Compared to the joy of reunion and the understanding of Nanshuang’s words, the first thing that surged up was a violent pain.
From the moment Shancang’s gaze fell upon the exquisite face in the clouds, it felt as if sharp blades were twisting inside her body. The pain that had seemed manageable during the struggle suddenly became unbearable, forcing her to gasp and clutch her chest. Despite her efforts to suppress it, she doubled over and coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.
“Shancang!”
She heard the soft cry from the clouds. It was her favorite voice, but at that moment, it felt like the most potent poison seeping into her brain. The sense of helplessness ignited a surge of frustration within her, and the lingering hostility in her chest began to stir anew as her strength rapidly waned.
…This is awful; why do I feel so broken all over?
Amidst the violent hostility, a new emotion blossomed in Shancang’s heart: greed, yearning, an overwhelming urgency to reach out to the one in the clouds.
In this state, seeing the one in the clouds would only make her worry, wouldn’t it?
Shancang thought hazily, and just then, a pale hand reached toward her, gently brushing her cheek and carefully wiping the blood from the corner of her lips.
The familiar cold fragrance filled her senses. Shancang lifted her head with the support of that gentle strength, finally taking in the true visage of the one in the clouds.
“Shancang, are you alright? Where are you hurt—”
Everything else faded into the background. The burning pain in her chest and the fierce enemy lurking nearby became irrelevant as she stared at the anxious, delicate face of the one in the clouds. She opened her mouth several times but couldn’t utter a sound. Ultimately, all that came out was, “Why… are you still here?”
That was clearly not what the one in the clouds wanted to hear right now. Her brow, already furrowed, knitted even tighter, and without asking about Shancang’s condition any further, she pressed her lips together, took out a vial of medicine from her robe, and coldly stuffed the pills into Shancang’s mouth.
Shancang obediently opened her mouth and swallowed a few, but the bitterness of the dissolving pills made her frown. She raised her hand to grasp the wrist of the one in the clouds and croaked, “I’m fine, don’t worry—have you been in the ghost realm these days? Did you encounter any danger? What about Qin Yi—”
“Be quiet.”
The one in the clouds interrupted her, pulling away and forcing the vial of medicine into Shancang’s hand. She looked deeply at her and said sternly, “Finish the medicine.”
…Here it comes again. I haven’t done anything wrong, but I still feel like I can’t hold my head up in front of her.
Shancang hesitated to take the vial, and the one in the clouds’ expression softened slightly. She turned and drew her sword, Wuyou, positioning it protectively in front of Shancang while keeping her gaze fixed on Nanshuang, who stood off to the side.
“…”
Nanshuang, who had not moved since failing to seize the sword, stood casually, her previously irritated expression fading like the tide. She glanced disinterestedly at the one in the clouds and lingered for a few seconds on the sword in her hand.
“…You can use that sword.” She raised an eyebrow with genuine curiosity, looking past the one in the clouds at Shancang, who had managed to stand after taking the medicine. Nanshuang suddenly laughed without a hint of tension, “Now that’s something rare.”
Shancang’s heart sank. Gradually regaining her senses from the joy of reuniting with the one in the clouds, she recalled Nanshuang’s earlier words.
‘It has a sword spirit that cannot be touched by anyone except its master’…
A sense of unease began to stir within her. She looked at the Wuyou sword quietly held by the one in the clouds. Even though the sword’s glow was now subdued, it couldn’t hide its frost-like brilliance.
When Wuyou was in her hands, it had been an ordinary weapon—an excellent spirit sword, but not one bound to any particular master. It must have recognized the one in the clouds as its master after coming into her possession, displaying an attitude of arrogance that made it untouchable for others—
—Untouchable for anyone else?
“…”
Shancang’s breath hitched, her fingertips trembling uncontrollably as she instinctively glanced at the one in the clouds, then quickly averted her gaze.
No matter how much she didn’t want to admit it, she could recall many contradicting scenes. Perhaps she should ask the one in the clouds about it, but now—
“Shancang—huh, Nanshuang…”
Just as she was hesitating, she suddenly heard a familiar male voice filled with surprise coming from the area where the one in the clouds had appeared.
Shancang looked in the direction of the voice and saw Pei Chen, whom she hadn’t seen for several days, stepping out from the rift, his gaze filled with uncertainty as he looked toward Nanshuang. He seemed to notice her watching him and barely managed to amend his words, “…Master? What’s going on? How could you… be fighting with Shancang?”
