Siming had run away from her wedding—on the day before she was to marry the Heavenly Emperor.
When this news spread, it stunned many immortals who had come to attend the wedding. Who would have thought someone would abandon the position of Heavenly Empress, that person was Star-Lord Siming, who was rumored to have always loved the Emperor! What puzzled the immortals even more was that, despite such a great insult, the Heavenly Emperor merely gave a calm order to postpone the wedding date, telling the various gods and buddhas to arrange their schedules, before returning to the Heavenly Palace and disappearing from view. He hadn’t even specified how long the postponement would be.
Siming had committed such a grave crime of deceiving the emperor that even being bound to the Execution Platform of Immortals and having her bones ground to dust wouldn’t be enough punishment—yet the Heavenly Emperor still wanted to marry her?
For a moment, the immortals felt as if the world had become unreal.
Gossipmongers sought information everywhere, watching the noblest ruler of the Heavenly Realm with excited curiosity. The typically cold and quiet Nine Heavens became somewhat restless.
Sansheng and Moxi received this news while preparing to attend the wedding feast. At the time, they had already walked halfway there when they met Star-Lord Wuqu returning on a different path. After hearing Wuqu’s account of events, Sansheng was stunned for a good while before suddenly clapping her hands and laughing loudly: “This is exactly what should happen! Let that arrogant Emperor who holds his butt so high suffer a bit!”
Wuqu broke into a cold sweat hearing this, fearing the palace attendants might overhear and they would face the Emperor’s punishment. He hastily made his excuses and fled after barely exchanging a few words, afraid Sansheng might say more shocking things.
Hearing this, Moxi slightly furrowed his brows. He thought, that if Siming had gone to the mortal realm, it must be because she remembered something. Given Siming’s temperament, she would try to save that divine dragon in the Ten Thousand Heavens Void. But to free the divine dragon, there was no other way than breaking open the Void. However, how could a heavenly barrier be destroyed by one person’s divine power alone… Suddenly realizing something, his expression became focused as he turned to ask Sansheng: “In that fate book you read before, what four characters did Siming write?”
Sansheng stroked her chin and thought for a moment: “Something like ‘Heaven Earth Dragon Return’…”
If one wanted heaven, earth, and dragon to return, surely no restraint in this world could bind the divine dragon…
Moxi’s expression darkened: “Siming wants to destroy the Ten Thousand Heavens Void.”
Sansheng’s joyful expression also changed slightly: “Destroying a heavenly barrier brings bad karma! It will invite heavenly punishment…”
Before she finished speaking, deep, sorrowful bell tolls suddenly rang out from the Nine Heavens above, resonating throughout the heavens, spreading far and wide, making all who heard it feel heartache. Those with weaker immortal power seemed to have their spirits captured, wanting only to prostrate themselves and kowtow.
Sansheng tightly gripped Moxi’s hand, feeling extremely uncomfortable. “Why do these bell tolls make me want to cry? Could this be the Donghuang Bell ringing? For whom would an ancient divine artifact toll the death knell?”
“Siming must have already destroyed the Ten Thousand Heavens Void,” Moxi said gravely. “The Void was formed when heaven and earth were first created. Although it became its domain, it has always been connected to the heavenly veins. The death of heaven and earth naturally causes all things to grieve.” He thought, while the Heavenly Emperor might forgive Siming for running away from the wedding and embarrassing him, now that she had greatly disrupted the order of heaven and earth, with the Emperor’s righteous temperament, he surely wouldn’t spare her. Before heavenly punishment could descend, the Emperor would likely deal with Siming personally.
Sansheng exclaimed in shock: “She went to save the divine dragon? But wasn’t her memory taken by the Heavenly Emperor…”
Moxi shook his head, saying he didn’t know, while his heart worried about another matter: “The remnants of the Demon Realm have been plotting something in secret lately. With the Ten Thousand Heavens Void destroyed, the world’s vital energy will surely be affected. They might seize this opportunity to cause trouble…”
Sansheng’s fingers trembled slightly—she feared most when Moxi mentioned the word “war.” Although some things had passed, those emotions remained imprinted in her mind, impossible to dispel, becoming nightmares that would occasionally emerge to frighten her.
Noticing his wife’s unease, Moxi soothingly patted her head and smiled: “It’s fine, it’s just speculation.”
But Sansheng, unusually serious, stared at him intently and said solemnly: “Moxi, I used to always think that wherever you go, I go, wherever you are, I am. But now, I can’t go with you anymore.” She grabbed Moxi’s hand and placed it on her belly. “Now you’re no longer just you, and I’m no longer just me. We both carry another life, so no matter how the Three Realms may turn in the future, you must return.”
Feeling the softness beneath the clothing under his palm, Moxi’s heart filled with warmth. He lowered his eyes and said softly: “Mm, of course.”
The mournful tolls of the Donghuang Bell spread far and wide, drifting into the Heavenly Palace.
The golden phoenix hairpin in his hand instantly turned to powder. At the peak of the Heavenly Palace, the Heavenly Emperor coldly watched the scattered powder mixed with Siming’s shattered pure white memories, swaying and floating away with the magnificent sound of the Donghuang Bell.
