58: Chapter 58 Farewell!

On the day Gu Xun'er set off for Starfall Pavilion, the sky above the Soul Realm remained its eternally unchanging gray. Hun Qian personally prepared a teleportation array at the Void Ferry outside the main gate and, as per Hun Feng's instructions, dispatched four Hall of Souls Heavenly Venerables to accompany her—not to monitor, but to protect her along the way. Xun'er originally wanted to bring only two people, but Hun Qian refused, saying it was the Young Master's strict order and he dared not disobey. Xun'er did not decline again, merely glancing back at the main hall of the Soul Realm before stepping into the teleportation array. Hun Feng did not come to see her off; Yao Yao did.

Yao Yao stood at the edge of the ferry, her black dress flapping in the void currents, holding a small package that she handed to Xun'er. Inside were several Grade Nine Qi Recovery Pills and a special Communication Talisman from the Hun Clan; once torn, Hun Feng could sense her location no matter the distance.

"My husband asked me to give this to you. He said your journey back to Starfall Pavilion is long, so take it just in case." Yao Yao's peach blossom eyes lacked their usual mischief when she said this, and her tone was uncharacteristically serious. "He also asked me to pass on a message—'Go quickly, return quickly'."

Xun'er took the package, her fingers gently caressing the rough cloth. She opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, she only nodded to Yao Yao, turned, and stepped into the teleportation array. A flash of silver light, and the light-blue figure vanished into the void rift.

The Starfall Pavilion's teleportation array was located in the side wing of the main hall. When the disciples guarding the array saw the light-blue figure emerge from the void rift, they first froze, then abruptly stood up, nearly knocking over the nearby tea table. The news of Gu Xun'er's return spread like a stone thrown into a calm lake, quickly disseminating from the teleportation array throughout the entire Starfall Pavilion. Disciples of the Sky Mansion Alliance along the way stopped to salute, their faces filled with disbelief—the Eldest Miss of the Gu Clan had been held in the Soul Realm for several months, and now she suddenly appeared in Starfall Pavilion; no one knew what this meant.

Xun'er did not go to the council hall, nor did she seek out any high-ranking members of the Alliance. She walked alone along the path in the bamboo forest behind the mountain, her steps unhurried but steady. From deep within the bamboo forest came the faint crackling sound of heaven flames burning the air, a unique roar produced when four different heaven flames intertwined. She followed the sound and found Xiao Yan in the deepest part of the bamboo forest, in a clearing of scorched stones repeatedly burned by heaven flames.

Xiao Yan sat cross-legged on a scorched stone, his upper body bare, the xuan heavy ruler resting on his lap, and four different heaven flames blazing around him. After several months, his shoulders were broader than before, and the muscle lines on his arms were more defined, with several new scars crisscrossing over old ones, like traces of healing after being repeatedly torn by some extremely violent energy. His aura was several times more powerful than before—a genuine Five-Star Dou Sheng. Xun'er stood quietly at the edge of the bamboo forest, watching him without making a sound. She remembered when they were children in the Xiao Family's backyard in Wutan City, he would also sit on a stone like this to cultivate. Back then, he didn't have heaven flames and wasn't even a Dou Practitioner, yet he was so stubborn that eight oxen couldn't pull him back. She used to love this stubbornness of his, thinking it was the most remarkable thing in the world. But now, standing in this bamboo forest, looking at his still stubborn back, her heart was filled only with bitterness.

Xiao Yan seemed to sense something; the four heaven flames around him slowly receded, and he opened his eyes to look at her. The moment he saw her, his eyes flashed with surprise, guilt, heartache, and a long-suppressed longing—but then, these emotions sank layer by layer. He was no longer a child; seeing her appear here alone, he vaguely guessed her intention. A hostage who had been held in the Soul Realm for several months suddenly appeared unharmed in Starfall Pavilion, without escorts or shackles—she either escaped or was released. And she was still wearing that light-blue dress, clean and tidy, her face unchanged, even with a hint more serenity than before. Someone who had escaped would not be this composed.

"Xun'er." He stood up from the scorched stone, casually pulled on his outer robe, his movements appearing calm, but his fingers slipped twice while tying his belt, failing to secure it. He walked a few steps to her, looked down at her, his Adam's apple bobbed once, then he softly said, "You've lost weight."

Xun'er looked up at him. She thought she would cry—she had repeatedly imagined this scene on the way, and each time her nose would ache. But facing this familiar face now, she was surprisingly calm. The emotions that had surged for so long suddenly found their place the moment she saw him safe and sound.

"Xiao Yan Ge-ge, I'm getting married," she said softly.

Xiao Yan's fingers clenched sharply in his sleeve, his knuckles cracking. He didn't speak, but the tension in his jaw muscles and the almost imperceptible twitch at the corner of his eye answered everything for him. He had long anticipated this day would come, ever since the Gu Clan withdrew from the Sky Mansion Alliance, ever since he learned that Xun'er was kept in the Soul Realm, he had repeatedly envisioned this outcome in his mind. But anticipation was one thing; hearing her say those words in that soft yet resolute tone was another. In that instant, he felt as if his chest had been slammed hard by the xuan heavy ruler, making it difficult to breathe.

"It's Hun Feng." It wasn't a question, but a statement. His voice was hoarse and low, as if he was trying his best to suppress something.

"It's Hun Feng." Xun'er repeated, her voice very soft, but every word was steady. "I came here to tell you in person. I don't want you to hear it from others, and I especially don't want you to be the last to know."

