The Story's Grand Finale

The girl was like a red swimming fish, her long legs moving gracefully and swiftly amidst the flared skirt. Her thick eyelashes remained unblinking in the shimmering water, and her clear black and white pupils reflected the image of her pale and slender body falling downwards, revealing a hint of panic.

She briefly parted the lake water near her mouth and nose with the Heaven and Earth Qi, and forcefully called out the person's name:

"Jiang Rongyue!"

The voice, swaying and lingering through the thick medium, reached the girl's ears, like a magic that could grant her anything, causing her tormented nerves and convulsing body to relax involuntarily.

Her lips were slightly upturned, but her thick eyelashes drooped like fans over her eyelids, as if she were fast asleep, relaxed and letting herself fall.

Li Shishi's heart tightened. After witnessing that peerless beauty and the sword that sank the river and stopped its flow, she should have been convinced that no one in the world could hurt her in the slightest. But for some reason, at this moment, she still sensed a certain fragile vulnerability in the other person.

The girl immediately connected it to the melting of a snowflake.

It was a delicate, silent Honkai.

But why would the inexplicable throbbing pain in one's chest cause countless snowflakes to melt during a heavy snowfall?

--It's reluctance to part, it's a panicked heart, it's hard to say goodbye.

How could that be?

Li Shishi quickened her downward swimming motion, refuting the emotions that welled up within her at that moment.

She doesn't like Jiang Rongyue at all.

She just... can't let her go.

The girl forcefully pushed aside the lake water, grabbing the girl's slender, bony ankle. She then used the Heaven and Earth Qi to shape the lake water into a rope, which wrapped around the girl's slightly thin and soft body. With a strong pull, she drew her into her embrace.

So soft...

Li Shishi felt her excessively soft body pressed against hers. The surrounding area was filled with the deep, warm lake water, yet she could still vaguely smell the faint fragrance of gardenias as the person's black hair swayed and fell down.

The girl's hairpin had fallen off sometime during her haste to enter the water, and her soft, black hair clung to her fair cheeks in strands, like wet clothes.

Her eyes remained open, as if she were still captivated by the fair skin and rare fragility. But then she suddenly noticed that her hair, floating on the lake, was inadvertently coming into contact with and entangled with the other person's hair, following the undulating motion of the water.

If things continue like this, wouldn't that be good too?

For a fleeting moment, the pent-up emotions and the questions I wanted to voice vanished, only to be followed by an even greater sense of suffocation and emptiness in the next breath.

Li Shishi silently embraced the other person and dragged him to the shore.

Jiang Rongyue's reborn skin looked too delicate, so even though she was a little upset, she still couldn't bear to put it casually on the rough ground and bluestone. She could only let the other person lie in her arms and use the clothes she had left on the shore to cover up a large part of her private parts.

Over the years, her cultivation of Qi techniques has gradually become more refined, although she still hasn't mastered the Sword Heart Technique artists. At this moment, she uses the energy of Honkai Energy turn into warm gusts of hot air, which surrounds the gap between their skin and the wet hair and clothes, like a large dryer in operation, slowly drying their skin.

Since Jiang Rongyue had converted the cold pool into a hot spring in advance, Li Shishi was not worried that she would catch a cold. However, the overly intimate posture between the two of them made her feel a little uncomfortable.

She listened to the man's breathing almost constantly, and because she was worried that he might be choking on water, she had to use her fingertips to pry open his slightly parted lips, revealing his white teeth and bright red mouth.

The girl murmured softly:

"It's alright, that's good."

It seems that Jiang Rongyue intentionally used the Heaven and Earth Qi to prevent the lake water from entering her mouth and nose, so she was not seriously injured and her breathing was very steady.

Li Shishi subconsciously observed carefully, and was momentarily stunned.

Her breasts, covered only by a thin cloth, undulated gently, revealing distinct shapes and softness. Her slightly exposed skin appeared even more delicate and alluring under the refraction of water droplets and arcs of light.

