Tang Bao's egg lay quietly in her embrace, its green light glowing gently, like a tiny, beating heart. She looked down at the increasingly dense cracks on the eggshell, her fingers gently stroking them.
"Tang Bao, what do you think Sha Qian Mo is doing now?" she asked softly.
The eggshell flickered.
"That's right, he must be at the border. Mo Yan is putting pressure on him, so he has to keep watch."
Hua Qian Gu sighed and pressed the egg to her face.
She actually knew that Sha Qian Mo wasn't just watching the border. He was also avoiding her.
Ever since she said, "In your previous life, you ruined your cultivation and went mad for two hundred years to save me," Sha Qian Mo had been acting strangely. He visited her less often, and when he did, he barely spoke, staying for a while before leaving.
It was as if he was thinking about something.
Or perhaps, he was afraid of something.
"Was he scared by my words?" Hua Qian Gu murmured, "Or... is he trying to recall his previous life?"
No one answered her.
The stone chamber was so quiet that only the faint sound of a heartbeat from within the eggshell could be heard.
The next morning, Sha Qian Mo arrived.
Hua Qian Gu had just woken up and was sitting on the stone bed, holding the egg and lost in thought. Hearing footsteps, she looked up and saw Sha Qian Mo standing at the doorway. His white clothes were a bit wrinkled, and a few strands of hair had come loose, as if he had just returned from outside and hadn't had time to change.
"You didn't sleep all night?" Hua Qian Gu asked.
"I slept," Sha Qian Mo walked in and sat opposite her. "I slept for one period of time."
"That's as good as not sleeping."
"Enough," Sha Qian Mo looked at her, his purple eyes bloodshot, but he seemed energetic. "Hua Qian Gu, I have something to ask you."
Hua Qian Gu's heart skipped a beat.
"Ask away."
"You said that day that in your previous life, you ruined your cultivation and went mad for two hundred years to save me," Sha Qian Mo's voice was calm, but Hua Qian Gu could hear the turmoil beneath it. "I want to know, why did I save you?"
Hua Qian Gu opened her mouth, then closed it again.
This question was difficult to answer.
To say "Because you love me"? Too direct, she couldn't say it. To say "Because we are friends"? Too trivial; what Sha Qian Mo sacrificed for her in their previous life was far more than just friendship.
"Because..." she chose her words carefully, "Because you considered me someone very important."
"How important?"
"More important than life itself."
The stone chamber fell silent for a few seconds.
Sha Qian Mo stared at her for a long time, then said, "I don't remember."
Hua Qian Gu nodded. "I know. You don't have any memory of your previous life yet."
"But I can feel it," Sha Qian Mo placed his hand on his chest. "Here, there's a very strange feeling. Every time I see you, my heart beats very fast. It's not fear, it's—"
He paused, as if searching for the right word.
"It's familiarity."
Hua Qian Gu's heartbeat also quickened.
"You said you knew me in your previous life," Sha Qian Mo continued. "You said I came to save you and went mad for two hundred years for you. Hua Qian Gu, why did you come to save me? What were your intentions towards me?"
Hua Qian Gu looked at his serious expression and suddenly smiled.
"Intentions?" she tilted her head. "What intentions could I have towards you? You are the Demon King, and I am just a mortal. In terms of cultivation, you could crush me with a single finger. In terms of power, you have millions of Demon Soldiers under you, and I only have an unhatched egg. What intentions could I have towards you?"
Sha Qian Mo was taken aback by her words, then frowned. "Then why did you come?"
Hua Qian Gu's smile faded as she looked into his eyes and said, word by word, "Because in your previous life, you ruined your cultivation and went mad for two hundred years to save me. In this life, it's my turn to save you."
"Previous life?" Sha Qian Mo's voice deepened. "Is what you're saying about the previous life true?"
"It's true."
"How can you prove it?"
Hua Qian Gu was silent for a few seconds, then said, "There's an old scar below your left shoulder blade, left from your battle with the Demon Realm three hundred years ago. Your right knee aches every time it rains because the old injury hasn't healed. You like to eat sweets, but you're afraid of people knowing, so you always eat them in secret."
Sha Qian Mo's pupils contracted sharply.
The scar on his left shoulder, the pain in his right knee, his fondness for sweets—these were all personal matters, known to fewer than three people in the entire Demon Emperor Palace. Hua Qian Gu, an outsider, couldn't possibly know.
Unless, what she said about the previous life was true. He must have told her himself in their previous life.
"What else do you know?" his voice was a little strained.
"I also know that you're actually very afraid of loneliness," Hua Qian Gu's voice softened. "You've been the Demon King for three thousand years, with no family, no friends, not even anyone to confide in. On the surface, you don't care about anything, but in reality, you care more than anyone."
Sha Qian Mo remained silent.
He lowered his head and looked at his hands. These hands had killed countless people and saved countless people. For three thousand years, no one had ever said such things to him.
"Hua Qian Gu," his voice was a little hoarse.
"Hmm?"
"I don't remember anything about the previous life you mentioned," he looked up at her. "But I believe you."
Hua Qian Gu's nose stung.
"Because—" Sha Qian Mo paused. "From the moment you first appeared before me, I had a very strange feeling. It was as if I had been waiting for you for a long time, waiting for hundreds or thousands of years. Finally, you arrived."
Tears welled up in Hua Qian Gu's eyes.
She quickly wiped them away, not wanting him to see.
But Sha Qian Mo saw them.
He reached out and gently wiped away the tear tracks on her face with his thumb.
"Don't cry," he said. "I won't ask anymore. If you don't want to say it, you don't have to."
"It's not that I don't want to say it," Hua Qian Gu sniffled. "It's that I'm afraid you won't believe me even if I do."
"I believe you," Sha Qian Mo said. "I believe every word you say."
Hua Qian Gu looked into his purple eyes and suddenly wanted to tell him everything—every detail of their previous life, all that he had done for her, all the debts she owed him.
But she held back.
It wasn't time yet.
"Sha Qian Mo," she said.
"Hmm."
"When I become stronger and can protect myself, I will tell you everything about our previous life. Without missing a single word."
"Okay," Sha Qian Mo nodded. "I'll wait."
He stood up and walked to the doorway, then suddenly stopped.
"Hua Qian Gu."
"Hmm?"
"No matter what happened in our previous life, in this life, I won't let you suffer again," he said without turning back, his voice carrying from his figure. "This is my promise to you."
He left.
Hua Qian Gu hugged Tang Bao's egg and sat on the stone bed, watching his figure disappear at the end of the corridor.
Tears fell again.
But this time, she was crying with a smile.
"Tang Bao," she looked down at the egg. "Did you hear that? He said he won't let me suffer again in this life."
The green light on the eggshell flashed brightly.
A larger crack opened up.
Hua Qian Gu held her breath.
Tang Bao was about to come out.
【End of Chapter·Comment Section: Do you hope Sha Qian Mo remembers his past life?】
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