The Sword Emperor's Heart Is Stirred

After Ye Jiuzhou finished speaking, he turned around, his back to Ye Xuan, not wanting to spare him another glance.

Ye Xuan didn't argue.

He put away the picture book, tucking it back into his robes, and simply turned his head to look at Ye Jiuzhou's breathtakingly beautiful profile in the setting sun.

The contours of that face were plated with a soft golden hue by the afterglow of the sunset. His nose was tall and straight, his lip line sharp, and the curve of his jaw clean and crisp; every line seemed like the most exquisite creation of heaven and earth.

Ye Xuan watched him, a flash of incomprehensible tenderness crossing his eyes.

This tenderness was not intense, not burning, and could not even be considered deep affection.

It was more like an incredibly fine silk thread, flowing silently and imperceptibly from the depths of those peach blossom eyes, landing lightly and softly on Ye Jiuzhou's profile.

Yet Ye Jiuzhou remained completely oblivious.

He was still immersed in his disdain for Ye Xuan's "mouthful of absurdities." He kept his back turned, his spine ramrod straight, his entire being exuding an icy aura that screamed, "I have nothing in common with a lowlife like you."

"Jiuzhou."

Ye Xuan suddenly spoke.

Ye Jiuzhou did not look back, but his footsteps paused.

"Actually, I'm not doing it for the beauties."

As Ye Xuan said this, he lowered his head, his gaze falling upon his own hands, which were covered in calluses and old scars.

His thumb rubbed against the rough rim of his wine flask, bloodstains from butchering demonic beasts earlier that day still lingering beneath his fingernails.

The setting sun stretched his shadow incredibly long, casting it over the edge of the cliff—half on the rock, half suspended in the air, precariously teetering.

"Hmm?"

Ye Jiuzhou stopped in his tracks.

He didn't turn around; he merely stopped.

His back, bathed in the sunset's fading glow, was enveloped in a thin layer of golden light, resembling a jade statue enshrined on an altar—perfect, cold, and untouchable.

Ye Xuan raised his head and looked at that back.

His lips moved, as if he were weighing his words.

This was an extremely rare occurrence for him. He had always been the type to say whatever came to mind, his mouth three beats faster than his brain. Yet at this moment, he was earnestly organizing his thoughts.

The wind surged up from the depths of the sea of clouds, carrying damp moisture and the fresh scent of vegetation from distant mountains, blowing through the three-foot distance between them, making it feel alternately far and near.

Finally, Ye Xuan spoke in a low voice.

"I was thinking... no matter how high you fly or how far you go in the future."

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

"I want to at least be able to follow where you can see me."

His peach blossom eyes shifted from the sea of clouds beneath the cliff to rest on Ye Jiuzhou's back.

His gaze was steady, devoid of his usual playful laughter or feigned casual banter. All that remained was a naked, almost clumsy sincerity, stripped of all disguise.

"So that when you're tired and look back, you can see someone roasting a chicken for you, warming wine for you."

He smiled. This smile was different from any before; it wasn't a wide grin or a cheeky smirk, but a very shallow, faint smile, even carrying a trace of imperceptible bitterness.

"I don't want... to be left too far behind by you."

The wind stopped.

It was as if heaven and earth themselves held their breath at this moment.

The sea of clouds ceased its churning, the evening glow froze on the horizon, the distant mountains, the nearby cliff rocks, the bottomless void beneath their feet—everything fell still.

The entire world transformed into a painting in that split second.

And in that painting, there were only the two of them.

Ye Jiuzhou's heart skipped half a beat.

His heart felt as though it had been violently seized by an invisible hand, then released. In that tightening and loosening, something he had buried deep at the very bottom of his soul was forcibly torn out.

He whipped his head around and saw Ye Xuan.

The youth stood at the edge of the cliff, backed by the half-sunken remnant of the sun in the sea of clouds. The final rays of light spilled out from around him, encasing his slender silhouette in a blinding golden rim.

