Chapter 129 Offering His Soul for an Afterlife

In the Hall of Death, Xuan Zhi stood courteously in front of the sculpture. The atheistic man sincerely prayed for the first time in his life. Lying beside him was the dead body of Shui Yinzhu. Shui Yinzhu’s body was still in the pink dress. There was a hairpin with two pearls on its hair. The body had decayed, but Xuan Zhi still grabbed her hand and treated it like a treasure. He took up a dagger and cut his two wrists. His blood flowed onto her body as if he was transferring vitality to her. When the blood was drained, his life came to an end. It was a sacrifice of his soul so that he would stay with Shui Yinzhu in the afterlife. Time went back to the day when Shui Yinzhu passed away. Xuan Zhi wrote an edict that Yun Su wouldn’t be sentenced to death and would be locked in that palace for the rest of his life. It was what Shui Yinzhu wished, and Xuan Zhi was fulfilling her wish. On the same day, Xuan Zhi abdicated the throne and took the dead body of Shui Yinzhu on a travel around the world. Even though they couldn’t stay together for this life, he wanted her in his afterlife. He traveled to this mysterious village. It was said that they worshiped the lord of the underworld. As for the location of the underworld, there was no need for Xuan Zhi to know. In order to have his wish fulfilled by the lord of the underworld, he had to sacrifice his soul. He made up his mind immediately. That was why he started doing it at the beginning of this chapter. As he opened up his eyes, Xuan Zhi was in an empty space. An androgynous little child around the age of six stared at him. “Are you the one willing to sacrifice your soul?” “Are you the lord of the underworld? You are just a child.” “I don’t live in a specific form. I can change the way I look.” “How am I supposed to address you?” “I don’t have a name. I’m just the concretization of life and death. You can call me Life-Death.” “Is it possible for me to keep the relation with her in my afterlife?” “Yes. But after living a life with her together, your soul will vanish, and you will no longer exist in this world. Are you sure you won’t regret it?” “Not when it’s for her.” “All right, go on.” Life-Death waved his hand, and Xuan Zhi disappeared in that space. This lord couldn’t understand his thoughts as he shook his head and said, “Just another fool.” And then came the samsara of seven afterlives of the three people. Epilogue 1: Life in a Dream A change of dynasty happened in the imperial hunting field inexplicably. It somehow succeeded. Shui Yinzhu was thrown to the bed by Yun Su. The girl without enough power to struggle could only hold the pearl of Kong Yue in her hand. She clenched hard on it but couldn’t stop the man on top from kissing her. At that moment, she gave up. The princess stopped struggling because she knew no matter what she did, it wouldn’t work. All of a sudden, Yun Su stopped moving and fell onto Shui Yinzhu’s body. He was then lifted and cast to the other side of the bed. A warm hand carried up the girl from the bed. It was her love who appeared to her, with his familiar look and his sharp and mature eyes that were not typical for a man of his age. Shui Yinzhu couldn’t stop crying. “Yue, I thought you died.” “I didn’t.” “But I saw they shooting arrows on you in the hunting field.” “Little fool, I faked my death.” “I’m so happy, Yue. You are still alive. You are still alive.” “Yinzhu, let’s find a way out of the palace.” “Okay.” Kong Yue carried her out of the palace. Shui Yinzhu felt so peaceful and happy in his arms. “Yinzhu, shall we leave all the mess behind and live a life of seclusion, just the two of us?” “Sure. As long as I’m with you, I’m willing to do anything.” The peach flowers blossomed all over the mountain. Upon the hill, there was a house. The man wore a red groom’s suit in the rain of pink petals. His finely carved features appeared to be more handsome without the female outfit. There was a smile in his mature and sharp eyes. Kong Yue held the hand of the girl in a red bride’s suit. The dazzling beauty Shui Yinzhu, together with her husband, bowed to Heaven and Earth as part of their wedding ceremony in that beautiful scenery. As they took off their red clothes, the two of them consummated their wedding in that sea of flowers. She had finally become his wife. They got to live together for the rest of their life. Their life was perfect, like a fairy tale. Kong Yue kept his habit of telling jokes. He loved Shui Yinzhu. She could always be a little child by his side. Their simple and carefree life was highly enjoyable. As the joyful time went by, they had a boy and a girl. Their children grew, and they had grandchildren. It all went on until the end