“Dreaming for a thousand years, remembering for a thousand years, longing for a thousand years, hoping for a thousand years, yet only able to meet briefly—wouldn’t that be bitter?” Yun Qingxue murmured softly.
With a sweet and beautiful smile, Yousu replied in an ethereal voice, “No, it’s not bitter! Because of love… even if we can only meet once in a thousand years, it is still happiness…
All the waiting and longing, just for that one meeting, is worth it…”
Yun Qingxue also smiled faintly. Over two lifetimes, she had only been in a romantic relationship with Zhou Dao, but in the end, he had betrayed her heartlessly.
So, she couldn’t quite understand the kind of obsessive devotion Yousu spoke of…
Yousu, however, didn’t seem to care whether Yun Qingxue understood or not. She continued, “After settling in the underworld, Lüli and I have always been grateful for everything the Flower King did for us and wanted to repay her, but we never had the chance.
We’ve spent countless millennia in this underworld. The former Flower King, the Divine Emperor, and the Dragon King—through the cycles of a thousand years—have long since achieved enlightenment and merged with the Heavenly Dao.
The thrones of the Xuanling Continent have been passed down through generations…
Until a thousand years ago, Elder Ningzi of the Flowerwood Clan suddenly contacted Lüli and me through magic, asking us to help send a soul to another world!”
At this point, Yousu looked at Yun Qingxue and said, “That soul was you, Your Majesty!”
Yun Qingxue was startled. “Me?”
“Yes,” Yousu nodded firmly. “Back then, Elder Ningzi entrusted us with the task of ensuring your soul was sent to another world.
Because we were deeply grateful for the kindness the Flowerwood Clan had shown us, Lüli and I readily agreed.
Taking advantage of a temporal vortex during the underworld’s cycle of reincarnation—and the fact that it coincided with the turn of the millennium—we worked together to send your two souls and three spirits to another world amidst the chaos.
Your body was taken back to the Flowerwood Clan by Elder Ningzi, but without those two souls and three spirits, it became dull and lifeless.
Now, after a thousand years, seeing you return, the revival of our Flowerwood Clan is within reach…”
“I…” Yun Qingxue had always believed she had merely transmigrated into the body of someone in the Xuanling Continent who shared her name. She never imagined this body was truly hers…
She suddenly recalled what Qiandai, her loyal servant, had said when she first arrived: “Young Mistress, I’ve waited a thousand years… Now, your soul has finally returned to its rightful place…”
Her soul had finally returned…
Was she truly originally from this world?
Yun Qingxue looked at Yousu in confusion and murmured, “I… lived in the 21st century. I wasn’t from the Xuanling Continent. It was only due to unforeseen circumstances that my soul transmigrated into this body…”
“Your Majesty need not doubt. I can assure you, no matter which world you came from, you are the true master of this body.
You are the supreme Flower King of the Xuanling Continent, the faith of the entire Flowerwood Clan!”
Yousu spoke with absolute certainty.
“But… what if…” Yun Qingxue still hesitated.
“There is no ‘what if’!” Yousu interrupted firmly. “It was Lüli and I who sent your soul away back then. I couldn’t possibly be mistaken…
Besides… Your Majesty, do you think the divine body of the Flower King, the supreme ruler of the Flowerwood Clan, could be possessed by just any wandering ghost?!”
“Then why was my soul split and part of it sent away?” Yun Qingxue frowned.
“Because Your Majesty was born prematurely, before your heart-soul had fully formed in the womb.
Without a heart-soul, you should not have survived birth! But your mother used a priceless treasure to forcibly stabilize your heart-soul.
Even so, it remained unstable. And the treasure used to sustain it attracted many covetous eyes. Your parents were already beset by internal and external threats…
They feared that if you stayed in the Flowerwood Clan or the Xuanling Continent, you would meet with misfortune. So…
That’s why they decided to send part of your soul to another world to recover.
Among the souls, the heart-soul governs consciousness. The parts of your soul that were sent away naturally included the heart-soul. Once it was gone, your body in the Xuanling Continent became like an empty shell.”
“Who are my parents?” Yun Qingxue asked urgently, staring at Yousu. Whether or not she was the same person as the original Yun Qingxue, she had lived two lives—orphaned in the first, and now, with news of her birth parents, she couldn’t help but want to know.
If what Yousu said was true, then…
In such dire circumstances, they had still fought to keep her alive. Her parents must have loved her deeply…
She wasn’t an orphan. She had parents who cherished her!
“This…” Yousu hesitated, then said, “I’m afraid I cannot tell you…
Flower King, your current strength is still weak, and your enemies are far too powerful!
When the day comes that you grow stronger… perhaps… you will reunite with them…”
“What if I order you as the Flower King?” Yun Qingxue pressed, her brows furrowed. By sheer chance, she had arrived in the underworld, met Yousu, learned so much, and now had news of her birth parents…
How could she let this slip away?
“I still won’t tell you!”
Yousu’s refusal was resolute. She gazed calmly at Yun Qingxue. “Lüli and I sent you away to preserve the royal bloodline of the Flowerwood Clan.
Your parents used a priceless treasure to stabilize your soul—all so you could live!
Until you become strong, none of us will tell you anything!
This… was also your parents’ wish…”
“Then tell me this—are my parents… still alive?”
Yousu’s unwavering stance made it clear that no amount of pressure would yield answers.
But even if Yousu wouldn’t reveal their identities, surely she could at least tell her whether they were alive…
A flicker of hesitation and conflict passed through Yousu’s eyes, so fleeting it was almost imperceptible.
But Yun Qingxue caught it.
That momentary hesitation filled her with a sense of foreboding…
“Yousu, I want the truth! If you dare lie to me…
“I will ensure the underworld never sees another Bianhua (the flower of the underworld) again!”
“Flower King… please allow me to explain. This… ah, how should I put it…”
Yousu struggled before finally forcing out, “They… could be considered alive…”
“What do you mean, ‘could be considered alive’?” Yun Qingxue’s heart clenched as she pressed urgently, “You just said my parents were entangled with powerful enemies…
Does that mean they’ve fallen into their hands and are being tortured?!”
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