Chapter 87 (1/2): The Two Who Completely Confessed

Behind the mountain.

An emaciated old man, with a body like a skeleton, breathed faintly.

The withered tree branches outside the wooden hut seemed to sway in rhythm with the old man’s fluctuating emotions.

In this world.

When—

Had an invincible Ghost King been born once again?

Just as the figure of Si Zhiruo descending upon the Su family was not truly her own body, the old man’s Azure Dragon form was also a kind of external projection, a unique supreme divine skill possessed by a warrior of his caliber—taking the concept of illusion made real one step further.

Just moments ago.

Si Zhiruo had indeed harbored a ruthless intent to kill without mercy.

Her eyes had never truly grasped the concept of human life.

Her actions were only subtly influenced by Si Xinyan’s unconscious sway, a faint, almost imperceptible effect.

Therefore.

When her mother uttered the words “leave none alive,” Si Zhiruo barely hesitated before deciding to completely wipe the vast Su family off the face of the world.

In a narrow alley near the back mountain of the Su estate.

Su Liumeng twisted Jiang Yue’s neck from behind, her cold gaze more like that of a mortal enemy than a daughter.

Just like the dragon’s reverse scale—touch it, and you die.

Si Xinyan was her sole reverse scale; no one could lay a finger on her.

Yet this woman—

Repeatedly provoked and challenged her.

A few steps away, about three or four paces from Su Liumeng, I stood amidst my tangled emotions, halting my pursuit of the sun in silence.

The young girl’s long-suppressed emotions finally erupted.

Tears streamed uncontrollably down her stunning face, which even gods and ghosts would admire.

“Zhi Zhi.”

“Is Mommy really a useless person?”

……

The girl before me had endless killing intent swirling in her eyes.

Jiang Yue already felt the boundary between life and death closing in, no longer distant, especially with the strong fingers grasping the coccyx at her back.

All living beings fear death.

Jiang Yue was no exception.

Having tasted endless wealth and splendor, she was even more terrified of death than most.

“Su Liumeng, you can’t do this.”

“Let go, let go!”

“You can’t… kill me.”

For the first time, Jiang Yue sensed a terror akin to staring death in the face coming from her daughter’s grasp—this daughter who had always been under her control.

Her voice trembled.

“I am your mother. If you kill me, no matter how many faults I have, you will be branded unfilial and disloyal for life.”

“Disloyalty, unrighteousness, and unfilialness—if a person falls into even one of these, it’s a stain they can never wash away.”

At this moment, Su Liumeng’s smile was terrifying as she looked at her mother, curling into a twisted and ghastly grin.

She had no intention of responding.

Only the fingers squeezing the lifeline tightened.

Jiang Yue felt chills engulf her body.

Death drew nearer.

She even heard the crack of her spine beginning to break.

As she faced imminent death, Jiang Yue struggled desperately, no longer caring about the dignity of being the Su family’s matriarch.

Through her sobs, she begged, “Daughter, Mommy really knows she was wrong. I won’t interfere with your private affairs anymore.”

“Please—”

“Please spare Mommy.”

“I really know I was wrong.”

The woman wept pitifully, looking utterly disheveled.

She went on to confess her past deeds: “It was my controlling nature. I treated you as my possession. It was all me… I never saw you as an independent person. I wanted to use your strength for power, and my own failures made me oppress you step by step. Whenever you tried to break free from my control, I suppressed your personality even more.”

“Because you’re my daughter, born of me, you should respect me forever.”

Finally, Jiang Yue voiced her true feelings with painful honesty.

Hearing Jiang Yue’s fearful words, Su Liumeng’s last lingering obsession suddenly vanished like smoke dissipating.

She slowly closed her eyes and let the woman fall to the ground.

“So you always knew.”

The girl smiled bitterly at herself.

At one time, she had wanted to ask if her mother ever loved her even a little.

Now, she had her answer.

No need to ask again.

Realizing this, all the resentment and hatred in Su Liumeng’s heart vanished instantly.

Correspondingly, her love no longer existed.

She looked at Jiang Yue like a stranger—a person completely unrelated to her.

So—

It wasn’t that she wasn’t good enough, so her mother didn’t love her.

How could something that never existed be obtained no matter how hard you tried?

Everything, the answer was so simple and straightforward.

