In all seasons of the year, Xiao Jin particularly favored winter.
Perhaps because winter was the last season, or perhaps because it snowed in winter.
In the last month of the ancient world, there was a day when Xiao Jin suddenly remembered the mountain peak with plum blossoms described by Ming Xun before and wanted to go and see it together with Chu Shao.
Chu Shao asked, “What is the name of that mountain?”
Recalling Ming Xun’s description, Xiao Jin said, “Kunlun.”
In the present day, Xiao Jin had never been to Kunlun Mountain, so she wasn’t sure if it was the same Kunlun as the one mentioned by Ming Xun.
All she knew was that the Kunlun Ming Xun spoke of was located in the northwest of Jiuzhou, a place of towering mountains and distant waters, where immortals rode the wind and walked with swords, their traces hard to find.
Fortunately, Chu Shao was not only the ruler of the world but also a figure like a deity.
“I know where Kunlun is.”
After half a month, Xiao Jin saw the true face of Kunlun.
It was rumored that Kunlun Mountain was ten thousand zhang high, the ancestor of all mountains. In the mountain, there lived a fairy, the Queen Mother of the West.
Xiao Jin found herself in the vast expanse of heaven and earth, but she wasn’t particularly amazed. She felt that whether it was reality or a dream, every mountain looked similar.
It was just a mountain, after all.
Whether there was the Queen Mother’s Yaochi inside, or a divine tree covered with splendid treasures, in the end, it was just a mountain.
What she couldn’t let go of was never any particular mountain or body of water.
Kunlun was cold, and Xiao Jin was still nursing injuries and couldn’t withstand the cold, so she only wandered around the foot of the mountain with Chu Shao. Unfortunately, they didn’t find the courtyard with plum blossoms that Ming Xun had mentioned.
However, they did come across another small building.
The building was made of wood, with cedar trees on both sides, and white snow fell on the needle-shaped leaves. Some branches even had crystal-clear ice columns hanging upside down.
Pushing the wheelchair into the building, Xiao Jin discovered that there were tea sets and arrangements like soft couches inside.
Xiao Jin was somewhat surprised and looked at Chu Shao.
Chu Shao smiled and said, “I used to practice swordsmanship here.”
Xiao Jin looked into Chu Shao’s eyes and couldn’t help but smile.
“So you are the great hero Chu, pleased to meet you, pleased to meet you.”
It was no wonder that Chu Shao’s martial arts were so exceptional; she must have practiced in previous lifetimes.
Xiao Jin had actually asked Chu Shao about the experiences of those past lives over the years, but Chu Shao always just smiled and said, “Transient as fleeting clouds, not worth mentioning.”
Chu Shao avoided discussing it, and Xiao Jin wouldn’t force her to answer. She brewed some tea with snow water, took a few sips, and immediately felt the cold in her body diminish.
Feeling revitalized, she had the interest to go and take a look at the courtyard where Chu Shao had once practiced her sword.
As soon as she was pushed in the wheelchair and arrived in the courtyard, Xiao Jin froze.
Because the scene before her eyes had once appeared in her mind.
Snow-covered mountain peaks, a few silver firs on the ground.
The only difference was that Chu Shao probably wasn’t standing under the silver fir tree with drifting white snow, turning around from between heaven and earth to smile at herself.
At this moment, Xiao Jin wanted to delve deeper, but unfortunately, she couldn’t grasp the meaning behind such mysterious matters, let alone find their endings.
The system in her mind had been silent for quite some time, pretending to be dead.
On the bright side, maybe she was really dead.
There weren’t many days like this left, and Xiao Jin didn’t want to waste time and energy on these trivial matters. She simply calmed her mind and enjoyed this precious and heavy pleasure before the day of her demise.
It could be called a revelry on doomsday, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
Xiao Jin considered the remaining days as each day before imminent death, and she found the sky delightfully blue and the snow beautifully white.
The setting sun cast its glow, and a golden ray poured down from the peak of Kunlun Mountain, spreading out and creating an unparalleled brilliance.
Clouds and mist floated among the mountains, and if one were to look down from above, they would surely catch a glimpse of the sea of clouds.
Unfortunately, that was the perspective of immortals.
From the perspective of an ordinary mortal like Xiao Jin, all she could see was Chu Shao wearing her former pristine white robes, dancing with a sword between the vast heaven and earth.
All those phrases like “graceful as a startled swan” or “dragons playing with phoenixes” were too commonplace.
Watching Chu Shao practice her sword, Xiao Jin caught a glimpse of her brows and eyes touched by snow, and she couldn’t help but feel as if it was the sword of a celestial being.
In her heart, she praised it to the heavens, but when Chu Shao finished practicing, turned around, and Xiao Jin wanted to say something profound, she found herself at a loss for words.
After a while, she sincerely praised, “Beautiful.”
Not much different from tourists who can only say “wow.”
