Chapter 29

When Luo Shan woke up, the sky was already a pale yellow, the setting sun sinking in the western horizon, dyeing half the sky a blood‑red. He found it glaring and instinctively lowered his head.

What place is this? This… this is clearly the scenery of the human world. Could it be that he is no longer in the Nine Abysses?

"You idiot." It was Pei Er's voice, close at hand. "You finally woke up. After all this time, you didn't move a muscle—I was really worried."

"Pei Er…" Luo Shan felt a haze in his heart. "How did we end up here? Where is Mu Ze?"

"Mu Ze…" A flicker of dimness crossed Pei Er's eyes. "He… he's gone."

"What do you mean 'gone'?" Luo Shan startled. "He's an unbeatable death god who can move between heaven and earth—how could something happen to him?"

"It was Mu Ze who saved us." Pei Er looked into his eyes. "Mu Ze defeated the dark god possessing you, sacrificed himself, and opened the gate from the Nine Abysses to the human world. Idiot, he's your sworn brother who saved your life. From now on, you will never again be devoured by dark forces."

"Mu Ze… Mu Ze brother…" Luo Shan murmured, a sudden sharp pain gripping his heart. Though he and Mu Ze had not known each other long, they had shared life‑and‑death together. Learning of Mu Ze's sacrifice, plus the exhaustion of recent days, his vision darkened and he felt his strength slip beyond his control. "Idiot," Pei Er said softly, "don't grieve too much. Mu Ze saved you so you could live well. That was his choice, made willingly. All you need to do is live strongly and do what you want. Only then will you not betray his kindness."

"What I want to do…" Luo Shan closed his eyes, and the image of a white‑clad girl suddenly appeared before him. "Pei Er, what I needed to say that night I already said clearly. You're a good girl; you'll find your happiness. But not with me. So I hope you can bravely pursue your own path and find someone meant for you. If you stay with me, you'll only bring yourself sorrow. I don't want that."

"Is that so?" Pei Er felt a pang in her heart and turned her head away. The joy of returning to the human world was shattered by Luo Shan's cold words. "Idiot… I mean, Luo Shan." She gazed at the setting sun on the horizon. "I told you I like you, but I never meant you had to like me back. You really don't need to worry about my feelings."

"Pei Er." Luo Shan sighed. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Luo Shan, you know?" Pei Er wiped her eyes. "I actually wish now that I had never met you back then. If I could have never encountered you, I might have died in the fire at Linquan Town, turned to ash like the others, and avoided all this later pain. But you know?" She bent down. "No matter how I think about it, those are just suppositions. I ultimately met you, and in my world, only you remain."

"If you don't want me by your side… if that's the case, I can leave. I can go far away from you and never see you again in this lifetime. I can do that… as long as you clearly tell me. You say, Pei Er-Andrea-Avensi, leave me and go as far as you like. Then I will vanish and never bother you again. You also know I'm not that shameless."

"If, in your future days, you occasionally think of having once met a girl like me, or even more luxuriously, recall a bit of the time we spent together, then I will be content."

Pei Er stubbornly turned her head aside, afraid to look at Luo Shan's expression, fearing that even a hint of softness in the boy's eyes would instantly wound her fragile heart and make her tears spill uncontrollably. That would not be good. She didn't want to use cheap begging to stay by his side. Just one simple sentence, and she would abandon that distant dream, carrying her love and endless memories for him to a place without him. At the same time, she would also lose the final showdown with the girl named Qin Yan, whom she had never met.

"Pei Er."

However, after a long silence, Luo Shan merely whispered her name ever so softly.

She waited for his further reply, whether despair or the knowledge that hope would never exist, but Luo Shan fell silent once again, saying nothing more.

"Enough. Enough." A voice rose in Pei Er's heart: "Don't make him suffer any longer." "Idiot," she turned her head. "Don't say anything else. I hope you and she can be happy."

However, at that very moment, in the direction of the sunset, a figure suddenly appeared.

"Luo Shan!" A voice suddenly rang out, filled with intense joy and astonishment. "You're actually here!" The voice sounded somewhat familiar, and Pei Er unconsciously frowned slightly. Who? Whose voice was this? Why did she suddenly have a bad premonition?

"Uncle!" Then she heard Luo Shan's equally delighted reply.

"How wonderful! I never expected to meet you here." The man called uncle instantly appeared before Pei Er, handsome features hinting at a certain dignity. Pei Er's heart suddenly tightened. This person was none other than the Viscount who had fought against Bavaria and others at Luo Fu Gu De Manor!

For a moment, her previously hazy memories suddenly cleared. She recalled the conversation she had overheard in the basement, the earth‑shaking battle at the manor. Everything flooded back. "Luo Shan!" she exclaimed instinctively. "This person… this person… don't get close to him, he means you harm!"

"Pei Er!" Luo Shan frowned. "This is Viscount Luo Fu Gu De, my lifesaver, Qin Yan's father—you must be mistaken." "No, no way." Pei Er grabbed Luo Shan's hand tightly. "That day I heard it crystal clear: this person… this person wants to use your bloodthirsty soul to boost his power and fulfill his ambition." "Pei Er, if you keep talking nonsense like that, I'll really get angry." Luo Shan shook off her hand. "I don't know what misunderstanding you have about the viscount, but if even he wants to harm me, then truly there's no one left to trust. If it weren't for the Viscount Luo Fu Gu De sparing no effort to protect me back then, I would already be a captive of the Spirit God Temple, and I could never have met you later."

