Chapter 391 - 212: The Next Hundred Years

Chapter 391: Chapter 212: The Next Hundred Years

’She’s gone...’

With that all-out throw from Feng Bei, the wings on his back, constructed from the Danqing Painting Skill, were instantly blown away, dissolving into streams of inky light.

The sound of wind, sharp as a knife, screamed past his ears as Zheng Xiu flew backward uncontrollably.

Before his eyes, a "tunnel" seemingly made of countless fragments appeared.

Innumerable snippets flickered within the "tunnel."

The same face, with different expressions, flashed before Zheng Xiu. One frozen scene after another shattered as he moved.

One moment, it was Xie Luohe;

The next, Feng Bei;

Then, Xie Luohe pretending to be Feng Bei;

Then, Feng Bei pretending to be Xie Luohe.

The same voice, in different tones, echoed simultaneously as the snippets shattered. Countless "memories" flooded in at that instant. As he moved away from the Darkness, everything descended into chaos. The sudden influx of information felt like it was splitting Zheng Xiu’s head open, a heart-wrenching pain.

"Do you want to know what her wish is?"

"What is common sense for ordinary people is, for her, a wish as difficult to attain as reaching Heaven."

"When we find Nie Gong’s Treasure Vault, I will return Feng Bei to you."

"The moment I close my eyes, I see her dreams! Her caution, her loneliness, her hopes, her past, her cries. The moment I open my eyes, all I remember is that village, that night, and that man who, like her, looked just like a Demon Fiend! It was him, it was you, who took her from that place!"

"She just wants... to be a Human. To return to being a normal person!"

"The Sun Chaser was once melted by the very Scorching Sun he worshipped for getting too close."

"If you paint me—right here, right now—then as long as the scroll is not destroyed, someone in this world will know that a pitiable woman named ’Xie Luohe’ once lived, even if it’s only one person."

"Help me with three last things, and I’ll return Feng Bei to you. How about it?"

"Can’t tell the difference? Good. That’s how it’s supposed to be."

"I’m tired of their endless deceptions. I hate hearing the blades hidden in their smiles. I despise their mockery and sarcasm. And I’m even more unwilling to hear their fear and apprehension of me."

"Here, I ’listen’ to their joys, listen to the heartache and pity throbbing in your heart, and I can sleep in peace."

"I was wondering, if we had a child in the future, who would they look more like?"

"I said the child would definitely look like you."

"Alright then. I’ve hidden a lot of things from you, so you can’t be mad either."

"I know you’re the one who deliberately set up Brother Ridi with his wife. I’ve long known it was you who shaved my brother’s head, and I secretly told him a long time ago. Also, for example, I know you always secretly draw blood to practice your Miracle Technique. And... I actually like... lying on my stomach. Also... from the very beginning, I was Feng Bei. HAHAHA... You fell for it again, didn’t you?"

"First, bow to Heaven and Earth... Second, bow to the parents..."

"I don’t just want to be your wife."

"The dream is fake, but all of this is real! In the end, you’ll forget, you’ll forget..."

"So I decided to become... a riddle."

"You will forever wonder why. You will never be able to solve it, never figure it out, never guess the truth. I, Xie Luohe, will become an eternal, unsolvable riddle in your destiny."

"For lifetimes to come..."

"Gongsun Mo... a riddle you can never solve!"

"A riddle you can’t solve!"

Finally, all the images froze on the smile on Feng Bei’s face as she tore open the Darkness with a palm strike.

"Ten years ago."

It had been ten years ago...

...

POP~

His back hit a "membrane" and broke through it.

The shifting scenes of memory before his eyes and the voices in his ears vanished in an instant.

Like a bird with broken wings, he fell heavily into the desert.

THUD!

He landed precisely on top of someone, and both of them sank into a sand pit.

The moon set and the sun rose. Day and night cycled in the blink of an eye. His eyes were vacant, his consciousness blurry as he stared blankly at the alternating sun and moon in the sky. It felt like a long time had passed, yet also just an instant. Having emerged from the Darkness, he couldn’t feel the passage of time. His body felt as if it had been hollowed out.

All was Void.

PFT!

The soft sound came from a cat’s paw, pressing gently on the man’s pale cheek. The man’s hollow gaze shifted to the side. A small Orange Cat had appeared from nowhere and was now gently stroking the man’s face with its paw. Its two jewel-like eyes were frighteningly calm. It seemed that nothing it had just experienced had moved the cat in the least; it appeared completely unruffled.

"Little Feng Miao... Little Feng Miao..."

The man suddenly reached out and hugged the Orange Cat tightly. The Orange Cat struggled for a moment. DRIP. DRIP. DRIP. Its fur became wet, clumping together. Little Feng Miao touched its head with a paw, dissatisfied, and pouted, but still settled down, curled up quietly in the man’s arms.

He struggled to crawl toward the valley, leaving two ghastly, blood-soaked grooves in the yellow sand.

The Monk, who had been pressed into the sand pit, had coughed up a mouthful of blood from having a living person fall from the sky onto him, but a Mystic was a Mystic, after all. Performing a kip-up, he flipped himself out of the sand pit. The Monk anxiously rushed forward and grabbed the man who was struggling to crawl through the sand while hugging the cat. He stared, dumbfounded, at the man’s legs—which he had severed himself.

"You’re going to die! You’re going to die!"

The moment Fan Yao was taken by the Darkness, the Monk’s memories all returned. He remembered everything. He remembered before they had entered, remembered the years he had lived as "Xie Yunliu." He hadn’t yet had time to process this sudden "new identity," and his expression still held some of Xie Yunliu’s carefree and bold nature. He grabbed the man with the severed legs, first tearing his own shirt to bandage him. Then, remembering he was seemingly a martial artist, he fumbled to press a few points on the man’s thighs, staunching the bleeding.