NOVEL WEB Chapter 105
Several days later, only Xiao Hongyi and the wreckage remained at the peak of the dangerous mountain.
She felt an unprecedented sharp pain in her chest as she looked around.
This place had once been her and Jiang Chen’s home, but she had destroyed it with her own hands.
Her expression became numb again, and even though her heart ached unbearably, her features remained indifferent, except for the tears that would flow from her eyes, creating a bizarre sight.
She floated down from the dangerous peak to the edge of the chasm.
She wanted to go to the Upper Domain, but no matter how hard she tried, she was always blown back by the cold winds within the chasm.
She didn’t give up and kept trying.
Gradually, perhaps due to the influence of the cold winds or perhaps because the phoenix blood was consuming her heart more severely, she seemed to have lost the ability to speak.
She wanted to scream to the heavens, plead with the force that had brought her here to let her find Jiang Chen.
But in the end, no matter how hard she tried, she could only make strange noises like “ah, oh.”The only thing she can say is, “Jiang Chen…”
She would show a stiff, strange smile whenever she called that name.
Day and night passed, seasons changed.
She had drifted in heavy rain, and her red clothes had been covered by white snow.
Through the changing seasons, no matter how scorching the sun, she could only feel bone-chilling cold.
She still retained a sliver of sanity.
She vaguely sensed that some unknown force was punishing her because ‘she’ in the image had personally expelled Jiang Chen from the sect.
No matter how hard she tried, she could not find his whereabouts.
She had also lost the right to witness the trajectory of Jiang Chen’s life.
When everyone misunderstood Jiang Chen, she told herself to be strong and not to collapse because her disciple was still persevering.
When ‘she’ in the image had destroyed Jiang Chen’s Core Formation and expelled him from the sect, she knew she was deeply sinful, yet still wanted to be strong, for the same reason that Jiang Chen was still persevering.
But in the end, she kept breaking down on the road to finding Jiang Chen.
Because only in searching did she truly understand the taste of loss.
This punishment was extremely cruel, causing her to suffer torment while her hallucinations became more frequent.
That last bit of sanity was gradually being eroded.
At some point, two boys with identical appearances appeared beside her.
One boy wore white and had a warm smile like the morning dawn.
One boy wore black and although he was also smiling, his smile was filled with a sense of weariness and helplessness.
“Master, do you believe in fate?” the boy in white asked.
“Master, do you accept your fate?” the boy in black asked.
She wanted to smile at the boy in white, but she could only show an ugly smile. She wanted to hug the boy in black, but her raised hands could only pass through his body.
No one noticed that at the edge of the chasm leading to the Upper Domain, there was a woman who had gone mad.
One day, a familiar figure drifted from the direction of the Upper Domain.
Though she couldn’t see the face clearly, though her vision was blurred by tears, Xiao Hongyi recognized him at a glance.
That person was the one she had waited for many, many years.
The appearance of Jiang Chen brought her back to her senses.
She could smile again and regained the ability to speak.
Although the smile was still somewhat ugly, she kept trying.
Because she couldn’t cry. Because Jiang Chen had said that she didn’t look good when she cried.
As his master, she had always disappointed Jiang Chen.
She couldn’t change anything in this world, but she didn’t want to disappoint Jiang Chen anymore.
Jiang Chen couldn’t see her; he walked ahead, absorbed in his own world.
She tried hard to follow him, her red robes swaying and stumbling along, looking as if each step was a great effort.
Although both were cultivators, they walked slowly like mortals.
They crossed the land, climbed mountains, and crossed countless rivers.
Although Jiang Chen had not spoken a word since he reappeared, Xiao Hongyi didn’t care. She just talked about interesting stories from the past, then cried and laughed by herself.
She didn’t know where Jiang Chen was going, but it didn’t matter.
This time, she truly waited for him. No matter where the destination was, even if it was hell, she was willing to follow him.
The two walked side by side, and this journey lasted for years.
Suddenly, Jiang Chen stopped.
Confused, Xiao Hongyi gazed into the distance, her pupils contracting involuntarily.
Not far away stood a perilous peak that reached the clouds…
She never thought that they would end up back here.
The summit of that perilous peak had once been her and Jiang Chen’s home.
But now, it lay in ruins…
A sudden sharp pain struck her heart.
Those two boys, who had long disappeared and looked identical, appeared again by her side.
