Gu Yue's Plan

At the heart of the Star Dou Great Forest, the surface of Life Lake was utterly still, like a forgotten mirror. The lake reflected the light overhead, which was absorbed and refracted layer by layer by the darkness beneath the water, eventually turning into a bottomless, deep blue, as though something down there were breathing slowly.

Gu Yue sat in midair above the center of the lake. The throne woven from wind and water elements had no physical form, yet it supported her as steadily as a mountain. Her fingertips rested on its armrest, her knuckles slightly bent without exerting any force, as though she were maintaining a posture that required no deliberate effort. Her gaze rested on the lake's surface, unmoving and unaverted, as if she were looking at something—or at nothing at all.

Di Tian knelt on one knee at the edge of the shore. He was taller than any of the surrounding trees, but now his head was lowered, his spine curved in a bow. His usually cold, sharp golden slit pupils were cast toward the ground, not daring to look in her direction. When he spoke, his voice was lower than usual, as if suppressing some unnecessary fluctuation. "My Lord, I still believe this is the best time to fuse with the Golden Dragon King's power."

Gu Yue did not answer at once. Her finger lightly tapped the armrest, then she shifted her gaze from the lake to him. Her gaze was not heavy, yet Di Tian's shoulders sank slightly. "Now?" she repeated, as though weighing the meaning of those two words. Then she shook her head. "No. Not yet."

Di Tian raised his head, a faint furrow appearing between his brows before he suppressed it as quickly as possible. He lowered his head again, but his voice came faster than before. "Why? We can clearly complete our revenge plan now. Why do we still have to wait?" He paused, as if swallowing certain words back down his throat, then replaced them with something gentler. "It has been nearly a million years. This subordinate truly does not want to wait any longer."

Gu Yue rose to her feet. Ice condensed beneath her, forming step after step from beneath the throne toward the middle of the lake. The ice was smooth and level, as though the temperature of every step she took had ironed it flat. She descended one step at a time, neither hurried nor slow, as though using this method to more clearly feel the passage of time. She stopped at the very center of the lake, standing atop a thin layer of ice. Beneath her feet, ripples slowly spread along the edge of the ice before being swallowed by the surging undercurrents in the distance.

"Di Tian," she said, her voice still even, "Time Reversal. That is the only law power mastered by the Golden Dragon King." She turned to look at him. There was no reproach in her eyes, but no superfluous emotion either, as though she were stating a fact she had confirmed countless times. "Do you think a boy with two rings can wield such power?"

Di Tian's pupils suddenly contracted. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice dropped much lower. "Wh... what?" It was as if he only pieced the words together after they had left his mouth. "Then that boy now—could he already—" His sentence trailed off, as though some ominous thought had stopped him.

"That possibility cannot be ruled out." Gu Yue took over calmly, though her gaze shifted slightly in that instant. The movement was faint, as though something had brushed past the edge of her vision, but she did not let it linger. Her gaze returned to his face. "But we cannot be certain yet."

Di Tian clenched his fists. His knuckles pressed dents into his sides, and his nails left shallow marks in his palms. When he spoke, there was a clearer urgency in his voice. "Then we must kill him all the more."

Gu Yue tilted her head toward him, as though something had lightly tugged at her attention before pulling it back. "You said, 'we must kill him all the more,'" she repeated, pausing briefly. "Before we even discussed whether he had been possessed, you were already considering how he should die." She raised a hand to her forehead and gently closed her eyes, as though adjusting some balance that was losing its weight. Then she opened them. "We cannot act rashly. At least not now, when we cannot afford to tear things apart with the Asura God."

Gu Yue stood at the center of the lake. The ice beneath her feet slowly melted and froze again, like a timer constantly readjusting itself.

She watched the patterns of light slowly circulating across the lake's surface. Her voice was softer than before, as though speaking to herself, or to the person behind her. "What I want is the safety of my people. What I want is the territory that should rightfully be ours." After her words fell, Di Tian did not speak again.

His head lowered once more. His bowed back remained silent in the dim light, like a mountain range slowly cooling.

Gu Yue's gaze passed over him and settled on the floating points of light in the distance. "How are things going over at the Spirit Pagoda?" She changed the subject.

Di Tian raised his head. "Will Bi Ji and the clone remain there the entire time?"

"Yes." Gu Yue's tone returned to calm. "If the Golden Dragon King loses control, this plane may not be able to suppress him. We must stop him at the first possible moment—or... know."

Di Tian's back stiffened slightly for an instant.

His cultivation, accumulated over nearly a million years, had already touched most of this world's boundaries. Yet the power of laws had always remained farther beyond, and he had never truly taken that step.

And the Golden Dragon King—the existence sealed within that boy's body, not yet fully awakened—could already touch time itself. He remained silent for a long while before asking the question that had been hanging on his lips. "Since he can use the power of Time Reversal, then—could he be from—"

Gu Yue did not wait for him to finish. "The future," she said. The two words were placed calmly upon the table, and then she looked away, her gaze returning to the distant lake. "Keep an eye on those evil soul masters. That is what you should truly be paying attention to."

After she finished speaking, the ice beneath her feet slowly began to melt, sinking into the depths with the rippling water, as though it had never existed.

She walked back toward the throne. The icy steps vanished one by one behind her, breaking apart into fine mist that scattered through the air without leaving a trace. She sat back on the throne, leaning once more into the flowing light and shadows. Her gaze fell upon the distant horizon eroded by dusk, and she said nothing more.

The wind swept across Life Lake, stirring a layer of fine ripples. They spread into the distance, as though carrying something not yet formed toward unseen places far away.

Golden Dragon, if you truly came from the future, did you return to help me?