Of course, I forgive her.

Xia Lengyue slowly lowered her head, her whole body turning limp as a boneless mollusk, collapsing weakly into the muddy rain-soaked ground.

She said no more.

Not because there was nothing left to say, but because she no longer knew what words could possibly capture the mess of her feelings.

She had thought she was the most tragic victim of all, only to realize she had never been the protagonist of the story at all.

She had believed Ye Xuan had died for her sake, only to discover she was not even worth as much as a mere substitute.

No sorrow in this world ran deeper than that.

After a long moment, Xia Lengyue let out a faint whimper, so soft it was nearly swallowed whole by the howling wind and lashing rain.

Ye Xuan looked at her crumpled form, not a flicker of emotion stirring in his eyes.

He only spared her a casual, indifferent glance before turning on his heel to keep walking.

"Bring her back to the Sword God Palace."

"Understood." Ying'er replied meekly. She stepped forward, looking down at Xia Lengyue slumped in the muck, a sweet smile curling at her lips even as she spoke the cruellest of words, "Sister Xia, let's go now. Don't keep my husband waiting."

Xia Lengyue did not move.

She just lay prone beside the empty coffin, like a puppet stripped of its soul, letting the cold rain wash over her body.

Her mind was completely blank.

All the memories that had once sustained her through every hardship had dissolved into a chaotic void.

She no longer knew who she was.

She no longer understood why she was still breathing.

She only knew that everything was over.

Every single thing she had clung to was a lie.

Just as Xia Lengyue was on the verge of giving in to total, utter despair, Ye Xuan's expression shifted abruptly.

The icy coldness in his eyes faded away, replaced by a facade of sickeningly gentle affection.

He leaned down, brushing the blood-tinged tears from the corners of her eyes with a soft touch, and murmured in a tender voice, "Actually, Yue'er, there is still a way out for you if you truly wish to make amends to me."

Xia Lengyue's dull, lifeless pupils snapped wide open.

Like a drowning person who had finally grabbed hold of a breath of air after being submerged for far too long, she stammered, "What... what devious trick are you planning now?"

"How could you call it a trick?" Ye Xuan chuckled softly, his eyes still feigning warmth, "I'm giving you two choices. The first is that you stay by my side as the lowest-ranked concubine, and spend the rest of your atoning to me little by little. Maybe one day, when I grow tired of seeing your miserable face, I'll take pity on you and forgive you."

"The second choice is that I grant your death wish right now, and let you die here at Broken Soul Cliff to keep those rotting lotus roots company."

Xia Lengyue froze.

A concubine? That meant she would lose every last shred of the dignity she had once held as the Cold Moon Fairy, that she would have to kneel at the feet of the man who had once doted on her more than anything else in the world.

Yet the very mention of the word "forgive" sparked a sick, desperate craving that raged to life in the very depths of her long-parched soul.

"I'll stay... I'm willing to stay!" She blurted out the words almost immediately, as if racing against time to claim the chance. As long as she could stay within his sight, as long as she could make up for all the wrongs she had committed, she would happily accept even the lowest of existences.

Ye Xuan flicked his wrist, and a glowing blue jade slip swirling with primeval water vapor landed neatly in Xia Lengyue's arms.

"This holds the supreme water-attainment cultivation technique, the *Tayi Weak Water Scripture*. Its power is so fearsome that it would let you roam unchallenged across the entire realm. From this day on, you will dedicate yourself entirely to practicing this art."

Xia Lengyue trembled as she took the jade slip. The cool, smooth texture against her skin gave her a sense of steadiness she had never felt before.

When they returned to the Sword God Palace, Ye Xuan did not lock her back in the dungeon. Instead, he personally carved out a secluded cultivation chamber in the side wing of the main hall, a place brimming with such dense spiritual energy it could make even a Great Ascension stage cultivator go mad with envy.

What surprised her even more was that Ye Xuan did not hold back at all, presenting her with a mountain of top-tier medicinal pills and spirit crystals that no cultivator of her standing could ever dream of obtaining.

Of course, all of those resources had been given to him by Ye Jiuhuang.

"I am giving you this one more chance," Ye Xuan said as he stood at the entrance of the cultivation chamber, his back to the sunlight, his tall, slender figure looking impossibly majestic in Xia Lengyue's eyes. "As long as you stay by my side and atone for your faults with all your heart, I will forgive you. There may well come a day... when you can once again stand at my side as my wife."

Xia Lengyue was so overcome with emotion that tears streamed down her face. She thudded her head heavily against the stone floor, bowing deeply, "Rest assured, my husband. Yue'er will never fail you again! I will grow stronger, I will become someone who is useful to you!"

In that instant, the madness in her eyes faded, replaced by a near-obsessive, fanatical drive to cultivate.

She wanted to reclaim her peak power, to use a brand new, powerful, untainted version of herself to earn even the tiniest sliver of Ye Xuan's long-lost affection.

The moment Xia Lengyue's resolute, overjoyed figure vanished deep inside the cultivation chamber, the gentle look on Ye Xuan's face drained away like a receding tide.

He walked out of the secluded cultivation grounds, and Ying'er, who had been waiting for him outside, immediately rushed over to nestle in his arms.

"Husband, do you truly plan to forgive her?" Ying'er pressed against his chest, her tone laced with a hint of confusion and jealousy.

Ye Xuan stroked her head casually, enjoying the smooth feel of her hair between his fingers, as a cruel, excited grin tugged at his lips.

"Forgive her? Ying'er, you've been with me for so long, how could you not understand that by now?" Ye Xuan gazed out at the rolling sea of clouds in the distance, his eyes alight with ruthless excitement. "A pawn as useful as Xia Lengyue is far too valuable to be discarded after only two uses."

Ying'er blinked, "You gave her the *Tayi Weak Water Scripture* and all those precious resources, so that she would..."

Ye Xuan's grin grew even more twisted. "If I don't dangle a glimmer of hope in front of her first, to make her go all out in her cultivation and devour all those resources, how else would her long-dried-out body regain its vitality, so I can exploit her all over again?"

He leaned down and whispered a cold laugh right into Ying'er's ear, "I'll let her regain her strength first. Just when she thinks she's got a real shot at redemption, even that she'll truly become my wife one day, I'll drain every last drop of the Primordial Taiyi Water out of her, along with all her Great Ascension cultivation..."

"The look on her face when she falls from the heights of bliss straight into the depths of hell a second time? That will be the most stunning sight in the world, won't it?"

Ying'er shivered slightly at his words, then broke into a sweet smile. "Xia Lengyue... is truly pitiful. She actually believes you've had a change of heart."

"Pitiable people always have their detestable sides," Ye Xuan snorted coldly, his gaze fixed on the direction of the cultivation chamber, not a flicker of human warmth left in his eyes. "Since she's so desperate to atone, I'll grant her wish. Let her offer every last bit of her flesh and blood, her cultivation, even her very soul, to become the stepping stone that carries me to the peak of the immortal path. That, is the only atonement she deserves."