Chapter 34 Ma Xiaoling's Heartache
Ma Xiaoling gazed ahead: there stood Anzhu, staring blankly at Kuang Tianyou, who was 'bathed' in the aura mist. She had changed her attire, yet still looked 'disheveled,' making one 'unable to recognize the true face of Mount Lu.' 'Who is she?' Ma Xiaoling thought. 'Now she looks like a loyal warrior guarding Kuang Tianyou, but more like a maiden eagerly awaiting her beloved's return. Strange, why would I have such thoughts?' Sometimes Ma Xiaoling helplessly shook her head. To be honest, Ma Xiaoling had an indescribable feeling, as if her heart was forcibly embedded in this mysterious woman: she was called a rival in love but couldn't be guarded against, not like against Situ Liwen; she was called a friend, yet she could sense—based on Tianyou's 'rescue the beauty' incident a few days ago—her behavior couldn't help but make one suspicious—women are really sensitive in this regard. She had only one thought: she must not let her take Kuang Tianyou away. Yet, she also had a kind of intuition: that she, herself, and Kuang Tianyou definitely had some connection—a relationship that couldn't be described.
Lost in thought, Ma Xiaoling eventually arrived behind Anzhu. 'You're here, Mrs. Kuang,' Anzhu suddenly spoke.
'Oh, um, haven't you rested?' Ma Xiaoling replied somewhat flustered.
'Your heart is rather restless.' Anzhu did not directly answer Ma Xiaoling's question.
'Oh?'
'The unrest of your heart is all because of me.'
'Why would you say that?'
'I know you have some questions for me to answer, but now is not the time.'
'It seems you know everything.'
'I only know what I possess.'
'What you possess?'
'Yes, what I possess.'
'Alright, when the time comes to explain, even if I don't ask, you will tell.'
'Let's leave things here and talk about something else.'
When clever women interact, they always know when to stop.
'I wonder how I should address you?'
'I have no name, only a code: Anzhu. But, Mrs. Kuang, someone once told me: "A crane dances over the clear pond, one color with the vast sky." You can call me Tianwu.'
'Tianwu? That's a beautiful name. Then I'll call you Tianwu from now on!'
'I like this name very much.'
'May I ask boldly: does it represent a kind of longing?'“Moreover, Madam, you really are an experienced person; you guessed it right immediately.” Anzhu smiled faintly.
“Remembering what others call you and never forgetting it—if not a lover, then who else could it be?”
“Sometimes lovers leave as soon as they mention leaving, making it impossible to figure out what they are thinking. How do you know how he treats the feelings between you?”
“Simply put, saying he wants to leave without hesitation proves he has deeply buried his emotions in his heart and will remember them forever!”
“Oh, really?” Anzhu's red eyes flickered as she glanced at Ma Xiaoling and nodded: “I hope so.”
Ma Xiaoling felt uneasy under Anzhu's gaze, as if she had been scrutinized, unable to express her discomfort: “So it seems you encountered such a situation.”
“You guessed right. At first, he only said he wanted to leave; where he was going or what he was doing, he never mentioned. Since he left, I risked my life to search for him, but often ended up with twice the effort and half the result.”
“And now?”
“Perhaps there is a slight clue.” After speaking, she looked at Kuang Tianyou.
Ma Xiaoling's heart tightened slightly: “Oh, just now you have a slight clue?”
“To be honest, I truly gained freedom only within the past twenty or thirty years. Whether there is a clue or not, I only just now realized.”
“Did you come out only after reciting ‘After hatred is broken, the god returns to his position'?”
“I'm unique, not bound by this spell. Although the world is vast and I can roam freely, I cannot stay away from the Tianyu Weizheng Pavilion for long. If he is there, things will change.”
“Are you confident it will definitely change?”
“Since the gods began returning after hatred was broken, I am confident things will change.”
“Tianwu, how many gods do you have?”
“Madam Kuang, that is a secret of the Tianyu Weizheng Pavilion.”
