In that dazzling blaze, all the fragments of memory came fluttering down like a blizzard, as if in an instant, an entire lifetime was retraced from beginning to end. Those forgotten episodes, deeply and deliberately buried in the depths of the heart, only in that fleeting moment, suddenly surged forth, drowning the whole person.

It felt like decades had passed.

But in reality, it was just a moment.

Amidst the earth-shattering roar of crumbling rocks, Zhuo Yu's figure was completely engulfed by the flames. Lu Jiuchen was blown back by the immense shockwave. This ever composed and rational General Lu, renowned as the only top expert in the world capable of restraining Master Zhuo, at this moment, felt as if he was isolated in an unreal space, floating aimlessly without a shred of reality.

...Zhuo Yu... is dead?

Just a moment ago, he was still standing here talking, with his signature nonchalant, cold elegance and cruelty, every syllable like jade stones gently clashing...

That night in the mountains, in the dilapidated temple with crackling flames, two silhouettes intertwined on the wall, breaths and moans fragmented. The unprecedented pleasure drowned them, like a deep, silent sea, burning their lifetime's passion to ashes.

The warmth of skin against skin seemed to still linger on his hands, but in a blink, all that remained was a handful of ashes, scattering into the void.

That person, just like that, is not coming back.

Lu Jiuchen only felt a heavy, stifling pressure in his chest, not a sharp pain, but a leaden weight, severing his heart and veins.

Burdens crush the old, worries can wound...

From the ambitious youth to decades of worldly vicissitudes, he thought he had cultivated to a realm where he could transcend the mortal world and look down upon the masses from the peak... But in this instant, he was abruptly stabbed in the gut, falling back to the dust in the blink of an eye.

Turns out, I can feel pain too.

Turns out, I've never truly let go...

Turns out... I still... cling to the love and affection spanning three thousand miles of the mortal world...

Lu Jiuchen let out a shrill whistle - as the sound pierced his eardrums, the true energy he had been harboring in his chest for years instantly erupted.

The techniques he practiced were mutually generative and restraining with Zhuo Yu's. In their early years, Zhuo Yu indeed deserved the title of the world's top expert, but later as he immersed in power struggles, his martial arts foundation gradually became less solid than Lu Jiuchen's.

For many years, he had been somewhat afraid of him. Even on the day of the palace coup, he didn't dare to face him or ask a single question, directly locking him up under the most cautious guard, hoping to confine him for life...

So many years have passed, mutually forgotten, occasionally sitting together in wordless silence, a cup of cold tea at dusk... Never did he expect that what he thought would be a lifetime of tranquility would end in an unforeseen, mutual loss...

From now on, thoughts of you will age me...

From now on... we shall never meet again...

A conflagration nearly engulfed the horizon.

The entire world shook violently, the earth trembled and cracked, smoke obscured the sky, screams and cries were inaudible, ears buzzing as if doomsday had arrived.

The stone formation array collapsed.

The ancient stones of a thousand years finally revealed their true form. The exit appeared in a burst of light at the end of the blaze. Mingde only knew he was running with all his might. He didn't remember how many times he fell, each time scrambling back up to keep running desperately, as if the slightest pause would mean never making it out again.

He suddenly recalled the day he left the city, stubbornly refusing to look up at the man watching him from the city wall. In fact, he knew that as long as he looked back, that man would always be waiting there. But missing that one glance could mean never having the chance to see each other again.

No one knows if this glance is the last look back in this lifetime. Perhaps in this moment, they pass by each other, and in the next second, fall into the cycle of reincarnation.

If given another chance, would you look back at him?

Mingde didn't know how to answer himself.

He only knew he had to run forward with all his strength. Behind him was a collapsing hell, and perhaps ahead, a Buddha land of fragrant elephants and lotus flowers.

That great fire incinerated the valley. Prince Dongyang's personal soldiers all retreated to the perimeter, preparing to shoot arrows, ready to pierce through anyone who ran out. Screams and shouts rose and fell, as if plunged into a sea of blood and hell in an instant.

