When a Heartless Woman Meets a Forever-Oath Seeker

A few days later, Kunwu Province, Sunset City.

As the supercity closest to the Tomb of the Sword Emperor, Sunset City was currently a gathering place for all sorts of people, a mix of dragons and fishes. Dazzling sword lights of various colors occasionally streaked across the sky, and powerful auras weaved through this ancient and magnificent city like schools of carp crossing a river.

On the top floor of the city's most renowned restaurant, Drunken Immortal, at an elegant window seat.

Ye Xuan, clad in spotless white robes, leaned lazily against the back of his chair.

The red sandalwood table in front of him was filled with Sunset City's specialty spirit dishes: Jade Bone Chicken stewed with century-old spirit ginseng, Fire Cloud Roast Meat dripping with an amber luster, and a pot of premium Drunken Immortal brew that gave off a rich, intoxicating aroma.

Ying'er sat obediently to the side, taking small bites of the spirit dishes. Her cheeks puffed out like a little squirrel eating its meal.

The restaurant was bustling with noise, and almost everyone's topic of conversation revolved around the impending appearance of the Tomb of the Sword Emperor.

Did you hear? The commotion caused by the opening of the Tomb of the Sword Emperor this time is bigger than ever before! It is said that even the Sword Dao Divine Sons of those immortal orthodoxies in the Central State have been alerted! A burly, bearded man at a neighboring table, carrying a giant sword on his back, took a large gulp of strong liquor and said loudly.

Nonsense, that is the peerless Sword Emperor who severed the Heavenly River with a single strike ten thousand years ago! Who wouldn't be envious of the inheritance he left behind?

Another skinny cultivator lowered his voice, his eyes flashing with a greedy light. However, the heavens are still fair. Before his death, the Sword Emperor made a great oath to heaven and earth. His mausoleum only opens to select an inheritor. Old monsters with a bone age of over a thousand years or a cultivation base exceeding the Void Refinement Realm will be directly shredded into nothingness by the supreme sword qi remaining inside the moment they take half a step into the tomb!

Indeed. If not for this restriction, how would it be our turn, cultivators of the Soul Formation and Void Refinement realms, to get a piece of the pie? Those old undying freaks of the Body Integration and Mahayana realms would have flattened this place long ago!

Ye Xuan listened quietly to these discussions, his slender fingers playing with an exquisite white jade wine cup, his expression as calm as water.

He was naturally fully aware of the restrictions of the Tomb of the Sword Emperor.

Just then, Ye Xuan's gaze inadvertently swept out the window.

Below the restaurant, by the side of a bustling and noisy street, crouched a figure completely out of tune with the lively atmosphere.

It was an extremely old swordsman.

His hair was grayish-white, draped over his shoulders like withered grass, and his cyan shirt was washed out and covered in patches.

He cradled a broken sword in his arms, covered in rust and with a severely worn hilt.

The most striking thing was his eyes: dead, numb, revealing a suffocating despair and lowliness.

Cultivators coming and going on the street occasionally cast him looks of disdain or pity, but he remained as unresponsive as a statue.

Ye Xuan raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his heart.

This old man clearly only had the cultivation of the early Nascent Soul realm, yet an extremely pure and obsessive sword intent lingered within his body.

Waiter, Ye Xuan spoke flatly.

Aye! What can I do for you, guest? Is the food not to your liking, or would you like another pot of wine? The waiter, with a white towel draped over his shoulder, immediately came over with a face full of smiles.

Ye Xuan casually tossed a mid-grade spirit stone, which landed steadily on the waiter's tray. He raised his chin slightly and pointed at the old swordsman outside the window. Who is that person?

The waiter's eyes lit up. He nimbly collected the spirit stone, followed Ye Xuan's gaze, and then sighed, lowering his voice. Guest, you must be from out of town, right? That is our Sunset City's famous fool, named Gu Changsheng.

Fool? Ying'er stopped her chopsticks and pricked up her ears curiously.

Yes. The waiter shook his head, a trace of mockery and lamentation flashing in his eyes. Speaking of which, his luck is truly terrible to the extreme. When this Gu Changsheng was young, he was also a somewhat famous genius in Sunset City. The sword art he cultivates is very unorthodox, called the Infatuation Sword. As the name suggests, this sword art requires the practitioner to love deeply and be loyal unto death. The deeper the love, the sharper the sword.