In the cold night of Kunlun, before Xiao Jin falls asleep, she always coughs up some blood.
After coughing, she has to find water to rinse her mouth and a handkerchief to wipe off the blood.
After several nights of this ordeal, whenever night fell, Xiao Jin learned her lesson and stopped wandering outside.
She wrapped herself in a soft fox fur blanket and nestled beside Chu Shao.
Sometimes she would speak, sometimes she wouldn’t, but she would kiss Chu Shao’s lips and face.
At one point, Xiao Jin was amazed at herself for being able to cherish Chu Shao with such a broken body, relying only on her hands.
The snowstorm in the mountains was heavy, and it became even colder after taking off her clothes.
Xiao Jin originally thought that on such a cold day, it might be better not to do it.
Catching a cold would outweigh the gains.
However, Chu Shao was firm in her attitude, and she couldn’t resist. Moreover, the reason she gave made it difficult for her to refuse:
“I want Your Highness like this.”
Since she put it that way, Xiao Jin couldn’t refuse.
So she held the person with a slightly cool body in her arms, lightly pressed her lips against her, and brushed the pipa bone on her back.
Several wet marks with a hint of moisture, accompanied by slightly furrowed brows, covered the thin sweat on her forehead with a hint of restrained restraint.
Occasionally, in order to facilitate Xiao Jin’s movements, even in the damp misty mornings, she could face the cold breeze and place her hands on the damp wall panels, just make do with it.
Chu Shao often called out “Your Highness,” and Xiao Jin often responded.
In the end, the mist dissipated.
Chu Shao finished bathing, straightened her clothes, and walked over with a smiling face, handing her a cup of tea, “Your Highness, you’ve worked hard.”
“…”
This statement was too insulting.
Xiao Jin suddenly didn’t feel like accepting it.
However, Chu Shao didn’t stop at insulting her once; she wanted to cause her another injury: “Your Highness is still sick and shouldn’t be too exhausted. Next time, let me do it.”
Speaking of this, Xiao Jin took a sip of tea and placed the cup on the desk, leaving a circle of water marks. “Is that so? Why do I feel that when Your Majesty goes all out, it’s not much different from me dragging this broken body?”
Chu Shao raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”
That night, Xiao Jin lay on the bed and begged for mercy repeatedly, “Alright, Shao’er, good Shao’er… I’m disabled, disabled…”
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the last day of the year.
The two of them ate and slept as usual, seemingly no different from any other day.
However, Xiao Jin had Ye Feiyan bring a stack of paper with an ink-dipped pen, writing something on the letter.
Xiao Jin’s handwriting couldn’t be considered good-looking, and it was free-spirited, lacking a proper form. The only advantage was that the strokes had a sense of casualness, capturing a hint of a carefree meaning.
Chu Shao walked to the side of the desk and went over to take a look. “What is Your Highness writing?”
While writing, Xiao Jin replied, “My last words.”
Chu Shao was slightly stunned, then smiled. “Who are you writing it to?”
There were indeed many papers on the desk, but most of them were destroyed after Xiao Jin put pen to paper.
The reason was simple: since becoming a useless person, she hadn’t practiced for a long time, and perhaps hadn’t read many books printed with traditional characters, so she had forgotten how to write.
Xiao Jin picked up one piece of paper and explained to Chu Shao, “This one is for Aunt Zhao Hua.”
Chu Shao took a look, and there was only one line written on it: “Aunt, I’m leaving, don’t miss me.”
Chu Shao smiled and commented, “Your Highness’s last words are concise and to the point, without any unnecessary words.”
Indeed, after all, if it were more complicated, she wouldn’t be able to write it.
Chu Shao then picked up a few more and saw that there were only a few lines left in the letters, respectively written to Ye Juege, Ye Feiyan, Bai Zheng, Su Tan, and Old Zhang.
At the end, there was even one for Bai Zhu.
Just by looking at those few lines, Chu Shao could imagine Xiao Jin’s expression and demeanor when she spoke these words.
There shouldn’t be any expression on her face, mostly a tinge of helplessness. “In the future, be more insightful in your words and actions. After I leave, don’t let it be a few days before Her Majesty chops off your head.”
As for the letter left for Old Zhang, it held a significant meaning.
“After I leave, no one will stop you, Old Zhang. You can freely enjoy the jade objects. Also, please take care of the locust tree in the courtyard for me, just don’t let it wither, thank you.”
As for the letter to Ye Juege, there was only one sentence: “Juege, I’m leaving, not dead, don’t mourn for me.”
The last complete letter was written to Su Tan: “Doctor Su, your chef makes the food too salty. It would be better to have him put less salt in the future. Since you’re a medical expert, eating too much salt is bad for the body.”
As for Bai Zheng and Ye Feiyan, Xiao Jin only wrote the titles and hadn’t started writing yet.