of their life. Shui Yinzhu took the hand of Kong Yue. “Yue, it’s so good to have you by my side in this life.” Still, in the same beautiful sea of flowers, the two of them joined hands and closed their eyes forever. The sun started to set. The light shone into the house. Shui Yinzhu woke up in Xuan Zhi’s arms. “Zhi, I had a dream.” “What was it?” “I dreamt of Yue.” “Ayue?” “Yes. we spent a long and carefree life together.” “That sounds good.” “Yes. It was good.” The dream came to an end. Shui Yinzhu’s eyes were filled with tears. She was satisfied with what happened in her dream, while she knew that wasn’t real. Epilogue 2: Fake Life The owner of the palace had been changed over and over again. But it didn’t make any difference to a side palace. It was a deserted one, and only an old man lived there. The man had a gray beard and white hair with a gentle aura. Without any light of hope in his eyes, he spent every day peacefully. When asked whether or not he regretted what he did, he would give a firm negative answer. Because Yun Su never regretted being himself. Yun Su’s mother had put a great expectation on him after he was born. While all other kids could enjoy their childhood, Yun Su had to learn all kinds of knowledge since he could remember things. His father visited this lovely child from time to time. But one day, he stopped visiting him and his mother. His mother started to push him even harder. Sometimes she beat him and yelled at him. But he never blamed his mother. He thought that life would keep going on like this. But his father suddenly started to marry concubines. Those women gave birth to a lot of children. He and his mother became everyone’s target. Since their father had not visited them for several years, it wouldn’t be difficult to know their position. After a series of incidents, his mother was framed and beaten to death, an order from his father. It was the first time for him to see his father after so many years. He watched his mother losing her breath. The boy didn’t act on impulse. Suppressing the grief in his heart, he knew he needed to survive. There wasn’t even a burial for his mother. They covered her body with a mat and threw her to the wild. The boy was too young to do anything. All he could do was cry, and he had to do it in secret. Tears were the most useless in this world. No matter how many tears one had, they would be a symbol of weakness. As a member of the royal family, Yun Su started to change. The once weeping boy became the one always wearing a harmless smile. Knowing that his father attached great importance to Yun Zhi, he made friends with him so as to increase his power in secret. The knowledgeable boy was a well-taught student. He soon became the perfect son of his father. The boy secretly killed all the people that set up his mother. He became the Crown Prince, the destined future heir to the throne. Then a girl appeared in front of him by accident. The first time they met, Yun Su was attracted by her exceptional purity. Her beauty would only belong to a fairy. But what captivated him was the untainted heart of her. For a man whose heart had been dark as night, purity would feel like a luxury. He didn’t understand the meaning of love. The only thing he could do was to lock her by his side regardless of whether she was a sacrifice, regardless of her feeling, her resistance, or the life and death of any others. After murdering her beloved man, Kong Yue, he locked her up, but she still ran away. Yun Su finally found out why his mother didn’t love him as much as other mothers loved their children. He wasn’t a child of the Yun family. His parents were a guard and a palace maid, and he was but a tool to his so-called mother. His existence was a joke. Everything was fake, including his family name. The only thing that appeared real was his love for Shui Yinzhu, the one he called Sister Xi. After getting her back, he slaughtered everyone she cared about. He broke her wings and tied her beside himself. But it ended when he was no longer capable of keeping her. He had to let go. But she didn’t want him as a company even when she was dying. She didn’t understand. No, she did. She wasn’t willing to bear his child. She wanted him to live in the agony of losing her. She said, “If there were to be an afterlife, I’d rather be an animal than... meet you.” And her words became a demon lingering in his mind. This palace was where she died. He lived here like a living death. Yun Su didn’t have the courage to commit suicide because he had to fulfill her last requirement. She wanted him to live in the pricks of conscience. All he could do was to pray to god and let him die earlier. But he was still alive and, surprisingly, got blessed with longevity.