Yun Che slowly descended from the sky. He could already feel a familiar aura approaching him right as he touched down on Glazed Light Realm’s soil.
“Big Brother Yun Che!”
A sweet cry of pleasant surprise cut through the air as Shui Meiyin descended from the sky like a lithe black butterfly. “It really is you! Why have you come back all of a sudden? Did you miss me that much?”
She was just about to glomp onto Yun Che when she noticed his disoriented aura and expression. Her smile quickly disappeared as she asked worriedly, “What’s wrong, Big Brother Yun Che? Did something happen?”
Her spiritual perception swept through the area before she asked again, “Where is Wuxin?”
“Meiyin,” he stared straight into Shui Meiyin’s pitch black pupils, “was Xia Qingyue the one who gave you the World Piercer!?”
The sudden question smacked into Shui Meiyin’s face with the force of a blunt hammer, stunning her temporarily.
However, instead of the panic Yun Che had expected to see surfacing from Shui Meiyin’s eyes, he saw only natural astonishment and puzzlement.
“Uh… huh?” She tilted her head slightly in confusion. “The World Piercer… Xia Qingyue? I don’t understand what you mean? The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor was the one who gave me the World Piercer. How could it be Xia Qingyue? Why are you asking such a strange question, Big Brother Yun Che?”
He had caught her completely by surprise, but he couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary in her eyes or her expression.
If she was someone else, Yun Che’s suspicion might have faded for the most part.
Unfortunately, she was Shui Meiyin, owner of the Divine Stainless Soul.
He shifted his gaze away from Shui Meiyin’s eyes and toward the horizon. Then, he said in a calm tone, “Before we saw off the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor, Xia Qingyue once told me that something had happened to Shen Xi and warned me away from it… when everything went to hell, right before she tried to kill me, she told me again that she had personally ventured into the Forbidden Land of Samsara and could confirm that Shen Xi was dead.”
Shui Meiyin: “…”
“After I eliminated Long Bai, I traveled to the Forbidden Land of Samsara and discovered that the barrier had been imbued with his dragon’s soul. I also discovered that her description of the place: ‘all the plants are dead’, ‘a pool of blood in the middle’ was completely correct.”
“So, the question is, how on earth did Xia Qingyue enter the Forbidden Land of Samsara without triggering the dragon soul on the barrier?”
Shui Meiyin was about to answer when Yun Che continued, “If she had the World Piercer, she could do so easily.”
“In fact, it may very well be because she had the World Piercer that she had no idea that the barrier was imbued with Long Bai’s soul. After all, why risk probing the barrier and potentially triggering its traps or alarms when she could just ignore it completely in the first place? That… was probably the first mistake she made.”
It was a suspicious point, but not a conspicuous one. It was why Yun Che had only puzzled over it for a short time, and Qianye Ying’er had overlooked it when they noticed it at the beginning.
Shui Meiyin frowned in puzzlement and worry. “Long Bai’s soul-imbued barrier is of course amazing, but the World Piercer is hardly the only spatial artifact that could achieve untraceable space-crossing. For example, the Eternal Heaven Realm’s Great Void Cauldron could do it. Every star realm that has survived long enough in this dangerous world to accumulate their strength must also have their own secrets, and spatial profound artifacts are easily among the most jealously guarded secrets of all of them because they can mean the difference between life and death in a crisis.”
“It is hardly unusual for a king realm like the Moon God Realm to possess a strange, powerful spatial artifact that could perform such a feat. As the Moon God Emperor, Xia Qingyue would’ve known all of them and been able to use them as she pleased.”
“This is not worth looking into at all. This cannot be why you’re suddenly asking me these strange questions, Big Brother Yun Che.”
Shui Meiyin’s answer was more or less identical to what Qianye Ying’er told him back then.
“There was another thing that puzzled me.” Instead of refuting Shui Meiyin’s point, Yun Che moved on like she hadn’t said anything. “Back when you told me the truth, you told me that your Divine Stainless Soul is the only thing that could forcefully activate the World Piercer’s spatial divine powers and complete Blue Pole Star’s teleportation. It was why the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor gave you the World Piercer in the first place.”
“Yes.” Shui Meiyin nodded lightly.
“However, the passage regarding the World Piercer written in the ancient records of the Dragon Gods clearly stated that anyone with the power of the primordial universe could perform the feat. It is definitely not a feat that is reserved for the Divine Stainless Soul alone.”
The ancient record had been left behind by the ancient Dragon God Tribe itself. There was little reason to distrust it.
“Besides the deceased Yue Wugou, the two other people who fit the bill are you… and the owner of Heart of Snow Glazed Glass, Xia Qingyue.”
“…” Shui Meiyin shook her head as her puzzled expression deepened. “I can believe that the ancient records are completely accurate, but so what? The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor saw that I have the Divine Stainless Soul, so she only told me that my Divine Stainless Soul could be used to forcefully activate the World Piercer if necessary. There’s nothing strange about this.”
Suddenly, she moved in front of Yun Che, grabbed his hand and stared straight into his eyes. She then said seriously, “You’re acting really strange today, Big Brother Yun Che. What in the world happened? You would never have come all the way here if these were the only matters that were troubling you.”
