Chapter 590: Epilogue: Xiao Jiu, We Also Seek a Lock

Seeing the two names appearing side by side on the boulder, Liu Junyan and I were both greatly surprised.

This is Shíjiǔ Dòngtiān; the names that appear here are either a perfect match or a pair of resentful lovers.

Fanchen and Yu Nian, the two of them…

No, the name appearing on the boulder is Wang Fanchen, not just Fanchen; there's an extra surname.

I remember Fanchen saying that his name was given when the City God enlightened him.

Fanchen is just Fanchen; he is a speck of dust that took form, at most a sprite—where would a surname come from?

But can there really be so many coincidences in this world?

Fanchen, could he be Wang Fanchen?

A clatter of colliding iron chains came.

As the two names appeared on the boulder, inside Sānshēng Diàn, a pitch-black lock of unknown material slowly descended.

Liu Junyan and I walked over immediately, our gaze following the lock as it slowly lowered, and our hearts tightened.

Before coming to Sānshēng Diàn, I had imagined what the Yuānyāng Tóngxīn Suǒ looked like.

In my imagination, this lock would be huge and heavy, the kind that no one could easily move.

But the lock before us is only palm-sized, and right in the center of this side's lock face, there is indeed a sword pattern.

This is a Heart‑Separating Lock!

I specifically turned around to look at the back of the lock.

I had expected to see a mandarin duck pattern, but the back was a hazy blur, nothing clear.

But upon close inspection, one discovers that the lock's material is actually the same as that of the boulder outside.

In other words, the material of the Yuānyāng Tóngxīn Suǒ is stone.

Our purpose in coming here is to open the lock and take this Yuānyāng Tóngxīn Suǒ back; I glanced at the lock's head, still tightly wrapped with iron chains, and furrowed my brow.

It seems this lock won't be easy to take down.

Could it be that after opening the lock, the iron chains will automatically loosen?

Thinking that, I took the key, bent down, and was about to aim at the keyhole when Liu Junyan suddenly raised a hand and pressed down on my hand holding the key.

I lifted my head to look at him, and saw him also furrowing his brow, as if he had thought of something, hesitating.

I asked: "Āyàn, what's wrong?"

"Xiao Jiu, I always feel something's off," Liu Junyan said. "The so‑called redemption pledge is when the pawnbroker takes the pawn money to redeem the pawned item; therefore, if this Yuānyāng Tóngxīn Suǒ is being used as redemption money, it shouldn't be the pawnbroker themselves opening the lock and then handing the lock over to the Yin Dang Hang. Why should you come? And after a month, still have to hand the lock over to him?"

"Indeed it's unreasonable; I already felt something was off that night." I said. "But our Dang Pu has a rule: for Yin Dang, when there is a request, we cannot refuse; the client is not a living person, so this order is Yin Dang business—even if his request is unreasonable, I still have to follow his wishes."

This is the drawback of shifting from Dang Pu to Yin Dang Hang without having time to set the rules.

I sighed and said: "Actually, more importantly, this matter involves my senior sister, so I must come."

This redemption‑pledge business itself is no longer what I care about.

Liu Junyan heard my explanation, his brow still unfurrowed, he pondered and said: "Now it seems this matter not only involves Yu Nian, but also Fanchen; what is the relationship between Fanchen and Wang Fanchen? Xiao Jiu, we previously inferred that Yu Nian still exists somewhere in this world; you say, could it be…"

Could it be inside this Yuānyāng Tóngxīn Suǒ?

If so, would opening the Yuānyāng Tóngxīn Suǒ cause Yu Nian to appear?

But would what appears really be Yu Nian?

Or could it be… a crow?

We hunted the crow, went through great trouble, barely managed to bring peace to the world, and haven't even enjoyed a few days of peace—if we were to release that undead‑not‑alive thing again… I dare not imagine.

At this moment, I also hesitated a bit.

My hand gripping the key was clenched tight, my palm full of sweat.

"Or… should we first study this lock properly? Why is it so miraculous?"

I said that, then bent down again to look at the keyhole, to calm my mind before making a final decision.

But when I saw the keyhole beneath the Yuānyāng Tóngxīn Suǒ, I froze again.

Beneath the Yuānyāng Tóngxīn Suǒ, there indeed is a keyhole.

But that keyhole seems not to be inherent to the lock itself, but rather chiseled out.

The chiseling work is very rough.

I had Liu Junyan take a look.

After Liu Junyan looked, he also fell into a long silence.

Everything exceeds our imagination; looking at the lock, then at the key, no matter how we look, it feels like a trap.

And this trap—should we jump into it, or not?

After a long while, Liu Junyan asked a question: "Xiao Jiu, you say, this Yuānyāng Tóngxīn Suǒ that represents eternal love—does it come with a key?"

Yeah, if it itself came with a key and could be opened, could it still represent eternal love?

I pondered: "So, we first need to clarify whether the Yuānyāng Tóngxīn Suǒ itself truly comes with a key."

Liu Junyan nodded and then said to me: "Actually, this is easy to verify, Xiao Jiu—let's seek a Yuānyāng Tóngxīn Suǒ."

I stared at Liu Junyan in shock, never expecting him to make such a decision.

In Sānshēng Diàn, there were few locks to begin with, and they were all bound by iron chains and shrunk onto the beams, making it impossible to see what other locks looked like.

Therefore, the best way to verify, as Liu Junyan said, is for us also to seek a Yuānyāng Tóngxīn Suǒ—then we can easily find the answer.

"Won't that be a bit too impulsive?" I asked. "Āyàn, we…"

"Xiao Jiu, between you and me, with or without this lock, we are bound for lifetimes." Liu Junyan said. "But if you are willing, I want this lock to bear witness to our feelings; I want a title."

Feng Xianqiu once used a betrothal, countless times to manipulate me, disgusting Liu Junyan.

But in the end, that marriage contract actually belonged to him and the Phoenix Lord.

That is to say, during his marriageable age, whoever became the Phoenix Lord, he would have a marriage contract with them.

It's really disgusting.

Liu Junyan wants to use this mandarin duck heart lock to sever the past and stabilize the future, right?

I thought for a moment and said, "Okay."

But then I asked again: "But how do we obtain the mandarin duck heart lock?"

Liu Junyan pulled me back to that boulder outside again and said: "If I'm not mistaken, the mandarin duck heart lock truly generates mana, all relying on this boulder."

He said, placing his hand on the surface of the boulder.

I hurriedly did the same.

One big, one small hand placed side by side on the boulder; I only felt as if an endless force seeped out from within the boulder, sucking me and Liu Junyan together into another space.

Before us appeared two caves; the left one was decked with lanterns and banners, clearly preparing for a wedding; while the right cave emitted a golden light, from which an iron chain bridge emerged, stretching all the way to the cave entrance…