The front row of archers were completely crazed. Seeing a gray-robed figure rushing out from the flames, just as they were about to draw their bows, their vision suddenly went dark. From ten paces away, their necks were twisted and broken by an invisible force.

The archers in the back rows sensed something amiss and hurriedly raised their bows to shoot. But they barely made a move before their chests were pierced like lightning. Several rows of men were mowed down like wheat. The army behind finally noticed the anomaly.

Prince Dongyang Jinyuan looked back while running and immediately cursed the commander: "What's going on! Hurry and have them shoot, don't leave a single one alive!"

The commander ran to the front to relay the prince's orders. Halfway there, he suddenly spotted a figure flashing across the smoke-filled sky. He focused his gaze. It seemed to be an unremarkable middle-aged man who had been trapped in the array earlier. Though he looked very ordinary and plain, in this moment, he was as fierce as an arrow leaving the bow, carrying a murderous aura as he leapt straight towards Prince Dongyang Jinyuan.

The commander was about to cry out in alarm when he saw the silent, gray-robed man simply take a breath in midair and then leap an astonishing thirty feet away.

That technique of soaring like a bird was extremely shocking. The archers had never witnessed such a thing. They exclaimed in surprise and froze on the spot, forgetting about the arrows nocked on their bows.

For a long time after, the general who witnessed everything could still clearly recall every detail of that moment. Whenever he closed his eyes, he could envision the scene - the world's best assassin gliding through the sky like a silent bird, reaching out and twisting the throat of Prince Dongyang, Li Jinyuan.

Li Jinyuan didn't even have time to react to what was happening before his entire head was twisted off with a cracking sound and a burst of blood!

When Lu Jiuchen grabbed Li Jinyuan's neck, he only paused for a fleeting moment. He didn't look at the body slowly falling before him, but gazed into the distance and softly said something.

Afterwards, some people claimed he said the date and time of that day.

Others said he cursed Li Jinyuan.

Some even vividly spread many versions, all righteous and dignified, very fitting for his identity and status. Those words spread to every corner of the Central Plains and even the Northern Frontier. Countless people were shocked and inspired by them, longing for that moment. They all firmly believed the version they heard was correct and most suitable for a once-in-a-generation hero like Lu Jiuchen.

...In fact, they were all wrong.

Only a young soldier who was standing beside Li Jinyuan at the time said he heard that terrifying god of death look into the distance and say very softly: "...I shall not forget the third day of the fourth month, when the evening bell rang late at the deep mountain temple in Cuixia."

Much, much later, the name of Cuixia Mountain had changed, the lonely old temple had collapsed into dust, and weeds had overgrown the rugged mountain path. No one knew what kind of enchanting affair had taken place in that dilapidated little temple on that moonlit night.

Everything had been burned clean by that great fire.

Like a dark, secret scar, it was etched in the most unknown corner of the heart, aching slightly, accompanying one for life until death.

The fire burned until dusk. With Prince Dongyang Jinyuan killed and his guards fleeing, who knows how many lives were lost in the stampede. By the time the sunset glow was like blood, the mountains and wilderness were bleak and desolate. The immense silence after the disaster completely enveloped the survivors. Everyone knelt on the ground, as if a long time had already passed in an instant.

Lu Jiuchen stood up. His hands were covered in blood, converging into a thread and dripping behind him with each step. Lin Bing called out to him and asked, "Where are you going?"

Lu Jiuchen did not answer.

Where to go? He didn't know either.

Back then, when Zhuo Yu killed his master and left the mountain, he followed; when Zhuo Yu took revenge for his clan's extermination, he rushed to pursue; when Zhuo Yu gathered his forces, he entered the court to stop him; when Zhuo Yu rebelled and threatened the palace, he was locked up, which he could have left anytime if he wanted to, and watched his every move in silence. He watched him become a notorious powerful official, watched him dominate a region and become highly sought after, watched him toss and turn sleepless at night, watched him laugh wildly and live recklessly...

