Chapter 28

#Kill him, once and for all!

After telling that story from four hundred years ago, I sat silently outside the cave in the snowy bamboo forest, letting the frigid February wind of Kunlun blow against me. On the other end, Xiaxia was also quiet for a long moment. Only after a while did she sigh and say:

“I want to ask you—what does it feel like, to have someone who used to protect you shout that they want to kill you?”

Good question…

I pondered it for a bit, and honestly, it kind of stung.

But I quickly settled down and told my past self, “It’s not so bad. After five hundred years of marriage, you’ll find that anything that happens in an intimate relationship is bearable. You get used to it…”

Since there was nothing urgent to do now, Xiaxia also relaxed. She seemed to have found a place to sit by the roadside and started chatting like we were just killing time. “Still… who would’ve thought that the person who once risked his life to save you would someday come to kill you?”

My instinct was to agree with her, but then I thought, “Maybe after another five hundred years of marriage like this, I’d want to kill him too…”

Xiaxia was a little speechless. “So… you immortals who got married don’t even act like people anymore, is that it?”

I curled my lips and silently admitted that a bad relationship could turn immortals into something less than human—and humans into something far from divine.

Xiaxia seemed to remember the reason I told her why Xie Zhuo wanted to kill me, and she asked again, “He has so many injuries, and he never says a word about the pain. When you cut the red thread, just how much must it have hurt for him to go completely mad like that?”

I glanced into the cave again. “No matter how much it hurt, he can’t kill me.”

“But… would he really do it?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Well—why don’t we find out?”

“No need for that…” Xiaxia instantly backed down. “That’s not what I meant…”

I took a deep breath, suppressing the tangled mess of emotions in my heart. Then I stood up and looked back at the cave entrance.

I said, “His wounds are horrifying, but now isn’t the time to feel sympathy for him. You haven’t drunk Xie Xuanqing’s blood yet. I can’t let him take me five hundred years into the future.

If my last theory was right, that he and I returned to the past and only changed our physiques without erasing our memories, then… as soon as I go back, I’m done for. I can’t gamble on his conscience.”

Xiaxia responded with a firm “Mm.” When life and death are on the line, I always tread carefully.

“So what now?” she asked. “My meeting with Xie Xuanqing has already been delayed. From a factual standpoint, this past has already been altered.”

“We’ll have to correct it.” I stroked my chin, thinking. “Xie Xuanqing must be somewhere in this world, just hidden away by Xie Zhuo. I don’t know how he did it, but he definitely didn’t do it alone—he must’ve had help…”

My mind kept scanning through everyone Xie Zhuo had known in Kunlun, but in the end, I realized I knew absolutely nothing about the man I slept beside every night!

Totally clueless!

In my memory, Xie Zhuo never had a kind face for anyone in Kunlun—except me. Who else would help him?

I couldn’t think of anyone, so I told Xiaxia, “We have to find Xie Xuanqing. Tomorrow, come to this cave and keep an eye on Xie Zhuo. If he wakes up, force him to tell you where Xie Xuanqing is. But he’ll probably play dead and not answer. That’s fine—don’t get mad. Just make sure he doesn’t come looking for me.”

“Why me?”

“I didn’t find the Pangu Axe on him.”

That was enough—Xiaxia immediately got what I meant. “Got it. Before I make the blood pact with Xie Xuanqing, you can’t risk meeting him. If he grabs you and splits space-time to take you back, then this tug-of-war will be a total loss.”

“Exactly. So starting tomorrow, you watch him. I’ll assume your identity and investigate Xie Xuanqing’s whereabouts. In the meantime, stay out of sight in Kunlun to avoid drawing suspicion.”

Xiaxia nodded decisively. “No problem. But… how are you going to find Xie Xuanqing?”

I started organizing the clues. “Xie Zhuo got back earlier than I did. He hid Xie Xuanqing, even arranged for Wu Cheng to knock you out—he thought of everything. And yet, he still got this badly injured…”

A face popped into my mind—that person called Zhu Lian.

I wasn’t sure whether Xie Zhuo’s injuries this time and Xie Xuanqing’s past wounds had anything to do with that person.

