Chapter Twenty-Nine: Stolen Days, Hearts Aflame

Beyond these waters lies the Spirit Pool Abyss, the deepest sanctuary of the Demon Realm.

"Cough, cough, cough..." A sharp pain pierced Changsun Lucha's chest, forcing her to stumble to a sudden halt.

"Cha'er?!" Long Kong immediately steadied her, his voice low and laced with concern. "What is wrong?"

"I... I feel so—" She felt wretched, agonizingly so. Changsun Lucha felt as though she could no longer take another step; she lacked the strength even to speak. Yet, she could not drag him down with her; she had already caused him enough suffering.

"If you are tired, we shall stop and rest for a while."

"No!" Changsun Lucha clutched his hand urgently, shaking her head. They could not stop. She knew that endless peril and obstacles lurked behind her; to pause now might invite a fatal end. She could die, but he must not.

"I... I can still go on." She looked at him firmly, her eyes misting over with a resolve that shone through her pain.

"Very well," Long Kong nodded, his heart aching as he shielded her. "We are almost there. Beyond these waters lies the Spirit Pool Abyss."

"Yes, let us hurry."

Though both were wounded, the fear of remaining within these waters spurred them onward, their pace quickening. The view before them gradually shifted from the azure coastline to a vast, expansive mountain range cradling a deep pool—a place where auspicious cranes and birds gathered. The horizon opened up, bright and breathtaking.

"Thank goodness, we made it." Long Kong turned to her with a smile, but his expression froze. Once she had left the clan's waters, her appearance had withered rapidly, transforming her from a blooming young maiden into an elderly woman of eighty in an instant. Were it not for the delicate grace lingering in her features and the human attire she wore, Long Kong would scarcely have recognized her as his beloved Changsun Lucha.

"Cha... Cha'er..." His voice trembled with overwhelming terror. How could his Cha'er have become this?

Changsun Lucha sensed his distress and realized the change in herself. She looked down, horrified to find her once-fair, slender fingers and porcelain skin now slack, wrinkled, and withered. These were not her hands.

"How... how have I become like this? My hands..."

"My face," she cried, raising her hands to touch her cheeks. The skin felt loose and sagging, lacking the smooth, supple warmth of yesterday. "No! It cannot be! How...?"

"Cha'er?!" Seeing her frantic, unraveling state—so unlike her usual quiet and gentle self—Long Kong felt a pain so sharp he could barely breathe.

"Ah! My face..." Changsun Lucha let out a pained moan, her hands trembling against her cheeks in helplessness. She could not comprehend why she had suddenly become so aged, ugly, and withered.

"To defy the heavens, to act with reckless abandon, to alter the threads of fate, and to slaughter the innocent—how could you expect to escape the judgment of the Heavenly Dao?"

A cold, resonant voice echoed from the heavens. Above, clouds parted for a host of auspicious beasts; the sun blazed brilliantly, and golden light pierced the sky, striking the mountain coast before them. A shadow loomed in the sky, flickering and indistinct.

Long Kong shielded Changsun Lucha behind him, looking up with bared teeth. "Yama, Your Highness?" He had actually tracked them down.

Yama stood upon a distant peak, gazing down coldly. His presence was an oppressive force. "Third Prince Long, will you not hand over this human?"

"Ha, what a delusion." Long Kong’s pale lips curled into a wicked, dark smile. "I would rather we both perish together." He would never hand over Cha'er, not even in death.

"As you wish, if you truly desire the destruction of the Dragon Clan."

"No!" Hearing this, Changsun Lucha shook her head frantically. "You must not!" She had already let Long Kong suffer so much for her; she could not allow him to endanger his kin and sacrifice his life.

"Cha'er?" Long Kong turned to her in panic.

"Don't, Long Kong." She raised her aged, ravaged face, weeping as she gripped his arm. "Do not... let innocent lives be extinguished for my sake."

"Cha'er! How could I ever abandon you?" Long Kong’s heart shattered at the sight of her.

"But I cannot bear to see you hurt anymore," she whispered, her tear-filled eyes drifting toward the horizon. "If... if I accept the punishment and enter the cycle of reincarnation with you, will you let him be?"

"Cha'er!!" Long Kong grabbed her arm, shaking his head in desperation. "No!"

Yama’s gaze remained icy. He would not interfere in their affairs, nor did he care to. However, Changsun Lucha was human, a soul destined for the cycle of life and death, whose time in the mortal realm had already expired according to the Book of Life and Death. She was under his jurisdiction.

Yama spoke, his voice cool and detached. "Once you pay the price for consuming the Pearl of Longevity and enter the cycle of reincarnation, I shall let him go."

"Good, that is enough..." Changsun Lucha smiled through her tears. As long as he would no longer be hurt, as long as he would stop killing, she felt everything would be well.

"I do not allow it! Cha'er, I do not allow it!" Long Kong pulled her into his arms, clutching her tightly, his eyes bloodshot and fierce. "You must stay by my side; you are going nowhere."

Changsun Lucha closed her eyes, resting in his embrace to savor this final warmth. She trembled, "But you... you promised to respect my choices. You said you would do whatever I asked, did you not?"

"No! That is not so!"

"Now... I ask you to let me go..."

"No! Cha'er! No!" His eyes flooded with tears, he held her tighter. "You will not leave me. You cannot leave me, can you, Cha'er?"

Changsun Lucha opened her eyes, tears cascading down her long lashes to fall into the Spirit Pool mountains below. The land below seemed to stir, gathering life and nurturing new beginnings.

"Long Kong, it is time I paid the price for these stolen days."

"No—!!"

"Long Kong, take care of yourself. For my sake, kill no more."

"No—!!"

Yama’s eyes narrowed. A golden light descended, wrapping around her and pulling her into a spirit stone, instantly transporting her to his side.

"Cha'er!!" Long Kong’s arms were left empty. He watched, helpless, as his beloved vanished into nothingness.

"Long Kong—"

"My heart and mind are yours alone. I pray that in another life, we may meet again."

"And when that day comes, I shall surely marry you."

With a wave of Yama's hand, her form vanished from the Spirit Pool Abyss, along with the echoes of her boundless love and devotion.

"Cha'er—!!"

"No—!!"

Long Kong turned, staring at the empty air where she had been. Unable to bear the crushing blow, he collapsed to his knees, howling, "No... Cha'er... do not leave me. No!!"

Yama vanished, and the sky instantly returned to a tranquil, bright state; the celestial signs and auspicious beasts were gone.

"Cha'er—!!" Long Kong knelt on the ground and let out a roar of absolute agony, a sound of inconsolable grief that echoed throughout the entire Spirit Pool Abyss.