Whispers of Fate (Shui Long Yin)

Phoenix Cry Mountain.

Yu Tuan'er had already been gone for two days. Given the speed of a horse, she should have reached Good Cloud Mountain by now. Inside Chicken Coop Mountain Manor, A Shui carried two bowls of silver ear soup and silently entered the hall, placing them on the table.

Only Liu Yan was in the room. Since waking up after the brain acupuncture, he had lain on the bed without speaking, as if he were already dead. Fang Pingzhai was drumming in the valley, the faint sound of the drums just audible. His skill had grown increasingly sublime—mighty drumbeats could now evoke sorrowful lamentations, sometimes like rolling thunder and startling lightning, other times like spring breezes and birdsong. A Shui didn’t know that if not for her lack of martial arts and Liu Yan’s complete loss of his skills, these drumbeats brimming with True Power would have been enough to make second- or third-rate martial artists’ Inner Energy boil over and die vomiting blood.

With a soft clink , A Shui set the silver ear soup on the table. Since Yu Tuan'er left, Liu Yan had grown even more lifeless, sometimes not moving for an entire day and night. But she knew he wasn’t unconscious—just hollow.

The antidote for the Ape-Demon Nine Heart Pill had already been made. Where would he go now, this man forged by great evil? No one had told him what to do next, and making a decision for himself was difficult. She walked to his side. Liu Yan’s lips moved slightly. "Get out," he said, not even opening his eyes.

She took two steps toward the door. Thinking she was about to leave, he relaxed—but then she stopped and spoke softly, "Are... are you trying to starve yourself to death?" His eyes opened. He didn’t know. He was silent because he didn’t know what else to do. But... starve? He had never thought of dying. Yet perhaps... without realizing it, his body had already begun doing so.

"Don’t do this. If you die, who knows how heartbroken she’ll be. Maybe you’ll end up killing another innocent girl." Her voice was gentle but not tactful, even a little blunt—because the words were too direct, piercing straight into his heart. "I think the you now wouldn’t want to cause anyone else’s death."

"If she dies, she dies. In the end, everyone dies," Liu Yan said coldly. "You’ll die. I’ll die."

She took a deep breath. "Even if... you don’t care about her, do you not care about Young Master Tang’s life? He... he’s dying, isn’t he?" As she spoke, she couldn’t stop herself from trembling. Deep down, she had never truly believed Tang Lici could die. No matter what, she couldn’t believe it. He was so omnipotent, a demon who manipulated hearts—how could he possibly die?

"He always has a way..." Liu Yan’s lips twitched slightly, his voice suddenly growing faint. "Always has a way... to save himself..." She turned back and said quietly, "Even now, you still believe he’s omnipotent." Liu Yan didn’t answer. After a while, he murmured, "Who doesn’t believe it? He... he’s always omnipotent... but..." She continued softly, "But no one can be omnipotent forever. What you fear is that one day, he’ll fail—and the terrifying part is... not knowing which day that will be..."Liu Yan opened his eyes in surprise, gazing at her with an almost scorching intensity. How could she articulate it so clearly? It was as though she had plucked the words one by one from his heart and laid them bare before him. Could it be that what they both thought was exactly the same? A Shui crouched down and took his hand in hers—her palm was warm. "You're worried about him, worried about your sister—how could you die? If you died, your sister would grieve herself to death, and the blow he would suffer... perhaps neither of us could even imagine it..." Her eyes grew slightly moist. "I don’t want you to die either, even though..." Her grip loosened slightly, and he felt her fingers grow cold as she continued, "Even though... even though..."

Even though what? She struggled to finish but couldn’t. He didn’t know whether she meant to say, "Even though I hate you," or "Even though you once did such cruel things to me," or "Even though you’re utterly worthless..." But any of those would have been better than silence—at least they wouldn’t have left him drowning in self-loathing. "I..." Liu Yan slowly sat up from the bed. "I wasn’t trying to starve myself to death. I was just... just thinking..." he murmured. "Would everyone be happier if I had never existed? What good is there in me being alive?" He looked at A Shui. "That’s all I was thinking."

