WBICDPH Chapter 113

Chapter 113: Heartbroken

The Demon Clan and the Human Clan were divided by Ghostcry Cliff. Human cultivators occupied the lands north of the cliff, while the demons claimed the south. The demon territory was vast, and the heavenly demons were independent by nature. That Mingzhutian had grown into what it is today was entirely due to generations of its rulers, who had fought tirelessly to force their own kind into submission.

Everything had gone smoothly at first. But in recent years, a new force had emerged outside Mingzhutian, called the Star-Summoners. Their leader was a Mirror Demon. They were dissatisfied with Mingzhutian—and even more so with Xiao Lanyue—constantly stirring up trouble for both. It could be said that nearly every battle Xiao Lanyue had faced in recent years, big or small, was connected to them.

Xiao Lanqi didn’t know much about the Star-Summoners. He only knew that they had driven his mother into endless warfare—and that their leader, the Mirror Demon, was the one who had killed his father.

“The Mirror Demon has stayed hidden for years. I’ve searched for him for so long without finding a trace. Now that he’s revealed himself, I cannot let him go. If I can capture him today, the Star-Summoners will fall apart. Without him pulling the strings, Mingzhutian would have at least a thousand years of peace. And A’Shen… if I kill the Mirror Demon today, it will also avenge him.”

Xiao Lanyue frowned. Her words sounded as though she were comforting Fang Zong—but also persuading herself.

She wiped the blood from her Zhanhuang Sword and was about to give chase when Fang Zong suddenly dropped to one knee in front of her.

“Your Excellency, you must not! You’re injured. Who knows if the Mirror Demon revealing himself so suddenly is part of a trap? Wait until next time—once you’ve recovered, it won’t be too late to kill him then!”

“Even if it is a trap, I still have to go.”

Xiao Lanyue’s gaze was resolute as she looked up at the gray, overcast sky.

“The Mirror Demon is cunning and excels at hiding. Every extra day he lives is another day of danger. Last time, my heart meridian was injured—I nearly died. I could choose temporary peace, but I must think of A’Qi’s future. If I miss this chance, who knows when he will reveal himself again?

“Today, even if there are mountains of blades and seas of fire ahead, I must go.”

“…”

Standing nearby, Xiao Lanqi watched her. Then he stepped forward.

“I’ll go with you.”

“No need.”

Xiao Lanyue lifted her sword.

“Fang Zong, watch over the Young Lord. I’ll return shortly.”

“Yes!”

Seeing her like this, Xiao Lanqi suddenly felt an emptiness in his demon heart. As he watched her leave with her sword in hand, a rare sense of panic welled up inside him.

He wanted to follow her—but Fang Zong grabbed him, refusing to let him move even a step away.

Xiao Lanqi opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but his mind went blank. In the end, not a single word came out.

He stared blankly.

He saw the heavy clouds split apart. He saw the orange-red glow of sunset break through and fall upon Xiao Lanyue’s sword and armor.

At the time, he thought the red light on her looked brilliant, beautiful.

He hadn’t expected that the next time he saw her, she would still be bathed in red… but no longer the light of sunset—only the dark crimson of blood.

Xiao Lanyue leaned on her Zhanhuang Sword for support. In her hand, she still held a lifeless demon heart. But her own right ribcage had been pierced through, leaving a gaping, bleeding wound.

The right rib was where a demon’s core lay—their fatal weakness. Even the slightest injury there could be deadly.

No… no…

Xiao Lanqi tried to press his hand over the wound, but in moments, dark blood seeped through the armor and between his fingers.

“…A’Qi.”

Seeing him like this, Xiao Lanyue called his name softly.

Half her face was covered in blood. One eye could no longer open. Yet when she looked at him, her gaze remained as gentle as it had been for decades.

“The Mirror Demon is dead. A’Qi… your path—I’ve paved it for you.”

“What path? I don’t want it! Who asked you to pave anything? Even if you did, I won’t walk it!”

Xiao Lanqi’s voice trembled. Like when he was a child, he used his sleeve to wipe the blood from her face—but this time, no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn’t come clean.

For the first time in his life, he tasted fear.

“You need it. A’Qi, Mingzhutian, is in your hands. The future of the heavenly demons is in your hands… cough…”

Xiao Lanyue coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of blood. When she spoke again, her voice was hoarse.

“Hearing what you said today… made me truly happy. It was your love that eased my worries, gave me courage, and let me know that you’re ready—that you can become Mingzhutian’s ruler.”

“I don’t!”

Xiao Lanqi shook his head helplessly, denying it over and over.

But…

Chu Tingxue had told him to try expressing love.

He had done as he was told. He told Xiao Lanyue he loved her.

But no one had told him that saying those words would lead to this.

Why? Why did it turn out like this?

What did she mean—his words gave her courage? Was it because he said he loved her? Was that why she chose to risk everything and perish with her enemy?

But…

“I lied to you! I don’t understand love at all—and I don’t want to! I hate humans—I hate all their complicated emotions! I… I’m not ready. I don’t want to be a ruler!”

Xiao Lanqi rambled, contradicting himself, as if somehow that might keep her alive.

But Xiao Lanyue only smiled.

With a bloodstained hand, she gently touched his cheek.

“A’Qi, saying one thing and meaning another isn’t a good habit.”

“I didn’t, I—”

He couldn’t finish. He bit his lip.

She brushed his face with her fingertips, then rested her forehead against his, closing her eyes slightly.

