Bi Lian, even in his youth, displayed a wicked nature from his very disposition. His wickedness was vile, yet pure; he would always face others with a smile as he played pricks, leaving them utterly disheveled.
Consequently, at that time, almost all disciples who approached him would instinctively shy away.
In Xi Yu’s eyes, Bi Lian was like a child who had never grown up. Her pampering only fueled Bi Lian’s malice.
He became increasingly brazen, perhaps believing that no matter what he did wrong, as long as he could conjure a few tears, Xi Yu would unconditionally smooth things over for him. This was an undisguised favoritism.
However, human hearts are indeed wicked; when this favoritism is withdrawn, that person becomes unforgivable.
Until one day, Bi Lian committed a grave offense that even Shen Yue could not protect him from. Xi Yu personally extracted his tendons, shattered his bones, destroyed his cultivation, and then cast him into the Abyssal Sea, imprisoning him for two hundred years.
At that moment, all previous kindness transformed into a mockery. He remembered only pain and hatred, so even the kindness shown before was demonized into a sin.
No one ever believes they themselves are in the wrong.
Bi Lian was no different.
Shen Yue understood that every villain, from the moment of their birth, inherently belonged to the darker side. It was merely a matter of how great or small that darkness was, and what happened to them later in life determined its extent.
If someone had guided him towards the righteous path, the world would have fewer heinous criminals. Conversely, if he were steered towards wickedness, the world would gain another harbinger of disaster.
A harbinger of disaster is meant to be eradicated, to be annihilated, and thus, he would walk towards his death. 138 reading network.
In fact, Shen Yue sometimes wondered what would happen if she were to guide a villain towards the good?
Could the plot continue to unfold?
Everything was unknown. The only certainty was that her mission would surely fail.
[He’s coming to kill me, remember to block the pain.]
The System suddenly sounded rather affectionate: [Understood, how could I bear to let you feel pain?]
Shen Yue, touched to tears, replied: [Thank you.]
The System: [You’re welcome, just don’t complain when I’m binge-watching.]
Shen Yue inexplicably felt a pang of guilt and fell silent.
—
Snowflakes drifted through the air, like tiny white feathers, or perhaps fallen pear blossoms, scattered and desolate. A cold, whistling wind blew fiercely, seemingly congealing the very air, its chill piercing to the bone.
The System announced: [The male lead has arrived.]
A figure clad in purple approached from afar. His robes flapped and billowed in the wind. In the short time it took him to walk over, snow had already begun to settle on his head and shoulders.
The snow continued to fall, and the biting wind remained relentless.
Xuan Cheng walked step by step to Shen Yue’s side.
He exhaled, and a wisp of white mist emerged.
The Cliff of Contemplation, where winter reigned eternal, the wind was bitter, and even one's magical abilities could not offer solace.
The white-clad figure seemed to have been standing there for a long time. Her brows were clear and her eyes serene, with layers of thin ice forming upon them.
Upon hearing the sound, she slightly turned her head. Her three thousand strands of silver hair, unbound, cascaded loosely over her shoulders, as smooth and lustrous as the finest silk. As she turned her head, a lock of silver hair draped across her chest.
Her voice was clear and cold: “Xuan Cheng.”
Xuan Cheng sighed. He paid no mind to the snow accumulating on his shoulders, merely gazing intently at Shen Yue.
“How much longer will you remain here? Two hundred years have passed, are you still unwilling to come out?”
The immortal, her eyes covered by a white cloth, remained placid, her expression devoid of strong emotion, yet her tone carried a hint of faint confusion.
“I am contemplating something, but I cannot find an answer. Here, my heart is at peace.”
Xuan Cheng was not angered. In fact, this was not the first time he had tried to persuade her. When he first arrived, seeing Shen Yue’s completely indifferent demeanor, he had indeed become angry and furious. He had berated her from head to toe for half the day, until his throat was dry. Shen Yue, however, had not even flinched.
Then came the second, the third time. Each time he came, he would lecture for a long while, his lips practically cracking from talking, yet Shen Yue remained the same.
Perhaps, as time wore on, Xuan Cheng was no longer as energetic as before. Even his sharp edges had been smoothed down. He simply wanted to see how long Shen Yue could endure.
Today, hearing that Shen Yue finally deigned to speak, he was almost moved to tears of joy. He managed to maintain his composure, and he spoke with gentle guidance: “If you cannot figure it out, you can ask me. I can try to think for you.”
Shen Yue’s expression remained cold, yet her demeanor seemed to betray a flicker of bewilderment in his subtle reactions.
“Did… did I do wrong?”
Two hundred years. Xuan Cheng had been advising her for two hundred years. His heart had also been heavy. He had been waiting, waiting for Shen Yue to understand, and waiting for her to finally speak to him. He had waited for two hundred years, and finally, he had her answer.
The sunlight was dazzling and brilliant, but the light that fell upon them was cold, devoid of any warmth. Yet, at this moment, his heart was filled with shock and joy, while his face maintained its composed demeanor.
“You are indeed wrong.”
Upon hearing this, the coldness in the white-clad immortal’s brows seemed to intensify. She gently pursed her lips. Her skin was as white as jade, lacking any human warmth.
“Your mistake was being too soft-hearted, too naive, too foolish.” With every word he spoke, Xuan Cheng’s tone deepened, eventually turning into a growl: “There is simply no one in this world more foolish than you.”
Shen Yue seemed taken aback by his words, her expression turning slightly bewildered. She seemed to grasp the deeper meaning, yet also not entirely. Her brows furrowed slightly.
Xuan Cheng asked again: “Now that you understand, have you figured it out?”
The immortal with the white cloth covering her eyes lowered her head. Her silver hair cascaded down like a tide. She appeared to have become much thinner, with only a layer of skin and bone remaining.
Her entire body was snow-white, save for her lips, which were a bloody, mesmerizing red.
Xuan Cheng sighed once more. He reached out and gently stroked Shen Yue’s soft hair. The breeze lifted the long strands framing her cheeks, and the flying hair, catching the sunlight, appeared to shimmer with silver. Shen Yue’s face was pale, the fatigue evident in her eyes.
Seeing the frost on Shen Yue’s brows, he couldn't help but take a step forward, remove his outer garment, and drape it over Shen Yue. “Why do you torment yourself like this? Do you know how difficult it is for me to watch? Go inside to shelter.”
Shen Yue made no move. Xuan Cheng simply took the initiative, put his arm around Shen Yue’s shoulder, and forcefully embraced her, guiding her towards the wooden hut.
Before they had taken even two steps, Shen Yue regained her senses. She began to struggle, attempting to break free from Xuan Cheng’s grasp. But she was no longer the Xi Yu of old. Her body appeared fine, but it was slowly withering away.
Her struggle was minuscule, and the outer garment draped over her fell off instead, landing in the dirt on the ground.