Farewell

The night on Sea God Island is very quiet.

Moonlight filtered through the edges of the clouds, spilling onto Sea God Lake and shattering into a silvery-white shimmer.

A few lights were still on in the distant Outer Court teaching building, very faint, like the light of fireflies. Looking across the lake, they appeared blurry, like another world.

The lights of the Sea God Pavilion were out, and the gray-white building gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

Long Yeyue sat by the window, which was open, and a light, cool night breeze blew in from the lake.

She wore a dark long gown, her hair loose, the silvery-white strands almost transparent in the moonlight.

I held a cup of tea in my hand; the tea had long since gone cold, and a fine layer of water droplets had condensed on the cup's surface.

She didn't drink; she just held the cup, her fingers gently tracing the rim, making slow, light circles.

Her gaze was unfocused, fixed on the distant Sea God Lake, as if she were seeing nothing at all.

A document was spread out to her left; a gentle breeze blew through it, and a few lines of text could be faintly seen.

In the year 11583 of the Douluo Calendar, Hades Douluo Harosa and Calamity Moon Douluo Zhao Yunhong perished together with Wang Tianlu, the Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion, and Jiang Ninghui, the Deputy Pavilion Master, outside Heaven Dou City...

Long Yeyue turned her gaze from the lake to the document.

A gust of wind blew by, turning another page and revealing a more detailed account.

She didn't stop them; she just looked at the words, at those characters sealed away by ink for thousands of years.

"... Zhao Yunhong, Martial Soul unknown, wielding a silver-white longsword, handsome face, white hair... red eyes..."

The next morning.

Sunlight streamed in from the sea, turning the entire Sea God Island golden.

Yun Jingheng stood at the door, wearing a dark coat and with his hair tied up.

He turned to look at Yun Ming.

"Dad, where's the body?"

"Hmm? Oh, it's in the soul-guided storage device."

"I can't exactly carry it all the way, can I? If someone sees me, they'll think I've killed another one."

"Too..."

"Alright, go early and come back early. When you get back, take a medicinal bath, and then go to class as usual tomorrow."

"Good."

Yun Ming didn't say anything more and turned to walk out.

Yun Jingheng followed.

The two left Sea God Island, crossed the stone bridge, and arrived at the gate of the Outer Court.

Yun Ming stopped, turned to look at Yun Jingheng, "Hold on tight."

Yun Jingheng was taken aback. "Huh?"

Yun Ming didn't explain, but grabbed him by the back of his collar and lifted him up like a chick.

Yun Jingheng's feet left the ground, his body swayed twice in mid-air, and he instinctively reached out and grabbed Yun Ming's arm.

"Dad--"

"Don't speak."

Yun Ming lightly touched the ground with his toes, and his whole body shot into the sky like an arrow.

The wind whistled in his ears, Yun Jingheng's hair flew wildly, and his eyes narrowed into slits.

He glanced down and saw Shrek City shrinking beneath his feet, like a chessboard laid out on the ground, with houses as pieces and streets as squares.

Sea God Lake is like a silvery-white mirror, shimmering in the sunlight.

"Dad, couldn't you have told me beforehand?"

Yun Jingheng's voice was broken and intermittent due to the wind.

Yun Ming ignored him and continued flying upwards.

The clouds were getting closer and closer overhead, the air was getting thinner and thinner, and the temperature was getting lower and lower.

Yun Jingheng shivered and pulled his coat collar up.

How much longer will it take to fly?

Yun Ming glanced at him.

"Arrive."

He began to descend.

Yun Jingheng looked down and saw an endless expanse of green below— the Star Dou Great Forest.

The tree canopies merge together, like a giant green carpet spread across the earth.

At the edge of the forest, a pale golden light barrier faintly appeared; it was the blockade set up by the Spirit Pagoda.

The light barrier was very high, stretching from the ground all the way to the clouds, encircling the entire Star Dou Great Forest.

The patrol team moved back and forth outside the light barrier; there were human Soul Master and soul-guided mechs.

Yun Ming hovered high in the sky, looking down at the blockade line below, his brow furrowing slightly.

He took a long detour, squeezing through the gap between the two outposts.

He was so fast that even the patrolling flying Soul Beast didn't notice him.

Yun Jingheng's eyes were squinting from the wind, but he still tried to look down, though a strange restlessness lingered in his heart.

"When will this blockade be lifted?" Yun Jingheng asked.

Yun Ming remained silent.

Yun Jingheng continued, "Is the Spirit Pagoda surrounding the Star Dou Great Forest to turn it into a zoo?"

His voice was slightly muffled by the wind, but the dissatisfaction in his tone was clear.

Yun Ming glanced at him but didn't say anything.

