Chapter 67 - 64: Reversing Life and Death
Jiang Jiayi raised her sword. "What are you going to do?"
The phantom did not speak, but gazed sadly at Miao Yu Palace.
The Sect, nestled among these mountains, had existed for several thousand years, but this was the first time it had ever faced such a great calamity.
After being shattered twice, even the Sect’s main hall was in a state of disrepair.
Qiu Yuehan stepped forward and looked at the phantom. Her lips moved slightly, but in the end, she said nothing.
The phantom spoke, "Yuehan, after some time, you can go back to the village for a visit."
"I... What am I, really..."
"You are indeed the Palace Master’s child. The Palace Master’s Origin was damaged during the turmoil, and she is no longer with us."
The phantom added, "The Palace Master cultivated the Life Calculation Dao. She divined fates her entire life, yet in the end, she could divine nothing."
The light in Qiu Yuehan’s eyes faded once more. She had thought her parents had merely abandoned her, not that they were dead.
The thunder grew louder.
The Celestial Dao’s fury grew more palpable.
The Celestial Dao’s tribulations are divided into several levels, with red lightning being the most severe punishment.
A Thunder Tribulation with lightning as red as blood had only been recorded a few times in the history of the Cultivation Realm, yet today, it had appeared once more.
The phantom’s voice was tinged with sorrow. "It’s coming."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Sir... Brother Lu."
The gentle Little Fairy in a White Skirt tugged on Lu Changyuan’s sleeve. "The rain has stopped."
Because Ancestor Red Simurgh had died from the Celestial Punishment, the rain across the world had ceased. It was as if the storm had passed and the skies had cleared, but no rainbow could be seen.
The sky had not yet brightened.
There were still one or two hours left.
This was the time before the dawn.
Right now, Lu Changyuan’s attention wasn’t on Xia Lianxue at all, but on the Thunder Tribulation in the sky.
The terrifying lightning was gathering with staggering power.
"Brother Lu."
"What is it?"
"I’m very happy now."
Lu Changyuan whipped his head around to look at the Little Fairy, only to realize he couldn’t comprehend the smile on her face.
"What are you... talking about?"
The Little Fairy’s smile was as lovely as a begonia blossom in the cusp of late spring and early summer.
Lu Changyuan seized Xia Lianxue’s hand, his expression frighteningly cold.
"Is the Thunder Tribulation in the sky related to you? Even if you’re treading the path of the Red Dust again, it shouldn’t trigger a tribulation like this!"
"Brother Lu."
The Little Fairy suddenly raised her swan-like neck and gave Lu Changyuan a kiss.
Lu Changyuan’s pupils constricted to pinpricks.
He had always been the one to not answer the Little Fairy’s questions. He never expected that this time, she would be the one to outmaneuver him.
He suddenly felt that Xia Lianxue’s hair was shockingly cold.
In the past, the Fairy’s skin was soft and delicate, and even her docile hair was gentle and warm. But now, there was no warmth at all.
Lu Changyuan said no more. "I’m taking you away from here!"
The Little Fairy just shook her head and pushed Lu Changyuan away.
She murmured softly, "Sir, I’ve made many mistakes. When a person makes a mistake, they must bear the consequences."
Xia Lianxue was actually very content.
’What was there to be dissatisfied about? All the wishes that should have been fulfilled had come true.’
Seeing the Young Physician again, marrying him, completing the wedding ceremony... she had it all.
Mhm.
’I have everything.’
Xia Lianxue looked at the blood-red Thunder Tribulation in the sky, her lips turning slightly pale.
She finally remembered the taste of candied hawthorn.
Fresh hawthorn berries picked in the morning, pitted, washed clean, then drizzled with hot, boiled-down sugar—that’s how you make crisp, sweet candied hawthorn.
Xia Lianxue had never had it, but Xia Yutang had.
It was sweet, with a hint of sourness.
Just like this life, always a mix of sweet and sour.
Lu Changyuan said coldly, "Come with me! I have a way!"
He grabbed Xia Lianxue’s delicate hand, but for the first time, the Fairy pulled her hand away from his.
"Brother Lu, you’ll be implicated because of me. This is a blood-red Thunder Tribulation. It’s too late for anything."
