Chapter 42 - Punishment
Luo He felt he had still miscalculated the intensity of this fated tribulation of Luo Hongyu's.
In just one round, all the defensive magical artifacts he had prepared over these years were completely destroyed, yet they still hadn't formed an effective protection.
A pillar of lightning pierced through his barrier; it forcibly gouged out a piece of flesh and blood from his right waist.
And pillars of lightning like this were still continuously condensing in the sky.
"...…"
Luo He could no longer remember how much time had passed now.
Excessive blood loss and a damaged body wouldn't make his consciousness hazy; only the spiritual soul impact caused by the heavenly lightning would.
He could feel his soul was currently in an unsteady, perilous state, like an elastic rope twisted to its limit.
If he could hold on, it would become tougher; if not, it would snap.
He was at this limit right now.
However, he could vaguely sense that the density of the lightning pillars had decreased considerably, and Luo Hongyu's voice behind him had also become hoarse.
But none of this mattered anymore.
He now was like a lamp with its oil dried up and wick consumed; he had even given up suppressing the malevolent qi, allowing it to erode his body, using this pathological method to increase his body's strength.
Hold on a little longer.
Hold on a little longer, and the engraved evil inscriptions would be blasted away by the heavenly lightning.
At that time, he himself would also…
"Mmm…"
Luo He always felt that he heard a person's voice from above the Nine Heavens.
She was without sorrow or joy, narrating calmly.
"The person behind you is not tolerated by the world and should have repaid the culpability for blaspheming Heaven with her life."
"But I, in the end, only take one person's life. Since you have been able to bear the tribulation for her to this extent, your destiny can also be considered comparable to hers; taking your life is not out of the question."
"Are you willing?"
"...…"
Luo He supported his battered body and stood up, trembling.
"Since it is so, then receive your death."
This time, there was no majestic flash of lightning.
He just felt that figure in the sky flick a finger, and a subtle energy pierced through his body.
Afterwards, he felt as if this body of his had been erased in terms of its very existence.
Life force, pain, sensation, and those evil inscriptions…
All cleared to zero.
These things had already been deconstructed; they no longer formed parts of his body.
The existence named Luo He was currently undergoing a not-too-long process of transforming from being to nothingness.
"Your life tribulation has passed. Live well from now on."
This sentence was spoken to Luo Hongyu.
The continuous thunderclouds gradually dispersed; the clear sky sang praises of new life, the wind gentle, and the sun warm.
Only the vestiges on the ground, like ruins, still depicted everything that had just happened.
The Willow Flute flew back to his side; Luo He lay quietly on the ground.
He was experiencing this wondrous process of disappearing.
That light and understated finger flick clearly couldn't have simply erased his body.
Now, he was experiencing the process of his spiritual soul continuously disappearing and then being forcibly restored by him.
Just like a tug-of-war, very magical.
Luo He looked at his own body; the evil inscriptions had already completely disappeared.
And this physical body also naturally began to disintegrate.
Like petals blown up by the spring wind, they went with the wind, very beautiful to look at.
He heard Luo Hongyu struggling to crawl towards him.
He felt Luo Hongyu's blood drip onto his mask.
"You won't die, you won't…"
She murmured to herself, her other hand clutching the broken blade of the Lu Lan Sword.
She prepared to use the remnant sword soul within the broken blade to remedy and slow down Luo He's disintegration.
For Luo Hongyu, this was no different from personally killing the Lu Lan Sword.
The palm of her hand holding the broken blade was cut open. Afterwards, the Lu Lan Sword completely lost its spirituality; a dazzling stream of light flew out from it and flowed into Luo He's body.
But this was of no avail.
That stream of light only persisted for less than two breaths, then was completely annihilated.
The Lu Lan Sword's life was like a pebble that had sunk into a river, washed away.
Luo Hongyu looked at the person in her embrace; not a single complete spot could be found on his entire body.