Perhaps Su Liumeng had long suspected this answer.

Facing one’s own birth mother, who could have no last illusions or hopes?

Enough.

No point in dwelling on meaningless things.

On the ground, Jiang Yue’s clothes below were soaked through.

When she saw herself dropped by Su Liumeng, the brief flicker of joy in her eyes disappeared.

“Daughter, you won’t kill me?”

“I’ll love you properly from now on.”

“Daughter?”

Upon hearing this address, Su Liumeng suddenly laughed.

“Please don’t use such a disgusting term to call me.”

“You’re right. Killing someone is the cheapest thing.”

“Go to Qinglian Nunnery and enjoy your rest. You will never step out again.”

Hearing the three words “Qinglian Nunnery,” Jiang Yue’s pupils sharply contracted, as if hearing something terrifying.

“No.”

“I won’t go to Qinglian Nunnery.”

“Su Liumeng, I am your mother. You can’t treat me like this.”

Jiang Yue screamed hoarsely until familiar shoes appeared in front of her.

She slowly raised her head and looked at the man who had just arrived.

“Qinghe, Qinghe, save me! Your daughter is sending me to the nunnery. I don’t want to be a nun. I don’t want to live a widow’s life.”

Su Qinghe’s gaze was cold.

“I warned you, but you never listened.”

“Take the lady to recuperate.”

The head of the three branches of the Su family spoke, and two men in black descended from above, carrying Jiang Yue forward.

Seeing that the matter was settled, Jiang Yue no longer pretended and cursed at Su Liumeng,

“If I had known you were such a cold-hearted monster, I never would have…”

Su Qinghe suddenly frowned and shot an energy bolt forward, knocking the woman unconscious.

Su Liumeng’s mood was as calm as a cloudless summer sky—without a trace of emotion.

Just like when a person’s emotions surge too wildly, their body triggers a protective mechanism, ignoring any unnecessary feelings.

“Jiujiu, I didn’t watch over her.”

“Father apologizes to you.”

Su Liumeng shook her head without replying, then walked toward the figure in front of her.

Seeing the girl approaching step by step, my first reaction was to take two steps back, feeling an uncommon panic.

I was avoiding.

Zhi Zhi’s words still echoed in my ears.

“As long as Mommy is here, how could she be useless?”

“This world needs all kinds of people. Mommy’s role just happens not to be a strong one, but as long as she’s by Zhi Zhi’s side, it’s meaningful.”

“Because you are Zhi Zhi’s mother.”

“As for Su Liumeng, I can’t really understand.”

“I suppose it’s more or less the same meaning.”

I’m not that I don’t understand Zhi Zhi’s words.

It’s just that—

Though I seem fragile, I am actually stronger than anyone at my core.

I instinctively turned away.

At this moment, I just wanted some peace alone.

Su Liumeng hurried over and hugged me from behind.

There was a trace of sorrow in her voice, hard to dispel.

“Xinxin, I only have you now…”

“I… only have you.”

“You won’t leave me, right?”

She seemed to slip into madness, tightly trapping me in her arms, not letting me move an inch.

Her stubborn words repeated in my ear as if without a reassuring answer, she couldn’t escape her already twisted inner world.

Looking at the red marks on my arm, my voice was clear yet emotionless.

“Su Liumeng, am I not good enough for you?”

“You!” Su Liumeng almost gasped for air in one breath.

“I forbid you to say that.”

She flipped me over and crazily forced my babbling mouth shut.

I had never seen such a domineering Su Liumeng before.

With my tongue pried open and air further seized, I just wanted to shove her away fiercely.

“Su Liumeng, you’ve lost your mind.”

I struggled hard, finally managing to finish the sentence.

Su Liumeng released me.

“Yes, I’m crazy.”

“Yes, I’m crazy. I appeared desperately in front of you only to hear your self-pitying words, so I lost it completely and wanted to cut off all chances of you leaving me.”

“What… exactly are you saying?”

“Don’t you know, I dream of only you.”

“You mean everything to me.”

“You are like an angel, gracing the black and white sides of my world.”

“You are the only color in my dull life.”

“You have never been a burden.”

“In my world, you are like the first light of dawn, the most flawless and untouchable snow lotus, forever exalted in my heart—making me approach you step by step with cautious reverence.”

