The silent night was shattered.

The sound of bells made the rain outside the window seem especially lingering.

The young man stood among the layers of lamplight, and Zanxing’s gaze fell on the azure bell at his waist.

As if noticing Zanxing’s gaze, he fell silent for a moment, then took the Jiexin Bell from his waist.

This bell had once broken at the Five Wheel Pagoda, and its body was now covered with cracks up and down. Last night, he had spent most of the night repairing it with dragon saliva glue, but still couldn’t restore it to its former flawless appearance.

And now, this crack-covered azure bell lay in Gu Baiying’s palm. Outside the window, the night rain fell gently, a bit of cold wind entered from outside, disturbing the bell into light, crisp sounds, one after another, pleasant and moving.

“You…”

“Did you hear what it said?” Gu Baiying said.

Zanxing stared into his eyes: “What did it say?”

The young man stepped forward, lowering his head to look at her, his eyes surging like turbulent tides: “It said it likes you.”

Zanxing was stunned.

Gu Baiying spoke calmly: “So do I.”

The bell sounds grew more urgent. The rainwater fell like lingering silk threads, drip-drop pattering against the stone slabs. The dim lamplight in the hall made the spacious great hall seem like candlelight and flower shadows, the night hazy and indistinct.

The young man’s figure was tall and straight, his features clean and bright. The dimmer the lamplight, the more it made his bright-colored hair ribbon and the crimson wild goose patterns on his robes appear even more vivid.

And he was bright and spirited, like his beautiful embroidered bone spear, full of vigor and resonance. Only now, he had restrained all his sharpness, like this continuous night rain in Heishi City, suppressing invisible thoughts in his heart.

After her initial daze, Zanxing slowly began to smile. She walked two steps toward Gu Baiying: “I…”

Gu Baiying stepped back, avoiding her hand.

Zanxing was slightly stunned.

Gu Baiying raised his eyes to look at her.

He had already seen Zanxing at Yuemo Mountain, but it seemed only now did he have the opportunity to truly examine the person before him carefully. She seemed no different from two years ago, yet completely different.

The woman’s face no longer bore the scar left by “Yu.” In the past two years, people had often commented on her appearance because of that scar, and she seemed to care about it very much. But Gu Baiying had never actually thought there was anything wrong with it. From the beginning, he had never found that scar ugly.

Perhaps he had never truly disliked Yang Zanxing.

She stood right before him, wearing a deep green robe with exquisite silver Four Divine Beast patterns that gleamed faintly in the lamplight. Her expression was gentle yet proud, vibrant yet serene. The gaze she directed at him was confused, but the corners of her lips carried a familiar smile, just like the days traveling together on Gufeng Mountain…

The sound of the Jiexin Bell grew even clearer.

Gu Baiying looked away and said flatly: “Yang Zanxing, this is as far as I can go.”

Zanxing didn’t understand: “What?”

She took two more steps forward. The wind blew past, and he seemed able to smell the light fragrance from her hair. Their shadows falling in the hall were intimately close yet dangerous, and he couldn’t take another step forward.

“I won’t stay.” He secretly clenched his fists and spoke calmly.

Zanxing was even more confused.

Gu Baiying remained silent. Jin Feicui had once laughingly told him: A lifetime is very long, young man. You’ll encounter all kinds of people. In the future, you’ll understand that so-called romantic love and dao companions are nothing special.

He lowered his eyes. A lifetime was indeed very long, but the Jiexin Bell would only ring for one person, and he would only be moved by one person.

“Gu Baiying?” Yang Zanxing’s voice reached his ears. She stood before him with a doubtful expression.

The young man was silent for a moment before speaking calmly: “You are the first person I’ve liked, and I never thought about liking someone else in the future. But,” he lowered his head to look at Zanxing, his eyes holding an unprecedented seriousness, “humans and demons are different, and you and I are different. You can like many people at the same time, but I cannot.”

“What?”

“Yang Zanxing, I cannot share affection with others.”

The vermilion wild geese about to take flight on his cloud-brocade robe became thick, colored mist in the lamplight, like shattered tears.

Zanxing suddenly understood something and spoke: “Did you see those people in my hall and think they are my beloved consorts?”

“Aren’t they?”

Zanxing smiled: “If I said they were, what would you do?”

The young man lowered his head, staring into her eyes as if to engrave her current expression in his heart. Then he spoke faintly and calmly: “I, Gu Baiying, will only have one person in my lifetime. If we cannot become each other’s only dao companion, then let us never see each other again until death.”

“Never see each other again until death?”

His jaw was tense, his voice also stiff: “Because I don’t want to see you living harmoniously with seven beloved consorts. If I cannot be your only dao companion, then let’s never meet again.”

He was quite forthright. Zanxing suppressed her laughter and tilted her head to look at him: “So heartless? If we can’t be dao companions, we can be friends.”

“No need. I don’t lack friends.” Gu Baiying interrupted her words.

Zanxing fell silent.

He paused for a moment, untied the Qiankun Bag from his waist, and threw it into Zanxing’s arms: “This is for you.”

Zanxing caught the bag: “What is this?”

“Pills and spiritual herbs from Gufeng Mountain. You were injured in the Five Wheel Pagoda before, so take these to recover.” He said, “Doesn’t Heishi City have anything?” He held back for a moment, but finally couldn’t restrain himself and spoke with some impatience: “How do you live your life, becoming so thin?”

Zanxing weighed the bag in her hands. The Qiankun Bag was quite heavy. When she was at Gufeng Mountain, Zanxing already knew that Gu Baiying was wealthy, able to casually pull out several thousand spirit stones from his bag. The sect pampered him, so he would never lack spiritual artifacts and magical treasures.

She smiled: “You’re already planning to never see me again until death, so why send me so many things? I’ve made you sad, yet you’re still spending money on me – wouldn’t that be a loss?”

Gu Baiying’s expression stiffened. Soon, he snorted: “What sadness? The fact that I like you originally had nothing to do with you anyway. Stop being so narcissistic.”

He seemed to think of something else, glanced at Zanxing, slightly raised his chin, and said casually: “Yang Zanxing, you don’t need to pity me. You know that I’m excellent – I don’t lack people who like me. Besides, I’m the one unwilling to enter the Chaos Hall to be your eighth male consort. I’m the one who rejected you.”

He was as arrogant as before, seeming not to take anything to heart with his usual brazenness, yet when he turned around, his eyes dimmed, and his lowered eyelashes were like butterflies dampened by rain, hiding some embarrassment.

“I’m leaving.” The young man looked away and turned to leave.

A hand grabbed his arm.

Zanxing’s voice, filled with laughter, came from behind him. She said, “Gu Baiying, is this how you confess to people? Confessing and breaking up right away?”

He restrained his impulse to turn around and spoke calmly: “Yang Zanxing, I already said I won’t be your…”

“What if I said those seven are just people who attend to my daily needs in the Chaos Hall?”

“What if I said I like you too?”

In the night rain, her voice was like an unbreakable curse, wrapping around the young man’s heart.

“Gu Baiying, do you still want to never see me again until death?”