His nature was truly gentle... Her hand warmed again as she tightened her grip on his. "Your being alive gives me courage." Liu Yan trembled slightly, his stunningly beautiful eyes widening as she met his gaze. "Have you... never realized... how courageous you are?"

"Courage?" He stared at her with an almost dazed expression, as though utterly bewildered by her words.

She smiled, a gentle smile. "You’ve made many mistakes, hurt many people, and in turn, others have hurt you deeply, taken so much from you. Yet even after becoming what you are now, you don’t resent others, resent reality, or even resent yourself..." Her voice softened. "You only feel regret, not hatred. You still care for others, still miss them. If that isn’t courage, then what could possibly bear such weight?"

He blinked slowly. From a feared underworld figure to a fugitive on the run, from controlling the fates of thousands to being reviled as worthless, from a peerlessly handsome man to a disfigured cripple—perhaps few could have endured such a fall.

But none of the things he had once possessed were what he truly wanted, so losing them hadn’t pained him too deeply... Was that all it was? Could that really be called courage?

If none of those things were what he desired, then what was it he truly wanted?

What was it that, if lost, would pierce his heart with unbearable pain? What would make him resent others and himself so deeply it etched into his bones? What would plunge him into an abyss he couldn’t escape?

He stared blankly at A Shui, and in that moment, he unexpectedly realized... The thing he cared about most, the thing whose loss would devastate him, was... the shadow of his former self...That gentle and attentive man lived only for simple purposes, never needing to ponder any profound or complicated questions. He had once deeply hated himself for being so useless, trying every method to surpass Tang Lici, to completely change himself—but in the end... what he lost was the most precious thing of all... his simple, uncomplicated self.

If everything could start over, if he could still be that A-Yan again, he would now spare... no cost or effort. But having committed such grave mistakes, did he still have the right to return to who he once was?

"Liu Yan?"

He pressed his lips together. "I... don’t have much courage. I’m just... foolish, lost."

A Shui’s smile was warm. "I think you’re very brave. And now, just seeing you standing there makes me feel warmth. Even in such dire straits, you still work earnestly, care for your sister, care for Young Master Tang, care for me." She shook her head. "You’re more... reassuring than Young Master Tang."

He looked at her in surprise, as if something inside him had snapped—something heavy and rusted breaking apart. For a moment, his heart felt like it was soaring through clouds. "You mean... I also have... something better than him?" he asked softly, his voice barely audible.

"Of course." She took his hands in hers, the words spilling out before she could stop them. "Young Master Tang... isn’t good at all, not in the slightest..." The moment she said it, she realized her slip and shut her mouth. Liu Yan sighed lightly, his fingers tenderly brushing the side of hers, savoring the delicate touch of a woman’s hand before slowly withdrawing. "Why can’t you love him? Why must you resist?"

"Young Master Tang... may care for me, but the one he cares for, cherishes, and torments isn’t A Shui—it’s someone else he imagines me to be," she murmured. These were words she had never thought she’d say to anyone, yet in front of Liu Yan, they flowed out naturally. "He wants someone to love him madly, to die for him, but I..." Her voice softened. "No matter how much I resemble the person he imagines, I could never go mad for him, or die for him."

She shook her head, her expression dimming. He buried his fingers in the long hair at his forehead, propping his head up without moving. She wouldn’t die for anyone, let alone a man who didn’t truly love her—especially not a man who had another woman who truly loved him. "What he wants... is for his mother to love him madly, to die for him," he sighed wistfully. "His mother was a famous beauty, resembling him somewhat—a very dignified, elegant woman."

This was the first time A Shui had heard about Tang Lici’s mother. Her heart skipped a beat, an inexplicable tension rising. "She... she didn’t love her own child?" Liu Yan gazed at her fingers. "No. From the time A-Li... I mean, Tang Lici, was born until he grew up, she almost never lived with him, never visited him. While other families gathered for New Year’s Eve dinners, A-Li’s family..." He paused slightly. "His father and mother celebrated together, while his father would lock him away in a distant room."She looked at Liu Yan in shock, "Locked up? Why would they lock him up?" She couldn't fathom parents locking their child away. If she ever confined Feng Feng in a room far from herself, she must have gone mad.

