Chapter 1918: Moon Memories (Part II)
Nan Shen Domain, Seven Star Realm.
Willows sway in the breeze, streams babble softly. Jin Yue held her little sister's hand, walking slowly along the green-covered riverbank.
The nearby dark demons were far less terrifying than anticipated, and the Cloud Emperor's decrees were executed with extreme fairness and strictness. The existence of the arbiters, while imposing constraints, instead brought a fairness and peace that surpassed the past.
As the panic dissipated, the atmosphere of the Seven Star Realm had undergone a tremendous transformation in these short few years.
"Big sister, father and grandfather have already set a date to return to the Dong Shen Domain... are you really not going with them?"
Wei'er had grown into a lively girl, her face as delicate as her sister's, but already prematurely losing too much of its childishness. Yet never changing was her tendency to stick close to her, hold her hand, gaze at her warm, gentle smile, and the sorrow behind her smile that seemed it would never fade.
Jin Yue gazed at the seemingly endless road ahead and gently shook her head: "The Seven Star Realm is a very peaceful place. Although it's only been a few short years, I have grown to like it here very much. Staying here for the rest of my life would not be bad."
It wasn't that she didn't want to leave, but that she couldn't leave, dared not leave.
"Listen carefully. Keep this dark totem well. Do not ever attempt to dispel it. If one day, this Demon Lord can no longer sense its existence... I will surely exterminate your entire clan!"
The gaze that was once warm enough to make one's heart race had become so brutal and terrifying. The Young Master Yun she could once call softly had become the Demon Lord who destroyed the Yue Shen Realm... The dark mark he had cruelly planted on her body had become a curse she could never escape in this lifetime.
It was good that the family was leaving. The farther away they were from herself, who bore the "dark curse," the better.
"Then... let me stay here and keep you company, okay?"
Wei'er spoke very seriously, as if she had long since made the decision, rather than a momentary impulse.
"No." Jin Yue refused without any hesitation. Her beautiful eyes turned, her gentle gaze carrying an unwavering firmness: "Wei'er, after all, Great-grandfather's place is an upper star realm. One's level is too important for growth, especially at your age. You cannot be willful about this matter. Not just me, no one in the family will agree."
From her sister's words, Wei'er could not detect a single shred of room for negotiation. She lowered her eyes, somewhat disappointed. Then she softly asked again: "Then... will big sister marry someone?"
"..." Jin Yue shook her head, her smile somewhat sad: "No."
"Then if you're alone forever, won't you be lonely?"
"I'll get used to it," she answered softly.
Although she was still not yet an adult, Wei'er could already feel the deep sadness and helplessness hidden within her sister's words. After a short while, she asked again: "Big sister, do you still... miss the Moon God Emperor?"
"..." Jin Yue's steps faltered slightly, remaining silent for a long time.
Wei'er said: "Now, everyone says the Cloud Emperor is actually a very good person. He once saved the Shen Realm from crisis, and in the end, when he became the Cloud Emperor, he chose forgiveness between hatred and mercy... Everyone also says that the future of the Shen Realm will surely get better and better under the guidance of the Cloud Emperor."
"He... was always a very good person." Jin Yue murmured, lost in thought: "It's just that..."
"But," Wei'er's voice grew softer: "They also say the Moon God Emperor was a villain. When the Cloud Emperor was in danger back then, she chose to be heartless and betray him, ultimately leading to the destruction of the Yue Shen Realm. When the Cloud Emperor took his revenge and brought down the demonic calamity, she was one of the main causes. So, for those star realms that were destroyed and the people who were killed, she was one of the chief culprits..."
"Stop talking. Please, stop talking."
Jin Yue interrupted Wei'er's words. She turned her gaze forward, not letting her sister see the pain-filled expression in her eyes: "Wei'er, remember this. No matter how the world sees her or talks about her, she will always be the person I respect most in my life."
"Although she changed a lot later on, even gradually no longer letting me approach her, still, having served by her side has always been the greatest fortune of my life."
Her gaze gradually grew misty and blurred. She stared into the distant sky, murmuring to herself: "In those years, I always felt... as if she had been hiding some secret and hardship..."
"These past two years, I've even often thought... could it be that she drove me away... to protect me..."
Boom—
A dull sound rumbled from afar, and then an abnormal gust of wind rolled with terrifying aura, rapidly approaching.
Jin Yue's heart trembled violently, and she was about to push the girl beside her far away: "Wei'er, run!"
Rip!
His speed was so fast it tore through space. Before Jin Yue, the figure she feared most had already appeared.
Jin Yue's entire body turned icy cold. The arm she was about to push out quickly shifted to pulling back, shielding Wei'er firmly behind her: "Cloud... Emperor."
Without any superfluous words, Yun Che directly extended his hand toward her: "Give me that bronze mirror she left behind... now!"
Jin Yue's heart sank.
The man before her had a faint, indifferent gaze, yet it also seemed to contain a somewhat abnormal tremor. His voice was also inexplicably hoarse, but his commanding tone, and the naturally released heavy pressure, left her suffocating in fear.
That bronze mirror Xia Qingyue had asked her to destroy—she knew it was a relic from her mother. Worried that Xia Qingyue would regret it later, she had for the first time secretly disobeyed the order and did not destroy it... Never had she expected it would become the only thing left on her person to remember her by.
Xia Qingyue had been killed by Yun Che... And now, Yun Che was here, even wanting to take away this last memento she had.
But she could not refuse.
Beside her was Wei'er. Behind her was her family.
