The last light disappeared, and the temple fell silent once again.
Ji Yue absentmindedly stroked Nan Shan’s shoulder and suddenly said, “Let’s go.”
Nan Shan gathered her strength.
“Where to?”
Ji Yue thought for a moment and then simply said, “Let’s go.”
Nan Shan mustered enough strength to stand up and reached out to him.
“Are you sure you can walk?”
Ji Yue smiled and took her hand.
The sea was still rolling with waves, but this time, the waves carried a sense of freedom.
The barrier silently shattered, and the wind from the other shore finally reached Dongyi.
The colorful birds swayed in the wind, happily stretching their bodies.
Ji Yue held Nan Shan’s hand, slowly walking toward the sea.
A round light orb followed them at a distance, like a little tail.
It wasn’t too far from the temple to the sea, and they soon arrived.
“Ji Yue, have you ever eaten sugar fruit?”
Nan Shan asked.
Ji Yue shook his head slightly.
“No.”
“Then when we leave Dongyi, I’ll take you to buy some,” Nan Shan smiled and said, “Those are only sold in the city. Back then, when I had no cultivation, I thought the distance from home to the city was too far, so I rarely bought them. But now, it’s different. We can go wherever we want, eat whatever we want.”
Ji Yue silently smiled and looked down at the gravel on the road.
“I’ll take you to meet my father and mother. I’ve been away for so long; they must be worried.”
“They like gentle and well-behaved children, and they like good students. You happen to have both qualities, so they’ll think you’re especially good.”
“Of course, even if you don’t have any of those qualities, if you’re someone I like, they’ll think you’re special too.”
“Oh, by the way, my fake spiritual bone won’t last much longer. After we see my parents, we’ll have to find a way to solve that. I want to live to a hundred and be with you forever, I can’t just die young because I’m missing a bone.”
Nan Shan rambled on, seemingly unaware of the glowing orb following them or the plants withering behind them.
When the tide reached their toes, Ji Yue tried to let go of Nan Shan’s hand, but Nan Shan lowered her eyes and held his hand tighter.
“Nan Shan…”
“Can you see the other shore?”
Nan Shan interrupted, “That’s freedom. Will you come with me?”
“Nan Shan.”
Ji Yue called her name again.
Nan Shan raised a smiling face.
“I’ve driven away your nightmares. Now, it’s time to take you away.”
Ji Yue silently looked at her, his eyes filled with delicate tenderness.
Under his silent gaze, Nan Shan’s smile gradually faded, her eyes reddening.
Ji Yue lifted his hand to touch the corner of her eye, murmuring, “So it’s here.”
“Here?”
Nan Shan sniffed, asking with no mood to respond.
“The last scene I saw was here,” Ji Yue said after a pause.
“I’m sorry, I’ve still made you sad.”
“As long as you leave Dongyi with me, I won’t be sad,” Nan Shan rubbed her eyes, holding his hand tightly.
Ji Yue looked up at the sky.
It seemed to be an overcast day, with no stars visible.
“I can’t leave anymore,” he said slowly, light gradually pouring out from his body in sparkling dots.
“The resentment is gone.”
When he became a god, his divine power was sustained by the incense offerings of the Dongyi people.
After his fall, he relied on their resentment to survive.
He and this land of Dongyi had long become one.
As Dongyi died, so did he.
“Don’t be sad,” he comforted her softly.
“I’m heading towards freedom.”
Nan Shan finally couldn’t hold back any longer, ungracefully throwing herself into his arms.
Ji Yue’s body had already grown weak to the point where, after hugging her, he staggered back a few steps before barely steadying himself.
“You’ve lost so much weight,” Nan Shan tightly hugged his overly thin waist, unwilling to let go.
Ji Yue gently stroked her head.
“After we leave, you have to take good care of yourself.”
Nan Shan nodded, then shook her head wildly.
“I won’t take care of myself. You know that. I can’t even wash my clothes properly. It’s always you who does it for me.”
Ji Yue smiled, lifting his gaze to look at the round light behind them.
After a long while, he murmured, “I also want to take care of you.”
Nan Shan hugged him even tighter, but she couldn’t stop his body from falling apart.
Ji Yue finally lost all his strength, collapsing weakly.
Nan Shan was pulled into the tide with him.
“Ji Yue, Ji Yue…”
Nan Shan quickly sat up, holding him tightly.
Ji Yue’s lips moved as if to say something, but before he could speak, a light suddenly appeared on the beach behind Nan Shan.
At first, there was a small dot, then thousands of little dots appeared.
Red light connected these dots, forming a complex and splendid grand formation.
It was the prayer formation he had tried countless times before dark.
