Without another moment's hesitation, the man shot forward and descended to retrieve Jia Lin's soul. The girl's soul now looked at Jian Hong with a panic that could not be hidden. One hand reached out, trying to grasp Jian Hong's body. "Jian'er," she called softly, her voice barely audible.
Jia Lin could do nothing as her soul was pulled from below, for she no longer possessed a physical body.
Meanwhile, Jian Hong's own hand stretched out, trying to reach for Jia Lin's. "Hold my hand. I will not fail to protect you a second time."
The two of them kept trying to grasp each other's hands. But no matter how hard they tried, Jia Lin's body seemed to be pulled backward faster and faster. In the end, the glow of her soul slowly vanished from Jian Hong's sight.
A sense of panic continued to envelop him. Jian Hong could only shake his head slowly. His heart churned uncontrollably when that guilt washed over him. "Not again. Please, not this time. I don't want the same thing to happen yet again. Just this once, let me win. Let me not lose anyone ever again. Please," Jian Hong whispered. He ignored the tears streaming down his face as his body plummeted rapidly.
But when he drew near to Jia Lin, Jian Hong suddenly felt the golden light from the girl's soul crash into him. Then, in an instant, it carried his soul to another place.
---
Jian Hong stepped into a place he knew all too well. A battlefield under an orange-red sky tainted by weapons and chaos, with the ground split wide open in many places.
He turned to look around, and his breath instantly caught in his chest.
"How… how am I back here?" he thought. At first, Jian Hong assumed this was a dream. But when he looked down and saw his own body clad in battle armor, blood dripping all over him, he realized this was real.
Whether he was dreaming, hallucinating, or something else entirely, one thing was certain: the fear, anxiety, emotion, rage, and sorrow here were real. Far too real to be called just a nightmare.
Still trying to make sense of what was happening, a loud rumble behind him made Jian Hong turn around. His eyes widened as he saw hundreds of cavalry charging toward him.
Jian Hong shook his head slowly. How could he not recognize them? They were the direct subordinates of the God of War, Luo Tianqi—ordinary cultivators who had built their own sect in the Mortal Realm. Yet somehow, they had started this war.
When they passed Jian Hong, they didn't even acknowledge his existence, riding right through as if the blood-soaked man wasn't there at all. At first, he found it strange. He even tried reaching out to touch one of the riders, but his hand met nothing but air.
He repeated this several times, but the result was always the same. This oddity made Jian Hong's brows knit together as he watched the cavalry ride past. "If this is an illusion, why is it being shown to me? What does Luo Tianqi want by making me relive this suffering again?" he wondered.
Then, as the fog in his heart began to clear, he remembered what had happened earlier. "Is this what they call a heart demon? Did Luo Tianqi send me here on purpose so he could hurt Jia Lin? Wasn't I just with her? Where is she now?"
Jian Hong turned, searching for the one who had dragged him here. Growing more restless, he decided to leave this chaos behind. "I still don't know if this is something that actually happened or just an illusion. I'll figure it out later. Right now, what matters most is Jia Lin—the last light I have after every other light in my life has been forcibly taken from me."
With resolve, Jian Hong turned and ran away from the terrifying place. But after only eleven steps, a scream he knew all too well reached his ears. His body went rigid, trembling as sweat poured down his face.
Time slowed. Even the movements around him seemed to crawl. His ears rang as the same heartbreaking scream echoed over and over—coming from the same person.
His fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. Without his consent, tears fell onto the scorched battlefield. His legs weakened, and he nearly collapsed backward before regaining his balance. "No… this is only an illusion. I mustn't be fooled. This is definitely Luo Tianqi's trick to trap me here while he harms Jia Lin," he told himself, shaking his head even as his heart pounded wildly. "No, Jian Hong, not again. You've endured this once before, and you survived. That proves you're strong. This is just a trick—you must not be deceived again. Not now, not when you know this is merely a distraction to keep you from focusing on what truly matters."
Jian Hong steadied his heart and stepped forward. But when the next scream rang out, he could no longer restrain himself. Inside him, it felt like a great wave had shattered the defenses he had built for hundreds of years.
"XIAO HONG!"
Now, Jian Hong's tears were no longer just proof of his grief—they were the embodiment of his defeat. Whether hundreds of years ago or now, Jian Hong was still weak when it came to… his parents.
He turned, his vision blurred by tears. "Mom…" he whispered. He couldn't even finish his sentence. His throat closed up, and his chest felt crushed under a weight of stone.
"Mom," Jian Hong said again. He turned around and changed direction, though each step felt heavy.
