Chapter 1819: Blood Debt
Shui Meiyin had been trying hard to stop crying, but as her shoulders trembled, she became more and more out of control. She clenched her teeth again and again, bit her lip again and again with force, but simply could not stop.
"Alright, no more crying, no more crying." Yun Che gently comforted her.
Earlier, he had barely managed to stop his own sobbing under Shui Meiyin's consolation, and now suddenly it was her turn.
"I... I... wuwuwu..."
Yun Che said no more, holding her tightly... he would never let go for the rest of his life.
He knew that Shui Meiyin also needed this release. All of these things had been pent up inside her, unable to be spoken to anyone. Wasn't that also a kind of immense torture?
And these tears, every single one, were because of him, and all for him.
She cried for a full half-quarter hour before finally stopping. She lifted her delicate head from Yun Che's chest. Her starry eyes still held teardrops, glistening, as if about to fall.
Looking down at Shui Meiyin's crimson-rimmed eyes, Yun Che smiled and said, "If your sister saw you like this, she'd definitely stab me with her Yao Xi Sword."
"My sister is so gentle, she wouldn't." Shui Meiyin laughed through her tears. "Besides, you're the awe-inspiring Demon Lord, who would dare stab you with a sword..."
Her finger lightly tapped on Yun Che's chest, and with tear-blurred eyes, she said softly, "But Yun Che Gege's chest has become so warm, no longer that icy cold. That's why I... held on for so long and couldn't bear to let go."
Yun Che could feel it most clearly himself—his blood was no longer cold.
"But..." Shui Meiyin's finger still rested on Yun Che's chest, her voice gentle. "The warmth here in Yun Che Gege's heart must only be given to me, and to everyone you care about. But for those enemies, those threats that must be eliminated, you must remain that demon lord who shows no mercy. Okay?"
"Okay." Yun Che nodded heavily. "This is also one of the reasons why you hesitated over whether to tell me now, right?"
"En."
Shui Meiyin spoke softly, "I originally planned to tell you all of this after Yun Che Gege defeated the Dragon God Realm and purged all threats."
"Because I was afraid that if I told you too early, you might act on impulse, exposing the Blue Pole Star to danger. I feared you might resent Mi Suo and no longer be ruthless in your decisions. I also feared you'd be burdened with new worries, that this would disturb your peace of mind..."
"But the way you dealt with the Nanming Divine Realm frightened me. And your order to forcefully attack the Dragon God Realm was too sudden, too abrupt... I can be sure that besides your determination and confidence in facing the Dragon God Realm, there must also be some very cruel costs and methods."
"..." Yun Che couldn't deny it.
"I understand." Yun Che said, full of guilt. "Rest assured, whether it's the Dragon God Realm or the Western Divine Region, I will do my utmost to protect myself... I will never again forcibly take any risks."
At this point, how could he not understand why Shui Meiyin wanted to tell him everything ahead of time?
She hoped that after he saw the Blue Pole Star still existed, he would no longer risk his life recklessly, but instead preserve himself whole, to reunite with them after everything was over.
But just before leaving the Seven Star Realm, Shui Meiyin was still hesitating whether to speak. And after meeting Jin Yue, she clearly leaned more toward continuing to conceal it.
Yet, as fate would have it, they encountered Xia Yuanba there, who had come to the Divine Realm to find Yun Che.
"Even if it's just to repay my little Meiyin for the rest of my life, I have to make sure I live long and stay whole." Yun Che said half-jokingly.
Shui Meiyin looked at him, then suddenly said, "Yun Che Gege, if... if you really want to repay me, then... promise me three things, okay?"
Yun Che was startled. Looking at the trembling, unusual starlight in Shui Meiyin's eyes, he slowly nodded and said with utmost solemnity, "Alright. No matter what, I will promise."
This weighty promise came from the very depths of his soul. Because the grace and love Shui Meiyin had given him—three things could never repay it, even if he gave everything, even if he devoted his entire life.
Shui Meiyin reached out and wiped the tears from her face. Her expression became very serious.
"The first thing: I hope... that no matter what Yun Che Gege encounters in the future, even if... even if it's more terrifying and more hopeless than in those past years, you must always... always treat yourself well. You must never again resent or hurt yourself... and never again harbor thoughts of death."
"Because..."
After calming down for just a moment, mist once again filled Shui Meiyin's eyes. "Your life, your safety, has long ceased to belong to you alone. In this world, there are those... who care about you far more than you imagine... who love you... for you, they truly can... spare no effort... everything... everything... even... even..."
"Even if it's just to not let them down, you must not... throw yourself into the abyss again. Because they... even if they truly leave you... leave forever... for them, your well-being is the eternal, undying wish they carry with them... even after they are gone."
Mist became pearls, falling again in a cascade.
Yun Che's heart trembled violently. He reached out his fingers, gently wiping away the teardrops flooding the girl's face, drop by drop, and said softly and solemnly, "Alright. Every word, I will firmly remember. Every word, I promise... forever promise."
Just having one person in the world who treated him like this—what else could he resent, what else could he hate?
Shui Meiyin took a while to steady her emotions, then continued, "The second thing: I hope that after Yun Che Gege defeats the Dragon God Realm and becomes the ruler of the world, you will treat the innocent common people with kindness."
Yun Che: "..."
This request didn't surprise Yun Che at all. He had already sensed it when Shui Meiyin took him wandering through the Seven Star Commerce Region.