"Luo Shan, I seem to have met this woman before." Viscount Luo Fu Gu De smiled faintly. "Back when Ming Guang of the Spirit God Temple led the three deputy hall masters to seek revenge on me, I had the battle well in hand, but this woman burst out halfway, allowing Ming Guang to leisurely unleash magic and heavily wound me. Otherwise, Ming Guang, Bavaria, Goth, and Silesia would already have fallen under my sword, the Spirit God Temple would naturally have collapsed, your parents would have been freed from their shackles, and not to mention the Temple's plan to resurrect the deity using angelic power would have come to nothing. Luo Shan, this woman is almost certainly from the Spirit God Temple; why is she with you? This relationship needs to be examined carefully."

"Pei Er?" Luo Shan stared in disbelief. "Is what Viscount Luo Fu Gu De said true?"

"Indeed, I did help Uncle Bavaria fight that viscount fellow, but I am definitely not a member of the Spirit God Temple." Pei Er met his gaze without flinching. "I fought him only because Uncle Bavaria helped me. Luo Shan, believe me or not, that's all I have to say." "What is Bavaria, Luo Shan? You should know." The viscount sneered. "One of the seven deputy hall masters of the Spirit God Temple; if you want to rescue your parents, you must defeat him before facing Ming Guang. The causal relationship is obvious—you should understand it yourself." "Uncle Bavaria is a good person!" Pei Er shouted. "At least he's far better than you." "Luo Shan, did you hear that?" The viscount laughed. "Uncle Bavaria is a good person. If even the head of the Spirit God Temple can be called good, where would any evil come from in this world?"

"Pei Er, everything you say defies common sense; I cannot believe you."

Luo Shan fell silent for a moment, then suddenly lifted his head. "I know your feelings, and I know you don't take to Qin Yan, but that shouldn't be your reason for slandering the viscount." "Slander him? You think I'm lying out of jealousy for that woman to trick you? Is that what you mean?" Pei Er burst into a bitter laugh, her heart feeling like it was being cut by a knife. "Luo Shan, in your heart am I really that kind of person?"

"I don't mean that. If you insist on seeing it that way, there's nothing I can do."

"Luo Shan, I'm doing this for your own good. What would it take for you to believe me?" Pei Er closed her eyes in despair. "That day at Luo Fu Gu De Manor I personally heard that viscount say he would seize you to absorb your bloodthirsty soul and boost his power. I heard it crystal clear, no falsehood." "Luo Shan." At that moment the viscount spoke. "This woman's words are utter nonsense; in my view, eighty percent she's been bewitched by Spirit God Temple sorcery, taking a demon like Bavaria for a good person—that alone proves the point. Why not let her rest at the manor for a few days while I personally dispel the spell?" "You despicable wretch!" Pei Er flared. "I heard everything you said back then crystal clear, and now you still want to deny it? As for the so‑called spell… it's pure nonsense. For a lord of your stature to fabricate such lies—don't you feel ashamed?"

Hearing such fervent accusation, Viscount Luo Fu Gu De merely gave a faint cold smile. "Luo Shan, come back to the manor with me now; don't bother with this chaotic woman. Qin Yan longs for you every day. Seeing you return safe and sound, she must be overjoyed." "Pei Er." When Luo Shan heard these words, his eyes clearly flashed with a strange light. "Don't make a fuss. Viscount Luo Fu Gu De is right—you must have been bewitched by Spirit God Temple magic. Come with us; the viscount will help you."

"Luo Shan! How many times must I tell you? This person is a bad guy; his kindness toward you is only to exploit your power! By the time you see his true nature, it'll be too late!"

"Enough!"

Luo Shan suddenly bellowed, actually invoking magical power. Pei Er's eardrums tingled faintly. "Pei Er-Andrea-Avensi." He used her full name. "Stop meddling. Otherwise, get out now—go as far as you can. Did you hear me?"

"Okay… Luo Shan, I understand. I'll leave, I'll go far enough that you'll never see me again in this lifetime." A fierce pain, making her whole body twitch, spread through Pei Er's heart—like a dull blade grinding over her heart, flesh and blood torn apart under this slow yet violent process. Pei Er felt the boy before her instantly become alien, alien. Was he still the Luo Shan who, in the burning town, had one hand supporting her wounded body and the other waving a long sword, laughing as he slew foes? They had walked through countless hardships together, still sharing life and death, yet now why was his vision clouded, unable to distinguish sincerity from scheming, and why did his words feel like a sword, each thrust striking the softest part of her heart? She had said that if he didn't want to continue traveling with her, she would go, to a place he could not find, secretly keeping her tiny love for him deep inside. But that shouldn't be how it is today. How could he do this?

It's all because of that girl, isn't it? The one named Qin Yan, the viscount's daughter before us. Luo Shan, Luo Shan, how could you be so useless? Perhaps all of this is itself a great conspiracy!

Yet she knew that no matter what the future held, she could never accompany him to face it.

"Luo Shan."

Pei Er's heart felt only utter despair. "Well then, whatever choice you make is ultimately your own. If you insist on this, I have nothing more to say. So I'll go. From now on, just pretend you never met a girl named Pei Er-Andrea-Avensi."

Luo Shan glanced at her, turned away, and ultimately said nothing more. Pei Er watched his retreating back, and tears finally spilled uncontrollably. She covered her face, her steps as heavy as a thousand jin, each step increasing the tearing feeling in her heart. Knowing this parting might mean an eternity before they meet again.

The sunset glowed blood‑red, shining into her eyes. How she wished that familiar boy's voice would sound again, saying, "Sorry, don't go." Or even without him apologizing aloud, just having his silhouette loom before her, silently gazing at her, would be enough. No matter what conspiracy, even mountains of knives and seas of fire, she would go alongside him to face it.

Yet she walked on for dozens of steps, and that voice never sounded.

Despairingly she turned her head; between heaven and earth only the lonely sunset lingered, casting its light on the fiery clouds, and the boy's silhouette was gone forever.