The Jiang Rongyue of today... is a version of herself she has never seen before.

This forced close contact exposed the girl's extreme vulnerability at that moment.

The girl lowered her eyes, gazing at her beautiful and serene face. Her fingertips lightly touched her thick, butterfly-wing-like eyelashes, causing a few drops of water to cling to them, rolling down their graceful curves and tracing a path to her swan-like neck...

Jiang Rongyue, you look so beautiful.

The image of me gripping the other person's neck at Cloud Dragon Waterfall flashed through my mind again, replaying repeatedly and overlapping with the scene in reality.

That trembling feeling in my heart, that strange emotion stirring within my chest, made me think of something similar again.

Sadistic tendencies and a desire for control.

I felt a pity for that fragile feeling, yet I also had an urge to destroy it.

The intertwined emotions of these two are like a stirring and uplifting piano piece, making the heart tremble and giving one an urgent urge and desire to integrate it into one's body and imprint it with one's own mark.

Li Shishi came to her senses and realized what she had been thinking. She withdrew her fingers as if she had been electrocuted, and used the coolness of her other fingertips to soothe her flushed face, calming the inexplicable heat. The emotions in her chest were indescribable.

No, no, no.

She needs to spend the next few years finding and observing more outstanding men, otherwise the situation will gradually become irreversible.

The girl's heart was in turmoil.

What exactly happened? I've never been like this before.

Li Shishi maintained that her sexual orientation had always been normal. Although she had been forced to learn how to use her beauty to please men, which led to a rebellious and somewhat averse to men, she had never come to the point of liking girls.

Otherwise, with so many girls in Zhen'an Ward, and Yan Huan of all shapes and sizes, it wouldn't seem like there was anything wrong with her, as the Courtesan, engaging in some "unspoken rules"...

Okay, there's a problem.

But she had never felt anything like that before.

In this day and age, such thoughts and feelings can only be recognized as a deep-seated ailment.

At this moment, Li Shishi felt extremely guilty and anxious. She was increasingly afraid that her feelings would be discovered by the ever-sensitive Jiang Rongyue.

But this emotion is hard to suppress, like a vast ocean that surges and churns at the slightest ripple.

The sword heart she had been slowly approaching was now becoming increasingly distant. At the age of 18, under these circumstances, she might never have a chance to enter the Void Sword Qi in her lifetime, and would never be able to meet the conditions for leaving the mountain set by Su Su.

Li Shishi's mind was filled with a multitude of negative thoughts.

As Jiang Rongyue's body gradually dried, she finally took the opportunity to sort out her thoughts and make up her mind.

Li Shishi was never an indecisive person. In the past, she could deceive herself by believing that time would smooth out the rough edges that were no longer part of her plans.

But now she has to admit that as long as she stays by Jiang Rongyue's side, the passage of time will only be a catalyst that makes the wine more mellow and the emotions more difficult to control.

Therefore, whether you want to sever ties or truly understand things, you must be in an environment where you can calmly reflect for a long time. In this case, the only option is to return to the original path.

That is to say, stay away from her and go wandering.

As for confronting Jiang Rongyue?

She doesn't even understand her own feelings or what decisions she should make, so what right does she have to put the other person in a difficult position?

Moreover... even if she lost this budding affection, the girl still cherished this good friend who had been by her side ever since she left the Capital City.

Therefore, if we are to risk parting ways here, it is better to bury it forever.

Jiang Rongyue's consciousness gradually returned to its core. She could vaguely sense a faint, rich fragrance emanating from her nasal cavity like a blooming flower, allowing her to experience a touch of sweetness even as she pursed her lips.

The girl felt an unprecedented warmth and comfort, as if it were a distant early childhood, when her father, whom she could not remember, was still alive. She was curled up in her mother's arms, not having to think about anything or insist on anything, only needing to enjoy the tenderness and tranquility of that time.