Not daring to hesitate for too long, and even more unable to voice any resistance, she could only painfully extend her hand. In her palm lay the most important thing to her.
Before her clenched fingers could even open, a burst of profound force struck, and the bronze mirror in her palm had already fallen into Yun Che's hands.
Jin Yue's tears gushed out like a spring, her heart feeling as if a piece had been gouged out, leaving a hollow, unbearable ache. She bit down hard on her teeth to keep from letting out an uncontrolled sob.
A simple, small bronze mirror, made of the most ordinary metal even in the lower realms. Yun Che carefully cradled it in his hand. A brief moment of excitement and relief surged through his heart, only to be followed by an even deeper depression and grief.
The vast, boundless world now lay at his feet.
But of Xia Qingyue, all that remained was this tiny bronze mirror.
He slowly and carefully clenched it, then turned around, his profound energy stirring as he prepared to leave.
"Young Master Yun!"
Behind him came a woman's cry, clearly choked with tears. In her urgency, she subconsciously cried out not "Cloud Emperor," not "Demon Lord," but that title from the past.
Perhaps, the Yun Che she was willing to keep in her heart had always been that "Young Master Yun" from those days.
"I... I know my mistress wronged you, but... but this really is the last thing my mistress left in this world! I beg you... I beg you, no matter what... please don't destroy it!"
In her endlessly sorrowful plea, her body went limp, and she fell to one knee, letting out uncontrollable, mournful sobs.
Yun Che stopped. After a long while, he slowly turned around.
"She never wronged me... not once."
The voice at her ear no longer carried the former dark ferocity, but instead held a similar desolation and soul-deep anguish.
She slowly raised her head, meeting a pair of jet-black eyes... eyes utterly devoid of darkness or intimidation.
"Jin Yue," he said softly, looking at the woman before him. "Almost everyone in this world despises her, insults her, mocks her choices, and sneers at her fate. Only you have kept her in your heart all along and guarded the important thing she left behind."
"..." Jin Yue stared at him blankly, completely at a loss.
He slowly raised his hand and touched her shoulder... The tremor of fright lasted only a moment. A wisp of black smoke rose from her body and silently dissipated.
The dark mark Yun Che had planted on her body that year was completely erased.
Back then, guided by his hatred for her house, when he had accidentally encountered Jin Yue here, though he had not killed her, he had still cruelly humiliated her.
Now...
Faced with this woman, the only one who had always held Xia Qingyue in her heart with unwavering devotion, he no longer knew how to express the gratitude in his heart, or how to make amends for his former guilt.
"Beneath Di Yun City, within a hundred years, the former Nanming Divine Realm shall become the Di Yun Divine Realm." Yun Che looked into Jin Yue's eyes, his tone slow, every word a promise. "You, and your entire clan, may all enter the divine realm and receive a hundred generations of protection."
"...!!" Jin Yue's beautiful eyes trembled, her vision blurring, as if in a hazy dream.
"Also," Yun Che continued, "those Moon Gods and Moon Envoys that disappeared—I have never been able to find them. I think Qingyue must have left them a final refuge before she left."
"I will find them, and then..." He took a deep breath. "I do not know how many years it will take. Ten thousand years, or even a hundred thousand years... Even if it takes until the end of my life, I will surely use all my power... to recreate the Yue Shen Realm in these four divine domains."
...
Yun Che left, but Jin Yue still could not awaken from her dream.
"Big sister! Big sister!!"
Wei'er's calls came one after another by her ear. Finally, the haze in her eyes scattered, and the starlight shone again. She hugged Wei'er tightly and burst into loud sobs.
On the green riverbank, the girl's crying lasted for a very, very long time. Over these years, she had wept in secret countless times, but never had she cried so thoroughly, so freely, as she did at this moment.
————
Without leaving the Seven Star Realm, Yun Che came to a desolate corner, devoid of even the breath of beasts.
He leaned his back against the hard stone wall, carefully holding the bronze mirror in both hands, gently pressing it against his heart, and then slowly closed his eyes.
This time, the moment he sank into the world of his soul, that ethereal, dreamlike voice rang out in his sea of consciousness:
"It seems you have successfully found the medium for performing the Void Recall."
"Her void imprint was never complete to begin with, and the void aura lingering on the remnants she left behind has also grown fragmented and faint. The Void Recall is destined to not fully cover her entire life."
"What you will see, I cannot predict. But I think it should be enough."
Yun Che said nothing, concentrating all his mental energy... At this moment, he desperately wanted to know everything.
An invisible, silent, soundless force connected the bronze mirror in Yun Che's hand with his sea of consciousness.
In his sea of consciousness, the woman's voice faded away. The ashen-gray world suddenly grew faint, then quickly dissipated.
Then, light flashed, wind howled, and a perfectly clear world unfolded before him.
The moment he saw this world clearly, Yun Che's soul strings tightened violently. All his consciousness became fixed on that snow-white figure.
Her lips bore traces of blood, her arms were stained with red marks, and her jade-like countenance, even as it lost color, still couldn't hide the peerless elegance that no painter could capture.
Qing... Yue...
A soft call echoed through every corner of Yun Che's soul.
He had finally seen her again... even if it was only a phantom of nothing.
But the her before him was not Xia Qingyue as the Moon God Emperor. Her still slightly childish face, her eyes not yet filled with serene indifference and intimidating authority, stirred memories in Yun Che that were not so distant.
That set of white clothes... Yun Che knew at a single glance—it was unmistakably the ice-snow attire of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace.