No one knew how long Shi Yi had lain in Liu Shen's embrace, nor did anyone know what Liu Shen had said to him while he was unconscious.
Shi Yi only knew that when he awoke, he was cradled in the warm arms of his mother, Yu Yuexian.
"Yi'er, those who have passed cannot be brought back; we can only cherish their memory. Mother doesn't want you to drown in sorrowful recollections. I hope you can find the strength to rise again," Yu Yuexian said softly, holding Shi Yi's head gently, letting him rest against her as she had done since he was a child.
"Mother, I will rise again," Shi Yi murmured, his voice low but resolute.
In my previous life, he thought, I was starved of love, utterly alone. My parents didn't care, my relatives ignored me, and no one spared a thought for someone as ordinary as me. I never knew a mother's or father's love.
But in this life, it's as if the heavens are making up for it. I've been gifted with family, with a mother who dotes on me beyond reason.
If others cherished Shi Yi because of his Double Pupils, marking him as a born saint, Yu Yuexian's love was unconditional, boundless. She would give her life for him without hesitation.
In that vanished timeline, when Shi Yi was young and naive, he didn't fully grasp what it meant to take Shi Hao's Supreme Bone. But Yu Yuexian? She understood. She knew that such an act, one that would enrage the heavens and humanity, might spare Shi Yi—his youth excusing him—but would certainly claim her life.
And so it did.
Yu Yuexian was killed.
She paved a path for Shi Yi with her own life.
Her mind was simple in its devotion: to give Shi Yi everything good in the world, even if it meant defying heaven and earth, even if it made her an outcast.
Even now, that devotion persisted.
"Yi'er, I found something in an ancient text," Yu Yuexian whispered, leaning close to his ear, her voice carrying a hint of something unthinkable. "The Supreme Bone can be transplanted to a blood relative."
Transplant the Supreme Bone?
Shi Yi's brow furrowed briefly before smoothing out.
In the next moment, he deliberately hardened his expression, his face turning cold as frost. "Mother, do you doubt my talent? Do you think my Double Pupils are inferior to the Supreme Bone?"
Yu Yuexian's heart skipped a beat at his displeasure. Panicked, she rushed to explain, "No, Yi'er! Mother only thought that another bone could offer you more paths. I never doubted you or looked down on your Double Pupils!"
Her world was pure, centered solely on Shi Yi.
His reaction pierced her heart, leaving her feeling wronged and pained.
"If that's the case, Mother, don't speak of such things again," Shi Yi said firmly, standing up from her embrace.
Ignoring the hurt in her eyes, he turned his back to her, his voice steady but resolute. "The path of the Double Pupils is invincible. Why borrow another's bone?"
His words were unyielding, ringing with conviction.
That single sentence shattered Yu Yuexian's thoughts of taking the Supreme Bone. She couldn't bear the thought of this matter driving a wedge between her and Shi Yi.
___
Martial King's Manor, a refined courtyard
"This child, gone from home for five years, barely returned to enjoy family warmth, and now struck by such devastating news. He even fainted from grief in the ancestral hall," Qin Yining said, her voice tinged with pity. Her jade-like face was etched with heartache.
Though she wasn't particularly close to Shi Yi, her nephew whom she'd only met a few times, she felt deep sympathy for him. So young, still a boy, yet forced to bear such a heavy burden.
"Mother, I was the first to find Yi Gege unconscious in the ancestral hall," Shi Hao said, sitting beside her. "But I felt… there was someone else there with him. Someone I couldn't see."
In truth, Shi Hao's instincts were sharp. At that moment, the unconscious Shi Yi had been cradled in Liu Shen's arms, invisible and intangible to mortals. Only the Supreme Bone within Shi Hao allowed him to vaguely sense Liu Shen's presence, though even he wasn't certain if it was real.
"Hao'er, don't speak nonsense," Qin Yining chided gently. "That hall is one of the Martial King's Manor's most sacred places. How could an outsider be there? If anyone was present, it must have been the ancestral spirits of the Shi Clan manifesting."
"Ancestral spirits?" Shi Hao scratched his head, puzzled. He had only a vague feeling, no proof. Perhaps it truly was the Shi Clan's ancestors.
Unbeknownst to Shi Hao and Qin Yining, Liu Shen stood before them at that very moment.
"Shi Yi, Shi Hao, Double Pupils and Supreme Bone—two supreme talents in one clan. Such an impossibility has unfolded before my eyes. Truly, the world is vast and full of wonders," Liu Shen mused.
To her, Shi Hao was merely a passerby, insignificant. Her focus, her care, had always been solely for Shi Yi.
And when the calamity struck—when the Martial King's Manor's elders, Shi Yi's father Shi Ziteng, and Shi Hao's father Shi Ziling all fell—she had known. She had watched it unfold.
Yet she did nothing.
To her, it was the natural order. Humans eat beasts, beasts eat humans; humans slay beasts, beasts slay humans. It was all part of the cycle of heaven and earth.
Moreover, she wasn't human. She was a willow tree that had attained the Dao, a being of the plant realm. To her, humans and beasts were both adversaries of plants. She had no reason to favor one side over the other.
___
Lower Realm, Eight Domains, Heavenly Domain
"A fragmented scripture of the Dao has appeared in the Stone Country of the Desolate Domain. A golden lotus bloomed thrice, blessing billions of lives. Such an extraordinary scripture must herald a great opportunity. My next destination for training shall be the Stone Country in the Desolate Domain."
The speaker was a woman in white, ethereal as an immortal. She seemed like a celestial being descended to the mortal world, almost unreal in her grace.
Clad in flowing white robes, she exuded an otherworldly elegance. Her figure was tall and slender, a head taller than most women, her black hair cascading like ink. Her neck was graceful, like that of a swan, though her face was veiled by translucent silk, revealing only her bright, luminous eyes.
___
Lower Realm, Eight Domains, Earth Domain
"Hmph, a scripture of the Dao has appeared in the Stone Country of the Desolate Domain. She won't pass up such a grand opportunity. I had planned to explore the other domains, but it seems I'll have to head to the Desolate Domain early."
This was no immortal maiden but a fox spirit, her nine tails swaying gracefully behind her.
Her face was a perfect oval, her skin delicate and fair, her brows fine and arched. A faint, captivating smile curved her lips, and her demeanor carried a fragile charm, like Xi Shi clutching her heart.
Her fox-like eyes, though calm, radiated an irresistible allure, capable of ensnaring men and women alike. She was a true enchantress, yet her aura was pure and untainted, a testament to her self-discipline despite her innate charm.
___
Lower Realm, Eight Domains, Desolate Domain
"Brothers, I owe you my thanks. Not only did you save me from peril, but you also helped me avenge my son's death," a man said gratefully.
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