When Lin Zhiyue pushed open the door, the light from outside fell upon her face, carrying a long-lost warmth.
She saw Cen Xi'er rush over first, grabbing her hand tightly. Cen Xi'er's eyes were red, and her voice was so choked with emotion that it was barely audible. “You were inside for so long... I missed you so much, Junior Sister...”
Before Lin Zhiyue could even speak, Cen Xi'er was already leaning against her shoulder, sobbing so hard her shoulders trembled.
Chu Zhixun stood behind her, looking exhausted but with a smile on his face. “It is good that you are alright,” he said, his voice low but reassuring.
Xiao Yuan stood under the corridor and nodded to her. Jiang Yuezhan stood the farthest away, holding his iron sword. Seeing her emerge, he lowered the tip of his sword to the ground, as if finally letting go of a prolonged state of tension.
Then she saw Qi Yan. He stood a few paces behind the crowd, wearing a black robe, with a few withered leaves resting on his shoulders.
His gaze swept over her from the top of her head to her boots. After confirming she was completely unharmed, he withdrew his eyes without saying a word.
Seeing Qi Yan, Cen Xi'er opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but Xiao Yuan quietly pressed her arm beside her. The pressure was light, but it was enough to make her swallow her words.
Cen Xi'er glanced at Qi Yan and called out, “Master.”
Qi Yan nodded. “It is good that you are safe.”
Lin Zhiyue did not notice the brief exchange of looks between them.
Turning around, she took out the jade bracelet from her sleeve and gently caressed its surface.
A milky-white glow slowly rippled out from the bracelet, and Su Jinyu's figure emerged from the light. Her expression was calm, and her eyes held the clarity of someone who had just opened their eyes after a long slumber.
She looked around at the unfamiliar faces and buildings. Finally, her gaze landed on Qi Yan, as if she were trying to recognize a figure separated by time. When she spoke, her voice was quiet but carried a directness that no longer needed to beat around the bush. “Cousin Shen... was the person he loved always me? Or was it because you liked Miss Lin...”
She paused there, as if trying to figure out how to phrase it without being offensive, but her eyes never wavered.
Standing under the corridor, Qi Yan spoke in his usual flat tone. “Shen Sui loved Su Jinyu. From the first moment he saw you at Marquis Weiyuan's Manor when he was ten years old, he loved you.”
Su Jinyu did not ask any further questions after hearing this.
Standing at the boundary of light and shadow, she lowered her head and remained quiet for a long while, and then her tears began to fall silently.
She did not sob aloud; she simply stood there in silence, letting her tears flow, as if she had waited a long time to finally receive an answer.
Lin Zhiyue stood to the side without speaking, but her heart stirred when she heard Qi Yan say “from the age of ten.” How could Master know this so clearly? However, the thought merely spun in her mind before she temporarily set it aside.
Wiping away her tears, Su Jinyu looked up and gave everyone a slight smile. Her gaze finally rested back on Lin Zhiyue's face, her voice raspy from crying. “Thank you.”
Lin Zhiyue stood in the courtyard, looking down at the warm jade bracelet in her palm. Only after a moment did she look up. “What about the truth behind the theft of the national fortune?”
The air fell silent for a moment. When Su Jinyu's voice rang out, it was even softer than before. “It was Wei Lingling.
“Back then, Su Qing'er and Wei Lingling collaborated. Their original intention was for Su Qing'er to eliminate the Shen family after becoming the Noble Consort.
“But Su Qing'er became uncontrollable. She snatched the bracelet my mother left behind and relied on the things inside it to secure the Emperor's favor, so she no longer needed to fully obey Wei Lingling.
“She even learned the soul-locking, fortune-draining array from Wei Lingling, using my soul and fortune to maintain her status in the palace.”
“Later, Wei Lingling felt that Su Qing'er had become an uncontrollable pawn. Perhaps she couldn't bear it, so she came to save me, helping me break free from part of the restraint and letting me cultivate within the earthly fortune of the dragon vein. She said only the fortune there could allow me to gather enough power. But as I grew more and more lucid, I found myself unable to face what I had become...
