Chapter 296: Little Brother, You Can’t Escape
Jiang Qiuchi’s soft narration continued. In her hand, a small, green cloth bag had appeared at some point. This was something the young man had personally entrusted to her for safekeeping before he died.
“Do you remember?” she asked. “He took it out in Mirror Lake.”
Those pale blue eyes gazed blankly, but her face still showed no discernible emotion. Her thoughts seemed to travel back to that time, carried by Jiang Qiuchi’s words and the small green cloth bag.
She remembered the sky was tinged with a faint yellow. A young man and woman stood before the house that held so many of their memories, bidding it a final farewell. With a flick of her fingertip, she cut off a lock of her hair, then carefully and meticulously wrapped it.
“This is a return gift,” she had said earnestly. She still remembered the young man’s smile, his clear black and white eyes gleaming with anticipation for the future. He had carefully taken it and put it in his arms.
Mu Sanniang didn’t see the cloth bag again until the Severe Winter many years later. The night was thick as ink, silent. It felt as if she had been submerged in water, her movements sluggish, her breathing paused. She supposed that was the first time the young woman had drawn a sword against him.
“You slept with her, but I couldn’t?”
“No, older sister, it wasn’t like that…” His eyes flashed with guilt as he tried to explain. But the young woman had already turned away decisively, unwilling to listen.
Her thoughts stopped there. During her time in Liucheng, Mu Sanniang rarely thought about these past events. She always felt that the person she was in those memories was a stranger, making her hesitant to even touch those recollections. But now, Jiang Qiuchi was slowly recounting the words the young man had never gotten to say.
“I don’t know if he ever told you later, but knowing his personality, he most likely wouldn’t have, and he probably wouldn’t have wanted me to say anything either.”
“But I’m really feeling suffocated. Anyway, he’s not around anymore, so he can’t control me.” She pursed her lips and looked up at the young woman’s beautiful face. “I really envy you.” She repeated.
“He said he wanted to give you a complete and beautiful ending, rather than being unclear and sharing a room under your resentment.” As she said this, Jiang Qiuchi lowered her head again. The graceful figure hidden beneath the red dress trembled almost imperceptibly.
“He always thought you were beautiful, whether you were wearing that simple silk dress or the more elegant white skirt.” She began to imitate the young man’s tone when he spoke on this topic. “In short, Sanniang is just extremely beautiful…”
“Mmm… so if you wore a wedding dress, you would be beautiful too, right…” Forcing herself to finish this sentence, she took a step back in her red dress. No one could see her expression clearly.
“I’m saying this because I just want you to know that he loved you far more than you imagine.”
“He gave up many things for you.”
“He possessed unparalleled talent, and could have become a great figure admired by all cultivators in the world. Yet, in the end, he was willing to play these boring games with you in this small Liucheng.”
“He even paid with his life for such games.” Jiang Qiuchi said, finally looking up. Her usually charming face showed an unprecedented coldness. She looked coldly at the young woman before her and said, word by word, “He loved you very much.”
“But you didn’t.” A fleeting sadness flashed in her beautiful eyes. “You just got a head start on me.”
“Why?” Her voice grew increasingly low, not like a reproach, nor an accusation. “Since ancient times, haven’t talented cultivators always had numerous companions?”
“Yet you, because of that bit of possessiveness…” Jiang Qiuchi’s words gradually stopped. Because the young woman who had been quietly listening finally spoke. Her pale blue eyes were slightly misty.
“Little brother, you really are a liar.” Her voice was a murmur, like a sleep talk from a dream. Hearing this, Jiang Qiuchi’s face showed disappointment, then she shook her head as if unwilling to continue the conversation, and turned to leave the room.
But the movement behind her forced her to stop. “You seem to really like him?” Mu Sanniang’s voice echoed in her ear. Although shocked, Jiang Qiuchi had to admit the truth of the situation. She was being hugged. However, this shock was quickly dispelled by the young woman’s question.
She frowned. “If you just want to ask this, please let go.” However, Mu Sanniang did not obediently let go as expected. Instead, she softly said, “I can take you to find him.” The faint voice fell into Jiang Qiuchi’s ears, no less than a thunderclap.
“What did you say?” She almost thought she had misheard. But the young woman confirmed it. “I said, I can take you to find him…”
The long-lost black saber and the crimson-gold蛊虫 (gu worms) appeared at some point. The蛊虫 (gu worm) circled the young woman’s feet, its two narrow antennae raised high, happily coiling and uncoiling. It knew their king was finally returning.
She had finally made her choice. The saber emerged from the Nether Prison. The owner of the saber was naturally the Lord of the Nether Prison. The Lord of the Nether Prison presided over the six paths of reincarnation, existing between life and death, the boundary of all great worlds. She wanted life, and life could not die.
The young woman held her saber and murmured softly, “Little brother… you can’t escape.”
“I already said so.”
…
…
The day after Chen An disappeared.
Carrying her saber, the young woman ascended the Tai Xuan Sky Ladder once more. This time, no one could stop her. The only Tribulation Crossing True Monarch was away and unable to return to South Mountain. Only a trace of his divine sense remained on South Mountain.
As her white skirt fluttered, the young woman cleaved Shang Xuan Peak with a single saber strike. Then she entered the Nether Prison and again struck Zuo Yunshan. A swift and clean decapitation.
In the underground, on the seventh level, at the sealed entrance, she received the complete inheritance of the Lord of the Nether Prison. The remaining matters seemed much simpler. Find her little brother, bring him back.
Mmm, it had been a long time since her little brother had treated her…
But to the young woman’s surprise, she searched the entire Nether Prison and couldn’t find the young man from her memory. So the young woman returned to Liucheng. She stood in the small courtyard south of the city and gazed at the two trees for a long time.
Finally, she swung her saber again. This time, the target of her saber strike was no longer a tangible person or object. This saber strike went directly towards the heavens that had always been high above.
…
…
*Bashala—*
The sound of rain was crisp. After the third life, Chen An had wondered who he missed more. Was it the tomboy who pulled him out of a snowdrift, or the one in red who fearlessly took a sword for him? Was it the bad-tasting cakes he never ate again, or the tender moments in the cave mansion? Chen An couldn’t find an answer. So he shamefully chose to escape, sealing his memories.
However, now, those familiar pale blue eyes had reappeared before him.
“Little brother, you can’t escape.”
“No matter how far, no matter how long.”
“I will find you.” She said softly. Just like back then.
(End of this chapter)
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