Ill-fated lovers (The first simulation ends)

"Impossible, this is impossible..."

Zhang Lexuan's red lips parted slightly, her eyes lost and helpless. She kept shaking her head, but the memories in her mind matched what the girl in red had said.

That night, those two powerful Evil Soul Masters from the Holy Spirit Cult had clearly intended to kill. If he had not risked his life to protect her, she would probably have long since...

"Back then, to save you, he willingly exposed Mu En and the others' plot and stepped into the game himself, then found a way out of a hopeless situation... And while you were unconscious, he held you in his arms the whole time, protecting you with everything he had."

"There were far too many holes in how he fell into the Holy Spirit Cult and exposed his identity that night. With his talent, think about it again now. If he had truly wanted to leave, who could have stopped him?"

Jiaojiao stared at Zhang Lexuan and said, enunciating every word, "Because that whole act was put on for you! And before that, Mu En had already urged him several times!"

"Mu En knew he had killed your entire family and Lu Cheng's, yet left him alive. Naturally, he saw him as a thorn in his heart and could hardly wait to kick him out of Shrek Academy."

Zhang Lexuan's delicate body shuddered violently.

Although these words now sounded inconceivable, in her heart, they seemed to resolve her questions one by one. Everything fell into place.

No wonder Lu Cheng had been so outstanding, yet Mu En had always treated him with indifference, sometimes even withholding resources, while always showing her a kindly, gentle manner, as soothing as a spring breeze.

No wonder, back when she had been driven into a hopeless situation by a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in the Star Dou Great Forest, that figure had appeared with uncanny timing, then later shot out one of Xuan Zi's eyes.

She had been puzzled then, but had never understood.

So... he had been demanding justice for her from Shrek Academy. She had even heard that afterward, another enormous sun had descended above the Sea God Pavilion, nearly burning the entire pavilion to ashes. At the time, she had only thought him savage and brutal.

But now...

"He was so outstanding, so immensely talented. Barring any accidents, he would surely have stood at the very pinnacle of the continent one day. But for you, he abandoned everything, willingly falling into the ranks of Evil Soul Masters, enduring the world's scorn and curses without a single complaint."

Jiaojiao's eyes filled with emotion.

"Why did I have to end up with a master like this? Now I even have to die with him."

"Brother..."

With a slight tremor in her voice, Zhang Lexuan slowly turned toward Lu Cheng, tears gradually glistening in her eyes. "Is what she said true?"

Those long-sealed memories surged back into her mind.

The so-called whetstone?

It had merely been an excuse.

Although his face had been ferocious and he had been savage and brutal, "tormenting" her half to death, by the time she left that forest, her body had been tempered to extraordinary toughness once more. Her combat strength had soared in a short time, and she had swiftly adapted to the damage her eighth Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring inflicted on her body.

Had he truly needed a whetstone?

Even if he had... it should not have been her.

Lu Cheng had been right. She was too weak, not even qualified to serve as his whetstone. Everything had merely been a pretense to deceive her, using that so-called whetstone as an excuse to increase her strength little by little.

And now, he had stepped into the game himself again, staking his life to take away every powerful figure who threatened her.

Everything, every last thing, had been so that she could continue living in peace and safety.

"..."

A trace of bitterness showed in Lu Cheng's eyes.

"I had to leave in the end. If I could leave something behind for you, all the better."

"Come closer..."

Lu Cheng looked Zhang Lexuan over, a trace of tenderness flashing through his eyes. Suddenly, he began coughing violently, spitting out mouthfuls of blood as his face grew ever paler.

"Brother!!!"

Tears welled in Zhang Lexuan's eyes and rolled down her cheeks. At last, unable to hold back any longer, she threw herself into Lu Cheng's arms.

Just like the girl who had once depended on Lu Cheng, often nestling in his arms and seeking comfort through tear-blurred eyes.

But now.

Lu Cheng's gaze softened, and he gently brushed the girl's cheek with his bloodstained hand.

"Do you hate me?"

"..."

Zhang Lexuan sobbed quietly, but shook her head desperately.

Her delicate hands clutched Lu Cheng's clothes tightly, and her eyes returned to how they had once been, like a little puppy afraid of being abandoned.

Only this time...

He really was going to be abandoned.

At this moment, the curtain had fallen on the play, and Lu Cheng no longer needed to toy with her.

Lu Cheng gently stroked the beauty's hair. It seemed so very, very long had passed, and all their former happiness had dissolved into bubbles.

"Lift your head. Let me look at your face again..."

Lu Cheng said softly.

"..."

Zhang Lexuan sobbed too hard to speak. Her breathtakingly beautiful face, so pitiful it would move anyone's heart, appeared before Lu Cheng's eyes. That flower was missing from her fair forehead.

"This is the last thing I can give you."

Lu Cheng murmured.

With that, he pressed two fingers together and lightly touched the beauty's pale forehead. The next instant, an eerie crimson eye quietly emerged.

"This is..."

Zhang Lexuan's heart jolted.

"My Martial Soul. I've nurtured it with my own body and cleansed away its viciousness. Take it..."

A faint smile touched Lu Cheng's lips.

His two fingers lightly tapped the center of the beauty's pale forehead.

Zhang Lexuan froze in place.

The Martial Soul suited her so perfectly...

There was not the slightest sense of anything out of place. Her blood and body accepted it in an instant.

"Take my eyes with you, and see the sights of this world."

Lu Cheng's voice grew weaker and weaker.

His arm gradually drooped.

His body fell into Zhang Lexuan's arms, all life leaving him.

"Ah..."

Jiaojiao watched the scene, emotion in her eyes. Like Lu Cheng, her illusory figure grew ever dimmer until it vanished completely, turning into a mass of blazing fire that merged into Lu Cheng's body.

Zhang Lexuan knelt there in a daze, left with only the cold corpse in her arms, her eyes hollow.

Until a group of Shrek Academy elders arrived.

Elder Song was filled with joy at the sight, as were Xian Lin'er and the others. Ruomu stepped forward and, seeing Zhang Lexuan's hollow eyes, assumed she had yet to let go. She prepared to help Zhang Lexuan up.

But then she suddenly heard her speak in a low voice.

"Brother, even though you accounted for everything, there was one thing you missed."

Zhang Lexuan spoke softly, her palm gently caressing Lu Cheng's cold cheek. A trace of love lingered in her pale blue eyes, as though he were the only person in her entire world.

Her world had once been vibrant and colorful.

But now... it had turned entirely gray and black.

"If you're dead, how could I live on alone?"

"..."

"Lexuan, don't do anything foolish!"

Ruomu was the closest and had clearly heard Zhang Lexuan's murmurs. Her eyes contracted, and she hurriedly tried to dissuade her.

But the next instant.

Zhang Lexuan did not hesitate at all.

She pulled out her hairpin and plunged it into her heart.

The silver bell at the end of the hairpin jingled, its sound carrying a trace of desolation and mourning.

Blood spilled from her mouth, but her eyes held only the man in her arms.

Her life ebbed away.

Even Elder Zhuang, hurrying over from afar, was powerless to reverse her fate.

And Ma Xiaotao finally arrived.

From her, Ruomu learned the whole truth.

The elders fell silent, furious and doubtful, but faced with the ironclad evidence Ma Xiaotao produced, they all turned their heads away, some guilty, others bewildered.

"What an ill-fated pair of lovers..."

Ruomu shook her head.

She sighed softly.