"That divine bird…" Xu Wei stared blankly, utterly confused about what the divine bird was experiencing and why it was fleeing like a stray dog.
"It seems to be attempting a breakthrough," Zi Long murmured thoughtfully.
It wasn't that his knowledge was lacking — the matter involved the very laws of heaven and earth, and even he could not find the path through.
"Look over there!" Zi Donglai suddenly shrieked as though he had discovered a new continent, pointing in a certain direction. "It's that kid — it's definitely that kid! He's not dead yet!"
Several thousand li away, a dazzling streak of escape light flickered. Though the distance was too great for Zi Donglai to make out Yang Kai's features, he could tell with certainty that it was none other than Yang Kai.
At a time like this, in a place like this, who else could it possibly be?
"Good — he's not dead!" A sharp gleam blazed in Zi Long's eyes. "Heaven itself is lending me a hand."
He had been worried that Yang Kai had been slain by the divine bird and that the Tree of Eternity would be snatched back. Now that he knew Yang Kai was alive and well, his spirits surged.
As long as the Tree of Eternity was still in Yang Kai's hands, he still had a chance!
Without further hesitation, he enveloped Zi Donglai in Sacred Yuan and raced toward Yang Kai's location at blistering speed.
Not far behind Zi Long and his two companions, Ni Guang, the Ghost Ancestor, and the others had also encountered the divine bird swooping back. The Seven Radiance Treasure Light it spat forth kept them frantically scrambling to defend themselves.
"The divine bird is returning to its nest… then Yang Kai…" After steadying herself, Xue Yue's face drained of colour as the possibility struck her — one she could hardly bear to accept — and her body swayed as though she might collapse.
A woman's heart was not the same as a man's. Years ago, on that dead star, Yang Kai had touched every inch of her body. Though she had hated him to the bone at the time, he was still the first man to lay hands on her, and he had carved out an irreplaceable place in her heart. Later, when she had been afflicted by Mysterious Yin Sunflower Water and her life hung by a thread, it was Yang Kai who had refined a spirit pill to save her.
She had tried to recruit Yang Kai, hoping to keep the man by her side. But he had refused her, and Xue Yue had been left nursing her wounds in silence.
Over the years, Xue Yue had never been able to let go of Yang Kai… nor stop thinking about him.
Yet she had her pride, and she had her way of doing things. She could not chase after a man like some lovelorn girl, spouting embarrassing confessions. As the next successor to the Hengluo Commerce, the prosperity of the trade guild had to come first. Her own happiness and desires — those were nothing more than flowers reflected in a mirror, the moon shimmering on the water's surface.
In the Imperial Garden, reuniting with Yang Kai for a second time had filled Xue Yue with boundless joy. She had wanted to have an honest conversation with him, but the moment she saw him being all lovey-dovey with that demon woman Shan Qingluo, seething with affection, fury had overtaken her completely.
That reunion had not ended well.
The incident had left Xue Yue full of regret and self-reproach for a very long time. She had quietly vowed that if she ever truly got the chance to see Yang Kai again, she would make everything crystal clear between them.
But she also knew that the Star Field was vast beyond measure, and for two people with no means of contact to cross paths again was harder than ascending to heaven itself.
What she had least expected was that a second reunion had actually come to pass.
Outside the entrance to the Land of the Lost, when Xue Yue had spotted Yang Kai rushing in, she could scarcely believe her own eyes.
She was not some naive girl easily swept away by illusions — she had always scoffed at the notion of fate. But this time, she was beginning to believe.
Inside the Land of the Lost, at the very brink of life and death, Xue Yue had finally cast everything aside. Using a method that bordered on shameless audacity, she had forced Yang Kai to take a stand and had gotten what she wanted.
As she had said, her demands were modest. As long as there was one man in this world willing to treat her the way a woman should be treated — letting her feel everything a woman ought to feel — that would be enough for her.
But now… that man might already be dead!
Xue Yue could hardly accept it. She stood rooted to the spot as though struck by lightning, her lovely face ashen and drained of all colour.
"The kid Yang isn't dead!" The Ghost Ancestor's eyes were deep and penetrating as he stared ahead. "Zi Long has given chase — he must have spotted the kid's trail. We need to follow, and quickly! Against Zi Long's strength, the kid can't hold his ground. If Zi Long gets to him first, this whole thing is beyond saving!"
At his words, Xue Yue's delicate body shuddered. She turned to Ni Guang, her voice trembling faintly. "Uncle Ni!"
Ni Guang said nothing. He wrapped Xue Yue in his Sacred Yuan and surged forward alongside the Ghost Ancestor.
After flying for a time, Ni Guang suddenly spoke. "Third Miss, that kid Yang Kai might make a fine friend, but don't place too much weight on him. You need to remember what kind of burden you carry."
He had clearly noticed something. Whether it was Xue Yue's behaviour inside the Land of the Lost or the urgency she was showing now, both told him just how much Yang Kai meant to her.
Xue Yue's expression stiffened at his words. She gave an almost imperceptible nod. "I know, Uncle Ni."
The Ghost Ancestor let out an odd laugh. "Love between a man and a woman — that's the natural way of things. What does it have to do with the mission she carries on her shoulders? Heh heh heh — you people at the Hengluo Commerce really are too pitiful for words."