Chapter 116: The End
Yan Jianhang had only ever regretted one thing in his life.
He had always been deeply unsettled by the fact that Ye Jingxing would rather die than ask for his help.
Yan Jianhang had been unwilling to accept it.
At first, he could not accept that Ye Jingxing had died like that, and even less that Ye Jingxing had truly never loved him.
Later, Yan Jianhang realized that his unwillingness was utterly useless. This was the first time he had felt powerless, and it would also be the only time.
Ever since his inner demon had arisen, Yan Jianhang’s favorite pastime had been to watch others suffer—to see people stumble and crash in love just like him, yet gain nothing.
After doing too many bad deeds, Yan Jianhang eventually understood that the next pitiful soul to suffer like him was not anyone else—it was his own son.
In the quiet room, the two of them sat opposite each other.
Yan Jingqiu sat upright: “Why do you look like this today? No longer presenting yourself as an old man? You look like you’re about to die, trying to die beautifully. So that when no one helps tidy your appearance, you’ll gasp for air and vomit immediately.”
“Stop wasting words; it makes you look weak,” Yan Jianhang said, carrying a pot of wine. “Haven’t you ascended to Vulnerable yet?
Yan Jingqiu replied, “I don’t care.”
“A fine ‘don’t care’ indeed,” Yan Jianhang chuckled lowly. “Saying that out loud would probably make someone furious.”
Yan Jianhang had heard of this plan after Yan Jingqiu’s inner demon arose. Today, he had come to discuss it with Yan Jingqiu. He had long since felt that life had little meaning: “This story is complete, but not interesting enough.”
Yan Jianhang smiled: “How about this—before the seal in the Demon Realm is broken, if you can’t restore your memory, you and Bai Chunsheng die together?”
The quiet room was silent. On the wall opposite the door hung a character: “Solemn,” and above the door another: “Stillness.” Yan Jingqiu paused for a moment and then spoke softly: “If we can’t be together in love, dying together would naturally be a good thing.”
Yan Jianhang sneered: “You take it lightly. I wonder if Bai Chunsheng would agree to die with you.”
Yan Jingqiu said: “If I can find Ye Jingxing’s remains in the cave, you leave Bai Chunsheng alive.”
“Why?” Yan Jianhang asked. “Didn’t you just say you’d die with him?”
The aroma of wine lingered. Yan Jingqiu said, “I can die, but I want him to live well.”
Yan Jianhang raised an eyebrow: “Why should I agree? His remains will be in that mine, because my sword is there. He must be there; this was my last command to him.”
“I know,” Yan Jingqiu said, holding his cup. He exhaled and looked up at Yan Jianhang: “So I am not asking you.”
Yan Jianhang laughed loudly.
His demeanor was almost unhinged. Yan Jingqiu found his laughter too loud, and within a short while was eager to usher him out.
Regaining consciousness, Yan Jingqiu kicked away the corpse at his feet and walked outside.
The sandstorm had stopped, but torrential rain now poured from the sky, a result of the halted Tribulation Lightning. The Tribulation for ascension had two stages: one was the lightning after the Mahayana peak, and the other was the final trial through the heart tribulation. Yan Jingqiu had asked for what he loved and had no guilt in his heart.
He had not expected to directly become a Vulnerable, for he had never imagined Yan Jianhang would die.
Given Yan Jianhang’s cultivation and strength, clearly no one in the world could truly kill him. Yan Jingqiu had never thought Yan Jianhang pitiable. He glanced around, thinking the Yan family must have already prepared funeral arrangements and that a simple name change would suffice for Yan Jianhang.
The sensation of the Taye Sword hovered nearby; perhaps Bai Chunsheng had gotten lost. Yan Jingqiu decided to find him first.
Indeed, Bai Chunsheng had lost his way. The Southern Region of the Western Desert was vast; even after learning the location of Yan Jianhang’s previous battle, he still could not find him.
Then
The rain came.
Had Yan Jingqiu died?
Bai Chunsheng still had not found Bo Yan to tell him those words—and he had died?
Was this truly the end?
Yan Jingqiu… Yan Jingqiu… Yan Jingqiu…
Did Yan Jingqiu know he loved him too?
Bai Chunsheng first felt bewildered, then a tingling, gnawing pain in his heart, as if something were biting it. He collapsed to the ground.
The sudden downpour washed away all of Bai Chunsheng’s hope, and his eyes began to rain too.
When Yan Jingqiu finally found Bai Chunsheng, he was sitting there just like this, mouth open, crying bitterly like a pitiful, soaked, homeless little animal.
And indeed, that was Bai Chunsheng.
Seeing Bai Chunsheng cry so violently, Yan Jingqiu did not dare interrupt him. Quietly, he held an umbrella over him from behind.
He waited in quiet anticipation, wondering when Bai Chunsheng would notice him, what he would say. Human emotions, like tightly compressed springs, rebound stronger the more they are restrained.