Her body was already growing cold.

A faint smile curved her lips as she whispered:

“A’Qi… I love you too.

“But I’m so tired. Being the ruler is exhausting. Endless battles are exhausting. If I could, I’d go back to many, many years ago—when you were still so small, when all I had to do was hold you, sing to you, tell you stories… nothing else to worry about.

“I’m sorry for placing such a heavy burden on you so early. But you will be a good ruler. You’ll do even better than I did.

“Love is a strange thing. I never learned it well, so I can’t teach you much. But that’s alright—I know you understand it now. In the future, you’ll love someone, and someone will love you.

“Heartlessness and slaughter are not the true path of the heavenly demons. ‘Qi’ means creation—you are the one who can change your present and future.

“Because you…”

Her voice grew weaker.

“…because you were born with love.”

Her hand slipped from his cheek, and her body went limp against his shoulder.

Her armor was cold—painfully so.

Xiao Lanqi pressed his lips together tightly. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and muttered:

“I don’t want it. I don’t want love.”

If understanding love came at this cost, he would rather never understand it at all.

He regretted it—regretted saying those words so soon. If he had remained the same cold, indifferent young demon as before, would she still be here? Would she have thought him unready, stayed longer, taught him more, protected him more?

Liars. All liars.

His mother was a liar. Chu Tingxue was a liar.

They said that having someone to love would leave room for mercy in one’s choices—but it didn’t.

His mother was dead. Because he said he loved her, she lost all hesitation and chose to perish with her enemy.

Love wasn’t armor.

Love was a blade.

Why was everything about love so painful?

He didn’t want to understand it—never again.

Xiao Lanyue’s body was placed in an ice coffin and brought back to Mingzhutian. Xiao Lanqi sat beside it for days and nights.

During that time, Fang Zong, Luo Shao, and many others came to see him.

To the heavenly demons, death was ordinary. They didn’t understand why Xiao Lanqi was so lost. When they asked, he said nothing.

Until Xiao Lancheng came.

Xiao Lanqi looked up at him, then placed a hand over his right rib.

“Brother… it hurts.”

“Where?”

“My demon core… it feels like it’s breaking. Why?”

“Because of love.”

Xiao Lancheng gently ruffled his hair.

“I told you before—if you don’t understand love, you won’t feel pain.”

“….”

Xiao Lanqi slowly clenched the fabric over his chest.

Then he stood.

He was going to Misty Rain Mountain.

He was going to find Chu Tingxue.

He needed to ask—what was all this, really?

He reached Misty Rain Mountain.

As before, he used the method Chu Tingxue had taught him to bypass the barrier and enter. At their usual meeting place, he lit Chu Tingxue’s signal.

But this time, Chu Tingxue didn’t appear.

Xiao Lanqi tried again and again. He waited a long time.

No response came.

A flicker of unease rose in his chest. He put away the unanswered signal and went to search for Chu Tingxue himself.

But something felt off.

The once lively mountain was eerily silent. White cloths of unknown meaning hung from the buildings. Moving unseen through the grounds, he searched for Chu Tingxue—but couldn’t find the carefree, joking drunkard anywhere.

He did see someone else—a familiar figure in peach-pink.

But when he first saw her, he almost didn’t recognize her.

The young woman who once smiled so brightly was now filled with sorrow and exhaustion. Though her appearance hadn’t changed, and she still wore the same pink robes, her black hair had turned completely white. The vitality she once carried had withered—she looked like someone on the brink of death.

Xiao Lanqi wanted to ask her about Chu Tingxue, but others were nearby, and he couldn’t reveal himself.

So he went to Dripping Spring—Chu Tingxue’s favorite place.

Someone was there.

But it wasn’t him.

Zhe Yu lay sprawled in Chu Tingxue’s chair, his hair disheveled, stubble covering his jaw. Pale-faced, he stared blankly at the falling drops of water.

Xiao Lanqi didn’t like him much. He kept his distance and called out:

“Hey—where’s Chu Tingxue?”

“Huh?” Zhe Yu glanced over.

When he recognized Xiao Lanqi, he suddenly laughed.

“Hahaha… you’re looking for Chu Tingxue? He’s dead!”

“?”

Xiao Lanqi’s heart lurched.

He rushed forward, grabbing Zhe Yu by the collar.

“What did you say? That’s impossible! He’s that strong—how could he just die?!”

At those words, Zhe Yu shook violently.

Like a lit fuse, he exploded in anger:

“So what if he was strong?! So what if he was the best in the world?! The only Sword Sovereign of this era?! He’s dead! Dead!! Dead means dead—do I need to explain it to you?! Isn’t human life the most fragile thing in this world? People die just like that—what’s so impossible about it?! Or is it because he’s Chu Tingxue, so even his death has to be questioned?!”

Zhe Yu’s eyes were bloodshot, his expression almost deranged.

Xiao Lanqi fell silent. After a long moment, he let go.

…Liars.

More liars.

Love is armor? Love makes you stronger? All lies.

Didn’t you have room to choose? Didn’t you have someone you cared about? Then why did you die too?

All empty words. All lies.

Damn it… I haven’t even beaten you yet. I haven’t even drunk the wedding wine you promised me.

How could you just die?

“….”

In that moment, Xiao Lanqi felt like he had lost everything.

He hated humans. They were so fragile—even the strongest among them could die without warning.

He hated love.

Love was a terrible thing.

Anyone who spoke of love was a liar.

Anyone who understood love… would die.