After they returned, Su Yurou asked him why he had done that.
Jiang Fuli casually ground the medicinal powder and said,
“I don’t know. I just felt that the way he knelt before me and begged me looked like something I had seen somewhere before.”
Su Yurou’s heart jolted.
Yes.
There had been someone who had once knelt before him like that too.
Hundreds of years ago, at the Chonghua Academy, a slave boy with the ambitions of a wolf had knelt miserably before him, begging him to save his life and leave him a way to live.
Su Yurou did not say any of this aloud.
Instead, she tilted her head and looked up at the gloomy gray sky.
It was the rainy season.
Faint flashes of lightning clawed and danced behind the heavy clouds.
She knew that another storm was coming.
The pursuit from Liao began without warning.
Several years after Jiang Fuli had given the young boy the Broken Water Sword, assassins from Liao suddenly launched a surprise attack.
They fled in panic, escaping several attempts to capture them.
After the most dangerous pursuit of all, Su Yurou finally abandoned the last bit of wishful thinking in her heart.
They could no longer move about freely in these small kingdoms.
They had to seek shelter under a country powerful enough to protect them.
She brought Jiang Fuli back to Chonghua.
A century later, Chonghua had long since undergone tremendous changes.
No one noticed Jiang Fuli’s identity, and Jiang Fuli himself was completely unaware of it.
On the surface, the two of them seemed to have settled down peacefully.
But Su Yurou remained troubled by Liao’s sudden pursuit of them.
She always felt as though a pair of eagle-like eyes belonging to Hua Po’an were watching her from somewhere behind the scenes.
But how could that be?
Hua Po’an was clearly already dead.
And even if he were not, why would he suddenly set his sights on Jiang Fuli, who had been living under an assumed identity?
Her instincts made her even more cautious.
For the sake of testing the situation further, and also so that they could establish a more normal life in Chonghua, several months later, she and Jiang Fuli held an extravagant wedding.
In truth, it was nothing more than a formality.
Jiang Fuli’s emotions and desires had been extinguished, and all his worldly connections had been severed. No one could possibly marry him.
But the news was spread nonetheless.
On the day of the wedding banquet, she deliberately revealed, as if by accident, the half of her face that had remained undamaged.
She looked like a peach blossom reflected on a beautiful face, with a seductive beauty mark beneath her eye, and everyone who saw her was deeply astonished by her beauty.
Afterward, she quietly waited for a reaction from Liao.
The result she feared most eventually arrived.
The State Preceptor of Liao suddenly began searching everywhere for women whose appearances resembled hers, inviting them into the palace to become Holy Maidens.
Afterward, however, he dressed every one of those young women as newlywed brides and brutally murdered them.
The young man whom Jiang Fuli had once given the sword manual to was unfortunately caught up in this as well.
In the end, he became the Sword Demon and went to Chonghua to cause trouble.
Everything about it was far too insane.
To outsiders, it seemed that the State Preceptor of Liao had fallen in love with this peerlessly beautiful Holy Maiden and, consumed by resentment after her betrayal, had begun marrying every woman in the world who resembled her, only to murder every one of them after obtaining them, demonstrating his contempt for them.
Even the Sword Demon, Li Qingqian, believed this.
He thought she was a femme fatale, surely born with unparalleled beauty, and that her beauty was what had driven the State Preceptor into madness.
Only Su Yurou herself knew that this was not the case.
She finally understood—
Hua Po’an had never actually died.
Most likely, when he had been assassinated back then, his injuries had been so severe that, in order to avoid those seeking revenge, he had been forced to announce his death to the outside world.
It was likely that all these years, Hua Po’an had remained hidden within the Liao Palace, assuming an identity such as that of the “State Preceptor,” secretly controlling the power of Liao from behind the scenes for several centuries.
And the reason Jiang Fuli’s identity had been exposed was because he had taught Li Qingqian the Broken Water Sword Manual.
Li Qingqian had spent several years studying it and had finally managed to perform one or two moves.
That had caught the attention of Hua Po’an, who had been searching for traces of Shen Tang all this time.
Following that clue, Hua Po’an had eventually locked onto Jiang Fuli.
That was why, on that day when the Sword Demon went berserk, Su Yurou had walked gracefully toward him.
With nothing more than the face concealed behind her veil and a few words, she shattered his obsession completely—
Because she knew exactly what he had misunderstood.
Li Qingqian had always believed that Hongshao had been killed because she resembled the person the State Preceptor loved.
But how could that possibly have been the reason?
