Gu Jianlin silently turned around, staring intently into her eyes.

"Do you know?"

The Candle Dragon Venerable’s expression was teasing: "Back then, in the second layer of the Qilin Immortal Palace, when your father fought with your teacher, it was supposed to be with the descent of six Ancient Ancestors alongside him."

Gu Jianlin seemed to have heard his senior mention this before, his heart inexplicably speeding up. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"She shattered the dimensions of time and space, preventing those people from descending. Of course, it could also be that she didn’t want something like the Colorless Jade to fall into someone else’s hands."

The smile on the Candle Dragon Venerable’s lips was so thin and mocking: "After Taihua’s death, according to multiple agreements, Buzhou Mountain and the Heavenly Destiny Pavilion were supposed to ally with the Order World. Oh, to be precise, ally with Platinum, to face your revenge. But she broke the agreement because she found it disgusting."

For Gu Jianlin, it was a memory he didn’t want to recall.

Because of the Colorless Jade.

Because of the Eternal Fruit.

Because of deception.

He and she finally parted ways at the crossroads of destiny.

"Skylark did indeed want the Colorless Jade and also wanted the Eternal Fruit. But if she knew what you did for her, she might have taken another approach. Because she really realized, if she hadn’t deceived you, no matter if she wanted the stars in the sky, you would have taken them down for her."

The Candle Dragon Venerable mocked from above: "You are just that kind of person."

Indeed, Gu Jianlin was just that kind of person.

If she wanted the Colorless Jade, then he would give it to her.

If she wanted the Eternal Fruit for healing, he could find any way to get it.

After all, he was the Qilin Venerable.

These things were not difficult for him.

How ridiculous.

The thing Skylark most wanted did not need so-called deception at all.

She only needed to say a word.

The Candle Dragon Venerable raised her hand, a giant black hole appearing in the shattered world.

Gu Jianlin turned to look and saw a familiar room.

Skylark’s room.

Or perhaps, his room.

Because every detail of that room was recreated by him, whether it was the decoration or the furniture, the mottled old windows, the small aged bed, the pink curtains, the worn-out toys.

Even the scratches on the walls and the dents on the floor were perfectly recreated.

That was the gift he once wanted to give her.

"Meow."

A chubby orange cat walked out of the black hole, tilted its head to look at its former owner, yet felt a breath of unfamiliarity. It hesitated for a moment before jumping into the boy’s arms.

Gu Jianlin’s mind went blank.

That room hadn’t been destroyed, but preserved instead.

The cat hadn’t died either, and she had taken good care of it.

There was a pendant on the cat’s neck, something they had once bought in Tokyo.

At that time, Skylark had dragged him to ask for a fortune at Asakusa Temple, her smile in the summer evening breeze resembling a flamboyant Mandala in full bloom, her melodious laughter drifting everywhere with the wind.

"Even when she saw your ancestor for the first time, guess what she asked?"

The Candle Dragon Venerable said coldly: "She asked if you might be possessed by the Qilin! Because she had always lived in such fear; it’s her apology to you, and also her redemption. Even just now, when she was closest to the truth, she still couldn’t bear to kill you."

Once the Vermilion Bird and Candle Dragon joined forces, there was no chance for a Seventh Rank Qilin.

No way to get close to the Golden Tree.

Vermilion Bird was indeed ruthless, but the Candle Dragon had softened.

No, at that time she was still Skylark.

Of course, there were many other details.

Why she appeared the night the clone was captured, her hesitation and manipulation upon realizing the Ghost Car’s descent, and how when she whispered by his ear like an orchid, he blew her apart with a punch...

"I must admire you for making the former me love you so deeply."

The Candle Dragon Venerable’s eerie pupils reflected the boy’s face.

"Now, it’s time to end this."

Gu Jianlin gently stroked the orange cat in his arms, then looked up to meet her face.

"The former... you?"