Yun Che stood beneath the cold night sky, the wind brushing lightly against the hem of his shihakushou. The stars glittered above him, but despite their beauty, his heart churned with an unfamiliar heaviness. His mind replayed the moment Xia Qingyue's tears fell—just one shimmering tear cutting down her cheek, but it struck him harder than any blade he had ever faced. He dragged a hand over his face and exhaled sharply.
"Is this really the ending I wanted?" he muttered to the empty hilltop. "Or the ending I told myself I wanted?"
The silence answered him, cold and merciless.
For the first time since arriving in this world, real doubt crept into him. He hadn't meant to hurt her—at least, not like that. He told himself he needed distance, that separating now would spare them both pain later, that letting her go was the cleaner choice. But seeing her walk away with her head lowered, clutching the marriage certificate like a lifeline… it left a hollow ache beneath his ribs.
"…The hell am I doing?" he whispered.
He forced himself to steady, tightening his grip on Zangetsu. Guilt was a sharp, unfamiliar blade, but it had already found its mark. Xia Qingyue, who had never shown weakness in her life, cried because of him. That was a mistake he could never rewind.
But he still had one responsibility left that night.
He gathered Xiao Lingxi gently into his arms and activated Flash Step. In an instant, the world blurred into streaks of black and silver before they reappeared inside her quiet room. He laid her softly on her bed, brushing a stray hair away from her cheek. She looked peaceful, smiling faintly even in sleep. Whatever she was dreaming about, it made her glow gently under the moonlight filtering through the window.
In her hand, he placed two things: a folded note and a familiar pentagon-star necklace— He hesitated for a moment before letting go. Then he stood beside her bed and watched her breathe, every rise and fall of her chest tightening something in him.
This girl… his Little Aunt… loved him with a devotion deeper than he deserved. Even after everything he displayed today—the massacre, the overwhelming power, the fear he instilled into countless hearts—she still saw him as her Little Che. She cried for him, scolded him, held him, and embraced him without ever seeing the monster others saw. And that unconditional love… frightened him more than any enemy.
He knew from the system's records that Xiao Lingxi's identity in this world was far more complicated than it seemed. She was destined for a future she didn't even know existed. But it was not yet her time. He wanted her to walk that future on her own terms, not because she was chained to him by grief or dependence or the lingering ghost of the real Xiao Che's memories.
"Little Aunt…" he whispered, sitting carefully beside her. He traced his fingertips lightly across her hair. "Let me fall in love with you as me. Not as the boy you knew. Not because I inherited his life… but because one day, I genuinely want to choose you."
He bent down and kissed her forehead with a tenderness he rarely allowed himself to feel. Her lips curled into a tiny smile even in sleep, as if her heart sensed the warmth of his touch.
"One day," he murmured, "I'll return. For you. For grandfather. And I'll give you the answer you deserve."
He rose slowly, lingering just long enough to etch her peaceful face into memory. With one last look—one that carried more weight than any promise—he turned and slipped quietly out of the room, Zangetsu tapping lightly against his back with each step.
Behind him, Xiao Lingxi shifted faintly under the covers. Her fingers curled protectively around the necklace and the note, pulling them to her chest as though she feared losing them even in sleep. And as Yun Che's presence faded from the room, a soft sigh left her lips—gentle, trusting, and full of dreams he silently vowed to protect.
=========================
Now he needed answers.
Real ones.
Yun Che stepped out of Lingxi's room and drifted down the dim corridor like a shadow. Servants stiffened the moment they spotted him, bowing so low they nearly snapped their spines—or scurrying into doorways like terrified mice. Just months ago these same servants had mocked him, shoved him, even struck him when his aunt or grandfather weren't around. Now? They looked one wrong breath away from fainting.
He found their fear… amusing.
He crossed the central hall, where a cluster of elders had gathered in frantic whispers. Pale faces. Shaking hands. The cripple they once despised had shaken the entire Floating Cloud City to its bones, and suddenly all their power meant nothing. They were already preparing the only desperate card they had left—handing the clan head position to Xiao Lie. If not, Yun Che's inevitable return would erase the Xiao Clan from existence.