“But you said: the Tianyu Weizheng Pavilion also concerns my husband. To me, that should no longer be a secret.”
“Madam Kuang, this question again touches on what we were discussing earlier.”
“Yes, I understand. Everything will become clear in time.”
“Madam Kuang, you need not worry. In the end, you will not be eliminated, and you will have what is rightfully yours.” Anzhu said this, then looked at Kuang Tianyou.
“Hmm, what does that mean? Eliminated? Have? Could she know what I am worried about?” Ma Xiaoling's heart raced with surprise.Seeing her still looking at Kuang Tianyou, Ma Xiaoling said, 'My husband got injured again this time. I wonder when he will recover?'
'Are you worried that I won't be able to protect him? I'm not worried about that.'
'I heard that every divine being has divine weapons. I wonder, Tianwu, what is your weapon?'
'Every divine being is equipped with different divine weapons according to their personality and behavior, seeking the unity of person and weapon, pursuing greater destruction. Among all the divine beings, I know the weapons of others, but they don't know mine.'
'So this is a secret too?'
'No, we are good sisters. Of course, I want to show you.' An Zhu, not knowing from where, produced a treasured sword.
'Good sisters?' Ma Xiaoling hadn't thought much yet, but she was drawn to the weapon. It was a three-foot blood-red slender sword—it looked relatively ordinary. 'This is—'
'Soul Blood Blade!'
'The name sounds quite terrifying.'
An Zhu gently stroked the sword blade and said, 'Nourishing the sword with souls! I don't know how many living souls have been refined in this sword to form its sword soul.'
'Nourishing the sword with souls? Doesn't that mean the sword soul keeps getting stronger?'
'Normally, it should. But I am not a person who enjoys killing, so the sword's killing power hasn't reached its limit.'
'I heard that Slaying Dragon is the top-tier weapon. Is that true?'
'You know about it too? Yes, it is top-tier. However, it only counts as top-tier when in the hands of its rightful owner. In someone else's hands, it's just garbage.'
'I understand: the soul of a divine being's weapon is actually the soul of the divine being themselves. In other words, you are the weapon, and the weapon is you.'
'You could say that completely. Madam Kuang, actually the Demon-Slaying Blade is also a divine being's weapon, but divine beings cannot use it.'
'What? The Demon-Slaying Blade is also a divine being's weapon!'
'Right. That is the greatest secret of divine beings.'
'If I knew, it wouldn't be a secret.'
'Because you can use the Demon-Slaying Blade.'
'Why can't divine beings use it?'
'I'm not clear on the specific reason. Back then, Shen only spoke vaguely.'
'Then why can I use it?'
'Have you forgotten the High Priest?'
'High Priest?' Ma Xiaoling suddenly realized, 'Oh! Without the High Priest, one cannot fully wield all the power of the Demon-Slaying Blade.'She unconsciously asked, "Am I truly the other half of the High Priest?"
"Your heart already knows the answer."
"Why do you insist on merging people with different fates together?"
"You were originally one, and yet you didn't want to meet again after being separated for hundreds of thousands of years. It seems this is destiny. Such is the will of heaven, there's nothing that can be done."
"I am not interested in divine power or authority."
"I know, this was your choice from the beginning."
"Is there no change?"
"I don't know. I cannot foresee everything."
"Tianwu, I want to ask you: if it were you, what would you do?"
"Are you afraid of losing the man you love? I would persist, not give up."
"Then does that mean only killing her would work?"
"No, death cannot solve the problem. Besides, do you have such an intention?"
"No, I never thought of killing her. I am not afraid of death. Even if destiny wants us to reunite, I am not afraid. I only fear that from now on, there will be no one who loves Kuang Tianyou like I do—that special kind of love."
"Madam Kuang, you worry too much. Reunion does not mean losing yourself."
"Does it feel comfortable to have a grain of sand in your shoe?"
