Thriving after the Moon Falls (I Can’t Possibly Take Pity On A Demon) - Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Under the Weak Water, Liu shuang could barely breathe.
These memories seized all her emotions, and the pain that had been delayed for so long finally surged forth.
Countless times she had been abandoned, the terrifying streets of the ghost realm, the paradise she had created with her own hands, Canglan… Canglan, which had been burned and destroyed.
It seemed as though she was crying, but no tears fell.
Only drops of blood, despair merging into the barren land left after Canglan was burned.
She remembered after breaking the spiritual bond, she had cast aside all her pride and begged him for the sake of Canglan.
She was locked outside the ghost realm, trembling with fear, only to be met with his refusal to see her.
Lord Fuheng turned away coldly, saying, “Close the gates, drive her away. By the order of the Demon Lord, Immortal Liu Shuang is forever forbidden from entering the ghost realm. If she dares to trespass, kill her!”
The gates closed before her eyes.
Liu Shuang pounded on the door, “Fuheng! Lord Fuheng!”
Her heart wept silently.
She had waited for him on that mountain behind her, in the snow, for hundreds of years.
The little immortal grass had always known that the demons and ghost generals looked down on her, considering her lowly in spiritual energy, a burden to Yan Chaosheng.
They thought the Demon Lord had given her protection, a life of luxury, and the most revered status in the Eight Wilderness.
But they never knew, no, no one knew.
The little immortal grass had never told anyone that her constitution was special, and she could have cultivated in the ghost realm.
But she had secretly channeled the power of her Huiling heart into the heavenly silk, sewing it into his battle robe to protect his heart meridian, leaving herself weak and powerless.
Back then, Yan Chaosheng’s demon soldiers were no match for the heavenly troops.
He would often return injured from battles.
Once, he was nearly fatally wounded, his heart meridian almost severed.
When Fuheng brought him back, he said with relief, “Luckily, the Demon Lord’s spiritual energy avoided his heart meridian, preventing irreversible damage.”
Turning around, Fuheng saw her standing behind a pillar in the hall, her face pale, and she quickly left.
Fuheng’s eyes darkened, thinking she was too scared to approach after seeing Yan Chaosheng’s gruesome wounds.
Yan Chaosheng took a long time to recover from his injuries, but Liu Shuang took even longer, because the wound that should have been on his heart meridian appeared on her own heart.
She had always known her heart was special, though she didn’t know it was the legendary Huiling heart.
While others’ hearts, once shattered, were beyond repair, the Huiling heart could regenerate all things, slowly healing over time.
As long as she lived, Yan Chaosheng, out there, would not easily die.
During her recovery, as her Huiling heart healed, she endured sleepless nights of pain, but she never told Yan Chaosheng, afraid he would pity her and stop her from doing it again.
How naive and laughable she had been to think he loved her.
She also remembered that day, wearing the red bridal gown, on Feng Fuming’s heavenly chariot, she despairingly crushed her own heart.
She had hoped her husband, Yan Chaosheng, would come to save her, just like he had shielded her from the heavenly thunder years ago, to take her away and quell the calamitous flames.
But he sent someone, only to exchange the ghost realm’s most precious snow lotus for immortal Mi Chu’s spiritual marrow, leaving her to Feng Fuming.
She watched as Lord Su Lun walked away, and she was taken into custody.
She suppressed her trembling and overwhelming vulnerability, pretending not to care.
How could she truly not care?
A man she had loved for two hundred years had ultimately chosen to exchange a fragment of his beloved’s shattered spiritual marrow, abandoning her.
If he didn’t love her, why marry her? Why deceive her?
The moment she crushed her heart, it was excruciating, yet also a relief.
She knew from that moment on, for eternity, she would never again hold any expectations for Yan Chaosheng.
The Weak Water shimmered like fragmented silver.
Liu Shuang felt her body becoming transparent, but her heart, which should have been corroded, was slowly reforming.
The Weak Water destroyed all things, but the Huiling heart granted new life.
These two extremes allowed her to survive.
Liu Shuang knew she wouldn’t die.
But she was utterly exhausted.