The moment the hall doors opened, the room fell into a strangled silence.
Yun Che walked through them casually, like he owned the place—not even sparing them a glance.
"Xiao Che! You know how I've always supported you!" the third elder blurted, voice dripping with pathetic flattery.
Yun Che didn't even break stride. "Zip it."
The elder's jaw snapped shut like a trap.
Before he reached the back exit, the fourth elder rushed forward, voice trembling. "Xiao Che… please. You've killed the clan leader and crippled the second elder. The clan's authority—our position—is collapsing."
"I fail to see how that's my problem." Yun Che didn't even look at him. "Figure it out yourselves. And pray you still have faces left to kneel with when I come back to settle debts."
The elder paled. There was nothing more to say.
Yun Che stepped out of the hall, leaving behind a group of men who would spend the next several nights sleepless, terrified, and regretting every choice they had ever made.
The garden behind the hall was quiet when he arrived. Lantern light glimmered across the small pond's surface, and the gentle sound of water lapping against stones filled the night. Just as the database had said… his grandfather would be here.
And there he was—Xiao Lie—sitting beside the pond, scattering fish feed with slow, thoughtful motions. He looked older tonight. Maybe it was the lantern glow. Maybe it was the weight of everything that had happened in a single day. Or maybe Yun Che was simply seeing him… differently.
Xiao Lie.
A man who raised him.
A man who loved him.
A man he didn't actually remember.
Yun Che paused at the entrance, silently observing the older man's back. The system's database had taught him these details—where Xiao Lie sat, what he liked to do at night, the schedule of his worries, the rhythm of his thoughts. The database filled the empty spaces where real memories should have been.
Because he wasn't truly Yun Che.
He was an outsider. A foreign soul filling a dead boy's body. The Mirror of Samsara reincarnated only the original Yun Che. It did not—and could not—restore a stranger's memories of a life he never lived.
Since it was destroyed to prevent memory overload to the current soul.
So Xiao Lie wasn't his grandfather.
Lingxi wasn't his childhood aunt.
These emotions that everyone expected of him… he didn't have them.
Not yet.
He simply played the role, step by step, learning as he went.
He could leave but, he just couldn't. Not to these people.
Yun Che finally approached. The grass rustled softly under his steps. Xiao Lie turned slightly, his expression softening with warmth the moment he saw him.
Not fear.
Not trembling submission.
Just warmth.
Something Yun Che didn't quite know how to deal with.
"My Che'er," Xiao Lie said quietly, voice steady and gentle, "come."
Yun Che exhaled slowly, feeling something tighten in his chest.
It was time to learn the truth—from the only person who might still see him as family… even though he wasn't the grandson they remembered.
"Gramps," Yun Che greeted softly, inclining his head.
Xiao Lie nodded toward the stone bench beside him. "Sit."
Yun Che stored Zangetsu with a flick of thought and lowered himself beside the old man. Neither spoke at first. The night breeze rippled across the pond, scattering light across the water like shards of silver. Xiao Lie waited, hoping his grandson would start… but the silence stretched on.
So he began.
"Che'er," he asked quietly, "since when did you know how to cultivate?"
Direct. Honest. A question Yun Che knew was coming.
His Little Aunt had asked him the same thing. Everyone wanted to know how the clan cripple became a mountain-sundering monster in one morning. But only Xiao Lie had the right to ask.
"I always could," Yun Che replied, tone calm and practiced. "I had to hide it… to complete my cultivation."
"Even from us?" Xiao Lie's voice trembled just slightly. "Even from Lingxi and me?"
"Yes."
The old man closed his eyes for a moment.
"Che'er… I know you hated the clan for how they treated you. After what they did, I won't stop you if you wish to destroy this place." His gaze lifted to Yun Che, searching. "But the way you acted today… the way you killed… You are not the boy who smiled through everything. You have changed. You carry something heavy in your heart."