"Madam Kuang, reunion is what makes you complete. A complete you surpasses the you of now! Complete character, complete emotions, complete memories—all of these allow you to have a flawless demeanor and behavior. These are what that man loves to savor the most and what enchants him entirely," Anzhu replied somewhat excitedly.
"Some fantasy, perhaps?"
"I cannot be sure about other things, but this point I am certain of."
"But in her heart, there is another man."
"That man is already dead."
"The death of someone does not mean that love has vanished."
"When you merged with the High Priest and unleashed the supreme power of the Demon-Slaying Sword, your love for that man had already washed away her memories of him."
"Really?"
"Although reunion will not make you lose yourself, it does not mean that your separate, independent memories after separation can exist peacefully on their own; they only merge while one diminishes and the other grows. The power of the Demon-Slaying Sword requires the heart to activate, and only a focused heart can trigger its supreme power. On that day, when confronting the Demon Ancestor, your deep concern for your husband, and the High Priest's determination to help you, she had unconsciously embarked on the train of your beloved heart."In other words, the power of your love unknowingly guided the power of her love. Various coincidences reveal divine timing everywhere. One could say, you are very lucky.”
“You mean, back then it wasn't Tian You but her man, and now the situation is reversed.”
“Exactly. That's why I had Kuang Tianyou treat the High Priestess better, to create favorable conditions, but unfortunately, he didn't appreciate it.”
“He's a devoted man.”
“Oh, who knows, who knows how many 'devotions' he's had over the years?” Anzhu pouted.
“Hmm, what did you just say?”
“Oh, nothing. I just said that 'devotion' is the best thing for a woman.”
“Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes it's not.”
“Oh? I don't understand.”
“The truth is, he still has quite a few women in his heart! At least three!”
“What? Three more women?!” Anzhu almost jumped up.
“What's the matter with you?” Ma Xiaoling thought—you're more excited than I am.
“Oh, nothing,” Anzhu realized she had lost her composure a bit. “Which three women?”
“Looks like you're quite interested in this.”
“Somewhat curious,” Anzhu answered lightly.
“Then I'll tell you. The first woman is called Axiu, his wife before he became a zombie. After Tianyou turned into a zombie, he left her for sixty years and only saw her again before she died. At that time, Tianyou's only grandson—Tianyou's original name was Kuang Guohua, and Tianyou is the name of his grandson—had also died, killed by another zombie. He always remembered Axiu, because Axiu was not just Axiu, but a symbol of him, her, and their family. Was it longing, or guilt? The second woman is Wang Zhenzhen. She was Tianyou grandson's girlfriend. She had always thought Tianyou became a zombie and had no idea he had died, as his grandfather had substituted his identity. She loved very deeply, but Tianyou could not cross the gap, until she was killed by zombies because of Tianyou. Tianyou blamed himself for this, almost falling into the path of evil. Does Tianyou love her? Even he himself cannot say clearly now.” Ma Xiaoling stopped here.
“Then? Who is the third woman?” Anzhu asked impatiently.
Ma Xiaoling smiled without answering.“Hehe, I'm really silly, I forgot about Madam Kuang.”
“He is a wounded man. What he needs most is the sincere comfort of a woman. I give him love, bore him a little baby, let him feel the warmth of home, and make him feel like he is living an ordinary, peaceful life.”
“Mm, I understand. Peaceful life is genuine. But Kuang Tianyou is so outstanding, he must have quite a few admirers, and his life must be full of excitement, right?”
“Tianyou is a contented person, and also very responsible. He won't act recklessly. Some women, misunderstanding the situation, end up hitting a brick wall.”
“Hehe, I can imagine how embarrassed, even angry, those women must have been.”
“I am the one Tianyou needs the most.”
“Madam Kuang can be completely assured about Tianyou!”
“No, I am still worried.”
“Why?”
“If time and space reverse, and those who have passed stand before Tianyou again, how will he face it?”
“Um…” Anzhu was immediately speechless.
“I think he will collapse<