“To me, you are always a bit beyond my reach.”

“Xinxin, it’s me who’s not good enough for you.”

The girl hugged me tighter, tears naturally seeping from the corners of her eyes as she told a story that made my heart tremble.

Seven years and one hundred and three days ago, on that night, she had already filled the bathtub with hot water.

Beside her was only a knife.

She could not accept the cold and loveless parents who had taken her back.

“You told me that this world is not just about parents, but also about oneself.”

“The meaning of life is never because of others.”

“You told me—life’s meaning lies in experiencing it.”

“Because everyone is destined to die.”

“In the long river of history, even earth-shattering events cause no ripple.”

“So, when you’re tired, you don’t need to try so hard.”

“Just close your eyes and experience life’s bittersweet moments—that’s enough.”

“Therefore, even if you daydream or play games, it’s meaningful.”

“Life is fleeting.”

“People have different ways of living. You can’t say others have no meaning just because they enjoy games.”

“Life is really too short. We come to this world once—shouldn’t we just be happy?”

Su Liumeng’s voice sounded like thunderclaps, waking long-forgotten memories deep within my mind bit by bit.

I remembered this passage but knew nothing about what she had gone through alone behind it.

It was at midnight when I was standing by the window pondering life, and I happened to see someone’s message online.

Before replying, I had thought long and hard about those words.

I told that stranger online, but it was more like talking to myself trapped in a confused life.

Su Liumeng continued to pour her heart out.

“You told me.”

“Let go of obsessions.”

“Live for yourself.”

Listening to her, I chuckled wryly.

These were my own words.

But I never fully convinced myself and remained trapped in a whirlpool named family affection for many days after.

How laughable.

“Without you, I would have died on that night seven years ago, let alone become the Su Liumeng now.”

“You were never useless.”

“Your existence means everything to me.”

“You are the only hope that saved my life.”

Su Liumeng repeated this once more.

At this moment, I finally understood the real meaning behind those words.

There are many love confessions in the world.

This pre-marriage confession from Su Liumeng was the most beautiful I had ever heard.

It wasn’t that I didn’t love Su Liumeng.

It was precisely because I loved her so much that I reflected on myself.

Since she already said that, what else was there to worry about?

I could no longer control my emotions.

Gently, I turned Su Liumeng’s head and slowly leaned my own closer.

……

The girl said nothing more.

Always so quiet.

This kiss she offered first surpassed a thousand words.

……

Kissing the one you love is a delight for body and soul, as if every cell is immersed in the flutter of affection.

The senses expanded limitlessly.

My entire world seemed to contain only Su Liumeng’s presence.

In the past, she had dominated most experiences; I was usually passive.

This time, my initiative delighted her, as if she saw a girl ready to open her heart completely.

“Su Liumeng.”

“You weren’t really trying to leave me just now.”

“You only wanted some calm… or maybe to run away.”

“But now, I don’t want to run anymore. I want to marry you immediately…”

“I want you to be my wife. I want to cling to you forever…”

Su Liumeng quietly listened to my confession, watching the flush coloring my cheeks.

I felt shy under her gaze and lowered my eyes to watch my clenched small hands.

“Su Liumeng.”

“What are you waiting for me to say?”

I was stared at so intently, growing a little flustered, words catching in my throat.

“Of course, waiting for you to say you… like me.”

Su Liumeng placed a teasing, fleeting kiss on my cheek.

“Didn’t you already tell me?”

I was so embarrassed I could barely speak but cooperated with a tiny voice,

“Su Liumeng, I like you. Is that okay?”

“Please marry me.”

I tilted my head, smiling brightly, adding,

“If I say this again, will you be happier?”

“I’ll never think about who’s good enough or not again.”

“Meeting you among so many people feels like fate, so romantic.”

Upon hearing this, Su Liumeng couldn’t hold back her excitement.

She scooped me up and spun me around twice.

“Hey!”

I cried out cutely, “There are people nearby.”

Su Liumeng gently put me down and tapped my forehead.

“Now you’re shy, huh? But who was holding me and kissing me just now? Look carefully—there’s no one else here.”

I glanced around the empty alley—indeed, no servants in sight.

While we were being lovey-dovey, Chunqiao, the head maid, dutifully drove off all the onlookers.