The eggshell cracked open a crevice, and green light poured out from the gap, like green mist, filling the entire stone chamber. Then—there was no more movement.
“Is it stuck?” Dongfang Yuqing leaned in to look.
“No.” Hua Qian Gu held the egg to her ear and listened, “It’s moving inside, it might just need a little more strength.”
“Do Ancient Spirit Insects always take this long to hatch?”
“Tang Bao is special.” Hua Qian Gu smiled, “She likes to pick her timing. In her previous life, she hatched on my birthday. I don’t know when she’ll come out this time.”
Dongfang Yuqing looked at her holding the egg, his gaze softening unconsciously.
From their first meeting until now, he had seen many sides of Hua Qian Gu—calm, sharp, fragile, strong. But this side, at this moment, was his favorite.
Holding the egg, smiling gently, her eyes full of anticipation.
Like an ordinary mother waiting for her child to be born.
“Hua Qian Gu.” he suddenly said.
“Hmm?”
“What exactly did you go through in your previous life?”
Hua Qian Gu looked up at him, her smile fading slightly, “Why do you suddenly ask this?”
“I just want to know.” Dongfang Yuqing sat down opposite her, clasping his hands on his knees, “You, a mortal, dared to challenge Ni Mantian, dared to venture alone into the Demon Realm, dared to scheme against Mo Yan. These are not things an ordinary girl could do.”
“I was never an ordinary girl to begin with.”
“I know. But what I want to know is—” Dongfang Yuqing looked at her, a rare seriousness in his amber eyes, “What made you become who you are now?”
Hua Qian Gu was silent for a few seconds.
“Pain.” she said, “Deep pain.”
“Can you tell me about it?”
“What do you want to hear?”
“Anything.” Dongfang Yuqing leaned against the wall, “Tang Bao won’t come out anytime soon anyway, so we have nothing else to do.”
Hua Qian Gu looked down at the green light on the eggshell, thought for a moment, and said, “In my previous life, someone splashed me with Pool of Despair Water, and my face was burned beyond recognition.”
Dongfang Yuqing’s pupils contracted slightly.
“I was struck by seventeen Soul Severing Nails. Every time a nail pierced my body, the pain was so intense I wanted to die.” Hua Qian Gu’s voice was calm, as if she were talking about someone else, “I was stabbed through the heart with a sword. When I died, blood flowed from my chest, dyeing the ground red.”
The stone chamber was so quiet you could hear the sound of heartbeats.
Dongfang Yuqing said nothing. His fingers clenched the fabric of his pants on his knees, his knuckles turning white.
“Those people,” his voice was a little hoarse, “what happened to them later?”
“Some died, some are still alive.” Hua Qian Gu looked up at him, “The ones who are still alive, I will make them pay the price in this life.”
Dongfang Yuqing looked into her eyes—there was no hatred in them, only a calm, almost cold, determination.
He suddenly felt his heart race.
It wasn’t fear, it was—
He couldn’t quite explain the feeling.
It was like heartache, like admiration, and like an unprecedented impulse to protect someone.
“Hua Qian Gu.” he said.
“Hmm?”
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
“Then in this life, I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”
Hua Qian Gu was stunned.
She looked into Dongfang Yuqing’s eyes—his amber pupils reflected her face. There was no calculation, no probing on that face, only a naked, unreserved sincerity.
In her previous life, Dongfang Yuqing had said something similar. But back then, he had said it in the name of a “transaction”—“You help me, I help you.” In this life, he hadn’t mentioned any conditions.
“Dongfang Yuqing.” she said softly, “Do you know what you’re saying?”
“I do.” he said, “I said, in this life, I won’t let anyone hurt you again. Including Ni Mantian, including Mo Yan, including—”
He paused.
“Including Bai Zi Hua.”
Hua Qian Gu’s heartbeat skipped a beat.
“You know Bai Zi Hua?”
“Who do you think I am?” Dongfang Yuqing’s lips curved slightly, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes, “The Pavilion Master of Yi Xiu Pavilion, the foremost intelligence provider in the Six Realms. I may not have all the details of your past life, but I can piece together the general outline.”
“How much have you found out?”
“Not much. The Heavenly Dao shielded your previous life, and even the secret techniques of Yi Xiu Pavilion couldn’t break through it.” Dongfang Yuqing said, “But I know that Bai Zi Hua was one of the people who hurt you in your previous life. And he was the one who hurt you the most.”
Hua Qian Gu did not deny it.
“So I won’t stop you from going to find him.” Dongfang Yuqing said, “But you have to promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“Don’t die.”
Hua Qian Gu smiled.
“Why do you all love saying that?” she said, “Sha Qian Mo said it too, and now you. Don’t worry, I’ve died once, I don’t want to die a second time.”
“That’s good then.” Dongfang Yuqing stood up and walked to the doorway, then suddenly stopped.
“Hua Qian Gu.”
“Hmm?”
“You just said you trust me.”
“Yes.”
“Then you must remember what I said.” He didn’t turn back, his voice carrying from his figure, “In this life, I won’t let anyone hurt you again. This is not a transaction, it’s a promise.”
He left.
Hua Qian Gu sat on the stone bed, holding Tang Bao’s egg, watching his figure disappear at the end of the corridor.
The green light on the eggshell flickered.
“You heard him too?” Hua Qian Gu looked down at the egg, “He said he wants to protect me.”
The eggshell flickered again.
“In her previous life, he was like this too.” Hua Qian Gu said softly, “But in her previous life, he protected me with his life. In this life, I don’t want him to die for me again.”
The green light shone gently, as if saying, “No, you won’t.”
Hua Qian Gu pressed the egg to her face and closed her eyes.
Dongfang Yuqing.
In her previous life, she owed him a life. In this life, she didn’t want to owe him anymore.
But what she didn’t know was that some debts cannot be avoided just because one wishes not to owe them.
Dongfang Yuqing walked out of the stone chamber, through the corridor, and into the garden of the Demon Emperor Palace.
The night wind was cool, blowing his green robe.
He stood in the moonlight, looking up at the sky, and let out a long breath.
“Pavilion Master.” the steward’s voice came from the shadows, “Those words you just said—”
“You heard them all?”
“Yes.”
“Then you know what you need to do?”
“Yes.” the steward said, “Protect Hua Qian Gu, no matter the cost.”
“Mm.” Dongfang Yuqing nodded, “Go ahead.”
“Yes.”
The steward withdrew.
Dongfang Yuqing stood in place, looking at the moon, and suddenly smiled.
“Hua Qian Gu.” he murmured, “Do you know, you’re the first person I’ve ever said that to.”
No one answered him.
The moonlight spilled into the garden, so quiet it looked like a painting.
He turned around, glanced back in the direction of the stone chamber, then withdrew his gaze and strode away.
【End of Chapter·Comment Section Discussion: Do you want Dongfang Yuqing and Hua Qian Gu to be together? 】
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