Song Youwei hung her head and replied softly, "The Empress was trapped by inner demons. Her realm had been stagnant for many years without progress. Later, when she forcibly tried to break through to the Immortal King realm, she failed, and her Dao source shattered. A lifetime of cultivation turned into flowing water. Overnight, her black hair all turned white. Even though the various clans of the Demon Domain searched for all kinds of heavenly treasures, they could not reverse the decline."
Having said this, she glanced at the silently standing Gu Changge and continued quietly, "Demon Empress You Yue originally wanted to go to the Divine Kingdom to seek medicine, thinking that given the past affection between you, the Alliance Leader, and the Empress, the Divine Consorts of the Divine Kingdom would not be stingy in bestowing divine medicine. But the Empress refused her..."
Demon Empress You Yue is the birth mother of Empress Xi Yao. Back in the Demon Domain, Gu Changge spared her life because of her relationship with Empress Xi Yao. Now, the Demon Realm is under her rule.
Gu Changge remained silent. He knew why Empress Xi Yao would refuse.
In the past, how arrogant and proud she was! In merely six thousand years, she became a Sovereign, looking down upon countless peers and prodigies, becoming an Empress whom countless favored sons of heaven could only look up to, unreachable.
How could she humble herself and go begging others? Especially those who were once juniors to her. And, most importantly, Yin Mei and the others were women Gu Changge had formally married in a grand ceremony. When time had aged her, her looks gone, facing Yin Mei and the others and pitifully asking them to bestow medicine—what state of mind would that be? Perhaps more unbearable than killing her.
Seeing Gu Changge remain silent, Song Youwei did not continue. She only took out a scroll carefully tied with a red silk ribbon from her dimensional space.
"This is what we found when sorting through the Empress's belongings after her passing. She usually cherished it dearly..."
"We originally intended to follow the Empress's last wish and burn it together, but I boldly kept it privately, thinking that perhaps one day it could be handed to you, Alliance Leader."
Saying this, she gently held the scroll with both hands and presented it to Gu Changge. Gu Changge's gaze fell upon it. In truth, even without opening it, he could guess what was inside. But he still reached out to take it and gently untied the silk ribbon.
It was a scroll made from the finest rice paper. In the painting was a man in white. He stood with his hands behind his back, tall and straight, atop a sea of clouds. The mountain wind blew, his robes fluttered, his black hair danced, elegant and refined, otherworldly. Turning his head, he seemed to be speaking to someone below, the corner of his mouth holding a faint smile.
This was the scene when he left the Demon Domain back then. Gu Changge was somewhat surprised that Xi Yao had depicted this image, but upon further thought, it did not seem surprising at all.
In an instant, his thoughts returned to that time. Many scenes appeared before his eyes.
"Is a person like you worthy of entrusting one's true heart to?" Beside a misty pool, Empress Xi Yao leaned against him and asked. Gu Changge smiled and replied, "Why not?" "But the more I understand you, the more afraid and uneasy I become..." "Being alone is truly so tiring. I just want to find a shoulder to lean on that can set my heart at ease. Can you let me lean on you?" "Whenever you want to lean, I am always here."
Long years have passed, yet that scene from the past still seems to be right before his eyes. Gu Changge remained silent, not speaking. He did not know what emotion he was feeling now. It seemed to be a slight discomfort, a bit of a stuffy feeling in his heart.
Such an emotion, for him, was truly too rare.
Back then, she was only used as a tool and a pawn by him, merely sharing a night of intimacy. Why would she hold onto it so dearly?
She was, after all, the Empress of the Demon Realm, ruling over all demon clans, so domineering and proud. He had merely made a simple deal with her. Could she really have thought that he would develop true feelings for her?
"Truly foolish and pitiful. Clearly just a useless chess piece, what deep love are you still learning..." Gu Changge suddenly shook his head, as if sighing lightly, or as if explaining to himself.
Song Youwei was stunned. Before she realized what was happening, she felt the space-time of the world before her seem to have a vast, boundless, and surging power stirring. Some kind of power and cognition in heaven and earth were changing. Her vision blurred, and faintly, she seemed to see a sparkling river appear before Gu Changge, and he stepped into it.
The River of Years surged, ripples spreading. Gu Changge's figure appeared in the Demon Realm of five hundred years ago.
In the imperial palace of the Demon Realm, within the grand hall, there was an atmosphere of solemnity and oppression, accompanied by grief.
Demon Empress You Yue stood silently before the hall door, not stepping inside. Many demon officials and female officers also waited outside the hall, their hearts heavy.
Deep within the palace, on a bed of glazed immortal jade, white curtains fluttered like immortal mist, hazy and blurred. A thin figure with a head full of white hair lay quietly on the bed.
She had her eyes closed, her face already bearing wrinkles and the marks of time, no longer the peerless beauty she once was. Yet from her brows and features, one could still see the breathtaking beauty of the past.
"Youwei, you need not waste your magic power to maintain my appearance anymore. There is no need." Her slightly dry lips moved gently. Her voice was very soft and weak. It was hard to connect the person before one's eyes with the former Empress Xi Yao.
Song Youwei remained silent, sitting on the bed, still holding her hand. Regardless of her own paling face, she continuously poured her magic power into her.
"Your Majesty was born so beautiful. Even if you are leaving, you should leave beautifully," she murmured.
"You say I am beautiful, but why has he never turned his head to look at me..." Empress Xi Yao seemed to murmur.
Song Youwei remained silent. Empress Xi Yao seemed to give a self-deprecating smile. "I am about to die. This feeling is truly strange. A bit of relief, yet also some peace, as if waiting to take a nap."
Song Youwei's nose stung. Before her eyes seemed to float again the image of that peerlessly beautiful, domineering, and iron-handed Empress. She sat upright in the hall, her single command imposing authority over all directions, the ministers trembling, none daring to speak.
But now, she was as frail as a candle flickering in the wind, an old person in her twilight years. Clearly, she was still at the peak of her charm, still had a bright future, could have become an Immortal King and reached higher realms.
Clearly, she knew it was an inner demon, just an illusion, not the real him. Why did she still choose to drown in it, letting her Dao heart shatter...
"Tell me, if he knew I was about to die, would he come to see me one last time?" Empress Xi Yao suddenly asked.
Song Youwei did not know how to answer. Empress Xi Yao gently shook her head again. "Forget it. My looks are no longer, so old and ugly. I don't want him to see me. It's better this way. Perhaps one day, when he occasionally thinks of me, he can still remember the way I once was, and not this white-haired appearance now..."
Song Youwei's nose stung even more. In a trance, she seemed to return to that courtyard from many years ago. In late autumn, leaves fell, all things withered. The freshly fallen autumn mallow flowers covered the garden. Her Majesty the Empress walked over, took her hand, and said, "Youwei, from now on, you will follow by my side."
"If there is a next life, I want to be a carefree fish, not someone's chess piece, free and unrestrained, drifting with the current." Empress Xi Yao murmured softly, and these words seemed to draw away all her strength and vitality.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, or perhaps a brief revival before death, her eyes abruptly opened. She turned her head to the side with difficulty and looked beside her, then couldn't help but freeze.