“Brother Xue, why are you here?”
As I recognized the voice, I couldn’t believe it. As the two figures gradually approached, my eyes widened in disbelief. The elderly man in front, with his white hair and beard, exuding an air of immortality, was none other than the Qing Jue Daozhang, the very person who had saved me from the river fourteen years ago. And the young man following him, wasn’t it Mo Wei?
“Ah Wei!” I responded to him.
Mo Wei rushed over in a few steps. “Brother Xue! I thought I’d never see you again! I missed you so much…” Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes widened in surprise as he seemed to notice the Saint Lord. His gaze fixed on him, and he slowly exclaimed, “Blue eyes… it’s you? You’re a man?”
“You two… know each other?” I asked, stunned.
Mo Wei nodded, his expression thoughtful. “It seems… we met a long time ago.”
“Isn’t this the Young Saint Lord?” Qing Jue Daozhang chuckled. “In just a few short years, you’ve already cultivated an indestructible golden body. Truly, you have opened this humble Daoist’s eyes.”
“It’s you… why is Daozhang here tonight?”
“My temple is on the other side of the forest,” Qing Jue Daozhang said with a smile. “I saw an avalanche on the opposite mountain, so I brought my disciples here to see if anyone needs help. Saint Lord, your clothes are thin. Would you like to come to my temple, warm up, and rest for a while?” He looked past the Saint Lord’s shoulder, his gaze falling on my face, his eyes showing a hint of concern.
The Saint Lord tightened his grip on my bound hands, standing upright and drawing me closer, covering me more protectively. “Thank you for your kind offer, Daozhang, but there’s no need. The ones coming to fetch us will arrive soon.”
As soon as he finished speaking, I heard distant barking and the sound of hooves, seemingly heading toward our direction. The Saint Lord turned around, lifting me horizontally in his arms. He then turned his head to Qing Jue Daozhang and said, “Daozhang is of a different faith. To avoid bringing harm upon yourself, please lead your disciple away quickly.”
“Saint Lord,” the Daozhang’s voice came from behind us. “There is something I must inform you of. Though you and Tai Xue share a deep connection, he is also your destined calamity. If you wish to ascend smoothly, you must sever the red thread between you and him. Saint Lord, with your innate spiritual vein and kind heart, if you were to become a god, you could surely benefit all beings and change the world. I implore you to set aside your personal feelings and allow me to take Tai Xue with me. I will sever the thread of fate between you two, resolve the calamity, take him as my disciple, and ensure his life is smooth and free from harm.”
I froze for a moment. These words seemed oddly similar to what that demon had said earlier.
Am I truly the Saint Lord’s calamity?
As if sensing my doubts, the Saint Lord tightened his grip on my arm. When I looked up, I saw his face etched with frost. “Whether it’s a calamity or a karmic burden, it’s not for you guys to decide. Even if it is, I will not let go. Whatever the consequences, I will bear them myself.”
“Saint Lord!” Qing Jue Daozhang sighed. “If you insist on this, I can no longer stop you. However, Tai Xue… This child suffered a head injury fourteen years ago, and there’s still congealed blood in his brain, which is why he cannot remember the past. I had planned to use spiritual energy to clear the blood, but he lacks a spiritual vein, so I couldn’t open his meridians. There are no ordinary physicians who can treat this. I kindly ask the Saint Lord to have the imperial physician examine him. Perhaps they can cure him.”
“What did you say?” The Saint Lord fixed his gaze on me, his eyes as cold as cracked ice. “It is true… how could he have suffered a head injury?” He turned his head, but the sound of hooves and barking grew nearer. Qing Jue Daozhang hurriedly led his disciples into the darkness, and Mo Wei ran after him, glancing back at me from a distance. He waved his hand and called out, “Brother Xue, when you return, we’ll go see the sea together! There’s Uncle Wu as well, he’s also waiting for you!”
“Adoptive Father…” A tremor ran through my heart. I wanted to remind Mo Wei to take good care of him, but before I could speak, the back of my neck was gripped, forcing me to turn my head. I met the shattered glass-like blue eyes up close. “The one you’re supposed to go to the seaside with… shouldn’t be him.” His breath trembled as his fingers tangled in my hair. “I’m sorry… I thought you were lying to me. Mi Jia, I’ll have the palace physician treat you. You’ll remember me, remember everything from the past.”
Restoring my memories should have been a good thing, but for some reason, a wave of panic surged through me. Instinctively, I struggled, trying to escape, but the Saint Lord wouldn’t allow it. His arms locked around me like iron chains, holding me firmly in his embrace. I heard a voice from behind call out, “Saint Lord, that’s the Saint Lord!”
He lifted me onto the carriage, then bound my feet tightly. The guards who had come to rescue were stunned when they saw how he treated me. “Saint Lord, this…?” They asked in disbelief.
“Has Shengzun come out of seclusion in advance?” he retorted, his voice cold. “Does she know about today’s events?”
“She has not yet left the seclusion, and she is unaware of the danger you and His Majesty encountered.”
He nodded, seemingly relieved, and lowered the curtain.
“Can you let go of me now?” I struggled with my legs. “I won’t run anymore.”
The Saint Lord did not answer, only gazed at me. “So, the reason you denied it before was because you have something to hold on to outside the palace, and you don’t want to be trapped in the palace for the rest of your life, am I right?”
I nodded.
His expression was somewhat frustrated. “Why not just say it clearly? I almost misunderstood you.” His finger moved to my lips. “Does it hurt?”
Seeing that his gaze was no longer as wild as before but much softer, I gathered a bit more courage. “If I say it clearly, what will you do? Will you allow me to leave the palace in the future?”
His blue eyes darkened again. “I can allow you to meet with your family, but letting you go… that’s impossible.”
My heart sank, and I didn’t want to speak anymore. He pulled me into his embrace again, cupping my head in his palm, gently caressing it. “I’m thinking, perhaps what I saw back then… maybe I was mistaken, maybe there was some misunderstanding. Once you regain your memory, we’ll have the answer.”
When the carriage stopped, my hands and feet were finally unbound.
I was still groggy from sleep when I heard the Saint Lord softly say, “Go, ask the healer from Tianzhu in the temple to come quietly. Don’t alert the other palace physicians.”
“Yes.”
I rubbed my eyes and peeked through the carriage curtain. Outside, the lights were dim, and not far ahead stood a rather low palace gate, with only a single guard standing at the entrance.
“This place… this is the secret passage I used to leave the palace with Xiao Shi when we were young. On the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, I went out through this very gate. In front of all the common folk, I didn’t dare to say much to you. I saw you standing alone in the street, wiping away tears, and I couldn’t ease my mind, so I secretly went out to look for you. But you were already drunk with him in the tavern,” he said. I turned to look back, seeing him leaning against the window, gazing at me under the moonlight, his eyes dark and damp. “Never mind, you don’t remember anyway.”
I felt confused and restless as he pulled me into his arms, gently kissing my forehead.
“You’ll remember, and when you do, we can start over again.” He murmured.
The strong scent of medicine filled my nostrils, and my consciousness slowly began to fade. It felt as though I was sinking into a swamp, unable to control myself. I instinctively tightened my grip on Saint Lord’s hand, which was holding mine.
“Don’t be afraid, I’m here,” He whispered softly in my ear, his fingers tightly entwined with mine. Once my eyelids grew too heavy to stay open, I heard him speak to the palace physician in a low voice, “You can begin the acupuncture now.”
A sharp pain struck deep within my skull.
The cold wind howled fiercely, as if the wails of a thousand ghosts echoed through the air.
“Don’t let that brat escape, catch him quickly! The Saintess has great use for them!”
But ahead, there was no more road.
I suddenly stopped, my feet skidding as stones scattered and rolled into the abyss just a few steps away. The wind and snow howled, and I shivered all over. I glanced at the silver hairpin in my hand, it was this that allowed me to cut the ropes and earn a fleeting chance of survival. The once bright red character “live” had become faded and unclear, but my mother’s dying gaze still lingered before my eyes.
I turned back to look, and in the distance, the royal palace atop the mountain gleamed with brilliant lights, resembling a divine temple. I didn’t know what that female demon intended to do with me and Mi Luo there, but I was certain that the “use” awaiting us would be far more terrifying than death itself.
Several red-clad figures, carrying torches, emerged closer in the forest, resembling vengeful spirits hunting for souls. I trembled uncontrollably, retreating step by step, clutching the silver hairpin in my hand. I glanced back—
“I’m sorry… Sister, if I can survive, I will come back to save you. Wait for me.”
I rushed to the cliff and jumped down!
I woke up with a start and opened my eyes suddenly. There was smoke above me, and the curtains were hanging low. I was in a trance for a long time before I gradually came back to my body. I was sweating all over, as if I was still immersed in the freezing cold river water, struggling between life and death, but only my hands were warm.
Looking to the side, the face that I had seen fourteen years ago was very close to me. He had his eyes closed, his lips tightly pursed, and was sleeping soundly. There seemed to be a layer of fog in front of my eyes. I couldn’t help but pull out one hand and trace his face from a distance.
Seeing his eyelashes trembling and that he was about to open his eyes, I immediately retracted my hand, lowered my head, closed my eyes, and suppressed the tears that were about to burst out.
“Mi Jia, you are awake?” He stroked my face. “Do you have a headache?”
I shook my head.
“Do you remember the past?” he whispered. “Do you remember me?”
I closed my eyes tightly, suppressing the thousands of words I wanted to say to him and also suppressing the blood that was about to surge up from the bottom of my heart. My mouth was filled with the bitter taste of blood, just like that bloody night.
I took a deep breath and called out the name I hadn’t heard in fourteen years: “Nalin.”
He took a deep breath and pressed me deeply into his arms. The hot liquid seeped into my hair: “Tell me, why did you suffer a head injury and lose your memory?”
Your mother wiped out my entire family.
Killed my mother and took away my sister.
How can I tell him the truth?
If he knew, how would he face me, his mother, and how would he cope with the situation?
I was thinking in a trance and suddenly remembered what the tree demon and Qing Jue Daozhang talked about why I was Nalin’s fate and his calamity for his ascension to godhood. So that’s it.
“Mi Jia?” He lifted my chin. “What happened to you after we separated? If you have any reasons for leaving me, just tell me and I will believe you.”
“No.” I closed my eyes, pulled up the corners of my lips, and swallowed the blood rushing to my throat. “I didn’t have any hardship, Nalin… I just wanted the thousand gold coins and abandoned you… I was just a kid back then, and I said I wanted to elope. I was just kidding. Who knew you would really believe it? I was scared, so I ran away. Who knows, there is also money to be taken? Of course… it would be a waste if I didn’t take it.”
His hands froze.
