“I give up.” “Forget it.” Her voice was hoarse: “I’ll stay.”
Closing her eyes, memories of past and present lives flooded her mind. From the first day she arrived in this world to her rebirth, names floated through her thoughts. Guan Yinzi, Du Dizhu, He Liansheng…
After experiencing so much, she had long belonged to this world.
Xing Shuishui hugged the mirror, trying to get up from the ground, but her body had endured too much pressure from the Sacrifice Platform and was completely exhausted. It took all her strength just to sit up.
She didn’t know where to go next.
That stab meant He Liansheng had almost no chance of survival, but then again, he always defied expectations. If he survived this life-and-death trial, he would probably hate her for life.
Xing Shuishui sighed.
She remembered hundreds of years ago when she traded control of her body for separation fire. Back then, she only thought about leading her sister and people safely away from the Guan family. She never imagined she would meet He Liansheng in her next life.
If she could go back, would she agree again?
She lowered her eyes. Yes, she would.
Even surviving alone, leaving the Guan family meant facing Wuxiang Mountain, Spirit Mountain, and cultivators and great demons from all sides. Without Lifire, her life would have been much worse.
As for He Liansheng… She pressed her palms together.
May her young man survive, live on to love and hate again.
If he couldn’t overcome this fated trial of life and death, then in the next life… may he never love her again.
The red silk hanging on the dead tree fluttered in the rain.
The young woman knelt on the ground, her face pale, hair disheveled behind her head, light peach-colored skirt covered in mud – a truly miserable sight.
The rain continued falling, washing the blood from her body.
Seeming to have overestimated her strength, Xing Shuishui nearly collapsed back onto the ground, mud now staining her hair and face.
She didn’t know when someone would come.
Too much time had been wasted; she needed to leave quickly.
Having stabbed someone from the He family, regardless of the reason, Spirit Mountain’s people would surely not let her go. She didn’t want to be caught right after escaping, following in Mirror Wushuang’s footsteps.
Reaching forward to crawl, Xing Shuishui bit her lip.
The area had been empty, but suddenly a pair of black boots appeared before her. Someone had arrived silently. She froze and looked up at the boots’ owner.
The young man held a folding fan, looking at her with interest. Peach blossoms fell around them, lifting the edges of his cyan robes, his long hair still neat as it fell on his shoulders. Xue Sansi wasn’t holding an umbrella, instead joining Xing Shuishui in the rain. She didn’t know if he had heard about the Spirit Mountain incident – if he had, he would surely recognize her.
Xing Shuishui lowered her eyes, saying nothing.
Her expression said “kill me or flay me as you please.”
Seeing her still so stubborn.
Xue Sansi bent down and grabbed her arm, his voice hoarse. “Tell me, have you had enough?”
Xing Shuishui froze.
Xue Sansi crouched down and lifted her entire body from the ground, laughing as if extremely angry: “If you had admitted it earlier, none of this would have happened. Did you really think I would eat you alive? It wasn’t such a big deal, I forgave you long ago. Some anger just fades away with time. You insisted on following that He family boy to Spirit Mountain, getting yourself in such a mess. Your sister would be very worried if she knew.”
Xing Shuishui laughed helplessly and asked: “When did you figure it out?”
Xue Sansi thought for a moment and said: “The first time I saw you, you seemed oddly familiar. After so many years, your personality is still so lively. I think I’ve only ever met one person like you, too unique to forget. I could recognize you even after several rebirths.”
Hearing this, Xing Shuishui hugged his neck and cried.
He placed his hand on her back, saying: “Alright, stop crying all the time. Brother will take you home.”
Glancing at the blood on the young woman’s face, he clicked his tongue and said: “Tell me straight, what trouble did you cause at Spirit Mountain this time? But now, even if the sky falls, no one can do anything to you.”
The young man carried her on his back through the autumn rain, stepping forward one step at a time. Xing Shuishui rested her head on his shoulder, raindrops clinging to her eyelashes, whether from bitterness or exhaustion was unclear.
She said hoarsely: “Okay.”
Then she would tell him slowly.
Pushing through grass and crossing water by boat, white herons stood on the rippling autumn waters. They quickly arrived at Lifire Manor. Xing Shuishui had long fallen asleep, her arms and lips terribly pale.
The manor’s people first rejoiced at seeing their master return, then saw the blood-covered young woman on Xue Sansi’s back.
“Master…”
Xue Sansi said coldly: “This matter is not to leave these walls.”
Those with keen intuition had already guessed something, their voices trembling with excitement: “Is this really the young miss?”
Xue Sansi pondered briefly, not answering directly: “Clean up Little Nine’s room. Spirit Mountain will likely suspect us soon, and Du Dizhu probably won’t be able to sit still either.”
Xing Shuishui had the best sleep since this all began. When she woke up and rubbed her eyes, she found herself in her old room, something melting in her heart.
Hearing she was awake, Xue Sansi brought in lotus seed pastries. Xing Shuishui sat up and ate a few to fill her stomach, wiping her mouth. Though she had changed into clean clothes, her hair was still disheveled.
Xue Sansi crossed his arms thoughtfully: “The scouts have returned. Your stab went deep – He Liansheng’s chances of survival are very low now. They say he won’t live past half a month. Spirit Mountain is furious, announcing to the world they’ll capture you at any cost.”
