Responsibility

Morning sunlight in Skysea City streamed gently through the suite's broad floor-to-ceiling windows, filling the room and dispelling the last trace of nighttime silence. The beams moved slowly across the carpet through the gauze curtains, like dancing golden sprites.

Tang Wulin was the first to wake. The moment his consciousness returned, the first thing he felt was a soft, fragrant body wrapped tightly around him like a vine clinging to the thing it loved most. Gu Yuena was sleeping soundly, one arm possessively draped across his chest and one leg restlessly pressed over his. Her long silver hair covered them both, with a few strands playfully brushing the tip of his nose and bringing a faint tickle.

He lowered his head and looked at the peaceful sleeping face in his arms. Her long lashes were like two little fans, casting soft shadows over her eyelids. Those usually cool and penetrating violet eyes were tightly shut, making her seem less distant and adding a touch of completely unguarded innocence. What softened his heart most was the delicate corner of her mouth, where a faint, glistening trace had appeared—the little bit of drool that had escaped while she slept sweetly.

The corners of Tang Wulin's mouth rose uncontrollably, forming an utterly indulgent smile. After ten thousand years of reincarnation and the shifting of stars and seasons, this slightly childish habit of hers remained exactly as it had been. With the utmost care, using force so gentle it would scarcely disturb a mote of dust, he slowly freed himself from her octopus-like embrace.

His movements were as gentle as if he were handling a priceless treasure. Only after completely escaping did he slowly sit up, tuck the covers around her, and let his gaze linger on her face. The morning light gilded her with a warm golden outline. Her beautiful silver hair shimmered like moonlight, while the slightly curled ends seemed to dance with specks of starlight. Sleeping Gu Yuena was as beautiful as a dream unwilling to wake, a perfect painting frozen in time.

He did not get up. He simply sat quietly at the bedside, gazing at her as though he could never look enough. His eyes occasionally shifted toward the window. Skysea City had already awakened. Flying cars streamed along the aerial tracks in orderly lines. In the distance, strangely shaped soul-guided buildings towered into the clouds, reflecting the cold gleam of metal beneath the sun. The city looked utterly different from the fragmented memories in his mind, remnants belonging to ten thousand years ago.

His thoughts drifted into the distance. Di Tian's words echoed in his mind once more—the son of God King Tang San, the sect master of the Tang Sect ten thousand years ago, the master of Sea God Pavilion... Each weighty identity was like an ancient brand, recounting the responsibilities and glory he had once carried.

He gently shook his head, a relieved smile touching his lips. Ten thousand years had passed. The seas had changed, and people were no longer the same. Those glorious yet heavy memories now seemed more like an epic legend belonging to someone else. Whose son he was, or what authority he had once wielded, no longer seemed important.

What truly mattered was the person lying beside him, sleeping so soundly.

It was the love that had crossed ten thousand years of solitude, ice, and oblivion, yet still burned fiercely in the depths of his soul—and had become incomparably clear and scorching after that kiss in the arena box yesterday.

He believed he must have given his all for the responsibilities of ten thousand years ago, perhaps even paying an unimaginable price before finally earning release. Now, the times had changed. Humanity and the soul beasts had found a new way to coexist, and the world he had once protected seemed to be moving in a better direction.

Then, for the time that remained, he only wished to belong to her—to Gu Yuena alone. That would be enough.

A vague yet beautiful vision gradually took shape in his heart: once they slowly recovered all their lost memories and completed the whole past that belonged to them, he would take her away from this planet that carried too many memories. They would roam freely through the vast universe, explore the endless sea of stars, and experience all kinds of lives in entirely different worlds... No shackles of race, no chains of responsibility—only the two of them, and eternal love.

At that thought, his heart filled with peaceful anticipation for the future. His gaze fell on Gu Yuena's face once more, and his relieved features revealed a pure, passionate smile filled with endless satisfaction and tenderness.

