Volume One: Hidden Depths of the Azure Abyss Chapter Thirty-Five

When she returned to Lotus River, her slender, jade-like fingers traced the rim of her cup as she summoned Yunxiang. "Yunxiang, what happy event is taking place in the South Sea?"

Yunxiang suddenly remembered and produced the invitation. "This was delivered by the Water Official of the South Sea when I returned the other day—a wedding invitation, a night banquet specially arranged, inviting all the immortals of the Four Seas and Eight Wildernesses. Since my lady has always been indifferent to South Sea affairs, I was about to decline on your behalf."

Jinli did not even glance at the invitation. She tossed it onto the table and stood up. Yunxiang was left bewildered, and even Rantu, usually playful, was stunned into silence. "Yunxiang, what’s wrong with her?"

"Perhaps it was the invitation. I shouldn’t have brought it out," Yunxiang replied, regretful.

Rantu glanced at the invitation left on the table and quietly withdrew.

Jinli wandered to the rear mountain. After a few steps, pear blossoms drifted down like snow onto her shoulders and hair. She reached out, catching a petal in her palm. When she looked up again, Gengyuan appeared before her, as if out of nowhere. The image of her framed by falling petals was just as breathtaking as when they first met, enough to steal one’s breath.

Gengyuan’s gentle smile brimmed with tenderness and longing, enveloping Jinli in its warmth.

They gazed at one another. Gengyuan spoke first, his voice as melodious as ever: "My lady’s garden is still as beautiful as ever. These flowers have not bloomed for a hundred years."

And he had not seen her for twenty years. His eyes were filled with endless yearning and affection. He was grateful—she was still here.

"If Lord of the Sea likes them, I can send you a few seeds," Jinli replied, calm and composed.

The youth before her was no longer the young man who once stood beneath the pear trees. Now, his presence was stronger, and ambition burned deeper in his eyes.

"I have matters to attend to. Please, make yourself at home," Jinli said, letting the petal fall from her hand as she turned to leave.

Without another word, Gengyuan strode forward and caught her arm. Jinli snapped, "That’s enough!"

Gengyuan’s eyes showed hurt. He looked at her. "It’s been twenty years. Don’t you have anything to say to me?"

"There is nothing to say between us," she replied coolly.

He seemed wounded by her response, holding her arm and noticing how much weight she had lost.

Jinli, unable to break free, fell silent. Gengyuan had so much he wanted to ask—where she had been these twenty years, if she ever thought of him in idle moments, if she had eaten well, if the love poison had… been cured.

His eyes brimmed with longing.

"I have things to tell you… I… I’ve missed you terribly."

She looked into his bright eyes, then turned her gaze away. "There are countless people who have missed me over the years."

Why? The words she spoke seemed to push an invisible distance between them, making him no different from all the others.

"After more than twenty years of wandering, it’s only natural that many would miss you," he murmured.

Jinli smiled. "You’re right, Lord of the Sea. So you should return and keep your wife and young son company."

"My… What wife? What son? What are you talking about?"

Jinli’s smile was detached, as if she were a bystander. "I received your wedding invitation and will attend as expected."

"…That’s not it." He grew anxious.

But Jinli’s gaze turned cold, giving him no chance to explain. "Let go."

Gengyuan did not want to, but Rantu’s voice rang out behind them, "Release her!"

Jinli turned to see Rantu rushing over, blue immortal light ready to strike Gengyuan. Gengyuan released her and sidestepped effortlessly, avoiding the attack. Rantu quickly pulled Jinli behind him. At this, Gengyuan’s eyes darkened and he stared coldly at Rantu. "This is none of your concern."

Rantu, unable to contain his anger, shouted, "Gengyuan, you already command the Four Seas—why do you continue to entangle yourself with A’Li?"

"Is that a name for you to use?" Gengyuan’s roar startled Jinli. She looked at him in shock as his grip tightened. In an instant, he attacked Rantu with a wave of his hand—an attack far too powerful for Rantu to withstand.

Jinli pulled Rantu behind her and raised her hands to block the strike. Gengyuan’s expression shifted, and he abruptly stopped. The blue immortal light vanished. Gripping Jinli’s arm, he asked anxiously, "Are you hurt?"

Jinli shook off his hand, anger flashing in her eyes. "Gengyuan, stop this at once." He let go, crestfallen. Rantu wanted to speak, but Jinli interrupted, "Go back."

"But…"

A glance from Jinli silenced him, and he left reluctantly.

Jinli took a deep breath before saying, "Lord of the Sea, listen carefully. If you sought me out only to dredge up the past, you can leave now—I have nothing further to say."

"But I wish to speak with you."

"I do not wish to listen."

With that, Jinli turned to go. Gengyuan’s eyes lowered, a bitter smile on his lips. "If that’s so, then why did you ever say you liked me?"

Why had she professed affection only to disappear without a chance for him to explain?

"You must be joking. I’ve said such words to countless people. Please don’t take it seriously."

Gengyuan’s face was full of sorrow. Slowly, he raised his head, eyes rimmed red, tear stains visible on his cheeks. Jinli noticed the pearls on the ground—he had cried.

"What do you mean by that? Are you saying you never meant it? Do you think that by dismissing it all so carelessly, you can erase everything that happened that year? Jin, can you?"

"I can. I have met people better than you, people who would never deceive or use me as you did. I have already forgotten everything between us. I hope you will do the same—it’s best for both of us."