The State Preceptor was so furious because he likely believed that after several centuries, Shen Tang’s curse had finally been lifted.
Shen Tang could finally marry someone and form a bond with another person.
And Su Yurou had accompanied him for a century.
She was also a beautiful woman.
Perhaps the State Preceptor believed that she had finally won Shen Tang’s affection and become his companion.
What the State Preceptor was doing was not searching the world for reflections of his lover.
He was arrogantly warning Shen Tang—
Look. The woman you married is nothing special either.
If I want as many of them as I please, I can have them.
Don’t you like women like this? Then I’ll take them all under my command and cast them aside like trash afterward.
The person you love, and all those lowly bastards who resemble the person you love, will all meet miserable ends.
I cannot sever your worldly bonds.
So this is the curse I send you.
The face Su Yurou showed Li Qingqian—
Where was there any peerless beauty?
Only half of it remained intact.
The other half looked like the face of a vicious ghost or demon.
She also told him,
“Li Qingqian, the person who saved you in Lichun back then was the man the State Preceptor of Liao had truly loved for all these years.
“You misunderstood.
“It was never me.
“The reason the State Preceptor became this insane is because of the person who once gave you the Broken Water Sword Manual.
“Jiang Fuli.”
That was the end of the story.
The warm chamber fell into complete silence.
Mo Xi’s face was pale as he stared at the man sitting opposite him—
The man who had restored his memories and broken his seal with the help of the Divine Wood.
For a moment, Mo Xi did not know what to say.
He could even clearly understand the predicament Jiang the Apothecary must be feeling at this moment.
What exactly was Jiang the Apothecary?
A living person?
A puppet?
He seemed to be the Shen Tang of several hundred years ago.
And yet, he was not entirely the same person.
He had lived under the name Jiang Fuli for so many years, yet had always remained alone, without emotion or desire.
A hundred years had passed in the blink of an eye, and he had lived without knowing what life even tasted like.
He did not understand what the meaning of his existence was.
Until this moment.
Jiang Fuli’s slender fingers rested against the Reversal Stone as he said calmly,
“Yurou used this stone to seal away my seven emotions and six desires, as well as all my memories.
“Now I have removed it myself.
“I am giving this spirit stone, which the Shen clan has guarded from generation to generation, to you.
“According to the Divine Wood’s divination, I know that only if you activate it is there any possibility that all of this can finally end.”
“……”
“Lord Xihe, I can fight Hua Po’an.
“He is Shen Tang’s disciple, so I should also be the one to kill him.
“But I cannot stop the blood pool of the blood demon beast from spreading.
“Only the Reversal Stone can do that.”
He picked up the pitch-black crystal stone.
Its deep darkness made his fingers appear even paler.
“There is only one of these spirit stones in the entire Jiuzhou Continent.
“It has been passed down from the ancient primordial era until today.
“It was once one of the three power crystals used by Fuxi when he created the Three Forbidden Arts.
“Once activated, it can open a rift in space-time, allowing its bearer to return to the past.”
Mo Xi’s expression changed abruptly.
“Isn’t that the Gate of Life and Death Across Space-Time, one of the Three Forbidden Arts?!”
“It is different,” Jiang Fuli said.
“The Reversal Stone came from the Heavenly Realm. It was a spirit stone that Fuxi brought down to the mortal world.
“It existed long before the Gate of Life and Death Across Space-Time was created.
“It does not possess the same overwhelming power as the Gate of Life and Death Across Space-Time.
“At most, it can send you back ten years. It cannot go any further than that.
“Furthermore, according to the ancient records, once the Gate of Life and Death Across Space-Time is activated, the caster is destined to meet a terrible end. The mortal world itself may even be cursed and destroyed.
“But the Reversal Stone is different.”
“How is it different?”
“It carries no curse.
“Most records concerning it have become vague because so much time has passed since antiquity.
“The old records of the Shen clan once said that it could ‘reflect the soul and discern the ruler’s heart.’
“They also said that it ‘does no harm to the mortal world; destiny has already been decreed.’
“But no one can say for certain what those sixteen words actually mean.
“The Shen clan only knows that it cannot be used casually.
“One must first perform divination and ask Heaven for guidance, obtaining the divination of destiny before the stone can be entrusted to that person.
“Otherwise, the consequences it causes could be even more terrifying than the true Gate of Life and Death Across Space-Time.”
The candles in the warm chamber silently burned down.
Moths drawn to the flames flew toward the solitary lamp, their wings striking it with sharp, crackling sounds.