Yun Che inhaled deeply.
Time to say it.
"Gramps, I'm leaving," he said. "Tonight. I want to explore the world."
Xiao Lie went still. "Tonight? But… this is your wedding night."
"It doesn't matter anymore," Yun Che replied. "She already returned to her sect."
"I see…" The old man's voice was quiet. "Then nothing binds you here now. Truthfully… I wished you could stay—for Lingxi's sake, for mine. But a cultivator cannot remain chained to a courtyard."
He paused, then continued with visible pain.
"Che'er… I know I failed you. I couldn't protect you from the clan. Every day, you came home beaten, bruised… and I could do nothing. If you resent me for it—"
Yun Che lifted a hand, stopping him.
"Gramps. Stop. You and Little Aunt… you were the only ones who cared for me. You were there when I needed someone. Even if—" he hesitated, gaze faltering, "—even if I'm not the same person I used to be."
Xiao Lie stared at him, eyes softening with a father's ache and an elder's grief.
"Are you still the Che'er I raised?" he asked quietly. "The boy who grew up beside Lingxi?"
Yun Che met his gaze. "What do you think, gramps?"
The old man drifted into memories—scenes Yun Che himself would never know.
A small boy laughing as he ran through the courtyard.
A child protecting his aunt despite being weaker.
A teenager returning home with bruises but smiling anyway.
A boy who always tried again, always stood up, always loved.
Now, sitting before him was a young man who smiled differently—sharper, colder, a blade where softness once existed. Strong, mysterious, changed beyond recognition.
But Xiao Lie's eyes warmed instead of dimming.
"Chuckle… Che'er… I don't know," he admitted. "But whoever you are now—however you've changed—you will always be my Che'er."
Yun Che felt something inside him loosen.
Something he didn't expect.
A genuine smile formed on his lips.
"Thanks, Gramps."
"I planned to tell you only when you were older," Xiao Lie began, his voice low and steady. "But seeing you now… I believe you are ready to shoulder the truth. Before you step into the wider world, you must know where you come from."
Yun Che's eyes sharpened. He had long guessed the truth through the system's hints, but hearing it from the old man's mouth mattered more than any notification.
"Go on, Gramps," he urged gently.
Xiao Lie looked at him with a faint tremble in his gaze. "I only hope this doesn't change anything between us."
"It won't," Yun Che replied firmly. "No matter what you tell me, you'll always be my grandfather. And Little Aunt will always be my aunt."
The reassurance softened the old man's posture. He exhaled a long, weary breath, as if releasing a burden he had carried for years.
"Then… the truth is," Xiao Lie said slowly, "your surname was never Xiao. Your real surname… is Yun."
Yun Che nodded without surprise. "Figures."
"You already guessed?" Xiao Lie blinked, taken aback.
Yun Che reached into his inventory and withdrew the Mirror of Samsara. Not to explain its mystical nature—he could never—but simply to show the single ancient character carved upon its back.
Yun.
Xiao Lie held the mirror, his expression growing complicated as he traced the engraved character with aged fingers. "I see… This mirror must have belonged to your birth parents."
"I assume so," Yun Che replied. "It's been with me since I can remember."
The old man returned the mirror and straightened slightly, resolve tightening his voice.
"Your parents came to this clan seeking protection. They were gravely injured, hunted, desperate. The Xiao Clan refused to shelter them—everyone feared offending whichever great power had pursued them." His tone soured. "Only my son, Xiao Ying, extended his hand."
Yun Che listened quietly.
"He protected your parents until the day you were born. And then… he made a choice even I could not have predicted." Xiao Lie's voice wavered. "He swapped you with his own newborn son. He planned everything so your parents' lineage wouldn't vanish. He raised you as his own… even though it doomed his real son to your fate."
A heavy silence fell over them.
"I learned the truth only after Xiao Ying died," Xiao Lie continued softly. "He left a journal hidden beneath the floorboards. I found it long after… too late to change anything. Your grandmother grieved, but she never blamed anyone. Nor did I. Nor Lingxi."