And those peach blossom eyes—

Those peach blossom eyes that Ye Jiuzhou had seen countless times, always smiling, always impossibly bright, now reflected the entire sunset.

The sky full of golden-red light burned within those pupils like two ignited flames, illuminating all the unspoken emotions hidden in the depths of the youth's eyes.

And in the depths of those flames, Ye Jiuzhou saw his own reflection.

A panicked, bewildered version of himself.

He had never seen such a version of himself in anyone's eyes.

A kind of unprecedented, extremely dangerous sentiment quietly took root and sprouted within Ye Jiuzhou's supposedly rock-solid sword heart.

Something was expanding in his chest.

It wasn't spiritual energy, nor was it sword intent, nor any power he could control with his cultivation base.

It was something fiercer than a heavenly tribulation, something that seeped deeper into the marrow than bone-eroding poison.

It bypassed all his defenses, pierced through all his disguises, and accurately struck the softest corner of his soul.

The little girl locked inside a man's skin, huddled in the darkness, suddenly raised her head at this moment.

No.

Ye Jiuzhou told himself frantically in his heart.

No, no, no.

He was a man. He had to be a man.

The Yin-Yang Creation Pill had reshaped his physical body; he was already a man.

He was going to marry a wife, have children, inherit the Sword God Palace, and become the number one sword cultivator in the world.

He couldn't...

"Nonsense!"

Ye Jiuzhou's voice suddenly spiked, as sharp as an unsheathed sword.

In a very short span of time, his face went from pale to red, to flushed, finally settling on an almost flustered crimson.

A tinge of red spread from the roots of his ears to his neck, and even his fingertips were dyed a faint pink.

His hands unconsciously clenched tight, his knuckles turning white and popping.

His chest heaved violently, his rapid breathing tearing away the last shreds of his usual composed demeanor.

"Who asked you to follow me?"

He rebuked sharply, yet his voice trembled.

This realization made Ye Jiuzhou even more angry, more panicked, and more desperate to flee.

"I am destined to ascend to the Nine Heavens. Why would I need a piece of trash like you following me?"

He spoke every word with icy resolve.

He didn't even dare to look at Ye Xuan again.

Because he was afraid...

He was afraid that if he took one more look at those peach blossom eyes reflecting the sunset, everything he had painstakingly built would come crashing down.

After saying the last word, Ye Jiuzhou raised his hand and gestured.

The Heaven Severing Divine Sword flew from his back, drawing a blinding golden arc in the air. The blade hummed and vibrated, sensing the violent fluctuations in its master's state of mind.

He leaped onto the blade, his robes fluttering wildly as he transformed into a streak of light that pierced the horizon.

He moved so fast it was as if he were fleeing for his life.

No, faster than fleeing for his life.

Even when facing the pursuit of the Blood Demon Patriarch, he hadn't used such speed.

He was escaping.

It was as if he were running away from the youth standing at the edge of the cliff behind him.

More so, he was running away from a certain persistence that had shattered in his heart in that split second.

After flying for a hundred miles, Ye Jiuzhou suddenly stopped.

He hovered high in the sky, surrounded by a churning sea of clouds, with the darkening firmament above him. The twilight was like a giant hand, slowly wiping away the last trace of light from the horizon.

He stood on his sword, his robes snapping loudly in the fierce high-altitude winds.

He remained completely motionless.

Like a lonely statue abandoned above the Nine Heavens.

A long time passed.

He slowly raised his hand and pressed it against his chest.

Beneath his palm, his heartbeat remained erratic, fluttering fast and then slow, like a wild, runaway horse rampaging within his chest.

He closed his eyes.

Echoing over and over in his mind were the words Ye Xuan had just spoken...

"I don't want... to be left too far behind by you."

Ye Jiuzhou pressed his hand down even harder, as if trying to force that disobedient heart back into its place.

"Ye Xuan..."

He soundlessly ground the name between his lips and teeth. The sound was torn apart by the wind, fading away into the vast, boundless twilight.

No one heard it.

But high in the sky, a hundred miles away, his eyes finally turned red.