"Although the Dragon God Realm was ungrateful and wronged Yun Che Gege, and Dragon Sovereign killed your master, unforgivable, the Dragon God Realm has done very well as the ruler of the Divine Realm these years—so well that no other king realm can replace it."
"The Dragon God Realm possesses unmatched strength and can easily suppress any other king realm in this era. But the Dragon God clan is arrogant yet not fond of bullying the weak; they are not afraid of war but never provoke it. Thus, despite being supreme, they have never used their power to plunder others' lands. With the Dragon God Realm above, other king realms have never dared to openly commit great atrocities."
"If the king realm ruling the Divine Realm were the Brahma Heaven God Realm or the Southern Underworld Divine Realm, one can imagine how terrifying it would be."
Yun Che listened seriously. He hated the Dragon God Realm to the core and was determined to kill Long Bai, but he did not deny Shui Meiyin's words.
At least for the past million years, the Dragon God Realm had been the most suitable ruler of the Divine Realm.
"This Seven Star Realm only shows a tiny corner of the Divine Realm. Through projections from the Eastern Divine Region, they all know the truth of what happened back then—that Yun Che Gege was hurt and betrayed, and was also the one who saved them."
"But faced with the approaching Northern Divine Region, their first reaction remains great fear and unease. They would rather abandon their ancestral lands and flee. Order has already become chaotic in a short time, and it may soon completely collapse."
"Because they cannot imagine a world ruled by demons in endless panic."
"These things are inevitable, unavoidable. But..." She gazed at Yun Che tenderly. "I believe that in the not-too-distant future, after Yun Che Gege becomes the ruler of the world, you will do even better than the Dragon God Realm, right?"
Yun Che slowly extended his hand, his gaze falling on his own palm.
Back then, fleeing for his life in the Star God Realm, being reborn in nirvana back to the Tian Xuan Continent, he had experienced darkness. Then, after meeting Chu Yuechan and Yun Wuxin, he stepped from darkness into boundless light...
Especially after Yun Wuxin sacrificed her own talent and risked her life to save him, he too had looked at his hands like this, vowing inwardly never again to let these hands that protected and embraced his daughter be stained with sin and filth.
That was a major shift in his state of mind, allowing warmth and kindness to occupy most of his soul. He began to reject the bloodshed and evil he had once been accustomed to, and in contrast, his hatred, resentment, anger, and violence were subtly diluted.
He still remembered that after returning to the Divine Realm, Xia Qingyue had hit the nail on the head: "Your heart has softened. Is it because of your daughter?"
Not long after that, his state of mind had been pushed to another extreme... and the extreme of extremes.
Now, the blood and sin these hands had absorbed were so heavy that no words could describe them, and they could never, ever be washed away.
"Alright." Yun Che looked away, clenched his hands, and softly replied one word.
All killing, blood, and sin rest upon me alone.
I once wanted to push this world into eternal darkness, to turn the filthy Divine Realm into a dark purgatory.
But now...
Even if it's just to keep this endless evil from staining them, I will at least give light back to this world.
But only after everything is over!
Until then, all who deserve to die, all potential threats... must be completely and utterly obliterated!
Even if I stain myself with a thousand-fold more sin before that, I must never repeat the same mistake!
"What's the third thing?" he asked, still with a smile on his lips.
But the sudden, desolate look in Shui Meiyin's eyes made his smile vanish instantly.
"With me... atone for our sins together."
"Atonement... sin?" Yun Che was slightly startled.
His own sins were too many. The number of people who had died because of him in these past years alone was beyond counting.
With her... her sin?
Shui Meiyin lowered her head and murmured, "The Tian Shui Star that replaced the destroyed Blue Pole Star—it wasn't a dead star."
Yun Che: "..."
"If the star that replaced the Blue Pole Star had dissipated without blood energy and countless souls after its destruction, then someone would surely have noticed the anomaly immediately."
"So, the Tian Shui Star was a planet that also had many living beings. Its life aura was quite similar to that of the Blue Pole Star."
"Every tree, every blade of grass, every insect, bird, human, and beast—they were all completely unrelated and innocent. But because of my selfishness, all... all of them..."
"It's not your fault." Yun Che stopped her. "They were killed by Yue Shen Di, and fell victim because of me. You merely transferred their location... None of this has anything to do with you!"
Back in the Northern Divine Region, to frame the Zhou Tian Realm and create a pretext to attack the Eastern Divine Region, they had directly annihilated three star realms in the Northern Divine Region.
At that time, he felt no ripple or emotion, no reluctance or guilt.
But Shui Meiyin was completely different from him.
She possessed the world's only Stainless Divine Soul, a noble birth, and unparalleled talent. Her profound strength had now reached the seventh level of the Divine Lord Realm...
But there was never a trace of blood aura on her, and her eyes were always like the stars in the distant sky.
With her late-stage Divine Lord cultivation, she had likely never killed anyone, never been stained by any filth.
Yet for him, she had shouldered the blood debt of an entire planet.
Shui Meiyin didn't nod or shake her head. She only said, in a voice as light as a dream, "Let's repay it together, okay?"
"..." Yun Che struggled to say something, but in the end, it all faded into silence.
All the words, comfort, gratitude, persuasion, and guilt—before Shui Meiyin's starry eyes—were utterly pale.
Yun Che's only response was a gentle nod.
Can the sin of killing one person be redeemed by saving a hundred?
He didn't know, and no one could answer.
If a hundred can't, then a thousand, ten thousand!
He could bear endless sin and descend into the deepest purgatory... but he could never allow Shui Meiyin to be crushed by this sense of guilt for her entire life.