AUOF - 148

Sang Li watched Ji Hengyu, who was acting as childish as a young boy.

His cold tail wrapped tightly around her waist, a strangely possessive gesture. Sang Li touched the tip of his nose, gazing into his bright, golden vertical pupils, “As an evil spirit, shouldn’t you be a bit fiercer?”

Ji Hengyu’s voice reached her consciousness: [Evil spirits are only fierce towards their prey.]

“Am I not?”

Ji Hengyu leaned in close, “You are something to be cherished.”

Sang Li returned his affection with a smile, but feeling the grip on her waist tighten, she pulled away slightly and said seriously, “I think we should be more serious, lest we give people cause to criticize us.”

As her words fell, she saw a hint of reluctance in Ji Hengyu’s eyes.

Sang Li chuckled, not intending to make things difficult for him. She roughly tore her sleeve and casually inflicted a few scratches on her arm. Against her fair skin, the mottled marks looked shocking.

Ji Hengyu’s eyes mirrored her wounds, his tone shifting slightly: “Why go to such lengths?”

Sang Li knew that he wasn’t referring to the wounds, but something else.

She also knew his patience had long run out. Killing Zang Lun wasn’t about saving someone, but about venting anger. Even this great fire, his personal desire outweighed the strategy.

“In the mental illusion, even though Si Tu and I were on opposing sides, she always chose me steadfastly. Ji Hengyu, I’m not some benevolent person either. I also understand that the people here don’t deserve all this. What I’m doing now is just to fulfill my friend’s wish.”

With that, Sang Li kissed his face, “Just like how you could have directly snuck into the Dragon Tomb, but you still went along with my wishes.”

Ji Hengyu’s eyes flickered, “Sang Li.” He called her name.

“Kiss me again.”

Sang Li was surprised at first, then kissed him.

This time, it was on the lips.

The black mist dispersed, and he vanished without a trace.

When the mist completely cleared, another face came into view.

Jixun stood in the corner, seemingly having watched for a long time.

His eyes were as dim and unclear as they had been on the day he left Phoenix Harbor. The moment their eyes met, Jixun’s gaze held only emptiness, as if the fleeting emotion Sang Li had seen was just an illusion.

“Let’s go.”

Jixun followed behind her.

Sang Li regained her composure and continued walking forward. There was no sound behind her, but as soon as she lowered her head, she could see a shadow following beneath her feet. It maintained a constant distance from her, neither distant nor close, never overlapping, moving in parallel without touching.

Sang Li couldn’t help but look back.

Jixun wasn’t looking at her, nor at any particular spot. His expression was cold, just as it had always been.

...It really was just an illusion, then.

She had actually thought he would remember.

Sang Li dismissed all doubts and didn’t look back again, even pushing Jixun to the back of her mind. Her steps were fast but not rushed. Fierce flames burned on both sides, orange-red sparks dancing on her shoulders. As she walked, her hair swayed, and the sky-blue beaded chain tied at the back of her head swung back and forth.

Only then did Jixun look up at her, his eyes showing a cautiousness unlike that of a puppet.

He vaguely recalled everything he had secretly glimpsed about her during the illusion.

He had once believed that all emotional stirrings originated from that Gu worm and that heart. When they returned to their original owner, Jixun would also return to his original place.

However, he still remembered some things.

Forgotten, yet not entirely forgotten.

Just like now, Jixun’s wish remained unchanged: he hoped that the person he loved would always have a place to belong, no matter where she was.

As for him...

He was just a shadow.

________________________________________

The entire tribe had gathered at the Saintess Shrine.

Years ago, the Saintess Shrine was the most magnificent place in the village. People would adorn the goddess statue’s robes with various rare pearls and jades; they would grind gold into powder and apply it all over her body, and even the eaves and beams were constructed using the rarest and most uncommon seashells.

But now, the Saintess Shrine had lost its color. It stood dilapidated and solitary on the highest point of the hill, covered everywhere with the curses and condemnations people had laid upon her.

[Filth does not deserve worldly incense.]

[Sinner!!!]

[Her sin is unforgivable!!!]

[Disgusting woman.]

The Saintess, tainted by emotion, became impure. In what was once a hall of blessings, she was left with nothing but accusations and scorn.

Now, people huddled here, the visible writings and the toppled Saintess statue preventing them from feeling at ease.

