Chapter 76

#Two Hearts Aligned

Back then, I had no idea what was said between Xie Zhuo and the Queen Mother of the West.

On the third of June, when I didn’t receive any official expulsion order from the Queen Mother, I took it as tacit approval. So, I began enthusiastically preparing for the wedding.

Having just gone through the tribulation to ascend as an Immortal, my Immortal Abode had been struck into ruins, so naturally, the bridal chamber needed repair. All the wedding necessities had to be purchased as well.

I split the tasks between two people: Xie Zhuo was in charge of supervising the house repairs, while I handled the procurement.

Within just three to five days, Xie Zhuo had finished repairing the house using his techniques. He even added some “fresh little gadgets”—a rocking chair, tea sets, elegant bookshelves—that turned my originally simple abode into a lively and warm place.

As for my part with the wedding purchases… every day after buying what I thought was everything, I’d discover there was more to buy. It ended up taking me two whole months to get everything ready.

I picked an auspicious date: the eighteenth of August.

From that day on, I started writing wedding invitations—and also began to feel the growing pressure from my friends and family in Kunlun.

Just because the Queen Mother didn’t object didn’t mean the other Immortals didn’t.

Back then, many people still couldn’t accept Xie Zhuo’s identity as a demon.

Countless Immortals came to try and talk me out of marrying him. A few stubborn friends even fell out with me directly when I wouldn’t listen.

But they turned against me, and I turned against them right back. After cursing out and kicking out a few rude guests from my home, those trying to dissuade me finally quieted down.

Xie Zhuo, too, saw how hard it was for someone of demon blood to marry an Immortal in Kunlun.

At the time, I told him: “This is our life. We live it how we want. What others say doesn’t matter. I won’t take it to heart—and you shouldn’t either. Time reveals all. With time, everyone in Kunlun will see what kind of person you are.”

Xie Zhuo just looked at me, said nothing, and gently patted my head…

Looking back now, it does kind of feel like he was petting a dog.

But at the time, I didn’t sense anything wrong.

I reached up, grabbed his hand, and said, “Trust me—I’ll protect you here in Kunlun!”

Back then, I truly believed I was the one protecting Xie Zhuo.

But in truth, it was he who was protecting me—and Kunlun itself.

The eighteenth of August, an auspicious day, our wedding day.

Of all the invitations I sent out, not a single one received a reply.

Even Mengmeng didn’t dare show up.

It seemed, in Kunlun, opposing Fu Jiuxia marrying a demon had already become an unspoken rule.

Mengmeng and a few other friends quietly gave me gifts in advance. They were either minor spirits or people of no influence, so none dared stand out too much.

Only the Queen Mother of the West openly sent a wedding gift on our wedding day—a symbolic gesture, and the most official statement anyone made.

That night, there was no matchmaker, no officiant, no family or friends…

Just Xie Zhuo and me, before the Matchmaker Temple in Kunlun, under the Lovesick Tree. We pierced our palms, laced our fingers together, pressed palm to palm, and let our blood mingle. With that bond, the red thread of fate wrapped around our wrists.

After completing the ceremony, I took Xie Zhuo back to our abode.

In the bridal chamber, we sat face to face. Looking into each other’s eyes, we made our vow:

“To love and walk hand-in-hand, day after day, never parting until our hair turns white.”

The same words, spoken by two different mouths, seemed in that moment to fulfill the ancient tale of two hearts as one, of a love bound beyond life and death.

We didn’t need witnesses. In that quiet corner of the world, with mountains as our oath and moonlight as our vow, it was enough.

I wove the red thread around our wrists into a beautiful knot. As I worked, I said:

“You came to Kunlun alone. You don’t talk much. You don’t show your emotions. You didn’t invite any friends or family to our wedding. I don’t know how you’ve lived until now… But, Xie Zhuo, I hope from now on, you won’t be so alone.”

Xie Zhuo gazed silently, seriously, at me tying the knot for him.

I looked up, meeting his eyes, the candlelight flickering across our faces.

I looked at him and said, “From now on, we’ll always be together. I’ll talk with you, make you laugh. I’ll always, always love you just like I do now.”

Simple, childlike words. But in his dark eyes, I saw a light ignite.

In that light, there was my reflection, the flickering red candle—it trembled, rippling softly.

His expression grew tender, and a rare smile touched his lips.

“Okay…”

He replied softly, his voice low and deep.

The red thread on our wrists shimmered faintly, then disappeared into the air.

From that moment on, year after year, it would remain bound to us.

Now, as I relive that moment, I can’t help but remember the day that red thread was severed.

And I finally understand just how hollow his eyes looked then—how extinguished that light was. How suffocating and hopeless that moment must have been.

No one had ever promised to stay by Xie Zhuo’s side forever.

No one… except me.

And I—

—I broke my promise.

I cut the red thread. I would no longer be with him. I wouldn’t talk to him, wouldn’t make him laugh. I…

…I didn’t love him anymore.

I severed the bond, broke my vow, denied our past—everything beautiful and everything broken, I tossed it all aside.

So…

He went mad, lost himself. He split five hundred years of time and space with the Pangu Axe, just to go back and “fix his mistake.”

He said I, the one who cut the red thread, had no right to speak of making peace with the past.

He said our marriage couldn’t continue because I was the one who broke the thread.

He said—it was my fault.

I stood in my world, angrily accusing him of silence and concealment.

He, in his cocoon, stubbornly refused to see the full picture of our broken bond.

We both drifted further and further apart in our own misunderstandings, until…

This cycle of “life and death,” or perhaps “reincarnation,” finally pulled everything back onto the right track.

