They had found a way out, but the red light that could lead them there had vanished. With no other choice, the two sat by the lake’s edge, gazing at the sky while waiting for the red light to appear again.
A warm breeze blew gently, making Er Sheng drowsy. Her head began to nod, slowly tilting toward Chang Yuan. Chang Yuan had been frowning while observing the two red orbs of light in the lake, his expression deep in thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Er Sheng closing her eyes and starting to drift off. After quickly gauging the distance between them, he subtly shifted closer to her.
Er Sheng’s head came to rest perfectly on his shoulder.
The soft black strands of her hair fell against his neck, causing his heart to soften along with them. Chang Yuan gently tilted his head toward Er Sheng’s, nuzzling against the top of her head. Though he didn’t smile, his eyes were filled with contentment. Like a child who had stolen candy, he delighted in this moment of peace. Even if all the white flower petals floating past them turned to ash, he would still find this scene beautiful.
Chang Yuan thought to himself that even if they couldn’t traverse thousands of miles or see all the world had to offer, being able to protect this piece of heart’s tranquility wasn’t so bad…
Just then, Er Sheng’s lips moved as she mumbled unclearly: “Meat…” She smacked her lips as if savoring something.
Chang Yuan gazed silently into the distance for a moment, then wiped his fingers and placed them near Er Sheng’s mouth. When her pursed lips touched Chang Yuan’s fingertip, she unhesitatingly took it into her mouth, tasting it with childlike enjoyment.
Seeing that she was sleeping soundly, Chang Yuan didn’t withdraw his hand, allowing Er Sheng to alternately lick and nibble at it.
He thought it wouldn’t be bad to sit like this with Er Sheng forever. If she was hungry, he would feed her.
The warm breeze continued to blow for an unknown time until suddenly, the two red orbs in the lake flashed. Two beams of red light shot out from the spheres, converging in the air before stretching into the sky.
Chang Yuan’s gaze lingered on the black half of the lake for a moment, as if coming to some decision. After a soft sigh, he finally shook Er Sheng’s head to wake her: “We should go.”
Er Sheng sat up straight, still half-asleep. Rubbing her eyes, she asked, “Are we going to school or hunting demons?” Before she finished speaking, she suddenly realized, “Wait, has the red light appeared? Let’s go, quickly! It might disappear again!”
“Don’t be rash.” Chang Yuan held Er Sheng back. “We don’t know where following that light will lead us. Let me investigate first.”
Er Sheng scratched her head: “Even if there are mountains of blades and seas of fire out there, we have to go. It’s better than being trapped here forever.”
Chang Yuan shook his head helplessly: “Your reckless nature is just like Si Ming’s…”
“Who’s like her!” Er Sheng bristled at these words, grabbing Chang Yuan’s collar with a look that suggested she might hit him. “I said I won’t let her join our sect! How am I anything like her? You can’t marry anyone but me.”
Chang Yuan immediately agreed solemnly: “I won’t marry anyone else.”
Only then did Er Sheng release Chang Yuan, smoothing his collar as she said, “Though I used to always hear Wu Fang’s female disciples say all men are liars, I believe Chang Yuan isn’t like ordinary men. You definitely won’t lie to me.”
Chang Yuan nodded seriously, then said: “Wait here, let me check the red light first.”
“Is it dangerous?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll wait here for you.”
Chang Yuan leaped up, heading straight for the beam of light.
Er Sheng obediently sat by the lake waiting for Chang Yuan’s return. After watching the white lake water for a while and seeing no reflection of the Desolate City, she shifted her gaze to the black lake water. Chang Yuan had said this water was connected to the Wan Tian Prison.
The Wan Tian Prison, was the place where dragons were imprisoned.
Er Sheng peered intently into the lake, but aside from darkness, she could see nothing. She wondered if this was the environment Chang Yuan had lived in for tens of thousands of years. How lonely it must have been…
Yes, it must have been extremely lonely.
