Green Hats Never Differ by Shade

The moment these words left his mouth, Zi Yao froze completely.

She sat motionless in the icy, murky puddle, her eyes locked dead on Ye Xuan, as bits and pieces of their shared past played on a frantic loop in her mind.

A long, long while passed.

Then, on Zi Yao's face, which had been twisted by overwhelming agony and guilt, a faint spasm suddenly rippled across her muscles.

Right after that, a look of incredulous elation burst forth from the depths of her despair like the first light of dawn, shattering through every last trace of hopelessness.

"No wonder... No wonder I always thought some of Li Tianxing's little movements in bed, some of the looks he gave me, felt so familiar!"

"No wonder I could never bring myself to hate him, no matter what."

Zi Yao was shaking so violently with excitement that the black iron chains binding her clattered noisily against each other.

"It was all this time! It's really true!"

In that instant, every trace of gloom on Zi Yao's face vanished, replaced by a nearly delirious, wild joy.

If "Li Tianxing" was actually Ye Xuan!

Did that not mean that her entire life, she had only ever been with one man, Ye Xuan?

She had never been touched by another man! She was still pure!

The crushing guilt that had gnawed at her for thousands of years over her supposed betrayal, the guilt that had driven her to the brink of suicide time and time again, was washed away in a single instant by an absurd, overwhelming sense of chastity.

"Husband!"

Zi Yao threw herself forward in unrestrained delight, wrapping her arms tight around the leg of Ye Xuan's dark red blood robe.

She lifted her face, streaked with blood but still breathtakingly beautiful, and tears streamed down her cheeks once more — this time, they were tears of overwhelming joy.

"Husband, you're so mean! Why didn't you tell me back then? Do you have any idea what I've gone through all these years?"

She nuzzled her face frantically against his leg like a coquettish little girl, brimming with unbridled exhilaration. "It's all right... I never strayed, I never betrayed you! Husband, I'm still yours, right? I've been your woman, and only yours, from the very beginning to the end!"

Her eyes glimmered with a light of hope she had never known before, a light of utter release and ease.

But what greeted her was not the forgiving embrace she longed for.

*Slap!*

A sharp, thunderous crack echoed through the dungeon, ringing out so loud it seemed to shake the very walls.

Ye Xuan swung his hand and struck Zi Yao's stunning cheek with a full-force slap.

He did not use a shred of spiritual power for this blow, only the raw strength of his physical body, and the impact sent Zi Yao flying backward. She crashed hard into the rough black ice wall of the cell.

"Ugh!"

Zi Yao spat out a mouthful of blood, mixed with two shattered teeth. Half of her face swelled up instantly, a clear five-finger mark branded into her skin like a hot iron.

The blow left her dazed and stunned.

Zi Yao held her throbbing, swollen cheek, huddled on the cold ground. The eyes that had just been shining with joy and relief were now wide with utter confusion.

"Husband... why... why did you hit me?" Her voice trembled, like a wronged little cat.

Ye Xuan had already changed back into his cold, stern appearance, clad in a golden silk robe.

He pulled a clean white silk handkerchief from his chest, and slowly, deliberately wiped the fingers that had just struck Zi Yao, his gaze as if he was looking at a puddle of disgusting filth.

"Why didn't I tell you?"

Ye Xuan tossed the handkerchief right onto Zi Yao's face, his icy, unforgiving voice ringing through the cell. "Because you don't deserve to know."

Zi Yao froze. She grabbed the handkerchief, and pleaded urgently, "But husband, according to what you just said, that man was you all along! I was never touched by any other man, I never betrayed you!"

"You say you never betrayed me?"

Ye Xuan laughed, sharp and bitter, the sound carrying a bone-deep, icy scorn. "Zi Yao, are you daft, or are you just lying to yourself?"

He stepped toward her slowly, his gaze sharp as a blade. "Back then, you did not hesitate to abandon me, all for those worthless cultivation resources, all just so you could break through to the next realm."

"You schemed and flattered the Young Sect Master of the Heavenly Demon Sect, you played along with his tricks, you stripped for him! If I hadn't killed the real Li Tianxing ahead of time and taken his place, the man who would have pressed you under him and taken you as he pleased would have been the real Li Tianxing!"

Ye Xuan grabbed a fistful of her hair, yanking her hard right in front of him, staring directly into her eyes. "Your mind had already betrayed me completely. You sold yourself for cultivation resources. Do you really think that just because the man who ended up in your bed happened to be me, that none of that counts as betrayal?"

Zi Yao's face drained of all color in an instant. She shook her head wildly, tears spilling over once more.

"No... Husband, no matter what, the one who was there was you! You disguised yourself so perfectly as Li Tianxing that I couldn't tell it was you at all!"

Zi Yao threw her arms around his waist again, clinging to him so tight she would not let go. "Wait... Didn't I kill the real Li Tianxing with my own hands in the end? Did you..."

Ye Xuan let her hold him, but only shook his head coldly. "The Li Tianxing you killed was nothing more than a stand-in puppet I made from ten-thousand-year-old dark wood, after I got bored of toying with you."

"Otherwise, why do you think I supplied you with all those top-tier cultivation resources from the Heavenly Demon Sect for hundreds of years while you were 'cheating' on me?"

Zi Yao went completely still. Her hands slipped limply away from his waist.

After a long moment, she began to laugh in a crazed, broken way, her smile warped and full of misery. "Husband... you really are... far too cruel. You tricked me so thoroughly..."

"Cruel?"

Ye Xuan pinched her chin hard, the pressure so great it felt like he was about to shatter her jaw. "Do you have any idea, for all those hundreds of years, wearing Li Tianxing's face, how disgusting and shameless your behavior was to watch?"

A deep revulsion shone in Ye Xuan's eyes, and he spoke every word slowly, as if spitting out a bitter memory. "To get that Nine Revolutions Heavenly Demon Pill from 'Li Tianxing', the woman who once was so proud and aloof dropped to her knees at my feet like a bitch in heat, fawning over me. You used every low, despicable trick to please me, you even offered to..."

"Stop! Stop talking! Please, stop!" Zi Yao clamped her hands over her ears, screaming, her face as pale as paper.

Every word that came out of Ye Xuan's mouth felt as if he was stripping her bare in public, laying the dirtiest, most sordid secrets hidden deep in her heart out for all the world to see.

"Husband, I know I was wrong back then!" Zi Yao knelt on the ground and kowtowed frantically, her forehead thudding against the hard black ice. "I was cheap, I was vain! But now that all this misunderstanding is cleared up, and I was only ever yours... can I stay by your side now? I'll do anything you ask!"

Ye Xuan looked at her, at how she still refused to truly see her fault and tried to use the final outcome to wash away all her sins, and let out a cold snort.

"Misunderstanding cleared up?"

Ye Xuan's voice was like the cold wind of a harsh winter, completely snuffing out the last sliver of false hope in Zi Yao's heart. "If I hadn't killed Li Tianxing ahead of time, your betrayal would have been an ironclad, undeniable fact."

Zi Yao completely broke down.

She wept uncontrollably, collapsing onto the ground like a puddle of mud, her desperate wails echoing through the dungeon.

"Husband... you are so cruel... I was so happy just a moment ago, thinking we could still go back to the way things used to be..."

"Why did you have to be like this... why wouldn't you leave me even the tiniest bit of hope..."

Ye Xuan shook his head, stood up, and there was not a trace of pity in his eyes. "Cheating is cheating. The moment the thought arose in your heart to trade your body for resources, to betray me, you were already tainted."

A cuckold's stigma never differentiates between degrees of severity!