"Mother—"
Gu Sijun and Lebao cried out in shock, their small faces filled with panic.
Gu Junshi glanced at them indifferently, then shot out two black orbs, enclosing Lebao and Gu Sijun within. They floated in the air like two weightless "balloons."
The two little ones beat their small hands against the film of the spheres, but the seemingly soft and fragile membrane couldn't be pierced no matter how hard they tried.
They opened their mouths as if to shout something, but their voices were entirely sealed within.
Seeing their mother's coldness, they turned their hopeful gazes to their father. However, his eyes were fixed entirely on their mother, and he didn't even spare them a glance.
"Be quiet."
Gu Junshi's three simple words caused Lebao and Gu Sijun to stiffen their necks, immediately purse their lips, and float obediently in the air.
"The children are dealt with, so how do you plan to dispose of me?" Liu Jiang Fusheng mocked.
Gu Junshi walked past him, "You be quiet too."
Liu Jiang Fusheng: "..."
The Human Emperor's anger gradually subsided. He reached out to Gu Junshi, "Come here."
Gu Junshi neither stood beside Liu Jiang Fusheng nor walked directly to the Human Emperor. She maintained a position that was neither too close nor too far, and suddenly asked, "Human Emperor, if you wish to form a marriage pact with me, you simply need to thoroughly remove those two remnant souls from your body. Now that your divine soul is stable, you no longer need them. Shall I make the move?"
The Human Emperor's expression froze. His eyes widened slightly, his pupils fixed, speechless for a long time.
"You know, I can help you, so shall I make the move?" she asked again.
But the Human Emperor remained like a solidified stone, unable to speak.
"I..."
Liu Jiang Fusheng's eyes flickered. Although he didn't know the specifics of what was happening, he sensed that something was amiss. He abandoned his dark thoughts of killing and stealing his wife, choosing to observe the situation.
"What about your hatred? One of them harmed you, and the other betrayed you. Their current repentance is too late, and you likely wouldn't care. Why don't I get rid of them for you?"
As Gu Junshi spoke, black energy began to seep from her hands, and she walked towards him step by step.
A chilling aura gradually permeated the surroundings. She had just raised her hand when, in the next second, it was tightly gripped by a cold, damp palm.
"...No."
The voice was hoarse and chilling, as if squeezed from the depths of his throat.
Gu Junshi glanced down at him, "But if they are not removed, you and I cannot form a marriage pact."
The Human Emperor gazed steadily into her eyes. His clear, mirror-like pupils reflected no dark colors, but deep within, it was like a sea of mist.
He laughed hoarsely, "Your calculations are so precise, who could escape them?"
"Do you see clearly now?" Gu Junshi asked him.
The Human Emperor's jaw clenched.
"You were not born a mistake, nor are you unworthy of love. They sacrificed themselves to fulfill you, and you should live on carrying their hopes. Meaninglessness, hopelessness, and lack of joy are not reasons for you to give up on yourself."
The Human Emperor was silent for a moment, "Why are you doing all this?"
"I am not suited for you. You think you are heartless and have severed your emotions, able to play with the world. You think that by liking someone and being with her, you can be happy. You are wrong. More than loving others, you need others to love you. You deny yourself, you loathe yourself. You need someone who loves you wholeheartedly to heal you, and that is precisely what I cannot do."
"The only thing I can do is make you realize one thing: what you truly wanted has belonged to you from the very beginning."
What he initially wanted?
What did he want?
Perhaps it was the partial and biased maternal love that Concubine Chang had for Prince Rui.
The Human Emperor covered his face and burst into laughter.
"The decision has always been in your hands. If you don't care, if your heart is filled only with numb hatred, then I will fulfill you. But if you change your mind, I will also grant you the wish you truly desire."
"Heh, what do I want?" he asked, lowering his hand.
The meaning of this question was clear to those involved.
He was facing his true inner heart honestly, and she understood his choice.
Gu Junshi clasped her hands together and quickly formed seals. A divine light appeared before her, forming two dark ink-colored beads. The two ink-colored beads spun rapidly, continuously absorbing Gu Junshi's power and radiating brilliance.
The loss of cultivation caused her full energy to appear depleted.
"What are you doing?" Liu Jiang Fusheng anxiously watched from the side, yet dared not rashly intervene.
The Human Emperor's expression also changed drastically.
"Gu Junshi!"
"It will be soon."
Until the "beads" solidified like tourmalines, she opened her palm and clenched it, drawing the Human Emperor's two remnant souls into them.
"Ah—"
A sharp female voice echoed in his ears. The Human Emperor felt a tearing pain as his three souls and origin spirit were forcibly separated.
He clutched his head, his expression uncontrollably contorted, his neck twitching unnaturally, "Ugh..."
Seeing this, Gu Junshi still showed no hesitation. Her dark eyes were unfathomably deep as she forcefully peeled away the three souls.
The Human Emperor spread his arms wide, the surging airflow making his ink-black hair fly. But soon, he shuddered violently, and in front of his eyes, he saw two ethereal figures floating in the air.
The passage of time had left no mark on them. They appeared exactly as he remembered them.
However, they were already dead, and their souls were so faint they were almost transparent.
"I'm sorry..."
Nan Wengmiao and Nan Fengmiao, seeing that he could see them, said their long-delayed apologies in unison.
"My child, it was my mother's selfishness and prejudice that hurt you, but I hope you can believe that Mother does not regret giving birth to you."
Nan Wengmiao gazed at him with tearful eyes. She reached out to touch him, but could not reach him no matter how hard she tried.
"Mother..."
As he took a step forward, they disappeared before him again.
"Gu Junshi—" he suddenly turned in a direction.
Gu Junshi met his reddened eyes and said, "Take these. Perhaps in a hundred or a thousand years, the remnant souls will be completely repaired. Although they may not remember you by then, nor be who they once were, everything will be renewed and reborn. It is the same for them, and it is the same for you."
The Human Emperor was stunned. He slowly extended his hand, then tightly gripped the ink-colored beads in his palm.
He regained some composure and felt the cool, non-malevolent life force emanating from the beads in his hand. He opened his palm, gazed at them for a moment, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. He exclaimed in shock, "These are soul-nurturing pearls, aren't they? You actually sacrificed your own origin spirit to forge them..."
Gu Junshi interrupted him, "Human Emperor, this is what I owe you. Consider this debt repaid today. Nurture their remnant souls well. One day in the future, when their remnant souls are complete, you can come to find me, and I will send them for reincarnation again."