And he himself happens to be a famously infatuated lover. It is just a pity that in his life, he has always met the wrong people!

The waiter opened his chatterbox and began to speak incessantly:

Gu Changsheng had a childhood sweetheart junior sister. The two grew up together, and Gu Changsheng gave almost all of his cultivation resources to this junior sister. And the result? When the junior sister went out to temper herself, she took a fancy to the young master of a large sect, directly cuckolded Gu Changsheng, and ran off with him.

Gu Changsheng was heartbroken, and his sword heart was damaged. Later, he met a gentle and considerate female cultivator, and the two tied the knot. Gu Changsheng thought he had found true love and gave unreservedly. Who knew that not long after their marriage, his wife secretly colluded with an evil cultivator. Not only did she make off with all of Gu Changsheng's savings, but she also joined forces with her paramour to cripple half of his cultivation!

Hearing this, Ying'er gasped and could not help but say, This is too miserable...

Miserable? The most miserable part is yet to come!

The waiter curled his lips. Later, dragging his crippled body, this Gu Changsheng found another Dao companion. He thought things would finally be stable this time, right? But to break through a bottleneck, this Dao companion set her sights on a high-level magical treasure. She directly took Gu Changsheng's natal essence blood to exchange for spirit stones, and then turned around and sold him to an old poison master to test medicine!

Every wife he found or every time he fell in love after that, the outcome was without exception being cuckolded and backstabbed. Guest, look at those wounds on his body, those scars so deep that bone can be seen. They were all personally inflicted by his good wives and good Dao companions!

The waiter pointed at the numb figure below, his tone carrying a sense of pity for his misfortune and anger at his lack of fighting spirit. But he is just stubborn and his infatuation remains unchanged. Now he sits on that street every day. Guess what he is doing? He is waiting for those women who betrayed him to change their minds, waiting for them to come back to him!

Ying'er was dumbfounded, the chopsticks in her hand almost falling onto the table.

She could not understand how a person could be so lowly. His... his fate is too tragic. Those women treated him like that, and he is still waiting?

Ye Xuan lowered his eyes slightly, hiding the dark light surging in their depths.

He looked at Gu Changsheng below, as if seeing his past self through this old swordsman.

Then... Ye Xuan's voice was very soft, yet it carried a coldness that pierced straight to the heart. Did the wives and childhood sweetheart who betrayed him ever come back looking for him? Did they regret it?

Hearing this, the waiter acted as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world and could not help but sneer. Guest, could it be that you have read too many storybooks from the mortal realm? In reality, where are there so many sudden awakenings? How could they regret it? How could they turn back?

The waiter used three rhetorical questions in a row, his tone biting but incredibly realistic:

His childhood sweetheart junior sister is now following that young master of a large sect, using the top-tier resources of a large sect. The two of them are sweet and happy. She is already a great cultivator of the Void Refinement realm now, standing high above, just like a pair of immortal lovers!

"His newlywed wife, who absconded with his family fortune, used that windfall to build her wealth. Now, she has bought the most prosperous market street in the neighboring Sea of Clouds City. The spirit stones she collects from rent every month alone are enough to buy Gu Changsheng's life ten thousand times over!"

"And that Dao companion who traded his life essence for a magical treasure—after successfully breaking through, she found a powerful new Dao companion. Now she has both a son and a daughter, and lives a very happy and perfect life!"

Ye Xuan's fingers paused slightly.

"Has no one ever come looking for him?" Ye Xuan asked again.

"There have been," the waiter sneered. "But they didn't come to return to him, much less to repent. They came with their current Dao companions. While passing through Sunset City, they specifically walked up to him, pointed at his pathetic, dog-like appearance, and mocked him. They laughed at him for being blind, mocked him for being a piece of trash, and said that even a passing dog would trample on him!"

Ying'er's eyes reddened slightly. She clenched her small fists in anger, yet felt a profound sense of powerlessness.

Ye Xuan fell silent.