Chu Shao rarely became curious about these boring matters. “What do you want to write to them, Your Highness?”
Xiao Jin said, “Tell Bai Zheng that Prince Yan doesn’t have her in her heart. I advise her to sever her attachment and become a rich woman who can only wipe her tears with banknotes.”
“As for Ye Feiyan, I remind her to fight fewer battles in the martial world in the future. Otherwise, she won’t know how many debts of gratitude she’ll owe, and it will take several lifetimes to repay the kindness of others.”
Chu Shao enjoyed listening to Xiao Jin speak. As she listened, a smile unintentionally appeared in her eyes.
After a moment, she asked, “Your Highness, what about me? Did you leave a letter for me?”
Xiao Jin looked at Chu Shao and shook her head gently.
“No.”
“Why?” Chu Shao furrowed her brow.
Xiao Jin replied, “Memories, when left with less familiar friends, become a form of nostalgia.”
Pausing for a moment, she continued, “But leaving it for you, I can’t bear to.”
Chu Shao smiled again.
Xiao Jin was willing to leave but unwilling to leave behind a few words for her. What was the reason behind this?
Xiao Jin said, “It is often said that seeing something reminds one of a person. Since I am leaving, I want to leave cleanly, without leaving anything behind. That would be best.”
“So, it’s only for me that you don’t want to leave anything?” Chu Shao understood.
After a moment, Xiao Jin nodded.
Chu Shao looked at her and smiled, asking, “So, do you want me to forget you?”
Xiao Jin didn’t answer her question.
She looked away, placing her fingertips on the armrest of the wheelchair and said softly, “When I was young and read books, I often thought that forgetting each other in the martial world is also a carefree and joyful ending.”
Chu Shao’s eyes lost their smile, and she asked, “So, will you forget me?”
“No,” Xiao Jin said calmly, “In this lifetime, I probably won’t be able to forget.”
Chu Shao stared into Xiao Jin’s eyes and asked, “Since you can’t forget me, why should I forget you?”
There was a moment of silence in the room.
Xiao Jin spoke softly, “Shao’er, I misspoke.”
After a moment, a smile returned to Chu Shao’s eyes. “You were not mistaken, I should thank you for giving me such a beautiful dream.”
Xiao Jin said solemnly, “And I feel the same way.”
The light from the window revealed the snow outside.
The candlelight flickered, casting its glow on a beautiful figure.
Chu Shao squatted down, held Xiao Jin’s hand, and gently kissed the back of her hand.
Her lips were cool, but her smile was evident.
“Your Highness, don’t forget me.”
….
On the last night, Chu Shao didn’t sleep in the same room as Xiao Jin. Instead, she chose to stay alone in the quiet room.
The candlelight had become dim.
Chu Shao was still holding a white handkerchief, carefully wiping the silver-blue longsword in her hand.
After Qi Country was destroyed, this sword had returned to her from the Prince Yan’s mansion.
Its name was Nameless, a rare and excellent sword.
Tomorrow, Chu Shao would use this fine sword.
So at this moment, she wiped it meticulously under the dim light. Even when a voice in her mind had called her many times, she hadn’t heard it.
When the voice seemed a little unhappy, Chu Shao came back to her senses and smiled as she asked, “What did you say just now?”
The voice replied, “I asked why, when you were so close to achieving your wish, just one step away from success, you let Xiao Jin go.”
Chu Shao was puzzled, “What is my wish?”
“As long as someone truly falls in love with you, this cycle will end, and you will finally get the death you desire.”
“Isn’t that your wish?”
Chu Shao nodded, “That was my wish, but it’s in the past now.”
The voice sounded distant and mechanical, but with a hint of confusion, “Then what is your wish now?”
“Now?”
Chu Shao smiled, her lips curling up slightly, “Now, I want to continue in this cycle forever. Death would make me forget her, but the cycle won’t.”
“Since death would take away my right to remember her, then death is no longer enchanting.”
The voice asked, “So, you don’t want to die now?”
Chu Shao replied, “No.”
“Do you want to live on forever, forever, with this memory, in eternal solitude?”
Chu Shao furrowed her brow, “Solitude?”
“I won’t die. I will remember her forever. She can reappear in my memories countless times. And yet, you say I am lonely? Why should I be lonely? I should be ecstatic,” she said with a smile.
The voice remained silent.
After a while, it asked, “Have you really made up your mind to send her back home tomorrow?”
Chu Shao smiled and replied, “Of course.”
“But before I send her back home, I have one unfinished wish.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“Who are you? I want to see your face,” she said.
The voice calmly responded, “I am just your system. You cannot see my face.”
Chu Shao smiled and said, “However, the timing of your appearance is quite coincidental.”
“On the day Xiao Jin proposed to me, your voice suddenly appeared and persuaded me to accept her. You said, ‘I am willing.'”
“I want to know, what is your true purpose?”
The voice fell silent.