He had thought it was impossible to succeed, but unexpectedly, at this moment, just before dawn, it suddenly began to rotate.
Nan Shan also noticed a change in the spiritual energy behind her.
Turning around, she saw the formation had come to life.
Holding Ji Yue, she stared in a daze at the waves of light moving, her mind blank for a moment.
“Southwest,” Ji Yue murmured.
Nan Shan snapped back to reality.
“W-What?”
“Go southwest, there lies your path to survival.”
Ji Yue looked at her and smiled, a weight lifted from his heart.
At that moment, it seemed Ji Yue regained his divine power.
His wounds healed at a visible speed, and his gaunt, sunken cheeks became full again.
His eyes regained their luster.
It was also at this moment that his body slowly transformed into thousands of light dots.
Among these dots, his brows and eyes radiated some divine essence.
Nan Shan felt the weight in her arms grow lighter and tried to grasp him, but her hand passed through his body.
“Ji Yue…”
Ji Yue raised his hand, gently tapping her cheek.
“May my Nan Shan be healthy and safe, I shall be the sun and moon, accompanying you day and night.”
The calm, rhythmic chant echoed. Countless symbols surrounded Nan Shan.
Ji Yue looked at her reddened eyes, wanting to tell her that when he was seven, after the last spoonful of golden water was poured down, he gained the ability to divine and bestow blessings.
It was then, separated by thousands of years, that he saw her for the first time.
He saw the cultivation method she needed, so whenever he had time, he would search for it.
Over the millennia, he found countless methods, engraving them all in jade.
He wanted to say that when he fell, he thought the first sight of her was just an illusion born from the despair of a seven-year-old child.
But unexpectedly, after his fall, he saw her once again.
He wanted to apologize, to say that he shouldn’t have seen the ending before the story even began and still chosen to bring her to the Eastern Yi.
But he said nothing, only gazed at the dim sky, murmuring, “I really want to see Eastern Yi after the sunrise.”
Nan Shan bent down and kissed his forehead.
“Then hold on a little longer, you’ll see it soon.”
Ji Yue smiled silently, and in her pleading gaze, he transformed into countless light dots, dissipating into the air.
The moment he completely vanished, the horizon lightened, a ray of light piercing through the darkness and landing on Nan Shan’s shoulder.
Eastern Yi quickly withered away.
The plants died, the houses were covered in dust, and even the small boats by the sea cracked and shriveled.
Without the protection of the divine, it had completely become an abandoned island.
Ling Ye broke through the mist and appeared.
Nan Shan was still sitting by the sea, the tide already up to her waist.
She sat there blankly, silently watching the other shore.
On her neck, a butterfly-shaped mark gently fluttered its wings.
Ling Ye momentarily forgot to breathe.
After a long while, he cautiously spoke, “Nan Shan?”
Nan Shan paused, then turned to look at him.
It felt like an eternity had passed before Nan Shan finally remembered who he was:
“Ling Ye?”
Ling Ye’s lips trembled violently.
He rushed over and embraced her.
“It’s alright, it’s alright,” he whispered, comforting her.
“No matter what happened, it’s all over now.”
Nan Shan was still somewhat sluggish.
After a long time, she quietly asked, “Can you do me a favor?”
“What?”
Ling Ye immediately looked at her, only then realizing her hands were clasped together, as though holding something.
Nan Shan opened her hands in front of him, revealing a round light orb inside.
“His name is Shouxin,” Nan Shan introduced.
“He’s my best friend in Eastern Yi. Can you help me find him a good family? Find a family with kind parents, ones who truly love their child.”
“Okay.”
Ling Ye didn’t ask why, nor did he inquire what she had been through.
He carefully accepted the soul spirit and put it into his Qiankun pouch.
“Thank you.”
Nan Shan climbed to her feet, disregarding her drenched clothes and smiled at him.
“Well… let’s go back now.”
“…Alright.”
Ling Ye stood up and gazed deeply at her.
Nan Shan smiled again, about to leave with him, when she suddenly caught sight of a flash of blue.
It was a colorful bird, the fragrance of the eastern Yi Island, blooming with an overwhelming, vivid color.
Nan Shan suddenly stopped in her tracks.
“Nan Shan, why are you crying?”
Ling Ye’s voice was tight, a bit awkward.
“It’s nothing,” Nan Shan wiped her face in a hurry.
She had planned to be carefree, but as soon as she spoke, tears started to fall.
“I’m really fine, I’m just… suddenly feeling a little sad.”
All her emotions collapsed at once.
Nan Shan could no longer control herself and cried bitterly in front of the blooming little flower.
The sound of the waves grew louder, but it couldn’t drown out her sorrowful cries.
Ling Ye didn’t know how to comfort her, so he stiffly embraced her.