Chapter Twelve
1064 Words
The Valley of Ten Thousand Blades was empty.
Not a single immortal dared speak.
Even after Ye Wushang vanished…
His final words lingered like a curse.
“You died in his arms.”
Bai Lingxi looked at Mo Xuanyuan.
He stood with his back to everyone.
The black sword had disappeared.
The terrifying pressure that had shaken Heaven moments ago faded into silence.
Only his tightly clenched fists betrayed his emotions.
“My Lord…”
A heavenly general knelt.
“Should we pursue Ye Wushang?”
“No.”
“But—”
“You won’t find him.”
The general lowered his head.
“Yes, My Lord.”
One by one…
The immortals dispersed.
Soon…
Only Lingxi remained.
She walked toward him carefully.
“You heard what he said.”
No response.
“You knew him.”
Silence.
“You knew me.”
Nothing.
Her frustration finally overflowed.
“You keep saying ‘not yet!’”
“‘When the time comes!’”
“‘You’re not ready!’”
She stepped in front of him.
“When will I be ready?”
His jade-green eyes met hers.
“When remembering…”
“…hurts less than forgetting.”
She froze.
“What does that mean?”
He gently stepped around her.
“It means…”
“I hope that day never comes.”
He walked away.
Leaving Lingxi alone.
That night…
Rain fell once again over the Jade Palace.
Lingxi sat beside her window.
She couldn’t sleep.
Every time she closed her eyes…
She heard Ye Wushang’s voice.
“I watched you die.”
She looked down at her own hands.
Why…
Did those words feel strangely familiar?
A dull ache spread through her chest.
Almost as though her heart…
Remembered something her mind could not.
Meanwhile…
At the highest point of the Jade Palace…
Mo Xuanyuan stood alone beneath the rain.
He never used spiritual energy to shield himself.
The rain soaked his black robes.
His long hair clung to his shoulders.
Lady Mingyuan appeared quietly behind him.
“You blamed yourself again.”
He didn’t deny it.
“I failed.”
Her expression softened.
“You couldn’t have changed what happened.”
“I could have.”
“The Heavenly Laws had already decided.”
“I should have fought them sooner.”
“You did.”
“I wasn’t strong enough.”
Lady Mingyuan closed her eyes.
There was no answer to that.
Because…
He was right.
“My Lord…”
“There is something you haven’t noticed.”
He finally turned.
“What?”
“The seal inside Bai Lingxi.”
“It has begun breaking on its own.”
His expression hardened.
“How long?”
“After Ye Wushang appeared…”
“It accelerated.”
He looked toward the eastern residence where Lingxi slept.
“So…”
“The countdown has begun.”
Inside her room…
Lingxi finally drifted into sleep.
Then…
She dreamed.
She stood beneath a sea of peach blossoms.
Petals danced across a crystal lake.
The air smelled of spring.
Laughter echoed through the valley.
Not her laughter.
Someone else’s.
She looked down.
She wasn’t wearing simple white robes anymore.
Instead…
She wore magnificent robes woven with silver phoenixes.
Her sleeves shimmered with stars.
Her long black hair was decorated with jade butterflies.
A voice called behind her.
“Lingxi.”
She turned.
A young man approached.
Not in black.
Not in silver armor.
He wore elegant white robes embroidered with golden clouds.
His long black hair was tied loosely with a jade ribbon.
His jade-green eyes…
Were warm.
Gentle.
Filled with affection.
Nothing like the cold God of War she knew.
He smiled.
The entire valley seemed brighter because of it.
Lingxi’s breath caught.
Mo Xuanyuan.
But…
Different.
Younger.
Happier.
He walked toward her carrying two cups of peach blossom wine.
“You lost again.”
She laughed.
“I let you win.”
“You always say that.”
“Because it’s true.”
She took one cup.
Their fingers brushed.
A strange warmth spread through her heart.
Without thinking…
She smiled at him.
A smile she had never worn in her current life.
“What happens if I beat you tomorrow?”
He pretended to think.
“I’ll grant you one wish.”
“Anything?”
“Anything.”
She looked into his eyes.
“I’ll remember that.”
The dream felt so real.
Too real.
Suddenly…
The sky turned blood-red.
The peach blossoms caught fire.
The crystal lake became crimson.
Mo Xuanyuan’s smile disappeared.
He looked behind her.
“Lingxi…”
His voice trembled.
“Run.”
She turned.
Darkness.
Endless darkness.
A gigantic crimson eye opened in the heavens.
The same eye.
The same voice.
“DESTINY CANNOT BE CHANGED.”
Thousands of black chains burst from the sky.
They wrapped around her wrists.
Her waist.
Her neck.
She screamed.
“Xuanyuan!”
He drew a sword.
Charged toward her.
The chains pierced his chest.
Blood blossomed across his white robes.
Still…
He kept running.
“No!”
She reached toward him.
Their fingertips almost touched.
Almost.
One final chain shot downward.
Straight toward her heart.
Mo Xuanyuan threw himself between them.
The chain pierced him instead.
Blood splattered across her face.
He smiled.
Even while dying.
“I’m sorry…”
He whispered.
“I was too late.”
The dream shattered.
Lingxi jolted awake.
Her breathing was ragged.
Tears streamed down her face.
She clutched her chest.
It hurt.
It hurt so much she could barely breathe.
“…Xuanyuan…”
The name escaped her lips naturally.
Without thought.
Without hesitation.
Outside her chamber…
A black-robed figure froze.
Mo Xuanyuan had come only to ensure the seal around her residence remained intact.
But hearing her whisper his name…
As she had done countless lifetimes before…
He closed his eyes.
His hand trembled against the wooden door.
He wanted to enter.
To comfort her.
To tell her she was safe.
Instead…
He quietly repaired the protective barrier around her residence.
Then turned away.
As he disappeared into the night…
He never noticed that Bai Lingxi had opened the window behind him.
She watched the lonely figure walking through the rain.
Her heart tightened inexplicably.
She didn’t know why.
But for the first time…
She wanted to know the man hidden beneath the cold mask.
Even if the truth broke her heart.
- Writer
