The red silk ribbons around them fluttered in the breeze, the immortal mountain majestic, clouds like celestial beings. The guests attending the wedding watched in silence, somewhat perplexed as to why the newlywed couple on the high platform had suddenly frozen.
But this static image soon changed. The Human Emperor, after receiving a box from the bride, his expression dramatically altered, stumbled and fell onto her shoulder. Then, the solidified ghastly aura erupted from him uncontrollably!
What was going on? Did getting a Dao companion involve transformation?
They couldn't understand, but seeing as there seemed to be no immediate danger, most remained watching and waiting.
It wasn't until the mask the Human Emperor had worn for so long cracked and crumbled into dust, vanishing into the heavens and earth, that the true face of the former Lord of the Ten Seas was finally revealed to all.
He possessed a somewhat deep-set face, his cold countenance emanating a profound, sharp aura of ferocity. The ghostly energy, like vibrant ribbons, dyed his hair a reddish hue, his eyebrows matching. His features were handsome and unfathomable, his skin a cool, pale tone with a jade-like texture.
Born an evil spirit, a curse mark had formed at the corner of his left eye, further exuding an unrestrained aura of resentment and malevolence.
"Do you remember everything now?" Gu Junshi asked, lowering her gaze.
The Human Emperor stood up, his red robe billowing. His pair of wicked eyes fixed on her. "Why did you make me remember all this? What is your objective?"
Instead of addressing her own matter, Gu Junshi asked him, "After remembering everything, do you understand why you were so persistent in finding Ah Miao?"
They stood there, neither yielding, forcing questions upon each other.
Gu Junshi's clear, profound gaze, which seemed to see through everything, made the Human Emperor's expression grow increasingly grim.
"Why today of all days, you..." He took a moment to calm the flames that threatened to drive him mad in his chest, and asked her with a harsh, angry tone, "What's the point of remembering all this? So what if you're not Ah Miao? You promised me, and if I don't say stop, none of this will end!"
"Human Emperor, now that you remember everything, you should understand that the one thing you've been yearning for across lifetimes is not Ah Miao's love."
"What does any of this have to do with you!" the Human Emperor retorted mockingly. wΑp.kanshu伍.net
He raised a hand, hooking a strand of hair that fell on her shoulder. His pupils had turned a blood-red, within which dark mists churned. He curved his lips into a smile. "Do you know what the most ridiculous thing in this world is?"
Gu Junshi remained silent, knowing he didn't need her to guess.
He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "It's that people always regret what they've done. But once they regret, they fall into an eternal hell."
"Therefore, there is no turning back."
Gu Junshi grabbed his wrist, stopping him. "Are you talking about Nan Feng Miao, your mother, or yourself?"
His eyes suddenly became fierce and sharp.
But she remained unchanged and asked again, "You dare not face your own regrets, do you?"
Finally, the Human Emperor waved his hand, breaking free from her grip. "Why should I regret?"
Gu Junshi looked at his conflicted, strained eyes. He seemed ready to devour her, as if only by consuming her could he avoid her piercing words.
"I asked you if you would regret it, is your answer still the same?"
The Human Emperor grabbed her shoulders, his knuckles tightening, pulling her close. His facial muscles twitched, his breath chaotic and dark. "I did nothing wrong, why should I regret anything?"
"Since that's the case, let's continue."
Gu Junshi seemed to have received the answer she wanted. The next moment, she disarmed all the blades she had aimed at the Human Emperor. She gently and calmly placed her hand in his.
Taking his hand voluntarily, they walked together towards the Stone of Affinity.
Gu Junshi's movements were steady and light, but the further they walked, the greater the pulling and hesitating force from the surroundings became.
It was as if a heavy, oppressive atmosphere was gradually dragging the newlywed couple to a halt.
"Nan Weng Miao was my mother. She lived her entire life in misery due to regret."
"She hated me, treating me like an enemy's son. Though we were the only ones left to rely on each other in the cold palace, she would often talk to an illusionary man in her daydreams. When she was lucid, she wanted to kill me..."
His breathing grew rougher, his throat choked, hoarse. "So, before she abandoned me, I abandoned her first."
Gu Junshi didn't know this. Listening to his narration, she drew a soundproof barrier, blocking all attempts at prying or eavesdropping.
She said, "This was not your fault."
The Human Emperor, lost in his thoughts, couldn't hear anything. He resentfully proclaimed, "I left her, yet I often hid nearby to watch her. That day, I finally let go of everything and mustered the courage to see her. But she had hanged herself in her room. Because she hated me, she wanted me to witness her death with my own eyes!"
Gu Junshi stopped, finally understanding the root of his obsession with "Nan Weng Miao."
"You are mistaken."
She turned her head. After hearing his words, she knew his inner turmoil had festered into a malignant tumor over the years.
"She wanted to retaliate against me, because I chose to leave her, to betray her, and go to the side of the man she hated the most. But... if I didn't leave that place, I would have died by her hand. I just didn't want to die," the Human Emperor murmured blankly.
At this moment, he seemed to have reverted to his teenage self, facing such a situation, facing a life-or-death choice, facing his mother's resentment, he had acted purely on instinct, choosing a path that offered temporary respite.
"I used to..." Gu Junshi paused, then continued, "not understand what parents were, nor if selfless familial love truly existed in this world. But I can be certain that your mother did not hate you. Even if she harmed you when she lost her mind, her heart undoubtedly loved you."
The Human Emperor was stunned for a long time after listening. Then he let out a mocking laugh. "Nan Feng Miao also said these words when she tried to gain my trust back then."
"You don't believe it." Gu Junshi stated it as a fact.
"A mother who almost killed her son, a mother who died in front of her son filled with hatred, a mother who called her son a bastard. Tell me, did she love me as her son?" The Human Emperor treated it like a joke.
"Your mother did not commit suicide."
"You think I haven't suspected? I already saw it with the Reversal Mirror. There was no one else."
"She wanted to commit suicide. Why wait until that specific day to hang herself when she could have done it any day in the past decade? Human Emperor, the seal did not cause amnesia. Those memories were sealed away because you refused to recall them."
Recalling the first life, the Human Emperor's utter despair after the full release of his seal, his resolute decision to abandon himself and vanish from existence, he must have known the truth back then.
And the truth, as always, was so cruel.