When Yue Yang woke up, Supreme was nowhere to be seen.
The Bloody Queen who had survived by hiding in the passage within the statue's pedestal—Hong's mother—was quietly sitting in the side chamber, waiting for him.
"What is this?" Yue Yang discovered that his clothes had turned to ash. A snow-white velvet cloak covered him. When he sniffed it closely, the soft cloak seemed to carry an indescribable maidenly fragrance. Could this be Supreme's cloak? Where had Supreme gone?
"Come with me!" Hong's mother rose to her feet and beckoned Yue Yang over.
Then she turned around.
She was the first to enter the pedestal passage.
Inside, Yue Qiu's original body had been shattered into ashes by the tremors of battle, scattered all over the ground. Yet his soul still retained the will he had possessed in life, holding up the stone gate at the entrance. While Yue Yang had been changing clothes, Hong's mother had gently gathered Yue Qiu's scattered ashes into a pile and carefully placed them in a gemstone box... When Yue Yang entered, she handed it to him with a trace of reluctance.
She believed Yue Yang was Yue Qiu's son, or at least his son in name. The remains should be entrusted to him.
Yue Yang pondered for a moment.
Then shook his head. "You should keep them."
Delight appeared on Hong's mother's face, along with the shy embarrassment of having her heart glimpsed by a younger generation member.
Lowering her head, she tried to explain. "Actually, Tiger Slayer and I only met a few times. I merely admired his character; ours was not the kind of relationship outsiders imagined. Hong is doing well by your side. That too is fate. I have no attachments left in my heart now. From now on, I will