Chapter 64 - Four People
Luo Hongyu was the person most closely connected to Luo He in this world.
This was beyond doubt.
Previously, she had thought this connection was one of blood relatives, which made her feel disgusted and helpless.
Now, she knew what this connection was.
But this made her feel even more disgusted, and powerless.
They were like two sides of a coin, the yin and yang poles between heaven and earth.
When one side appeared, the other would inevitably have to sink into darkness.
This was undoubtedly pathological, abnormal.
So Luo He took the lead in choosing to end all of this, telling her that they now had no more involvement with each other, and were both clear of any debt.
That trace of resentment remaining in his Shuang po-soul said that he didn't hate her.
At first, she couldn't understand why.
Later, she understood.
Luo He was like a person tied to a cross and being punished.
He would hate the person who tied him up; he would hate the executioner.
But he would not hate the cross.
And she, Luo Hongyu, was that cross.
She was the one who served the role of the torture instrument tormenting Luo He.
The blood he shed would nourish her, yet she was completely ignorant of this.
You see, what difference was there between her and that cross, which could not speak and had no consciousness?
She had clarified many things.
Why Luo He had always followed her, why Gu Jing had behaved that way, why she herself had that kind of feeling towards Luo He.
All of this put Luo Hongyu into a predicament.
That was, she discovered she could not accept this world after Luo He's death.
Everything she had was fake, was bloody, had overturned her understanding of herself over the past twenty-odd years.
The truth had come too suddenly, too fiercely, too nakedly, beating her until she was dizzy and seeing spots.
All those negative emotions and negative thoughts she once had towards Luo He had turned into traitors, fiercely retaliating against herself.
She felt she was collapsing, felt despair; she wanted to hold her head and cry her heart out, to lament this heartbreaking truth.
But to whom could she do this, and what right did she have to do so?
Why couldn't she just be a thorough villain, just stand there, for people to detest, for people to disdain?
But even this, she could not do.
Huoxin's dreamscape had made her see her own weakness clearly, and she finally admitted her weakness.
Luo Hongyu was a weak girl.
Reason had helped her clarify all the facts.
Now, what she couldn't clarify was her emotions, which had already crushed her.
Her emotions for Luo He were a monstrous wave, a destructive gale.
She couldn't distinguish what was inside it: a certain hysterical guilt, a certain interdependent attachment…
Or perhaps, the him in the dreamscape who might have been the only sober one, that trace of gentleness he had shown her...
Had brought her a hope filled with extreme irony.
But these emotions held no meaning at all.
Why?
Because that person was dead, wasn't he?
The words she wanted to say could not be conveyed.
The things she wanted to do, no one could witness.
She wanted to vent, wanted to shout, wanted to lament tearfully, but just as mentioned above, she had no right.
This world should have been circulating.
But from the moment Luo He died, one end of Luo Hongyu's world closed.
These emotions hit a wall and then rushed back.
They engulfed her, destroyed her.
They completely churned and tore to shreds everything Luo Hongyu possessed.
She had been continuously looking at a person; that person was a naive and ignorant little girl wearing a white fox mask.
Luo Hongyu looked at her and suddenly realized she and this girl from back then were no different.
He said the pain she had given him, he had returned to her.
Yes, he had done it.
"......"
"Luo He, will you forgive me?"
On Still Water Peak, it was a never-ending midsummer and bright day; the tender grapevines and small garden were no different from that dreamscape by Huoxin.
Luo Hongyu still lay on Luo He's lap like that, looking up and tugging at Luo He's hair, asking out of utter boredom.
"Forgive you?"
"Mm... from my perspective, I have no standing to forgive you, and you don't need my forgiveness either."
"Haven't you already thought this point through clearly yourself? After all, the relationship between us is so strange and cold."
"Moreover, I am still something you imagined."
Luo He's voice came from above, very gentle, very clear.
Like a gentle and refined little younger brother.
"Seems so."
Luo Hongyu smiled.
"I clearly gave up long ago, because Luo Hongyu and Luo He just have that kind of relationship, sharing life and death together."
"......"
"Luo He?"
"But, now seems a little bit not right."
"It seems you should wake up."
The daytime on Still Water Peak ended. What Luo Hongyu saw now was no longer Luo He, but her three-year-old self, wearing the white fox mask.
She said to Luo Hongyu:
"You said so yourself.”
"Luo Hongyu and Luo He share life and death together."
"Even without that red jade, it is still the same."
...
Vaguely, the sounds of insects and birds could be heard.
Outside, there seemed to be some people talking.
Luo Hongyu raised her head.
This was a small wooden cabin, Luo He's residence on Still Water Peak, and also the place where Luo Hongyu had lifted Luo He's mask.
She knew she had stayed here for six years.
She was awake, and also deranged.
Or it could be said, she had a split personality, but now it was better.
She tried to stand up, but almost stumbled and fell to the ground.
She looked blankly at her legs; years of sitting had made her body incomparably stiff.
After an unknown amount of time, she finally regained control of her body.
She touched the mask on her face, unable to even clearly remember when she had put it on.
But this was no problem; this was how Luo Hongyu was supposed to look.
She now recalled carefully; the origin of this mask was surely extraordinary, to have been able to survive under such a vast Heavenly Tribulation at that time.
Otherwise, now it wouldn't...
Luo Hongyu sensed, starting from the fingertip that touched the mask, a connection emanated from the mask, leading towards a certain direction.
This connection was the hand that pulled her out of the mire named 'self'; to be more specific, it was a piece of information.
A very important, very important piece of information.
So important that Luo Hongyu could rely on it to continue living.
So she pushed open the door and walked out of the wooden cabin.
Her thoughts at this moment were very simple.
Someone was blocking her; she glanced... she recognized this person.
Someone wanted to touch her mask; she recognized this person too.
Until Yan Yan stood before her, she finally recalled what the current situation truly was.
Mm, six years.
So she looked at Yan Yan and asked her:
"As long as I become the Sect Master, I can stay here, right?"
Yan Yan was a little distracted by these first words her Young Master had spoken after coming out for the first time in six years. She was silent for a moment, then hesitantly nodded her head.
"Logically speaking, that is indeed the case..."
"Then from now on, I am the Sect Master of the Tianchen Sword Sect."
After Luo Hongyu said this sentence, she pondered in place for a moment, then walked back into the wooden cabin on Still Water Peak.
Leaving behind Yan Yan, holding the Heavenly Cry Sword, at a loss, and a crowd of elders so suppressed they didn't dare to breathe loudly.
Afterwards, a colossal aura that swept through the entire sect emanated.
Countless disciples looked towards the towering Main Peak; the leaves shaken loose brought the message.
Luo Hongyu had taken control of the Still Water Seal and become the new Sect Master of the Tianchen Sword Sect.