Chapter 740 - 579: Young Master, I Am Willing
Chapter 740: Chapter 579: Young Master, I Am Willing
The affirmations she kept repeating to herself gradually lost their power.
Finally...
One day, when Liu Shui woke up, she had completely forgotten she was trapped in a Heart Demon’s illusion.
「Ten years later...」
"Young Master Xiao... I... I like you..."
On the first day Liu Shui returned to the academy after visiting relatives with her mother, she happened to find that Xiao Mo had just come out of seclusion.
She could no longer suppress the feelings that had built up inside her for so long. Finally, she mustered her courage and told Xiao Mo the words she had hidden in her heart.
After the words left her lips, Liu Shui stared nervously at Xiao Mo, her heart pounding so fast and hard it felt as if it would leap out of her chest.
"Sister Liu Shui... To be honest... I like you too." Xiao Mo’s cheeks grew a little red, showing the pure-hearted innocence unique to a young man. "Will you... be my Dao companion?"
Liu Shui was stunned.
She had long since prepared herself for rejection.
She had even planned how she would force a nonchalant smile after being gently turned down, how she would pretend those words had never been spoken.
But he had given her the best possible response, one so good it didn’t seem real.
"I... I’m willing."
Liu Shui’s voice trembled, and her eyes instantly reddened.
"I’m willing to stay by Young Master’s side forever, to serve you."
...
The following year, the ceaseless sound of firecrackers echoed from all corners of Liu Family Village. Red paper confetti danced in the air, blanketing the ground in festivity.
Liu Shui donned a festive red wedding gown and wore red makeup.
Supported by her mother, Liu Shui sat in the bridal sedan chair. The sedan swayed gently as it passed through the field paths and the familiar village entrance.
Liu Shui’s wedding went smoothly. She married the man she loved most.
"First bow, to Heaven and Earth..."
"Second bow, to the parents..."
"Husband and wife, bow to each other..."
Amidst the joyous calls of the wedding ceremony, Liu Shui and Xiao Mo stood side by side. They bowed, rose, bowed, and rose again.
The daylight from outside the hall filtered through the red silk hangings, stretching their shadows long until they met and overlapped as one.
...
At night, Liu Shui sat in the nuptial chamber, the red candles burning quietly.
Her small hands tightly clutched her sleeves, her heart a mix of nervousness and anticipation.
CREAK...
Finally, with a soft sound, the groom gently pushed the door open.
Liu Shui’s delicate body trembled slightly, and she subconsciously pressed her thighs tighter together.
Her heart suddenly sped up, and her breathing grew ragged.
Xiao Mo picked up the ruyi scale wrapped in red silk, slowly approached, and gently lifted her red veil with the rod.
The red veil slid off like a sunset cloud, revealing Liu Shui’s blushing face.
She lifted her gaze to him, the light in her eyes flickering in the candlelight, as if they held an entire spring.
They drank the cross-cupped wine in one gulp, and Liu Shui’s cheeks glowed crimson in the candlelight.
The window was gently closed, the bed curtains slowly lowered. Xiao Mo reached out and untied the sash at her waist.
The wedding gown slid silently down her fair skin, like a flower gracefully unfurling its petals.
In the days that followed, Liu Shui and Xiao Mo lived in perfect harmony, spending every morning and evening together.
The two cultivated together, supporting each other on their Dao path.
Later, Liu Shui gave birth to a son and a daughter.
She soothed the children when they cried and laughed when they laughed.
The days slipped by quietly to the rhythm of morning bells and evening drums.
She had almost forgotten where it all began, and she forgot to even consider if there would ever be a day it would all end.
Until that evening.
Just like any other day, the family was sitting around the table, eating dinner.
The light of the oil lamp stretched everyone’s shadows long and short.
And just as Liu Shui was completely immersed in this blissful life, unable to pull herself away...
In reality, the bracelet on Liu Shui’s wrist began to glow with a green light that gradually seeped into her Divine Sense.
Suddenly, within the Heart Demon’s illusion, Liu Shui froze.
Her chopsticks hovered in mid-air, her entire body frozen as if in a still frame.
Steam was still rising gently from her bowl, but she suddenly felt as if she had been jolted awake from a long dream.
"Dear, is something wrong?" Seeing his wife’s strange behavior, Xiao Mo quickly put down his chopsticks and asked with concern.