“Tell me? Please?”
Yun Che slowly raised his free hand and manifested the Eternal Imagery Stone.
Then, he released the frozen image he had engraved a while ago.
“This is?”
Shui Meiyin examined the image seriously. The crimson light was without a doubt the divine light of the World Piercer.
But what was that purple light at the edge of the—
“… !!” Shui Meiyin’s pupils contracted as if they had been pricked by needles. However, they returned to normal just as quickly.
“Seven years ago when the Blue Pole Star was teleported to the south of the Southern Divine Region, Wuxin happened to be engraving the exact moment with this Eternal Imagery Stone.”
Yun Che said quietly, “The red light is the World Piercer’s spatial divine power, and the purple light… is her Purple Pylon divine power.”
There was a hitch in his breathing before he continued in a seemingly calm voice, “You were the one who activated the World Piercer to teleport the Blue Pole Star, so why was her power the one that appeared in the image?… I wish to hear your explanation, Meiyin.”
Shui Meiyin watched him with slightly parted lips. There was puzzlement and astonishment in her expression, but still not one bit of panic.
The duo watched each other quietly for a moment. Then, Shui Meiyin covered her mouth and burst into a giggle as if she had just lost a staring match.
Yun Che: “…”
“You can’t be serious, Big Brother Yun Che?” She asked smilingly while examining Yun Che’s expression left and right. She looked as if she was trying to find the kinks in his expression and decide if this was a prank or not.
“Hello?” A short while later, Yun Che’s expression remained as stern as ever, so she started waving her hand right in front of his eyes. Her eyebrows curled further as if she was finding this situation more and more amusing by the second.
Yun Che caught her hand and repeated himself. “I wish to hear your explanation.”
“It’s very simple,” Shui Meiyin finally started while scratching the back of Yun Che’s hand playfully. “Have you heard of the Moon Brilliance Stone before, Big Brother Yun Che?”
Yun Che: “… ?”
Shui Meiyin explained smilingly, “Of the twelve Moon God divine powers borne by the Moon God Realm, the Purple Pylon divine power is considered to be the core and strongest of all of them. That is why the Purple Pylon Moon God was usually the Moon God Emperor.”
“Due to constant exposure to the Purple Pylon Moon God’s divine power, some of the profound jades in the Moon God Emperor’s divine hall would gradually transform into the purple divine jade known as the Moon Brilliance Stone.”
“Since the Moon Brilliance Stone is a product of the Purple Pylon divine power, its hue shares a very similar color as well. Although these jades are incredibly rare, my father shared a good relationship with the former Moon God Emperor, Yue Wuya. He asked Yue Wuya if he could have some Moon Brilliance Stone to hasten the growth of my Divine Stainless Soul, and Yue Wuya agreed. Since then, I’ve been wearing them on my person.”
Yun Che: “…”
“That day when disaster struck, I immediately teleported to the Blue Pole Star and activated the World Piercer’s spatial divine power to teleport it to safety. However, I obviously had no experience performing such a feat, and during the activation some of the World Piercer’s spatial divine power spilled out and destroyed the Moon Brilliance Stones I was wearing.”
“If I had to guess, they are the reason for the purple flash on this image.”
“I did feel something break while I was performing the teleportation, but I could hardly spare the concentration at the time. Naturally, I had no idea about the purple pylon profound light that the shattered Moon Brilliance Stones had unleashed, much less Wuxin capturing this exact moment and causing you this strange misunderstanding.”
“I’ll find you a Moon Brilliance Stone some time in the future. You’ll understand everything when you see it shatter.”
Shui Meiyin’s voice sounded as melodious and cleansing as usual.
However, her explanation failed to convince him or put him at ease.
The Moon God Realm had already been wiped out from existence. This so-called “Moon Brilliance Stone” might or might not exist. In short, there was no proof.
He took out the four Illusory Glazed Imagery Jades next.
“These were the four Illusory Glazed Imagery Jades you gave us to reveal the truth back then.” Yun Che watched her as he continued, “You were the engraver, so of course you weren’t present in the scenes. However, why is Xia Qingyue absent from them as well?”
“This is too much of a coincidence, isn’t it?”
“That’s because it’s NOT a coincidence,” Shui Meiyin replied without hesitation or pause. “After you went to the Northern Divine Region, I knew then that the four Illusory Glazed Imagery Jades hadn’t been engraved for nothing. I knew that there would come a time where I could use them to reveal the truth to the world.”
“However, the other scenes besides the one where only the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor was present were super~ duper long and not suited for large-scale projections.”
“So, while I was imprisoned in the Moon Prison, I removed many parts of the recordings and preserved only the most important scenes and voices.”
“As for why the Moon God Emperor didn’t show up in either recording,” a bit of indignation appeared on Shui Meiyin’s features as she spoke, “not only did she almost kill Big Brother Yun Che and destroy your home planet, she also crippled my father and locked me in the deepest prison she could find in the Moon God Realm… She was the vilest, most evil woman I had ever met in my life. I dare say that I hated her to the bone at the time.”