Yun Che lowered his eyes. Xiao Ying—the father he never remembered—had sacrificed both himself and his son for a stranger's child. For him. The original Yun Che truly lived a life marked by tragedy and grace in equal measure.
"So," he said quietly, "what am I to you, Gramps?"
The old man smiled, warm and unwavering. "You have always been, and will always be, my grandson. Nothing changes that."
Yun Che's chest tightened. "Thank you… for telling me, and for accepting me."
Xiao Lie nodded. "All I wish is that your journey is safe. And that you return, if you ever find the time."
"I will," Yun Che replied.
He hesitated—then spoke honestly. "I'm sorry about what happened to the clan leader. His death was… unavoidable once my power burst out of control. As for the second elder, he wanted to sell Little Aunt and Qingyue to Xiao Kuangyun. Yulong and Yang were involved too. They were bragging loudly enough to wake the dead."
"You… heard them?" Xiao Lie asked with a frown.
"I heard everything in the clan that day," Yun Che said simply. "Every whisper."
"I see…" Xiao Lie exhaled. "Well, the clan leader's death—unfortunate. But between us…" His lips twitched. "I always hated the old bastard."
Yun Che blinked.
Then both of them laughed—genuine, unrestrained laughter that echoed across the quiet garden.
For the first time since stepping into this world of swords and souls, Yun Che felt something warm settle in his chest.
He might not be the Yun Che they raised.
But he still had a home.
And he still had a grandfather.
"Gramps, take this."
Yun Che held out another pentagon-shaped necklace—identical to the one he placed in Xiao Lingxi's hand earlier.
Xiao Lie blinked. "This is…?"
"It's a barrier necklace," Yun Che explained. "It'll protect you and Little Aunt from anything up to an Earth Profound Realm attack. The barrier shouldn't break unless a Sky Profound Realm expert hits you directly."
What Yun Che didn't say aloud was that it came from the Quincy section of his system shop. Cheap, simple, but scalable—and tied to his current soul level. At level fifty, it should withstand far more than its price implied. He could only hope its stored reishi would last until he upgraded it again.
"Che'er," Xiao Lie sighed, touched but troubled, "you're the one who should keep this. You'll be out there alone. You need protection far more than I do."
Yun Che smiled faintly. "Gramps… I can handle myself. You and Little Aunt can't follow me everywhere. Let me worry about you two for once."
The old man's features softened. "Then… thank you. Truly. It is our fortune to have you."
Yun Che chuckled at that—and an idea lit up behind his eyes.
Speaking of fortune…
"Hey, Gramps," he said casually, "you wouldn't mind if I… borrowed some spending money from the clan treasury, right?"
Xiao Lie actually laughed. "You want to rob the treasury? Go ahead. Just leave enough so the clan doesn't starve." Then his voice darkened slightly. "I'm sure the previous clan leader would not object—considering how they treated you. Much of what's inside was your father Xiao Ying's inheritance anyway. They just refused to give it to you."
Yun Che scoffed. "I'm not robbing anything. I'm just reclaiming my long-overdue tax returns."
"Since we're discussing this point," the old man said quietly, "you may take what Xiao Ying left behind. He wanted you to have it."
Yun Che hesitated—then asked the question that hovered like a ghost in this family.
"I know this is rhetorical, but… what happened to his wife?"
Xiao Lie's eyes dimmed with old sorrow. "She died giving birth. Xiao Ying… my son… lost her and lost his mind to grief. I believe that's why he made that choice. He traded his newborn son's identity to protect your parents' child. I'll never fully understand him… but I didn't blame him. Not then. Not ever."
Yun Che nodded slowly. He knew the truth the old man couldn't imagine—that the real, blood-related grandson still lived somewhere in this world.
"Gramps," he said quietly, "your real grandson is out there. I'm sure of it."
