Time ticked by. Seeing Bai Ran remained still for a long time, he strode forward and blocked her path.
"What are you thinking about? Why aren't you talking to me?"
Standing before her was the Wu Shi Beast, long gone into the crevices of time.
He stood alive and breathing before Bai Ran, waving his hand in front of her eyes, every movement incredibly real...
Bai Ran bit her lower lip, her exhales trembling.
An illusion... it was all an illusion...
She couldn't be enticed, couldn't stop here...
"It seems you've lived quite happily after my death," the Wu Shi Beast said with a smile, yet his words were piercingly sharp.
Bai Ran's pupils constricted, her clenched fists trembling violently, a suffocating sensation rising in her throat.
Cannot listen... it's all fake...
"Ascending the divine ladder, you can smoothly step into the Immortal Lord realm. That's wonderful—"
The Wu Shi Beast's gaze swept over, fixing directly on Bai Ran. "It would have been better if I hadn't died."
Cannot listen... cannot listen...
"If it weren't for your incompetence, being possessed by your inner demon, I wouldn't have vanished into the crevices of time, never to be reincarnated."
The Wu Shi Beast paced slowly around Bai Ran, his words like swords, brutally piercing Bai Ran's heart.
The scene of the Wu Shi Beast's death replayed in her mind, again and again. Before he died... he was still smiling at her...
She lowered her head, her eyes red, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably. "I'm s—"
But the next moment, a pushing sensation came from her shoulder. Bai Ran startled, stumbling forward onto a step, her apology unfinished...
With tears in her eyes, she slowly turned back. The Wu Shi Beast, transformed by the illusion, was slowly dissipating.
And beside him, there was a blurry figure...
"Wu... Shi..." Bai Ran gritted her teeth, the warm tears no longer stoppable, finally streaming down her face.
"Wu Shi..."
The tightness in her throat surged, and gazing at the blurry figure, she choked, unable to utter a complete sentence.
'Don't apologize, walk forward—'
It was him...
Bai Ran's palm was cut, and she forcefully nodded, suppressing the overwhelming guilt and longing in her heart. "Okay..."
One step, two steps... she continued to ascend. Behind her, two figures, together, slowly vanished into the heavens—
...
"He self-detonated his dantian..."
At the same time, Jing Feng tightly closed his eyes, his heart filled with immense sorrow. "We misunderstood him..."
No one came to search this room, as they all believed Mo Ze was lying.
He had lied to Bai Ran, saying he wanted to see his parents one last time, but actually had another plan, thinking of escaping...
However, the reality was that in the room where Huan Yan's coffin lay, the floor was covered in blood, with scattered pieces of clothing...
These were the traces left by Mo Ze's self-detonation of his dantian...
Zhu Que pursed her lips, her eyes slightly red. "So he disappeared when the master wasn't around not to escape..."
"But rather, to ensure no one would stop him... when he committed suicide..."
Xiao Zi clenched his fists, stepped forward, and crouched down, slowly picking up pieces of clothing stained with blood.
"He never thought of escaping—"
Lin Ze's voice rang out. Everyone turned to look. He gazed at Huan Yan's coffin and sighed.
"Although Mo Ze's seven emotions and six desires have reawakened, he knew that at this point, nothing could be undone."
"So he thought to see his beloved mother and father one last time before leaving this world."
Jing Feng's eyes were red, his entire heart filled with guilt. "Self-detonating his dantian means no next life, an agonizing end."
Zhu Que raised her eyes, a flicker of tears in them. She glanced and saw a letter placed on Huan Yan's coffin.
She slowly walked over and picked up the letter. It was unsigned, yet Zhu Que knew it was a letter Mo Ze had left for his master...
...
Following the Wu Shi Beast, Bai Ran continued to walk upward. She didn't know how long passed or how many steps she took.
She met her mother, met her father, and met the four of Qing Feng.
Although her pace was slower, she was still moving forward, step by determined step.
"Sister—"
Bai Ran pursed her lips, her hands, hanging at her sides, clenched again. "Mo Ze..."
Before her, that small figure was smiling at her, his smile clean and pure.
"Sister, Ze'er misses you so much, wants to see you..."
"And also wants to see Father and Mother..."
Mo Ze lowered his gaze, his smile now tinged with brokenness, appearing like a porcelain doll, easily shattered.
"But—Ze'er met some people. They said Ze'er was the child of a demoness."
"They cursed Ze'er, threw stones at Ze'er, and even poisoned a kitten—"
He was clearly recounting painful past events, yet Mo Ze's face still wore a smile, as if of tolerance, or perhaps understanding.
"Ze'er... doesn't have the surname Mo..."
"Mother clearly gave Ze'er a name, calling him Bai Ze..."
"Bai Ze ah..."
Bai Ran listened, her heart feeling as if a heavy stone was pressing down, making it impossible to breathe. "Yes, you're called Bai Ze, not Mo Ze."
"Here with your sister, mother, and father, you will always be Bai Ze, always the kind and sensible Bai Ze..."
Bai Ran said, suppressing the lump in her throat and the bitterness, trying to maintain a steady tone.
Mo Ze looked up and smiled at her. "Sister, Ze'er actually wants to live—"
"To see Mother alive again, and Father, who always doted on us..."
"I really want to... really want to..."
Bai Ran's breathing trembled, tears in her eyes. She managed a smile at him but didn't respond to his words.
"But, Ze'er has made too many mistakes... Ze'er knows that too..."
Mo Ze slowly raised his hand. Blood began to seep from his palm, dripping down, drop by drop.
"Ze'er killed many people, innocent, pitiful people..."
"Ze'er shouldn't be alive..."
Bai Ran gritted her teeth and lunged forward, embracing the small child before her.
Even if it was an illusion, even if she couldn't touch him, Bai Ran held him tightly, her whole body trembling.
Mo Ze, being held, slowly extended his small hand and embraced Bai Ran back.
"Sister, I'm sorry..."
Bai Ran lowered her head, tears surging, her heart aching uncontrollably. "Ze'er..."
Gradually, Mo Ze's small body began to dissipate, but he was still smiling, still smiling at Bai Ran.
"Sister, Ze'er's surname is Bai, always."
"Yes... your surname is Bai, always Bai..."
Just before completely vanishing, he reached out a small hand, wanting to wipe away Bai Ran's tears.
But his fingers passed through Bai Ran's cheek, unable to touch her.
"Ze'er!"
Bai Ran cried out. The small figure before her completely vanished, as if it had never appeared, gone without a trace.