“Xiaosi…”
Jiang Liu’s voice was choked with emotion as he gently wiped away the tears and blood from her face, carefully lifting her as if picking up a shattered porcelain doll.
Jiang Xiaosi’s bones were twisted, her brain was bleeding profusely, and her consciousness was hazy.
She was numb, but Jiang Liu’s salty tears fell on her face, and the sting made her wounds ache even more.
“Dad…” she mouthed silently, but no sound came out.
She felt so ashamed. Her father had only been gone for a short time, and she had already gotten herself into this ridiculous mess.
Jiang Liu transferred some of his life force to her. If she were a full zombie, she would be invulnerable, immune to injury. But she had forgotten that half of her was still human. External wounds could be treated, but her condition was truly too terrible to bear.
As he carried her back to the “Tuo Gu Xiang” shop, Jiang Liu was filled with anger, sorrow, and heartache, but more than anything, he blamed himself.
How could he have been so foolish to entrust Xiaosi to someone like that? Just because he loved her, Jiang Liu thought he would accept everything about her?
Xiaosi, Dad made a mistake. I should never have avoided the truth or trusted others. In this world, the only one who can truly give you happiness is me.
Jiang Xiaosi remained in a coma, running a high fever. When she occasionally woke up, she would just stare blankly at the ceiling.
Her previous injuries hadn’t even healed yet, and now, with head trauma and additional injuries to her body, she was bedridden for at least a month.
Jiang Liu brought in a lot of RH blood for her to drink, but she couldn’t even bear the smell—it made her want to vomit. Perhaps it was her subconscious rejecting her zombie identity, or maybe it was because she had tasted Shen Mo’s blood and didn’t want anyone else’s. Jiang Liu had no choice but to force the blood into her.
Seeing her so despondent and hopeless tore Jiang Liu apart.
“Xiaosi, don’t be like this. Look at Dad!”
“He knows I’m a zombie. He doesn’t want me anymore…” Jiang Xiaosi mumbled emptily, trying to cry in Jiang Liu’s arms but finding she didn’t even have the strength to sob—only silent tears fell.
“Jiang Xiaosi, you’re Zhao Bing’s daughter! Show some backbone!” Jiang Liu tried to scold her into waking up, but the next moment, his heart ached, and he held her tightly in his arms.
“Do you only want him? What about Dad? What will I do if you keep being like this? Are you going to leave me all alone?”
Jiang Xiaosi stared at him, trying to lift her hand to wipe away his tears. Yes, how could she be so foolish and selfish? Hurting herself like this, the only one who would be sad and heartbroken for her was her dad.
“I’m sorry… I won’t do this again…” Jiang Xiaosi placed her hand over the spot on her chest where the key lay. She had given everything she had to save this relationship, and she was so tired. She could live and die for love, but she wasn’t alone—she had to stay alive for her dad.
Seeing that Jiang Xiaosi had finally calmed down and fallen asleep, Jiang Liu clenched his fists. Every wound and pain Xiaosi had suffered, he would make sure to repay twice over!
Shen Mo hadn’t slept for two days and nights, sitting on the sofa in the living room without moving, barely shifting his posture. The talismans around the house had been taken down, but he knew Jiang Xiaosi wouldn’t come back.
He looked at Jiang Liu, who had gracefully descended into the courtyard, his long hair flowing, his robes billowing. He looked more like an immortal than a zombie. Shen Mo breathed a sigh of relief. If Jiang Liu had time to come and confront him, it meant that Jiang Xiaosi was okay.
“Let’s talk outside.” Shen Mo said, standing up. He knew a fierce fight was inevitable and didn’t want to break anything inside the house.
In the bamboo forest, everything was eerily quiet. Jiang Liu’s face remained expressionless, and though he didn’t appear furious, there was an aura of bloodlust about him. His gaze wasn’t aggressive, yet it chilled Shen Mo to the bone, as if everything in the world was dead in his eyes.
“Shen Mo, I’m not going to kill you because I share some of the responsibility. But however much blood Xiaosi lost, you’re going to lose just as much.”
Jiang Liu took a small step forward, and the silver coin in his hand spun out on its silver chain. Shen Mo drew his crescent-shaped blade to block, and when the two clashed, sparks flew.
The silver coin moved as if it had a life of its own, weaving through obstacles and flying in a curve. Shen Mo’s protective aura was easily torn apart, and deep cuts opened on his body, severing arteries. Blood spurted out in a torrent.
After all, Shen Mo had only lived for a few decades. Even with the help of the Seven-Layer Everlasting Tower, his spells might match Jiang Liu’s, but in terms of physical combat, how could he compare to Jiang Liu, who had battled on the front lines and honed his skills over a thousand years? Soon, Shen Mo was covered in wounds.
“Did you really think you could beat me this way? You’re too arrogant.” Jiang Liu said coldly as he watched Shen Mo struggle. How long did he think he could last?
Shen Mo shook his head. Jiang Liu hadn’t used his zombie powers against him, so Shen Mo wouldn’t use spells either. Besides, this was his fault. If taking these wounds could ease his guilt and allow Jiang Liu to vent, so be it.
“Don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because of this.” Jiang Liu said as he moved so fast that only afterimages remained around Shen Mo. In a blink, his palm strike hit Shen Mo, shaking his internal organs until they nearly shattered.
Shen Mo staggered back a few steps, clutching a bamboo stalk to stay upright.
Jiang Liu paused, looking at him coldly. This was pointless. He had thought that, perhaps, Shen Mo might be a worthy opponent.
“You have your choices, and I won’t force you. We tricked you first, so I won’t blame you. I had thought you were different from ordinary people, but I was wrong. From now on, Xiaosi has nothing to do with you. I’m taking her away from Taoyuan City, and I won’t let her go again. Shen Mo, take care of yourself.”