In the version Xing Shuishui told him, she deliberately omitted the system’s existence, only saying she went to Spirit Mountain to catch her sister’s true killer, and had no choice but to stab He Liansheng.
She remained silent for a while, put down the pastry, and looked up at him seriously: “Third Brother, actually… I feel Guan Wushan probably isn’t dead.”
The spirit bell on the Sacrifice Platform was already broken, so she couldn’t use it to verify her guess, but her instincts told her Guan Wushan wasn’t completely dead. This person was truly too cunning – in her previous life he had framed everything on Du Dizhu, and in this life he used puppet techniques to confuse everyone. No one could match his evil thoughts and meticulous planning. She had been manipulated many times already.
Although she had personally beheaded him that day, it didn’t rule out that he had prepared in advance, such as—
Killing intent flashed in Xue Sansi’s eyes as he also guessed: “Soul splitting.”
The soul-splitting technique was originally created by desperate criminals to escape capture. It could greatly increase survival chances but had drawbacks – cultivation power would also be split.
If Guan Wushan had really used soul-splitting, he wouldn’t move against them immediately, but might target those she loved.
The soul-gathering spell would cause quite a disturbance – if anyone had heard it, they would surely notice something.
Her sister’s soul had just entered the cycle of reincarnation…
Xing Shuishui clenched her fist.
She said seriously to him: “Third Brother, I want to go into seclusion for a while.”
Xue Sansi was startled.
Xing Shuishui smiled and said: “People in this world don’t fear me because I’m strong, only because I have separation fire. I think it’s time to build my foundation – my cultivation and techniques are very weak. I don’t know how long it will take, maybe decades, maybe hundreds of years. During this time, I’ll have to trouble you with my sister’s matters.”
Whether her sister reincarnated as a mortal or immortal.
After coming out of seclusion, she would need to bring her sister back to Separation Fire Manor before Guan Wushan could act.
And… if there was any news of He Liansheng, please let her know.
May he be well. He must survive.
That winter, the peach blossoms bloomed abundantly, the human world bustling – both for this unusual spectacle and for that melancholic romance at Spirit Mountain.
“What! Xing Shuishui is actually Xue Jiuling? Suddenly it makes sense why she stabbed He Liansheng!”
“She possessed someone and was reborn? Separation Fire Manor hasn’t shown any reaction until now! I remember Xue Sansi really hated her, shouldn’t he be capturing her overnight! And what about Du Dizhu!”
“Spirit Mountain has already announced to the world – at any cost, they want her dead or alive, especially the He family! They finally had a genius only to lose him at her hands, they want her ground to dust.”
“Such a pity, this young man hadn’t experienced much of life. His first love ended in betrayal by this demon woman. The ways of love in this world are truly difficult to untangle.”
The storyteller closed his fan. The crowd dispersed, leaving behind much regret.
There was still much gossip in the human world.
She could no longer hear any of it.
The young woman sank into the icy lake, hugging the Floating Spirit Mirror He Liansheng had given her at parting, slowly closing her eyes.
That year the rain fell endlessly, the blood on the Sacrifice Platform was vivid, everything finally had closure.
They say after that day, no one heard any trace of her again, as if Xing Shuishui had never existed in the human world. Spirit Mountain couldn’t find her, and the human world’s gossip gradually forgot her.
He Liansheng woke up in the second year after she sank into the lake. His fingers twitched, his eyelids slightly lifted. The young servant cleaning the spirit hall thought it was an illusion, rubbed his eyes, and the next moment met a pair of pitch-black eyes.
The servant knelt on the ground, voice trembling: “Congratulations to Senior Brother He for awakening! Congratulations on safely passing through the life-and-death trial! May Senior Brother’s future be boundless, may you soon ascend to the White Jade Capital!!”
He hadn’t relied on Cloud Silk, nor on the young woman’s mercy, but purely on his own will to survive.
A life-and-death trial that even immortals would struggle with, he had passed through just like that.
He Liansheng didn’t answer, only placed his hand against his forehead, slowly curling his lips into a mocking smile. It was nothing special after all.
The hall doors were wide open, heavenly light shining down – a good omen.
The Mountain Master, hearing he was awake, came with several elders. He placed some medicinal pills for recovery on the table, looked He Liansheng over, and said: “We understand everything that happened before. Since it was a life-and-death trial, we won’t say anything more. Every master standing before you was once young and reckless. How can one live in this world without experiencing storms? Just turn back from the edge, pull back from the cliff – it’s not too late for everything.”
Everyone had witnessed that day’s betrayal – he had abandoned his life’s beliefs for that young woman, only to have his heart pierced by a spirit blade by the one he loved.
How deeply must he hate her now?
He Liansheng’s expression was cold, murderous intent difficult to conceal in his features. The wind stirred, lifting his vermillion hair ribbon. The young man grabbed the Peach Source Sword beside his bed and sneered: “I’ll catch her myself.”
“And then—”
“Grind her bones to dust.”
Daoist Xuvoid was clearly very satisfied with this answer. The usually rigid man almost left smiling.
Later, He Liansheng descended the mountain.
They all said He Liansheng was searching for someone. With his temperament, it would be best not to be found. If unfortunately found, he would make them wish for death.
Seven days, one month, one year, searching for so many years.
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