Cang Jiumin joined Li Susu on the open balcony of the inn. He held out the Heart Guarding Scale to her. "Here," he said. "It's best that you keep it with you."
Li Susu received it and took it into herself. "How is my brother?" she asked.
Ye Qingyu's silhouetted form against the bright sunlight came into Cang Jiumin's mind. "He's well," he said, telling Li Susu the only thing she ever needed to know. "He sends his regards to you and hopes that you are well."
Li Susu smiled at the warm thought of her brother. She looked down at the marketplace, where the people started to line the streets where the float parade will pass by. "Let's watch the parade first before going back," she said, looking at Cang Jiumin. Noticing his thoughtful expression, she asked, "What is it?"
"Back at the Shangqing Realm, I saw the Hongnai Tree that was cut down sprout again after thousands of years," Cang Jiumin said. He looked at Li Susu. "Ye Xiwu."
"That is not my name," Li Susu snapped.
"But that's the only name I've ever known you by," Cang Jiumin said. "I've loved you as Ye Xiwu, and every day for 500 years, on the banks of the Nether River, I've called out your name."
"That is not my name," Li Susu repeated. "I've never been that person." She glared at him. "Do you want me to keep lying to you?"
"But I've never lied to you," Cang Jiumin said, glaring back. "And if that Hongnai Tree can sprout again, and the Lord of Evil can be redeemed…" He sighed before continuing. "…can't Li Susu and Cang Jiumin have a second chance as well?"
Li Susu sighed exasperatedly. "Why can't you let the past be the past, Cang Jiumin?"
"Because Ye Mei showed you who you hate… and love," Cang Jiumin said, staring hard at Li Susu, daring her to deny what he said.
Li Susu tried to meet Cang Jiumin's eyes, but after a while, she looked away. "I told you to forget the insignificant part," she mumbled. She sighed. "Haven't I told you already? I'm practicing the Heartless Way. To defeat the Devil God, I need to ascend to protect the three realms and the four continents."
At the mention of the Devil God, Cang Jiumin sat down heavily on the seats at the balcony as if exhausted. He turned to the scenes beyond the balcony, down on the bustling streets of Jing Kingdom. "I've stayed at the immortal sect long enough to understand the Devil God you are worried about." He looked down at his hands. He sensed Li Susu sit beside him, but he didn't dare look up at her. "I've seen the Devil God in your dreams, and I remember the visions of your past that you showed me that day at the tower. I've heard my sect brothers talk about prophecies about the Devil God… and I was worried." He glanced at Li Susu, his eyes showing her exactly what he felt. "I feared that I'd be exposed one day to be the Devil Fetus everyone is looking for, that everyone wants to kill."
He saw sympathy in her eyes. "No one needs to know," Li Susu said, instinctively reaching out to him, but at the last second, she clenched her fist. "I'll keep the secret for you. No one needs to know that you're the devil fetus, because you don't have the evil bone anymore, and we've sealed the Bone-refining Seal at Hengyang Sect."
Cang Jiumin sighed. "Bone-refining Seal isn't the only Devil God artifact that I've encountered," he said listlessly. "At the Nether River, when I was close to death beneath its waters, the God-slaying Crossbow appeared and merged into me accidentally. Its power pulled me out of the river and onto the banks, where Master eventually found me."
He was looking down on his hands all the time he was talking, and so missed the slight trembling on Li Susu's lip, and the concerned look on her eyes. He only heard her ask quietly, "Have you recovered?"
He smiled briefly. "The healers have been adequate in healing the minor backlash I received from the Bone-refining Seal. I'm fine now."
"I meant, the burns you received from the Nether River water."
Cang Jiumin looked up at Li Susu and finally saw the look in her eyes. There was a warmth in his voice as he replied, "Master healed me well."
There was a pause, where the sounds of merrymaking echoed up to the balcony, but there was only a comfortable silence between them.
Cang Jiumin finally smiled. "It's funny, but now that I know I am the devil fetus, I feel slightly relieved at the truth," he said, looking at Li Susu. "I understand now why you did what you did 500 years ago, why I have these nails in my heart," touching his chest. "It was never me that you hated, it was the Devil God in your nightmares. And now that I know what you truly fear, and what everybody fears, I swear that I will never be that Devil God." He gazed into her eyes. "I owe this to you, you who have changed me through and through, you who have given me a second chance in life. I will never taint myself with those evil forces again. This is a promise I make to you."
Li Susu's eyes were strangely glistening. Seeing that she was silent, Cang Jiumin continued. "I've never properly thanked you for everything you've done for me, whether as Tantai Jin, or Cang Jiumin. I hope to repay you with what you deserve."
Li Susu abruptly stood. "I didn't change you," she said, turning her back at him. "No need to repay anything." Despite the coldness of the words, her voice sounded warm. "Anyway, the parade will be starting soon, we don't want to miss it."
She started walking away, briefly murmuring "Where could Senior Brother be?" and "What nonsense is he talking about?" Cang Jiumin grinned at her awkwardness, before standing up and following her.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It was supposed to be a normal day into the mortal world.
"Aren't you getting too many of those candies, Goddess Yuling?" Cang Jiumin teased as Li Susu paid the vendor for the bulging bag in her hand.
Li Susu shook her head. "This is for the young disciples that Senior Brother takes care of," she said, smiling. "They're slaving away at their studies, it's good to give them some sort of reward every now and then."
Cang Jiumin smiled. "You spoil the little ones too much."
Li Susu shrugged. "They deserve it." She put the bag of candies inside the magical pouch that contains all their belongings. "Tell me you'll keep this secret from Senior Brother?"
Cang Jiumin's smile never left his face. "I will."
They were simply supposed to be watching the parade, nothing more.
Li Susu pointed at the float parade that was already starting. "Let's watch the parade first."
Cang Jiumin hesitated. "Shouldn't we look for Senior Brother Jiwu first?"
Li Susu shook her head. "Come on, we'll miss it!" she cried out, taking Cang Jiumin's hand and leading him through the crowd to get a better glimpse of the parade where a masked diviner and his assistants danced for good luck and blessings for the people.
They watched the dance, but when memories beckoned, Cang Jiumin looked at Li Susu, who met his warm gaze. He knew they were both thinking the same thing, the same night, 500 years ago.
Suddenly they heard the music change, and they look up in time to see the diviner point at their direction. Cang Jiumin felt a cold shiver down his spine. Have I been selected as the Devil God again?
The attendants rushed towards the direction the diviner pointed at. Cang Jiumin looked at Li Susu, whose eyes reflected the alarm in his eyes.
The attendants approached closer…
… and walked past Cang Jiumin to pull a bystander behind him towards the diviner.
Cang Jiumin breathed a sigh of relief. He heard Li Susu do the same too. They exchanged a glance and laughed at the unnecessary worry.
Before they could speak their relief, however, the crowd surged behind them, pushing them apart from each other.
"Li Susu!" Cang Jiumin called out, losing sight of her among the crowd. Even his senses were dulled, and he can't detect her immortal aura. How can this be?
"My lord." A familiar voice called out behind him.
Cang Jiumin turned around. The demoness Si Ying smiled at him.
That normal day is gone.
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