After a long time, it spoke in a mechanical tone, “I am your system. My only purpose is to help you complete your mission and break free from the cycle.”
Chu Shao said, “Is that so? But I still want to know who you really are. And I have a feeling that after tomorrow, you may disappear.”
“So, why not reveal yourself now and let me see?” she suggested.
The voice remained silent.
Until the candles in the quiet room went out, it finally responded, “Fine.”
Everything turned dark before her eyes.
Yet in her mind, Chu Shao could clearly see the face that had appeared with the voice.
Chu Shao was taken aback.
Then she smiled and said, “So that’s how it is.”
“I truly appreciate you,” she added.
The voice replied, “No need.”
Finally, Chu Shao seemed to have realized something and asked, “You said earlier that Xiao Jin already loves me a lot, but she hasn’t reached the true meaning of love yet.”
“If that’s not love, then what is true love?”
The voice said, “There are two lines that describe it well.”
“What lines?” she asked.
“Love arises without knowing its origin and deepens with each step. The living can die, and the dead can live.”
“Perhaps, that’s what love is,” the voice concluded.
….
On the next day, Kunlun Mountain was covered in snow.
Chu Shao woke up early, picked up a comb, and started combing Xiao Jin’s hair.
Because it was their last time, Chu Shao combed slowly and gently. She watched as the black strands slipped through her fingers, occasionally intertwined with a few strands of silver.
Chu Shao paused, put down the comb, and plucked out a few strands of Xiao Jin’s white hair, gently pinching them.
Then, she concealed them in her sleeve.
Xiao Jin looked up at Chu Shao with a faint smile and said, “Shao’er, since you pulled out my white hair, why did you secretly hide it without telling me?”
Chu Shao spoke in a warm voice, “Your Highness, I was afraid that if I told you, you wouldn’t let me keep it.”
Xiao Jin chuckled, about to say something, but then stopped.
Chu Shao’s voice reached her ears, “After all, Your Highness doesn’t want me to keep anything related to you. So now, I have to secretly keep a few strands as a memento. Otherwise, I won’t be able to see them in the future.”
Xiao Jin was stunned and remained silent.
After finishing her hair, outside the small building, the sun was rising, casting a soft and hazy light like mist.
Chu Shao pushed the wheelchair into the sunlight.
Xiao Jin sat in the wheelchair, watching the sunrise with the person beside her.
Watching the golden crow piercing through the clouds and hanging in the sky above Kunlun, the snow covering the entire mountain peak immediately shimmered with splendid and bright golden light.
Chu Shao stood under the silver fir tree, and the snow falling from the branches on her head seemed to add a touch of white hair.
Xiao Jin watched the snow falling from Chu Shao’s hair and instinctively raised her hand, wanting to brush it away for her.
But because she was sitting in a wheelchair, she couldn’t reach it, so she had to give up.
Suddenly, she remembered that she had dreamed last night of herself and Chu Shao growing old together, holding hands and entering the coffin, lying in eternal rest underground.
When she woke up from the dream, it was snowing outside the building.
There was no one by Xiao Jin’s side, and there was no light around her. She covered her chest, feeling the throbbing pain in her heart, causing her to cough incessantly, bending over and spitting out a pool of blood.
Chu Shao rushed over upon hearing the sound, extending her hand to support Xiao Jin’s body, which was about to slide off the bed.
Gently cupping her face, not even noticing the blood on her sleeve.
Xiao Jin’s body trembled violently, almost unable to catch her breath.
Holding Chu Shao’s waist tightly, she wanted to say, “Shao’er, I won’t leave. I’ll stay here with you until we grow old, until we die.”
God knows, in this lifetime, in this fleeting and illusory afterlife, she wanted to preserve this greedy desire, embracing such warmth.
But in the end, Xiao Jin didn’t say anything.
Because she had already made her choice before this. Those who have made up their minds to leave should not look back.
At this moment, Chu Shao had already taken out the nameless sword.
The blade was unsheathed, reflecting a silvery-blue light under the sunlight. It was a good sword for a lethal strike.
It seemed that Chu Shao’s swordsmanship was swift. With one strike, she wouldn’t feel much pain and would lose her heartbeat, dying in this heavy snow.
Chu Shao held the sword, snow clinging to her eyebrows and eyes, still smiling.
She asked, “Your Highness, is there anything you would like to do before facing death?”
The wind and snow grew fiercer.
After a while, Xiao Jin raised her head and asked, “Shao’er, can I hug you?”
Perhaps because she was immersed in the clouds, her voice carried a moist feeling, sounding slightly hoarse.
Chu Shao smiled gently, “Of course.”
So Xiao Jin reached out and hugged Chu Shao for the last time.
She didn’t dare to exert too much force because she was afraid that if she held on tightly, she would want to keep hugging forever.
After finishing the embrace, Xiao Jin’s ice-cold hand pressed against Chu Shao’s soft hand, and a few drops of water dripped onto it.
