Yu Yifan and Yu Jiaojiao helped take care of Third Auntie's aftermath. The others were too busy with their own affairs.
Xiao Han went to buy some medicines to protect the fetus. She personally cooked them every day for Sang Li to drink. Over the past few days, Sang Li had been lying in bed most of the time to protect the fetus.
Gu Zhi naturally thought she was having her period and not feeling well physically, so he stayed by her side to take care of her every day.
But Xiao Zimo had already smelled something off about those medicines.
"Hanhan..." Xiao Zimo pushed his wheelchair into the kitchen.
"Xiao Zimo, why did you come to the kitchen?" Xiao Han immediately covered up the medicine pot.
Xiao Zimo took a look at the medicine pot. "You don't have to hide it from me. I smelled long ago that it was medicine to protect the fetus."
"..."
Xiao Han immediately looked out the door. "Shh... I'll say, do you have a dog's nose? You can even smell that out?"
"So, Sang Li is pregnant?"
Xiao Han hurriedly covered his mouth. "Keep your voice down. Gu Zhi can definitely not know about this!"
Xiao Zimo looked at her. "You're not being fair to Gu Zhi by doing this."
"Oh, I'm telling you, don't meddle too much! If you dare tell Gu Zhi, I...I won't talk to you anymore!"
Xiao Zimo paused and lowered his eyes slightly. "Alright, after all...you'll be leaving soon anyway."
Seeing his expression like that, Xiao Han suddenly grabbed his hand. "Xiao Zimo, I'm not very good with words, but...you're the first person of the opposite sex to make me feel something good. Even when I'm gone from this world, I'll remember you forever."
Xiao Zimo gripped her hand back. "Hanhan, in this life, you will be my only wife."
Even after Xiao Han left, he would never marry.
...
By the time Su Mo arrived at Qiyi Mountain, three days had already passed. She had rushed desperately for three days to get here.
The sect of the Dark Cabinet was located at Qiyi Mountain, but she did not know the exact location.
However, she knew there was a mass grave on the mountain where she had been dumped after faking her death.
Arriving at the mass grave, rows of motionless corpses assaulted her nerves.
"Wu Ying...Wu Ying...where are you?" Tears slid down Su Mo's face as she pried open one corpse after another, searching for Wu Ying's figure.
"It's me, Su Mo. Please, answer me, okay? Don't play this kind of joke on me, Wu Ying..."
Suddenly, a sword imprinted itself in Su Mo's line of sight.
Su Mo recognized it as Wu Ying's sword and immediately ran over.
A figure in black clothes entered her eyes straightaway alongside the sword.
Blood dyed the earth red, and even the soil on the ground had turned red. Broken bones were sticking out from his arms and legs, while his flesh was mangled.
Su Mo covered her mouth and stood to the side, not daring to turn over that person for a long time.
No, this isn't Wu Ying! This isn't Wu Ying!
Su Mo slowly squatted down, and even her outstretched hand was trembling slightly.
When Wu Ying's body was turned over, a ghastly yet familiar face crashed into Su Mo's pupils.
Su Mo instantly slumped down to the ground, her mind going completely blank as tears had already blurred her vision.
"No...no..." Su Mo kept shaking her head vigorously, seemingly on the verge of madness.
She hugged Wu Ying and pulled him into her arms, crying her heart out. "I know you're not dead. Hurry and wake up now, okay? This kind of joke isn't funny at all! Wake up, Wu Ying. I won't leave, I won't go back, I don't want the treasure map anymore, I don't want anything anymore, so please just wake up!"
At this time, Hua Wuyou had also arrived with Xia Miaomiao.
Seeing the scene before them, even Xia Miaomiao couldn't help but cry, and Hua Wuyou's eyes had reddened.
"Please...Wu Ying...wake up now! I won't leave anymore, I really won't leave! Didn't you say you would marry me? You liar!"
Su Mo grasped his hand and suddenly felt something in it. She lowered her head to look at Wu Ying's hand and saw he was clutching something tightly, as if holding onto something very important.
She pried his fingers open with great difficulty and discovered he was actually holding onto the sword tassel she had gifted him!