"Mother, are you okay? Are you sick?" Her children also gathered around her, their small hands gently tugging on the corner of her robes. They looked up at her, their eyes filled with worry. "Should we go see a doctor?"
Liu Shui stared at them blankly for a moment, then gave a soft smile, as if nothing had happened.
She reached out to ruffle her children’s small heads, then looked up at her beloved husband.
Her gaze was as gentle as moonlight.
"I’m fine, don’t worry. It’s just... all of this is too wonderful..." Liu Shui’s voice was very soft, as if she were afraid of startling something. "So wonderful that... it feels a little unreal."
Hearing his wife’s words, Xiao Mo froze for a second, a complex emotion flashing through his eyes.
His expression was calm. He smiled faintly and said softly, "Whether it’s real or not, does it really matter? As long as we’re happy, isn’t that enough?"
"But... all of this is fake..." Liu Shui said in a low voice, which held no anger, only a dawning realization.
As her words fell, everything around them gradually began to dissipate.
"Xiao Mo" also slowly blurred, eventually transforming into a tiny figure that looked exactly like her—this was Liu Shui’s Nascent Soul.
Liu Shui slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze fell upon her familiar Cave Mansion.
The stone walls, the jade bed, the Elixir furnace that had not yet burned out...
Everything seemed unchanged.
’Did I... pass the Nascent Soul Tribulation?’
Liu Shui lowered her head, looking at her own palm, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"Sister Liu Shui..."
Just then, Xiao Mo’s voice came from the entrance of the Cave Mansion.
Liu Shui turned her head and saw Xiao Mo walking toward her.
His expression was gentle, just as it had always been.
"Young Master..."
Liu Shui quickly got off the jade bed and trotted forward to meet him, her small, fair feet, tinged with pink, making soft pattering sounds on the cool stone floor.
She stopped in front of Xiao Mo, raised her head, and gazed into his eyes, her face full of unconcealable joy.
"Young Master, I’ve already entered the Nascent Soul Realm..."
"Mm."
Xiao Mo nodded, his gentle gaze resting on Liu Shui.
"I could feel it... The Dao rhythm you’re emitting right now, Sister Liu Shui, is identical to that of the Nascent Soul Realm. Congratulations, Sister Liu Shui. From now on, you are a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator."
"Thank you, Young Master..."
Liu Shui curtsied, her heart filled with joy.
But soon, she seemed to think of something. Her eyes flickered, a faint blush quietly crept onto her cheeks, and her voice unconsciously softened, laced with a nervous anticipation.
"Young Master... I once told you before, that if I successfully emerged from my seclusion... about the matter of being a concubine... I..."
"Actually, I’ve been wanting to tell you for a long time, Sister Liu Shui."
Xiao Mo reached out and gently took Liu Shui’s small, fair hand. Their palms touched, and his tone was gentle.
"If you don’t mind, Sister Liu Shui, I would like to take you as my secondary wife. From now on, the three of us will live together, always by each other’s side. Sister Liu Shui, are you willing?"
"I..."
...
「In reality.」
Tears streamed silently from the corners of Liu Shui’s eyes, flowing slowly down her pale cheeks as she sat cross-legged on the jade bed.
BUZZ... BUZZ...
BUZZ... BUZZ...
The emerald jade bracelet on Liu Shui’s wrist trembled ceaselessly, trying again and again to awaken its master. Its vibrations grew more and more violent, more and more urgent.
But Liu Shui, sitting on the jade bed, could no longer sense it.
She had forgotten...
She had forgotten about the Cave Mansion’s Array. No one could enter unless she either emerged from a successful Realm Breakthrough or failed in the attempt. Not even Xiao Mo.
She had forgotten... forgotten that the Young Master had once told her he was also about to enter seclusion to ascend to the Immortal Realm, a process that would take at least a hundred years.
So how could he possibly appear before her at this time...
"Young Master... I... Yes, I will..."
Finally, the corners of Liu Shui’s mouth curved up slightly. With tears in her eyes, she slowly spoke those three words.
In the Heart Demon’s illusion, Xiao Mo reached out and gently pulled her into his embrace.
But in reality, her body was dissolving bit by bit into motes of light, silently scattering like fireflies blown away by the wind, gradually fading until nothing was left...