Everyone sat stiffly, the silent atmosphere exceedingly strange.

Suddenly, a four or five-year-old girl, held in her mother’s arms, pointed at the statue and said, “Mommy, she’s about to fall down. Will she really save us?”

The tender voice echoed particularly clearly and sharply in the shrine, where a pin drop could be heard.

Everyone’s gaze also fell upon her. The mother gasped, quickly covering her daughter’s mouth, yet couldn’t help but look up.

The Saintess’s statue gazed down compassionately, her eyes filled with sorrow, as if weeping.

She trembled all over, turning away, yet feeling a persistent prickle on her back, unable to ignore it.

As Sang Li had said, the evil fire couldn’t burn the Saintess Shrine.

Everyone sat there, witnessing their village almost completely burnt down, their faces filled with sorrow. After a while, someone finally broke the silence—

“The child is right, will the Saintess still save us?”

“The Saintess, she...”

Someone faced reality, stood up, and pointed at the temple, saying, “The Saintess has fallen. Desolate Water has no god to protect it anymore!”

These words struck like a clap of thunder.

Many people recalled their usual actions. They allowed their children to play wildly in the Saintess Shrine, acting disrespectfully, drawing and scribbling everywhere. Even the adults would spit on the divine tablet when entering or exiting. They believed Desolate Water was peaceful, and the Saintess was merely the sinner’s wife, a shame to Desolate Water, and thus scorned kneeling to pray to her.

All that mortals did was sin. The wrath of a god... how could it be appeased?

Suddenly, Elder Qing tremblingly approached the front of the divine hall. He propped up the divine tablet. Qinggu, understanding his intention, quickly lent a hand, helping to lift the Saintess statue back to its original position.

After everything was in order, Elder Qing put down his cane and knelt on the ground.

“Grandfather...”

Qinggu wanted to help him up, but Elder Qing evaded his grasp.

He firmly knocked his head on the ground ten times, tears streaming down his face. “We were blinded and committed various wrongs. We know we deserve the immense sins we inflicted upon the Saintess in the past. As the clan leader, I am willing to bear all punishment on behalf of my people. If the Saintess does not disdain it, she may take my humble life to quell her anger! But I cannot bear it, I cannot bear to see Desolate Water suffer like this...!”

“If the Saintess still has a spiritual soul in this world, can she please open her eyes and see? Can she save our tribe from peril again? Can she save her people?”

Qingsong continuously kowtowed, begging bitterly.

His aged body prostrated on the ground, the sound of his kowtows resounding one after another. Qinggu watched with reddened eyes, yet was powerless.

He also knelt down with a thud. “We beg the Saintess for mercy.”

“We beg the Saintess for mercy.”

“Please save us!”

A large group of people knelt both inside and outside the shrine.

Si Tu stood silently behind, watching, and suddenly found the scene ironic and ridiculous.

During the day, they had cursed her mother as a sinner, but now, in a moment of crisis, they finally understood regret.

At this moment, Sang Li rushed back.

Si Tu caught sight of her disheveled appearance, was startled for a moment, then composed herself. “You’re back.”

“Yes.” Sang Li glanced inside, seeing that everything was unfolding as expected, and felt relieved.

Someone in the crowd noticed Si Tu, their eyes suddenly brightening, like a parched person discovering a oasis. They crawled on their knees to Si Tu’s front, bumping their heads several times—

“You are the Saintess’s daughter. You, you can definitely help us, right? Will you stay and be our new Saintess?”

Are these people sick?

Si Tu frowned uncomfortably. Before she could react, Sang Li stepped in front of her. “Si Tu has no connection with your Desolate Water. Instead of relying on others, you should genuinely repent. Perhaps your Saintess will forgive you then.”

He was flustered and helpless, “But... but how do we repent, how can we gain the Saintess’s forgiveness...”

Recalling all the things they had done and said in the past, they were now simply reaping what they sowed.

The crowd was overcome with guilt, their changing expressions not escaping Sang Li’s notice. She knew the time was right; any further delay would only provoke deeper resentment from the mortals.

Human nature was just like that.

When people saw no hope, they would succumb to despair, and in despair, they would resent those on whom they had placed their hopes.

“You go prepare...” Sang Li whispered to Si Tu.

Si Tu nodded.

She turned her wrist, a silvery thread condensing at her fingertips. The thread connected to her fingertip, and the other end flew into the statue’s body.

