Zhu Xian: They've all been reborn

A past life? Rebirth?

Husband and wife? Obsessive love? Bystanders?

Now... another such solemn and straightforward confession has come?

He subconsciously turned his gaze to Biyao.

Biyao stood there, her face pale, tears finally streaming down her face silently. She looked at Xiaobai, then at Jiang Xiaochuan, her eyes filled with resentment, despair, and a hint of anger and helplessness at being "snatched" first.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found that her throat felt like it was blocked by something, and she couldn't utter a single word.

Xiao Bai is right, nothing has happened yet in this life.

But her heart had already been riddled with holes hundreds of years ago, and could no longer hold anyone else.

She seems... to be a little slow?

Do not!She is not reconciled!

He then looked at Lu Xueqi.

Lu Xueqi remained standing quietly at the door, her hand still resting on the hilt of the Tianya sword.

She didn't say a word from beginning to end, she just listened quietly.

His cold face was expressionless, except for his eyes, which were as deep as an ancient, cold pool, reflecting everything in the room, including his bewildered face.

When Xiaobai mentioned "husband and wife in a past life" and "hundreds of years," her eyes remained unchanged, as if she already knew and had already accepted it.

When Xiaobai said, "Give me a chance to love you," her eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly, and the fingers gripping the sword hilt tightened slightly.

Then, as Xiaobai finished speaking, in the bewildered silence of Jiang Xiaochuan, Lu Xueqi moved.

She released her grip on the sword hilt and slowly walked towards the stone bed.

Her steps were steady and light; the hem of her moon-white Taoist robe brushed against the cold ground without making a sound.

She walked to the bedside, stood beside Xiaobai, and looked past Xiaobai to Jiang Xiaochuan's face.

She stared at him for a long time, so long that Jiang Xiaochuan almost drowned in her unfathomable gaze.

Then, slowly, she reached out her hand to him.

His palms were fair, his fingers were slender and rounded, and he had calluses from years of holding a sword.

Just like that, calmly, it was extended in front of him.

"Xiao Chuan," she began, her voice still clear and cold, like jade striking stone, but with a hint of something almost imperceptible, almost gentle...coaxing?

"Come with me."

There were no extra words, no explanations, no promises, and he didn't even glance at Biyao and Xiaobai beside him.

He simply held out his hand and said, "Come with me."

It was as if this was the simplest and most natural thing between the two of them.

It was as if all those tumultuous events about past and present lives had nothing to do with her.

All she wanted was for him to come with her, back to their "Qiyun Peak," back to a quiet world where it was just the two of them.

Jiang Xiaochuan looked at the hand extended in front of him, then at Lu Xueqi's calm yet stubborn eyes. His heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, a mixture of sourness and bitterness.

It also carried a hint of unfamiliar excitement.

Go with her? Where to?

Go back to Qingyun Sect? And then what?

Should I continue to be "tethered" to her side?

Continue to confront those tangled emotions and entanglements from past and present lives?

He did not want.

He really wanted to go back to Dazhu Peak, back to his simple hut, to chop bamboo, practice his sword, joke around with his fellow disciples, get scolded by his master, and be nagged by his master's wife...

Or, he could simply leave all of this far away, leave Qingyun Sect, leave these women who give him headaches, find a secluded place, and live a carefree and unrestrained life...

But... is that even possible?

His gaze involuntarily drifted to Biyao beside him, who was silently weeping, her eyes filled with despair and stubbornness.

Looking at her like that, recalling her obsessive and crazy actions these past few days, and the past life Xiaobai described as "holding onto a love that would never be reciprocated, stubbornly clinging to it until death"...

A sudden, inexplicable, heavy sense of guilt welled up in my heart.

Does he owe her something? He doesn't know.

Seeing her like this, he felt terrible.

Then, he looked at Xiaobai.

Xiao Bai remained seated by the bed, her silver eyes gazing intently at him, filled with undisguised, burning anticipation and a hint of cautious nervousness, awaiting his answer.

This mysterious, lazy, and always teasing old monster, who had lived for thousands of years, was now like a young girl experiencing her first love, anxiously awaiting her beloved's verdict.

And then there's Lu Xueqi… that hand outstretched before him, brooking no refusal, and those unfathomable eyes that seemed to have already branded his soul…

Chaos. Utter chaos.

Like? Love?

Guilt? Responsibility?

Escaping? Yearning for peace?

A myriad of emotions, like countless hands, tore at his heart, threatening to shatter him into countless pieces.

He couldn't figure out what his feelings for them were.

Is it fear, disgust, or guilt towards Biyao?

Is it dependence, habit, or a little bit of attraction towards Xiaobai?