"Because they feared him," he said flatly, having never spent New Year's with his own parents either. "They thought he was a monster. Every time they saw him, they brought many attendants for protection at all times. Especially his mother—sometimes seeing him would trigger her phobia..." He paused to explain, "That state of being so terrified you can hardly breathe, almost going insane..."

"How... how could this be?" A Shui bit her lip. "Why would they fear him? Their own flesh and blood—what's there to fear? Young Master Tang is gentle and refined, not some ferocious beast..." Halfway through, her expression darkened further, and she couldn't continue. Indeed, Tang Lici was brilliant, gentle, and refined—no ferocious beast—yet hadn't she too harbored deep fear toward him? Sometimes as if seeing some... monster...

"Hah..." Liu Yan laughed softly. "Because they believed A-Li was born a monster, destined to become a murderer someday, and regretted giving birth to him. No matter how well or poorly A-Li behaved, they didn't care—just kept giving him money." He spoke slowly, "The only thing they did was provide their child with endless wealth to squander, over and over..."

Indeed... judging by Young Master Tang's extravagant habits, it was clear this wasn't sudden but a long-established way of life. Even when he spent recklessly, it felt utterly natural. A Shui bit her lip hard, unsure what to feel. "Do I... resemble his mother?"

Liu Yan lifted his gaze to her. "No, but..." He exhaled deeply, his tone weary, "You're a good mother. Perhaps in his heart, he wishes his mother were like you. When he says he likes you, he isn't lying."

She gave a faint smile. "He just longs for a mother's love, resenting that his own doesn't love him. But why... why must I bear this? I... I'm not his mother. You, Wan Yu Yuedan, even I myself—all demand that I endure, that I love him. Just for that reason, he can rightfully treat me well or torment me, and I... must open myself completely, abandon dignity, allow plunder and trampling..." Her breathing grew ragged. "Then, after he's vented his resentment toward his mother and satisfied his demands, I hear a few apologies, receive a large sum of money, and leave—I—I can't accept this! How can it be? I'm not his mother. You want me to love him, but I... I... how can I love him? In my heart, he isn't a child." She gazed at Liu Yan sorrowfully, full of grief. "I'm just a woman, not a saint. When a woman loves a man, she hopes for a happy ending, for a lifetime together. I can't love him knowing full well we'll part ways in the end.""The more you resist, the more he wants to conquer you, and he'll use every possible method, tormenting you even more," Liu Yan said quietly. "He'll see it as a game, and he must win every game. If you make him lose, he'll either go mad with rage, break down, or kill you."

A Shui closed her eyes. "I don't want to lose, nor do I want to push him..."

"That's already... impossible. He's fixated on you," Liu Yan said slowly. "I'm sorry, but I still hope you can love him, to make his life a little easier."

"Saying such things proves you've already moved past me," she murmured. "Live well, and treat your sister better—don't disappoint her. I know everyone wants Young Master Tang to have a better life. I'll... try my best to convince myself." Pausing slightly, she gave a gentle smile. "Now, can you eat the porridge? If your sister finds out you haven’t eaten or drunk anything, she’ll surely scold you."

His heart trembled... He watched her smile, so forgiving and serene, and his chest ached with pain—even though he knew that compared to Tang Lici, she was just an insignificant woman. Everyone would rather sacrifice her entirely for Tang Lici’s fleeting pleasure, yet she could still say, "I'll try my best to convince myself," and still smile.

A woman like this... truly had courage and strength, didn’t she? He stared at her intently. Why couldn’t he just seize her for himself? She didn’t want to love A-Li, and that was right, even if she was deeply drawn to him. If he took her away and treated her gently, perhaps one day she might change her mind. But... but more than A Shui’s feelings, what he couldn’t disregard was A-Li...

If he took A Shui away, what would happen to A-Li?

Liu Yan clutched his head. He couldn’t imagine—what exactly would A-Li do?

Something hysterical, something maddening, something deadly would surely happen...