Recap
“You don’t need to repent,” Qi Ye advised. “You need a crematorium, an incinerator. Just go along with it and be wiped out. Oh, wait, you’re the sun. High temperatures won’t harm you.”
Qi Ye looked up at the cold night blanketing the northern realm. “Is this environment making you uncomfortable?”
Yan Zhao frowned, instinctively avoiding the overwhelming darkness. “Yes.”
Qi Ye waved his hand dismissively. “In the next world, simulate this environment. Reflect on your actions for a thousand years, and maybe you’ll have a chance at forgiveness. Now go; Chacha and I are going to continue decorating our love nest.”
Yan Zhao was left speechless. Would that really work? he wondered.
Whether it works or not, he can’t do anything about it.
Yan Zhao found another point in time where Rong Yu was in the past, in the 4444th world.
The Son of Destiny in this world is named Wen Yichu, who died in a ghost marriage. Rong Yu encounters life-and-death crises every time he travels. Since it is a world of spirituality, he will inevitably encounter ghosts.
Yan Zhao simply set himself up as a powerful ghost so that he could protect Rong Yu from the harassment of ghosts. It is not enough to be a strong ghost; he cannot be a poor ghost, otherwise, he cannot afford to provide for Rongrong.
The tomb of Emperor Chu in the previous life was very luxuriously built, and the burial objects were as numerous as treasures, as rich as a country. Yan Zhao continued that identity, transferred the tomb to the 4444th world, and became a ghost in the tomb.
The ghost named Chu Zhuo waited persistently for his little lotus, determined to have a ghost marriage even if he died.
Before his death, he was the Ninth Five-Year Supreme, surrounded by flowers, brocades, and crowds of people, with a red lotus by his side. After his death, he was just a lonely ghost, staying in the tomb for thousands of years, feeling only the cold, darkness, and loneliness. The cold ghost body and the fiery divine soul conflicted, making him endure constant torment.
A thousand years is just a snap of the fingers to a god, but it can make a ghost wait until despair.
In the boundless and long darkness and coldness, he gradually couldn’t remember who he was waiting for, and even forgot who he was. However, the ghost stubbornly refused to dissipate. A cavity of obsession filled his heart—to wait for someone to marry him. The day of reunion would be the day he saw the light of day again.
A thousand years later, he sensed that the man had arrived. He opened his eyes in the darkness and went to snatch the marriage. However, before welcoming the man in, he flinched because of his fear of marriage.
He died from poisoned wine on his wedding night during his lifetime, and his lover drank it together, which made him instinctively fear it even after he forgot about the past.
Red Gold changed from a blood jade thumb ring to a golden lotus ring on his ring finger. In the previous life, Rong Yu painted and said that this ring worn on the ring finger symbolized “true gold and fire, a match made in heaven,” and Yan Zhao truly remembered it.
After staying in the tomb for a long time, Yan Zhao forgot many things. He didn’t know why that person clearly called Wen Yichu but said to him: “You only need to remember the name Rong Yu; don’t remember other irrelevant people. At most, at most, remember another little lotus.”
“Little Lotus, who else is it?” Yan Zhao felt a sense of familiarity when he asked this question.
It seems that the name Little Lotus was once on his lips all day long.
It’s a pity that after so long, he forgot. Just reading it from his mouth, he still feels his heart churn.
Rong Yu said: “Don’t ask.”
Yan Zhao asked again: “What does the official mean?”
Rong Yu replied: “It means husband.”
Yan Zhao said: “The deepest memory in my life must be the day I became your husband.”
That should indeed be profound. On the day he became his official in his previous life, both of them were killed by poisoned wine. Because of this incident, Yan Zhao was terrified to the bone, and he never dared to marry Rong Yu, for fear that Rong Yu would leave again.
He is not a fool; he gradually realized that Rong Yu was not the real Wen Yichu, but he didn’t know who the young man was, and the other party never told him.
Yan Zhao lived in the anxiety that Rong Yu would leave him all day long, and his heart was always up and down.