“But I didn't expect that my power would also be mixed with a trace of the Heavenly Dao's fortune because of this. My obsession caused me to recreate the Chiyan Imperial Dynasty of fifteen years ago. Everything in the illusion felt like an independent world. Only by breaking my obsession could I rid myself of this ghostly state...”
Lin Zhiyue listened quietly before asking, “Why did Xie Tianci die, then?”
“Su Qing'er poisoned him during her first year as Noble Consort. Xie Tianci had a loose tongue and would blabber about anything when drunk. Fearing he would expose their affair, Su Qing'er made her move early.”
Su Jinyu's voice dropped slightly. “Wei Lingling did not kill me with her own hands, so my hatred for her was far less intense than my hatred for Su Qing'er. I absorbed the national fortune, and the Chiyan Imperial Dynasty fell into decline, just as she wished...”
Lin Zhiyue fell silent for a moment. “Wei Lingling told you to absorb the dragon vein's fortune, and so you did. But what about the Chiyan Imperial Dynasty? The common people were displaced and homeless, and Shen Sui died on the battlefield.”
Su Jinyu's figure trembled violently, as if struck hard by something incredibly heavy.
She looked up, tears shimmering in her eyes. “My heart was blinded by resentment; I only thought of revenge... I forgot, I forgot everything... I am sorry. I let him down.”
Her voice grew softer and softer, as if speaking those words had exhausted her very last ounce of strength.
Lin Zhiyue looked down at the jade bracelet. “I will proclaim Su Qing'er's crimes to the world. She will get the punishment she deserves. Now, I shall deliver your soul. Are you willing?”
Su Jinyu nodded vigorously.
Standing under the corridor, Qi Yan finally spoke, his tone not heavy but carrying an unalterable weight. “You have stolen fortune for many years. Though your obsession has dissipated, your karmic sins remain. You must endure ten lifetimes as a beast to fully redeem yourself.”
Su Jinyu did not argue or hesitate. She merely curled her lips into a faint smile, light as a drop of dew falling from the tip of a leaf. “It does not matter. I am willing.”
She turned to look at Lin Zhiyue, her final gaze seeming to etch Lin Zhiyue's entire being into her memory. “Thank you for delivering my soul. You were always the destined master of this bracelet. From now on, you are its owner.”
Lin Zhiyue nodded and thanked her. Then, she walked to the center of the courtyard and stood still. With a thought, she changed into Mermaid's Love Song.
The ocean-blue mermaid-tail dress gleamed with a soft luster under the sunlight, its patterns of pearl and silver-thread embroidery shifting slightly with her movements.
Qi Yan watched her outfit change. His gaze lingered for a moment on the mermaid-tail hem, but his face betrayed no unusual expression.
Standing nearby, Cen Xi'er and Chu Zhixun were somewhat shocked, but they remained silent.
Lin Zhiyue raised the conch flute to her lips and blew the first note.
In the afternoon sunlight, the sound spread outward from beneath her feet like a thin wave of water, enveloping the entire courtyard.
Standing in the sunlight, Su Jinyu's brow was slightly furrowed at first, but as the deep, ocean-like low-frequency melody touched her silhouette, the crease between her brows slowly smoothed out.
Her figure began to grow translucent starting from the edges.
By the time the final note fell, Su Jinyu's figure had mostly dissipated, leaving only a faint outline that lingered for a moment in the sunlight before completely dissolving into the warm, bright afternoon light, as if she had never existed. Lin Zhiyue lowered the conch flute from her lips and stored it back into the system space.
The courtyard was very quiet, the sunlight warming the blue brick ground until it glowed faintly. Cen Xi'er stood to the side, silent for a long while, before finally whispering, “She seemed quite happy.”
Lin Zhiyue did not reply. She stood in the courtyard, staring in the direction where Su Jinyu had faded away, before changing from the ocean-blue mermaid-tail dress back into her ordinary clothes.
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