It was the first time, after knowing him for so long, to see him this way. The Dongyue she had known was an incredibly calm man. But today, he resembled a barbarian in berserk mode. Barbarians were melee warriors who had a unique ability, the war cry, which enabled them to enter a stage of insanity and cut everything down in their path, including allies. Hence, it was called the ‘berserk mode’ by her elders.
Xiyu just stared at Dongyue without uttering a single word. Probably he also sensed her discomfort because instead of admonishing her, he took her in his arms and deposited her back on her bed, where he stayed vigil at her bedside, contemplating his thoughts seriously.
He was afraid. He did not know the pain of losing a loved one, but he knew it would break him. Albeit it was only weeks, he felt he had come so far with the icy witch, for her to have accepted him. He fathomed that it was the soul-bond that had brought them together, but regardless, he loved her unconditionally.
Forget his curse; forget that he could not be near women; he only wanted Xiyu. If she left him permanently, it was likely that he would find his life pointless. Love was the sweetest of all poison. It could bring him happiness and also kill him.
What could he do to save her? he thought restlessly. The note had referred to a ritual. He would die for her if he could, but he did not believe in a meaningless sacrifice. There had to be a way he could liberate her. As brilliant as he was, he now encountered a mental block. No matter how many times he asked, she wouldn’t speak.
Dongyue had only gained his healing abilities from the book he discovered as a mere child, and recently, upgraded his powers through the green mystic scrolls. As she had expected, he knew not about any ritual or the steps required for the ceremony. But even then, he could find out from Muxue Yan, or even search the library for such information on ancient magic.
If she continued not to want to speak, he decided that he would consult the ‘old’ man himself. Surely the ancestor would not stand to watch his only remaining kin die. He also needed her help in returning, didn’t he? Besides, she had freed him from his chains.
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Hours later.
After the effects of the transfer in vitality had ended, Xiyu was again weakened and lay back in bed, staring at the hard blocks of ice that surrounded them. Speechless for hours, her eyes were devoid of emotion. She had lost her will.
Death. It felt so near.
She was tired of crying. Her granduncle was miles away from her, in unknown territory. She thought about everything that she had achieved in her life; her childhood, her first playmate Xu Hanshan, inheriting the Crimson Fairy and her endeavours to enter Xuancang Mountains with the magical boat.
Everything had to come to an end. She could save herself if only she came clean with Dongyue, but she kept her mouth closed. She would not allow him to perceive her as a disgusting woman just yet. Did she have a few days before the magic started destroying her from inside?
“Xiyu,” he whispered. She remained silent. He knew she was hardheaded.
“Xiyu, you’ve not said a word for hours now. Tell me, how can I help you?”
She persisted with the silence, adamant she could not tell him yet.
“Do you not care about your life? How will your late parents and family members think?” he roared, losing his patience in his panic.
She felt the pain as he brought up the sad memory of her parents, and she coldly told him, “They won’t care. Mother only pitied me, but she didn’t love me. Father was distant. I don’t know what did I do wrong in this life? I was just born during the eclipse.”
Her words sounded so bitter and gritted her teeth to hold back a solo tear. She realised that it wasn’t worth her pain to cry. Every time she had fallen over, her father would just walk away as if nothing had happened. Lady Peony did care, but she noticed she was different. Even Lady Peony seemed to like everyone else more than her. To Lady Peony, she was an obligation and the lady placed so much expectation on her shoulders.
Xiyu couldn’t feel any love in these parents she had. She would admire the little children in the town whose parents would see them off to school and pick them up afterwards. She didn’t feel she had a home.
When her granduncle took over in becoming her caretaker, she was pleased. But then he had miraculously disappeared. A servant ended up taking care of her, and then Hanshan had also become a caring brother to her, but in the end, she was left with nothing. Three years of desolation. It was unexplainable.
“I am cursed too, Xiyu.” Dongyue said his words with much determination and devotion to her. “My parents never wanted me after they found out I was different. Nobody can relate to your pain more than me, love. I just want to accompany you for the rest of my life. Will you allow me to take your hand and be your eternal partner? I won’t ask for anything from you, only that you tell me the secret behind the ritual.”
She nodded weakly, but within seconds she began to cough vigorously again, splattering more blood from her throat. She trembled, suddenly feeling cold. He took off his white fur coat, a present from Muxue Yan and sheltered her with it. It was blessed with the property of high cold resistance and made her feel warm and relaxed.
“I will have to go to seek Muxue Yan.” He took his leave. “Just stay here, Xiyu.”
He gently pushed the ice door and disappeared. Dashing as fast as he could, he made his way rapidly to Muxue Yan’s chambers.
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In Muxue Yan’s chambers
The hall was large and radiant. On what looked like a small throne, Yan was reading some scrolls, while commanding what he had recovered of his minions. According to Yan, only the two delinquent bull demons Yamon and Anong had rebelled against him. Several of his underlings had returned to serve him.
Yan’s greatest problem now was his deceased wife’s body that lay in the glass casket. How he was able to take her with him, was a daunting task. Though he was a ruthless warrior, he had no Muxue magic in him. Otherwise, he would have broken through his bonds quickly and not waited for two thousand years for Xiyu. Because the bond was made from flesh and blood of a Muxue, despite having all the demonic power in him, a result of his corruption, he could not break free.
As heartless as he was, Yan wanted Xiyu, as the new owner of the island to be as unemotional and brutal as he was. He intended to train her to walk in his footsteps as the last of the Muxues. Of course, she need not be the last if she could find herself a partner. But who was even worthy enough of a Muxue heiress?
The teleportation platform had been activated through the blood of a Muxue along with blood from someone worthy. His hunch informed him that this man had to be the bizarre man who he had awarded the fur coat to. There could be no other person.
He knew the other person could not be the man with curly blond hair. It was Yan who had lured this man, along with his travelling crew, with the lies of a potential treasure hunt. Even when he was bound in chains, the power of his cultivation, a demonic ability not akin to the Muxue women’s magic, allowed him to project his voice far across the realms to reach the western kingdom. This way, he had compelled the man and his two companions, to enter the Ice Temple he had created out of his evil power, years after Ao Yun’s death.
At that time, it was not in Xuancang. When Xiyu had released him, he had disappeared to enter the void where the Ice Temple was situated and gathered all the evil strength in him to shift the temple to Xuancang; hence causing its sudden emergence in Xuancang.
It was all so profound, but his corruption had caused all his descendants to fear him, and even Ao Yun wanted to kill him with her hands. In the last stand, she had died for him. Then, it was the question of when Yunxi, named after his wife, would be ready to face the world. Due to his corruption, Ao Yun froze the primordial soul belonging to Yunxi, who was the last of their children, with a spell and encased it in ice to prevent her from maturing into a half-celestial.
But later, when Yan completed his transformation as a semi-demon, retaining his power as a warrior and merging it with his demonic abilities, she sacrificed herself to protect him. The eldest of their children had slashed Yan with his weapon, and the bonds that kept him from harming others was made from the tendons of another of their children, who sacrificed himself. In the end, it was his children who had betrayed him.
At the end of the dark tunnel, there was light. He had foreseen that one day, two thousand years later, someone of his flesh and blood would rescue him. It turned out that she was no other than Xiyu, the worthy one.
Soon, he would regain everything that he had lost and create a new world altogether.
For Ao Yun, he would grant her the universe, but to his melancholy, she could not hear him any longer.