"I can’t." Before the words had left his lips, Gengyuan suddenly collapsed. Startled, Jinli hurried to catch him. His head rested on her shoulder, tears falling silently. She was frightened to see her hands stained with blood. "Gengyuan! Gengyuan!"

He turned his face, managing a faint smile, his lips utterly drained of color. "When did you get hurt?"

Gengyuan buried his face in the crook of her neck, his tall frame enveloping her. He spoke softly, "Let me lean on you for a while. I’ve missed you so much… Jin, I’ve missed you so very much…"

When Gengyuan awoke, the familiar gauze canopy above delighted him. His eyes drifted downward to Jinli’s sleeping face, her head propped gently on her hand. He smiled, barely daring to breathe for fear of disturbing her. His heart warmed, his gaze tender enough to overflow. With a wave of his hand, a brocade cloak of deep blue settled gently over Jinli by immortal magic. He moved slightly, pain tugging at his wound, but a sly smile played on his lips.

He watched her, his eyes full of gentle mirth. Quietly, he gathered her into his arms, the two resting side by side.

Gengyuan, close enough to study her sleeping features, felt a century’s worth of longing surge forth, uncontainable and fulfilled at last.

She had returned. She was truly back. She had finally come home.

The familiar canopy, the familiar couch—he laughed to himself. In the past, Jinli would always try to catch a glimpse of him through the window lattice. More than once he had caught her, but she never so much as blushed. Who would have thought that this time, he would be the one to throw himself into her arms?

When Jinli awoke, she immediately sensed the weight at her waist. She opened her eyes with a start—Gengyuan was holding her, one arm around her waist, the other beneath her neck, his breath warm against her skin. She turned suddenly, her lips brushing his forehead—cool to the touch. Had she once again let herself be ensnared by his beauty? Flustered and overheated, she checked her clothes—thankfully, all in place.

It was nothing but the venom’s lingering effect between them. Perhaps an early end was a blessing.

Jinli closed her eyes again and said quietly, "Little Seven, bring me some water."

Gengyuan was not asleep. Hearing a stranger’s name startled him. "Who is Little Seven?"

Jinli opened her eyes, saw Gengyuan’s face, and showed no surprise. She rose naturally, smoothed her long hair, and addressed him, "Since you’re awake, Lord of the Sea, you should leave."

Her every movement was so familiar it seemed habitual.

Without another word, she turned to go, but Gengyuan caught her hand. "Where are you going?"

"You’re injured. Go back to your sea palace and rest."

"Little Seven—he’s not someone else, is he?" Gengyuan asked tentatively, but when he saw the indifference in Jinli’s eyes, jealousy and bitterness surged within him.

"Let go," she said, displeased. Gengyuan finally released her.

Sitting up, he lowered his gaze. "Can’t you stay with only me? Don’t be with anyone else." He begged softly, "Jin, please, just look at me."

At last, he had spoken his heart: the one he loved was Jinli. Regardless of the love poison, this time he wanted to follow his heart. He wanted only her—no one else.

Jinli looked at him, still feigning innocence as he always had. Her eyes grew colder. "You’re awake, so go home. Don’t let your wife worry." Without another glance, she left.

As she reached the corridor, Rantu rushed over. Jinli, seeing his hesitant, troubled expression, asked, "What is it?"

Rantu looked up, face full of guilt. "I’m sorry. I’ve troubled you again."

"It’s nothing."

She was about to leave when Rantu stopped her. "Just now, I wasn’t the one who hurt him. He did it to himself."

Jinli halted, confusion and a trace of shock in her eyes. "What did you say?"

"Just now, I didn’t hurt him—it was his own doing."

Jinli pondered, her feelings complex, her anger quietly rising. Yunxiang hurried over. "My lady, the medicine is ready."

Looking at the bowl in Yunxiang’s hands, Jinli’s anger surfaced. Her voice was cold as she turned to leave. "See the guest out."

Perhaps she had never truly understood Gengyuan—what kind of person he really was. Maybe he was always someone who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

Unconsciously, she found herself at the site where Muyuan Tower once stood. The vanished tower stirred something deep within her as she stood there, lost in thought until sunset.

It was only when Yunxiang found her that she returned. He asked carefully, "My lady, do you wish to see Lord of the Sea?"

Without hesitation, Jinli refused. "Yunxiang, reject all invitations sent to Lotus River these days." Yunxiang agreed and followed her to the kitchen. Yet as they arrived, the sound of a porcelain bowl shattering met their ears, followed by a menacing voice: "I’m warning you—stay away from her!"

Furious, Jinli kicked open the half-closed door. The scene before her was all too familiar, as if everything had reverted to the past.

But what she saw next enraged her even further. Gengyuan held a sharp dagger, pinning Rantu against the wall. The cold blade pressed to Rantu’s throat, drawing blood.

With a wave of her hand, Jinli disarmed Gengyuan. He quickly released Rantu, hands awkward at his sides like a chastened child. Jinli strode over, pulled Rantu behind her, and checked his neck—thankfully, the cut was not deep.

"You are not to touch him!" Gengyuan growled.

Jinli frowned, visibly angry—perhaps more furious than she had ever been. "Gengyuan, that’s enough!"

He was stunned by her shout, about to explain when she cut him off. "If you have any grievances, take them out on me! What did Rantu do wrong? If I had come a moment later, would you have killed him?"

"Are you… protecting him?" Gengyuan’s eyes were full of disbelief and pain. He could not believe she would shout at him, that she would defend another man before his eyes.

It made him even angrier. Darkness and intensity filled his gaze, his presence now menacing and forbidding.

He repeated coldly, "Are you… protecting him?"