Si Tu blinked, and simultaneously, the statue followed her movement, lifting its eyes.

Qinggu, who was kowtowing on the ground, was the first to notice the statue move. He was stunned at first, then overjoyed, and quickly helped Qingsong up. “Grandfather! The Saintess has manifested herself!!”

In an instant, everyone looked at the Saintess statue with expectation.

Si Tu’s lips didn’t move, her face expressionless as she gazed at the statue. Her clear voice echoed through the hall through her thoughts.

“I was born in Desolate Water. The people’s incense prolonged my life; their faith gilded my divine body. If incense does not continue, if faith does not extend, my flesh will not grow, my soul will not gather.”

Qingsong cried tears of old age: “The past wrongs cannot be undone. I implore the Saintess to save our Desolate Water. In the future, I am willing to recast a golden body for the Saintess to atone for our sins!”

“We were wrong, save Desolate Water!”

“Saintess, we were wrong, we truly were wrong, please forgive us little ones!”

A large group knelt on the ground, crying and apologizing, though it was unclear how much sincerity there was in their apologies.

Si Tu flicked her fingertips, and with a resounding crash, the statue in the center shattered into pieces.

The hall fell silent, watching the same direction with fear and unease. Si Tu manipulated the silver thread, conjuring an illusion.

The phantom that ascended from the shattered statue was identical to the statue itself, its face precisely that of the Desolate Water Saintess!

This was the face Si Tu had recreated based on the Saintess statue. She knew it was an illusion created by her own hand, yet facing those lively, tender, and compassionate eyes, she felt a momentary trance.

Her eyes reddened, and tears silently fell.

Si Tu manipulated the silver thread, and the shadow floated out of the Saintess Hall, heading straight towards the direction of the evil spirit.

Everyone was overjoyed and excitedly chased after it—

“The Saintess has manifested! The Saintess has truly come to save us!!”

Some were happy, while others whispered—

“...Since the Saintess was always here, why didn’t she come out sooner and watch that evil thing destroy the village?”

These words infuriated Sang Li.

However, before she could step forward to refute, Qinggu kicked the man in the lower back. He stumbled to the ground, tumbling down the steps.

Qinggu’s expression was grim as he looked down. “The Saintess has already said that only with the continuous burning of incense in the Saintess Shrine can her soul be reborn. You selfish coward who only cares about yourself, even now, do you still want to blame the Saintess who has been kind to us?!”

This rebuke left the man speechless, and others who felt similarly also lowered their heads, their faces filled with shame.

Qinggu scanned the surroundings and loudly proclaimed: “Emperor Qi’s evil deeds were never related to Desolate Water. The Saintess protected Desolate Water for eight thousand years, and we should be even more grateful and not implicate the Saintess because of this! In the past, we were ignorant and made mistakes. From now on, everyone must diligently repent and rebuild the divine altar! We must ensure that the incense of the Saintess Shrine burns eternally in this land!!”

The power in his words left no one daring to respond.

Suddenly, a ray of light illuminated the horizon, vibrant and colorful, as if divine light shone across the sky.

The raging inferno was extinguished, and the night, once lit by the flames, was replaced by another beam of light.

It was pure white, radiant, and so brilliantly sacred that one could not look directly at it.

This was a brilliance unseen in Desolate Water for three thousand years. It dispelled the long night, waking Desolate Water from its darkness ahead of time.

Everyone bathed in this warm and gentle glow. Children stopped crying, looking curiously at the sky, while adults’ eyes were red, feeling an inexplicable sadness.

Sang Li stared at all this in a daze, unable to help but look at Si Tu. “Did you do that?” But Si Tu’s hands hung down, having long since withdrawn her spell.

Si Tu shook her head, gazing far into the sky, already in tears. “Only the Saintess of Desolate Water can make the white night endure. It’s Mother...” She sobbed, “A’Li... it’s my mother!!”

She was already dead.

But the compassionate Saintess could not abandon this land, so she split off a wisp of soul fire to remain here.

She existed, alone. She watched everything.

Would she cry?

A dead soul... can it still cry?

Si Tu stood among the crowd, her tears suppressed, years of accumulated yearning and sorrow finally unleashed.

At this moment, the people of Desolate Water finally found their god; but how could a daughter who had lost everything find her mother?