“Very well, very well…” The Heavenly Emperor sneered, “You’ve certainly made a clean break.”
“Come.”
The Crane Immortal silently appeared behind the Heavenly Emperor, respectfully kneeling: “Your Majesty.”
“The ancient demon dragon has escaped from the Ten Thousand Heavens Void. Deploy one hundred thousand celestial soldiers to capture it. As for Star-Lord Siming, who destroyed the heavenly barrier and privately released the demon dragon, stripped her of her divine status, and cast her into…” His voice paused, then continued, “Bring My armor.”
The Crane Immortal was stunned: “Your Majesty?”
“I will capture her personally.”
The “her” was spoken very ambiguously, unclear whether he meant to capture “him” or “her.”
The Crane Immortal dared not ask more, hurriedly accepting the order and leaving.
The scattered phoenix hairpin powder and Siming’s memories had long since drifted away to who knows where. The Heavenly Emperor said mockingly: “I want to see just how deep your feelings run.” He opened his palm, and a spell mark slowly appeared.
That was the mark he had planted on her when Siming was still Ershen. Siming had gone to the mortal realm with immature wisdom, making her extremely susceptible to the temptations of the demon tribe that had recently been stirring. If Siming were to fall to demons, he could decisively take action and kill her to prevent her divine power from falling into demon hands. After Siming had returned to her position, he had planned to remove this mark tonight, but now it could still be of use…
The Heavenly Emperor closed his eyes, his expression impossible to discern between sorrow and anger.
At this time, Siming naturally didn’t know that she had thrown the upper realm into such turmoil. She was comfortably leaning against the dragon horn, watching the thousand li of cloud sea and myriad rays of sunset in the distance. After looking at such scenes for countless years, today was the first time Siming felt this scenery wasn’t overwhelmingly beautiful.
“Changyuan,” Siming patted the dragon’s head below her and asked, “Did you ever watch such scenery with me before?”
Changyuan was silent for a moment before saying: “We never had the chance, we… were always wasting time.”
Siming smiled and stroked the dragon horn: “It’s alright, big black dragon, we have plenty of time ahead.”
Just as she spoke, Changyuan dipped down, his long dragon body diving into the cloud sea below. Siming only saw a blur before her eyes as many scattered golden particles passed before them, causing her head to ache slightly. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples when suddenly a woman’s smiling face appeared—Ershen. She knew her.
Then countless memories came rushing forward like a tidal wave.
There was the lonely companionship in the Ten Thousand Heavens Void, the laughter and anger of the mortal world, the extremely painful heartache, and finally, echoing in her ears was only Changyuan’s plain “I’ll stay with you.”
This man was always too awkward to say pleasing words, but these four words were enough to move her to tears.
She lay down, her cheek gently pressing against the dragon’s head, allowing the returned memories to flood her entire consciousness.
Passing through the cloud sea, the dazzling sunset spilled across the mountains and rivers below, casting Siming and Changyuan’s faces in a warm orange glow. After Changyuan had carried Siming wandering for a long while, he finally asked: “How did your memories… disappear?”
After transforming into dragon form, Changyuan’s voice had become much deeper. He originally spoke with little emotional inflection, and now it sounded even more indifferent, but Siming still knew that he asked this question very carefully, as if afraid of touching some unhappy memory. Siming said glumly: “Probably secretly taken by that fellow, the Heavenly Emperor.”
Changyuan was silent for a moment: “Let’s go take them back.”
He spoke seriously, as if attacking the Heavenly Realm and opposing all the gods was no big deal. Siming’s eyes reddened, and she angrily smacked his head hard: “How could it be that simple!”
Changyuan silently endured the beating and scolding.
“Fool,” Siming suppressed her emotions and muttered, “Say something, hey!”
“Mm.”
“Fool.”
“Mm.”
“I say, let’s name our first egg ‘Fool’, how about that?”
Changyuan was silent for a moment, then sighed slightly: “Ershen, that name is rather mean.”
Siming remained quiet for a long time. Changyuan suddenly realized what name he had just called, and also fell silent. Siming took several deep breaths before saying: “Big black dragon, does it feel awkward to you? Ershen or Siming, Siming or Ershen…”
Changyuan didn’t answer, leaving only silence.
“What does it matter.” Siming buried her head against him, bending down over his head as tears fell steadily. “It’s all just me, I only like you, and you only like all of me.”
The orange sunset reflected off the black dragon’s scales, creating a strange light. After a long silence, Changyuan finally said: “I know.”
Siming’s face was covered in tears and snot. She jumped up angrily, hitting the dragon horn hard: “Then why are you putting on this profound act? What’s with the mysterious attitude? Where’s your cuteness, why aren’t you being cute anymore!”
“Because… I don’t know what to call you. I don’t know which name you prefer.”
Siming wiped her nose on the dragon horn: “Fool.”
Changyuan obediently responded: “Mm.”
He wasn’t someone skilled at flowery words, so he was too foolish to know how to address her.
Because he cared, he cared about every detail concerning her.