Remembering You For Eternity

2.38 End of Zuo Shan'er's Want

Mesmerized with that smile, one that had visited his dreams over and again, Zuo ZhouLei did not notice that he had staggered backwards in his stupor, causing him to step inside the Earth Tortoise' barrier.

Zuo Shan'er, knowing that the arrival of her natural enemy would potentially rob her all of her 'wants', decisively lunged forward to pull Zuo ZhouLei's belt. From every pore of her skin, the black threads surged forward in a mad dance to claim another mortal vessel. She concentrated all she could as she clung onto Zuo ZhouLei's standing figure, taking the chance of his absentmindedness to pull his robes and bring his face to hers. If she could just directly kiss that pair of lips and let the blessing consume him, consume them both, bind and strengthen them into a limitless future. He would be able to see that everything she did was for him, for their happiness together.

Qing Lian said it would be the quickest way to bless someone – by way of intimate contact. Zuo Shan'er had always wanted to do that anyway. This day, she decided that this want would come true, as well as the other desire she had for this man she had coveted since a long time ago.

This man could only be hers. She had set her eyes on him first, she had met him first. How could she let another woman that had come into his life much much later, steal what was supposed to be hers?

But she did not even have the chance to entertain her thoughts further. Zuo ZhouLei was caught off-guard and stumbled to the ground as he was pulled by her, his body now only short of touching her as he held his weight with both arms, using all his might to not let him crash into her. In his confusion and surprise, Zuo Shan'er took another chance to pull his head closer.

And as soon as she touched both of his cheeks, she screamed. To everyone else, it was a howl. Even the Daemons stopped in their attacks, and some of the lesser Daemons – those that used to be normal townspeople – trembled in fright. The howl was as if Zuo Shan'er was being tortured with the cruellest method under the sun; she felt as if her palms, that had just touched Zuo ZHouLei's skin, had been sliced open, her flesh dug out, and doused with vinegar and salt.

It was a similar pain to what she had experienced earlier, when she had touched Shen Wei slightly. But this time, the pain was multiplied a thousands-fold, causing the black threads to recoil back into her body, burrowing into her flesh and bones. The burning sparks of fire she numbly felt coursing from her palms into her blood stream caused her blessing – the malice – to try to replenish itself by eating her alive.

She did not have any strong qi  normally possessed by a Dao cultivator. The malice could only begin to eat her alive, eat her flesh, all her memories.

She wailed in agony. A few Daemons cowered and actually ran away, leaving the soldiers-Daemons standing immobile, as if they were not sure what was happening.

Zuo ZhouLei felt a static coldness on his skin, where Zuo Shan'er had touched him before. He saw tiny sparks of lightning danced in front of his eyes, and could even swear that he also saw a shadow of a serpent with golden and purple scales. In fact, when Zuo Shan'er barely touched him before, and when he had been caught off-guard, the dragon seemed to have materialized from his own Dantians. But as soon as the static feeling dissipated, the serpent was gone.

Nevertheless, Zuo ZhouLei knew that It had protected him. The manifestation was bizarre, but he did not want to ponder about it further. Soon forgotten of his disorientation and upset, his heart immediately warmed as he felt a soft cooling touch on his clenching wrist. 

The woman of his dreams, the only woman that mattered in his life, was now here, by his side.

Ji YuLan immediately interlinked her fingers with his own, and Zuo ZhouLei felt that this forsaken Lingdi had turned into heaven. They exchanged a silent tender gaze at each other, one telling the other the longing and calling of their soul from the deepest part of themselves.