For a moment, Xiao Lie simply stared at him. Then he smiled—a tired, weathered smile shaped by years of loss and fragile hope.
"Then I'll hold on to that. May the heavens reward patience."
Yun Che placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "This next part might make you dizzy, so brace yourself."
Before Xiao Lie could ask what he meant, Yun Che flashed forward again—this time carrying the old man straight through layers of twisting corridors and sealed passages until they stood inside the Xiao Clan's treasury.
Even in the dim torchlight, Xiao Lie looked stunned. Not just at the speed—but at the fact he was willingly assisting his grandson in looting the very vault he was supposed to guard.
Yun Che cracked his knuckles. "Alright, Gramps. Let's get my rightful compensation."
And together, the old man and the "black sheep" of the clan stepped deeper toward the vault.
This might get loud and ugly.
The treasury guards stiffened the moment Yun Che and Xiao Lie appeared. After everything that had happened today—the deaths, the mountain-splitting slash, the reaitsu that nearly flattened the city—the fact that they still stood their ground was either courage… or suicidal stubbornness.
"E-Elder Lie," one guard stammered, sweat running down his temples, "the treasury is… is off-limits. Even for… him."
Yun Che sighed and pointed at Xiao Lie. "He's the clan master now, you know?"
"But… but to enter the treasury, one must have the agreement of all the elders!" the other guard insisted, voice cracking. "This is the rule!"
Yun Che blinked. "Troublesome."
Honestly, he was impressed they were still standing after saying that to his face. That alone deserved some applause.
But he had a spell he'd been itching to test.
"Gramps, you might wanna shield yourself. This one's a little flashier than the one I used to kill the ones who poisoned me."
The guards paled. "W-Wait! You don't have to—!"
Too late.
A golden light snapped out of Yun Che's hand—snap—and instantly bound the two guards together like pigs wrapped for delivery. They toppled onto the floor with synchronized yelps.
Yun Che shook his head. "Should've stayed quiet."
He stepped before the massive, reinforced treasury gate and exhaled, channeling his reiatsu. Too little power, and the door wouldn't budge—too much, and the entire treasury would be scattered across Floating Cloud City.
"Alright… this should be enough."
He raised his right arm.
"Way of Destruction #33 — Blue Fire, Crash Down!"
A swirling mass of deep azure flames blasted from his palm—like a comet wreathed in destruction—slamming into the iron gate.
BOOOOOOOM!!!
The shockwave thundered across the entire Xiao estate. Birds took flight. Dishes rattled. Elders fell out of their seats.
Somewhere far away, on a quiet hill under the starlight, a girl still dressed in her wedding gown jerked upright.
Xia Qingyue's eyes widened.
That explosion came from only one place.
The Xiao Clan.
Her master, Chu Yueli, raised a hand sharply. "Do not interfere."
But for the first time in her life, Xia Qingyue hesitated. A strange heaviness twisted in her chest.
"Xiao Che," she whispered.
Back at the treasury, smoke drifted across the ruined doorway. Not a single coin or artifact inside had been harmed—the blast had been perfectly controlled.
Xiao Lie covered his face with a hand. "Che'er… they would've opened it if I simply asked. That was… excessive."
Yun Che scratched the back of his head. "Whoops."
The old man sighed. Not even startled anymore.
They stepped into the treasury as the smoke settled. And right on cue—
WAAAAAHHHH!!!
Alarm bells screamed across the entire Xiao Clan estate.
Yun Che grinned, hands in his sleeves. "Well… here comes the cavalry."
Xiao Lie muttered, "Heaven preserve us…"
And the clan estate erupted into chaos.
Both of them stepped into the broken vault, shards of metal still glowing faintly from the explosion. Inside were shelves upon shelves of secured treasures—spirit weapons sealed in cases, chests of coins, medicinal herbs, jade bottles of pills, cultivation scrolls, and precious items that only elders had permission to touch. A lesser man might've drooled.
Yun Che gave them all a passing glance. Tempting? Absolutely. But he wasn't a robber. He only had the right to take what belonged to him.
