With that deafening boom,
the riverside was once again plunged into endless darkness and deathly silence.
Xia Wanning stared blankly,
watching the debris slowly falling from the sky.
There was still quite a bit of bloodstained on her face.
Xia Wanning wiped her face. The blood that trickled into her mouth tasted faintly bitter and salty.
She felt her face was wet.
When she reached out her hand to touch it, she realized that her face was covered in tears at some point.
"Elder Xia, are you okay?"
The pendant in Xia Wanning's hand dropped onto the grass with a thud. She quickly knelt down and groped around in the grass.
"Elder Xia?"
"Get out."
The black - cloaked man watched the woman fumbling around. A strange smile flickered across his face.
"Elder Xia, why bother? The previous formation was set up according to your wishes. Now, why do you look like this? It's as if the dead person was your closest kin."
Xia Wanning turned her back to the black - cloaked man.
She asked coldly, "Do you have a heart?"
"What?"
"You have no heart, so you can say such things. Remember, although I, Xia Wanning, have done these things, I'm different from you."
"Elder Xia, your words are a bit hurtful."
"Why did you tell him those things?"
"What?"
"Just now, why did you tell him about all the things I've done? Why did you let him die in despair?"
"He's already dead. You should at least let him understand before he goes."
Xia Wanning slumped to the ground.
"Leave."
"Elder Xia."
"Go!"
The black - cloaked man shrugged. Anyway, all this was instigated by Xia Wanning. He had just given her a hand.
A woman's heart is like a needle in the ocean. It's really hard to fathom.
After the black - cloaked man left, Xia Wanning felt as if all the strength had been drained from her body.
She moved mechanically on the ground.
There were so many pieces of debris on the ground. She picked them up one by one, over and over again.
Ji Qinglin was a kid who loved excitement. He wouldn't like the desolate ancient land or the gloomy netherworld. So even in death, he probably didn't want his body to be feasted on by the vultures in the desolate ancient land.
Xia Wanning slowly picked up the debris on the ground,
tears streaming down her face.
"Ji Qinglin, you didn't have to die."
"I had even planned not to kill you."
"But you, for the sake of Ye Ling, actually wanted to die with me."
"Ji Qinglin, you were good to me. I'll always remember your kindness. After you die, I'll bury your body under the high platform. That's where Ye Ling died. At least your souls will have a chance to meet."
In her groping, Xia Wanning found the cold pendant again.
The ruby on the pendant had lost all its luster.
It was so dull.
Xia Wanning picked it up and put it back around her neck.
Carrying the debris she had picked up, she walked forward slowly alone.
"Ji Qinglin, your memory is flawed."
Xia Wanning smiled bitterly.
When she was a child, she wasn't really kind.
The reason she often hid behind Ye Ling, pretending to be afraid of everyone, was that she hoped Ye Ling would take pity on her and keep her by his side more often. Only in this way could she learn more mental skills.
Xia Wanning wasn't shy; she was just deliberately showing weakness.
Also, about the pastry incident that Ji Qinglin mentioned.
At that time, Xia Wanning was losing her baby teeth and couldn't eat sweet things. She originally wanted to throw the pastry Ye Ling gave her into the lake but was afraid of being discovered and accused of being ungrateful.
By chance, Ji Qinglin was standing stupidly by the lake at that time. Xia Wanning just used him as a tool to get rid of the pastry.
She didn't expect that because of this pastry, Ji Qinglin would treat her so differently.
There were many such things.
Did Ji Qinglin think that she was innocent, gentle, and weak when she was a child?
It was just an illusion.
But why?
Ji Qinglin was dead, and her goal had been achieved.
But at this moment, Xia Wanning didn't feel the slightest bit of excitement in her heart.
Before he died, the look in his eyes when he looked at her no longer held love or admiration. All that was left was hatred and disgust.
Ji Qinglin, how could you look at me with such eyes?
Xia Wanning stumbled and fell to the ground, tripped by a stone.
Her arms and knees hit the hard stones.
When she was a child, whenever she got injured, the one who worried about her the most was always Ji Qinglin. He would always carefully help her up, then blow on her wounds and apply medicine.
As long as Xia Wanning said thank you, he would smile happier than ever.
"Everything can never go back."
"I can never go back either."
When Xia Wanning returned to the sect, it was already dawn.
Looking at the jade flute by the bedside, Xia Wanning remembered the first time she met the Emperor.
It was also from that moment that she began to believe in love at first sight.
When she was a child, Ye Ling doted on Xia Wanning.
Once, when the Emperor came to the Eastern Wildlands, she went with Ye Ling to meet him.
It was a winter day with heavy snow falling.
Beside the man was a snow - white divine beast, the Bai Ze. He was dressed in green clothes, and there was a long flute hanging from his waist.
The moment the green - clothed man raised his eyes, Xia Wanning couldn't move her feet anymore. Her gaze was deeply fixed on his peerless face.
She had never seen such a man before.
He could only be described as stunning.
The green - clothed man spoke very little, but when he looked at Ye Ling, there would be a hint of tenderness in his eyes unconsciously.
Xia Wanning stepped forward, trying to curry favor with the green - clothed man.
But the green - clothed man frowned, seemingly disliking her approach.
"Is this the girl?"
"Yes, Master. Don't you think Xia Xia has become more gentle?"
Yan Ruyu nodded.
Then he said, "You'd better stay away from me. I have a lot of cold energy on me. You're just a young girl. Your body can't take it."
Those were the first words he ever said to her. From that moment on, there was no room for anyone else in Xia Wanning's heart.
Even during the day, she would often see the man in green clothes.
To Xia Wanning, Ji Qinglin was just a follower, just like Ye Ling always said he was a little attendant.
But one day, this person disappeared and would never come back. Xia Wanning felt extremely desolate in her heart.
"Just Ji Qinglin."
Xia Wanning's hand stroked the jade flute.
Her face once again became fierce and cold: "For you, Ji Qinglin is nothing. Back then, I even dared to kill Ye Ling. Emperor, as long as I can get you in the end, I don't care what price I have to pay in the middle."
The chess piece in Yan Ruyu's hand dropped onto the chessboard with a snap.
"Something's wrong."
He looked up at the astrolabe and found that one of the bright stars suddenly lost its luster and then quickly fell.