The Third Life: Her Husband for a Lifetime

Several days later.

Xiu Yuan finally arrived at Cloud-Retainer's Abode.

At that moment, the talisman Venti had given him also reacted.

Following the direction indicated by the talisman, Xiu Yuan finally spotted a house looming through the clouds atop a mountain peak.

"Moon Carver... I finally made it."

Xiu Yuan sighed, then approached the door.

Knock, knock...

After knocking softly, he said, "Greetings, Adeptus. This mortal, Xiu Yuan, has come to pay you a visit."

"Come in." An ethereal voice sounded from within.

"Speak. What brings you here?" the Adeptus asked.

Xiu Yuan explained why he had come.

The Adeptus frowned upon hearing him, seemingly reluctant to do such a thing.

"Are you certain you wish to exchange your fate for the fate of lone calamity?" he asked again.

"I am."

"You must understand that your fate is happiness. In other words, anyone who stays by your side will feel happy. You would actually trade such an auspicious fate for lone calamity?!"

"Yes. I've thought it through. Please help me."

"Very well. I shall try."

Perhaps thanks to Venti's talisman, he had been spared a great deal of trouble.

He felt that without Venti's talisman, things might not have gone so smoothly.

The Adeptus took two strands of hair from Xiu Yuan, one belonging to Xiu Yuan himself and the other to Shenhe.

Then the Adeptus attempted to exchange their fates.

The wispy clouds grew unusually thick, with lightning flashing through them like a spiderweb, as though something terrifying were brewing within.

This phenomenon occurred not only at Cloud-Retainer's Abode, but also in Mondstadt City.

The previously cloudless sky was suddenly shrouded in dark clouds, drawing everyone's attention to the strange sight.

At that moment.

Acting Grand Master Jean, Shenhe, and Venti all seemed to sense Xiu Yuan's unique presence.

BOOM!!!!!!

An enormous bolt of Thunder descended from the heavens, striking Shenhe and Xiu Yuan directly.

The terrifying sight left everyone pale with fright, convinced that a demon god had descended.

Once Thunder subsided, the Adeptus examined the result in astonishment.

Xiu Yuan's fate had indeed been replaced with lone calamity.

"The exchange... succeeded?!"

Even the Adeptus was shocked by this result.

Exchanging fates was rare enough in itself, and successful attempts were rarer still.

"Thank you, Adeptus. I have one more favor to ask."

"What is it?"

"If a girl comes looking for me, please pass on a message for me..."

Xiu Yuan spoke with a faint smile.

After leaving his final words, Xiu Yuan descended the mountain.

In Mondstadt City.

Not only had Shenhe suffered no injuries from the lightning strike, she even felt as though her baleful energy had been dispersed.

Still lost in anguish over the past few days, she had never imagined that Thunder would fall from the heavens and dispel her baleful energy.

Bewildered, she slowly untied one of her Red Ropes, yet she still sensed no baleful energy within her body.

Even after fully undoing the second Red Rope, she still felt none.

Finally, she removed all the Red Ropes from her body and discovered, to her astonishment, that her baleful energy truly seemed to have vanished!

She was utterly baffled by this.

She should have been happy, but instead of feeling even a trace of joy, she felt an increasingly painful weight in her chest.

She vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

"Acting Grand Master Jean, I want to leave Mondstadt and go to Liyue to ask my master about this."

"I'll go with you." Acting Grand Master Jean could not rest easy letting Shenhe go alone.

"All right. Thank you, Acting Grand Master Jean."

"It's no trouble."

With that, the two left Mondstadt together and headed for Liyue.

After traveling for some time, Shenhe finally returned to the adeptal mountain where she had once lived.

"Master, I'm back."

As she pushed open the door, Cloud Retainer turned her gaze toward her.

Then her eyes widened.

"Where are your Red Ropes?" The Adeptus immediately asked about the most crucial matter.

"I returned to ask you about this strange occurrence, Master."

Shenhe then introduced Acting Grand Master Jean to her master. "This is Jean, the grand master of the Knights of Favonius in Mondstadt City."

"Greetings, Adeptus," Acting Grand Master Jean said politely.

Hearing her disciple Shenhe's introduction, Cloud Retainer was surprised.

She had thought Shenhe would spend her entire life alone, with only mountains, rivers, birds, and beasts for company.

Yet, to her surprise, Shenhe had made a friend.

"Master, several days ago in Mondstadt City, the bright, sunny sky suddenly filled with dark clouds. Then a tremendous bolt of Thunder fell from those clouds and struck my body. Afterward, I felt as though the baleful energy within me had vanished."