Su Mo looked at the blood-stained sword tassel, her eyes filled with bloodshot lines.
"Ah..."
Su Mo let out a heart-wrenching scream and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood before fainting next to Wu Ying.
"Mo Mo!" Xia Miaomiao and Hua Wuyou immediately ran over.
...
Su Mo was unconscious for three days.
Overwhelmed by grief and anguish knotted up in her heart, she was unable to face reality.
For those three days, nightmares had tormented her endlessly, the shadows of Wu Ying filling up nearly all her dreams.
"Wu Ying! Wu Ying!"
Su Mo awoke with a shock. Xia Miaomiao had immediately come to Su Mo's bedside upon seeing her regain consciousness.
"Mo Mo, you're finally awake!" Xia Miaomiao threw herself at Su Mo, unable to hold back her tears.
"Where's Wu Ying? Where is he? I have to go find him!" Su Mo pushed Xia Miaomiao aside and stumbled out of bed without even putting on her shoes, hurrying to leave.
Xia Miaomiao grabbed her back. "Mo Mo, Wu Ying is dead..." she said as she wept.
Su Mo seemed to have lost control. "No...he's not dead. How could he die? He's not dead! He said he would come back for me! He said he wanted to marry me! I have to go find him!"
"He's dead!" Xia Miaomiao hugged Su Mo tightly. "Mo Mo, I know you're devastated, but Wu Ying really did die... Hua Wuyou has already buried him!"
Su Mo froze up instantly, her eyes lifeless as tears slid down her cheeks.
The memories from three days ago surged forth—the man who had said he would formally propose marriage to her had turned into an icy corpse that could never come back.
"He's dead..." Su Mo muttered to herself. "He's dead, so why am I still alive?"
"Don't do anything stupid, Mo Mo! Sister Li and Little Han are still waiting for us to go back!"
Su Mo remained silent for a long time.
Six days had already passed. They only had eight days left.
"Miao Miao, you should go," Su Mo suddenly said.
"What are you saying, Mo Mo? If we leave, we'll go together!"
"I'm not going anymore. You guys go back..."
"No!" Xia Miaomiao turned the listless Su Mo around to face her. "The four of us stay together, Mo Mo. If you don't go, none of us will go either! If you die, we'll die with you too!"
Su Mo's eyes stirred slightly as she looked at Xia Miaomiao, her voice hoarse. "I owe Wu Ying a life debt..."
"Wu Ying risked his life to get the treasure map for us four to return, not because you owed him anything—we all owe him! If you don't go back, none of us will go! Mo Mo, Wu Ying's spirit in heaven would be utterly heartbroken if he saw you die! He paid with his life to obtain the map and ensure you could live on, do you understand? If you really died, wouldn't Wu Ying's sacrifice have been in vain?"
Su Mo's heart felt like it was being sliced apart.
She squeezed her eyes shut in anguish.
Although she had long mentally prepared herself to part with Wu Ying, it was not meant to be such a tragic separation by life and death!
In the end, they did not even get a final glimpse of each other.
It was all her fault.
...
Before returning to Lan City, Su Mo went to stand in front of Wu Ying's gravestone for a full day.
Looking at the sword tassel wrapped in her handkerchief, tears blurred her vision. "Wu Ying, I'm sorry...I'm sorry..."
...
By the time they returned to Lan City, three days had passed.
Only three days remained until their scheduled return.
When Xiao Han and Sang Li saw Su Mo and Xia Miaomiao return safe and sound, the heavy weight on their hearts was finally released.
Seeing Su Mo's poor condition, they tactfully did not ask about Wu Ying's circumstances.
However, that night Xiao Zimo went to find Hua Wuyou, who told him that Wu Ying had died. When they had rushed over, Wu Ying had already been dead for three days, so all they could do was hurriedly find a place to bury him nearby.
Xiao Zimo's heart skipped a beat. Although he had expected that [Wu Ying] would meet a bad end, he didn't expect that he would really die.
Ever since [Su Mo] came back, she hadn't said a word. She locked herself in the room where [Wu Ying] used to live.
The memories of her and [Wu Ying] at [Qinglin Courtyard] all came flooding back, and she collapsed on the table, crying silently.