The androgynous voice spoke again in her heart, startling Er Sheng before she quickly regained her composure. People tend to become accustomed to repeated shocks. She touched her steadily beating heart and calmly said: “You said you would only exist in my heart.”
“Correct,” the entity replied. “Er Sheng, what you’re hearing now is your heart’s voice.”
“Heart’s voice?”
“Yes. Chang Yuan stayed alone in the Wan Tian Prison for tens of thousands of years. That place is pitch black and empty, more silent than death itself. Any ordinary person would have gone mad long ago. After all, who would still believe they were alive in such a place?”
Er Sheng suddenly remembered her childhood, the period just after her parents died. She had curled up alone in her room, crying until her eyes were swollen, hungry, and surrounded by cold emptiness. As she stared at the black lake’s surface, imagining Chang Yuan in his great black dragon form, curled up alone in the darkness, her heart suddenly clenched. She murmured to herself: “He must have cried secretly when he was young too…”
“Based on nothing but an empty prophecy, the gods declared that the world would be destroyed by dragon claws. Thus, the ancient divine dragons were cruelly punished by heaven and their clan was exterminated, with the remaining bloodline imprisoned forever in the Wan Tian Prison. Er Sheng, don’t you think this is unfair to Chang Yuan?”
Er Sheng remembered seeing the dragon pillars that had nearly pierced into the heavenly palace at Long Valley long ago, and Chang Yuan’s cold words: “Heaven’s punishment must be endured, whether guilty or not.” Even now, remembering that expression made her want to hold and comfort him.
“Thankfully, Chang Yuan has escaped from there…”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” the entity said with a strange laugh. “Eternal imprisonment in the Wan Tian Prison is heaven’s punishment. When the gods in the Nine Heavens grow bored, they will eventually send someone to capture him and take him back. As long as Chang Yuan remains a divine dragon and the Wan Tian Prison exists, his life will never be free of hardship, nor will he ever know peace.”
Er Sheng’s face paled as anger rose in her heart: “But Chang Yuan has been imprisoned for so many years. Even if he was guilty, surely his sentence should be complete by now. Besides, he never did anything wrong in the first place!”
“Chang Yuan is indeed innocent. It’s destiny that’s wrong.” The androgynous voice suddenly became sharp, then after a moment, let out several strange laughs before continuing, “Er Sheng, if you could save Chang Yuan and ensure his future freedom, would you do everything in your power to help him?”
“That’s a stupid question.”
“Hee hee, now the opportunity has arrived. Chang Yuan cannot change his identity as a divine dragon, but if the Wan Tian Prison were to disappear, there would be no place to imprison him, then…”
The meaning was clear before the words were finished. Er Sheng’s eyes brightened. The entity, living in Er Sheng’s heart, naturally knew her thoughts and laughed with delight: “This place is the formation eye of both the Infinite Desolate City and the Wan Tian Prison. For any maze formation, when the formation eye is broken, the maze must break, even formations naturally formed by heaven and earth are no exception. Er Sheng, these two formation eyes are within reach. Look at those red orbs in the lake—break them, and the Wan Tian Prison will cease to exist. Then you and your Chang Yuan can live peacefully ever after.”
Destroy them… Er Sheng was initially hesitant, but that androgynous voice kept screaming in her heart, growing increasingly shrill. Unconsciously, a hint of killing intent appeared in her eyes. Yes, she thought, Chang Yuan shouldn’t be imprisoned there. Someone as gentle and kind as him had been wrongfully imprisoned for so many years; he deserved freedom now.
She took two steps forward, gathering spiritual energy in her palm.
The entity spoke again: “Your current spiritual energy alone isn’t enough to break the formation eye. Fortunately, the bell in your hand is a spiritual artifact that guards the gate of the Wan Tian Prison. It resonates with its essence. If you channel your spiritual energy into this bell and strike with it, the formation eye will surely break.”