Now Zhuo Yu was dead.

Where else could he go?

What else...could he do?

The setting sun gradually sank, dyeing the sky a bloody red. They watched Lu Jiuchen's figure slowly disappear, the wind lifting his robe as he gradually melted into the depths of the mountains.

No one could spare attention to stop Lu Jiuchen.

Ah Zhen's condition could not be delayed any longer. They had to remember to send her to the main camp of the Xiwan army. The rebel troops left behind by Prince Dongyang Jinyuan had already heard the news of the unrest. Overnight, bandits sprang up like weeds, wreaking havoc in Shandong. The court had to dispatch troops to suppress them.

Upon learning of the situation, the Qianwan Emperor swiftly issued an imperial edict, promoting Lin Bing to be the Commander-in-Chief of Hanbei and Shangguan Mingde to General. They were to raise an army from Hanbei, pursue and kill all the way to Hanzhong, and strive to intercept and annihilate the rebel army around the Huai River.

Within a few short days, the world fell into chaos. The various problems hidden in this peaceful and prosperous era all surfaced at once. Everyone clearly realized: the era of chaos had arrived.

Some struggled to survive, some fished in troubled waters, some played it safe, and some rose to prominence.

Everyone was busy, and no one noticed that under the ashes of the giant stone formation, beneath an inconspicuous old tree, a person laboriously stood up from a pile of bones, staggered to the base of the tree, and collapsed with a thud.

Zhuo Yu lay with his eyes tightly closed for a while, gradually gathering a bit of strength before slowly sitting up. He was covered in blood, probably without a single unbroken bone in his body. The burning sensation on his back was completely gone, replaced by numbness.

That tattoo was gone. Even without looking back, he could imagine his back was smooth and intact, with nothing but scars and bloodstains.

Did this mean that all his past sins and bloodshed had been written off?

Zhuo Yu was a little surprised that he hadn't died. Although he was extremely weak now, he felt clean and reborn, looking at the world with clear eyes. The past intensity and gloom had dissipated like clouds after a rain, leaving only brightness. Everything could start anew.

Night fell and the morning sun rose, stars and moon were sparse then rain poured. He sat there for a long time, as if he had already become one with the withered vines and old tree. His consciousness faded and cleared, the moments of lucidity growing shorter. He had almost forgotten the passage of time.

One day, he opened his eyes and saw a blurry figure standing before him, looking down at him from above.

Zhuo Yu raised his head, leaning against the tree trunk, and lazily glanced at the person. His voice was hoarse as if cut by a knife: "...General Lu, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Lu Jiuchen said nothing.

Zhuo Yu stood up unsteadily, supporting himself against the tree trunk, and looked him over. Although extremely weak, his voice still carried an elegant nonchalance: "...Since General Lu enjoys the breeze here, I won't disturb your lordship..."

He turned and took a few steps away. Lu Jiuchen, with his hands in his sleeves, gazed into the distance and said, "The Xiwan army has retreated."

Zhuo Yu didn't even look back. "What does that have to do with me?"

"His Majesty the King has ordered the entire nation to mourn for you for three months."

"What's that got to do with me?"

Suddenly, his world spun before his eyes. By the time he came to his senses, he had already been hoisted up by someone. He wasn't heavy, and Lu Jiuchen easily carried him as he jumped down the earthen slope, striding towards the horse tied under the tree.

"Those things have nothing to do with you, but you do have something to do with me."

Lu Jiuchen tossed him onto the horse's back, not caring that Zhuo Yu's blood rushed up and he almost threw up. Then he mounted the horse in one swift motion. With a crack of the whip, the horse let out a long neigh and galloped towards the horizon like a bolt of lightning.

The words scattered in the wind were blurry and unclear, fragmented and unfocused. In a daze, a few words pierced straight into the heart, as firm as silent boulders, always standing there, never changing.

"...We... can go home now."