On the day of Li Yueyi’s birthday party, Jiang Xiaosi was busy with work out of town alongside Shen Mo and couldn’t make it back. Originally, she had planned to just call Li Yueyi to send her birthday wishes, but Shen Mo ended up pushing aside all their work and brought her back.
“You’ve worked so hard to become human again. You need your own life. You can’t always just follow my routine; if you do, you’ll eventually become nothing but my shadow.” This was what worried Shen Mo the most. Jiang Xiaosi was always by his side, never straying far. While he didn’t mind having no personal space and loved being with her, Jiang Xiaosi needed her own life. She couldn’t just live as his accessory.
Jiang Xiaosi pouted. In a way, she already was like Shen Mo’s shadow. Although they appeared together most of the time, their lives revolved around his routine. When he read, she would sit beside him reading or watching TV. When he worked, she’d help out.
Shen Mo wanted her to live a normal life, to have a regular job and friends, but since he couldn’t see her, living life centered around her was far too inconvenient. Even accompanying her on a shopping trip left him lost, as he had no idea what she was interested in or which store she wanted to go into. A shadow can follow a person easily, but how could a person follow the movements of a shadow?
Li Yueyi was in college and had been in a steady relationship with Shao Bing for years. The birthday party was held in a bar, and many people attended. Jiang Xiaosi realized that in recent years, she hadn’t made many friends; Shen Mo’s friends had become her friends. She also rarely interacted with non-humans anymore, as they were all afraid of Shen Mo.
Shen Mo stayed invisible by Jiang Xiaosi’s side. He didn’t want her friends to think she always had an older man trailing after her. But because he couldn’t see her, he had to constantly text her and rely on the voices of others talking to her to guess her location and what she was discussing.
He didn’t know what Jiang Xiaosi looked like now, but seeing the number of guys approaching her for conversation, bold enough to flirt or confess their feelings, he guessed she must be quite beautiful and popular.
He stayed hidden in the crowd, but the laughter and joy around him felt distant, irrelevant to him. The feeling of isolation was overwhelming. Was this the life he was condemning Jiang Xiaosi to forever—growing further away from the colorful, vibrant life she should have? Would she spend her days following his dull, monotonous routine?
Some asked for Jiang Xiaosi’s phone number; others invited her to dance. He didn’t know how she refused them, but all the men left looking disappointed. His heart filled with jealousy, yet he also hoped she could blend into the world she rightfully belonged to.
—Shen Mo, I need to use the restroom.
Shen Mo glanced at the message, feeling a fresh wave of sadness. She couldn’t even go to the restroom without his permission; she had to inform him first so he could lead her there.
He walked toward the restroom, waiting outside until another text came through.
—I’m out.
Returning to the crowd, he knew Jiang Xiaosi had spent most of the evening sitting in one spot, barely moving. Perhaps she had seen some familiar faces, wanted to go over and say hello, but couldn’t because he didn’t know, and she couldn’t stray more than ten meters from him.
As they cut the birthday cake, he watched Li Yueyi happily blow out the candles, cut the cake with Shao Bing, and then share a sweet kiss and dance amidst the cheers of their friends. He knew Jiang Xiaosi, like him, was watching the scene with a wistful heart. These were moments she should have experienced, but instead, she was stuck with the reality that the one she loved could never see her.
Looking at the young people celebrating around him, Shen Mo felt so out of place. Perhaps he really was getting old, but Jiang Xiaosi couldn’t just follow him into a wasted old age like this.
She couldn’t leave him because she loved him. But if she didn’t love him, would that free her from Tuogu Xiang’s bond?
A text came through.
—Shen Mo, something’s wrong. Yuchen just called, saying Miao Yan and Master Yixiu got into a fight. Baili Street is in chaos.
Shen Mo was startled. For years, Yixiu had been avoiding Miao Yan’s relentless pursuit by retreating into the mountains for meditation. Miao Yan had been searching for him everywhere all these years.
Shen Mo quickly headed for the exit, tearing off his invisibility charm so that Jiang Xiaosi could see him. They both got into a cab and rushed to Baili Street.
Passing through the brick wall where an illusionary barrier was cast, they saw the street in disarray, with overturned stalls everywhere.
“Xiaosi, you’re here.” Yuchen was busy helping clean up the mess on the street.
“Miao Yan successfully crafted the Yihun Dan, but after failing to find Yixiu, she lost her temper, set fire to the Zhenye Temple, and stole the Purple Seal Insignia. A few monks were injured. Yixiu was furious and came to confront her. They fought through the street like a whirlwind, and now we don’t know where they’ve ended up.”
Jiang Xiaosi felt a sinking feeling in her heart. How could Miao Yan be so impulsive, always provoking that monk? Did she really have to push him to the point of capturing her?
Shen Mo closed his eyes and listened carefully. “They’re in the southwest. Follow me.”
Jiang Xiaosi and Yuchen hurried after him, and along the way, they ran into Jiang Liu.
The group rushed to the western outskirts, following the trail of destruction left behind—broken trees and signs of a fierce battle all the way to Manyue Valley, the place where Jiang Xiaosi had once consumed the Tuogu Xiang.
Yixiu, clad in a moon-white robe, stood by the water’s edge. Miao Yan lay collapsed in the shallow water, seemingly gravely injured.
Jiang Xiaosi’s face turned pale with fear. How could Miao Yan lose to Yixiu? Unless… she hadn’t been able to bring herself to go all out and had held back?
“Miao Yan!”
“Stay back!” Miao Yan snapped, struggling to stand despite her shaky state.
“This is between him and me. Don’t interfere.”
