Chapter Seventy: Immortal Tribulation

In the early morning, bright and radiant light filtered through the window lattice, tickling my face. I rubbed my eyes and looked around the bright and tidy room, involuntarily saying, "It's been so long since I've seen something so bright."

I pushed open the door and found many disciples dressed in white practicing swordsmanship in formation. One of the girls saw me, sheathed her sword, and smiled, extending her hand to me. "Qing Yue, join us."

I looked at her, somewhat puzzled. "Who are you?"

The girl was taken aback. "I'm Yi'er. What's wrong, Qing Yue?"

Yi'er, Luo Yi'er?

Of course, how could I forget her?

I shook my head. "It's nothing, just the alcohol from last night still lingering. How could I not remember you, Yi'er."

"Drinking? We picked some spiritual herbs from the back mountain and returned yesterday. Didn't you say you were going to make some tonic to boost Uncle Que's spiritual energy since he's reached a bottleneck in his cultivation?" Yi'er looked at me with confusion, reaching out to touch the corner of my eye, her hand coming away with some crystalline drops.

"Qing Yue, you were crying?"

I hastily wiped away the tears that had unknowingly fallen and forced myself to smile casually at her.

"It's nothing. I just had a dream where I drank, and I got confused between dream and reality."

"That dream must have been hard for you, right?" The look of concern in Yi'er's eyes made my heart ache.

It felt like I had found a kindred spirit, someone who understood and empathized with all the hardships and grievances I had gone through, making me realize there were still people in this world who recognized my struggles.

"Thank you, Yi'er. I'm fine now."

"Hmm, you don't look like you're in any shape to practice swordsmanship. How about we go find some snacks? By the way, doesn't Uncle Que always have some prepared for you..."

"Qing Yue." A familiar voice suddenly rang in my mind.

Yi'er smiled and took my hand, pointing to a figure on the stone steps. "Look, Uncle Que is here."

I couldn't see the person's face clearly.

Suddenly, a mournful bell rang out, and for some reason, a surge of sorrow welled up in my heart, as if I had forgotten something very important.

Then I heard the sound of bubbling water in my ears. Shortly after, there was nothing else to hear, as if I had sunk into a bottomless lake in the night. The waves at the bottom swept everything around, sealing sound and time together in the lakebed.

White shadows and blue light, inky night and fireflies.

I breathed heavily, as if saved from drowning. The wet sensation on my body disappeared in an instant. There was no water, and my skin was still dry.

Seeing the green jade-like forest around me, I realized where I was.

"You're awake?" This time, Qing Wu was sitting beside me, holding a white jade tea cup, savoring the tea inside.

I had a headache, thinking about the scenes that had just occurred. The figures in it became blurry, as if covered by a cloud.

It shouldn't be like this. Even if I saw them in a dream, they were people I knew in this life. How could I not remember their faces?

"Can't remember, can you?" Qing Wu's gaze darkened. He picked up his teacup and gently rotated it with his fingers. "Worldly matters are just a fleeting moment for me. But now that you are living as a human, using mortal time to waste away, how does it feel?"

I pressed my lips together, unsure of what he wanted to say.

"Nothing can withstand the passage of time without being worn away. Human emotions, memories, precious and splendid gems—everything you hold dear in this life, in the end, is insignificant to you."

I had a vague idea of what was happening, my hand restlessly rubbing the jade pendant at my waist, tracing those two characters over and over. "Heartless." "Do you know why those words are there?" he spoke again, reaching out with a finger to hook the jade pendant at my waist, and with a sharp crack, created a fissure in it. Immediately, I felt a splitting headache, falling to the ground in agony, biting my lip and pressing my fingers against my throbbing head. Many strange images flooded my mind like a torrential river. Gasping for breath, I pounded my forehead with my fist, trying to alleviate the pain. It took a long while for me to calm down and quietly listen to the birds singing and the stream flowing nearby. I took a deep breath.

"That was just a small part of your previous memories. Your human body is too fragile to inherit all your past memories and cultivation," he said.

"Why did you suddenly restore my memory?" Although those memories had not fully integrated with my body, I could recognize the person before me and recall past events from the fragmented memories.

"I found it foolish for you to get drunk over a mortal. Now that you've recovered these memories, you understand that we are the same kind. Don't you feel all your past actions were in vain?" He paused, then suddenly smiled wryly and shook his head.

"No, he's not even a mortal. Although he was a soul cultivated by the Moon Spirit Jade, he is ultimately just a creation of mine, a flawed product without a divine nature."

"You mean Que Han was a soul you created?" No wonder I always felt a strange affinity with him. I was a celestial being born from the moon, and at the heart of the moon was the Moon Spirit Jade.

"But why did you arrange for Que Han and me to meet?" I couldn't understand.

Qing Wu heavily placed his cup down and said in a somber tone, "He was originally a tribulation in your destiny. Arranging things this way made it smoother. To spare you some pain, I erased the memories between you and him."

Hearing that last part, a surge of anger welled up within me, and I argued with him without restraint. "Why did you do all this? First, you sealed my memory, and now you've sealed Que Han's. Do you think everyone else is your puppet? What right do you have to manipulate us?"

"You never spoke to me like this before."

"That was in the past!"

Qing Wu's gaze suddenly turned cold, staring at me incredulously. "What, have a few short years as a mortal made you completely disregard our past? Qing Yue, you truly disappoint me."

He was a god who looked down on all beings, viewing everything and everyone as insignificant. But now, as he looked at me, there was no hatred, no anger, not a trace of emotion. His slightly narrowed, piercing eyes scared me. In my memories, Qing Wu had never been like this.

I looked up and met his gaze, speaking calmly, "I just want to live this life in peace and simplicity. As for what you said, I won't think about it. Those things are not what I want now."

"..."

He withdrew his gaze, turned his head, and with a silent flick of his sleeve, the world around us began to collapse and fade, eventually dissolving into white mist along with him.