That was the end of Meng Xi’s story. Her name “Xi” meant “tides”. From her innocent childhood to the sweet first love, from bearing the pain of seeing loved ones killed to killing herself in despair, her life went through ups and downs, just like tides coming in and going out. King Yun was the man Meng Xi loved the most, yet he hurt her the deepest. In fact, his possessive love ruined her whole life. It was true that there were sweet moments, but what prevailed was still suffering and sadness.

Until the end, Meng Xi chose her path to death instead of getting back to King Yun. However, as she left all her agony behind, her daughter Shui Yinzhu had to bear more. She was only nine years old when her parents were killed and her homeland was destroyed.

Wu Nian was overwhelmed by all kinds of emotions for a while. He never thought that his mother, who had always been smiling and kind, had such a painful experience.

Wu Nian just remembered that his parents were a lovely couple. His father loved his mother and cared about him. They should have been a happy family if old King Yun didn’t ruin their life because of his twisted love. What’s more, Yun Su, King Yun’s son, did almost the same thing to Shui Yinzhu. Like father like son. But what did the two women do wrong that they had to go through torture worse than death? Wu Nian now hated Yun Su and his father even more.

Wu Nian had the fire of hatred getting stronger and stronger in his eyes. Feeling a little flustered, Lan Li knew he was still tainted by revenge. He sighed and was ready to tell another secret. He had planned to take it to his grave, but he couldn’t watch him kill his own father!

“Wu Nian, there is another story I haven’t told yet.”

Wu Nian turned to Lan Li. There was nothing to hide in his eyes now but coldness and raging hatred. Obviously, he had no interest in the story Lan Li was going to tell.

Lan Li quickly said, “Yinzhu... I mean Wu Nian, you have to listen to this. You’ll regret it if you don’t.” He was so anxious that he even called out the name in his heart.

Wu Nian didn’t react to what he said. He already knew that Lan Li had realized who he was. For him, he felt nothing. But noticing the worry in Lan Li’s voice, he replied, “Go ahead.” His voice was still soft and nice, but his tone was indifferent and impatient.

Yet Lan Li had no time to deal with that. Different from Wu Nian’s tone, his was filled with genuine concern about Wu Nian. “When I was little, I overheard a conversation between King Shui and Meng Xi, my foster mother.” Looking at Wu Nian, Lan Li knew he was losing his patience towards him, so he decided to give it all out, “It was true that King Shui loved her, but not in the way a husband did. King Shui once had a daughter the same age as Meng Xi born by his true love, but the little girl died of a palace conspiracy.”

“And? What do you want to tell me?” Wu Nian didn’t know why, but he felt kind of nervous due to Lan Li’s attitude and his unfinished words. Although he appeared weak, Wu Nian was actually a strong-willed person. However, he somehow knew that what was coming could be overwhelming for him.

“When King Shui saved Meng Xi at the bottom of the cliff, she had already been pregnant. Originally, King Shui wanted to adopt her as his daughter, yet Meng Xi needed the identity of the king’s consort as a disguise. There was nothing between them more than care and family affection. It was a coincidence that Princess Shui was born a month later, just like her biological father. Yet King Shui treated her just as his own daughter or granddaughter, to be precise. He had transferred all the love he had for the deceased daughter to my foster mother.” Lan Li looked at Wu Nian’s face, afraid that he couldn’t bear it.

Sure enough, this story hurt Wu Nian even more than the life story of Meng Xi. He no longer cried but was heartbroken almost to death. The light of hope in his eyes disappeared. Now there was only desperate helplessness. Looking at Lan Li, he hoped that he could tell him that his father was not the man he thought of.

But it was already very clear. Even if Lan Li was reluctant to tell him, he couldn’t lie. That was the truth! “Princess Shui’s biological father is King Yun, but he still doesn’t know it.”

As if sentenced to death, Wu Nian saw no hope. His whole life had become a joke. His real father was not the one who loved him but the man who destroyed his wonderful childhood and ruined his beloved mother’s life. And Yun Su, who killed his lover Kong Yue and ruined his happiness, was his half-brother. How could he accept such a ridiculous truth? How could he take revenge on his father and brother? But if he stopped revenging, how could he face those loved ones who had died, and what reason did he have to keep living?

Wu Nian was completely lost as the unacceptable fact overwhelmed him. Lan Li immediately went up and hugged him tightly. He didn’t know how to comfort Wu Nian. Meanwhile, Wu Nian was indulged in his thoughts without noticing him or pushing him away.

Suddenly, Lan Li felt something was coming up in his chest. Then he vomited a mouthful of dark blood. He looked at Wu Nian incredulously, his beloved Sister Yinzhu. He didn’t expect him to be cruel enough to kill him! He shook Wu Nian’s body vigorously and asked, “Why? Why?”

