Chapter Eight
1030 Words
For seven days…
Bai Lingxi climbed the Three Thousand Steps.
Every morning before dawn.
Every evening after sunset.
She fell.
She bled.
She cried.
She stood up again.
The immortals of the Jade Palace slowly grew accustomed to the strange sight.
The once-famous genius of the mortal world…
Now struggling to climb a staircase.
Some laughed.
Some pitied her.
Others simply watched.
But one thing never changed.
Every morning…
At exactly the Third Watch…
Mo Xuanyuan was already waiting.
Without fail.
Without a single day’s absence.
…
“Again.”
His cold voice echoed down the stairs.
Lingxi glared at him.
“You know…”
“If you smiled once…”
“The flowers might bloom earlier.”
“I do not care for flowers.”
“You must be fun at festivals.”
“I do not attend festivals.”
“What about birthdays?”
“I do not celebrate them.”
She sighed dramatically.
“Have you always been like this?”
“…”
“No childhood?”
“No friends?”
“No happiness?”
Mo Xuanyuan looked at her calmly.
“I had them.”
His answer surprised her.
“You… did?”
“I lost them.”
The words were so quiet…
She almost thought she imagined them.
Before she could ask another question—
“Continue.”
“There it is.”
“The cold statue returns.”
…
By the eighth morning…
Lingxi finally reached the final step.
She stood at the summit, exhausted.
“I…”
“I did it.”
For the first time in days…
A smile appeared on her face.
She looked toward Mo Xuanyuan, expecting at least a nod of approval.
Instead—
“Good.”
She blinked.
“That’s it?”
“You completed today’s task.”
“I climbed three thousand steps!”
“Yes.”
“My legs are numb!”
“I noticed.”
“I deserve praise.”
“You received it.”
“I received one word!”
“It was sufficient.”
Lingxi threw her hands into the air.
“You’re impossible!”
Several heavenly attendants hid their laughter.
Only Bai Lingxi dared complain to the God of War’s face.
…
Mo Xuanyuan turned toward the eastern cliffs.
“Follow.”
She groaned.
“More stairs?”
“No.”
“Oh, thank Heaven.”
“You’ll be running today.”
Her smile vanished.
“I spoke too soon.”
…
Beyond the palace lay a hidden valley.
Crystal-clear streams flowed through glowing emerald grass.
Ancient spirit trees stretched toward the heavens.
At the center rested a beautiful lake.
Its waters shimmered with silver and jade light.
The air itself felt alive.
Lingxi’s breathing slowed.
“What is this place?”
“The Spirit Spring.”
She walked toward the water.
“I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”
The moment she reached the shore—
The lake exploded.
A pillar of water shot into the sky.
From its depths emerged a magnificent white qilin.
Its snow-white mane glowed beneath the morning sun.
Golden antlers stretched toward the heavens.
Its sapphire eyes fixed on Lingxi.
She froze.
“It’s…”
“It’s beautiful.”
The qilin lowered its head.
It sniffed her.
Then suddenly…
It let out an angry snort.
WHOOSH!
A blast of spiritual wind hurled Lingxi backward.
“AHHH!”
She crashed directly into Mo Xuanyuan.
He caught her before she struck the ground.
Again.
She looked up.
“… This is becoming a habit.”
He released her immediately.
“You offended it.”
“I did what?”
“The Spirit Qilin dislikes liars.”
“I didn’t lie!”
“It disagrees.”
Lingxi stared at the beast.
“What exactly did I lie about?”
The qilin pawed angrily at the ground.
Its eyes never left her.
Then…
Something unexpected happened.
The creature slowly approached again.
It lowered its head…
Not toward Lingxi.
Toward the center of her chest.
The place where her spiritual core had once been.
Its sapphire eyes suddenly widened.
The beast took three hurried steps backward.
It trembled.
As if it had sensed something impossible.
Then—
It knelt.
Every heavenly attendant gasped.
“The Spirit Qilin…”
“…knelt?”
“Impossible!”
“It bows only to the purest immortal bloodlines!”
Mo Xuanyuan’s expression changed for the first time that morning.
Only slightly.
But Lingxi noticed.
“You knew this would happen.”
His silence answered her.
She stepped closer.
“What did it sense?”
No reply.
“Tell me.”
Nothing.
“I deserve to know.”
Mo Xuanyuan finally spoke.
“It sensed…”
He paused.
His gaze lingered on her face for the briefest moment.
“…nothing.”
Lingxi frowned.
“You’re lying.”
For the first time…
The corners of his lips lifted almost invisibly.
“You noticed.”
She folded her arms triumphantly.
“So you do know how to lie.”
“I learned.”
“From whom?”
His eyes softened for less than a heartbeat.
“You.”
She blinked.
“What?”
The softness vanished.
“I said nothing.”
“No, you definitely—”
A sudden scream echoed across the valley.
“My Lord!”
A celestial guard sprinted toward them, panic written across his face.
“The Heavenly Archive has been breached!”
“The f*******n scrolls…”
“…someone has stolen the Chronicle of Forgotten Lifetimes!”
Mo Xuanyuan’s expression instantly darkened.
For the first time…
His composure cracked.
Lady Mingyuan, who had just arrived at the valley, turned deathly pale.
“No…”
She whispered.
“Not the Chronicle…”
“If that scroll has been opened…”
Her eyes slowly drifted toward Bai Lingxi.
“…then someone already knows.”
A cold wind swept across the Spirit Spring.
Far away…
Hidden within the shadows of the Ninth Heaven…
A hooded figure slowly closed an ancient scroll.
On one yellowed page…
Two names glowed with crimson light.
Mo Xuanyuan.
Bai Lingxi.
The figure smiled.
“So…”
“After one hundred thousand years…”
“I’ve finally found you both.”
- Writer
