The Truth After Death, Qiu'er's Help

Qiankun Asking Love Valley.

To save Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong'er had chosen death.

At that moment, she felt boundless pain.

It was not physical pain, but the agony of her soul being torn apart.

Wang Dong'er's soul left her body. She felt like a crushed leaf, tumbling helplessly in a raging wind.

"Dong'er, don't die!"

She saw Huo Yuhao holding her unconscious body, his eyes red. Her heart clenched as well.

"Yuhao, I'm here!"

Wang Dong'er kept calling out, but Huo Yuhao could hear nothing.

"Uncle Tai Tan, please save Dong'er!"

Huo Yuhao brought her back to Clear Sky Castle, desperate to revive her regardless of the danger to his own life, only to be forcibly driven out by Big Daddy and Second Daddy.

On the day her physical body entered the Divine Realm, Wang Dong'er finally understood everything.

Her body opened its eyes. Those eyes were still hers, but the light within them no longer belonged to her.

Tang San stood there, looking at her body as though it were a lost treasure finally recovered.

"Wutong," he called her.

Not "Dong'er," but "Wutong."

Only then did Wang Dong'er learn that she was nothing more than a vessel for Tang Wutong before her rebirth.

A shell used to nurture a divine soul. When the time was ripe, the real Tang Wutong would awaken within her body.

And Wang Dong'er herself was cast aside like garbage.

Tang Wutong awoke.

She did not remember Huo Yuhao or Shrek. Her gaze toward Huo Yuhao was unfamiliar and distant, even tinged with haughty irritation.

But Huo Yuhao still loved her.

He thought she was still his Dong'er.

He drew closer; she recoiled in disgust.

He explained; she refused to listen.

He did everything he could to restore her memories, but she pushed him away again and again, wondering why this young man refused to leave her alone.

Wang Dong'er watched him being rejected and hurt over and over, watched the light in his eyes dim inch by inch.

She wanted to shout, "Huo Yuhao, she's not me! You've mistaken her for someone else!"

But she could not get the words out.

On the most painful day, nine stabs left eighteen holes.

A dagger steeped in the Darkness Element pierced straight through, was pulled out, then pierced through again.

Huo Yuhao knelt on the ground. Every stab passed through his body, leaving eighteen bloody holes across his front and back.

Yet Tang Wutong stood beside him, her eyes showing shock and emotion, but none of the anguish one felt for a beloved in pain.

At that moment, Wang Dong'er's heart shattered.

If she still had a body, she would have rushed forward to shield him from those blades.

But she was a bodiless soul. She could only float beside him, trying again and again to cover his wounds with hands that did not exist.

Ju Zi arrived. That woman from the Sun Moon Empire said she was carrying Huo Yuhao's child.

Wang Dong'er floated in midair, watching the scene unfold, and saw Tang Wutong's expression change.

She did not believe Huo Yuhao.

She would not even hear his explanation.

She merely looked at the young man covered in wounds with that cool, superior gaze, then turned and left.

As though he were something she could casually throw away.

Wang Dong'er clenched her fists.

That was her Huo Yuhao.

That was the Huo Yuhao who had grown up with her, the one who would give his life for her, the person she loved most in this world.

What right did Tang Wutong have?

What right did she have to take my body and then trample on the person I treasured so dearly?

Then she saw Huo Yuhao rush toward the Divine Realm.

He left in great haste. His injuries had not fully healed, but he no longer cared.

He went to beg forgiveness, to explain. He humbled himself like a sinner pleading for pardon.

Meanwhile, the woman he cherished like a treasure at the very core of his heart sat amid the clouds of the Divine Realm, waiting for him to come bow his head and admit his fault.

Wang Dong'er did not want to watch anymore.

She closed her eyes and felt herself fading away.

Like smoke in the wind, like foam on the water, like a star crushed to pieces, she was losing her shape inch by inch.

So this was death?

Not a grand, tragic end, but being forgotten little by little until she became a void without even a name.

Just as her consciousness was about to plunge into eternal darkness, a ray of light struck her chest.

"Dong'er, don't give up," a voice said.

"It's me."

A figure who looked almost exactly like her appeared before her.

"Qiu'er?"

Standing before her was Wang Qiu'er, the girl who had competed with her for Yuhao, and also the Emperor Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

Sadly, to save Yuhao, she too had chosen to sacrifice herself, ultimately merging with Tang Wutong.

"Dong'er, we've both been schemed against. God King Tang San placed a wisp of Tang Wutong's divine consciousness inside me so he could steal my fortune."

Wang Qiu'er's words filled Wang Dong'er with bitterness. "We fought for so long, only to end up sewing her wedding gown for her."

"Dong'er, don't give up. I can help you. I can give you a chance to start over."

"I hope you'll promise me one thing: help me get rid of the divine consciousness inside me. And don't let me meet Huo Yuhao again. He should belong to you."

Wang Dong'er froze for a moment.

Then she understood. Wang Qiu'er did not want the Three-Eyed Golden Lion to repeat her mistakes either. She only wanted her to live as a happy soul beast.

Wang Dong'er nodded solemnly. "I promise."

"Thank you."

"And Yuhao is the child of destiny. You must protect him."

Wang Qiu'er's body shone with dazzling golden light.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion turned the wheel of fate, giving Wang Dong'er a chance to start over.

When Wang Dong'er awoke again, she smelled a familiar fragrance, the scent unique to Clear Sky Castle.

She opened her eyes and saw the room she had lived in at Clear Sky Castle.

Wang Dong'er sat up and looked down at her hands. They were a little smaller.

She got up and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked about eleven years old, still the young lady of Clear Sky Castle, the carefree Wang Dong'er.

"I've really been reborn!"

Wang Dong'er recalled Wang Qiu'er's final words. She had saved her.

Wang Dong'er sat stunned for a long time. Without warning, tears welled up and slid down her cheeks.

She was back.

She was truly back.

Those scenes were still branded into her mind. Every image remained, as though carved into her bones with a knife, the pain sharp and profound.

Yet that very bone-deep pain told her she was alive.

Wang Dong'er gave a muffled laugh, a sob threaded through it. She raised her head and wiped her tears, a light kindling in her eyes.

She was back, back to the age of eleven, before she had entered Shrek Academy.

None of the events of her previous life had happened yet.

She had not met Huo Yuhao, had not fallen in love with him, had not become Tang Wutong's vessel, had not lost everything.

In this life, she would start over.

She would no longer be anyone's shadow or anyone's vessel.

She would become herself, and be only Wang Dong'er.

Wang Dong'er stood before the window, drew a deep breath, and laughed aloud.

"Yuhao, wait for me. I'll come find you very soon."

This time, she would never let anyone steal her body again.