Nanshuang didn’t even glance at him, showing no intention of responding. Shancang’s attention shifted to Pei Chen, her brow furrowing as she directly asked him, “Haven’t you two gone out in these past few days?”
Pei Chen looked at Nanshuang, his reaction slightly delayed, and quietly replied, “…No.”
He spoke only those two words, and then his expression slowly transformed into one of disbelief mixed with confusion, a complex look that was rare for the usually composed leader of Tianwaitian. But Shancang had no time to empathize with his feelings; she bit her lip in suspicion, wanting to press on with her questions, when a voice suddenly came from in front of her.
“We’ve only been looking for you.”
Seemingly assessing that Nanshuang did not currently exhibit the same fervor for attack as before, the one in the clouds slightly turned her head toward Shancang, her dark eyes obscured by unreadable depths.
“The word we received was that you had gone silent, likely having perished in the River of Forgetting.”
The one in the clouds spoke flatly, gripping Wuyou’s hilt tightly. The pale, slender fingers revealed faint blue veins, and her cold voice seemed to carry intense emotion.
“So you heard that she said we had already left?” The one in the clouds lowered her brow, murmuring, “It seems Shancang believed it.”
Her feelings were too apparent, and Shancang could easily see that she was extremely displeased. Thus, she couldn’t bring herself to say the words, “I did believe it,” and instead avoided her gaze, turning her ire toward Nanshuang.
Nanshuang, caught in Shancang’s glare, shrugged nonchalantly and turned to the one in the clouds, saying, “It’s only natural she believes it; you, on the other hand, are quite suspicious for someone so young. You must be hiding a lot of things.”
“…”
“At this point, we might as well clear things up.”
Seeing that the one in the clouds was unresponsive, Nanshuang leisurely dusted off her tattered robe from the earlier scuffle and candidly stated, “I am also of the ghost clan, and I never had any good intentions from the beginning. The moment you stepped into my ghost king’s residence, you were already ensnared in my illusion.”
Shancang’s heart tightened, and she turned to look at the overlapping spaces. “You separated us into two illusions?”
“Yes.” Nanshuang nodded calmly. “Each illusion is a complete replica of the ghost realm, and I had to travel back and forth between the two illusions every day to show my face. It truly took a lot of effort, but thankfully I am the ghost king.”
Shancang recalled hearing that “the ghost king possesses the power to alter the ghost realm to a considerable extent.” Nanshuang sighed with a hint of fatigue and continued, “Let me make it clear: I had no intention of harming either of them.”
“As I mentioned earlier, my only goal is to have an exhilarating battle with you—one that unleashes all of your power and the heavenly fire.” Her words seemed to carry a hint of dissatisfaction as she frowned, “So I merely wanted to prevent you from reuniting; I did nothing else besides separating you. In fact, I might be the one most eager for them to leave the ghost realm as soon as possible.”
“If I had known that my duel would be interrupted by them…”
Nanshuang paused for a moment, slowly revealing a sinister smile. “In hindsight, I really should have just killed them without so much fuss.”
Shancang and the one in the clouds instantly tensed up in alarm at the murderous intent behind her words. Only Pei Chen seemed unable to fully grasp the situation; he shook his head in confusion, looking at Nanshuang with an expression that seemed almost pleading. “What… what are you saying, Nanshuang? What’s wrong with you…”
Perhaps it was the shock of hearing Nanshuang’s own words that made Pei Chen unable to mask his feelings in front of Shancang and the one in the clouds. He addressed Nanshuang directly instead of calling her “Master,” as if he had fallen into a state of chaos.
Shancang felt a pang of compassion, but Nanshuang was completely unfazed. Irritated, she said, “Could you all please refrain from interrupting me at such a time? Must I be distracted to deal with you first?”
The murderous intent in her words grew increasingly serious, and Shancang felt a shiver run down her spine. She instinctively tried to step forward, but the one in the clouds blocked her path.
The one in the clouds silently positioned herself in front of Shancang, her grip on the sword shifting into a poised stance. She stared directly at Nanshuang and spoke, “Did you inflict the injuries on her?”
“Me?” Nanshuang laughed, deliberately displaying her hand, which had been burned by the heavenly fire. She gestured knowingly at the one in the clouds. “The one who has hurt her the most… should be you.”
Seeing the one in the clouds momentarily freeze at her words, Nanshuang raised an intrigued eyebrow and took a few steps closer to them.
“By the way, it’s good that you showed up…”
Her tone shifted, and her eyes sparkled with excitement as if she were seeing her prey. She moved closer without hesitation.
“It’s time for us to have a fight, so she doesn’t always hesitate like she did just now.”