For Lu Xueqi... was it gratitude for her guidance, fear of her obsession, or... a little bit of... a secret satisfaction and flutter of emotion that even I dared not delve into, arising from being "needed" by her so focused and persistent?

he does not know.

He knew nothing. He just wanted it all to stop immediately! To disappear instantly!

"ah--!!!!"

Jiang Xiaochuan suddenly burst into a broken, tearful roar!

He seemed to use all his strength to suddenly break free from Xiaobai's arm that was holding him, and also shook off Lu Xueqi's outstretched hand. Then, under the astonished, puzzled, and even knowing gazes of the three—

He raised his only free right hand (one hand was tied to the bedpost), clenched his fist, and with all his might, without the slightest hesitation, slammed his fist hard into his forehead!

"Bang--!!!"

A deep, solid thud echoed through the stone chamber!

The sound was crisp and powerful, it sounded like a "good head".

Jiang Xiaochuan's vision went black, and a sharp pain exploded from his forehead, spreading throughout his head. His ears were ringing, and the world was spinning.

All the chaos, entanglement, fear, guilt, and confusion... vanished briefly in the pure, intense pain brought by that punch.

His body went limp and he fell back onto the cold stone bed. A large, purplish-blue bump quickly swelled up on his forehead, and a trace of blood even trickled from the corner of his mouth (he may have bitten his tongue).

His consciousness was quickly swallowed by darkness. In his last moments, he vaguely thought: Finally... peace and quiet...

Inside the stone chamber, deathly silence returned.

Biyao's tears were still on her face, but her expression was frozen. She stared blankly at the unconscious Jiang Xiaochuan, then at the shocking bump that was rapidly swelling on his forehead. The Soul-Devouring Staff in her hand fell to the ground with a clatter.

The anticipation and nervousness on Xiaobai's face vanished instantly, replaced by a helpless sigh that was both amusing and exasperating. She reached out and gently touched the swollen bump on Jiang Xiaochuan's forehead, feeling the burning heat on her fingertips.

"This idiot... he's still so ruthless to himself..."

Lu Xueqi slowly withdrew her outstretched hand, letting it hang at her side.

She looked at the unconscious Jiang Xiaochuan, at the wound on his forehead and the bloodstains at the corner of his mouth. In her cold eyes, the deep pool seemed to ripple, and a trace of...heartache flashed across her face.

But more than anything, there was a calm of "as expected," and a hint of resignation that was almost indulgent, something that had been anticipated all along.

The three women, Biyao, Xiaobai, and Lu Xueqi, looked at each other in bewilderment.

The tense, imminent standoff in the air suddenly became somewhat absurd and comical because of Jiang Xiaochuan's unexpected and brutal "self-destructive escape."

The silence lasted for a moment.

Xiao Bai burst out laughing, breaking the silence. She shook her head, stood up, stretched, and her silver hair cascaded down her back.

"Alright, the main character's passed out, so the show can't go on. You two..."

She glanced at Biyao and Lu Xueqi.

"Are we planning to just sit here staring at each other until he wakes up and then press him further? Or... should we think about how to handle this first?"

She pointed to the wound on Jiang Xiaochuan's forehead.

Biyao wiped away her tears and bent down to pick up the Soul-Devouring Staff.

He looked at the unconscious Jiang Xiaochuan with a complicated expression.

He glanced at Lu Xueqi again, but ultimately said nothing.

She silently turned around, walked to the corner of the stone chamber, took out a small white jade bottle from a hidden compartment, and walked back to the bedside, intending to apply medicine to Jiang Xiaochuan.

Lu Xueqi was one step ahead of her.

She had somehow gotten to the edge of the bed, holding a small, emerald-green jade box that emitted a cool, medicinal fragrance. It seemed to be a top-grade wound medicine secretly made by the Qingyun Sect.

She scooped out a little bit of the bright white ointment with her finger and applied it very gently and carefully to the swelling on Jiang Xiaochuan's forehead.

Biyao's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. Watching Lu Xueqi's perfectly natural movement, she bit her lip and silently withdrew her hand and the medicine bottle.

She knew that when it came to "taking care of Jiang Xiaochuan," she could never compare to Lu Xueqi.

In my past life, it was true, and in this life... it probably is too.

Xiao Bai crossed his arms and watched this scene, a knowing smile flashing in his eyes, tinged with a hint of bitterness.

She walked to the window, pushed open the small, dust-covered stone window, looked at the gloomy sky over Fox Hill outside, and sighed softly.

"It seems I won't be able to leave anytime soon," she muttered to herself.

"That's fine. Some things can't be rushed. Some people... need to be dealt with slowly."

Inside the stone chamber, only the refreshing scent of the ointment and the strange, temporary "peaceful coexistence" between the three women, each with their own thoughts, remained.