"Ah..." Zhang Tie cried out, opened his eyes, and woke to find Tang Mei sitting across from him, propping her chin on one hand. With her beautiful eyes wide open, she watched him curiously and unhurriedly, as if she had been waiting for him for a long time.
Tang Mei was clad in white like snow, her black hair cascading like a waterfall. A brazier and a tea set sat on the table before them, and the fragrant tea aroma still seemed to linger in the air around him, curling beneath his nose. He was in a small pavilion, beyond which stretched an apricot grove, its blossoms blazing like fire.
The moment Zhang Tie opened his eyes, his gaze met Tang Mei's.
What was going on? Why was he here? Hadn't Great Xia already been destroyed? Hadn't he died in battle at Xuanyuan Hill?
Even now, Zhang Tie vividly remembered the utterly real sensation of his body being shattered to pieces during that final collision with the Ancient Morality Stele controlled by the Sovereign Demon God of the Devil Race. Vaguely, he seemed to remember seeing Little Thunder die a heroic death alongside him after his fall...
Was he dreaming, or was this the world after death?
At that moment, Zhang Tie's mind was in utter chaos. He sat there, completely dumbfounded.
"Brother, are you awake?" Tang Mei asked gently.
"Where is this?"
"Wa Emperor Palace, of course!" Tang Mei blinked.
Slap... Zhang Tie backhanded himself across the face.
His face burned with pain. This was not a dream. At the same time, his hand felt damp. Zhang Tie touched his face and discovered that it was covered in tears. Not only his face—even the front of his clothes had been soaked through. When he carefully sensed himself, he found