Chapter 64
Zhuo Yichen’s hands tightened around the dragon scales.
So tightly that the sharp edges nearly cut into his skin.
His eyes never left Wen Zongyu’s retreating figure.
The man responsible.
The one at the center of every tragedy.
Every scheme.
Every death.
Every betrayal.
Ying Zhao.
Li Lun.
Bai Jiu.
Princess Longyu.
Even Zhao Yuanzhou’s suffering.
All of it traced back to him.
For a moment, Yichen wanted nothing more than to drive a sword through Wen Zongyu’s heart.
Not for justice.
Not for the world.
But for anger.
Pure anger.
The kind that burned so hot it hurt to breathe.
Yet before he could take a single step-
everything changed.
The dragon scales suddenly trembled.
A strange vibration spread through the air.
The ground shook beneath their feet.
Then-
the restored scales glowed.
Violently.
The Bai Ze Token began to tremble.
Black poison seeped through the golden light like ink staining white silk.
The sky darkened.
Clouds rolled across the heavens.
The wind screamed.
And from the distance-
a familiar presence approached.
Heavy.
Lonely.
A figure emerged from the darkness.
Young.
Thin.
Wearing familiar clothes.
For one terrible second, Zhuo Yichen’s heart stopped.
Bai Jiu.
His little disciple.
His timid child.
The boy who always hid behind him.
The boy who feared the dark.
The boy who smiled so easily.
Yet the person standing there was not Bai Jiu.
Not anymore.
Dark energy wrapped around him like chains.
His eyes glowed unnaturally.
Ancient sorrow lingered within them.
A sorrow that did not belong to a child.
Li Lun.
The wilderness itself seemed to hold its breath.
Li Lun looked different.
Not angry.
Not triumphant.
Just tired.
Endlessly tired.
His gaze moved slowly across the group.
Zhao Yuanzhou.
The friend he had loved.
The friend he had hated.
The friend he had never been able to let go.
Finally-
his eyes settled on Zhuo Yichen.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
The wind lifted Li Lun’s hair.
His expression softened slightly.
Then he laughed.
The laugh of someone who had spent too long carrying pain.
“So…”
His voice echoed through the Great Wilderness.
“You really found a way.”
“A way to restore peace.”
No one answered.
Because there was no joy in his voice.
Only loneliness.
The poisoned Bai Ze Token floated beside him.
Black energy pulsed from its cracks.
The darkness around him seemed alive.
Breathing.
Hungry.
Yet somehow, standing there, Li Lun looked less like a monster-
and more like a man who had lost everything.
A man who no longer knew how to stop hurting.
Yichen stared at him.
The young demon who once believed the world could be fair.
The friend who had followed Zhao Yuanzhou into the human realm.
The person who laughed.
Who dreamed.
Li Lun slowly raised his head.
❄️❄️❄️✨✨✨✨✨⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️
The storm raged above them.
Dark clouds swallowed the sky.
Li Lun stood amidst the shadows, his robes fluttering wildly in the wind.
His eyes lingered on Zhuo Yichen.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he laughed softly.
“When I look at your face…”
His voice grew quieter.
“I can’t bring myself to hurt you, Yichen.”
Yichen’s expression didn’t change.
“But Zhao Yuanzhou…”
Li Lun’s eyes darkened.
“I hate him.”
The words fell heavily.
“He always chose mortals.”
“He always defended them.”
“He always believed in them.”
Li Lun’s hands trembled.
“And look what they did to us.”
Zhao Yuanzhou remained silent.
Because some wounds were too old for arguments.
Too deep for explanations.
Li Lun smiled bitterly.
“He is such an idiot.”
Yichen stepped forward.
His gaze was cold.
“No.”
Li Lun froze.
Yichen’s voice rang clearly through the wilderness.
“Your anger is justified.”
Everyone stared at him.
“You suffered.”
“You were betrayed.”
“You were abandoned.”
“You watched demons suffer.”
His eyes reddened.
“I understand that.”
For a brief moment, hope appeared in Li Lun’s eyes.
Then Yichen continued.
“But innocent people suffered too.”
The hope vanished.
“You killed them.”
“You tortured them.”
“You used them.”
“The weak.”
“The ordinary.”
“The fragile flowers who never harmed you.”
Yichen’s voice shook.
“You became the same thing you hated.”
Li Lun’s face went pale.
“No…”
“You aren’t innocent either.”
Silence.
A painful silence.
Then-
Yichen drew his weapon.
Li Lun did the same.
The clash echoed across the wilderness.
Steel met steel.
Magic met magic.
Neither willing to yield.
Neither willing to look away.
During one exchange, Li Lun suddenly grabbed Yichen’s wrist.
Their faces only inches apart.
His voice broke.
“If you had loved me…”
The words sounded almost desperate.
“I would have loved you for thousands of years.”
His eyes were shining now.
Filled with grief.
“Zhao Yuanzhou hurt me.”
“He left me behind.”
“He chose everyone else.”
For the first time, Yichen saw not the terrifying demon before him-
but the lonely soul beneath.
A person who had spent centuries unable to let go.
Yet before anyone could speak-
Wen Xiao suddenly cried out.
Everyone turned.
Her face had become deathly pale.
Blood stained her sleeve.
The Bai Ze Token trembled violently beside her.
“Something’s wrong.”
Pei Sijing rushed forward.
“Wen Xiao!”
The poison spreading through the token suddenly surged.
Dark energy burst outward.
Wen Xiao collapsed to her knees.
Yichen’s eyes widened.
“The poison-“
He immediately looked toward Li Lun.
Wen Xiao shook her head weakly.
“No…”
Everyone froze.
“It wasn’t him.”
The words barely escaped her lips.
“It was Wen Zongyu.”
The truth struck like lightning.
The poison.
The token.
Everything.
Wen Zongyu.
Again.
Always Wen Zongyu.
Rage exploded inside Yichen.
The demonic energy within him responded instantly.
His vision blurred.
His breathing became unstable.
His body swayed.
Then-
he collapsed.
“YICHEN!”
Zhao Yuanzhou moved first.
Li Lun moved faster.
The moment Yichen hit the ground, all hostility vanished from Li Lun’s face.
Only panic remained.
Pure panic.
He knelt beside him.
“Yichen!”
No response.
Yichen’s face was pale.
His breathing weak.
The poison and demonic energy were colliding inside him.
Li Lun’s hands trembled.
For a terrifying moment, he looked genuinely frightened.
As though he were about to lose someone precious.
Again.
“No.”
His voice cracked.
“No.”
Zhao Yuanzhou stepped forward.
But dark vines suddenly erupted from the earth.
Separating them.
Li Lun carefully lifted Yichen into his arms.
Protectively.
Almost desperately.
“Li Lun!”
Zhao Yuanzhou shouted.
Li Lun looked back.
For the first time, there was no hatred in his eyes.
Only fear.
“If he stays here…”
His voice was barely audible.
“He’ll die.”
The wind began to gather around him.
Darkness swirled.
His hidden sanctuary calling him home.
Yichen remained unconscious in his arms.
Small.
Fragile.
Far too still.
Li Lun lowered his head briefly.
Then looked toward Zhao Yuanzhou.
“I won’t let him die.”
And before anyone could stop him-
the wind swallowed them both.
Leaving only silence behind.
And one terrified demon staring at the place where they had disappeared.