Chapter 165 The Expectations of the Heartless Palace (1/2)
Chu Lingjiao said, ”Here we are. Please stay here for now. I'll send my junior sisters to bring you two some supplies later.” She then turned around and returned using the same path they had come in.
Xiao Chen ignored what she said. Feeling as if his soul had left his body, he gave the wooden fence a gentle push. The flowers, trees, house, roof tiles, and a cluster of Imperial Concubine Xiang's bamboos in the corner were all so familiar to him. He felt as he had once come here.
When he reached for the tear-like spots on the bamboos, he felt as if he could hear the sound of cheering, talking, and laughing of yesteryears in this place. He felt like he could see himself performing a sword-dance with Weiyang. However, the illusions vanished the moment his fingers touched the bamboo.
”Weiyang!” he cried, using the language from countless millennia ago. He dashed with all his strength, his hand reaching out to grab something he didn't even know. Even so, he was never able to touch the fleeting figure in his memories. What remained was the rustling sound of the wind-swept bamboo leaves.
Noticing how strange he was acting, Li Muxue asked softly, ”What's wrong?”
Xiao Chen recovered his senses and shook his head. Even if Weiyang had truly come here countless millennia ago, it was all in the past and their reunion was far in the indefinite future. He sighed and walked to the courtyard on the cliff. Amid the cold wind coming from the bottom of the mountain, he said softly, ”Where the sun sets in the west, the Heartbroken Cliff...”
Li Muxue walked behind him. She had never seen him look this sad. Perhaps she had never once entered this man's heart.
”You have memories you're not willing to mention and someone you'll never forget, don't you?” she asked softly.
Xiao Chen turned around and said quietly, ”I'm sorry, Muxue. No one in this world can ever replace her...”
He recalled how Weiyang fell into his embrace after taking the fatal attack for him. Back then, she told him, ”You owe me one last favor... I want you to live well...”
He also remembered how she jumped off the Cliff of Fallen Divinity. He muttered sorrowfully, ”If a second life exists where you're not a Mystic Cyan Sect disciple and I'm not the Demon Emperor's daughter... When that time comes, let's watch the streams flow forever and the sunset at dusk...”
”So what if I've eaten the Love-killer Pill? So what if countless millennia has passed? I can't forget! I can't!” An anguished bellow echoed throughout the valley. His every word was like a sharp blade piercing Li Muxue's heart.
She knew she could never be the person that Xiao Chen was longing for but she couldn't bear watching him looking this sorrowful and heartbroken. She took a step forward and said gently, ”Brother Xiao...”
After taking a deep breath, he walked over to her and gently placed her head on his shoulder. He said softly, ”I'm sorry, Muxue. You'll never be as important as she is but you'll always be more important than my life...”
The hair on their temples fluttered and intertwined in the breeze. It was as if their fate had yet to exhaust in their past life and was continuing in the present.
Sometime later, two Heartless Palace disciples came over with supplies and told them to stay put. They weren't allowed to roam the valley as they pleased.
Xiao Chen agreed and immediately carried two quilts into the house. His room was furnished simply with a small wooden table, a small bed, as well as a zither base on the couch. After tidying up his room, he went to the small house next door to help Li Muxue with the clean-up.