The gentle waves lapped at the shore as Yixiu gazed at her coldly. “Demon, you’re truly audacious. Out of respect for your thousand-year cultivation, I’ve shown you leniency and avoided you. Did you really think I was afraid of you? Hand over the Purple Seal Insignia and return to Zhenye Temple to atone for your sins!”
Miao Yan held the Purple Seal Insignia in one hand and a small bottle in the other.
“You can ask anything of me, as long as you take this Yihun Dan. Otherwise, I’ll destroy the Purple Seal Insignia!”
“You dare!”
“Try me.”
Tension crackled between them as Miao Yan burst into wild laughter.
“Yixiu, you won’t take this Yihun Dan because you’re afraid that remembering the past will shake your devotion to Buddha, aren’t you?”
“The past is like an illusion, fleeting and insubstantial. There’s no point in clinging to it.”
“If that’s the case, then what’s the harm in remembering? Will you take the Yihun Dan or not?”
Miao Yan’s power gathered in her hands, ready to destroy the Purple Seal Insignia if he dared to refuse.
Yixiu shook his head. “That insignia is a sacred treasure of the Buddhist sect. Do you really think a mere ghost like you can destroy it?”
“Shall we find out?” Miao Yan shot him a cold glare.
Yixiu couldn’t take that risk. After a long silence, he sighed softly.
“Lin Miao Yan, it’s been so long. Why do you still hold on?”
Miao Yan stared at him in disbelief, stumbling back a few steps.
Yixiu’s gaze remained calm and vast like the ocean.
“Yes, I don’t need to take any Yihun Dan. I’ve been a monk for nine lifetimes, and I still carry memories of each one.”
“What?” Miao Yan murmured, shaking her head. “But you said you didn’t remember!”
“I don’t remember. It’s been so long that I truly forgot. Even though I reincarnate with my memories, each life is no more than sand in the ocean, wooden fish, and prayer beads, bodhi trees, and incense burners.”
“No… no… You loved me so much. You said you’d rather die with me… I waited for you in the underworld for so many years!”
Yixiu looked at her face, weathered by time, yet her eyes were still filled with that same determination and love. But he was no longer the man he used to be.
“When you died before my eyes, I did think of following you. But then I suddenly saw through love, hate, life, and death, and became a monk. That’s all there is to it. I’ve long since abandoned love and attachment. Don’t persist in this any longer.”
Miao Yan couldn’t believe that the truth she had pursued for a thousand years was so simple. He had just seen through it all? Let it go so easily?
Tears fell from her eyes asboth the Purple Seal Insignia and the bottle of Yihun Dan slipped from her hands.
Perhaps deep down, she had already guessed the truth but refused to face it. She had to hear it from his own mouth to give up.
She took a shaky step back, glancing at Jiang Xiaosi, Jiang Liu, Yuchen, and Shen Mo.
“I understand now…”
Finally, she had seen through it all. The love she had chased for a thousand years was nothing more than an illusion.
She looked at Yixiu and softly uttered two words: “Take care.”
In an instant, she transformed into a silver light, streaking across the sky and disappearing into the night.
Jiang Xiaosi stood frozen in place. Miao Yan was gone. She had finally let go of her obsession and left. She had searched for a thousand years, only to find this as the result. Yixiu had remembered all along. In the end, no matter how deep the love, it could be abandoned just like that.
Jiang Liu remained silent. Perhaps this was the best outcome for both Yixiu and Miao Yan…
Yixiu watched Miao Yan vanish, standing still as a statue frozen for a thousand years. The wind picked up, and his robes were soaked by the water.
Shen Mo gazed at him coldly, sighed deeply, and sent a thought to him.
“Miao Yan died by suicide, yet she bore no grudge and still achieved a golden body? With your wisdom, you’ve cultivated for nine lifetimes and still haven’t reached enlightenment? Yixiu, you might deceive others, but how can you deceive me? She was devoted to you, and you spent a thousand years guiding her. Now that you’ve finally reunited, why put on this act of indifference?”
Yixiu closed his eyes, slowly unclenching his fists as he bent down to pick up the Purple Seal Insignia and the bottle of Yihun Dan.
Shen Mo shook his head. “For lifetime after lifetime, you’ve knelt in repentance, trapping yourself, chanting sutras. But you still can’t change your nature, that fiery temper of yours, just as you can’t stop loving her. Being a monk was never suitable for you. Now that she’s gone, it’s time for you to return to the secular world. One of you spent a thousand years searching, and the other spent a thousand years waiting. That’s enough. It’s enough.”
Yixiu’s eyes filled with sorrow. “Don’t talk about me. What about you? Miao Yan and I vowed to stay together through life and death, to share our joys and sorrows. But as a man, when it came down to it, I’d rather die myself than let her die. I’d rather suffer than see her endure any pain. You can call me foolish, but in all these thousand years, I’ve never regretted it.”
Shen Mo stood there in a daze, searching for the love of his life, always within ten meters of him but forever unseen. What would their future hold? Could he really bear to let her suffer endlessly just so they could stay together?
Yixiu looked at the Yihun Dan in his hand and threw it forcefully into the lake.
He didn’t need that kind of thing because every second he had spent with Miao Yan, every word she had spoken, every smile she had shown, he remembered it all clearly. He had never forgotten a single moment…
At that moment, deep in the southwestern mountains, in a rare place of feng shui, the waters had become tainted, the land reeked of death, and all the plants had withered. In a dark coffin buried underground, a corpse slowly opened its eyes.
“Jiang Liu! Zhao Bing…”
A chilling, eerie cackle echoed within the confined space, lingering ominously.
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