It was a feeling close to nothingness, and also the closest I've ever come to happiness, a feeling I've been relentlessly chasing towards an unknown destination.

All the suffering I had just endured seemed to have been washed away.

Jiang Rongyue instinctively counted the "prices" she had not yet borne in her Sea of consciousness. After indulging in this warm embrace for a while, she subconsciously decided to bear them all at once.

But at this very moment, Udu-dust, who should have been disconnected, shone brightly and spontaneously unleashed the power of the Key of Consciousness, forcibly separating the "price" of merging with the Sea of consciousness and incorporating it into himself.

Then, a celestial figure, detached from the mortal world, appeared.

He was an immortal who seemed to have shed all emotions and embraced too many years of life.

Her eyes were lowered, and her face, devoid of joy or sorrow, was a unique beauty born from a blend of youthful innocence and world-weariness, much like a landscape painting depicted with ink, conveying the essence of nature.

This was completely different from the Immortal Chi Yuan that Jiang Rongyue initially knew, yet he was undoubtedly still her master.

The girl finally regained full consciousness at this moment. She looked at the person and wanted to speak, but she was in a daze and didn't know how to open her mouth and speak in such a world.

Fu Hua glanced at her and said indifferently:

"The true body is completely isolated from the Proper World. The fact that this Udu-dust could produce my consciousness is something that even she herself would find unexpected."

"Therefore, whether I can reappear is entirely unknown."

After answering the other party's questions, the immortal gave a detached instruction:

"Jiang Rongyue, don't get into that state again."

"You believe your will is strong enough, but this is not something you can endure by simply pushing yourself. If it happens again in a short time, your soul will Honkai."

She paused, then said softly:

"There shouldn't be any demons in this world that you have to pay such a price to defeat."

He finished speaking.

The celestial figure shattered into crimson feathers, which then swayed and fell back into the Udu-dust, disappearing without a trace.

Jiang Rongyue's consciousness seemed to be traveling on a long train, traversing countless tracks in an instant before returning to the present. Before her eyelashes fluttered and her pupils could truly see again, she had already sketched the girl's chin and downcast gaze in her heart.

So beautiful.

But once that face was clearly visible, this instinctive feeling became all the more genuine.

Li Shishi was the epitome of beauty. She was slender and graceful, yet her overall demeanor was like that of a blooming peach blossom or a peony in full bloom, possessing a captivating charm as intense and enduring as strong liquor. A single glance was enough to make one forget worldly concerns. It was no surprise that such a person could become the most famous Courtesan in the Capital City.

But what followed was doubt.

Why did Shishi come here? And how did she manage to find this place?

Jiang Rongyue had already made certain efforts and arrangements to prevent Li Shishi from noticing anything amiss, even though Li Shishi was an exception among the infinite possibilities she could foresee in the future, the other factors were not so simple.

With such a well-planned arrangement, it is clearly unusual for a young girl to travel from the village at the foot of the mountain to Cloud Dragon Waterfall in just half an hour.

Li Shishi handed her the undergarment and the rest of her clothes, then turned her back and remained silent.

Jiang Rongyue put on her clothes, but remained silent for a moment, her mind unsettled.

The girl lingered in the feeling of being in his arms, and being caught in the act at her most embarrassing moment, she didn't know how to explain herself.

As for questioning the other party, that was not something she would do, so she could only remain silent for the time being.

Li Shishi took a deep breath and asked:

"Is there something wrong with your health?"

The answer to this question will affect when she leaves [Chaosan].

Both emotionally and rationally, I don't want my partner to have health problems.

Jiang Rongyue carefully considered her words, then paused for a few breaths, feeling conflicted.

If she had hesitated a little more at that moment and revealed more of the truth, perhaps many things would have been different.

Can...

"I encountered some problems in my cultivation, and I was anxious to advance to the Tai Xu Realm ahead of schedule. However, this is not something that can be forced. Previously, the circulation between my body and the Heaven and Earth Qi became disordered, but thanks to your help, it is now fine. There is no need to worry."

