Chapter 121: The Husband Comes Calling

For an entire day, she locked herself in her room, refusing to eat or drink. No matter how hoarsely Xiao Bi and Wei shouted from outside the door, or how violently they pounded on the wooden panels, she ignored them completely.

She had come filled with hope, yet now only despair remained. The realization that she could never return home crushed her last shred of fighting spirit. She collapsed onto the bed, reviewing everything she had experienced, and before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face.

She had always been an optimistic and simple-minded person, embracing a "go with the flow" attitude. Even when struck down or used, she had managed to struggle for survival in the cracks of life. But fate had offered her a flicker of hope, letting her arrive full of expectation, only to ruthlessly destroy the sole pillar of her spirit. Had she known this would be the outcome, it would have been better to never hope at all. This result was far more despairing than having no hope to begin with.

The more desperate a person feels, the more their thoughts drift toward darkness. Xiao Wan had become a scapegoat for no reason; the Gongque Empire had transformed overnight; she had watched others die in her arms—the bloody battlefields, the roars of slaughter—this foreign land was as terrifying as it could possibly be!

"Sister! Sister Kaiming! Please, open the door!" Xiao Bi called out from outside again.

She pulled the quilt over her head, shivering. It was too frightening! This was no place for an ordinary woman like her! She didn't want the slaughter; she just wanted to go home! She only wanted to go home!

Under the quilt, she sobbed uncontrollably.

The door latch was gently nudged aside by a blade tip. The door pushed open very slowly, and a foot stepped over the threshold. She was hiding under the quilt, weeping, and did not notice the intrusion at all.

Two feet began to pace, stepping closer and closer to the bed where she lay. It was very slow and cautious, as if afraid to startle her.

A pair of fair, clean hands reached out, gently clutching her shoulders. A low voice called, "Kaiming..."

She was startled by the sudden embrace. Then she heard the person say, "It's me."

Her mind raced like lightning. Her body stiffened like stone at the touch. *Kaiming. It's me.* The voice was so familiar, the tone so gentle. It felt as if she had received these words hundreds of years ago—distant, yet within reach.

She abruptly tore off the quilt and spun around. The moment her eyes met his, they widened in shock.

A pale, quiet face. A gentle smile. His transparent eyes could not hide his worry and concern. He wore robes that were clean and crisp.

Without thinking, she grabbed his hand, which was suspended in mid-air, and cried out excitedly, "...Xuan!"

It was Xuan. The Xuan who had left on a long journey alone. The one who had said to her at the gates of the General's mansion, "Let us part ways here," with that helpless, faint smile. That same smile was now hanging on the face of the man before her.

"Xuan?" She could not believe her eyes. How could it be? How could Xuan suddenly appear before her? This must be a dream, it had to be!

Clinging to his hand like a drowning person clutching a straw, she held on for dear life, terrified that he would vanish the next second. Xuan simply gazed at her with concern, just as he had in the past: "What is it, Kaiming?"

"Are you real?" she asked with a trembling voice. Xuan smiled slightly and pulled her hand to press against his face. "Do you think I'm real now?"

"Xuan!" She pouted, suddenly feeling that this man was the only person in the world worth relying on, the only one she could depend on. He was the friend she could hold onto and cry with in her darkest hour. And so, she threw herself into his arms and burst into loud, wailing sobs.

Xuan said nothing, simply letting her hold him tightly. He patted her back and comforted her, "It's alright, it's alright."

Xiao Bi peeked in from the doorway, then quietly pulled the door shut.

***

The crying was like a mountain torrent, a landslide, until the sky seemed to turn dark. When she finally managed to stop, her eyes were swollen like walnuts and she could not bear to be seen. Xuan looked at her with a smile: "Are you better now?"

Kaiming turned away. "Don't look at me, I look terrible."

Xuan chuckled softly: "In my eyes, you are beautiful at all times, my wife."

She spun around, staring at him in astonishment: "What did you just say? You called me 'wife'?!"

"Isn't that what you are?" Xuan laughed. "I never wrote you a letter of divorce."

"But, but..." she stammered, "didn't you abandon me?"

"I only left temporarily, I did not abandon you." Xuan took her hands and held them firmly. "My mind was in chaos at the time, and there were things I needed to rethink, so... you see, here I am, I've returned."

Kaiming looked up at him, puzzled. "How did you know I was here?"

Xuan replied calmly, "I was already in Zizhu Village. When there is the slightest movement, I naturally hear of it."

Kaiming gasped: "After you left the Central Palace, you stayed in Zizhu Village of the Eastern Palace the whole time?"

Xuan smiled. "Because only here could I possibly see you again."

"Then..." She was speechless. Zizhu Village, the Temple of Holy Light... when Xuan had first revealed that information to her, had he already been preparing to wait for her like a hunter waiting for a rabbit? All that talk about apologizing was pure nonsense!

Her expression darkened. "Does Xiao Bi know you've been here?"

"Xin Bi, you mean." Xuan blinked his long eyelashes and smiled. "He only found out just now."