Unfortunately, Bai Chunsheng was too absorbed in his crying. Only after he had cried himself exhausted did he finally notice Yan Jingqiu behind him.
Bai Chunsheng’s black, bright eyes, now tinged red, looked in disbelief at Yan Jingqiu. He blinked, then realized this was not a hallucination.
He jumped up and rushed into Yan Jingqiu’s arms.
The soft little beauty cried out “Aoo” and began to sob again.
For Yan Jingqiu, this was the first time, after regaining his memory, that he had a tangible sense that Bai Chunsheng also loved him.
The one he had longed for loved him back.
Yan Jingqiu thought for a moment, dropped the umbrella, and wrapped his arms around Bai Chunsheng’s waist. Bai Chunsheng was still crying, so Yan Jingqiu lifted his face and pressed his own forehead, nose, and lips against his, kissing him bit by bit, tenderly. The rain was cold, but Yan Jingqiu’s hands were warm. Bai Chunsheng could not help brushing his face against Yan Jingqiu’s palm.
Yan Jingqiu said, “I came to find you.”
“Mm,” Bai Chunsheng nodded. “I came to find you too.”
Bai Chunsheng asked, “What about those who wanted to kill you?”
“They’re dead,” Yan Jingqiu said.
It was only natural; had they not died, Yan Jingqiu could not have appeared here alive.
The joy of reunion was confirmed gradually, skin to skin, as reality.
“Ah,” Bai Chunsheng thought of something and tentatively asked: “Bo Yan?”
Yan Jingqiu nodded.
It was natural, and Bai Chunsheng asked again, “Yan Jingqiu?”
Yan Jingqiu habitually replied, “Why are you bringing him up?”
Yan Jingqiu: “…”
He suddenly remembered some awkward memories.
Damn it.
Bai Chunsheng, however, took it in stride and simply said “Oh,” realizing that Yan Jingqiu still had not recovered his memory.
He grabbed Yan Jingqiu’s hand and immediately changed the subject, not wanting this silly boy to get jealous over nothing and make things complicated: “Will those people still come to hunt you?”
Yan Jingqiu said, “If they had any brains, they probably won’t.”
Bai Chunsheng: “…”
As the rain fell harder and harder, the two of them had to move to a firmer patch of sand. Using earth magic, they constructed a small earthen shelter to take temporary refuge from the storm.
In the center of the little hut, Bai Chunsheng lit a small fire.
The two of them sat close together, pressed warmly against each other.
After a long while, perhaps it was already evening.
Bai Chunsheng looked at Yan Jingqiu and, for the first time, openly and fearlessly said, “I really like you.”
Under the same campfire, in the rain at night, this time it was two hearts truly in sync.
“I think I’ve liked you for a long time, but I’ve forgotten exactly when it started,” he admitted. Maybe in the Mountain Life Secret Realm, or the Lutai Secret Realm… perhaps even earlier, from the first time Bai Chunsheng heard about Yan Jingqiu.
Yan Jingqiu tried to lean closer to kiss Bai Chunsheng again. Perhaps because he was no longer crying, Bai Chunsheng seemed more lively.
Bai Chunsheng laughed, smugly dodging him: “I said you can only kiss me once; next time, it depends on my mood.”
The more he teased, the more Yan Jingqiu wanted to kiss him. Ideally, he wanted Bai Chunsheng’s lips to flush red, eyes sparkling with desire, unsteady and leaning helplessly into his arms, whimpering softly.
Yan Jingqiu held Bai Chunsheng’s chin and kissed him again.
Outside, the rain poured down harder and harder. Bai Chunsheng asked, “How long will this storm last?”
Yan Jingqiu replied, “It will last a very, very long time… long enough to reshape the land, turning this desert into grasslands and mountains, and finally into an endless ocean.”
The End.
Author’s Note: End
Next up is the extras!
Wuwu, this might be the first story I’ve written over 300,000 words, so my feelings are complicated.
From the start, I planned two storylines: the main line being the sweet romance between Bai Chunsheng and Yan Jingqiu, and the hidden line about Yan Jianhang and Ye Jingxing. But my writing wasn’t strong enough—the hidden line probably ended up as unnoticed as a winter worm buried in the ground; unless you dig deliberately, no one would ever know it was hibernating there.
About the ending: first, I want to thank everyone for the companionship over this time. Thank you so much!
Ciacia/N: Basically, I was shocked to find out about another CP beside the main CP. So Yan Jianhang loved Ye Jingxing not the Dragon Maiden and this whole novel happened because he’s too sour about his failed love life that he wanted to spice things up with his son’s love life and life lol what a wicked father. But about thee father’s love life im not completely sure either, idk if he killed his beloved or Ye Jingxing died because of what described in the novel (he died becaise he cant cross the Tribulation crossing stage and that he killed the Dragon Maiden to ascent higher realm, the hidden plotline is really well hidden and blurry, you are free to speculate tho!
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