He led Yun Jingheng through the blockade and landed in a grove of trees.

The ground was soft, covered with fallen leaves and pine needles, and made no sound when stepped on.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, falling in patches on the ground.

Yun Ming released Yun Jingheng's collar and clapped his hands.

"We've arrived. This is the outer perimeter."

"Outer perimeter? Does the Star Dou Great Forest still have an outer perimeter now?"

"I mean... the outer perimeter of the Core Area."

"But..."

"Jing Heng, do you know why we fenced off the Star Dou Great Forest?"

"Because of the war three thousand years ago."

"Yes and no. A threat provides a reason, a reason provides action, action provides resources, and resources provide power."

"So, the Spirit Pagoda surrounded the Star Dou Great Forest not to protect humanity, but for its own benefit?"

Yun Ming did not answer.

But Yun Jingheng felt that he hadn't denied it.

The two walked for a while and then stopped. Yun Ming took the corpse of the Nether Ice Fang Leopard out of his Storage Soul Tool.

"Let's stay here. If we go any further, Di Tian will have to come out."

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, falling on the leopard's body, its silvery-white fur shimmering softly in the light.

Yun Jingheng squatted down and looked at it for a long time.

He reached out and placed his hand on the leopard's head.

Its fur was stiff and prickly, like needles, but it had lost its body temperature.

He withdrew his hand, stood up, and took a step back.

He took out a shovel from his Storage Soul Tool.

The blade was sharpened to a fine point, gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

He held it in his hand, weighed it in his hand, then walked to the old locust tree, chose a flat spot, and began to dig.

The soil was very loose when I first scooped it up, and it was easy to lift.

He dumped the soil aside and continued digging.

Yun Ming stood quietly to the side, his hands behind his back, watching Yun Jingheng dig the hole.

He didn't speak or offer any help; he just watched.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, falling on Yun Jingheng's back; a small patch of his jacket was soaked with sweat.

His movements were mechanical; he dug shovel by shovel, piling the soil around him, making the pit deeper and bigger.

When the pit was knee-deep, Yun Jingheng stopped, took a breath, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He looked down into the pit. The bottom was flat, the soil was dark brown and damp, and it had a faint earthy smell.

He nodded, climbed out of the pit, walked to the Nether Ice Fang Leopard, and squatted down.

He stared at the leopard's face for a long time.

Its eyes were closed, its fangs had lost their luster, and its silvery-white fur was covered with dust and fallen leaves.

He reached out and gently brushed the fallen leaves off it, as if afraid of waking it.

Then he stood up, bent down, grabbed the leopard's forelimbs with both hands, and dragged it forcefully towards the edge of the pit.

Its body was heavy, much heavier than he had imagined; his arms were trembling, but he did not let go.

Yun Ming stood to the side, watching, without moving.

Yun Jingheng dragged the leopard to the edge of the pit, stopped, and panted.

He looked into the pit, then at the leopard, then bent down and pushed the leopard into the pit.

With a "thud," the leopard's body landed at the bottom of the pit, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

Yun Jingheng stood at the edge of the pit, looking down at it for a long time.

Then he picked up a shovel and began filling the hole with soil.

The soil gradually covered the leopard's body, its limbs, its torso, and its head.

Yun Jingheng stuck the shovel into the soil, took a step back, and looked at the small mound of earth.

He looked at it for a while, then took out a stone slab from his Storage Soul Tool, placed it on the ground, and carved a few words on it with his index finger. "The Nether Ice Fang Leopard rests here."

After he finished carving, he stuck the stone slab into the ground, stood up, and took a step back.

Yun Ming stood to the side, shifting his gaze from Yun Jingheng to the depths of the woods.

There, behind a large tree, stood a figure.

Long black hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her golden pupils gleamed faintly in the shadows of the trees.

Di Tian.

He stood behind the tree, his hands behind his back, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

He looked at the freshly turned soil, at the stone slab stuck in the ground, and at Yun Jingheng and Yun Ming standing beside him.

The wind blew, the leaves rustled, and his hair was blown up and then fell back down.

Yun Ming looked at him, and he looked at Yun Ming.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds.

Di Tian shifted his gaze from Yun Ming to Yun Jingheng.

He looked at the child's profile, at the crescent moon mark between his eyebrows, and at the faint, ethereal blue light on his left hand.

He stared for a long time, then looked away, turned, and left.

The footsteps were light and steady, disappearing into the depths of the woods.

Yun Ming withdrew his gaze and looked at Yun Jingheng.

Let's go.

Yun Jingheng nodded, "Mm."

Gu Yue leaned against his bed, staring at the messages on his Soul Guidance Communicator, lost in thought.

A moment later, she raised her eyes, stood up, opened the door, and left.