Mo Xi silently stared at the crystal stone.
Jiang Fuli held it out toward him.
“The divination of destiny says that it should be given to you.
“You will activate it and return to the day when Gu Mang was sent back to Chonghua as a peace offering—
“Return to the banks of the Fu River, before Murong Lian went to find him.”
Mo Xi’s heartbeat suddenly quickened, and his blood surged violently.
By now, Mo Xi already knew that Gu Mang had not completely lost his memory before returning to the city.
It had been Junshang who sent Murong Lian to take away the soul container holding the power of the blood demon beast that Gu Mang had forged.
Murong Lian had then followed orders and destroyed Gu Mang’s consciousness completely.
In other words, if he returned to that day—
If he returned to before Murong Lian found him—
Then he could—?!
He abruptly raised his head and met Jiang Fuli’s eyes.
Jiang Fuli nodded.
“As long as you completely destroy the source of the blood demon beast’s power at that time, the blood demon beast will never be able to resurrect in the present.
“If everything goes smoothly, the fates of many people may change from that moment onward.
“You may be able to preserve Gu Mang’s consciousness and immediately clear his name.
“Murong Chuyi may not have to die.
“Hua Po’an may be unable to successfully awaken his loyal servant…”
After a pause, Jiang Fuli continued,
“I cannot guarantee that all these changes will necessarily be good.
“The Reversal Stone can only remain active for a short period of time, about one shichen.
“Once you return, the situation before your eyes should have changed completely.
“Everything that happened in the past will only be remembered by you, the bearer of the Reversal Stone.
“Everyone else…
“What you see will be an entirely different ending.”
“You may encounter a Yue Chenqing with a completely different personality.
“Perhaps Murong Chen will come to his senses and avoid being forced into a palace coup, remaining the king of this kingdom.
“You may discover that I am also in a completely different state.
“The change you make in the past may create a Chonghua completely different from the one that exists now.”
“But, Lord Xihe.”
Jiang Fuli glanced outside at the blood-soaked earth and the sky obscured by the smoke of war.
“I’m afraid there isn’t an outcome that could be worse than the one we have now.”
He said,
“Since the Divine Wood’s divination says this is what should be done, then let us take the gamble.”
“You will use the Reversal Stone to return to the past.
“At the same time, I will go into Liao’s camp and find Hua Po’an, preventing him from having the time or energy to find a way to stop you.”
After saying this, he took out a finely made brocade pouch, placed the Reversal Stone inside, and tied it to Mo Xi’s waist.
“There is only one of this stone.
“We have only one chance.
“There is no precedent for us to follow.
“When you are ready, tell me.”
He looked at Mo Xi with his one remaining eye.
Mo Xi’s mind was filled with countless tangled thoughts.
He turned his head and looked at the rolling sea of blood outside the window.
His Chonghua.
His lover.
Their youth.
Their families and homes—
All of them might have a chance to begin again.
“But you might die as well.
“No one knows.”
In the end, Jiang Fuli said this to him.
Mo Xi glanced at the blood pool where Gu Mang had sacrificed himself, then shifted his gaze back to Jiang Fuli.
“I’m ready.”
The faint copper bells outside the window chimed softly in the breeze.
This was a great gamble before dawn in Chonghua.
Only if they chose the right path at this final crossroads could they finally welcome the break of day.
At this point, what did life or death matter anymore?
Mo Xi had always been alone.
There was no one left for him to cling to.
He looked into Jiang Fuli’s one remaining eye.
Hundreds of years ago, eyes like these had once gazed gently at Hua Po’an, opening the nightmare of an entire era.
And eyes like these had also once looked coldly at Hua Po’an, their owner using his own life to bring that nightmare to a temporary end.
Now, it was time to bring everything to its final conclusion.
Jiang Fuli asked,
“Are you truly ready?”
“Yes.”
“What you encounter may be extremely cruel.”
“……”
Jiang Fuli asked one final question.
“Can you do it?”
Before Mo Xi’s eyes, it seemed as though a ray of light descended.
Within that light, Gu Mang wore a brilliant red cloak draped over his armor, like flames wrapped around a suit of battle armor.
Gu Mang turned his head and smiled at him.
Those pitch-black eyes were a sight Mo Xi had not even dared to hope he might see in his dreams all these years.
“I can.”
Mo Xi said,
“Apothecary Jiang, please cast the spell.”
The worst that could happen was that he would die—
That was what he had thought before entering the Reversal Stone.