One day, Rong Yu gave him a double fish jade pendant and said to him: “These two fish, one is you and the other is me. As long as the jade pendant is not broken in two, we will always be together.”
Yan Zhao held the jade pendant, his heart settled. “Alright,” he said happily, “I believe you.”
They finally tied their hair with blue silk and got married, adding another step: exchanging rings.
Yan Zhao couldn’t help asking, “What does exchanging rings mean?”
“It’s similar to concentricity,” Rong Yu looked at him and smiled. “It means that we will be together forever in the future, my lord.”
That was Yan Zhao’s happiest day after his death.
But the next day, Rong Yu left.
___
Yan Zhao, who came back from the end of this world, swayed and was on the verge of falling, but at least he didn’t lose his footing like last time.
The ghost Yan Zhao didn’t know that Rong Yu was the Demon King, but the Lord God Yan Zhao did. He also knew that Rong Yu intentionally didn’t tell him his real identity and let him suffer from uncertainty. Giving the double fish jade pendant was a promise not to leave him, yet Rong Yu left without saying goodbye in the end, which truly hurt him.
But this wasn’t a punishment at all. He knew even more that Rong Yu’s final disappearance was simply because the mission time was up, and he was teleported away. In this world, apart from Yan Zhao tormenting himself in the tomb for thousands of years, Rong Yu never retaliated.
Could it be that, as Qi Ye said…he abused himself so much that Rong Yu’s heart softened?
Yan Zhao felt that Rong Yu didn’t even bother to hate him, which is why his heart was like dead ashes.
The soul lamp was still silent, which was the reason why Yan Zhao felt lost.
After two worlds, he also realized one thing – there was no such thing as a wild man. The painting of swinging under the peach tree was painted by him for Rong Yu; the sachet contained his and Rong Yu’s knotted hair; and the golden lotus ring was his and Rong Yu’s wedding ring.
Rong Yu told Red Gold to tell him at the beginning that the space contained their tokens of love. He thought it belonged to Rong Yu and others at the time, but if he still thought so now, then he was a fool.
There had never been anyone else. Chu Zhuo was him, Fu Qianzhi and Gu Minghuai would be him—every life was him.
His and Rong Yu’s timelines were reversed. What he hadn’t experienced, Rong Yu already had.
Rong Yu said he loved him; it was the truth.
Yan Zhao didn’t feel any sweetness, only regret and bitterness to the extreme. With completely opposite timelines, when did Rong Yu start to like him? When they met in the doomsday world, Rong Yu asked him in the car if he loved him or not—how sad was Rong Yu when he hesitated?
Did Rong Yu meet him in the first small world of punishment?
Yan Zhao realized the point he was most reluctant to admit – if his timeline was opposite to Rong Yu’s, forming a circle, it meant that he had traveled through all the small worlds of punishment, but he still couldn’t save Rong Yu.
Because the closing point of the circle was the extinguishing of Rong Yu’s soul lamp.
“…Law,” Yan Zhao asked, “Will I succeed?”
The Law of God: “No comment.”
It didn’t say yes, and it didn’t say no. The law cannot lie, but it can choose to avoid answering.
Yan Zhao chuckled lightly. “That’s a yes.”
Otherwise, with the law’s attitude of wishing him to cut off love and affection, it should have said no categorically.
Since there was hope of success, he must continue to travel through. He must know what happened to Rong Yu at each point in time and why the soul lamp was extinguished.
Yan Zhao didn’t rest for long, and soon went to the next world.
_
This time, the world was the 7012 interstellar world, and the Son of Destiny, Ji Qingyu, died in prison.
To protect Rong Yu from a close distance, Yan Zhao assumed the identity of the warden, named Fu Qianzhi. He thought about it and added a severe insomnia condition to his self-imposed punishment.
He had hunted Rong Yu for so long, causing him to suffer from sleeplessness. Punishing himself with insomnia for a lifetime was a form of retribution.