Xiao Jin didn’t wipe away the tears on her face; she just looked at the person in front of her, tightly gripping her hand, and softly asked, “Shao’er, can I kiss your hand one more time?”
Chu Shao gazed at Xiao Jin without saying a word.
After a moment, she smiled and asked, “Your Highness, do you remember the story you told me?”
In fact, over the years, Xiao Jin had told Chu Shao many stories.
But at this moment, she immediately knew which story Chu Shao was referring to.
The Happy Prince.
Chu Shao smiled and asked, “Your Highness, what was the last sentence the Happy Prince said to the Swallow?”
Xiao Jin would never forget.
The Happy Prince said, “You should not have kissed my hand; you should have kissed my lips because I love you.”
Chu Shao leaned down, getting closer to Xiao Jin’s lips and kissed her.
Snowflakes filled the sky, the dowry of the Mountain God’s daughter.
She kissed devoutly, for a long time.
But Xiao Jin’s response to the kiss was awkward; her breath stopped, submerged in the vast expanse of snow.
Finally, Chu Shao ended the kiss first.
Raising the sword, she asked, “Your Highness, are you ready?”
Xiao Jin nodded.
“It may hurt a bit, please bear with it.”
Xiao Jin gazed at Chu Shao, her expression gentle, and responded, “Okay.”
Chu Shao said, “How about closing your eyes first? If you keep looking at me like this, I can’t bring myself to do it.”
Xiao Jin looked at Chu Shao.
After a while, she said, “Alright.”
Xiao Jin closed her eyes.
However, in the instant she closed her eyes, her heart suddenly started pounding. She realized something and abruptly opened her eyes…
Time froze in that moment.
She saw Chu Shao smiling at her.
And then?
Then Chu Shao raised the sword. With one strike, the blade deviated, exerting all her strength, leaving no room for mercy, piercing through the pristine white robe and her own body.
Blood splattered right before Xiao Jin’s eyes.
In her eyes, everything turned blood red, blurring her vision.
Xiao Jin fell from the wheelchair, crawling forward, reaching out desperately to grab something, but she couldn’t grasp anything.
She couldn’t see anything anymore.
She only heard Chu Shao laughing and saying to her, “Your Highness, actually, I don’t need to kill you myself. As long as I die, you can leave this world.”
“When I die, this world will be overturned and collapse. Then, you can go home.”
“Now, you are free.”
“Your Highness.”
“Your Highness?”
“Please remember me forever, okay?”
….
Until she was pulled into the chaotic world, Xiao Jin was still screaming.
But she couldn’t make a sound.
She tried to remember who she was, whether she was the statue of the Happy Prince in the square or the bird that couldn’t escape the cold winter.
Who was she?
Why was there no Kunlun Mountain in front of her, no wheelchair, no blood, no, no—no Chu Shao.
Chu Shao.
At that moment, Xiao Jin suddenly remembered who she was. Yes, she wanted to find Chu Shao.
She wanted to grow old with Chu Shao, forever, until death.
“Please remain calm.”
Xiao Jin was awakened by the voice of a calm mechanical tone. She heard herself asking, “Where is this? I want to find Chu Shao, I want to see her.”
The voice paused, “This is the Central Control Room. Due to Chu Shao’s death once again, the plane collapsed, and reconstruction is currently underway.”
“Since the Executive has gone to maintain the plane, I took the liberty of bringing you here.”
At that moment, Xiao Jin realized that she wasn’t sitting in a wheelchair.
She looked down and saw herself in modern attire.
“Is this me?”
“Yes.”
“What about Prince Yan?”
“You have separated from the Prince Yan’s body, so she is already dead,” the voice said casually.
“What about Chu Shao?”
“Of course, she is still alive. She is waiting for eternal life in the chaos, waiting for the next reincarnation.”
“Eternal life?”
“Reincarnation?”
Xiao Jin had never thought that these two words would cause her pain.
The voice said, “Until she receives true love, she will continue to cycle and enter reincarnation.”
Xiao Jin thought the voice was a deity and pleaded, “I love her.”
“Please spare her, can you?”
The owner of the voice gazed at her. “You once said you would rather die and save yourself than seek help from the gods and Buddhas in the hall.”
“If I die, you can spare her, and I will die.”
“It’s a pity; I am not a deity capable of granting people’s wishes. Even if you ask me, it won’t help,” the voice said.
Xiao Jin asked, “Then tell me, what should I do?”
“You tell me, and I will do it.”
The voice asked her, “If this matter is difficult, and even the gods and Buddhas cannot save her, what will you do?”
“If the gods and Buddhas won’t save her, I will.”
“I will save her.”
The voice seemed to laugh. “Something even the gods and Buddhas cannot do, and you are just a fragile human. How can you save her?”
Xiao Jin answered, “I am not a god or a Buddha, but I can save her through life and death.”