Er Sheng followed its instructions. She gathered her energy and leaped above the orb of light in the lake, then channeled all her spiritual energy into the bell. The sharp voice screamed in her chest: “Let me lend you my strength!”
As soon as these words were spoken, Er Sheng felt heavy energy forcefully surge into her meridians, mixing with her spiritual energy and following her circulation through every channel in her body. Her chest began to hurt as if being torn apart, causing her to grunt in pain.
The entity continued its strange laughter in her mind: “Just think, with this strike, Chang Yuan will never again suffer this imprisonment.”
Er Sheng gritted her teeth and endured, allowing the explosive pain in her chest to continue. She concentrated all her power into her right hand, then forcefully channeled it into the silver-white bell. As spiritual energy poured in, the bell’s color grew increasingly dark.
“Strike!”
Er Sheng shouted, aiming at the red orb.
“Bang!” A tremendous sound rang out as mist rose from the black lake’s surface.
After a moment, the mist dispersed. The red light in the sky remained unchanged, and the two red orbs still floated perfectly intact on the lake’s surface, completely undamaged. But Er Sheng had vanished.
The white lake began to faintly reflect scenes from the Desolate City, showing Nu Yuan sitting beside Chang An, gently stroking his temples.
In the Infinite Desolate City, the ground trembled slightly. Some people felt the minor vibration, but after waiting a while and seeing nothing unusual happen, they dismissed it as their imagination and returned to their activities. For them, the biggest news currently was: First, the City Lord had saved someone named Chang An, who was a fallen immortal. Second, the fallen immortal Chang An had walked in from outside the city. Third, the City Lord and the fallen immortal Chang An had once been husband and wife. Any one of these three pieces of news would have been shocking enough for the people of the Desolate City, let alone all three happening simultaneously.
People discussed these matters endlessly, creating rare excitement below the city walls.
However, the commotion outside couldn’t disturb Nu Yuan, who was sitting beside Chang An, studying his features as if trying to determine whether he was real or fake, examining him with utmost care. When the ground trembled slightly, she suddenly came to her senses.
There should never be earthquakes in the Desolate City. Though the tremor seemed ordinary, it surely indicated something major had occurred. Having been City Lord for many years, rushing to the front when trouble arose had become almost habitual for her. She swept up her robes and was about to leave when her wrist was caught in a warm grip—the person lying on the bed had awakened without her noticing.
Nu Yuan froze, meeting his eyes, her mind going blank.
“A Wu.”
She remained silent for a long while before saying: “My name is Nu Yuan.”
“A Wu…” Faced with her coldness, Chang An’s voice dropped sadly. This call of “A Wu” sounded like a small animal whimpering, carrying a pitiful tone.
“Nu Yuan.” She pulled her hand away, her expression hard, her voice carrying an undeniable harshness.
Chang An stared at her intently. Nu Yuan lowered her eyes and pushed open the door to leave.
“A Wu.” Chang An called out, “I’ve come to take you back.”
The figure crossing the threshold stiffened. Her sleeves rose in the endless yellow sand that drifted through the Desolate City. Blood-red sleeves trembled as they danced in the wind.
Nu Yuan spoke softly: “For the third time, there’s no going back.”
As soon as these words fell, her red sleeves turned to yellow sand, mixing with the sand falling from the sky.
Chang An’s pupils constricted as he watched Nu Yuan’s figure slowly turn to sand under the pale light of the Desolate City. From her sleeves to her hands, then her entire arms and half her body, all transformed into yellow sand carried away by the wind.
Nu Yuan, with only half her face remaining, turned sideways against the light, her voice as cold as ever: “I am the Lord of the Desolate City. The yellow sand in the city is me, and I am the sand. I have long since merged with the city, inseparable.”
Chang An’s throat tightened as he heard her speak with cruel clarity: “I am Nu Yuan. A Wu died long ago.”