was in Zhushen Valley, where she had fought him like a normal person, showing no abnormalities except for her celestial energy becoming demonic energy.