Jiang Liu left, leaving Shen Mo in a daze. He didn’t dwell on the meaning of Jiang Liu’s words about not letting Xiaosi go again. Frowning, Shen Mo coughed up the blood that had been pooling inside him.
Jiang Liu had indeed been ruthless. Shen Mo’s internal injuries were severe enough that he wouldn’t be able to use spells for a long time. He staggered back into the house, drank some medicine, and fell into a fitful sleep. Xiaosi must be in far more pain than he was now.
When Jiang Liu returned to “Tuo Gu Xiang” Jiang Xiaosi was still asleep, her neck in a cast, leaving only her small head exposed. She looked particularly cute. Jiang Liu gently stroked her face, thinking about how all the effort he and Shen Koudan had put into finding and making the medicine had been wasted. He had lived for a thousand years and didn’t think being a zombie was such a bad thing.
During the fight with Shen Mo, Jiang Liu had noticed that Shen Mo was holding back, even deliberately taking hits. Was it really just out of guilt? Jiang Liu wondered but didn’t dwell on it. From now on, none of this had anything to do with them.
Shen Mo lay in bed for a day and a night, vaguely aware that someone was helping him sit up and giving him water. When he groggily opened his eyes, he saw Yu Shuixin’s face.
“You’re finally here. I’ve been waiting for you.”
Shen Mo suddenly spat the water back at her face and grabbed her by the throat.
Jiang Xiaosi’s cast was finally removed. Not wanting anyone to see her in such a sorry state, she had forbidden Jiang Liu and anyone else from mentioning it. During this time, she had done a lot of thinking, trying to see things from Shen Mo’s perspective. If something like this had happened to her, how would she have reacted? He wasn’t wrong; the fault lay with her, with her identity that she could never change.
Shen Koudan had visited her a few times. Lately, she had been disguising herself less and less. In her natural form, she looked delicate, and when she smiled, her eyes curved like little crescent moons. Shen Koudan didn’t know the full story, only that Shen Mo had learned Jiang Xiaosi’s identity and that the two had broken up. That was typical of Shen Mo, and though she felt sorry for Jiang Xiaosi, she wasn’t surprised. What puzzled her was that when she visited Shen Mo, he looked even more haggard than Jiang Xiaosi. So, she remained convinced that he just needed time to come to terms with it.
That night, Shen Mo laid a trap and finally captured Meixin. He had thought he would make sure Meixin never reincarnated, but in the end, he didn’t. He only drained Meixin of his powers and sealed the last remnants of his soul in the Seven-Layer Everlasting Tower.
“Why didn’t you kill me?” Meixin asked.
Shen Mo shook his head, looking exhausted.
“I used to dream every night of making sure you were wiped from existence, but now I realize it’s meaningless.”
Meixin sneered. “Still haven’t learned your lesson, huh? You’re going to regret not killing me.”
Shen Mo recalled Meixin’s arrogant laughter on the phone all those years ago.
“—Shen Mo, you killed the one I loved. I told you I’d kill everyone you love…”
Over the years, Yutong had betrayed him, so he killed Yutong. Then Meixin slaughtered his entire family, and Shen Mo killed Meixin. Meixin returned as a ghost and tried to kill him…
The cycle of vengeance would never end. He was truly exhausted and didn’t want to keep fighting.
“Believe it or not, what happened with Yutong was an accident… Just stay here in the tower and train. If you ever rid yourself of your hatred, I’ll let you reincarnate.”
Time inside the Seven-Layer Everlasting Tower passed differently from outside. One year in the human world was equivalent to a hundred years inside the tower. The tower was a treasured heirloom of the Shen family, used to imprison spirits and also for personal cultivation. Many people who were only in their fifties or sixties had gained hundreds of years’ worth of cultivation inside. It was a fast way to advance in the spiritual arts, but no one could stay in the tower for long—without the sun and moon, it was easy to forget who you were. Shen Mo would sometimes retreat into the tower for ten days to half a month to clear his mind, especially in the years after his family was killed.
Meixin, who had fought against Shen Mo all his life, had never seen such a peaceful and serene expression on Shen Mo’s face before, as if he had seen through everything. What had changed him? Was it Jiang Xiaosi? If so, Meixin found that laughable.
“Did you sacrifice your love just to capture me?”
Shen Mo remained silent. In truth, he had given up Jiang Xiaosi for revenge.
If he and Jiang Xiaosi could have parted peacefully, he might have had the courage to win her back after capturing Meixin, to reconcile. But he knew that was impossible. With Jiang Xiaosi’s personality, she would never let go so easily. He hadn’t expected her to take such a drastic step. After rejecting her so coldly, even after capturing Meixin, avenging his family, and eliminating the threat, he no longer had the face to see her again.
All this talk about Jiang Xiaosi’s safety, about separating to protect her, was nothing more than self-deception. His real goal had been to use the breakup to set a trap for Meixin, to avenge the slaughter of his family.
Because of his deep-rooted hatred for non-humans, breaking up with Jiang Xiaosi after learning the truth was only natural. Meixin wouldn’t suspect anything and wouldn’t think of targeting Jiang Xiaosi as a means of revenge. Seeing Jiang Xiaosi’s despair would drive Jiang Liu to confront him, and the staged fight served two purposes: to show Meixin Jiang Liu’s strength, making him too wary to retaliate for the trap Jiang Xiaosi had set for Moyang, and to make Meixin believe that Shen Mo’s injuries left him vulnerable, presenting a perfect opportunity for revenge. With few important people left in Shen Mo’s life besides Shen Koudan and Yu Shuixin—both skilled in the spiritual arts and beyond Meixin’s reach—Meixin took the bait, unable to resist the chance to toy with Shen Mo and taste vengeance for himself.
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