The Adeptus froze upon hearing this.

A similar strange occurrence had taken place in Liyue several days earlier.

But she had never expected that it had happened to her disciple Shenhe as well.

"Come with me to Cloud-Retainer's Abode. The same strange occurrence happened here several days ago, and it seemed to come from that direction."

Shenhe's master suddenly spoke.

Shenhe's heart clenched at those words, and Acting Grand Master Jean also began to suspect something.

They immediately went to see Moon Carver.

After they explained why they had come, Moon Carver exclaimed in shock, "What?"

"That was your fate?!"

Shenhe suddenly trembled.

"Wh-what fate...?"

"Let me examine you before drawing any conclusions." Moon Carver then checked Shenhe's fate.

He discovered that her "lone calamity" had been replaced with "happiness."

"So it really was you!"

Moon Carver had never imagined that the man who had come to him several days earlier to exchange fates had been exchanging Shenhe's fate.

Moon Carver had taught Shenhe a technique or two himself.

To be precise, many of the adepti had taught and guided Shenhe.

Thus, they knew her circumstances very well.

"What do you mean?" Cloud Retainer asked, utterly confused.

"Several days ago, a man found me using a talisman I had specially crafted, asking me to exchange his fate."

"You must understand that a fate can only be exchanged from good to bad. The exchange must also be sincerely desired, and numerous other conditions must be met."

"Most importantly, exchanging fates incurs enormous karmic consequences. One could perish at any moment. Yet even so, that man remained determined to make the exchange, without the slightest hesitation."

"Seeing how adamant he was, I attempted it without any hope of success. Yet, to my surprise, the exchange actually succeeded."

At that moment.

Moon Carver's words exploded like a bomb in Shenhe's mind.

Acting Grand Master Jean's eyes widened as well, her lips slightly parted as she listened in disbelief.

Shenhe stood rooted to the spot like a puppet, Xiu Yuan's figure appearing in her mind once more.

"No... no..."

"This shouldn't have happened... it shouldn't have..."

"Why did this happen...?"

Shenhe's eyes instantly reddened, and tears poured out like torrential rain.

Images surfaced in her mind one after another, like slides.

"Hello, my name is Xiu Yuan. Xiu as in cultivation, Yuan as in faraway. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"For me, finding a place to belong among mortals is an extravagant wish. I've long since grown used to keeping company with mountains, rivers, birds, and beasts."

"You're so young. How can you say that finding a place to belong among mortals is an extravagant wish?"

"If you ask me, this fate of lone calamity is nonsense. Everyone has the right to happiness, and not even heaven can take that away. A brief period of suffering doesn't mean your whole life has to be that way."

"From now on, lean on me. I may not be capable of much, but I'll send that damned lone calamity to meet the King of Hell."

"Try it. I made it myself. Tomato and Egg Noodles."

"As long as you like them, I'll make Tomato and Egg Noodles for you every day from now on."

"Really?"

"Of course."

With tears streaming down her face, Shenhe approached Moon Carver, dropped to her knees, and repeatedly knocked her forehead against the ground as she pleaded:

"Please... Adeptus... exchange our fates back... I'll pay any price... as long as he can come back..."

"A fate can only be exchanged once in a lifetime. It cannot be exchanged back."

Moon Carver slowly shook his head, speaking with a bitter expression.

"He also asked me to pass on a message to you."

"I won't listen... I want him to tell me himself..."

Her own eyes red, Acting Grand Master Jean pulled Shenhe into her arms, then nodded to the Adeptus, signaling for him to continue.

"I love you very much, but... I'm sorry."

"Please forgive me for making this decision on my own. If there is another life, let me be your husband again..."

"Keep living well, and live my share of life along with your own..."

"And make sure you smile more. Your smile truly is beautiful, more beautiful than moonlight over the mountains and rivers, or the lights of ten thousand homes..."

Shenhe collapsed onto the ground, her tears soaking the floor.

The once cold and aloof White-Haired Witch had now cried herself hoarse.

"My husband... you're my husband... my husband for a lifetime..."

"I'll wait for you... no matter how long... I'll wait for you... wait for you to marry me..."

"Master... please grant me Red Ropes... I want to bind them for him... these Red Ropes... only he may untie them..."

"Cruel... you're so cruel, my husband... you said you would make them for me every day... Tomato and Egg Noodles..."

"I want some... when will you make them for me again...?"

Acting Grand Master Jean was also weeping, silently apologizing in her heart. I'm sorry, Xiu Yuan. You're the only one in her heart. Only you can give her happiness...

The third life, end.