“I was wondering how to make her throw away her concerns, and now it’s come to me effortlessly…”
Nanshuang’s words were casual, but in Shancang’s mind, they exploded like a thunderclap. In an instant, she found herself charging towards Nanshuang, conjuring a flame sword that was twice the size of the previous one. With a swift motion, she carved a deep black mark into the ground and thrust the sword fiercely toward Nanshuang.
The strike was fierce, but Nanshuang appeared to have anticipated it. Although she couldn’t completely counter the attack, her incredible speed reduced most of Shancang’s force, only leaving a large gash on her shoulder without damaging any bones.
The battle resumed, but their positions seemed to have reversed; it was now Shancang attacking with reckless abandon while Nanshuang could only defend, struggling to keep up. Yet, there was no hint of anxiety on her face; instead, she wore an expression of unexpected delight and laughed softly during their exchanges, “Exactly like that…!”
“Don’t want me to touch her? Don’t want her to be in danger again?” Nanshuang’s once-clear black-and-white eyes had inexplicably turned entirely black, her expression fierce as she hissed, “Then fight with all your might, show me your strength once more, Shancang!”
Seemingly revitalized from a previous suppression, Nanshuang suddenly broke free from Shancang’s onslaught, gracefully stepping back to the banks of the River of Forgetting.
“As a reward, let me share some good news with you.”
With a wild grin, she raised her hands slowly, her back to the River of Forgetting.
“I didn’t understand the essence of this river at first, but just now… I suddenly realized why you were pulled into the River of Forgetting.”
As she moved, the river behind her erupted with a deep, rumbling sound. Shancang, who had intended to pursue, abruptly halted. She quickly extended her hand toward the sky, where the resplendent golden light had not yet fully dissipated. It began to gather again, gradually taking the form of the infamous heavenly fire of the immortal realm.
“Shancang, wait, your injuries…”
The voice from the clouds seemed to come from far away, buzzing in Shancang’s head as pain shot through her. She struggled to open her eyes, desperately trying to capture the worried face above her through the fading vision.
After a moment of silence, Shancang reached out and grasped the hand from the clouds.
“…Don’t be afraid,” she whispered, “I won’t… let you get hurt.”
In the next instant, the water from the River of Forgetting surged up behind Nanshuang, crashing against the heavenly fire that fell from the sky. The moment the water and fire collided, a sharp, grating sound echoed, creating a thick mist around them.
The river seemed endless, and Shancang lost track of how long the confrontation lasted, pouring everything she had into summoning fire to match it. The mist enveloped her, distorting her sense of reality; only the sensation of her grip remained real.
“…Impressive.”
Nanshuang’s voice, surprisingly close, startled Shancang. She looked up but couldn’t see Nanshuang through the mist. Instead, she heard a soft laugh by her ear: “Don’t look for me; I’m just transmitting my voice.”
Her tone was noticeably weaker than before but carried a strange sense of satisfaction, shedding many obsessions, more akin to the Nanshuang Shancang remembered.
“What I’m about to say, your junior sister probably wouldn’t want you to know, but let’s consider it a thank you for showing me such beautiful power. I’ll tell you something about the River of Forgetting.”
Her voice was calm, tinged with emotion. “There’s something at the bottom of the River of Forgetting.”
“I once thought that it was useless, simply discarded by its master out of disappointment and sorrow.”
“But just now… I suddenly realized.” Nanshuang paused, then continued, “Look closely ahead, look to the bottom of the River of Forgetting.”
Shancang was in a chaotic state, but a flicker of clarity broke through the pain in her head. She instinctively followed Nanshuang’s words and forced her eyes wide open.
Suddenly, the scene before her became astonishingly clear, as if the mist had parted at someone’s command, revealing what Nanshuang had spoken of.
The water of the River of Forgetting seemed to have dried up; Shancang could see the riverbed as far as her eyes could reach. In front of her lay a long sword, embedded at an angle in the dry riverbed.
The previously blurred vision was now strikingly clear. Shancang stared blankly at the sword, which had remained hidden at the bottom of the River of Forgetting for who knows how long, finally emerging into view. It was spotless, untouched by time, and appeared even more refined after being submerged. The inscriptions on the hilt remained clear, unaffected by the flowing water, echoing the elegant script of the Wuyou sword’s hilt.
The words read “Feiwang.”
“…The spirit of Wuyou is proud, fiercely loyal to its master.”
Nanshuang spoke slowly, “This Feiwang spirit… must have known all along that it was meant to find you.”
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