With a Celestial Tribulation of this level, if it was meant to punish someone, anyone who tried to help that person would also be implicated and suffer.
Xia Lianxue looked into Lu Changyuan’s eyes and suddenly smiled. "Brother Lu, you seem to have returned to how you were before. There are so many emotions in your eyes."
The Young Physician the little girl knew had a multitude of colors in his eyes, unlike the Sir he later became, who was unflustered by anything, like a Supreme Heartless saint.
’That’s not good.’
’Sir often said that the most important thing in Cultivation is to not forget you are human, but Sir himself doesn’t seem human. How could any person be Supreme Heartless?’
A person in the Red Dust should have passions and desires. They should cry and laugh, and have wants. That is what it means to be human.
Xia Lianxue was very satisfied with the current Lu Changyuan.
’This is better now.’
’Now he’s a real person.’
She reached out and smoothed the wrinkles on Lu Changyuan’s clothes, which had been ruffled by the wind inside the painting scroll earlier. "I’ve said it before, Sir. I don’t mind how many you marry, but you are not allowed to forget me."
Lu Changyuan stared blankly at Xia Lianxue.
The Little Fairy’s lips curled up. She was smiling.
’A long time ago... no, not that long ago, right? Lu Changyuan had once asked if she had ever seen the lantern festival.’
’She had. With the Young Physician.’
’That day, her father had punished her. The Young Physician snuck her out in the middle of the night to see the lantern festival. She watched the river lanterns drift slowly by, and then she turned to look at the white-robed youth beside her.’
’The youth was counting the river lanterns for her.’
’That day, there were a total of two hundred and forty-seven river lanterns, the exact same number of stars she had counted not long before.’
’The little girl felt that the most wonderful thing in the world was right there.’
’So she thought...’
’I must marry him in this lifetime. And that one thought had lasted for nearly two thousand years.’
’Time passes so quickly.’
Xia Lianxue felt her wish had been granted.
"Sir, Su Youwan is a good choice. But if you marry her, you must marry a few more later on. She’s not the type to manage a household."
The Fairy’s gentle face wore a smile, but for some reason, her cheeks suddenly felt cold.
A single line of clear tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her exquisite face.
She could no longer hear what Lu Changyuan was saying.
Her ears were filled with only the magnificent roar of the Thunder Tribulation. The vast tribulation clouds were dyed a scarlet red.
Miao Yu Palace Master Xia Yutang had used the power of Yao Guang to trace back through the river of time to find someone. While this was an act of defying the heavens, it shouldn’t have warranted such a Celestial Punishment.
’What had she really done?’
Miao Yu Palace Master Xia Yutang had acted against the heavens.
Using the Time Path and her own Karma, she had defined a "future where the Young Physician still existed."
To take a person who was no longer in the river of time, a person who had already vanished, and conjure them out of thin air, reversing life and death—that is, using the path of the future to defy the river of time and rewrite history—was a blatant provocation to the Celestial Dao. It was nothing less than a theft of its authority.
Not only that, but she had also used this to walk the path of the Red Dust again, attempting to achieve enlightenment beyond Yao Guang. It could be said she was responsible for at least half of his return to the Mortal World.
"So what if it’s a Celestial Punishment? This is what I choose to do!"
Those were the last words she spoke before she transformed into a baby.
Thinking back, it felt as if it had only been a few decades ago.
Xia Lianxue’s tears fell onto her lips, tasting bitter. She felt so useless. Whether as the Miao Yu Palace Master or as a wife, she had failed.
’When a person does something wrong, they deserve to be punished.’
The young woman formed a hand seal and uttered, "Reverse!"
Lu Changyuan was completely thrown back.
Clad in a simple white dress, she stood alone, watching the Thunder Tribulation in the sky with tears streaming down her face, yet she did not fear death.
She was just a little reluctant to leave.
Lu Changyuan’s voice came from afar.
"Stupid Yutang, can you just listen to me!?"
’No wonder you were in such a hurry to give me the Drunken Red Simurgh.’
’And no wonder your mood was off when you entered the painting scroll.’
Lu Changyuan gritted his teeth.
He raised Broken Thought, then charged straight back and grabbed Xia Lianxue by the shoulders.
He turned to face the Celestial Tribulation head-on.