The shore was still far away, and her physical body was almost completely gone.
She fell from the Weak Water, like a butterfly with injured wings, slowly descending, still clutching the Xirang soil in her hand.
Just as she thought she might have to remain dormant under the Weak Water for a long time until she regained her strength, a figure swam towards her.
The person coming towards her gradually overlapped with the one who had abandoned her years ago.
Back then, he had been cruel and cold, finding pleasure in her tears.
Now, Yan Chaosheng’s face was filled with despair, but as he saw her, the lifelessness in his eyes faded, replaced by a glimmer of vitality.
He grasped her waist, saying nothing, and carried her upwards.
Liu shuang looked at him, her eyes slightly widening.
If he had appeared by her side like this seven hundred years later, she would have been overjoyed, feeling ecstatic.
But now, in his arms, seeing his face, it was as if she was looking at a ferocious demon.
It was her own wishful thinking, being with him and falling in love with him, that led to the destruction of Canglan, beyond redemption, and her hundred years of bitter waiting in the ghost realm.
Yan Chaosheng remained silent.
Liu shuang, terrified, rested her head on his shoulder, watching as the blood seeping from his body dissipated into the Weak Water.
She thought she had been waiting for this embrace, but when she held him, there was no trace of the past tenderness and sweetness.
The little immortal grass had always believed she was waiting for his salvation, but he had come too late.
The wound had long since healed on its own.
It was too late.
She no longer needed him.
The debt of a few drops of blood, she had repaid with a lifetime and a life.
Now, how could she dare to owe him anything more?
She watched as his body corroded and burned, as if seeing hell right before her eyes, a hand pulling her down into the abyss.
Liu Shuang shuddered.
No, no, even if she were to sink into the Weak Water today, she would not entangle herself with him again.
After all, the little immortal grass wouldn’t die.
She had the Huiling heart.
All around her was his blood.
If he truly wanted to save her, he might die.
And then, what could she possibly repay this terrifying man with?
Frightened, she pushed away the nearly strengthless Yan Chaosheng.
He looked back at her in shock.
Liu shuang’s body was already transparent, but she struggled to distance herself from him.
Silently, she mouthed, “I don’t want you to save me.”
This man was terrifying.
His kindness was not to be accepted.
She never wanted to owe him anything again.
Summoning her last bit of strength, clutching the Xirang, she activated her frail Huiling heart, propelling herself forward in the Weak Water.
Somehow, she found the strength to grit her teeth and push through, finally seeing the light of day.
Liu shuang never looked back.
Thus, she didn’t see Yan Chousheng, covered in blood, slowly disintegrating behind her.
Without the Hui Ling heart, he couldn’t survive in the Weak Water like she could.
He had jumped in, resolved to die.
Yet what he received was her pushing him away, even if it meant death.
Yan Chaosheng’s bones and blood dissolved in the Weak Water.
The girl’s figure grew farther and farther away, until she was out of sight.
The dawn broke, and the sun rose over the demon mountain.
The Weak Water resembled a shimmering silver river.
Liu shuang’s fingers grasped the shore, and she climbed up.
The Weak Water didn’t cling to her body.
She gasped for breath, planning to use the Huiling power to rebuild her physical form once she regained her strength.
She thought with relief, she was quite remarkable, not bringing shame to Kongsang.
Suddenly, a hand gripped her translucent arm.
“Where is the mountain lord?”
Liu shuang looked up to see a familiar face.
Always silent, like a sharp blade, Lord Fuheng had been loyal to Yan Chaosheng for so long.
She paused, pointing behind her, “Perhaps still in the Weak Water.”
“You!” Fuheng was furious.
“The mountain lord went down to save you, and you came up alone, leaving him behind.”
Liu shuang, now free from the panic in the Weak Water, found his questioning baffling.
Fuheng’s throat felt dry.
“The mountain lord loves you.”
“But I don’t love him.”
“Lord Fuheng,” she said, “I didn’t ask him to come save me. I don’t need him to, nor do I want him to.”
She smiled wanly, but her eyes were bright and resolute.
“I just want him to stay away from me. Can you be reasonable?”
