But at the edge of her fading consciousness, a pair of hands grabbed her.
A gentle spiritual power was channeled into her body, helping her guide the rampaging energy. It was so warm that it put her at ease.
After an unknown amount of time, when she finally opened her eyes, she saw her Junior Brother’s pale face.
Out of concern, she frowned.
“Junior Brother, what are you doing here?”
Upon hearing this, her Junior Brother merely forced a smile.
“I only came here to congratulate you on your breakthrough, Senior Sister!”
She wanted to say something, wanted to ask if he was hurt… but in the end, she said nothing.
Her Grandmaster once said:
‘The Ruthless Path requires one to sever all emotions and desires. Never form deep connections with anyone.’
Even though she vaguely sensed what had happened, she could only choose to ignore it.
Only by sealing her heart and abandoning love could she attain the Dao.
Therefore, she could only look at her Junior Brother with the coldest gaze possible and say:
“I see. Now leave!”
She had to reject her Junior Brother with this attitude so he would know that “anything between us is simply impossible.”
Sure enough, her Junior Brother was stunned. Then, with a self-mocking smile, he silently walked out.
The moment he stepped out the door, he looked back at her.
That look…
She had thought about it for a long time afterward, but she could never understand what was in that gaze.
It wasn’t until her Ruthless Dao Heart shattered that she understood:
That expression was the resentment and disappointment of someone thinking, ‘I risked my life for you, yet you won’t even say thank you?’
Looking back, it made sense. Her Junior Brother had been exhausted to the point of collapse, only to be met with her cold face.
After that, he stayed in seclusion to recover for six whole months.
She had wanted to go see him, but every time she reached the door of his dwelling, she turned away.
She didn’t dare. She was afraid that if she asked, she would give him false hope.
Later, he fell into the Demonic Path and became a demon that everyone wanted dead.
Ultimately, he died by her sword.
During the days when her Dao Heart was shattered, Ji Xuanyuan often wondered if things would have ended differently if she had been kinder to her Junior Brother in their daily life.
Returning to the present, she looked up and saw Chu Yuan sitting on the bed, looking at her with eyes full of hatred and helplessness.
“Highness, if you treat the terms of the Soul Covenant as nothing, then do not blame me for being impolite!”
Facing her Junior Brother’s protest, the smile on Ji Xuanyuan’s face was tinged with bitterness.
‘I didn’t expect that even after being reborn, I still couldn’t avoid hurting my Junior Brother.’
‘But there’s no other way. If I want to face the Demon Path Alliance alone, my cultivation must keep up.’
‘Even if my Junior Brother misunderstands, so be it!’
Ji Xuanyuan never expected them to recognize each other, nor did she dare to try.
She was forced to play the role of the bad woman, smiling playfully as she said, “Young Master Yuan has misunderstood. If I truly treated the Soul Covenant as nothing, it wouldn’t have ended just like this. You and I should continue to cooperate in the future!”
As she spoke, she didn’t forget to tease him.
“What? Why are you still standing there? If you don’t want to go back, you can rest here. It would save you the time wasted walking back and forth.”
Chu Yuan gritted his teeth.
He felt more and more like an innocent girl being deceived by a scoundrel.
Since his weakness had been seized, he could only let this twisted relationship continue.
Chu Yuan stood up and walked out, clutching his waist.
Sensing a figure at the door, the guards outside immediately opened it for him.
Seeing the young man’s current state, the guards’ expressions became somewhat strange.
Chu Yuan endured those gazes with a blank face, pretending not to see them.
He just wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.
“A-Yuan!”
Before he could think further, a gentle female voice called out from the distance.
Chu Yuan looked toward the source of the voice. A familiar, elegant figure was standing outside the courtyard gate.
“Wan’er!”
Gu Qingwan was wearing a plain dress, and her hair was slightly disheveled. It was clear she had rushed over in a hurry.
The morning light slanted in from the east, falling between the two of them.
She was in the sunlight, while he was in the shadow of the eaves.
That light was like an invisible wall, separating them at two different ends.
Gu Qingwan stood outside the courtyard and stared at him blankly, her cherry-red lips trembling.
Yesterday, she had clutched that Jade Box and waited in the guest room where Chu Yuan stayed for the entire night.
But he hadn’t returned all night.
Gu Qingwan was anxious, so she went to ask the maids. Only then did she find out:
Her childhood friend had entered the Crown Prince’s courtyard last night and hadn’t come out since.
At that moment, her heart skipped a beat, but she didn’t dare to force her way into the West Courtyard where the Crown Prince resided.
Gu Qingwan only lied to herself: ‘A-Yuan must have been called by Her Highness to perform some secret task outside.’
‘Yes! It must be that!’
In this way, Gu Qingwan deceived herself for an entire night.
But now, she had finally seen him.
And seeing him made Gu Qingwan’s heart ache even more.
There were dark circles under Chu Yuan’s eyes, his face was pale, and he stood there clutching his waist as if all the strength had been drained out of him.
She vaguely guessed what had happened, but she still stepped forward and asked softly, “A-Yuan, what happened to you?”