All along, Zhu Caiwei believed she had chosen to follow Ge Panming, telling herself she must be the most special existence to him since he had always been a loner who did not allow anyone to follow him.
However, Ge Panming’s cold attitude made Zhu Caiwei question how much weight she held in his heart, and she dared not ask.
Today, she would finally have an answer that might shape her fate. Zhu Caiwei stared intently at Ge Panming’s lips, her heart racing, praying for clarity.
Ge Panming said lazily, “This woman helped me take your protective charm, followed me after leaving the Changliu Sect, and has some merit. Anyway, you’re going to settle accounts with me, so let’s do it together. Kill me, and I won’t be able to protect her anymore.”
Lo Yingbai smiled faintly while Zhu Caiwei let out a huge sigh of relief.
Her legs went weak, and she sat on the ground, burying her face in her hands, tears flowing.
Even though Ge Panming’s words were not kind, their meaning was clear – he was the mastermind behind everything, allowing Lo Yingbai to have accounts to settle with him. As long as he didn’t die, Zhu Caiwei would remain safe.
Lo Yingbai admired his backbone and was not angry. He placed his hand on the knife handle and said calmly, “Okay, let’s do it this way.”
Cang Ling Yue’s translation seemed to sense the tense atmosphere, and a soft purple light burst from the blade, illuminating Lo Yingbai and Ge Panming’s faces.
Lo Yingbai said, “I heard that in the previous life, you were my weapon, and later you rebelled while managing the underworld, and we both perished… But I don’t even remember those things myself. It sounds like we’re even, so you shouldn’t be seeking revenge, right?
Ge Panming was different from Lo Yingbai and Xia Xianning. At this moment, Xia and Lo should have been reincarnating, entering the cycle again. But looking at Ge Panming, he was standing alive here, which meant he was first enshrined by the Chiqiong tribe’s people in his original form, then gradually reassembling the scattered soul fragments to resurrect.
So his memories should be the most complete.
Ge Panming heard Lo Yingbai’s words, a light flashing in his eyes before dimming, and he smiled, saying, “Besides the final battle, we still have many accounts to settle between us.”
Lo Yingbai, seeing that he couldn’t get any more information, grew impatient. His mind was preoccupied with Xia Xianning, so he drew his sword with a “swish” and said, “Fine, let’s settle the account of Zhu Caiwei stabbing me first.”
“Wait,” Ge Panming suddenly said, “What did you say? Stabbing you?
He suddenly erupted in rage, lifting the crying Zhu Caiwei from the ground: “Did you hurt him?”
Zhu Caiwei was still immersed in the joy of not being abandoned. Looking at Ge Panming, she found him particularly familiar. Not quite understanding the purpose of his question, she said blankly, “I stabbed him… took the protective charm from his body. Weren’t you the one who told me to steal the charm?”
Seeing Ge Panming staring at her darkly without speaking, she was startled, thinking he was blaming her for not killing Luo Yingbai when she had the chance. She hurriedly continued, “I aimed the stab carefully, but he was too quick. Before the knife could fully penetrate, he broke free, so I couldn’t strike again, I…”
Before finishing her sentence, Zhu Caiwei’s eyes suddenly widened, then slowly looked down. A long halberd, identical to the one on the altar, was thrust into her chest.
Ge Panming withdrew his weapon, coldly saying, “Like this?”
Zhu Caiwei lost her support and collapsed softly on the ground, blood gushing from her wound in large streams, impossible to stop.
Ge Panming had completely pierced her from front to back, creating a hole. Zhu Caiwei could even feel the wind blowing through the hole in her chest, her body temperature gradually dissipating, her heart turning to ash.
She wanted to ask something, but breathing was difficult, and her open mouth became heavy gasps.
She heard Luo Yingbai ask in shock, “Ge Panming, what are you doing?”
Ge Panming murmured, “Every time, I never intended to harm you, I just wanted to bring you down…”
His tone was obsessive, sorrowful, with an uncontrollable tremor. This was the first time Zhu Caiwei glimpsed some genuine emotion beneath his gloomy and cold exterior.
Zhu Caiwei suddenly understood Ge Panming’s long-standing schemes completely.
Already unable to sit steadily, she lunged forward and desperately gripped Ge Panming’s trouser leg, hoarsely asking, “You… imprisoned Shunda, didn’t kill him, saying you’d use the Chiqiong tribe leader’s blood to open the altar and recreate a virtual time and space… You’re not doing this to establish dominance, but actually for… him?”
Luo Yingbai, who had never heard of the Chiqiong tribe’s time-reversing altar, was shocked. He caught Zhu Caiwei’s slight head movement and followed her momentary gaze.
— She was looking outside the main hall’s door, where a red spider lily was blooming under the moonlight.
Luo Yingbai’s thoughts raced. The altar might be hidden beneath these flowers, which could explain why Xia Xianning suddenly disappeared.
No, the most important thing now was Ge Panming’s true purpose. What did “for him” mean?
Initially thinking Ge Panming just wanted to continue their unfinished battle from the previous life, Luo Yingbai now realized his assumption was too simple. He felt that Ge Panming’s attitude towards him was not entirely hostile.
Zhu Caiwei screamed her final words: “The master you spoke of is Luo Yingbai! Everything you’ve done is to restore your relationship with him!”
Ge Panming replied calmly, “I never denied it.”
Zhu Caiwei felt her throat fill with blood: “You’re so cruel, Ge Panming…”
Ge Panming coldly laughed, kicking away her hand and retorting, “And what have you done all this for?”
Zhu Caiwei was suddenly speechless.
She suddenly realized that Ge Panming knew everything; he just didn’t want to interfere.
The Chiqiong tribe leaders had a secret: a naturally formed white stone altar in the Meng Hill that could reference the past and simulate a new parallel world, which could only be activated by the tribe leader’s blood.
Reconstructing time and space, making up for regrets—something many people dreamed of. This secret, if revealed, would bring great trouble to Meng Hill. So besides the tribe leaders, only their enshrined god knew.
To find different time points for simulation also required calculating the precise moment to activate the altar.
Ge Panming wanted to return to a time when he and Luo Yingbai coexisted peacefully, while Zhu Caiwei wanted to return to before Ge Panming’s bloodbath—hoping for a better first encounter, where she, not Ge Panming, would be in control.
Their intentions differed: Ge Panming was openly declarative, while Zhu Caiwei schemed in secret.
However, Zhu Caiwei’s personality could be considered quite rigid. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she was caught in her desire for something more. Now, only dust remained everywhere.
This was the final moment of her life. Zhu Caiwei’s heart was filled with resentment, unwillingness, regret, and self-pity. But reality is unforgiving, and there was no time to understand or vent her emotions.
She had no time to resist and was already grabbed by Ge Panming, who wanted to extract the clan leader’s blood from her body. Zhu Caiwei carried the blood in a specially made bottle, and just as Ge Panming’s hand was about to grab it, Luo Yingbai, who was already on guard, seized the opportunity and slashed with a knife from the side.
Ge Panming instinctively withdrew his hand and stepped back, still holding Zhu Caiwei.
A flash of light struck out, also stopping Lo Yingbai’s next move.