Xiao Lie, however, was already walking toward the back of the vault. His old eyes softened as he knelt beside a large chest tucked in the far corner. Dust clung to the surface, long undisturbed. He opened the lid gently and gestured Yun Che over.
"This," Xiao Lie murmured, "was everything my son left behind for you. For years, I fought to take it out and raise you with it, but that old bastard insisted it remain in here."
Inside the chest were neatly stacked rows of gold coins, hundreds of silver, and a generous amount of yellow profound coins—enough wealth to support Yun Che's original self for years. Yun Che stared for a second.
So this was the money the clan had been withholding from him?
Stingy bastards indeed.
He smirked and slapped his grandfather on the back. "My grandfather helping me rob the treasury for my own allowance. This is going in the family history books, Gramps."
He scanned the vault a second time—low-grade spirit weapons, herbs, low-tier pills. All useful for cultivators… but nothing worth taking. Later, once he hit the wider world, he would find better things for his Shinigami body anyway.
For now, he took what truly mattered: his adoptive father's inheritance.
He waved a hand. The entire chest vanished into his inventory.
Xiao Lie blinked. Hard. "You… can store items like that?"
"Gramps," Yun Che said casually, "if I told you everything I could do, you'd probably have a heart attack."
Before Xiao Lie could respond—
"INTRUDER IN THE TREASURY! INTRUDER IN THE TREASURY!"
A flood of footsteps pounded toward them. Elders, disciples, guards—everyone who had the guts to rush toward the explosion. They all stopped dead at the sight of Yun Che and Xiao Lie standing calmly in front of the blown-apart gate.
"X-Xiao Che?! Elder Lie?!" the third and fourth elders cried.
Yun Che waved lazily. "Sup?"
"What—what in the world are you doing here?!" the third elder sputtered. "Are you ROBBING the treasury?!"
Yun Che popped an herb into his mouth and chewed. "Isn't it obvious? Part of this is my money, so… technically, I'm robbing my own money while holding my grandfather hostage."
Xiao Lie rolled his eyes.
"You… you…!" the elder stammered.
"It's not like you can stop me," Yun Che added, brushing past them like they were decorations.
"Xiao Che! It would be wise for you to return—"
He didn't finish.
A bolt of pale lightning streaked past his cheek—a perfect shot of Hado #4, leaving a smoking scorch mark on the wall behind him. The elder froze mid-sentence, pupils shrinking.
Yun Che lifted a finger. Another bolt gathered.
Every elder, guard, and bystander immediately stepped back. The memory of Xiao Yulong's charred corpse and the clan leader's vaporized body was still far too fresh.
"I said," Yun Che continued calmly, "it was my inheritance. I didn't take anything else. I only reclaimed what my father left for me."
He started walking away, hands in his sleeves, posture relaxed, aura terrifying.
"Oh—and one more thing."
Everyone stiffened.
"I'm no longer considering myself part of the Xiao Clan. Refer to me as Yun Che from now on."
No one dared to speak.
No one dared to breathe.
They simply cleared a path for him—every elder bowing their heads, every disciple avoiding his eyes—because after today, they all understood one terrifying truth:
Whether he bore the Xiao surname or not…
Yun Che had already risen beyond them.
"See you next time, Xiao Clan."
Yun Che casually cancelled the charged Kido in his palm and walked away, leaving behind a courtyard full of stunned, pale faces. His footsteps echoed through the silence like a verdict the clan would never forget. Up in the clouds, two unseen observers watched him depart—one of them narrowing her eyes at the surname he claimed.
"So, you abandoned the name Xiao… and chose Yun instead? Why?" the figure murmured.
Below, Xiao Lie escorted Yun Che all the way to the clan gate. The old man's steps were heavy with a quiet, reluctant pride. Yun Che glanced at the familiar entrance where, according to the system's database, the original him had been thrown out after the wedding. Yet here he was, leaving calmly, unchallenged, untouchable.