“So, I removed every one of her images from the recordings. I refused to give her even a second of screen time. Hmph!”
“…” Yun Che stared at her eyes for another while before whispering, “Is that so…”
“Of course it is.” Shui Meiyin nodded. Suddenly, her black eyes shivered a little, and her voice grew soft and aggrieved, “Don’t you believe me, Big Brother Yun Che?”
“It’s not that I don’t believe you, but…” His eyes became a little unfocused, and his palm was pressed against his chest before he realized it. A long time later, after failing to find the words to describe the chaotic emotions running amok in his heart, he shook his head and said, “I don’t know… I just don’t know…”
He wanted to believe that everything was simply his imagination. Shui Meiyin had given him all the answers he wanted to hear… so why was he still not completely convinced?
He couldn’t even tell if he was terrified to know that everything he knew was the truth, or a lie.
Yun Che hadn’t let go of Shui Meiyin’s hand all this time, and it so happened to be the hand he used to press against his chest. Therefore, she could feel every thump of his shockingly intense heartbeat.
“Big Brother Yun Che…” Shui Meiyin pressed her free hand onto his chest and said softly, “You and the Moon God Emperor were husband and wife. She appeared at the lowest point of your life, overcame many trials and tribulations with you, and rescued you again and again…”
“I can imagine just how deep your love and trust in her were back then. That’s why her betrayal was so painful and unacceptable to you.”
“It wasn’t just me. A lot of people knew that the reason you weren’t willing to speak of her in front of anyone was because you have never truly accepted her betrayal for what it was and let go. In fact, you were more willing to believe that everything that had happened was just a trick; a lie.”
“That’s why when the contradiction surfaced, you couldn’t stop yourself from believing in the unlikeliest of possibilities and magnifying it until it felt true… even though you already knew that it couldn’t be.”
Shui Meiyin’s gentle words felt like hammer blows against Yun Che’s heart. He gritted his teeth a little and tried to reply, “I…”
“It’s fine, Big Brother Yun Che.” Shui Meiyin smiled gently at him. “It is exactly because you’re such a person that I fell in love with you in the first place. Even after all the pain you suffered, you were still willing to believe in the illusion where your former loved one did not betray you.”
“That is fine. You don’t need to force yourself to let go immediately. I’ll keep you company until the illusion slowly submerges back into the shadows… okay?”
Yun Che’s heartbeat slowed down a little. Shui Meiyin’s soft voice was like a cool breeze that imprinted her every word into the walls of his heart.
“Is that the truth…” he whispered to Shui Meiyin… or was it himself?
“Mn!” Shui Meiyin nodded strongly. “If Big Brother Yun Che is still troubled, then how about I swear an oath?”
With a smile on her face and the most poignant stars in her night black eyes, she looked at the sky and began, “If I lied to Big Brother Yun Che, then may I… be forever…”
“Alright, alright.” Suddenly, Yun Che spoke up loudly and interrupted Shui Meiyin’s oath. “How old are you, girl? Only kids would do something as childish as making oaths.”
“…” Her starry eyes froze for a moment before dissolving into something more charming and bright. She stuck out her pink tongue at him and complained in dissatisfaction, “I’m not old at all! You will always be my Big Brother Yun Che.”
“Yes, yes, my Meiyin is forever fifteen years old.” Yun Che finally broke into a smile.
That was the age Shui Meiyin was when she met him.
“Heehee!” Clearly liking Yun Che’s words, Shui Meiyin smiled even brighter and said, “If we’re not making oaths, then I guess I’ll just convince you another way.”
“Trust me, it’ll settle your restless thoughts once and for all.”
While maintaining eye contact, Shui Meiyin said very slowly, “If the Moon God Emperor was the original wielder of the World Piercer, if she was the one who teleported the Blue Pole Star, if she was the one who engraved the four Illusory Glazed Light Jades, if her betrayal and her ruthlessness were faked, if the two times she tried to kill you were faked, if the reason she destroyed Blue Pole Star was because she knew it wasn’t the real Blue Pole Star…”
“And if the reason she didn’t tell you anything was so that you could grow stronger without anything to hold you back…”
“Then why… didn’t she confess everything to you after you made your comeback?”
“All she needed to do was to show you the World Piercer and explain a few things, and the tragedies that happened afterward would not have happened. She could’ve helped you herself and made it much easier to flatten the Eastern Divine Region… the Moon God Realm would’ve been safe and sound… and she wouldn’t have perished in the Abyss of Nothingness.”
“If that had happened…” Shui Meiyin’s voice suddenly grew distant and soft. “… what a beautiful ending it would’ve been.”
“…” For a long time, Yun Che couldn’t say anything.
He could’ve found ten times or a hundred times more holes and contradictions than what he currently had, and Shui Meiyin’s final explanation still would’ve been enough to refute them all.
That was right… If everything really was Xia Qingyue’s doing, all she needed to do was to tell him the truth when he made his comeback. There was absolutely no reason for her to push everything on Shui Meiyin before commiting suicide through him…
None!
Not even the wildest reason he could dream up could explain this one thing.