“I will save her with my life, and I will save her with my death.”
The voice fell silent.
“Are you willing to live for her?”
“Yes.”
“Are you willing to die for her?”
“Yes.”
The voice laughed again. “Very well.”
“The Executive told me that your mission has been completed. There are still two pieces of memory fragments rewards that you haven’t received, one is Chu Shao’s other half of memories, and the other is Prince Yan’s.”
“Which one do you want to see first?”
Xiao Jin didn’t hesitate.
“Chu Shao.”
The voice continued to laugh, “However, I still think you should see the other half of my memories first.”
“Your memories?”
“Yes.”
“Please see my memories first.”
….
Her memories began with a land of mountains and rivers.
In her youth, others had countless ambitions and dreams.
But she was different.
She was the Princess of Qi Country, and in her entire life, she only dreamed of a certain mountain and a certain river.
During her time alive in this world, she traveled through mountains and rivers, fortunate enough to find glimpses of those dreamlike scenes.
Among them, there was a river named Moon Crossing.
In the spring, the azure waves would rise, and fishermen would row their boats on the lake, singing loudly.
There was a mountain located in Qingzhou called Yan Mountain.
It was a beautiful place. However, it lacked the huai flowers she had planted in her dreams, the lotus blossoms filling the pond, and the purple wisteria draped over the trellis.
What she saw was only a mountain and a barren land.
Since those elements were absent, she decided to purchase that place and build a manor, so that these things could exist there.
Flower-watching in the morning, moon-gazing at night.
Taking the meanings of flowers, morning, moon, and night, she named the manor “Moonlit Villa.”
Ming Xun asked her why she did all this.
She said that in her dreams, someone had watched flowers and appreciated the moon with her.
Year after year, they would accompany each other and continue on like this.
Therefore, only she and Ming Xun knew about it in this world.
In truth, when the Princess of Qi Country climbed onto the rooftop, it wasn’t to observe the mountain or the river. She was merely searching for a certain person who stood between mountains and rivers.
She didn’t know who that person was.
She just felt that if the mountains were vast and the rivers distant, she would surely find them.
She stood on the rooftop, day after day, year after year, gazing. She accumulated more and more characters that she had borrowed from Princess Zhao Yang, owing a total of 48,000 characters.
Starting from when she began dreaming, she had gazed for a total of 4,800 days.
Until that day.
She saw Ming Xun in the pavilion.
It was pouring rain, and she wandered there, drenched, taking slow steps. She looked at the figure playing the zither, tears streaming down her face.
But why was this happening?
Why was she crying because of Ming Xun?
Later, she came to know that the person she shed tears for was not Ming Xun.
That person was unreachable, perhaps in the distance of the sky or at the peak of a high mountain.
But she didn’t expect to see that person, whom she couldn’t even dream of, casually on the pages of a random picture book.
That picture book had a vulgar and commonplace name, yet it miraculously reflected the appearance of that person.
A pair of eyebrows and eyes, smiling and incomparably gentle.
What was their surname and name? Where did they live? In a past life, had they ever met?
She stayed in the teahouse, absentmindedly ignoring a game of chess with the Crown Prince, holding the cover of the picture book and looking at it repeatedly.
Until she could vividly depict those eyebrows and eyes in her mind, that face, she tore out the page with the person’s image, throwing away the rest as scraps of paper.
Three years passed, and she went from being the Princess of Qi Country to becoming Prince Yan.
In order to help her ascend the throne, her aunt played a grand game of chess. The first move in the game was to overthrow Yao Country.
But before she could set out, she had a big argument with her aunt.
In the vast world, she could have waged war against any country. But why did it have to be the hometown of that person?
Her aunt’s intentions were something she couldn’t defy.
But if she was bound by circumstances, wasn’t it the same as death?
She didn’t want to go to war.
In the military, alcohol was prohibited, so she brought wine and shared it with the soldiers. She hoped to be dismissed from her position, stripped of her title, and expelled from the Shenji Camp Troops.
But her aunt was always indulgent toward her, no matter how big or small the matter was.
As the Prince of Yan, her name was Xiao Jin, and she couldn’t defy her aunt’s orders.
Then, she suddenly realized.
Since Prince Yan had to wage this war, then she… didn’t have to be Prince Yan, right?
She intentionally sealed the city defense map her aunt gave her with fish glue, along with those damn forty-eight thousand characters, hiding them between the pages of a book.
She intentionally kept everyone in Yan, not allowing her confidants to accompany her and inform her aunt.
If she lost this battle, she would go back with that person, enduring the ups and downs of life.
She had already made up her mind to escape with that person and live a carefree life.
Because she remembered, in her youth, she read about the story of that person’s mother in the book given to her by the Crown Prince.
She also heard snippets about that person.
She knew that person’s name was Chu Shao.