She wasn’t a puppet to be manipulated by them, to follow Yan Chaosheng’s whims.
She didn’t have to accept whatever he gave her.
She remembered her past pain and simply didn’t want to have anything to do with him anymore.
Was that wrong?
Fuheng slowly released her arm, his expression still grim.
Without a word, he turned to jump into the Weak Water.
His loyalty was unquestionable, and he moved too quickly for Liu Shuang to stop him.
Before Liu Shuang could see what was happening under the Weak Water, a gaze locked onto her, specifically on the Xirang in her hand.
(T/N: Xirang refers to a magical, self-expanding soil.)
She tightened her grip on the fifth spiritual vein, frowning.
“Feng Fuming.”
Sure enough, a sharp shadow descended from above, heading straight for her.
At that moment, a shimmering light in the Weak Water stopped Fuheng from diving in and also caught Feng Fuming’s hand as he attacked Liu shuang.
Liu shuang was surprised to see Yan Chaosheng standing in front of her.
He had actually surfaced!
Now, his face was deathly pale, almost bloodless, like a corpse.
The hand he used to block Feng Fuming had no flesh left, only bones corroded clean, with a faint silver hue.
He stood silently in front of her, not looking at Feng Fuming, but turning back to gaze at Liu shuang.
Yan Chaosheng’s eyes were laden with heavy emotions, but when they met her clear, innocent gaze, no words came out.
As Yan Chaosheng neared the surface of the Weak Water, he heard Fuheng say, “The mountain lord loves you.”
Then he heard her say, “But I don’t love him. I don’t need him to, nor do I want him to. I just want him to stay away from me.”
Finally, he heard it from her own lips.
The self-deception of the past few days shattered completely.
Yan Chousheng couldn’t tell which part of him hurt the most.
The Weak Water had broken the seal, and his dantian and sea of consciousness, long sealed away, were both unlocked in the Weak Water.
He finally remembered who he was and understood why, back in the Demon Suppression Tower, so many great demons had self-destructed to destroy the tower—they were trying to save him.
His eyes held no extra emotions, as if carrying the dead silence of tens of thousands of years.
He pulled her up from the ground, his voice hoarse, “Go, I’ll hold him off.”
Her hand was so small, so soft, but it only stayed in his palm for a moment before she pulled it away.
“Don’t touch me,” she instinctively withdrew her hand, pursing her lips, speaking softly.
As if he were something dirty she wanted to avoid.
His heart felt as if it had been lightly pricked, a gentle force, but it hurt deeply.
She looked in another direction, her eyes pure and bright.
For a moment, he almost couldn’t tell if he hated her intensely.
At that moment, under the fragmented sunlight, someone descended from a crane, walking towards them with calm steps.
“It seems I’m late.”
Liu Shuang turned to look, somewhat dazed.
Her current state of mind was different, more complex than when she had first revived and met Shaoyou.
She remembered, when the apricot blossoms were in full bloom, this man had combed her hair under the tree, so serene.
She remembered walking through the quiet mortal world with him, experiencing the first warmth of kindness from him.
“Shaoyou, are you here for the spiritual vein too?”
Shaoyou glanced at her and nodded.
“But it seems the spiritual vein has already been obtained by the immortal.”
Liu Shuang asked him, “Will you try to take it?”
The spiritual vein was important to everyone, naturally including Kunlun, which also faced the problem of spiritual vein depletion.
Shaoyou didn’t expect her to ask so directly.
He shook his head.
“If you need it, I’ll protect you as you leave,” Shaoyou said.
He was merely being polite; the Xirang was something she had obtained at the cost of her life, and he assumed Liu shuang wouldn’t easily trust him.
He had traveled a long way, urgently needing the Xirang spiritual vein.
But Liu shuang, moved by his words, walked towards him.
As she walked from Yan Chaosheng’s side to Shaoyou, she didn’t glance at Yan Chaosheng, just as she had walked towards Yan Chaosheng years ago, not seeing the desolate Shaoyou behind her.
Yan Chaosheng’s body trembled violently, his skeletal fist tightening.
