Shen Mo lost track of time in the void, neither eating nor sleeping for what seemed like an eternity. The memories of his childhood faded, the heartbreak and rage from the massacre of his family faded, the hatred he had for Mei Xin faded, and even the excruciating pain of Jiang Xiaosi’s death began to blur. He nearly forgot his own existence, forgot where he was.
But no matter how much time passed, the happiness he felt during those years with Jiang Xiaosi remained etched in his mind. Every word, every smile of hers became clearer and clearer. It was as if they were carved into the walls of the tower by his hand, just like the mark she had left on the back of his neck—they never faded.
He didn’t know how long had passed when light appeared at the top of the tower, and Mei Xin’s spirit flew in, transforming into human form as he stood before him.
Shen Mo looked up in confusion, then lowered his head again, continuing to carve into the ground with his finger.
“Shen Mo, have you forgotten me already?”
Shen Mo didn’t respond.
“Although you’ve only been in this tower for a fraction of the seven hundred years, judging by your current state, if you stay any longer, you’ll forget who you are. How pathetic—you’re still far behind me! Go on, leave! My anger has mostly dissipated. I’m ready to reincarnate and find Yu Tong, and I don’t want to trouble you any further.”
But Shen Mo’s face remained lifeless.
“If you want to go, then go. You don’t need to bother with me.” Even if he left, what meaning would it hold?
Mei Xin clicked his tongue in disapproval as he looked at the walls and floor covered in carvings of Jiang Xiaosi’s name. He couldn’t comprehend the depth of the obsession, the resentment, and the longing that each stroke of those characters conveyed.
With a sigh, he said, “Didn’t you want to see her? She’s come to fetch you. Honestly, I originally intended to trap you here for eternity, but after she chased me for a year straight, I got so fed up that I’m letting you go! Now, get out of here!”
Mei Xin grabbed Shen Mo and tossed him out of the tower from the top.
Shen Mo tumbled onto the grass, and the gentle waves of the lake lapped against the shore. The scenery around him seemed vaguely familiar. He staggered to his feet, and images of that bloody, tear-filled battle from a century ago replayed in his mind. Dizzy, he swallowed the metallic taste in his throat and clenched his trembling fists as he closed his eyes.
It was here, at Manyue Valley, that he had lost his true love forever…
Mei Xin had already floated away, leaving behind the hatred that had entangled them for so many years. Yet Shen Mo remained trapped in his grief and despair, unable to break free.
The night sky resembled the sea, and the moonlight fell like silver.
A crescent moon reflected in the lake, gently stirred by the breeze into countless sparkling diamonds.
Fireflies glimmered all around, reeds swayed gently, and dandelions drifted softly through the air, passing by his shoulder.
A faint, sweet fragrance wafted through the air, barely detectable. Shen Mo froze in that moment, staring as a woman in a long white cotton dress slowly walked across the water toward him. Her silky hair danced in the wind, and a silver key hung around her neck. Her face carried a mix of sorrow and joy, as familiar as autumn dew and yet unfamiliar.
Shen Mo’s body trembled violently. Jiang Xiaosi…
No matter how much time passed, no matter how far apart they were, he would never mistake her, even if she no longer had the youthful face she once did.
Jiang Xiaosi stood before Shen Mo, and he could clearly see her white reflection in his dark eyes.
Before either of them could speak, tears fell from their eyes.
“You’re not dead…”
Shen Mo reached out carefully to touch her pale cheek, as if he were touching the most precious porcelain in the world.
It was real, not an illusion. Xiaosi hadn’t died. She had come back.
Holding back a sob, Shen Mo slowly took out the blood-stained silver ring he had kept with him and, with trembling hands, slid it onto her finger.
The love of his life, lost for over a century, had finally returned to him as a grown woman.
He could touch her now. He could hold her. He could protect her…
Jiang Xiaosi gently stroked Shen Mo’s hair, her fingertips tracing his brows, his eyes, his thin lips. He hadn’t changed at all, yet his eyes were filled with the weight of a thousand lifetimes.
“I’m sorry I made you wait so long…”
She would never make him suffer again, never make him wait again, never let him leave her again with excuses of happiness, fulfillment, aging, or death.
Her cold fingers slid down his neck, and Shen Mo watched as Jiang Xiaosi’s crimson lips moved slightly, blooming like a midnight rose, vivid and mesmerizing.
“Let’s be together forever and never part again, alright?”
For the first time in his life, Shen Mo looked at his love with warmth and a smile, nodding gently. As long as he could be with her, nothing else mattered, not life or death. Even if it meant becoming the very thing he had always despised—a non-human being.
Her smiling lips, soft as clouds, pink as flowers, parted slightly to reveal sharp fangs.
Shen Mo opened his arms and held her tightly. He tilted his head slightly, feeling Jiang Xiaosi’s dreamlike kiss land softly on his neck. Her cold fangs grazed his skin, and drops of blood fell to the ground, blooming like eternal roses that would never wither.
✨Translation complete!✨
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