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...Xuan Ming looked at Qian Renxue quietly, gazing into those golden eyes filled with both resolution and humility. He remained silent for a long time, so long that the light in Qian Renxue's eyes began to dim, before he finally spoke slowly.
"Qian Renxue."
"What kind of person do you think I am?"
Qian Renxue was slightly stunned, seemingly not expecting him to ask such a question.
Without waiting for her answer, Xuan Ming continued on his own: "I'll tell you. I am a very greedy person."
"You should have known this a long time ago."
"I want everything, I'm reluctant to let go of anything, and I want to hold everything firmly in my own hands."
"I want power, I want stability, and I want everyone around me to be safe and happy. I want Gu Yuena to no longer bear the destiny of the Dragon Clan, I want Bibi Dong to escape the shadows of her past, I want Bo Saixi to forget the pain of waiting, and I want Xiao Wu and the others to be forever carefree..."
"I also want... you to be truly happy."
"But I always keep it bottled up and say nothing."
"Because I know that speaking out is useless. Before I have enough power, no one will listen to me. My wishes are worthless in the face of reality."
His gaze fell back onto Qian Renxue's face.
"Just as... you once were, unwilling to listen to me as well."
Qian Renxue's body trembled violently, and her face instantly turned even paler.
Xuan Ming did not stop; it was as if he wanted to pour out all the words that had been building up in his heart for so long at this moment.
"Do you remember? I used to be an idealist too. I believed in justice, in right and wrong, and that as long as I worked hard, I could change everything. But later, I changed from an idealist into what I am now... indifferent, cruel, and treating Life as if it were grass."
"Why?"
"You know why, Qian Renxue. You know better than anyone what I used to be like."
"But now?"
"I am unrecognizable."
He looked at his hands, as if they were covered in bloodstains that could never be washed away.
"The morals I once held dear, the bottom lines I once defended, disappeared bit by bit under repeated betrayals, exploitation, and coercion. I learned to calculate, I learned to threaten, and I learned to solve problems in the most direct and brutal ways. Because I discovered that only this way could I protect the people I want to protect."
"Now," Xuan Ming raised his head and looked directly at her again, "you come to ask me this kind of question; what answer do you want to get?"
"Do you want a truthful answer from my heart? Or do you want... the answer you desire?"
"You actually know what I want, don't you?" Xuan Ming's voice became somewhat ethereal. "You also know that you cannot accept it. That's why I've always been unwilling to say it."
"If it were the old me, that naive, idealistic me, I would have told you without hesitation and quite bluntly that there's no possibility between us, making you give up completely. But it was you, it was you and this World, that taught me time and again that one cannot be too naive, and one cannot speak too directly."
"And now?"
"Now, we won't speak of those things that are hard to say. Everyone will just go on like this, with a tacit understanding, living in a muddle."
"Isn't that good?"
"Why must I say it personally to make you suffer? And yet, you are unwilling to accept it, or rather... you would wrong yourself for my sake and pretend to accept it?"
"Qian Renxue, you know."
"I don't want to hurt you, I never have. But the two of us are like two sharp-edged stones; once we get too close, we will inevitably collide and torture each other until we are both ground down and bloodied."
Qian Renxue's tears finally couldn't be held back and slid down her cheeks. She had always thought she was the one in pain, but she had never considered that Xuan Ming was enduring the same torment.
Xuan Ming felt a pang in his heart seeing her cry. He reached out, wanting to wipe away her tears, but stopped in mid-air.
"If... you must have an answer."
"I hope... you can be happy."
"You are now the Angel God, a God King, a great existence that has surpassed all your ancestors. Those so-called shackles of the Angel Clan and so-called Family responsibilities from the past can no longer bind you. You can do anything you want and live the Life you truly desire."
"This was my sole purpose in forcibly elevating you."
He looked at her, his eyes filled with exhaustion.
"I have done so much, killed so many people, changed the entire World... I am really tired now."
"I don't want to talk about those heavy topics anymore, and I don't want to dissect those bloody wounds again."
"I also don't want... you to leave."
"I am reluctant to let you go."
Hearing Xuan Ming's words that were almost a confession of his heart, and feeling the deep exhaustion and the unmistakable reluctance in his voice, Qian Renxue's tears could no longer be suppressed, rolling down like pearls from a broken string.
She didn't say another word.
She slowly stepped forward, opened her arms, and gently yet incredibly firmly hugged Xuan Ming.
Burying her head in his chest and feeling his familiar heartbeat and scent, Qian Renxue's voice came out muffled and heavy with emotion: "I won't leave."
"At least... not now."
She raised her head, her golden eyes washed by tears shining with startling brightness, reflecting Xuan Ming's somewhat startled face.
"I will stay with you."
"As for the relationship between us..."
She paused, and the corners of her mouth suddenly curved into a sly and stubborn arc, as if returning to the days many years ago when she disguised herself as Xue Qinghe and matched wits with him.
"...Just like before, it'll be fine."
"Before?" Xuan Ming was slightly stunned, not quite reacting.
What was their relationship before? Enemies? Friends? Or... symbiotes who tested and tortured each other?
Seeing his dazed look, the sadness in Qian Renxue's heart seemed to be replaced by a new, fighting strength. She stood on her tiptoes, leaned into Xuan Ming's ear, and said word for word in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"I won't give up."
"No matter what, I will never give up."
After saying that, without waiting for Xuan Ming to give any response, she suddenly opened her mouth and bit his shoulder hard!
The force was enough to make even a God King feel a jolt of sharp pain.
Having done all this, Qian Renxue released him and gave him a deep look, one that contained far too many complex emotions.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, she turned into a streak of golden light and instantly disappeared into the horizon.
Leaving Xuan Ming alone, stunned in place, touching the clear bite mark on his shoulder that still carried a hint of divine aura, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
What... kind of situation is this?
What on earth did the Ice Dragon King say to Qian Renxue? Why does it feel... like it's completely different from the script he had envisioned?
Just as he was completely bewildered, an ice-blue figure appeared silently beside him again.
The Ice Dragon King had returned.
She glanced at the fresh bite mark on Xuan Ming's shoulder, then at his dazed expression, and roughly guessed what had just happened.