Chapter 41

Tang Hua slowly turned around. His features were picturesque, and his grace was unparalleled. His familiar face now bore a strange expression. He stared at Tanyin for a long while before his eyebrows suddenly lifted, revealing a playful smile—only Taihe would smile like that.

“Tanyin,” he spoke, “long time no see.”

Tanyin felt as if she were in a dream, mumbling and unable to say anything despite having a lot of questions. Time seemed to rewind; it was as if she had traveled back 5,000 years, with Taihe smiling and speaking casually in front of her. Yet she remained like a wooden puppet, unable to articulate a single coherent sentence.

During Taihe’s 5,000 years of slumber, she had waited alone, descended to the mortal realm alone, and searched for his lost left hand. Those long, desolate years, upon reflection, seemed to have passed in a flash like a white horse passing by. Only now, seeing him again, did she suddenly realize that she had waited for this person for 5,000 years.

After 5,000 years, in front of him, she was still an awkward little goddess who couldn’t speak properly.

Taihe looked at his own hand and laughed, “I’m not used to this immortal’s body; my divine sense cannot be suppressed for too long.”

Tanyin murmured, “You… took over his body?”

Taihe laughed exaggeratedly, “How could that be? This body was already dead when I found it. I was in a hurry to find you and couldn’t find a more suitable one.”

“In a hurry to find me?” Tanyin repeated each word slowly.

Was this all just a dream?

“Yes, in a hurry to find you.”

Taihe stepped closer and, just like before, affectionately patted her head.

“Silly child, I know you’re looking for my left hand.”

Left hand.

Tanyin suddenly jolted, as if waking abruptly from a confused dream.

She grabbed his hand and anxiously asked, “Taihe! Are you… Are you alright?  Has your human calamity come? Your divine power is depleted; how did you descend? Now your left hand…”

Taihe patted her reassuringly, “Slow down, slow down. You’re rambling.”

Tanyin realized she was asking a jumble of questions.

She suddenly stopped, and after a while, she whispered, “Why did you fall into a deep sleep?”

Taihe replied calmly, “Because I had a premonition that my human calamity was approaching. With my left hand lost and my divine power depleted, I knew I could not survive the calamity and had to choose to fall into a deep sleep.”

The human calamity.

Taihe also had a human calamity, a trial every god must face in the end.

Han Nu’s calamity was her own, and her calamity was Yuan Zhong.

Who would Taihe’s calamity be?

She realized she had too many questions.

All her feelings and experiences over the past 5,000 years couldn’t be expressed here.

Taihe seemed to understand this and smiled at her.

“In any case, I’m here. You sealed my body in such a large divine crystal that I couldn’t bring it down. I had to find a suitable vessel in the mortal realm and happened upon this fox spirit’s body, which seemed to have just died. Although it doesn’t perfectly match my divine sense, it will do for now.”

Tang Hua died.

How did he die?

Tan Yin didn’t ask.

Taihe probably didn’t know either, having slept for 5,000 years.

He might not even know about Han Nu becoming a demon. She didn’t dare to bring it up, fearing it would sadden him, as he had once said that Han Nu was his companion.

However, Taihe’s first action upon waking was to descend to find her, not to search for Han Nu.

This fact made her feel vaguely uncomfortable.

Taihe gazed at her with unfamiliar eyes yet familiar expression.

Tanyin forced a smile and didn’t know what to say.

He suddenly sighed, “Tanyin, how did you end up like this?”

She instinctively looked down at herself.

“How… how am I?”

“Your human calamity has begun,” Taihe said straightforwardly, with visible sympathy, “Do you think I can’t see it just because you’re wearing gloves?”

Tanyin, feeling panicked, put her hands behind her back, her fingers intertwined.

After a long time, she said, “It’s nothing.”

“Nonsense.”

Taihe frowned and scolded, “You’ve only been in the mortal realm for a short time, and your human calamity has developed to this extent. If this continues for a few more months, your soul will scatter. How can you say it’s nothing?”

She shook her head slowly.

“It’s really nothing. You don’t need to worry about me.”

Taihe’s frown deepened.

“I don’t need to worry about you?”

She didn’t answer.

There was silence between them.

After a while, Taihe suddenly laughed.

“My left hand has descended to the mortal realm and has its own fate. It should be with someone from the Fox clan this lifetime. You must have already found him. Tanyin, who is he? I should go retrieve my left hand.”

Tanyin abruptly raised her hand, her face pale.

“It’s not time yet! If you forcefully take back your left hand, you’ll die!”

Taihe laughed heartily, brushed off his sleeves, and started down the mountain.

“What is there to fear? I understand. He is here, right? No need to say more; I’m going.”

Tanyin grabbed his clothes.

“Wait!”

Taihe stopped in his tracks without turning around.

“Waiting for what?”

His voice had become very low, as if he had already seen through all her pretenses, even carrying a hint of mockery. Tanyin felt a chill run through her body, and the hand clutching his clothes tightened further.

“Don’t go,” she murmured.

“… Tanyin, are you worried that if I forcibly take back my left hand, I’ll perish, or is it something else?”

He asked quietly.

She remained silent, keeping her head down like a stubborn child who had made a mistake, unwilling to let go of him.

Taihe’s voice grew more sarcastic.

“I see now, you’re afraid that person will discover the truth. You deceived him? Do you have feelings for him? Are you afraid he’ll reject you if he knows you were only getting close to him for another man? Tanyin, do you want to guess whether I’ll go or not? And guess how a man will react when he learns the whole truth?”

“Taihe!”

She was almost pleading.

He still didn’t turn around, his back facing her.