He picked up the crystal-clear cup of Drunken Immortal Brew in front of him and downed it in one gulp. The spicy, mellow liquor slid down his throat, but it could not warm the extreme icy chill in his eyes.

He waved his hand, signaling the waiter to leave.

For the next half an hour, Ye Xuan didn't say another word. He just drank his wine quietly, his expression indescribably indifferent.

After a long time, Ye Xuan stood up. "Let's go."

He led a somewhat nervous Ying'er down from the tavern, crossed the bustling street, and went straight to Gu Changsheng.

As he got closer, he could feel the aura of decay and decline on Gu Changsheng even more clearly.

"Are you still waiting?" Ye Xuan looked down at him from above, his voice so calm that no emotion could be discerned.

Hearing the voice, Gu Changsheng's murky eyeballs shifted slightly.

He sluggishly raised his head, glanced at Ye Xuan, and his shriveled lips moved as he let out a hoarse voice:

"Yes... I'm waiting for my wives to regret it, waiting for them to come back."

"They won't regret it, and they won't come back," Ye Xuan mercilessly tore apart his last illusion.

Gu Changsheng wasn't angry, nor did he argue back.

He just pulled at the corners of his mouth bitterly, his withered fingers gently stroking the rusty broken sword in his arms. "I know... I know it all."

"Then why are you still waiting?"

Murky old tears rolled down Gu Changsheng's deeply wrinkled cheeks. His voice revealed endless sorrow and misery. "Because if I don't even have this thought anymore, I really won't be able to find... a reason to live. My whole life has been lived in this word 'obsession,' and I can't walk out of it."

Ye Xuan looked at him quietly for a long time.

In the end, he didn't say anything more. With a flick of his finger, a few faintly glowing low-grade spirit stones silently fell onto the tattered hem of Gu Changsheng's clothes.

It wasn't that he couldn't take out top-grade spirit stones, but he deeply understood the cruelty of this cultivation world.

A half-dead cripple who had lost his cultivation would only invite fatal disaster if he carried massive wealth. These few low-grade spirit stones were just enough for him to eat a few full meals and buy a jug of cheap wine.

Having done all this, Ye Xuan turned and walked away.

The afterglow of the setting sun stretched Ye Xuan's shadow long.

Ying'er followed closely behind him, not even daring to breathe loudly. She could feel that her master's state of mind had undergone an extremely profound and terrifying transformation.

Walking on the noisy street, Ye Xuan suddenly stopped.

He looked up at the blood-red setting sun on the horizon, and a relieved smile slowly curved the corners of his mouth.

"As expected, this is the truth."

Ye Xuan murmured softly. His voice wasn't loud, but every word was like iron, resounding with force. "Where in reality are there so many karmic retributions? Where is there so much delayed deep affection and regret?"

"As long as the betrayers hold power, they can live freely and comfortably. If the victims are weak, they can only deceive themselves in dark corners, rotting and stinking."

"So-called regret never comes from a sudden discovery of conscience."

"It's because you suddenly possess the absolute power to trample them underfoot and crush everything they are proud of into dust!"

"Or, like me, possessing a..."

Ye Xuan hesitated to speak, then quickly gave a self-deprecating smile, turned, and walked away.

People in the world always love to see stories where a woman's infidelity causes the man who deeply loved her to leave, driving her mad, preferably suffering retribution.

But in this world, where are there so many retributions?

How many unfaithful betrayers live to be a hundred, free from worries about food and clothing?

If it weren't for the "One Conquest, Eternal Conquest" trait...

Those women who betrayed Ye Xuan would not only live wonderful lives, but how could they ever be plagued by longing?

But now, Wu Lingxiao has been madly in love for eight hundred years, remaining unwavering.

Zi Yao is trapped in guilt, going mad for thousands of years, never able to walk out of it.

Xia Lengyue has gone through fire and water for Ye Xuan countless times; isn't that also an attempt to soothe the guilt in her heart?

Ultimately, if their husband back then had not been Ye Xuan with his "One Conquest, Eternal Conquest," but this Gu Changsheng instead...

He would probably have long been forgotten in the deepest depths of their memories. Even if they occasionally recalled him, they would inevitably just let out a contemptuous laugh.