The Grand Shaman was bedridden, his disciples taking turns at his bedside.
"You're back."
His clouded eyes fixed on Xiao Shan, a look of relief washing over his aged face. He had finally waited.
"Where did she go?"
"Nirvana, rebirth, time reversal."
The Grand Shaman gasped for breath, recalling the records left by the Imperial Observatory. They were all filled with praise for the Goddess, meant to win the hearts of the people. But there were other, unspoken accounts passed down among successive Grand Shamans.
For instance, the Goddess was once treated as a demon and subjected to immense humiliation.
For instance, she and the Great Yao Divine Lord did not ascend; they sank to the bottom of the river, embraced.
And also, the Goddess possessed the ability to reverse time, though it came at a great cost.
When he saw the princess's rapidly aging face, he knew she must have begun paying the price.
Time reversal, time reversal…
Everything he had experienced was indeed true!
Xiao Shan’s body swayed, and he gripped the table to steady himself.
Emperor Mingde did not understand, "Grand Shaman, what do you mean?"
Xiao Shan’s fingers formed claws, gripping Emperor Mingde’s throat. His eyes were fierce and menacing, "Don't you know what you've done? I want you dead!"
"General, stop!"
The Grand Shaman coughed, "The Princess has stated that her two-lifetime entanglement with the royal family is severed. She wishes for you to cause no further trouble. Henceforth, Jing Kingdom shall have no Goddess."
He fumbled under his pillow and produced a letter, handing it over with trembling hands. "The Princess left a letter for the General before she departed."
Xiao Shan dropped Emperor Mingde and snatched the letter, tearing it open impatiently.
After reading it, he shredded the letter into pieces, his tiger eyes brimming with pain, his heart feeling as if it were being carved by a knife.
He didn't want children, he wouldn't wait! He couldn't wait, he couldn't afford to wait!
In this life, he would hold her again, hold her tight, even if it meant dying together once more.
He wouldn't let go, wouldn't let go.
Xiao Shan cast a final, cold glance at Emperor Mingde and left the Grand Shaman's residence.
Emperor Mingde scrambled to his feet, his face pale. The young disciples in the room kept their heads bowed, as if they were invisible.
"Grand Shaman, what exactly are you saying? What do you mean the entanglement with the royal family is severed? That there is no Goddess anymore? What nonsense are you spouting? Where exactly did my Imperial Sister go?"
A great fear welled up in his heart. Something he didn't know had happened, and it was related to him.
What had he done? What had he truly done?
"Your Majesty, let's go to the altar!"
Why go to the altar? He couldn't even enter the altar.
"I want you to tell me clearly!" Emperor Mingde roared.
However, the Grand Shaman made no further sound.
A young disciple cautiously stepped forward to check for breath.
"Master has departed."
Emperor Mingde was shocked. He rushed forward, roughly pushing the disciple aside, and shook the Grand Shaman, "Wake up! I need you to wake up! You haven't told me where my Imperial Sister went, has she met with misfortune! Wake up and tell me!"
Emperor Mingde could not awaken the dead and finally gave up.
He ran to the altar.
Even before approaching, he sensed something was wrong. The heavy, suffocating ancient aura was gone.
He easily ascended. The crisscrossing patterns were there, but no energy surged beneath them. The originally dark, lustrous Obsidian stones were dim and lifeless, as if drained of their vitality.
Weeds grew in the cracks, and broken leaves were scattered everywhere.
The altar was abandoned.
Emperor Mingde collapsed onto the ground.
Jing Kingdom had no Goddess anymore.
The Princess's entanglement with the Jing Kingdom's royal family was severed.
Imperial Sister, you are not coming back, are you?
"Nirvana, rebirth, time reversal."
Did he truly do those things?
He feigned being poisoned, concealed the war, blocked information, and arranged for Xiao Shan to die on the battlefield. Was that it?
Emperor Mingde clutched his head and screamed.
"No, it's not like this, I didn't do it, those things didn't happen! Imperial Sister just went out to play, she'll come back, she'll come back."
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty—"
Fulu, keeping his distance, dared not disturb the grieving Emperor Mingde. But a palace attendant had just reported good news, and he hurried over, hoping to cheer His Majesty up.
"Your Majesty, Commander Song has woken up!"
Wen Tang was awake, he was awake.
Emperor Mingde's face lit up with joy. He excitedly descended from the altar, and Fulu quickly supported him.
Upon arriving at the Taiyi Hall, Song Beiting was already dressed and ready. He was gaunt and skeletal, so thin he looked like a shadow of himself, but his beautiful eyes were exceptionally calm.
Like the serene sky after a storm.
Clear, pure, and untainted.
He sat quietly on the edge of the bed, like an old monk in deep meditation, exuding a sense of emptiness and composure after seeing through the world.
"Wen Tang, you..." Emperor Mingde suddenly felt uneasy.
"Your Majesty, I had a dream while I was unconscious."
"What dream?"
"It felt like my past life."
In his past life, he was an orphan of the battlefield, raised by a retired old soldier. He also had a sworn sister named Xiao Nian, who looked... very much like Ling Yao.
She was no mortal, though she tried her best to conceal it. She was well-behaved and sensitive, always wanting to escape at the slightest disturbance.
His adoptive father and he carefully protected her, fearing discovery, and even moved their home to the foot of the mountain.
Every day, they pretended to be boiling medicine for her, but in reality, it was just water boiled from wild chrysanthemums. She would secretly pour it away each time, thinking she had hidden it well.
Silly girl.
On one occasion, he was severely injured in the mountains, his heart torn by a black bear.
Xiao Nian, thinking he had fainted, spat out a pearl from her mouth and placed it into his heart, murmuring incomprehensible incantations. When the pearl floated out again, his heart was healed, at least the inside was; only the outer layer had minor, inconsequential wounds.
At that time, he thought Xiao Nian was some kind of spirit.
But he loved her. It didn't matter what she was; even if she were a spirit, she was a kind one.
However, later, she fell in love with someone.
From then on, she was resolute and unwavering.
That person was too perfect.
A prince of Great Jing, a true scion of royalty, so suited for her. The two of them together looked like celestial beings stepping out of a painting.
He was powerless to stop it.
Then, she went to the capital and became a princess.
He was also forced by his adoptive father to marry.
Later, the Seventh Prince suddenly sent people to relocate the entire village.
He and his adoptive father were extremely worried, guessing that something must have happened. Just as he was about to head to the capital to investigate, news of the Goddess spread.
She had become a Goddess, revered by all.
Ultimately, she was out of reach.
The Goddess Futu Nian, Feng Ling Yao, never, ever belonged to him. He was forever just a passerby.
The Great Yao Divine Lord was Feng Chengye, was Xiao Shan.
Reincarnation, transmigration, yet unable to escape one thing: destiny.
He found peace.
Letting her go, letting himself go.
"Your Majesty, please give me some time. I wish to see the land of Great Jing."
He wanted to visit the place where he lived in his past life.
After several hundred years, he wondered if any trace remained.
Had the characters he and she carved on the mountain stone wall in their childhood survived?
Or had they long since weathered away in the river of time?