But one thing was certain: for two people as powerful as Xie Zhuo and Xie Xuanqing to get this hurt…

“They must’ve run into a formidable enemy—there was a big battle!”

The words I didn’t say aloud were spoken by the other me. She jumped straight to the conclusion, “Something major must’ve gone down! Even if it wasn’t in Kunlun, people outside of Kunlun would definitely know about it!”

“Yes.” I nodded. “Starting tomorrow, I’ll use every connection you’ve got—from the Kunlun defense forces to Old Qin at Emerald Lake Terrace—I’ll question them all. Even if I can’t find Xie Xuanqing, I can figure out where the incident happened…”

Xiaxia picked up the thread. “And then follow the trail back to the source!”

No wonder she’s me—our thinking is identical! Working with yourself really saves so much time on communication. So satisfying!

“Alright! It’s settled then!” Xiaxia stood up. “I’ll take over your post at the hour of Chen tomorrow and watch over Xie Zhuo.”

With that, Xiaxia ended our transmission.

After all the running around today, I was starting to feel tired too. I knew I should leave this cave now—like Xie Zhuo had done before—and find somewhere to stay in the snowy bamboo forest. But I just couldn’t bring myself to move.

After a long time…

“Let’s check one more time,” I muttered. “What if I find the Pangu Axe?”

I walked into the cave again.

The lighting inside was much dimmer than outside. Xie Zhuo, gravely injured, was still unconscious. The spell I had cast earlier to guard his heart meridian was still glowing faintly.

But the glow only made the wounds on his body look even more gruesome. I stared for a while, then let out a cold laugh.

“So this is why you stopped undressing in front of me.”

With this many wounds—how could he explain them?

Once Xie Zhuo decided to hide something, he had to keep hiding everything. When there’s too much you can’t say, silence becomes the only answer.

I reached out and began searching his body again, starting with the parts still covered by clothes.

His arms, his waist and abdomen, down to his legs…

I didn’t find the Pangu Axe, but I did get a handful of sticky blood.

I stopped midway through searching and sat beside him. Looking at the old wounds on his body, I asked:

“How did you survive this?”

My gaze shifted to his face. His complexion was pale, and even though he was unconscious, his brow remained furrowed and his lips tightly pressed together—full of guardedness and unease.

“What kind of life did you live?”

“What kind of things did you do?”

“Why…” I stared at the blood on my hand, “why have you stayed silent for all these years, as if nothing ever changed?”

He didn’t answer. Maybe even if he were awake, he still wouldn’t.

Looking at the pale-faced Xie Zhuo, I suddenly realized—I hadn’t seen him like this in a very long time.

Even four hundred years ago, when he was run through the chest by the spider demon, he hadn’t looked this way in front of me.

Only when we first met…

When we first met…

I glanced around and was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. Wasn’t this the very moment we first met…

Same place, same scene—but my mindset had completely changed.

“Xie Zhuo.” I stood up, and channeled the light of a spell into his heart meridian, making the glow there even brighter.

“Don’t die. I’m waiting for you to get up—so we can finish this battle on the road of fate, one last time.”

The next day, at the hour of Chen.

Xiaxia and I switched shifts. I moved into the immortal residence that had belonged to me five hundred years ago, while Xiaxia went to the cave.

I was heading off to find someone to handle some affairs after retrieving the money I’d hidden (I knew exactly where to look), when Xiaxia opened her Yin-Yang Fish.

A vision appeared before my eyes—what Xiaxia was seeing from her side. It was the stone wall of the cave.

“Hm? What is it?” I asked Xiaxia.

The next moment, Xiaxia turned her eyes, and her gaze landed on the man before her—Xie Zhuo.

Xie Zhuo was awake. He was staring into Xiaxia’s eyes, his expression detached, a hidden chill in his gaze, as though he could see right through her eyes and onto me on this side.

I froze, then my face darkened. Steadying my mind, I asked Xiaxia, “What is he doing?”

Xiaxia paused for a moment, then obediently replied, “I had just arrived when he woke up and saw the little dot on my Yin-Yang Fish earring…”

I understood. Xie Zhuo must’ve pressured Xiaxia into letting him communicate with me.

