"Dad told me Uncle Zhaoyou already gave him your betrothal letter," Li Susu told Cang Jiumin as they walked hand in hand down the path to Heaven Lake.

Cang Jiumin nodded. Li Susu laughed. "Dad said Uncle Zhaoyou is now frantically looking for the most auspicious dates for our wedding that he's expecting the date anytime today." She playfully narrowed her eyes at him. "Did you put him up to that?"

Cang Jiumin shook his head. "Master took everything in hand, and chased me away when I offered to help," he said. "He's much more excited than I am."

Li Susu pouted. "You're not excited at your own betrothal?" She tried pulling away from Cang Jiumin's hand, but he held on tightly and instead pulled her closer to him.

"I am deliriously happy at my own betrothal," he whispered in her ear. Li Susu smiled wide, and her steps became lighter as they walked.

They reached and settled into their usual haunt, as petals fell all around them from all the flowering trees at the banks of Heaven Lake.

"You know, it's not too late to back out," Li Susu suddenly said.

Cang Jiumin turned to her. "What do you mean?"

Li Susu shrugged. "Staying at Mount Changze is more for my benefit, not yours," she said. "I need the pure energy here to keep the evil bone from completely taking over. You, on the other hand, are free to go wherever you wish. It seems such a pity that you haven't seen much of the world yet."

Cang Jiumin raised his hand, and a charm appeared between his fingers. "Do you remember teaching me this?" he asked, holding up the charm.

"Sketch Charm?" Li Susu asked, recognizing the spell.

Cang Jiumin smiled. "The universe manifests in an inch of land. The soul follows the mind." He cast it over the sky, and a picturesque scene opened up before them. Li Susu gazed at the scenery he conjured with wonder in her eyes. He sat beside her, still looking at her face. "No scenery is better than being with you for all eternity."

Li Susu chuckled. "That doesn't sound like something Tantai Jin would say," she said, "but rather, what a disciple of Uncle Zhaoyou will say."

"I'm Tantai Jin," Cang Jiumin said, "but I'm also Cang Jiumin. I told you, at the Nether River, I promised to make you happy if I ever see you again. I intend to keep that promise."

"Tantai Jin," Li Susu said, eyebrow raised in amazement, "what have you been learning in Xiaoyao Sect?"

"A lot," Cang Jiumin shrugged. He kissed her forehead affectionately.

Li Susu took his hand in hers. "Make sure you won't regret it," she said.

"I won't," Cang Jiumin said. He took a lock of her hair and held it. "If I, Tantai Jin, ever go back on my word, may Heaven and Earth slay me, and my body and soul perish."

Li Susu held her fingers against his lips before he said any more. "Don't say such ominous things," she frowned.

Cang Jiumin nodded. "I won't." He looked down at her lips, and slowly lowered his face towards hers.

Their lips met, and met again. Their kiss was sweet, then intoxicating. He felt as though he was drinking in sweet wine, the warmth spreading from his lips throughout his body. Suddenly he felt a burning sensation on his chest, and he gasped at the slight pain of it.

"What was that?" Cang Jiumin asked, looking at Li Susu, who had a sly smile playing on her lips.

"I gave you my phoenix mark," Li Susu said, looking pleased with herself. "You can't get rid of it, nor can you regret it even if you want to. It's a very pretty one too, let's take a look—"

"Li Susu—" Cang Jiumin tried to stop her, but she was quicker. She pulled down his collar, revealing the scars from the Soul-slaying Nails. He saw melancholy settle on her face, and she looked up at him with pain-filled eyes.

Cang Jiumin smiled reassuringly at her. "They are just old scars," he said. "They don't hurt anymore."

Li Susu didn't say anything, but simply pressed her lips on those scars. Cang Jiumin was taken aback, as the warm sensation of her lips on his chest cleared everything from his mind. When she lifted her head, a shining mark in the shape of a phoenix feather glowed above the scars on his chest.

Li Susu looked up to him. "If they can't disappear, let's just cover them up," she said, pulling his collar up.

Cang Jiumin held her hand against his chest. "Don't worry," he said. "As long as it is from you, I'll keep it with me."