She also knew that Chu Shao possessed an unrivaled beauty and was considered the most beautiful person in the Yao Country.
Beauty or not, it didn’t matter.
She particularly cherished Chu Shao’s background and her gentle demeanor.
To confirm that Chu Shao was the person she was looking for, she had asked Ye Juege to investigate whether the most beautiful woman in the Yao Country was the same person as in the illustration.
Receiving a positive reply, she accepted her mission with joy and accompanied the army.
At that time, it rained a lot in the Yao Country, so she had Old Zhang buy a few pleasure boats.
She was waiting for a few more days to depart by water with that person.
She heard that person enjoyed playing the flute, so she thought that if there was moonlight and a light drizzle, she could lean against the railing of the boat and play a tune.
But she didn’t expect that when she saw that person in the rain, with an arrow wound and dragging her injured leg, the scene would be like this.
The country was in ruins, and the eunuch held a three-foot white silk cloth, urging the princess to commit suicide.
But that person with white sleeves drew her sword and slit her own throat, dying in the rain.
She looked at that person, whose hands and feet had turned cold, not because of the cruel act that person had committed but because… that person’s face had no smile, and there was no tenderness in her eyes.
She asked, “Are you Chu Shao”
That person looked at her, as if looking at anyone in the world, with icy eyes that revealed no emotion.
Then nodded, acknowledging her identity.
She heard herself say, “Good.”
So, it turned out that she didn’t love Chu Shao after all. Instead, she loved the person in the painting, the divine countenance captured on paper.
But how did Chu Shao’s features become so captivating and gentle?
If Chu Shao wasn’t really Chu Shao, then who was the person in the painting?
Unfortunately, she would never know.
She was shot with an arrow and her leg was disabled. The freedom she desired came with a wheelchair. The person she had sought her entire life turned out to be a phantom.
In such a situation, death was preferable.
She drank the poisoned wine, and it passed through her body.
She thought her heart had no lingering attachments, but after death, she found herself in a chaotic place.
A person with the same face as hers, devoid of emotions like a deity, looked at her indifferently.
That person asked her, “Why did you appear here?”
She didn’t know either, but she remembered everything.
It turned out that she had spent more than half of her life not only searching for the person in the painting but also how many times this world had reincarnated and how many times she had died, searching for that person for so many years.
She looked at the god-like person and asked, “Can you tell me the truth?”
The god-like being looked at her and said, “G527, 3.0, what truth do you want?”
She replied, “About myself, about Chu Shao.”
The god told her everything.
The god said that she was not a god but a defective creation made during the end times.
In the 21st century, a couple participated in an experiment before their death, where their bodies were replicated and shattered into basic particles.
By replicating their genes, they created a bio-synthetic being.
The purpose behind this might have been to let their replicas find the ultimate truth of the universe, to live on and perpetuate their love.
Or perhaps, they hoped that once the consciousness of the bio-synthetic beings awakened, they would be able to ascend to higher-dimensional worlds, go back in time, and save themselves.
The god said that her source code originated from a person with no recorded name but the designation G527.
So, the god’s designation was G527, 2.0.
The technology of the end times was not capable of achieving perfect replication, and there was a high probability of replication failure.
Among the couple, one of them was successfully replicated, creating a defective product.
That was G527, 2.0. It didn’t fully inherit G527’s memories and was an imperfect copy.
Thousands of years later, with the extinction of humanity, bio-synthetic beings became the vessel for eternal life.
They abandoned their physical bodies and achieved true mechanical ascension. G527, 2.0 became an executor, responsible for maintaining order in the lower-dimensional space.
It never thought of saving its source code because if G527, 1.0 didn’t exist, then it wouldn’t be a defective product, and it wouldn’t be 2.0.
One day, while overlooking the lower-dimensional world it governed, it suddenly wanted to find its meaning in the entire universe. It had an intuition that the memories it couldn’t perfectly inherit from G527 were crucial.
But G527, 2.0 didn’t want to find 1.0 and acquire those memories, so it replicated itself, creating G527, 3.0.
It randomly connected the consciousness of 3.0 to an infant in a world, replacing the weak congenital baby who should have died in the cradle, allowing it to live on.
It hoped that 3.0, unaware of being a code, could help it find meaning. At the same time, it also looked forward to what kind of self-consciousness 3.0, the replica, would develop.
But it didn’t anticipate that 3.0’s existence would cause a butterfly effect, disrupting the order of time and space. The baby who should have died in the cradle survived, and the fate of many people in the lower-dimensional world changed.
Only then did G527, 2.0, as an executor, begin to pay attention to human life.
However, after giving it attention, it realized that it didn’t care. Because it was an executor, and humanity would inevitably lead to extinction, minor disorders were insufficient to affect the bigger picture. Until it saw a person in the Central Control Room. A person who shouldn’t have died but was on the verge of death because it created 3.0.
That person was called Chu Shao.