Red Gold had now transformed into a sun tail ring on his little finger. Rong Yu had once told him in the doomsday world that single people wear tail rings to signify their independence and unattached status. In contrast, married people wear tail rings to symbolize their commitment to the relationship and their unwavering love.
He and Rong Yu had been married twice in the small world and could be considered married. Therefore, he could wear a tail ring with this meaning.
Yan Zhao was also reminding himself that he could never give up on resurrecting Rong Yu.
The law wanted him to sever this love, but he refused, now and forever.
He was also reluctant to part with the original golden lotus ring, but unfortunately, Red Gold could only assume one form at a time. Yan Zhao added a minor detail to the 7012 world: a pair of wedding rings named “True Gold and Fire” would appear in a certain jewelry store, symbolizing eternal love. He must buy them and give them to Rong Yu.
After arranging all this, Yan Zhao began his journey.
This time, he didn’t assume the identity of an existing inhabitant but created a character out of thin air. He was born and raised in this small world and had suffered from insomnia since childhood.
It turned out that sleeplessness was a truly painful experience.
But when he held Rong Yu, he could always have a peaceful dream.
In this world, he committed the same “crime” as he did when he was the Lord God.
“As a warden, I should not have feelings for prisoners, showing favoritism, granting privileges, or releasing them privately. This is a serious dereliction of duty. This is my sin.”
As the Lord God, he should not have feelings for the Son of Destiny, bending the law for personal gain, going against order, abandoning a world, and being seriously negligent. This was his sin.
Did he regret it?
“No, add another crime.”
“Never repent.”
As long as the other party was Rong Yu, he would never repent for the rest of his life.
…
They successfully left the prison and walked into the jewelry store, where Rong Yu fell in love with the pair of golden lotus rings at first sight.
The shopping guide enthusiastically introduced, “This is also a new wedding ring. One is called ‘True Gold,’ and the other is called ‘Raging Fire.’ The designer is quite fond of ancient Chinese culture. Their inspiration comes from the concept of ‘true gold and raging fire,’ originating from the Ming Dynasty poem ‘Female Mulan’: ‘It’s not about rewarding true gold and fire; if you compare muddy water and red lotus.’ The meaning of ‘true gold and fire’ is that quality remains unchanged even after severe tests. Choosing it as a wedding ring signifies that love will endure any storm and remain eternally unchanged.”
The so-called designer was, in fact, the Lord God Yan Zhao. Before entering the small world, he had sketched a design based on the golden lotus ring, ensuring its appearance in this world. He had also crafted this introduction specifically for Rong Yu to hear. Of course, tracing back further, it was Rong Yu who initially designed the golden lotus ring. The question of who came first was now blurred.
The two individuals in the small world were oblivious to this backstory. They purchased the rings as their wedding bands, intending to use them at their ceremony.
The “he” in the small world had meticulously prepared for this wedding, investing immense effort.
The final outcome was self-evident: Rong Yu was a no-show on their wedding day.
The pain experienced by Fu Qianzhi in the small world was so profound that upon returning to the Myriad Gods Realm, Yan Zhao’s sole focus was on Rong Yu’s soul lamp.
It remained unlit.
Yan Zhao was displeased.
He vaguely sensed that his next attempt would also be fruitless.
However, giving up was not an option.
After his journeys through two worlds, Qi Ye had nearly finished decorating his new home. The northern night sky now boasted a full moon, mountains, rivers, lakes, seas, majestic palaces, and falling snowflakes. In stark contrast, Yan Zhao’s southern realm remained empty and desolate.
The thought that his meticulously arranged wedding and wedding chamber in the small world were for naught deepened Yan Zhao’s sorrow. He scoffed, “How extravagant.”
Qi Ye responded with disdain, “Mortals need a house to marry. You expect to marry someone with nothing? Don’t even bother bringing someone back; seeing such a perfunctory effort, they’d leave in a huff.”
“I’m a god, he’s a demon. Who cares about mortal customs?” Yan Zhao retorted.
