Number 78 looked down upon this behavior with disdain.
Tang Li was startled. “Master?! What’s wrong with Qiqi?”
[He’s dying,] Number 78 said casually.
Seeing the girl’s face turn pale, he quickly comforted her, [It’s nothing serious. He’s just stuck between immortal and demon states, with chaotic energy inside him and unable to control his inner demons.]
[He’s been living like this for over a hundred years, and with his great merits, the Heavenly Dao won’t let him perish now.]
[Otherwise he would have sought death long ago, instead of living without any will to live like this.]
Zhe He couldn’t die – this was the reason he forever hated and loathed himself.
His body seemed not to belong to him; on one hand he wanted to kill himself, while on the other it resisted this will and forced him to live.
The reason his cultivation was so profound was the result of practicing the Path of Emotional Detachment.
It was the result of deliberately distancing himself from Tang Li, intentionally neglecting her, abandoning her to the side, ultimately causing her tragic death.
His cultivation was exchanged for Tang Li’s life – Zhe He had always believed this.
Zhe He hated Ling Yuanyi, hated everyone who took Tang Li to the Secret Realm that day.
But he hated himself even more.
Why did he want to ascend and become an immortal?
Why did he want to achieve great cultivation?
Without her, what meaning did any of this hold?
Tang Li’s heart ached as she held Zhe He. “I need to find senior brother to save Master.”
[No need. He might wake up soon anyway, and your senior brothers are almost becoming mortals themselves – they can’t heal him.] Number 78 shook his head.
The girl furrowed her delicate brows, looking toward the desolate and dilapidated bedchamber. A wave of sorrow and bitterness washed over her as she tightened her embrace around the unconscious Immortal Lord.
Then she would just stay with Master like this.
If this could make Master feel even a little better.
After about fifteen minutes, Zhe He slowly woke up.
The man had lost all his senses and couldn’t perceive where he was, groping around as he reached out his hand.
“Master, you’re awake? Master?” Tang Li called out softly.
Zhe He couldn’t hear her. His groping hand was grasped by the girl, and he began circulating his energy to slowly restore his senses.
The tip of his nose caught a faint sweet warmth from Tang Li’s scent, mixed with a hint of Moonlin fragrance.
Moonlin incense was the fragrance commonly used in his palace in the past. Over time, only he and Mian Mian would carry its scent.
As if… marked as his.
But after Tang Li’s death, the Moonlin flowers never bloomed again, and he… could no longer smell this fragrance.
Leaving him without even the slightest memory.
When his vision finally cleared and Zhe He’s consciousness returned, he realized the girl was pinned beneath him, their black and white robes entangled, the corners of her eyes tinged with crimson, her eyes glistening with tears.
“Master…” the girl called out timidly in a soft voice.
Zhe He stared at her in a daze.
The palace bell, the Moonlin fragrance, the nearly identical appearance, and the nickname only he knew.
All these overlapping together.
Zhe He could no longer force himself to disbelieve, could no longer force himself to stay away.
He had missed her too much.
“Mian Mian,” the Immortal Lord called out in a low voice, filled with profound regret and intense love, “Is it really you?”
“It’s me. This disciple was unfilial, taking so long to return. Please don’t be angry with me anymore, Master?” Tang Li’s nose tingled with emotion as she choked out her apology.
As her words fell, the girl was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace.
Their broad robes concealed their embracing figures. Zhe He was nearly mad with joy, repeatedly calling out, “Mian Mian, Mian Mian…”
Tang Li endured the pain, responding to each call, assuring Zhe He that she was truly still alive.
“Little junior sister—”
“Little junior sister, where are you?—”
The voices of Luo Chen and others searching for her came from outside the palace.
Tang Li had been out for too long, and they were growing worried.
“Master, my senior brother has come for me. Let’s go out.” The girl gently nudged the man.
Sensing resistance, Zhe He’s heart once again swelled with dark fury. “No. You are not allowed to leave.”
Zhe He held the girl tightly and swiftly flew away from the place.
No one was permitted to take his Mian Mian away.