Regret!

That crisp slap was like an invisible whip, striking Qian Renxue's heart hard.

Looking at the glaring redness and bloodstains on her mother's face, and listening to her mother's murmured words filled with endless regret, her eyes instantly turned red and bloodshot.

The intense sorrow and overwhelming self-blame overwhelmed her last shred of stubbornness.

Yes, the mother was wrong.

She harbored that forbidden thought, was corrupted by the Rakshasa, and lost control of her emotions.

But Qian Renxue could no longer deceive herself.

Before Bibi Dong's emotional breakdown and before the Rakshasa demonic thoughts gained the upper hand, she had set aside all her pride and painfully expressed her compromise in front of her.

"As long as you can accept it, the three of us can be together."

Although for Bibi Dong at that time, it was a double tear in terms of both emotions and ethics.

It was her Qian Renxue.

It was that she couldn't let go of the pride and selfishness that belonged to the heir of the Angel God, to a woman Covet to possess her lover entirely.

The societal perception, the absurdity of mother and daughter sharing the same caregiver, and the complex and unspeakable resentment she harbored towards her mother deep within her heart led her to choose silence when the door to reconciliation and possibility opened a crack. She chose to respond with a cold back and even deeper resistance.

She knew that her mother's mind was unstable, and her emotions were like walking on the edge of a cliff, possibly to be swallowed by darkness at any moment and return to the cold and ruthless person she was six years ago. Yet, she stubbornly used her own pain as an excuse to push Lin Xia into the Abyss of despair as well.

It was she who, unseen, urged Lin Xia to take the risk and head towards that forbidden land of death, to search for the elusive "Forget-Worry Vine".

This realization was sharper than any dagger, instantly piercing through Qian Renxue's defenses.

"Waaah..."

A suppressed sob escaped from her tightly clenched lips.

Qian Renxue suddenly lowered her head, her forehead pressed against the cold edge of the bed, her long golden hair cascading down like a dull waterfall, obscuring her tear-streaked face.

His shoulders began to heave uncontrollably, and tears streamed down his face, falling onto the cold floor.

Overwhelmed by shame and overwhelming remorse, she wished she could bury herself in the ground.

"... Mother..."

She choked back tears, her voice broken and strained, filled with a heavy sob and an unprecedented sense of humility.

"... I'm... I'm sorry... it was my fault... sob... I was really wrong..."

Each word seemed to be squeezed out with all one's might.

"I shouldn't... I shouldn't have said that to you... It was selfish of me... I couldn't let go of that ridiculous pride and... possessiveness..."

Her voice was broken and fragmented, filled with self-loathing.

"It was me... it was me who refused to accept reality... refusing to... let you go... and... refusing to let Xiao Xia go... it was me... who drove him... to a dead end..."

Qian Renxue suddenly raised her head, her eyes brimming with tears, and looked at Bibi Dong, whose face was also covered in tears and swollen. Her golden eyes held no anger or blame, only endless pain and utter repentance.

"It's my fault... it's my fault that he... and that you... Mother... I'm sorry... really... I'm so sorry..."

Her daughter's heart-wrenching cries and apologies, as if her soul had been torn apart, Infiltrator Bibi Dong's fragile heart more effectively than any attack.

Seeing Qian Renxue's painfully curled-up figure and hearing her tearful confession, Bibi Dong felt a surge of overwhelming remorse and self-loathing mixed with an indescribable bitterness and heartache.

Reason struggled to overcome the mad incoherent ramblings of the Rakshasa.

Bibi Dong took a deep breath, the air thick with the stench of blood and the saltiness of tears.

She slowly raised her hand, not to hurt herself again, but with an almost exhausting weariness and bitterness, and gently touched her burning, aching cheek.

My fingertips touched the swollen skin and the bloodstains at the corner of my mouth, causing a slight stinging sensation.

She looked at Qian Renxue, her expression extremely complicated.

There is a deep sense of guilt towards her daughter—if she hadn't harbored those inappropriate thoughts, none of this would have happened; there is also heartache at seeing her daughter in such pain and despair.

There is another kind of poignant resonance... that we are both women, both deeply entangled in love, and both torn apart by societal norms and ethics.

"No... Xue'er..."

Bibi Dong's voice was hoarse and low, carrying a deep weariness.

"It's not your fault... all this misfortune... the root of it all lies with me..."

Her gaze returned to the silent Lin Xia, her eyes filled with pain and emptiness.

"It was me... who had thoughts I shouldn't have had... who harbored delusions I shouldn't have..."

Every word felt like it had rolled off a knife's edge.

"I am the Pope... I am your mother... yet... yet I... Xiao Xia..."

She seemed unable to fully express that forbidden emotion; her voice choked with sobs, and overwhelming shame and regret made her close her eyes again, tears silently streaming down her face.

"If it weren't for that... you and him... should have been..."

She couldn't continue.

If it weren't for her intentions, Qian Renxue and Lin Xia might have already naturally gotten together and become a divine couple admired by everyone in the Spirit Hall and even the entire continent.

It was she who single-handedly pushed the situation to the brink of utter ruin.

"It was me... who destroyed all of this... who drove him... to this dead end..."

Her words were filled with endless desolation and self-abandonment.

In an instant, the two most esteemed women in the Douluo Continent were in a state of shock. One knelt by the bedside, her cheeks swollen and red, tears streaming down her face.

A woman, her blond hair disheveled, was hunched over the foot of the bed, sobbing uncontrollably.

Their eyes met, no longer filled with Spite and killing, but overwhelmed by the same bottomless pain and self-reproach.

The invisible wall between mother and daughter, built of Spite, misunderstanding, competition, and ethical taboos, was forcibly breached at this moment by Lin Xia's near-death experience and their own inner collapse and self-blame.

Tears of regret washed away the blood and tear stains on their faces, and also cleansed the scabs that had formed on the walls of their hearts.

Only the sound of mournful sobbing remained in the room.

Their gazes finally settled firmly and anxiously on Lin Xia's pale face.

Those slightly heaving chests became the only straw holding their crumbling sanity together.

The previous desire to fight had long since vanished, replaced by an almost suffocating fear and an urgent need to protect.

Whether it was Bibi Dong's Sheer Force suppressed Rakshasa demonic thoughts or Qian Renxue's churning complex emotions, they were both now governed by a common, overwhelming thought—he cannot die!

At least... they shouldn't die because of their infighting!

After a long pause, Qian Renxue seemed to realize something and suddenly said excitedly to Bibi Dong:

"Mother, didn't Senior Bi Ji just say that as long as Xiao Xia can resolve her inner conflict, her soul can return?"

Bibi Dong shuddered, and the deathly stillness in her purple eyes was suddenly ignited!

Yes!

Bi Ji's words echoed clearly in my ears like a brand, "The one who tied the knot must untie it," "What caused his inner turmoil?" "The ones who can bring him back... are you"...

The rationality that had been overwhelmed by boundless regret and panic was suddenly pulled back by her daughter's urgent reminder.

"Yes... that's what Bi Ji said..."