Fellow Daoist! That scoundrel has written a new book again.

Chapter 412 Embers

In the mountains, Zhu Wuyao sat by the campfire.

She held a piece of firewood in her hand, fiddling with the charred embers left after the fire had died down, breaking it to produce sparks.

And then watching the Mars slowly die out,

I am even more timid when I am close to my hometown.

Even though they were separated by thousands of miles, Zhu Wuyao had already prepared his thoughts for the journey, looking forward to their reunion. He imagined that when they met again, they would get drunk together and recount all the beautiful scenery along the way.

And now, Ji Yuezhang is lying to the side.

Her clothes were covering her body.

The invitation felt somewhat unreal.

She fiddled with the firewood, glancing up at Ji Yuezhang every now and then, as if trying to confirm that this wasn't just her imagination.

The ice coffin exuded an intense chill.

Zhu Wuyao originally intended to try first, and if he was unable to awaken Ji Yuezhang, he would then visit the Ji family.

But to her surprise, things were much easier than she had imagined.

This caught her even more off guard.

After a brief investigation, Zhu Wuyao understood the reason.

Over the years, Ji Yuezhang's body has been repairing itself. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth has washed over his meridians time and time again, causing the broken parts to regenerate and the missing parts to be repaired, making his heart meridian seem to be reborn.

Especially during his time with the Queshan clan, Ji Yuezhang's bodily functions remained operational due to the stimulation of the Nanli River.

Its effects are no less than those of washing tendons and marrow.

Ultimately, Ji Yuezhang was at the point where he needed to wake up; he just lacked a trigger to do so.

Realizing this, Zhu Wuyao became even more silent.

Although the Queshan clan had done a good deed with bad intentions, what could she do if they refused to hand over the person? If she wanted Ji Yuezhang to come to her senses, she had to sever this "symbiotic relationship".

not to mention……

Heaven has already given its feedback and reward.

Now, Zhu Wuyao is also a cultivator in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm.

When "fate changes", the Heavenly Observation Technique will be activated, which will improve one's cultivation. Therefore, before this, Zhu Wuyao tried his best to defy fate.

But they forgot that restoring a chaotic destiny to its proper order is also an opportunity for change in cause and effect.

Now that the Queshan clan, whose fate had run its course, has been wiped out, the now-awakened Ji Yuezhang has returned to the world. The moment the ice coffin melted, his destiny changed.

Zhaixinglou did not lie to her.

They simply concealed this "shortcut".

Zhu Wuyao couldn't even find fault with Zhaixinglou.

Whether it's the Falling Leaf Sword Technique or the Sky-Gazing Technique, there's always an easier path.

Zhaixinglou simply hoped that she would embark on a more arduous "righteous path," and that she would have a compassionate heart to help the world and the ambition to defy fate.

So at the crucial moment, when Sect Leader Fang helped her retrieve the broken sword, Gu Yiguan asked her about it that night.

Thinking about it that way, she might even feel grateful to the Star-Picking Tower.

It really is true... Suddenly I stumbled upon the road I came from, and realized that my life had been deceived.

Zhu Wuyao smiled and threw the firewood into the fire. When the fire suddenly became bright, there was a slight crackling sound.

Inaudible, negligible.

The person in the dream seems to be waking up.

Zhu Wuyao turned her head, suppressing the myriad thoughts in her mind, raised her hand and poked her shoulder, softly calling out:

"Wake up."

Ji Yuezhang's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she raised her hand to rub her eyes, half-awake and half-asleep. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw countless stars and heard the babbling of a stream.

A campfire was burning nearby, casting a warm glow.

She lay in the soft flowerbed and turned her head to see the person beside her.

“Ah Yao…”

"Well, I'm here."

The weariness, coldness, sarcasm, and murderous intent in Zhu Wuyao's eyes vanished instantly, and he responded with a very soft sound.

This was not an illusion when breaking through the mountain gate, nor was it a maze created by the Queshan clan; it was the real, living Ji Yuezhang.

She couldn't help but glance at it a few more times.

The starry sky, the campfire, the flowers, and the stream, all piled together, along with Ji Yuezhang right in front of her, gave her great comfort.

It seems to be able to fill that loneliness a little.

Just like a normal day when I left Nanli City, nothing had changed.

The next moment, Ji Yuezhang regained consciousness. She sat up abruptly, pulled off her clothes, grabbed Zhu Wuyao's wrist, and asked:

"Ah Yao, how's Nanli City?!"

This sentence is like erasing the sixteen years of separation.

Zhu Wuyao looked down at her wrist, which was being held, and chuckled softly. It seemed that everything had changed, but only Ji Yuezhang remained in yesterday. Then she turned back the clock to reminisce about the past.

For a fleeting moment, Zhu Wuyao seemed to lose track of time, as if all the hardships in between could be wiped away and forgotten.

She laughed heartily, almost out of breath, until Ji Yuezhang grew impatient and, mimicking her own words from sixteen years ago, said in a teasing tone:

"Some people sleep for a long time; when they wake up, I've already finished writing my storybook."

Do you want to know how it ends?

Ji Yuezhang paused for a moment, seemingly somewhat bewildered.

Memories from before she fell asleep flooded back. She withdrew her hand, groping for the spot where the dagger had pierced her heart. Her brow furrowed for a moment, then relaxed, as if she were utterly bewildered.

"I... I'm alive?"

Zhu Wuyao poked at the campfire, watching the sparks ignite and then fade away, as if setting off fireworks in the void, only to return to silence again and again, endlessly and in vain.

She nodded solemnly, smiling as she echoed:

"You didn't expect that, did you? You're alive again."

"What about Nanli City?"

"Nanli City, I suppose the city has recovered and the flood has subsided, and people have gone back to making a living."

After saying this, Ji Yuezhang stopped asking about Nanli City and looked at Zhu Wuyao.

There seems to be a new question.

Under Ji Yuezhang's focused gaze, Zhu Wuyao felt somewhat at a loss. She kept adding small pieces of firewood to the campfire, and finally turned her head and smiled:

"They've noticed my cultivation level has improved?"

"You didn't expect this, did you? You woke up to find that my cultivation level is higher than yours. Now it's my turn to protect you."

Zhu Wuyao avoided her gaze, took out several books from his storage bag, and said:

"A speechless masterpiece, weren't you always waiting for the ending?"

Every time a storybook was completed and a supplementary edition was released, she would always buy two copies, one for Ye Xiaozhou, so that she wouldn't be asked about the ending if they met someday.

The other is waiting for a reunion.

When handing over the script, Zhu Wuyao was even relieved that she had rehearsed the reunion scene many times and prepared for the meeting in her mind.

Ji Yuezhang lowered her head and took the storybook from Zhu Wuyao. Her gaze lingered on the cover for a long time before she suddenly said:

"Ah Yao, has it been that long already?"

So long that when the two sat together, they seemed to be far apart, and they had to keep trying to find topics to talk about and pretend that nothing had changed.

Zhu Wuyao paused in her tending of the campfire, staring intently as the firelight dimmed. After a long while, she spoke:

"Many years were lost in the middle, and when I found you, it was a little late."

The two sat close by the campfire, yet each felt alone.

Separated by thousands of miles and sixteen years.