He then smiled, in a way that seemed nonchalant, a tone he had often used long ago when pretending to be carefree. “What a pity, I always thought I’d be your mortal tribulation.”
Why was he saying this?
A sense of unease suddenly gripped Tan Yin. She abruptly released his sleeve and took a few steps back. “Wait… wait a few more months…”
“Wait until you fail your mortal tribulation and your soul dissipates?” His tone had never been so sharp before. “Once you die, will it be up to me to do as I please—kill him, skin him, boil him? You’re too naive, Tan Yin, and foolish. He’s your mortal tribulation. Don’t worry, I won’t let you die. I’ll kill him for you, and your body won’t fade away.”
He began striding down the mountain, but Tan Yin’s eyes suddenly glowed with a brilliant light. Before him, a stone wall shot up, blocking his path.
Tai He smashed the wall with a single blow, his voice stern: “Look at yourself now. What have you become? Dragging along your broken body, deceiving that mortal immortal, isn’t it laughable? You want me to stand by and watch as your soul shatters into nothingness? And help you maintain this lie? What do you take me for?”
Tan Yin lowered her head, her voice trembling. “…Please, Tai He!”
His words were sharp and cutting, so unlike the Tai He she knew. It was as though he was purposely trying to hurt her, to make her feel the soul-burning pain of her mortal tribulation.
She squeezed her eyes shut, tears streaming down her face.
After a long silence, he sighed and slowly turned back toward her, taking each step deliberately. “Tan Yin, come back to the divine realm with me. Teach me how to use the divine crystal, and you can sleep—one thousand years, five thousand years, ten thousand years. When you wake, he will no longer trouble you.”
Go back? With Tai He? That had once been her greatest dream—to retrieve Tai He’s left hand, awaken him, and continue their peaceful, if monotonous, life together. If she had never met Yuan Zhong, she would not have faced this mortal tribulation. She would have always had Tai He by her side. Even if he wasn’t truly hers, at least she could see him every day.
But now, if she left, what would happen to Yuan Zhong?
Yuan Zhong was her mortal tribulation, just as she was his.
Tai He’s cold hand gently brushed against her tear-streaked cheek. He used his fingertips to softly wipe away her tears, his voice low. “I’ll stay with you. I’ll watch over you for millions of years. I won’t leave anymore.”
Tan Yin shook her head. She felt she couldn’t say anything at all. She didn’t want to leave. She couldn’t leave. She would rather let her soul dissipate in a few months than spend an endless eternity living in memories. The one person in the world who was truly unique to her, her Tianxia Wu Shuang, wasn’t Tai He. It had never been Tai He. After meeting Yuan Zhong, she finally understood.
Suddenly, she seemed to make up her mind. She wiped away her tears and said quietly, “Let’s go. I’ll take you to meet him.”
Tai He was stunned. “You… want to go with me to meet that mortal immortal? Weren’t you just…”
“I’ve made my decision now,” Tan Yin interrupted, her voice firm. A radiant light shone from her, a light he had never seen before, one so bright it was almost blinding. “I don’t want to lie to him anymore. I’ll tell him the whole truth. Whether or not he forgives me, I’ve made up my mind.”
Tai He forced a smile. “Tan Yin… aren’t you afraid that I’ll kill that immortal and take back my left hand?”
It seemed she had truly made up her mind, and nothing could shake her resolve. “If you do that, you wouldn’t be Tai He anymore.”
Tai He stared at her as if he no longer recognized her. He seemed as though he still wanted to change her mind. “Tan Yin, you once liked me, I know that. You descended to the mortal realm for me. So why—”
Tan Yin didn’t respond. She swiftly started walking down the mountain. Suddenly, she heard him laugh behind her, the sound growing increasingly strange. “Wu Shuang, for you, I even brought out Tai He… and still, it’s not enough?”
What… was he saying? Wu Shuang?
Tan Yin turned around in shock, just in time to see him wave his long sleeve. A beam of dark light shot toward her. She couldn’t dodge in time and felt a coldness pierce her abdomen.
He… he hurt her? Tai He actually stabbed her?
Staring at the Tai He before her, Tan Yin saw that he still wore the familiar playful smile, but his eyes were slowly turning red. In his hand, he held a pitch-black dagger, and the other one—half of it was buried in her body.
This wasn’t an ordinary mortal weapon; it was a demonic weapon, one capable of slaying gods.
Tan Yin gasped, but before she could speak, Tai He waved his sleeve again. A massive tapestry appeared behind her, its interior filled with weeping, ghostly figures, and the sickening stench of blood and smoke. Severely wounded, unprepared for this sudden turn of events, she was powerless. An irresistible force dragged her toward the tapestry.
Tai He’s voice lingered in her ear, soft and eerie, like a lover’s whisper. “I originally wanted you to enter on your own, but you’re far more troublesome than I expected. Heh, Wu Shuang, Tai He is waiting for you inside. He’s been waiting for you for five thousand years… how pitiful. Even in his dying moments during the mortal tribulation, he didn’t realize it was all an illusion. He kept calling for you, ‘Tan Yin, Tan Yin’... Aren’t you going to see him?”
Tai He? Mortal tribulation? Dying? Tan Yin’s whole body trembled. She tried to summon her divine power to resist, but the severe injuries left her completely immobilized. The demonic weapon was corroding her body, sealing her divine power. Her consciousness began to blur. With all her remaining strength, she managed to utter a few words: “You… Han Nü…!”
The purple figure outside the tapestry smiled warmly at her and waved. “Spend the rest of your life inside, Wu Shuang.”
The force pulling her into the tapestry grew stronger, and Tan Yin let out a brief, sharp cry. Her body spun like a small leaf caught in a violent current. Black and red colors swirled past her vision. Then suddenly, with a soft “plop,” like a single drop of water falling, her divine consciousness couldn’t withstand the violent shock any longer. She felt herself crash onto a cold surface, and then everything went black.
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