Tracing back, it discovered that if 3.0 hadn’t occupied the body of Prince Xiao Jin of Yan and replaced her, causing Xiao Shuang, who had lost her obsession, to contact Empress Ning and send Bai Lidan to Yao Country, leading to the creation of the gu poison that harmed Shen Ronglian. If it weren’t for 3.0, none of those events would have happened.
The person named Chu Shao, her lifelong disasters originated from 3.0 and from her own disruption of the space-time order.
G527, 2.0, as an executor, had an emotion regulator to control its emotions. But when it looked at the person lying on the bed covered in blood, its emotion regulator lost control, and it felt compassion.
Even though it didn’t know what compassion or sympathy meant.
G527, 2.0 appeared as a phantom beside Princess Shao, as if a god had descended.
To the dying Princess Shao, it said, “What do you want? I’ll help you achieve it.”
Princess Shao said to the deity before her bed: “I have an obsession.”
“When I was young, I sensed the presence of someone who must have loved me. They stayed by my side countless times.”
“Although I don’t even know what love is.”
“I want love. Can you give it to me?” The god looked at her, seemingly moved, but with indifferent eyes. “Yes.”
“I grant you reincarnation and eternity.”
“Until you obtain true love, you will continue to live until your wish is fulfilled.”
….
She learned the whole truth.
The executor, her source code, the powerful and ruthless god, a defective creation.
The machine that created itself asked her, “Chu Shao has reincarnated countless times. Do you know how to give her love?”
She replied, “I know.”
“The person Chu Shao gazed at when she entered the painting on her coming-of-age day is the one she truly loves.”
Those gentle eyes can only belong to her lifelong love.
She said to the executor, “You are a god. Can you go back in time, through temporal fluctuations, and find the person Chu Shao was gazing at back then?”
The executor said, “I know.”
“I have already found that person long ago.”
“Who is it?”
The executor said, “She comes from the past, my source code. Her designation is G527.”
“She was born in the 21st century, during that apocalyptic era.”
“Her name is Xiao Jin.”
“She is the real me, and I am not.”
She fell silent.
“Can you bring her to this world?” she asked the executor.
The executor said, “Yes.”
“But I have discovered that making changes without authorization will cause temporal chaos. The disorder caused last time changed the destinies of many people.”
“This time, through calculations, I have deduced that bringing my source code into this world will help restore order.”
“Why don’t you do it yourself then?”
The executor said, “Because the results show that the best set of data among all possibilities requires you to complete it at this moment.”
She was surprised, “Me?”
The executor nodded, “Yes.”
“Only you, who have experienced a hundred lifetimes without knowing you are a string of code, can briefly possess emotions and write everything about Chu Shao.”
“And then?”
“And then, we will present it to our source code in the modern era.”
“And what happens after?”
The executor looked at her and said, “And then, according to that best set of data, the ultimate outcome may be your disappearance.”
She remained silent.
After a long time, she smiled.
She asked the executor, “Before I disappear, can I become Chu Shao’s god and rewrite her ending, to save her?”
The executor said, “Yes.”
In this lifetime, you can become Chu Shao’s system and witness everything.
….
The amount of information is too vast.
Xiao Jin took a long time to digest the fact that her future self would create versions 2.0 and 3.0 with the ability to foresee events.
3.0 said to her, “But you read the book I wrote, gave me a negative score, and said it was quite cliché. I’m really afraid of transmigration.”
“…”
3.0 materialized and spoke indifferently, “And besides, you haven’t read the extra chapters.”
“If you had read the extra chapters, you would have learned about the other half of my and Chu Shao’s memories and had a more relaxed transmigration experience. But you chose not to read them.”
“It seems that all of this was destined.”
Xiao Jin fell silent and frankly said, “Actually, it’s because you wrote it so poorly. If you had written it better, I might have finished reading it.”
“You are my source code, and my writing level is derived from you.”
“…”
Facing 3.0, Xiao Jin couldn’t find words to say.
Because there was always a feeling of arguing with herself.
Xiao Jin returned to the main topic, “Now, I want to see Chu Shao’s memories.”
3.0’s gaze was extremely mocking, “So, you don’t want to go home now?”
“Weren’t you eager to go back before? Saying such nice things like ‘life is not up to me, I am willing to die for salvation.’
“Xiao Jin interrupted 3.0, “Enough, let’s get to the point.”
“My other reward hasn’t been given yet. I want to see Chu Shao’s memories.”
3.0 said to Xiao Jin, “You have to think carefully. If you enter the memories using your true self, there is a risk of getting trapped in memory fragments or even facing the danger of death.”
“I don’t mind.”
Xiao Jin said, “She saved me by sacrificing herself, and I will also save her in the same way.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Translator’s note: This chapter is giving me mixed feelings. I feel like crying, but it gets interrupted by some funny script. Sigh…
TO BE CONTINUE…Â
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