# Chapter 1915: The Truth (Part 2)
"After you were teleported away by Sister Qianye's Void Stone, Sister Qingyue had actually been searching for you all along. The Void Stone's teleportation is completely random; she was terrified that you might fall into someone else's hands."
"She searched for four or five hours before she had to temporarily give up and use the Cosmic Thorn to go to Lan Ji Star, transferring it to the south of the Southern Domain, then moving the Tianshui Star, which was south of the Southern Domain, to where Lan Ji Star once had been."
"And this miracle-like act of moving stars and shifting moons nearly exhausted all of Sister Qingyue's power, leaving her with no strength left to continue searching for you. She had no choice but to teleport back to the Yue Shen Realm... But Sister Qingyue couldn't rest for long before the existence of Lan Ji Star was made public by Zhou Tian Shen Di."
Shui Meiyin sniffled and continued, "Brother Yun Che knows what happened after that."
"…" Yun Che let out a soft breath. Yes, he had personally experienced the events of that time and knew them all... yet he had known nothing.
Shui Meiyin said, "Although everything that day seemed to happen naturally, many things were secretly arranged by Sister Qingyue."
"She knew that given your personality, once you heard that the realms were encircling Lan Ji Star, even knowing it was certain death, you would never abandon it and would rush over with all your might, as fast as possible."
"And on you was the Dun Yue Immortal Palace she had deliberately left you back then. If you wanted to get there as quickly as possible, you would definitely use the Dun Yue Immortal Palace."
"So, when heading to Lan Ji Star, Sister Qingyue brought along the fastest Moon God of the Yue Shen Realm—the Golden Moon God, Yue Wuji."
"Then, in front of Lan Ji Star, Sister Qingyue used her words and her special position to guide all the Divine Emperors into reaching a consensus that whoever captured Brother Yun Che first would have the right to decide his fate."
"After that, Brother Yun Che indeed came rushing in on the Dun Yue Immortal Palace. And Sister Qingyue was the Yue Shen Di, so she could forcibly retake control of the Dun Yue Immortal Palace."
"First seizing control of the Dun Yue Immortal Palace, then having Yue Wuji strike like lightning... Sister Qingyue got her wish and captured you first, then, right in front of you, destroyed Lan Ji Star."
What she destroyed was not Lan Ji Star.
It was all of Yun Che's weaknesses, softness, attachments, naivety, compassion, hesitation, and longing...
On the contrary, she had single-handedly hidden it from everyone in the world and completely saved Lan Ji Star.
"Sister Qingyue's second public 'execution' of you was exactly the same as the first." Shui Meiyin said softly. "She wanted everyone to believe you were dead, and this time, the Cosmic Thorn beneath the Purple Que Divine Light would directly teleport you to the distant Northern Divine Region."
"After you arrived in the Northern Divine Region, you would know that Sister Qingyue had saved you... But her saving your life was far from enough to offset your hatred for her for destroying Lan Ji Star. Without weaknesses and attachments, left only with resentment, you would be able to transform and grow there faster than anywhere else."
"Everything went exactly as Sister Qingyue wished, except... at that very last moment."
Mu Xuanyin, who had been concealing herself for a long time, thrust her sword at Xia Qingyue the moment the purple light enveloped Yun Che.
He escaped in the end, but Mu Xuanyin perished, her soul scattered.
"Fate?" That year, as the dying light of the destroyed "Lan Ji Star" flickered, the Purple Que Divine Sword in Xia Qingyue's hand hung limply, and a lost sigh escaped her lips.
"During those years you were in the Northern Divine Region, Sister Qingyue secretly did many, many things, waiting for the day you would return. And moreover..."
"Mei'er," Yun Che finally spoke after a long silence, the urgency in his heart having built up to a point of unbearable torment: "First tell me, after she came back, why didn't she tell me everything herself, but instead pushed all of it onto you... Why on earth!?"
He stared at Shui Meiyin's eyes, desperately longing for the answer.
But Shui Meiyin in his sight gently shook her head.
"I don't know." She whispered weakly.
"…Don't know?" Yun Che's pupils dilated, his voice becoming restless with urgency: "How could you not know? Didn't she tell you everything... How could you not know!?"
Shui Meiyin shook her head helplessly. During her time in the Moon Prison, she had often faced Xia Qingyue directly, and she had learned the truth far earlier than Yun Che... The torment of her soul was far greater than Yun Che's.
…………
At the bottom of the Moon Prison in the Yue Shen Realm, Xia Qingyue placed the Cosmic Thorn in her palm, letting the sleeping spirit of the Cosmic Thorn immerse itself in the silent warmth from the Stainless Divine Soul.
"…I know this request is cruel to you, but in this world, there is no one else besides you who can help me. I can only... selfishly entrust this matter to you."
"No, I don't understand. I really don't understand." She shook her head in bewilderment. "Since you believe he will come back, that he will become the true emperor of this world, why didn't you tell him everything directly when he returned, instead of asking me to tell him that I did all this? I don't understand. I truly don't understand."
"I want him to hate me, just like before, just like now." Xia Qingyue's voice was very calm, her eyes as if reflecting the tranquil, flawless moonlight. "Only through hating me, letting my image in his heart be fixed as that heartless, vicious woman, will he not grieve after my death, not remember me, and not let me become a lifelong regret."