"So that's it, Gramps," Yun Che said softly. "I'll be leaving you and Little Aunt… for a while."
Xiao Lie's expression tightened, but he nodded. "The world is full of danger, Che'er. I can only pray you return safely from whatever path you choose."
Yun Che stepped forward and pulled his grandfather into a firm embrace—an unfamiliar gesture for both of them, yet one that brought a quiet warmth to his chest. In the original timeline, exile had been his farewell; this time, he was leaving with something far better.
"Take care of Little Aunt for me," he said softly.
Xiao Lie's arms tightened around him. "Be safe, Che'er…"
Yun Che nodded, the weight of his promise settling in his heart before he finally let go.
Yun Che didn't promise. He simply stepped past the gate—and in the next breath, his figure blurred into the night sky as he flash-stepped toward the tallest structure in Floating Cloud City. Below him, chaos rippled through the Xiao Clan as elders scrambled to salvage whatever dignity they had left. Somehow, his Little Aunt slept through most of it. That alone brought a small smile to his lips.
"At least she and Gramps are safe," he muttered. "That's all that matters."
He rose higher into the air, the wind whipping his hair as the city shrank beneath him.
"Next stop… Cyan Town."
The system's database painted a clear picture: a backwater settlement nearly two hundred kilometers northwest of Floating Cloud City. A forgettable speck on the map—but to Yun Che, it was the beginning of everything. Cyan Town was where his new journey truly started. Where he would gather strength, experience, and power unhindered. It was the first stepping stone in the long road to New Moon City.
The Town of Beginnings.
With a grin, Yun Che executed a chain of flawless flash steps, his form vanishing and reappearing across the night sky. Each movement carried him kilometers at a time—a level of mastery most cultivators would never reach even in their dreams. Hoyuu's relentless training in the void paid off; the wild hollow spirit had chased him so viciously that mastering Shunpo became a survival skill.
Behind him, Chu Yueli and Xia Qingyue caught only a glimpse of his final departure—an outline dissolving into streaks of black and white light.
"Qingyue…" Chu Yueli whispered, eyes narrowing, "what sort of monster did you marry?"
"I… don't know," Xia Qingyue admitted, still staring vacantly at the sky. "He wasn't like this before. The Xiao Che I knew always laughed. Always smiled no matter how he was treated. He was even… happy about our engagement."
Her voice wavered.
"But today… he wasn't that man. Not even for a moment. He looked at me like a stranger. Like someone who had lived a lifetime without emotions." She looked down at her hands, feeling the Heavenly God's Spiritual Veins pulsing beneath her skin. "A man like that… shouldn't change in one day. Yet he did."
Chu Yueli folded her arms, thoughtful. "A mortal cripple one moment… a being who crushes mountains and kills clan heads the next. Changing his name may only be the surface. Something inside him shifted."
Xia Qingyue looked once more at the direction he disappeared.
What kind of man… did I marry?
She didn't know. But she felt—deep down—that she would learn the answer someday, at the very peak of the empire itself.
Far above the clouds, Yun Che continued streaking across the sky. His human body couldn't withstand flight or profound movement, so he relied entirely on his Shinigami form. Annoying, but temporary. Once he found a way to infuse Shinigami power into his mortal body, the two halves would merge, granting him complete flexibility between forms. He could cultivate profound energy by day and wield Zanpakutō by night.
He remembered how he'd opened Xia Qingyue's profound entrances. The original Yun Che needed fifty-four needles, three rounds of treatment, and hours of internal cleansing. The current him? One finger, one second, a blast of perfectly controlled reaitsu—and she gained Heavenly God's Spiritual Veins stronger than anything in the original story. His reaitsu had even dissolved her internal impurities instantly, sparing him the clean-up.
It was a favor she wouldn't understand for years.
He shook his head.
"She'll figure it out when we meet again."
Now, only the journey ahead mattered.
His figure blurred again—one more flash step—and Floating Cloud City vanished behind him.
Cyan Town awaited.