Just then, those captivating violet eyes opened without warning.

Perhaps his gaze had been too focused, or perhaps it was the resonance between their hearts. Gu Yuena's newly awakened eyes still held a hazy moisture, like a starry sky veiled in mist. At a glance, she saw the gentle smile on Tang Wulin's face, a smile warm enough to melt anyone, which he had not yet concealed.

In an instant, the memory of her "feat" of knowingly sleeping in his arms last night, along with her possibly less-than-"elegant" sleeping posture, surged into her mind. A mixture of embarrassment and chagrin made the tips of her ears burn. Almost instinctively, she reached out and grabbed Tang Wulin by the lapel, yanking him toward her before burying her flushed cheek in the warmth of his neck. With a nasal, muffled little complaint, she said:

"Don't laugh at me!"

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Tang Wulin froze for a moment, then let out a bright, delighted laugh. He obediently allowed her to pull him closer, naturally wrapping one arm around her slender waist while lifting the other to gently caress her flushed, lovely face. His fingertips lingered lovingly over her smooth, delicate skin.

"Alright, I won't laugh at you." His voice carried the huskiness unique to early morning, magnetic and gentle. "Actually, I was just thinking..." He paused, his gaze sinking deeply into her gradually clearing violet eyes, as though he wanted to look straight into the depths of her soul. "I was thinking about how much I love you."

The frank and passionate confession struck Gu Yuena's heart without warning, throwing her heartbeat into even greater disarray than yesterday's kiss. She stared at him blankly, looking at the ocean-deep, boundless love in his eyes, utterly undisguised. All her embarrassment and chagrin melted into even deeper emotion.

She caught the hand caressing her cheek, intertwining her fingers tightly with his. Her violet eyes rippled with an affection gentler than spring water after ten thousand years of ice had melted.

"Wulin," she said softly, her voice carrying an absolute certainty that had crossed endless ages, "I love you too."

She exerted a little force and intertwined their fingers, as though she wanted to lock their fates firmly together once more.

"I've loved you... for ten thousand years."

This was not exaggerated rhetoric, but a statement of a fact they had experienced together. Even though they had forgotten everything, this love had long since become instinctive to their souls—a presence more ancient and more eternal than memory.

A tender atmosphere flowed quietly between them, while the sunlight gilded their embracing figures with a warm golden outline. Only after quite some time did Tang Wulin speak again, his tone becoming slightly more formal.

"Gu Yue, we've been staying in Skysea City for several days. Next, I think we should visit the Tang Sect and the Spirit Pagoda."

Feeling her cool fingers in his palm, he continued explaining, "Di Tian said that we used to be the leaders of those two powers. More clues about our past may be hidden there. They might help us remember more."

Gu Yuena listened quietly, a thoughtful look flashing through her violet eyes. Her feelings toward the Tang Sect were relatively complicated. After all, it had once been a top human power that stood opposed to her. As for the Spirit Pagoda, a deeper and harder-to-describe emotion lingered in the depths of her heart. It was the birthplace of the Soul Spirit system, and it had once been an indispensable power when she controlled humanity ten thousand years ago.

Regardless, recovering their memories was their shared goal. Besides, with him at her side, wherever they went and whatever they faced no longer seemed worth doubting.

She nodded lightly and rubbed her cheek against his neck in dependence. Her voice was soft with the drowsiness of someone newly awake, yet perfectly clear in expressing her agreement.

"Mm. I'll listen to you."

Although they had settled on their goal, the two did not hurry to leave. They enjoyed this rare, peaceful morning of hearts in harmony. In the sunlit hotel room, they leaned against each other once more and closed their eyes.

They were not falling asleep, but immersing themselves in each other's warmth and scent, building up tremendous energy for the next journey that would soon begin—a journey aimed at the core of their past.

Their next stop would be the birthplace of the Tang Sect, an ancient city that likewise carried countless histories and legends—

Heaven Dou City.

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