The door was suddenly knocked on, but [Su Mo] didn't move.
Until [Yu Yifan]'s choked voice came from outside, "Master, it's me. Master has something that he wanted me to pass on to you."
Only then did [Su Mo] immediately get up to open the door.
"What did you say?"
[Yu Yifan] held a letter in his hand and handed it to [Su Mo], "Master asked me to give this to you."
[Su Mo] immediately took the letter, "When did he give this to you?!"
"[Wu Ying] actually went back to [Lan City] alone before you came back from [Lan City]," [Yu Yifan] said. "He gave me this letter and told me that if he came back within two months, I wouldn't need to give you the letter. But if...he couldn't come back, I should pass the letter to you."
[Su Mo]'s eyes turned red as she grabbed [Yu Yifan], "Why are you only telling me now?! Why didn't you inform me earlier?!"
[Yu Yifan]'s heart ached too, "But Master repeatedly told me before he left that I must not give it to you early, or else you would be in danger!"
That's right, if she had known earlier, she would have definitely gone to find him, and she would have been hunted down by the people of the [Dark Cabinet].
[Wu Ying] had made arrangements long ago to prevent [Su Mo] from being in any danger.
He made the Head of the [Dark Cabinet] mistakenly believe that he took the treasure map in order to defect to the imperial court's side.
[Su Mo] went back to the room and opened the letter.
[[Su Mo], by the time you read this letter, I may be gone already.
I know you must be sad, but you must not do anything rash. I'm an assassin, and countless people have died by my hands over the years. Death does not frighten me, rather it is a kind of release. The only thing I regret is that I won't be able to see your face one last time.
I'm thankful to the heavens for allowing me to meet you, for letting there finally be a ray of light in my dark life, for allowing me to have an unforgettable love before I die.
You must continue living well. When you return to your world, you must find someone who loves you more than I do.
I only have one selfish request, that you remember me forever.
[Bai Yichen]'s last words.]
[Su Mo]'s tears wet the letter.
[Bai Yichen], no matter which world we are in, no one will ever love me more than you.
...
The three days passed by quickly. Because of [Wu Ying]'s matter, these past few days had not been good for them.
On the last night, their phones suddenly notified them of low battery and imminent shutdown.
At the same time, they also received a text message.
[Warning! If you do not activate the treasure map before noon today, you will disappear forever!]
The four looked at the message on their phones and sank into silence.
They looked at the four treasure maps on the table. If they pieced the four maps together, it would form the cover of the ancient book at the museum.
"[Su Mo] said, "You go say your final goodbyes to them. I'll wait here."
After a pause, the sisters got up and left the room.
The men were sitting anxiously in the yard.
The three came out and looked at them, and they looked back.
"Are you...leaving soon?" [Xiao Zimo] asked first.
"Yes..."
The three ran over and hugged them directly.
A silent embrace, as if bidding their final farewell.
With a thousand words left unsaid, at this moment, they couldn't get a single word out, choked up.
"Sister..."
"Little bunny..."
"Hanhan..."
"Take care..." The three let go of them and ran back into the room without looking back.
The more words said, the harder it was to part.
The more they looked, the harder it was to part.
Back in the room, they changed into the clothes they were wearing when they first crossed over.
[Lan City] had already entered winter, and they couldn't help but shiver in their summer clothes.
"Is everyone ready?"
"Mm."
"Eight months felt like a dream. We'll know the truth when we get back."
Each person took a treasure map, and slowly pieced them together according to the patterns.
A golden light suddenly flashed from the seams, firmly sticking the four maps together.
The treasure map suddenly flew into the air and started spinning.
The few felt the world spin around them. Just like when they first arrived, in the blink of an eye, the people in the room vanished.
Seeing this, the three men immediately ran into the room.
The treasure map in the air also suddenly disappeared. The entire room sank into dead silence, as if no one had ever been there.
"[Hua Wuyou] said weakly, "They're gone, they really left..."
The three said nothing more, just sitting quietly.
Suddenly, anomalous changes occurred in the sky outside, and the earth shook violently.
Before the three could react, a red light shot down from the sky into the room.
