As physical sensation returned to her body, Mu Ran felt as though a lifetime had passed.
She sat up, touched her face, and gave it a pinch. She distinctly felt the sting of pain and the unmistakable warmth of her own skin.
Somehow, she had returned to her body, and she could even feel spiritual energy flowing within her.
Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. Over the past five hundred years, her body and soul had been nourished by countless rare heavenly treasures and miraculous elixirs. Her once-shattered spirit roots and bones had actually been repaired.
The brief joy Mu Ran felt upon waking suddenly dissipated like mist in the wind, replaced by a heavy, suffocating feeling in her chest.
The clear water reflected her face. It should have been a wonderful moment of regaining her freedom, yet she could not bring herself to smile, overwhelmed by a stifling bitterness.
Her thoughts uncontrollably drifted back to the scene from not long ago.
The words Cangshu Bai had spoken to someone else—"I will give you a proper status"—were like a fine needle piercing the softest part of her heart, causing it to throb with pain.
She lowered her eyes to look at her reflection in the water, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
Perhaps men and women would never be on the same page. She believed that love should be possessive, not something that could be split in half and given to different people.
At the very least, Mu Ran could not accept such an outcome.
His actions were tantamount to placing all three of them in an awkward position.
Yet, Mu Ran found herself unable to hate Cangshu Bai.
She knew that for the past five hundred years, he had been trying every possible way to resurrect her, braving life and death and nearly losing his own life several times. She also knew that he had always been destined for a lonely life, with no family or friends, completely alone, yet because of her, he had suffered five hundred years of torment and obsession for nothing.
The fact that he could keep her in his heart for five hundred years was proof enough that his feelings for her had once been true.
Furthermore, Luo Qingniao's willingness to risk life and death for Cangshu Bai had not escaped Mu Ran's eyes. Searching her own soul and putting herself in his shoes, Mu Ran thought she might not be able to turn a cold shoulder to such a wonderful girl whose eyes and heart were entirely filled with her either.
Therefore, it was only natural that Cangshu Bai was moved and fell in love.
However, while her gratitude for his five hundred years of suffering was real, her inability to accept the prospect of two women sharing one husband was equally real.
As someone whose life had been blank for five hundred years, Mu Ran felt she had no right to hold any resentment.
Since Cangshu Bai had a new lover, she shouldn't stay here and get in the way.
She stepped down from the white jade bed and stood on the surface of the water. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly thought that perhaps Cangshu Bai would still come looking for her.
She needed to make it clear that her departure was voluntary, and that her blessings for him and Luo Qingniao were genuine.
Mu Ran raised her hand and waved it. Blue water vapor condensed in mid-air into lines of text, devoid of any resentment, carrying only a gentle sense of relief.
"I have awakened. Let the past fade away with the wind.
For five hundred years, you braved danger for me and protected me with your life. I will engrave this in my heart.
Now that you have someone to accompany you and a stable place to call home, I am truly happy for you.
Our fate together has reached its perfect conclusion.
I leave these words today to formally part ways with you.
But I know in my heart how much you have done for me in the past. Although we are separating, I cannot in good conscience say that we are completely even.
This kindness and this affection, I will remember in my heart for all my lives to come. I will not entangle you, nor will I complain; only gratitude remains.
In the future, as you are accompanied by a beautiful woman and enjoy gentle years, I sincerely wish from afar that you both have a lifetime of peace, free from turmoil and separation.
Do not look for me, and do not worry about me.
Your well-being is the best ending of all.
— Mu Ran."
Mu Ran carefully weighed the words of this letter, reading it over meticulously several times, afraid that even a single word or sentence might reveal a hint of reluctance.
Only when the letter was finished did she slowly let out a breath.
Perhaps, reaching this point, everything had found its most perfect conclusion.
Mu Ran told herself that she should no longer linger. She turned around and vanished from this realm.
Luo Qingniao's head throbbed as if it were splitting apart, her consciousness violently snapping back from the boundless darkness.
She opened her eyes, and a choking scent immediately pierced her nose.
The smell of charred wood, dust, and an overwhelmingly thick stench of blood, mixed with a faint, lingering murderous aura, completely shattered all her memories of the Qingtian Sect.
The last scene before she lost consciousness was still as clear as if it had been carved into her soul.
Cangshu Bai's eyes had been so cold they lacked even the slightest warmth. He had grabbed her by the neck, his grip tightening. At that moment, he had truly wanted to kill her.
Cold, ruthless, and without a shred of past affection—just thinking about his expression then still made her whole body shiver.
She thought that upon waking, she would either be dead or rescued by her father. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect that the world before her would no longer be the Qingtian Sect she knew.
There was no sea of clouds, no spiritual mist, no continuous stretches of grand halls, and no fluttering robes of passing cultivators.
Instead, there was billowing black smoke, ruined walls, a collapsed main peak, blood soaking every stone step, and severed limbs and corpses scattered everywhere.
The entire world was terrifyingly quiet.
Luo Qingniao's blood ran cold, her limbs turning icy. She even forgot to breathe.
Stiffly, she turned her neck inch by inch.
With the very next glance, the sight before her nearly frightened her soul out of her body.
Not far away, a figure stood amidst the blood and ruins.
Dressed in black as dark as ink, with hair as white as snow, his murderous aura had yet to dissipate. Despite his handsome, aloof features, he was more terrifying than a demon from the deepest hell.
It was Cangshu Bai.
And the very hand that had once brought her to the brink of death was currently wrapped around another person's neck, lifting them high into the air. Their feet dangled off the ground, struggling weakly.
The person's clothes were torn, their face was a bruised purple, and they were barely breathing.
It was her father, Luo Yuntao.
Luo Qingniao's pupils violently contracted. Stricken as if by lightning, she screamed, "No—!"
But with a mere flick of his fingers, Cangshu Bai snapped the neck of the Qingtian Sect Master—the man who had once stood high above, believing he could control everyone's destiny. His corpse was tossed to the ground like a ragged cloth, left to mingle with the dust.
Luo Qingniao felt as if her soul were tearing apart. "Father! Why... why..."
Through tear-blurred eyes, she lifted her stunningly beautiful face and asked, heartbroken, "I truly loved you! Why would you do this to me!?"
Unable to control her emotions, Luo Qingniao's voice grew hoarse.
"I was willing to sacrifice myself for you!"
"I was willing to give up everything for you!"
"I loved you so much! Why did you kill my father and destroy my sect? Cangshu Bai, are you truly made of stone? Have you never, even for a moment, felt my true heart for you?!"
"What does your affection have to do with me?"
Hearing his completely emotionless voice, Luo Qingniao's crying abruptly stopped. She froze in place as if struck by a thunderbolt, forgetting to even breathe.
The wind swept past, carrying the stench of blood. It fluttered her messy hair and billowed his spotless robes.
Looking at the tall figure before her, Luo Qingniao realized for the very first time just how horribly wrong she had been.