“Fu Jiuxia…”

Xie Zhuo called out. Xiaxia’s view suddenly lifted, like her back had straightened at the sound of his voice.

“Come here…”

That “come here” couldn’t possibly be directed at Xiaxia, who was already in front of him. Obviously, he’d heard her talking to me—and was calling me over.

Could I go? Of course not! I’m not stupid!

“Tell him he’s dreaming. I’ll soon find Xie Xuanqing and set everything back on track.”

And I didn’t forget to hype Xiaxia up: “Don’t be scared of him. Speak to him loudly. He and I are still bound by a blood oath—hurting you is the same as hurting me. He won’t lay a finger on you. Go ahead, curse him out!”

Xiaxia did not disappoint. Hearing my words, her view lifted again, as if she’d taken a breath of courage. She said:

“She’s the me from five hundred years in the future. How could she be stupid? Of course she won’t come over! She said she’s already started looking for Xie Xuanqing. Once she finds him, I’ll go meet him again and renew the blood oath. We won’t let your scheme succeed!”

Yes! That’s how you shut him down! Xiaxia! That felt so good!

But Xie Zhuo just let out a cold, mocking laugh.

“It’s too late,” he said. “Someone else has already gone to save Xie Xuanqing.”

I froze. So did Xiaxia.

“Ask him what he means!”

Xiaxia and I practically spoke in unison: “What do you mean!?”

“A life saved in adversity—it doesn’t matter who does it.”

Xie Zhuo looked calmly, indifferently into Xiaxia’s eyes—as though he were staring at me, too. “Getting someone else to do the same thing… isn’t hard.”

I gasped sharply.

The February air of Kunlun was especially cold. It stabbed my lungs with pain.

“You… you mean… you’ve already sent another female cultivator to save Xie Xuanqing!?”

Xiaxia was in disbelief.

So was I.

I glared at the Xie Zhuo in Xiaxia’s vision, grinding my teeth in rage.

That bastard! Xie Zhuo! Undermining everything at the root!

I never imagined he’d pull this trick! How the hell did he do it!?

“Stop struggling, Fu Jiuxia. You and I… our fate…” He paused. “It’s severed.”

“Like hell it is!”

Xiaxia repeated my words to him without hesitation: “Like hell it is!”

Xie Zhuo’s eyes flickered slightly.

“As long as we haven’t gone back to five hundred years later, there’s still hope,” I growled, biting my thumb’s nail, brain spinning fast. “Xiaxia, go steal him back! Cut in and take the love interest! Don’t just watch him anymore—go to the Snow Bamboo Grove and look for people! We don’t know if that’s still the meeting spot, but it’s a direction. We can’t waste any more time. Every day we delay is fatal for us!”

“Got it!” Xiaxia immediately got up.

“Wait!” I added, “Take back the spell I used yesterday to protect his heart meridian!” I cursed, “That bastard doesn’t deserve to recover!”

“Okay!”

Xiaxia hardened her resolve and retracted the spell I’d placed on Xie Zhuo.

In an instant, what little color had returned to his face drained away again, making him look even paler.

He coughed twice, and the brief softening in his expression from hearing “like hell it is” vanished. The cold mockery returned as he looked at Xiaxia.

“Even without your spell, I’ll recover.”

I told Xiaxia, “With that injury, he won’t be able to get up for at least ten days. We still have time. Go now. I need to move fast, too.”

Xiaxia didn’t hesitate—she turned and left.

“But the Snow Bamboo Grove is huge. How will I find him?”

“We’ll just have to do it the stupid way—search bit by bit. I’m heading to Cuihu Terrace to get intel from Wu Cheng and Old Qin. We’ll work both ends.”

I cut off contact with Xiaxia and immediately rushed toward Cuihu Terrace.

I was anxious and furious. When I thought of how I’d actually felt sorry for Xie Zhuo’s injury yesterday, I seriously wanted to strangle myself.

What “one last battle on the road of fate”? Battle my ass! That dog Xie Zhuo isn’t even worthy! I should’ve just taken Xiaxia’s advice, hardened my heart, and finished him off!

Those injuries he got from slaying evil? I’ll just pretend I never saw them!