Ji Yunlan urged, “Senior Brother, Master… he wanted to help you block that strike earlier; perhaps there is some misunderstanding.”
Before Xie Weiyuan could offer an explanation, a thunderous explosion erupted within the Shen residence, and instantly, a raging fire roared to life.
Shen Yunjin could no longer spare a thought for Xie Weiyuan. He kicked open the vermilion gate, and an overwhelming wave of heat surged toward him, embers dancing in the air, scorching his tear-filled eyes.
He rushed into the Shen residence, but there was no sign of Shen’s father. Only Wen Yuzhu lay unconscious in the courtyard, covered in blood, her plain white robes dyed a deep, ink-like red.
It was July, the month of the sacrifice once again. The past tragedy was etched clearly in his memory; now, it was a chilling echo of fate, repeating the circumstances of that year.
Shen Yunjin stumbled toward her. Wen Yuzhu’s heartbeat was weakening, like a flickering lamp about to run out of oil, lingering in this world with no signs of life left.
Amidst the swirling dust and ashes, he could no longer perceive the world around him.
Why? I only wanted to catch the true culprit! Why, in the blink of an eye, has everything become irreparable?
This was the second time. This was already the second time!
Shen Yunjin pulled Wen Yuzhu into his arms, continuously channeling his divine power into her. Yet, her spiritual meridians were already shattered; the power he poured into her was like a stone cast into the ocean vanished in an instant.
Even though he knew that the ending of the Huangliang Scroll could not be altered, that everything was fixed by fate, he still stubbornly exhausted himself.
At this final hour, no one can avoid doing foolish things.
After all, the person in his arms was real; the blood, the flesh, the body it was all real. Even her every smile and frown felt so vivid; he could not believe that everything before him was merely an illusory dream.
Wen Yuzhu still held a sliver of consciousness. Her lashes trembled as she slightly opened her eyes. Her fingertips reached toward Shen Yunjin’s face, but she lacked the strength, and her hand fell weakly before him.
She tried to speak, but only scarlet blood welled up, spilling from the corner of her mouth, impossible to swallow.
“Yunjin… you have returned.”
“I am back, Mother, I am back… Don’t leave! What happened? Wait for me, I will save you!”
She gave a faint smile, the adorable dimple at the corner of her mouth appearing and disappearing: “It is useless. I cast a Symbiotic Curse; my life has long been bound to his. What can you do… We have been husband and wife for years, and watching him err repeatedly, this was the only way to stop him.”
“I could not kill him with my own hands and then go on living as if nothing happened. So, it is better to accompany him and take one last walk along the road to the Yellow Springs.”
“I am sorry, little Yun’er… I wanted to be with you for a while longer, but I cannot. He…”
“It is all my fault, all my fault! I am just a jinx. If you hadn’t met me, perhaps none of you would have died… Mother, please don’t go, please.”
He sobbed uncontrollably, his voice choked with emotion. A tear rolled down his cheek and fell onto Wen Yuzhu’s neck, as if it had burned her.
A warm, identical tear slid from the corner of her eye. Like a final surge of vitality, she raised her fingertip and finally touched his thin chin, stroking it gently: “Don’t be silly. Don’t speak of yourself like that. You were never a curse. The last time, Mother’s divination was inaccurate; this time, I found a reliable one.”
“That Daoist said that Linghua-jun will be the person destined for you. In the future, follow him, learn well, and don’t let others bully you, do you understand…”
“And don’t resent him. I asked him to cast the Symbiotic Curse; I had intended to use it only as a last resort… It is a pity I won’t see it through. But if this can end everything, so be it.”
“No… no, don’t leave. I only have you. No one else in this world treats me well.”
“They will. Someone will be good to you. Mother will protect you from the heavens, and you will have a happy, full life.”
Her gaze began to drift, and her breathing grew more labored. Her words trembled, yet her eyes remained fixed on Shen Yunjin.
How wonderful, she thought, as if seeing her little Yun’er grown into a tall, upright young man.
“Little Yun’er… why have you grown so tall in just a few hours? That is good… Mother, does this mean I have seen you grow up?”
“Don’t go… please. You haven’t seen me come of age yet, you haven’t celebrated my birthday, you haven’t cooked me a bowl of longevity noodles. Do you remember? In ten days, it would be my birthday. We were so close!”
The warmth of the person in his arms was fading. Despite the intense heat of the fire burning all around him, why did he feel so cold?
He constantly drew divine power from his chest, trying to hold onto Wen Yuzhu’s soul, but it was all an illusion. Even if he dug out the Divine Seal, he could change nothing.
“Why! Why! Why won’t this fire go out… I have the Divine Seal now… why can I still not protect you?”
…
The fire crackled through the plants in the courtyard.
In this desolate, dusty world, there was truly no one left.
“Sigh…” Xie Weiyuan let out a breath, his fingertips touching his trembling shoulder: “Do not be sad; this was her own choice.”
Amidst the flames, his face streaked with tears, Shen Yunjin spoke in a hoarse voice: “Master… why, why won’t this fire go out? I cannot save her.”
Glazed Pure Fire was not so easily extinguished.
Ji Yunlan gritted his teeth, wanting to forcibly mobilize his Water Spiritual Root to put out the fire, but despite forming seals and chanting incantations, he was suppressed by the restraints of the Huangliang Scroll.