My soul doesn’t shed tears, yet in the glow of white spirit light, I gazed hazily at Xie Zhuo. I saw the smile on his face, the faint light in his eyes.

I saw the soul that drifted from the Snow Wolf Tribe, finally finding what it means to have a home.

“Xie Zhuo… do you love me… just a little more?”

I tilted my head, looking intently into his eyes as I asked.

The question made Xie Zhuo pause, the smile at his lips fading slightly.

Back then, I saw only his silence and hesitation.

But now—I see contemplation. Caution.

I bit back my disappointment, pressed my lips together. “It’s okay. No rush. We have a long life ahead.”

And with that question hanging in the air, our wedding night slipped into quiet.

Back then, I truly believed—we still had all the time in the world.

After we got married, it wasn’t long before people started disappearing from Kunlun.

This had never happened in Kunlun before. Naturally, all suspicion fell on Xie Zhuo.

After I ascended to Immortal status, I took command of Kunlun’s garrison forces. In order to dispel everyone’s doubts about Xie Zhuo, I took him out on patrol with me every day, shutting down all the gossip and rumors.

I told Xie Zhuo, “You don’t like speaking? I’ll speak for you. You don’t like explaining yourself? I’ll explain for you.”

Later, when an immortal came to our residence and began cursing at us, Xie Zhuo dealt with him and drove him out.

That was the first time I saw Xie Zhuo hit someone—saw real anger on his face.

Afterwards, he asked me:

“Are you happy in Kunlun?”

Of course I was. I comforted him, and didn’t think much more about that immortal.

What I didn’t expect was that, not long after leaving our residence, that immortal died—devoured alive…

The rumors grew even more out of control.

The Queen Mother of the West gave an order that Xie Zhuo and I were not to leave our residence.

I didn’t defy her, but one night, Xie Zhuo left without a word.

I had no idea where he went. I didn’t dare alert anyone, and I was afraid that if I went out to search for him, it would only cause more misunderstanding.

I believed in him, so I stayed in the courtyard, waiting quietly for him.

And now, I followed Xie Zhuo out of the residence. I watched him find Qin Shuyan, who gave him a name—Jing Nanshou.

But at the time, the information Qin Shuyan had wasn’t enough to confirm that Jing Nanshou was truly corrupted by evil.

Xie Zhuo said, “We’ll know once we test it.”

So he went to confront Jing Nanshou. Without a word, he attacked. Forced into a corner, Jing Nanshou had no choice but to use his corrupted power.

And just like that, the truth was revealed.

He really was the immortal who had been eating people.

Jing Nanshou had already been tainted by the aura of evil when he ascended. He had long since submitted to an evil god.

But he hid it very well—no one had ever discovered him.

It was only after seeing Xie Zhuo and I get married that he had the idea to frame Xie Zhuo for his crimes.

When he fought Xie Zhuo, of course Xie Zhuo won.

But Xie Zhuo had only sealed the evil god six months ago, and after that helped me withstand a lightning tribulation. So even though he won, it was a hard-won victory.

He was wounded, and the evil aura was spreading from the gash on his body.

He couldn’t let me see him like that.

Jing Nanshou, with his dying breath, injected that corrupt power into Xie Zhuo’s body, muddling his mind. Xie Zhuo dragged himself back home through a thunderstorm.

I was still waiting for him, sitting on the threshold of our house. When I saw him return covered in blood, I immediately rushed toward him.

Xie Zhuo was walking toward me too, but just as I was about to reach him, it was like he suddenly realized something. He stepped back sharply, and with one hand pushed me away.

I stood there in the rain, stunned.

With his other hand, he clutched his wound, evil aura tearing at his flesh.

He didn’t let me touch him. He turned and rushed into the house, slamming the door behind him and sealing it with a boundary spell.

I hurried after him to the door but was stopped by the barrier.

Thunder rumbled. Rain fell in steady drops.

I stood at the door, not daring to knock too hard. I just asked, over and over:

“Xie Zhuo, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me. Where did you go?”

“If something’s happened, just tell me. I’m willing to face it with you.”

“Let me in, please. It’s so cold out here.”

Inside, Xie Zhuo couldn’t hold out any longer. He collapsed in pain. He began regulating his internal energy, battling the evil aura within him like he had so many times before, fighting until he completely shredded it and drove it out of his body.

The rain lasted all night.

Xie Zhuo was inside. I was outside.

The evil energy on him slowly dissipated, and so did my questions and fears.

By the time dawn broke, the morning sun pierced through the thick clouds and shone into the courtyard.

Xie Zhuo came out, his injuries treated, his face pale.

He saw me.

I had spent the night sitting at the doorstep, hugging my knees. The cold rain had soaked my hair and clothes through.

And I saw him too.

Our eyes met. The only sounds in the courtyard were a few birds chirping.

“Are you hurt?”

My voice was hoarse, barely more than a whisper torn from my throat.

Xie Zhuo frowned slightly. “I’m fine…”

He raised his hand, as if to touch me.

But I turned my head to avoid his hand. “That’s it? You don’t have anything else to say?”

He was silent for a long time, and then, clumsily, almost word by word, he said:

“I just wanted you to be happy. I thought… if you didn’t know, you’d be happy.”

I looked at him without replying.

And that silence, that expression on my face, seemed to stab Xie Zhuo in the heart. He blinked a few times, eyes lowering to the corners of my lips.

“Jiuxia, smile for me.”

It was the first time in our marriage that I lowered my gaze and gave him no response.

I didn’t look up, so I didn’t see the helplessness in Xie Zhuo’s eyes as he stood in front of me.

His fingers twitched slightly, but in the end, he didn’t dare to touch me. He just hid his hand behind his back.