Li Shishi pondered the answer she had heard, first feeling relieved that she was safe and sound, then her heart sank.

She realized that she truly had no reason to convince herself to refuse that choice.

The girl turned around, gazing into the man's usually cool, captivating eyes. Ignoring the unusual unease in the girl's expression, she said earnestly:

"Rongyue, I will be leaving once the establishment of Chao Xian City is completed."

"Just like I told you back then, I want to see how vast the world is."

Where to go?

Jiang Rongyue looked stunned; her lips moved but no words came out.

The construction plan for Chao Xian City is nearing its end, and it seems that the time for parting, as the other party mentioned, will soon arrive.

The girl had always taken Li Shishi's presence by her side for granted, never considering the possibility of Li traveling alone, or... what would happen to her without Li Shishi. So when she received the news, she was at a loss for words.

Should we try to keep them?

From what standpoint? On what grounds?

Friends? Shishi's initial wish was to travel the world alone; what reason is there to hinder her in the slightest?

The Sect Master of Chao Xian? The sect has never lacked Li Shishi's combat strength and personal abilities, so it's not very convincing.

Besides this, is there any other relationship between the two?

--No.

Upon realizing the answer, Jiang Rongyue felt a sense of disappointment for the first time.

Of course, she could also find reasons to directly state the price of [foreseeing the future], to tell the other person that she is an indispensable guide and beacon for them.

But this was precisely the proposal that was rejected from the very beginning.

Jiang Rongyue is the kind of fool who would choose to Ascending Tower State just because of Li Shishi's slightest emotion. It is impossible for such a person to engage in behavior that resembles moral blackmail at this time.

Even if it leaves me battered and bruised, or even causes me to lose my own consciousness, I will still do it.

The creation of [Chaoxian] was Jiang Rongyue's own decision, and she was unwilling to pay any unnecessary price for it.

Even after meeting these people and becoming closer to real humans, she was still most like an unyielding sword, still not knowing how to handle such complicated matters.

So in the end, Jiang Rongyue could only lower her eyes and slowly utter a definite yes from her lips:

"Good."

Li Shishi could see that the girl's cool face had lost some color, but she assumed it was just disappointment. Still, she felt a pang of sympathy and said:

"The ninth day of the third month."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Rongyue's thick eyelashes trembled slightly, and her usually melancholy eyes brightened.

Like algae that have discovered a glimmer of light in the deep sea, they would naturally be overjoyed by this unexpected gift from fate.

She understood clearly that this was the day that Immortal Chi Yuan and Su Su left Mount Taixu.

Li Shishi was completely unaware that she was giving the other person a hope that they could hold on to her desperately, and simply continued:

"Even if I travel far away, I will still come back to Mount Taixu at this time of year."

"If Rongyue misses me, then come see me around this time of year."

Jiang Rongyue touched her chin, her dark eyes seeming to sparkle with starlight, and said firmly:

I will come.

"Must."

Ephemeral World.

The distant sunset clouds resembled a surging sea, while the Fire Clouds, some thick and some thin, blanketed the gentle sky, casting down delicate yet magnificent light.

The dark brown granite and the moon-white bluestone slabs gleamed in the background, draped with a layer of exquisite gauze.

They stood on this ancient bridge, witnessing this moment together.

The boy silently gazed at the scenery, then looked back at the little girl who had suddenly taken his hand. Her blinking eyes seemed to offer some comfort. She then took Fu Hua's hand again and said earnestly:

"Xiao Su, be happy!"

Su Qing'an had seen many sunsets, but for some reason, only this [floating foam] horizon gave her a special feeling.

The twilight was beautiful, and the wind was gentle.

From a distance, the image of the little girl holding the two men's hands, framed against the backdrop of the ancient bridge and the vibrant sunset, creates a lingering and evocative scene, much like the ending of a story.

The word "good" that the boy uttered was swept away by the warm breeze and landed on some unknown foam, his tone firm.