But Wu Nian was numb like a jade doll. He didn’t say anything, but the dagger in his sleeve fell out due to the shaking of Lan Li.

At that moment, Lan Li lost his mind. Even if he died, he wanted to stay with Sister Yinzhu. He didn’t want to leave her in other men’s hands, especially the man in black who was with her. With his last bit of strength, he picked up the dagger on the ground and stabbed it into Wu Nian’s chest.

That dagger was given by Xuan Zhi as Wu Nian’s emergency weapon to defend herself, yet it seemed Lan Li was the one making full use of it. How ironic life was!

Watching the dagger deep into Wu Nian’s body, Lan Li had a trace of regret, but he still selfishly wanted to take him away. He was already too weak to hug him. Leaning on the table, he murmured, “Sister Yinzhu... I knew you were Sister Yinzhu long ago... You said when you grew up, you wanted to be my bride... Since we can’t get married as enemies, we can only do that in hell... What do you think, Sister Yinzhu...”

Before he could finish the words, Lan Li passed away. He slipped from the table to the ground and stopped breathing. However, his eyes never left Wu Nian until he closed them.

Blood flowed out of Wu Nian’s body, but his already red clothes concealed it. Faced with death, he didn’t feel pain but was kind of relieved. As his blood gushed out and his body got cold, he could finally leave that confusion and pain behind. Maybe he was lucky to die this way since he didn’t have to confront his past again.

The afternoon sunshine still felt warm, but the two lying in the pavilion could never feel it. Everything looked so tragic there...

It was so dark and so quiet. Wu Nian sat on the ground holding himself, but he didn’t feel panic, as if he was used to the darkness. He just waited for time to go slowly.

Wu Nian had waited there for a long time. He didn’t know how much time had passed. Suddenly, there was a ray of light. A dim figure of Kong Yue, the man he missed most, appeared in front of him. Between them lay a river, separating them like a boundary between the living and the dead.

Across the river, Kong Yue was still as handsome as he used to be. His familiar and delicate face reassured her. Gazing at him with love and longing in his sharp eyes, Kong Yue made his heart come alive.

Wu Nian burst into tears. Stretching out his hands, he wanted to touch his long-lost lover. Slowly he walked down the river, “Yue, I finally see you again. You come to pick me up, right? “

However, Kong Yue, on the other side, shook his head desperately. He was unable to speak, but clearly, he didn’t want Wu Nian to cross the river.

At the moment when Wu Nian was going to get drowned, an anxious voice came from the bank where he walked down. A man was calling “Yinzhu” again and again. It was a familiar voice that he had already remembered deeply. He just didn’t notice it before.

As Wu Nian turned to look for the sound source, the river below him disappeared, same as Kong Yue. Why? When Wu Nian was most bewildered, he heard Xuan Zhi’s voice. To his surprise, he didn’t want to leave the man who had been with him for so many years.

When he looked back, Kong Yue had gradually become transparent. “Yue!” Wu Nian kept screaming, but he couldn’t bring him back. Before disappearing, Kong Yue gave him an earnest look and smiled dotingly. Silently, he mouthed to Wu Nian, “Go back.”

Although “Yue” meant “the moon”, Kong Yue was as dazzling as the sun, shining on We Nian’s heart. Xuan Zhi, on the other hand, was as gentle as the moon. Only after the sunset did Wu Nian start to notice the faint moonlight, realizing how it had slowly soothed his heart. Maybe he was too greedy, but they were both special to him. But he did not know how dependent he had become on Xuan Zhi. The affection he had for Xuan Zhi had already been converted into love, and it was as deep as what he had for Kong Yue.

Wu Nian had never thought he could open her eyes again. In front of him was a wooden bedboard. Wu Nian moved his eyes around and wanted to get up but found that he couldn’t. The wound on his chest had been bandaged. The pain came late but strong, proving that he was still alive and everything that happened was real. Unlike ordinary people, since Wu Nian had been used to the pain in his heart, he could bear the physical pain well. Moreover, because of the pain from his wound, his mind had never been this clear before.

The only thing Wu Nian could move now was his head and hands that could barely hold anything. Apart from the severe pain, his body felt very heavy. Turning his head to look at the unfamiliar room, he found it was not luxurious or even plain. The room was absolutely shabby but fairly clean. It was also quite small. Besides his bed, there was not even a table or a chair.

But for Wu Nian, as long as he was alive, he didn’t mind any of that. Using all his strength to raise his right hand, he touched the pearl hairpin on his bun and finally felt relieved. God let him survive for a reason. He must finish his plan of revenge and subvert the bloody Kingdom of Yun. Even if he had to kill her own brother or father, he wouldn’t hesitate anymore.

While the dilapidated wooden door creaked open, a monk walked in. The slightly shiny bald head did not affect his clean and handsome look. With a bowl of medicine in his hand, he walked to Wu Nian’s bed.