Within this dream, not even the most basic Water Technique could be performed.
Xie Weiyuan stood still for a moment.
The Symbiotic Curse and the Glazed Pure Fire Technique… he had been the one to give them to her.
However, would “Linghua-jun” be so kind-hearted as to bestow them? It was likely that he had intended to destroy the Shen residence all along, and simply seized the opportunity when Wen Yuzhu begged him, pushing the boat with the current by giving her the curse.
Shen Yunjin remained kneeling on the scorched ruins, the body in his arms gradually growing cold. In a daze, he heard his mother’s tender whisper in his ear: “I know the past cannot be recovered, but I know the future can be pursued…”
Finally, it turned into a lonely, desolate sigh: “Returning home, returning home…”
When will the old friend return?
He chanted it, feeling nothing.
Xie Weiyuan sighed. After a moment of hesitation, he raised the Cloud-Hidden Flute.
Shen Yunjin was too miserable; he might as well help him once within this dream.
A clear, ethereal flute melody drifted out. The Spirit of the Weak Water flowed from behind him, encircling him heavily. Shen Yunjin looked up in a daze, only to see the Cloud-Hidden Flute emitting a ghostly green light, releasing a sky full of Water Essence that wrapped around him like thousands of silk threads, devouring the rampant tongues of fire.
The fire was finally extinguished.
Is that man crazy?
Forcibly using spiritual power within the Huangliang Scroll could lead to disrupted meridians at best, or a damaged soul at worst. Xie Weiyuan was truly insane! He was helping him at the risk of the scroll’s backlash!
“Master…” he murmured, looking at the man’s fluttering robes and his dark hair disheveled in the wind.
Clearly, it was not him.
Yet…
It was also he who gently enveloped him, his spiritual power spreading across his body inch by inch, extinguishing the stars and fires, drowning out the world’s suffering, and settling all the wild turbulence.
He had just defied his Master, disobeyed him, and interrogated him. Why would this person go so far to help him?
Xie Weiyuan had once said he only pitied him for the sake of the Divine Seal.
But he truly couldn’t believe it anymore. How could anyone be willing to do such things for a luding, for the sake of a Divine Seal? Risking the danger of exhausting his spiritual power, risking the backlash of the dream, just to help someone he had once hated to the bone.
The flute melody finally stopped.
Xie Weiyuan’s lips were pale, the corners of his eyes flushed red, as if he would collapse to the ground at any moment. Yet, he braced himself and sheathed the flute at his waist.
He spoke, a whisper, as if comforting himself: “It is fine now. You will not hurt anymore.”
Ji Yunlan hurriedly supported Xie Weiyuan’s staggering form.
“Master, are you alright?”
“It is nothing. Summoning the Water Technique with the Cloud-Hidden Flute should not cause too severe a backlash.”
Why is he such a fool…
Fortunately, Xie Weiyuan was not on the verge of fainting. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and urged, “Let her rest in peace.”
They found a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters near the outskirts of the city.
Pear blossoms were like snow; the place was secluded, accompanied only by the bright moon and cool breeze.
Shen Yunjin dug a small pit, placed Wen Yuzhu inside with the utmost care, meticulously wiped the dirty blood from her face with his sleeve, and began to fill the earth.
Although Wen Yuzhu in reality never found a place of rest, within the Huangliang Scroll dream, they had allowed her to sleep peacefully.
The initial agony had passed, and Shen Yunjin no longer wore a look of sorrow; he numbly pushed the soil to bury his mother.
Pear blossoms drifted down from above, landing on his hair and shoulders, and then slowly falling into the pit with his movements.
The fallen blossoms withered, turning into mud.
Everything was settled, yet the Huangliang Scroll dream did not disperse. It seemed there were still mysteries here they had yet to unravel.
Shen Yunjin had left in a hurry and had not paid attention to the whereabouts of Shen’s father. He didn’t have a deep impression of this father. That man always wore a serious face, and from the moment he arrived in this home, his brows had always been clouded by a sickly, depressed air.
Yet, everything was inextricably linked to that man.
The Symbiotic Curse of the Jiuyou Sect required the one casting the curse to share a close bond of love with the one bound by it, so they could share life and death and tread the Yellow Springs together. It was true that Shen’s father was sinister, but he had truly and deeply loved Wen Yuzhu. Since the Symbiotic Curse had been successfully cast, why hadn’t they seen Shen’s father just now?
“The Symbiotic Curse was cast, yet Shen’s father wasn’t buried here. Unless…”
“Unless he didn’t die at all.” Shen Yunjin’s expression was indifferent.
“He knew how to break the curse, allowing her to be buried here alone.”
“Master once said that the Ancient Deer Immortal drew the Goddess of the Linjiang River with the Divine Work Pen. Only he would expend such effort to draw Mother.”
Xie Weiyuan nodded: “That is correct. Although the Ancient Deer Immortal used the Divine Work Pen, he could not draw the beauty’s spirit, simply because she lacked a soul.”
“A divine artifact cannot create people; it can only use them. Therefore, he must have sacrificed someone’s soul to resurrect this fake Wen Yuzhu.”
Outside the Huangliang Scroll, the “Wen Yuzhu” in her plain robes was indeed nothing more than an illusion.
They had been in this dream for days, yet the “Fairy in the Painting” had yet to appear.