Chapter Eleven
1087 Words
The crimson eye watched.
Motionless.
Ancient.
It seemed to exist outside time itself.
Every immortal in the Jade Palace remained kneeling, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
No one dared raise their head.
No one…
Except one man.
Mo Xuanyuan.
His black robes danced wildly beneath the storm.
The black sword in his hand hummed with murderous intent.
He did not bow.
He had never bowed.
Not even to Heaven.
The ancient voice echoed once more.
“Xuanyuan…”
The God of War’s grip tightened around his sword.
“So…”
“You still remember my name.”
The heavens rumbled.
Lightning coiled around the crimson eye like dragons.
“Return…”
“…the Sealed One.”
Lingxi looked from the sky to Mo Xuanyuan.
“… Sealed One?”
She pointed at herself.
“Are…”
“…are they talking about me?”
No one answered.
The crimson eye slowly focused on her.
An unbearable pressure descended.
Lingxi couldn’t breathe.
Her knees buckled.
The world blurred.
A thousand unfamiliar voices suddenly whispered inside her mind.
“Run…”
“Don’t trust Heaven…”
“Find him…”
“Remember…”
She clutched her head.
“Stop…”
The voices grew louder.
“Lingxi…”
“Wake up…”
“Don’t die again…”
“STOP!”
She screamed.
Mo Xuanyuan vanished.
In less than a heartbeat…
He was beside her.
One hand rested gently against her forehead.
A cool emerald light spread through her body.
The voices disappeared.
Her breathing gradually steadied.
She looked up.
His usually cold expression carried something she had never seen before.
Worry.
Real worry.
“Are you hurt?”
The question escaped him before he realized it.
Lingxi blinked.
“You…”
“You asked if I was hurt?”
Their eyes met.
Mo Xuanyuan immediately withdrew his hand.
His expression became unreadable once again.
“No.”
“You imagined it.”
Lingxi stared.
“… You’re terrible at pretending.”
High above…
The crimson eye observed everything.
Then…
It laughed.
Not loudly.
Softly.
As though amused.
“Again…”
“You choose her…”
Mo Xuanyuan’s eyes turned icy.
“I have always chosen her.”
Silence.
Every immortal froze.
Even the Jade Emperor, watching through a heavenly mirror, slowly stood from his throne.
Lady Mingyuan’s hands began shaking.
He said it…
He finally said it…
Lingxi frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“What do you mean ‘always’?”
She stepped toward him.
“Have we met before?”
Mo Xuanyuan said nothing.
She grabbed his sleeve.
“Answer me.”
He looked down at the hand clutching his black robe.
For just a moment…
He remembered another hand.
Covered in blood.
Holding onto him beneath a sky filled with fire.
“Don’t let go…”
His heart clenched painfully.
Not this lifetime.
Not yet.
He gently removed her hand.
“When the time comes…”
“I will tell you everything.”
“I don’t want ‘when the time comes.’”
“I want the truth.”
“So do I.”
His answer caught her completely off guard.
Suddenly—
CRACK!
A bolt of crimson lightning struck the valley.
The ground exploded.
From the c***k in space…
A figure slowly emerged.
Dressed in flowing crimson robes.
Long silver hair reached his waist.
His skin was pale as snow.
His eyes…
Were completely red.
He smiled.
Beautifully.
Terrifyingly.
He applauded slowly.
“Wonderful.”
“Truly wonderful.”
The immortals gasped.
“Who is he?”
“No…”
“It can’t be…”
Lady Mingyuan’s face lost all color.
“Ye Wushang…”
“The Fallen Immortal…”
The newcomer smiled wider.
“It has been…”
“…a very long time.”
His crimson eyes shifted from Mo Xuanyuan…
To Bai Lingxi.
For a long moment…
He simply looked at her.
Then he laughed.
“So…”
“You’ve forgotten everything.”
“How fortunate.”
Lingxi frowned.
“Do you know me?”
Ye Wushang tilted his head.
“Know you?”
“My dear Lingxi…”
“I watched you die.”
The words struck her like ice.
Her heart began racing.
“What…?”
Before she could ask another question—
Ye Wushang vanished.
He appeared directly in front of her.
So fast…
Not even the heavenly generals reacted.
He reached toward her face.
“I’ve waited one hundred thousand years…”
His fingertips stopped just inches away.
A black sword blocked his path.
CLANG!
Mo Xuanyuan stood between them.
Their eyes met.
The air itself cracked.
The two most powerful beings in Heaven glared at one another.
Ye Wushang smiled.
“You still protect her.”
“I always will.”
“You couldn’t save her before.”
Silence.
Those words landed like a blade.
For the first time…
Mo Xuanyuan’s expression broke.
Pain.
Raw.
Unhidden.
It lasted only a heartbeat.
But Lingxi saw it.
Ye Wushang saw it too.
He smiled with cruel satisfaction.
“There…”
“That face.”
“I’ve missed seeing it.”
He leaned closer.
His voice dropped to a whisper only Mo Xuanyuan could hear.
“Shall I tell her…”
“…how she died in your arms?”
Mo Xuanyuan’s spiritual energy exploded.
BOOM!
The entire Valley of Ten Thousand Blades shook violently.
Mountains cracked.
The floating swords screamed.
Every immortal was forced backward.
Even Ye Wushang slid several steps across the ground.
The Fallen Immortal chuckled.
“Excellent.”
“Hatred suits you.”
He looked at Lingxi one last time.
“We’ll meet again.”
“Next time…”
“I’ll be the one to tell you the truth.”
He snapped his fingers.
His body dissolved into crimson flower petals.
Gone.
The crimson eye in the heavens slowly closed.
The storm disappeared.
Blue skies returned.
As though nothing had happened.
Silence lingered over the valley.
Lingxi turned toward Mo Xuanyuan.
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“He said…”
“… I died in your arms.”
She took one hesitant step closer.
“Is it true?”
Mo Xuanyuan didn’t answer.
He simply stared at the place where Ye Wushang had disappeared.
His hand unconsciously reached for the cracked jade pendant at his waist.
For the first time…
Lingxi noticed that he was trembling.
Not from fear.
From memory.
And for the first time since arriving in Heaven…
She wondered whether the coldest man she had ever met…
Was carrying the deepest wound of them all.
- Writer