"XIAO HONG, HELP ME, SON!"
This time, Jian Hong couldn't hold back his emotions. He ran with every ounce of strength he had. When he saw the cavalry ahead moving toward the same place, he leapt high, stepping across the backs of horses as if they were solid ground.
His breath was nearly gone, but the sight of a middle-aged woman in danger was something he could no longer bear. He quickened his pace, and as he landed on the last horse, he vaulted forward, landing a few meters from the woman—his mother, Ru Xue.
"Mom," Jian Hong murmured. A feeling beyond words filled him at seeing her face again after hundreds of years. Yet at the same time, sorrow stabbed him when he saw men dragging Ru Xue away.
"Let go! Jian Hong, help me, son! Get them away, please!" Ru Xue's scream pierced deep into his heart.
Without another thought, Jian Hong lunged toward them. His only goal was to drive the men away and bring Ru Xue back. But when he struck, his kick had no effect at all. Instead, he was pushed forward uncontrollably, as if he had just kicked the wind.
When he hit the ground, Jian Hong immediately got up. What had just happened puzzled him deeply. He dusted his hands and clothes. "Why did that happen?"
Jian Hong knew this was an illusion. But if that were completely true, why could Ru Xue look directly at him? Why could she call for his help?
"This is strange. This isn't just a normal illusion. What exactly is Luo Tianqi trying to show me? Is he deliberately buying time before I go after Jia Lin?"
But if Jia Lin were his only target, there would be no need for all this. Jian Hong's mind was still clear when Luo Tianqi sent him here. This didn't seem as simple as it appeared.
His gaze returned to Ru Xue, still struggling to break free. The sorrow in the woman's eyes had always been enough to shake Jian Hong's heart and mind. But this time, he wasn't just moved—he felt as if he was losing control at the sight of her suffering.
Then she broke free from the men holding her arms. Slowly, she walked toward Jian Hong, their eyes locking with different meanings behind them.
"Won't you help me, Jian Hong? Why? Why won't you save me even when I'm right in front of you? Your father and I died when you weren't with us. But now, even when you're here, you still won't save your own mother? Why, Jian Hong? Why would you do something this cruel to your own mother?" Her voice broke into sobs, from soft weeping to hysterical cries.
Anyone who heard her would have been moved. Even Jian Hong could not deny that he was. He wouldn't lie—part of him was deeply wounded by his mother's tears, and by the way she spoke to him.
And yet, something felt wrong. He knew this was all an illusion. Instead of being immersed in it, unease gnawed at his heart as he simply stared into her eyes in silence. For now, he didn't want to say anything. He just wanted to keep looking at her face, memorizing every detail, so that one day, it could ease his longing.
"Mom, I'm happy to see you again," Jian Hong said, ignoring her words and tears from moments ago.
Ru Xue shook her head slowly, disappointment plain on her face. "So that's it? That's the answer you give me after everything I said? After all that's happened to me, you don't even ask how I am, or try to save me?"
A harsh breath escaped Jian Hong, followed by his hands landing firmly on her shoulders. "Because, Mom, I know everything I see today isn't real. No matter what you or I do, we can't change the past. You… are truly gone from my life. All I want right now is to keep looking at your face, to remember it clearly in my mind. So that even if we never meet again, I'll never forget it—for as long as I live."
Hearing this, Ru Xue's face twisted in anger. She stepped back and slapped his cheek. "You're useless! Even when you see your own mother on the brink of death, you still don't care! Jian Hong, my biggest regret in life was giving birth to you!"
It would be a lie to say Jian Hong's heart didn't hurt. That pain was enough to bring fresh tears to his eyes. But this time, he smiled. "I know. I knew you would say that."
Silence fell as Jian Hong's words hung in the air. Around them, the battlefield grew even more intense—blood splattering everywhere, swords clashing without pause, leaving no room for either of them to reflect in peace.
"Because you're part of this place. You're not my mother—you're the embodiment of my fear and grief over losing you," Jian Hong continued.
And the moment he said that, the world fell silent. No more clashing swords, no more cries of the wounded, no more rolling thunder in the orange sky.
Realizing this, Jian Hong was startled. He turned to check his surroundings. "Strange. I knew from the start this wasn't simple. But this is too sudden, and I can't guess what's really happening."
When he turned back to face Ru Xue, a long spear suddenly pierced through his chest, spraying fresh blood in all directions. A split second later, blood gushed from his mouth.
"How… how did I not realize something so obvious? That from the very beginning, Luo Tianqi's target… was always me."