Like a mud figure thrown on the ground, it could be described as comically missing bits and pieces.
And starting from his legs, his body was gradually turning into ashes, dissipating between heaven and earth.
Only those eyes, those clear, beautiful eyes.
Had never changed.
She felt this was definitely a punishment.
She had so many questions she wanted to ask, yet she couldn't voice them.
She had so many things she wanted to say, but she couldn't say them.
He was punishing her to live on, carrying these enigmas, carrying his life, branding her future life with an indelible, pale underlying color.
She instantly understood what Senior Sister Gu had meant yesterday when she spoke of the nightmare of her life.
This was definitely a punishment for her.
If the him in the dreamscape, and the him here now, were the same person.
If the Luo He who taught her swordsmanship, played with her, supported and understood her, and in the end, offered everything to her, was the same person as the Luo He now wearing a black robe and a fox mask, lying in her embrace.
Then these eighteen years of hers had undoubtedly betrayed a true heart.
A true heart she could never get back.
Regret?
Sad?
Don't know.
Luo Hongyu had originally thought she could distinguish clearly: a dream was a dream, reality was reality.
But, when Luo He's real figure gradually overlapped with the him in the dream,
she could no longer distinguish.
Who was he?
This question, which had always troubled and obsessed her, appeared in her heart again.
But each time it appeared, it would intensify by a degree.
By now, it had become so heavy that she somewhat dared not know the answer.
What should be done…
Luo Hongyu's hand reached towards Luo He's mask.
Click.
Unfastened.
Ah, ah, how hideous.
Luo Hongyu suddenly smiled a little.
Just like herself now, covered in blood… unsightly.
"Luo He, who are you?"
"...…"
His eyes were gentle.
She knew she would never get an answer from his mouth.
So she propped herself up and carried Luo He on her back.
At this moment, his lower body had already completely dissipated; he wasn't that heavy.
But with every step she took, the bloodstains on Luo Hongyu's body deepened further.
She thought of Still Water Peak in the dream; Luo He also couldn't walk like this then, but she hadn't carried him on her back before.
Now, it could be considered fulfilling a small wish.
"Let's go, I'll take you to see the flowers."
But there are no flowers here, Luo Hongyu.
Just like when autumn arrives, you also can't hear the cicadas sing.
The cicadas are dead.
Luo Hongyu's back suddenly lightened, losing its weight.
She slowly straightened her body. The weather is really good, ah; the sunlight on her body was neither cold nor warm.
She turned her head back. This place was just as it was when she first stepped onto it; she was all alone.
A strange fox mask lay on the ground. Luo Hongyu picked it up and wiped it; it was all covered in the blood she had dripped.
She knew, all of this was definitely a punishment for her.
But what she didn't know was, the punishment had not yet ended.
Just after she wiped the bloodstains clean from the mask, a wave of pain from the depths of her soul struck her directly.
This pain came from her soul, from her Shuang po-soul.
She curled up and fell to the ground, like a helpless child, clutching that mask in her arms.
It was like a trigger, leading her into a memory, a monologue, the world of a strange, masked youth from childhood.
You see, Luo Hongyu always gets what she wishes for.
When she wanted to practice swords, she practiced swords.
When she wanted to survive, she could survive.
This time was no exception.
When she wanted to know the truth, she could know the truth.
Fate has always treated her kindly, hasn't it?
…
Not far from the Star Moon Pavilion, in a small rural town that wasn't considered too remote.
A travel-worn woman embracing a sword bought a wooden cabin; at this moment, she was sitting under a large Wutong tree, recuperating with her eyes closed.
Suddenly, she seemed to sense something; she drew the sword from her embrace and glanced at it.
The sword was dead.
It had died along with a certain person.
She dug a grave, buried the sword inside, and stuck the scabbard on the grave mound.
Two simple characters were carved on it:
My Love.
Afterwards, she settled down to live beside this grave.
She planted many grapes, and planted many flowers.