Li Susu smiled and nodded. She leaned against his chest in contentment. "Soon, we'll be together, forever and happy."

Cang Jiumin kissed the top of her head. "Yes, we will."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

How could everything go so wrong?

"Tantai Jin! What are you doing?" Cang Jiumin heard Li Susu scream. But the pain and the pressure from the evil bone finally merging with his body was too much. He could only glimpse the horror on Li Susu's face before everything turned black.

I'm sorry, Susu.

Atop the Devil God's throne, a sphere of dark energy swirled and broke, and the Devil God emerged, decked in black armor and with the Sky-slashing Sword in his hand. Red pupils scanning the empty palace, he honed into the trembling girl in front of him and descended.

"Susu! Leave now! Tantai Jin killed Master Zhaoyou! He's totally become a devil now!" the Devil God heard Gongye Jiwu shout at Li Susu.

Li Susu turned to the Devil God with disbelieving eyes. "You didn't—Tell me you didn't!"

The Devil God waved a hand, and the doors of the Devil Palace closed before Gongye Jiwu could get Li Susu. "You're wrong," he said in a dark, menacing voice. "I did." He walked towards her, the tip of the Sky-slashing Sword dragging on the ground. "I've always been the Devil God, and if it wasn't for you, I would have become a devil long ago. If it wasn't for Zhaoyou, I would have returned to the Devil Realm long ago."

Li Susu looked up to him with tearful eyes. "I don't understand you," she whispered in a broken voice. "Are you Tantai Jin… or the Devil God?"

Ye Xiwu pointed the wooden sword at Tantai Jin's chest. Are you Tantai Jin, or the Devil God?

The Devil God smirked evilly. "You're such a silly person, Li Susu," he sneered. He raised an arm, and with a little difficulty, took out the six Soul-slaying Nails that were embedded in his heart. He knelt beside her. "Our entanglements with each other are like these nails you pierced into me." With a clench of his fist, the six nails were crushed into fine sand that dissipated in thin air before her eyes. "Now, everything you have done has been for nothing. Aren't you happy?" He smiled cruelly at her.

Li Susu could only look at him with pain in her eyes. Before she could say anything else, a golden glow surrounded her, and she disappeared.

Now alone at the Devil Palace, the Devil God's sneer vanished from his face, and the red pupils turned dark once again. He stood up shakily, and sighed deeply. The tears that he had held back now freely flowed down his face.

Are you Tantai Jin, or the Devil God?

The Devil God gripped the Sky-slashing Sword in his hand. Its evil nature was so different from the pure aura of Nanzhi, which broke in his hand the moment he stabbed it into his master's heart.

Master…

His master had saved Cang Jiumin from the demon formation that the immortals activated to kill him. He brought him to the Barren Abyss and set up the Xiaoyao Formation to protect him as he recuperated from his wounds.

You knew long ago that I was the biggest threat to the world, and yet… you have given me a choice to rebuild my life.

His master smiled at him. Nobody is meant to live forever in the darkness. He took Jiumin's hands. Promise me you'll live well.

But Zhaoyou had returned, mortally wounded by the Lord of Evil, and had asked Cang Jiumin to kill him with the sword that he had given him.

His master's final words rang in his ears.

It isn't your fault that you were born as the devil fetus. But now, the All-In-Distress way is activated, bound to destroy the three realms and four continents. Cang Jiumin, the cultivation disciple, cannot save the common people. But Tantai Jin, the Devil God, can.

He saw Li Susu's face in front of him. Her eyes clearly showed her broken heart.

Are you Tantai Jin… or are you the Devil God?

The Devil God turned to the throne behind him. He raised the Sky-slashing Sword towards it. In his mind, he could see the Ancient Devil God looking down coldly at him.

It's a battle between you and me now. The Devil God gripped the sword tightly. I am Tantai Jin, but also Cang Jiumin. I will take everything away from you.

The Ancient Devil God disappeared, and Li Susu's tearful face took its place. He lowered the sword, and the last tear fell down his face.

Farewell, Li Susu.