Heart

Autumn rain fell to the earth, leaves rustling and pattering.

Feeling the warmth of the woman's soft hand, Xu Yuan suddenly smiled. Then, as he smiled, he abruptly fell silent and withdrew his hand.

Li Qingyan was right.

Rather than pour his heart out, he preferred to bury everything inside. Or perhaps—even if he wanted to speak, he simply had no idea where to begin.

They walked silently along the imperial corridor behind the Golden Throne Hall, listening to the rain. Li Qingyan did not urge him on, merely walked quietly at his side, yet the irritation in Xu Yuan's heart gradually mounted.

Instinctively, he wanted to blame this chest-bound princess for bringing it up, but deep down, he knew that nameless irritation was anger at himself. Even now, he did not know what the woman who had died for him truly meant to him.

In every sense of the word.

Li Junwu's death had made him think about many things he had instinctively overlooked in the past.

He was someone who took things as they came and disliked dwelling on such philosophical questions, but these things truly, undeniably existed.

Xu Yuan.

Xu Changtian.

Memories.

Personality.

When he had first cultivated the Blood Origin Heart-Fall Technique, the Heaven Gate Sword Intent had slashed away all of Xu Changtian's emotions, leaving only his memories for Xu Yuan.

The original Xu Yuan had always recalled those memories as though watching a first-person VR film. Any emotions stirred up during those recollections, he had taken merely as the sense of immersion one felt while watching a movie.

Naturally, that included the memories of that fool.

Xu Yuan had considered her an interesting playmate, a good breast-brother worthy of sharing his heart with. Whenever they flirted at the edge of propriety and he took