“You love him,” his voice was very light.

“Tan Yin, your human calamity is him.”

He suddenly smiled again, affecting a casual tone that he had often used long ago.

“What a pity, I thought your human calamity would be me.”

Why did he say that?

Tanyin felt an inexplicable unease in her heart.

She suddenly let go of his sleeve and took a few steps back.

“Wait a few more months…”

“Wait until your human calamity results in your soul scattering?”

He had never been so sharp.

“If you die, will I be free to kill and destroy that person as I please? You’re too naive, Tanyin, and foolish. Your human calamity is him. Rest assured, I won’t let you die. If I kill him for you, your body won’t dissipate.”

He started to walk down the mountain quickly. Tanyin’s eyes widened with alarm, and suddenly a stone wall sprang up before him, blocking his path.

Taihe shattered the stone wall with a single strike and said harshly, “Look at yourself now. Dragging a broken body, deceiving that mortal immortal—don’t you find it laughable? Do you want me to watch as your soul scatters? Do you want me to help you cover up this lie? What do you take me for?”

Tanyin lowered her head, her voice trembling. “… Please, Taihe!”

His words were so harsh and cutting, almost uncharacteristic of Taihe. He was deliberately hurting her, making her suffer the pain of the calamity burning her soul.

She shut her eyes tightly, tears streaming down her face.

After a long while, he sighed and turned back to her, walking slowly towards her. “Tanyin, come back to the divine realm with me. Teach me how to use the divine crystal. You can sleep well, for a thousand years, five thousand years, ten thousand years, and when you wake, he will no longer trouble you.”

Going back?

With Taihe?

This had once been her greatest aspiration.

After obtaining Taihe’s left hand and awakening him, she hoped to continue her previous monotonous yet peaceful life.

If she hadn’t met Yuan Zhong, she wouldn’t have faced human calamity.

Taihe’s presence would have been a constant, whether or not he was hers, she could at least see him every day.

But what about Yuan Zhong?

Yuan Zhong was her human calamity; wasn’t she also part of his trial?

Taihe’s cold hand gently touched her cheek, wet with tears. He wiped them away with his fingertips and said softly, “With me by your side, watching over you, for millennia, I won’t leave.”

Tanyin shook her head, feeling unable to say anything. She didn’t want to leave, couldn’t leave.

She would rather face her soul scattering in a few months than spend an endless, painful life in memories.

The unique, unparalleled person in her world was not Taihe, never had been. Only after meeting Yuan Zhong did she truly understand.

She suddenly made a firm decision, wiped away her tears, and said softly, “Let’s go. I’ll take you to see him.”

Taihe was momentarily stunned. “You… want to go with me to see that mortal immortal? Just now you were…”

“I’ve decided now.”

Tanyin interrupted him with a determined tone. Her face radiated a new kind of light that even made him feel dazzled.

“I don’t want to deceive him anymore. I’ll tell him the whole truth, no matter if he forgives me or not. I’ve made up my mind.”

Taihe managed a forced smile.

“Tanyin… Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill that mortal immortal and take back my left hand?”

She seemed to have truly made up her mind, and nothing could sway her: “If you did such a thing, you wouldn’t be Taihe.”

Taihe looked at her as if he didn’t recognize her, and he seemed to want to salvage the situation.

“Tanyin, I know you once had feelings for me. You descended to the mortal realm for me. So why?”

Tanyin did not answer. She quickly headed down the mountain. She suddenly heard him sigh and laugh behind her, his voice gradually becoming eerie: “Wushuang, for you, I even brought out Taihe. Is it still not enough?”

What was he… saying? Wushuang?

Tanyin turned around in shock, only to see him waving his long sleeve and a jet-black, dark light shooting toward her. She couldn’t evade it and felt a chilling sensation in her abdomen.

He… what was he using to hurt her? Taihe was actually hurting her?

She stared blankly at Taihe, who had a playful smile on his face, his eyes slowly turning red. He held a pitch-black dagger in one hand, while the other hand was mostly embedded in her body.

This wasn’t an ordinary mortal weapon; it was a demonic artifact capable of killing gods.

Tanyin gasped, unable to speak.

Taihe suddenly waved his long sleeve again, and a massive embroidered picture appeared behind her.

It was filled with wails and ghostly shadows, with the stench of blood and smoke making her nauseous. Her body was heavily injured, and her mind was completely unprepared. Amid this sudden turn of events, she had no ability to resist and felt herself being pulled inexorably into the embroidered picture.

Taihe’s voice lingered in her ears, like a lover’s whisper, with an eerie tone: “I originally wanted you to enter by yourself, but you’re quite troublesome. Haha, Wushuang, Taihe is waiting for you inside. He’s been waiting for you for five thousand years… How pitiful he is, not realizing that everything is an illusion even as he faces his human calamity, still calling out ‘Tanyin, Tanyin’… Don’t you want to see him?”

Taihe? Human Calamity? Dying? Tanyin was struck with a jolt, trying to release her divine power in resistance, but her injuries prevented any movement. The demonic artifact was eroding her body and sealing her divine power.

Her consciousness was growing faint. Struggling with all her might, she could only utter a few short words: “You… Han Nu…!”

A purple figure outside the embroidered picture smiled gently at her and waved: “Spend your remaining life inside, Wushuang.”

The force pulling her into the picture grew stronger.

Tanyin let out a short, sharp scream as she was pulled in, spinning and dizzy as various colors—black and red—whirled past her.

Then, with a “thud,” like a drop of water falling lightly, her consciousness could not endure the violent shocks, and she felt her body hit the cold ground before she lost consciousness.