Xiao Yan suddenly turned around, his eyes seemingly spitting fire. He grabbed Xun'er's shoulders, his fingers unconsciously tightening, his voice rising a few octaves, filled with uncontrollable anger and unwillingness: "He forced you, didn't he? He threatened you with the Gu Clan, didn't he? I'll go find him! I'll go to the Soul Realm right now to find him—"

"Xiao Yan Ge-ge!" Xun'er reached out and gripped his arm tightly. The force of his grasp was astonishing, almost crushing her shoulder blade, but she didn't let go. She knew how much pain he was in at that moment, because her own heart was bleeding.

"Don't go." Her voice finally trembled, and the tears that had accumulated in her eyes for so long finally burst forth, silently streaming down her cheeks. She held his arm, looking up at the man she had loved since she could remember, tears falling one by one onto the back of his hand, each drop like it was carved from her heart. "You can't defeat him. He is a Seven-Star Dou Sheng, has four different heaven flames, and the full power of the Hun Clan. If you go to him now, you're just going to your death."

Xiao Yan froze. He looked at the tears on Xun'er's face, and the rage that was about to overwhelm his reason was like a basin of ice water poured over his head, instantly cooling into something heavier and more powerless. She could feel the muscles on his arm taut as stone, and the hand gripping her shoulder trembled slightly—not from anger, but from despair. What a warrior feared most was not being unable to defeat an enemy, but being stripped of the right to protect the one they loved.

"I've already decided." Xun'er's voice was choked but exceptionally clear, every word seeming to be torn from the core of her heart, carrying both blood and pain. "Xiao Yan Ge-ge, forget me. Don't seek revenge anymore; you are not his opponent. It's already a miracle that you jumped from a Two-Star to a Five-Star, but he only took three months to go from peak Six-Star to Seven-Star. Behind him are Yao Yao, Cai Lin, Hun Tiandi, Void Swallowing Flame, countless powerful experts—you cannot bear it alone. If you continue to fight, you will truly die."

She raised her hand and gently caressed Xiao Yan's cheek, her fingertips warm and slightly trembling: "You are the only seedling of the Xiao Family, the last hope of the Xiao Clan. Uncle Xiao was imprisoned for several years before being released, and the Sky Mansion Alliance still needs you to sustain it. You cannot destroy all of this because of me. Just consider it taking care of yourself for my sake—find a good girl in the future, forget Xun'er, and live a good life."

Xiao Yan stared at her blankly. From Wutan City to Jia Nan Academy, from the Jia Ma Empire to the Central Plains, from the Ancient World to the Soul Realm, they had walked a very long road together. She had said "I don't want to" in the Ancient Emperor Hall in front of a hall full of elders, she had used the Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame to block Yao Yao's retreat in the Demon Flame Space to buy him time, and on the day of the grand wedding in the Soul Realm, she had voluntarily stayed behind to ensure his and Xiao Zhan's safe departure. Each time, she was the one giving, she was the one sacrificing. And now, she was going to marry someone else, yet before leaving, she told him—don't seek revenge anymore, you are not his opponent. She didn't even leave him the chance to hate. She said "live a good life," but she took his good life with her; what did he have left to live a good life with?

"Xun'er." His voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible, tears silently streamed down his face, and he didn't wipe them away. He could count the times he had cried since childhood on one hand, but at this moment, his tears were like a broken dam, unstoppable.

Xun'er stood on tiptoe and lightly kissed his lips. The kiss was very light and brief, as light as a falling leaf drifting onto a lake, as brief as all their years from Wutan City to the Central Plains compressed into an instant. Her lips were cold, with the salty taste of tears.

"Take care." She released his arm, stepped back two paces, then turned and walked out of the bamboo forest. The moment she turned, her shoulders began to tremble violently, but she bit her lower lip hard and did not look back. She was afraid that if she looked back, she would never be able to leave. Tears blurred her vision, and the path beneath her feet became swaying light and shadow; she used all her strength to keep her steps from faltering.

Xiao Yan stood rooted to the spot, watching that light-blue figure disappear step by step into the end of the bamboo forest. His face, which had never bowed before any enemy, was now covered with silent tear streaks. He remembered her words—"Don't seek revenge anymore; you are not his opponent." These words were like a rusted, blunt knife, cutting into the most vulnerable part of his heart, one stroke after another, hurting more than Yao Yao's whip in the Corpse Burial Mountain Range, hotter than Hun Feng's three-color fire lotus, and leaving him more breathless than being publicly rejected in the Ancient Emperor Hall.

He slowly knelt to the ground, his hands braced on the scorched earth, his fingers digging deep into the soil. Blood oozing from beneath his fingernails mixed with the dirt, forming dark red fragments. Tears fell one by one onto the ground; the scorched earth burned by heaven flames instantly evaporated the moisture, leaving only faint salt traces.

Then he lifted his head and let out an extremely hoarse roar towards the gray sky above the bamboo forest. There was no Dou Qi enhancement in that roar, only pure, extreme, torn pain. A large flock of birds in the bamboo forest was startled, flapping their wings and scattering into the distance. His heaven flames burned wildly around him, the four-colored flames cracking the scorched earth inch by inch, yet they could not harm him in the slightest. Because he no longer felt pain. The most painful place was not on his body, but in that position in his heart that she had filled for over a decade, and which was now utterly empty.

Brothers who haven't added this to their bookshelves yet, hurry up and do so! In a few days, it might be subject to traffic restrictions, and if you don't add it beforehand, you won't be able to find it! The platform will block it!