“Master, are we going home?” the boy in white asked.
“Master, was there still a home?” the boy in black asked.
Guilt, self-reproach, and sins weighed so heavily on Xiao Hongyi that she struggled to breathe.
She had clearly told him that place was Jiang Chen’s home.
She had clearly promised that if Jiang Chen had nowhere to go, he could cling to that place for a lifetime.
But… was there still a home?
The Red Jade Pavilion had long been reduced to broken walls, the spiritual pond had collapsed, and the spiritual fields were in disarray.
Seeing Jiang Chen continue to move forward as if heading to the top of that perilous peak, Xiao Hongyi panicked.
She couldn’t imagine. After so many years, Jiang Chen had returned.
What kind of pain would he feel in his heart upon seeing that ‘home’ now in ruins?
If Jiang Chen left again and headed to the Upper Domain, wouldn’t she be separated from him once more?
Xiao Hongyi didn’t want to disappoint Jiang Chen, especially not this time, no matter what.
She quickly stepped forward, arms outstretched to block Jiang Chen’s path.
Just as she was about to say something, Jiang Chen passed through her body.
“Jiang Chen, let’s not go there, okay?”
She caught up again, then she tried to smile with a voice that almost seemed like a pleading.
“Let’s leave this place. Wherever you want to go, I’ll accompany you.”
“You don’t have to speak, you don’t have to pay attention to me, just stay by my side.”
“Jiang Chen, I was wrong.”
“Terribly wrong, unforgivably wrong. You can punish me however you want, just… just please don’t go there.”
“I’m begging you, don’t go…”
As Jiang Chen drifted toward the top of the perilous peak, her voice grew fainter, and her sobs heavier.
Jiang Chen was getting further and further away.
Xiao Hongyi laughed in despair while shouting at his retreating figure: “Jiang Chen, that place is not home! It never was! I lied to you, I just wanted to reform you. I never considered it home myself!!”
“Actually, it doesn’t matter where our home is. What matters is where you are…” she murmured to herself.
Her cries were ineffective, and Jiang Chen’s figure was about to disappear from her sight.
She hurriedly chased after him with all her might.
One after the other, they reached the summit of the perilous peak.
She looked up, then she was shocked as if she had been struck by lightning.
The red pavilion was intact, the spiritual pond’s water still shimmered with spiritual light, and the spiritual fields were still teeming with playful beast.
Everything was restored to its original state, yet something was a little different.
There was a new jade table beside the spiritual pond.
On the table lay a brand-new fishing rod and several spiritual fruits.
Next to the table, a woman in red sat on a stool holding a small spiritual sword, ‘ruthlessly’ peeling the spiritual fruit in her hand.
She occasionally looked in the direction of the Upper Domain with a long, melancholic sigh.
Xiao Hongyi rubbed her eyes, then sat down on the ground like a child and burst into tears.
This time, her tears were from happiness.
As a master, at least this time, she hadn’t let Jiang Chen down.
At least this time, although she had personally destroyed the home she shared with Jiang Chen, she had rebuilt it.
At least this time, she remembered her promise and kept the place where Jiang Chen could cling to.
As a master, she finally didn’t break her word for once.
Xiao Hongyi didn’t know how long she had cried.
Maybe it was a few hours, or maybe it was several days.
As her crying subsided, she turned to her side with a heavy nasal voice and said, “Jiang Chen…”
Her voice abruptly stopped.
She was stunned.
She had clearly come here with Jiang Chen, clearly stood by his side, and just a second ago, she could still feel Jiang Chen’s breath and warmth.
But now, there was nothing.
It’s an empty space beside her.
She thought she had finally waited for Jiang Chen, thought she had traveled over mountains and rivers with him, thought it was the happiest moment.
But the truth was, the Jiang Chen who had always been by her side was also a hallucination…
Indeed, that unknown force would not allow her to actively find Jiang Chen, even if it drove her to madness.
In a daze, The boy in white reappeared, sitting by the pond and fishing with his rod.
“Splash—”
The boy in white laughed as a large spiritual fish was hooked.
“Haha, spiritual fish, oh spiritual fish! You fell into Jiang Chen’s hands. You’ll be Master’s dinner tonight!”
Xiao Hongyi’s tears burst forth again.
She quickly stepped forward and hugged the boy in white from behind, apologizing non-stop, full of regret.
“Master, why are you crying?” the boy in white turned and asked.
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