All the agonizing truths were presented before her eyes in the most direct way. Zhao Zhao quietly watched all the past entanglements between her and Su Yuan.
So that's how it was. No wonder.
The illusion didn't end when she died. Instead, it showed her the long and lonely years of Su Yuan before they met.
Actually, just watching like this, Su Yuan didn't seem very lonely. At least he met Nan Jia and Gu Qing in the later days.
But when she saw him sitting alone in the dead of night, lost in thought while looking at the moon in the sky, Zhao Zhao couldn't help feeling heartache. The blank expression on Su Yuan's face was so distressing.
Such blankness didn't match the lofty Dragon Lord at all.
Later, the sins he incurred in that great war had been torturing Su Yuan. In order to suppress them, Su Yuan sealed one orifice of his spiritual consciousness.
He would never feel that unwarranted pain again. He would never sit there in a daze looking at the moon again. He would never feel that sense of loss again.
It was hard to tell which state was more pathetic. As both a participant and a spectator, Zhao Zhao thought it was a dead end no matter how she looked at it.
She suddenly began to feel grateful that the Heavenly Dao had made everyone forget her existence, especially Su Yuan.
If Su Yuan had always clung to the memories of the past, how painful would he have been in these thousands of years? She didn't dare to think about it.
Rather than letting Su Yuan suffer from the torture of missing and self - blame day after day, it was better for him to forget her. Let all the past fade away with the wind. Just pretend she had never been here, and let Su Yuan start a new life.
But after all the twists and turns, they still met.
Zhao Zhao didn't know whether her encounter with Su Yuan was predestined or deliberately arranged by her master. But she sincerely thanked this encounter.
The illusion gradually collapsed. In the ruins, she watched Su Yuan's figure gradually disappear. Finally, she rushed forward and wanted to hug him.
You've had a hard time all these years.
The moment she passed through Su Yuan's body, she finally woke up.
Opening her eyelashes stained with tears, looking at the person in front of her, for a moment, she had the illusion that she couldn't tell what time it was.
"Zhao Zhao..." Su Yuan's voice was hoarse, his eyes were bloodshot, and even the area under his eyelids was red. It was obvious that he had been crying. "You scared me to death..."
Being embraced in his arms, Zhao Zhao smiled silently. She nuzzled affectionately against Su Yuan's neck, then raised her hand and patted his back. "Su Yuan, I've discovered something."
She said this with difficulty. Su Yuan held her tightly and didn't want to let go for a moment. He just asked, "What is it?"
"I seem to be destined to like you." It was the same in the past and the same now.
Su Yuan paused for a moment, then backed away slightly. He held her cheek with one hand and wrapped his arm around her waist with the other. He tilted his head and kissed her.
Zhao Zhao closed her eyes and obediently accepted the kiss.
Their lips and tongues were intertwined, lingering tenderly. She enjoyed this reassuring kiss and actively and gently responded to Su Yuan's dominance.
Let the things she had forgotten in the past be forgotten. They were not good memories for Su Yuan. She didn't want Su Yuan to be in pain, nor did she want him to feel guilty and self - blaming. Let her bear all these painful loves and hates.
There was a gust of wind in the Wuhuang Valley, making the trees rustle.
After the kiss ended, Zhao Zhao gasped and backed away. She looked at Su Yuan with spring - like eyes and asked him, "How did you know I was here?"
Su Yuan raised his hand to wipe away the tears at the corner of her eyes that had flowed out because of the passionate kiss. He kissed her forehead, then pointed at her heart with his other hand. His tone was hard to read as he said, "Half of my heart is here."
Hearing him say this, Zhao Zhao fell silent immediately. She hugged Su Yuan tightly and leaned against his chest without saying a word, as if she was listening to his heartbeat.
She didn't say a word, but Su Yuan wouldn't let her off easily. He pinched her chin and looked into her eyes, interrogating her about why she had come to the Wuhuang Valley and what she had experienced.
Zhao Zhao thought for a while and told him everything about her search for the tree heart in detail. But when it came to the things in the illusion, she made up a simple reason to gloss over it.
There were still many things she didn't know from the illusion, such as how she had come back from the dead and how she was related to the Wuhuang Valley and the Liang family. She was afraid that she could only find out by asking her master.
But... she had vaguely felt that her master seemed to be hiding something from her for some time.
She shook her head to stop herself from thinking too much and looked at Su Yuan. She had thought her explanation was reasonable, but when she saw Su Yuan's unblinking eyes, she still couldn't help feeling guilty and lowered her gaze.
"Forget it." Su Yuan sighed and just told her that as long as she was safe.
The two hugged each other quietly for a while. Zhao Zhao felt the spiritual energy circulating in her body. The fragment of the tree heart spirit had been absorbed by her.
She didn't know whether she should tell Su Yuan that she was the Resurrection Tree. Last time, she was discovered by the Heavenly Dao. Now she didn't know if the Heavenly Dao still held the same attitude.
When she was practicing on Wutong Mountain with her senior brothers and sisters, she had heard from the eldest senior brother that as the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was getting thinner day by day, the so - called Heavenly Dao that maintained the laws of heaven and earth seemed to fall into a deep sleep from time to time.
She didn't know what the situation of the Heavenly Dao was now, so she didn't dare to take the risk.
If it was still awake now, and she said it rashly...
But before she could figure it out, a paper kite wobbled and flew in front of her.
"What is this?" She stretched out her hand. The moment the paper kite landed on her hand, it disappeared, leaving a line of golden words in the air:
Something has happened to the Xuanmen. Return immediately upon seeing this letter!
— Song Yao
Through the golden words, Zhao Zhao saw Song Yao standing alone, not giving in an inch in the face of a group of unfriendly Xuanmen disciples.
"Cousin!" She backed out of Su Yuan's arms. Her tightly clenched hands revealed her current worry and uneasiness.
Su Yuan covered her hand from behind. "Don't panic. With Song Changyang around, she won't be in danger. Let's go to the Xuanmen now."
Zhao Zhao forced herself to calm down, nodded, and rushed to the Xuanmen with Su Yuan.
The little radish - headed spirit that had just managed to crawl back in the Wuhuang Valley only had time to see the back of the great immortal leaving. It waved its hand dejectedly, as if making a final farewell.
A person walked out from behind the tree that had originally carried the fragment of Zhao Zhao's tree heart spirit. The person had double pupils and was examining the grass and trees on the ground.
When the little radish saw him, it respectfully bowed and said, "Divine Lord Chong Ming."
Chong Ming nodded slightly. In the next instant, the little radish - headed spirit revealed its true form, a small paper figurine.
"You've done a good job. The mission is completed. You can leave."
The small paper figurine seemed to have life. It floated in front of Chong Ming and circled around him twice. It murmured, "May the Divine Lord take good care of himself. Don't let Immortal Jun Yaochen worry." Then it burned and turned into ashes.
The name that no one had mentioned for many years suddenly appeared. Chong Ming was rarely stunned for a moment, and a look of nostalgia flashed in his eyes.
"Sister, please wait a little longer."