"Death?" She shook her head. "You are the Yue Shen Di. You are so powerful and so intelligent. How could you die? Who could make you die? What you are saying... I completely don't understand."
"I cannot make you understand." Xia Qingyue said softly. "I can only tell you that in this world, there are truly some things that cannot be resisted."
"When he steps toward the pinnacle, death will be my best choice and my best resting place."
"…" She still shook her head, infinite confusion in her heart, unable to understand a single word.
"Mei'er, you like him so much. You surely don't want the rest of his life to be filled with pain and regret over my death, right... Let me die as an evil person. Let him exact his revenge and then regain what he lost... There is no more perfect ending than this."
"I was his wife for a time, and what I have done for him can be considered worthy of the word 'wife.' It's just... I alone have wronged you."
"This debt of gratitude, and my apology, I may only be able to repay in the next life..."
"Next life..." Her voice suddenly paused as she softly repeated the word, her moon eyes becoming desolate.
…………
During that time in the Yue Shen Realm, Shui Meiyin's Stainless Divine Soul gradually established a soul connection with the Cosmic Thorn. As long as Xia Qingyue separated herself from the Cosmic Thorn, Shui Meiyin could become its new master at any time.
But even when Yun Che returned to the Eastern Divine Region and she used the Cosmic Thorn to "escape" from the Yue Shen Realm, she still did not know why Xia Qingyue had made that choice.
All she could do was take over everything from her and fulfill her final wish.
Until……
"…She said she wanted you to hate her, so that you would not grieve over her death. She would rather you hate her forever and then forget her completely than become a wound in your heart."
"Then why did she choose death? Why!?" Yun Che's eyes were bloodshot. Even Shui Meiyin did not know the answer, and his heart nearly cramped and tore apart. "When I came back, she only needed a few words to make me believe everything... Why did she choose death instead?!"
"I asked her so many, many times, and begged her so many, many times, but..." Shui Meiyin said with a sob. "She always answered that she could never reveal the reason. And that death was the ending she had to choose, and also her..."
"...after submitting to fate, her final rebellion against it."
Yun Che froze there: "Submit... fate... rebellion?"
"Sister Qingyue never explained the meaning of those words to me. Moreover, she sometimes, when lost in thought, would murmur many very strange things." Shui Meiyin said softly. "She once said... that she was an unforgivable sinner, having harmed her own younger brother and caused the deaths of her own parents..."
"!?" Yun Che's head shot up, his voice hoarse: "Yuanba has been fine ever since I saved him from that deadly calamity back then! He became the Lord of the Holy Domain in Tian Xuan Continent, and now he has embarked on the divine realm journey. How has she harmed him!"
"Her father is now safe at the Black Moon Merchant Guild. Although lonely, he is unharmed and trouble-free... Her mother was killed by Qianye... How has she harmed them? What is she talking about?! It's all nonsense!"
"I don't know." Shui Meiyin shook her head, repeating those four words over and over. "She also once said... she hoped that her death would allow the Yue Shen Realm to remain unharmed."
"But..."
"…" Yun Che's whole body trembled violently, and all color drained from his eyes.
The Yue Shen Realm was the first, and only, star realm he had completely destroyed.
His ruthlessness and cruelty toward the Yue Shen Realm had exceeded that toward any other star realm.
With deep hatred, when he had seen Xia Qingyue arrive alone, he had taken all the Eternal Dark Demon Crystals he had obtained from the Eternal Dark Bone Sea and, right in front of her, destroyed the Yue Shen Realm into remnants of scattered stardust...
In that moment, what satisfaction he had felt!
Even more satisfying was that in the dying light of the shattered Yue Shen Realm, he saw the emptiness in Xia Qingyue's eyes... with no trace of purple light remaining.
And he had heard her lost, dreamlike murmur:
"Is fate... truly so... inescapable..."
…………
What have I...
What have I... done...
His chest felt as if crushed by countless mountains and cut by countless icy blades. Yun Che's fingers trembled as they grasped his own head, the pale joints twisting as if about to break.
He had been desperately trying to control himself, desperately trying to remain calm... But Shui Meiyin's last words still caused his heart to completely collapse and his soul to shatter.
The shattered look in his eyes and the violently chaotic aura frightened Shui Meiyin. She reached out and hugged Yun Che, speaking frantically: "Brother Yun Che, don't... scare me. This is not your fault, it really isn't your fault... Even if it's just to fulfill Sister Qingyue's wish, you must be kind to yourself..."
But an arm that could not stop trembling reached out, slowly and stiffly pushing her away.
Yun Che stood up, his lifeless eyes staring blankly ahead.
"Let me be alone... for a while."
The words were so bitter they made one's heart clench... Yun Che took a step, walking woodenly forward.
"Brother Yun Che!"
Shui Meiyin quickly stood up, wanting to follow him, but a snow-white hand landed on her shoulder, stopping her movement.
Shui Meiyin turned her head and said tearfully, "Sister Xuanyin..."
"Let him be alone for a while." Mu Xuanyin looked at Yun Che's receding back and gently shook her head.
(End of this chapter)