Despite his words, Yan Zhao felt a pang of pain in his heart. He hadn’t been perfunctory in the small world; he had poured his heart and soul into the preparations. Yet, Rongrong still left.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t neglect the matter entirely. Yan Zhao clung to the belief that he could successfully bring Rong Yu back. His realm couldn’t be shabby compared to its neighbor. Rongrong deserved the best.
Yan Zhao swiftly transformed the southern border into an extravagant and dazzling spectacle. “Now your house looks far more perfunctory than mine,” he declared.
“Oh, but I’ve already won my beloved. You’re still chasing after yours, heading straight for a crematorium.”
Yan Zhao responded impassively, “Indeed. I’m off to chase my beloved to the crematorium. Please, you and your spouse, burden me with the Shura field of work.”
With this setup in place, he quickly adjusted his mood and opened the next world.
This was the final punishment world.
Could it be that Rongrong’s love for him first blossomed in this world?
This time, in the 4082nd world, the Son of Destiny was a carp spirit who had been beaten back to its original form. Rong Yu was likely facing a hellish level of difficulty.
In the Dharma-ending Era, where spiritual energy was scarce, recultivation was an arduous task.
The identity of CEO Gu Minghuai was merely a bonus. Yan Zhao transformed himself directly into a bug, brimming with spiritual energy, allowing Rong Yu to absorb it freely and swiftly regain his human form.
However, this bug-like behavior, defying the world’s rules, came with side effects: cleanliness, allergies, and the rapid regression of certain technologies…
In the interstellar world, he could only rely on carp pillows to fall asleep for a long time. Rong Yu once said that the two fish in the double fish jade pendant represented them. He hugged the carp pillow as if he and Rong Yu had never been separated. This reminded Yan Zhao that this jade pendant was still left in the coffin in the spiritual world and never saw the light of day. He hadn’t seen this jade pendant in Red Gold’s space before, so it should not have been taken back yet.
As one of the tokens of love, how could it be left behind? Yan Zhao willed the jade pendant to be unearthed in the 4082nd world. He then bought it at auction and gave it to Rong Yu.
It just so happened that Rong Yu, in this world, was a carp. Therefore, giving the double fish jade pendant as a token of love was quite fitting.
He subconsciously told Rong Yu the meaning that Rong Yu had told him. He said that these two fish symbolized the two of them; the double fish were inseparable, and they would always be together. Rong Yu, who loved the sound of jade, never touched this jade again.
This world went very smoothly, even though Rong Yu disappeared for a month in the end, which made Gu Minghuai go crazy. This was not a problem for the Lord God Yan Zhao.
The only problem was that Rong Yu’s soul lamp still did not respond.
Yan Zhao could no longer sense the existence of the blood jade bracelet in the past time. This meant that all the small punishment worlds had been traversed, and the soul lamp still hadn’t been revived from its extinguished state.
The Law of God said slowly: “You failed.”
The implication was – you should give up.
Yan Zhao was calmer than ever.
He had long expected this result.
“Not yet.”
“In 7012 interstellar world, Rongrong asked me to call him by his nickname Little Lotus, saying that it was given by his ex-boyfriend – of course, it wasn’t Ji Qingyu’s boyfriend Feng Xing. At that time, in my understanding, Rongrong’s only ex-boyfriend was Gu Minghuai,” Yan Zhao stated. “But in world 4082, I only called him Little Fish (Xiao Yu’Er). Who was the one who called him Little Lotus at the beginning?”
“Law, you blocked Red Gold Sun Ring from communicating with me because you didn’t want me to know what happened to Rongrong in the various punishment worlds. Then you didn’t let me check the past of 6666 world because you didn’t want me to know… what?”
“It’s not hate that keeps Rongrong’s soul lamp burning and keeps him alive. The approach of resolving hatred was wrong from the beginning.”
“It’s love, right?” Yan Zhao said softly.
“I should go to his world. I should love him.”
___
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