Kaiming abruptly pulled her hand back and said coldly, "Then are you here now to mock me? Or to show off your cleverness?"

"Kaiming?" Xuan looked at her, confused.

"You already know what the old monk said, right? You know I can't go back. Are you here to laugh at me?" Her nose stung, and tears welled up in her eyes again. "Colluding with that old monk to abduct me, giving me this body, and making me crawl out of a grave—is there any point to this? To go through a cycle that has already ended? Is it fun? I can't go back, and you all must be satisfied now! Ha! You and that old monk, neither of you are good people! You are neither..."

Xuan's gentle expression turned gloomy as she spoke, eventually shifting into genuine anger. Before she could finish her last sentence, he lunged forward, cupped her tear-streaked face, and kissed her lips fiercely.

Kaiming’s rambling was instantly silenced. Her eyes went wide, her back pressed against the bedpost, and she stood rigid, helplessly enduring his rough kiss.

Xuan’s tongue pried open her trembling lips, tangling with her own, greedily stealing the warmth from her mouth. She couldn't help but tremble, her stiff body gradually softening under his predatory, heated kiss.

The room was silent, filled with an inexplicable emotion. Xuan stopped his assault and pulled away. He looked at her deeply, his long eyelashes half-veiling his glass-like eyes, his full lips stained a deep crimson from the kiss.

He rasped, "Do you feel better now?"

Kaiming’s face flushed, her eyes darting away to avoid his burning gaze. "What... what was that for?"

Xuan’s palm gently caressed her face, his eyes fixed on her as he spoke in a low voice: "Does Kaiming know about my background?"

Kaiming remained silent, not knowing if there was a special purpose to his question.

Xuan smiled. "Judging by your reaction, it is highly likely that you do."

She looked up at him, then lowered her head, offering no answer.

Xuan’s fingers traced her cheek, making her heart itch. He sighed, "It's better that you know early; it had to be said sooner or later. To tell you the truth, Xin Bi and I are brothers of the same father but different mothers. My name in the Eastern Palace is Xinxuan."

Kaiming’s heart was shaken once more. Another suspicion confirmed. After learning her own background, did she now have to face the truth about Xuan’s identity?

"I am the child abandoned by the Emperor of the Eastern Palace. Although I carry the status of a prince, I could never gain royal recognition because my mother was a commoner." He pulled the corner of his mouth into a self-deprecating smile. "Just as you saw in the Central Palace with Tianlang."

Xuan was in the same position as Tianlang. Tianlang struggled to survive amidst the court infighting, while Xuan had chosen the path of slaughter.

"When I was at my lowest, I unexpectedly received support from Xin Bi. I made contact with members of the royal family, but the Crown Prince, having somehow obtained information, sought me out to humiliate me. In a fit of rage, I snuck into the Crown Prince's mansion, cut off his head, packed it in a gift box, and presented it to the Emperor on his birthday. I desperately wanted to see, with my own eyes, the ridiculous expression on that old man's cold face when he saw his favorite son murdered..."

Kaiming shuddered under his hand. The calm way Xuan recounted such a shocking act of murder made her feel deeply unsettled.

Noticing her fear, Xuan smiled without a hint of remorse: "The result was exactly as I anticipated. The old man was furious and issued a death warrant. I fought my way out of the palace gates. I cannot remember how much blood I stained my hands with, nor how many times I was slashed, but I only wanted to kill my way to the Heavenly Kingdom to reunite with my deceased mother. That would have fulfilled my life's wish, had Xin Bi not caught up and knocked me unconscious to smuggle me out of the palace."

It seemed as Ji and Chang Geng had guessed: Xiao Bi, for whatever reason, had secretly helped Xuan, providing a fake head to the Eastern Palace to settle the matter.

"When I woke up, I was already at the border of the Eastern Palace. To my left was the Central Palace; to my right was the Eastern Palace. I sat on the boundary marker between the two palaces that day, lost and not knowing where to go."

It was that day he had met Dayin, who was returning with his troops, and thus began the tangled fate that followed. Kaiming sighed inwardly; everything was destined, whether one believed it or not.

"You know the rest of the story. I became Dayin’s lieutenant and fought in wars for several years. After becoming disillusioned, I returned to the Eastern Palace from time to time and met you in this remote village, which led to the family of four we became..."

"The four of us—Spoon, Xiao Wan..." Kaiming’s eyelashes trembled. She looked at him hesitantly and asked with difficulty: "Can you tell me, Xiao Wan... were her biological parents killed by you?"

"Xiao Wan?" Xuan’s pupils contracted suddenly, and he lowered the hand that had been stroking her cheek. He turned his face away, looking at the floor, and said in a hoarse voice, "Yes."

Kaiming took a deep breath, forcing down her pounding heart. "Why? Why did you kill them?"

"It was a mistake." Xuan sighed deeply, his gaze shifting. "Years ago, while pursuing a group of enemy soldiers, they unexpectedly broke into a civilian home. During the capture, the soldiers accidentally harmed the innocents. It was only later that we discovered their orphaned child. Out of guilt, I took her in..."