Qinglian’S Heart Is Covered, Fate Meets Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Ascension After Tribulation

Lianhua guarded Moyuan’s grave in the mortal world for several more decades, strands of frost already touching her temples. This day, she was sitting beneath the locust tree mending old clothes when Hu Si’s figure suddenly landed before her. He was still dressed in his usual green robes, but his brow held an intractable weariness.

“A’Lian, the sixty-year term is almost up,” Hu Si’s voice was low and hoarse. Only then did Lianhua notice the faint golden restraint patterns faintly visible on his cuffs—the brand left by the Heavenly Punishment.

Lianhua’s heart trembled. Just as she was about to speak, Hu Si preemptively handed her a neatly folded letter. The letter carried the faint sandalwood scent unique to the Fox Clan. Her fingertips trembled slightly as she slowly unfolded it.

The handwriting on the letter was elegant and clear, yet it concealed a hint of suppressed madness. Every word was a declaration of deep affection spanning ten lives and ten generations:

“My dearest wife, seeing this letter is like seeing you. I have loved you for a long time. In my ignorance years ago, I didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘love.’ Now that I understand, it is already too late. I have missed you for so long. If your heart holds me, when you ascend, I will hold the grandest wedding ceremony in the Celestial Realm for you. Watching you undergo tribulation during these thousands of years in the mortal world has been heartbreaking, and I have been unable to let go of the sorrow for a long time… Mother Sovereign wanted me to seek a suitable match, but I refused. I am only waiting for your return.

As your husband, I have witnessed you suffer the pain of separation and death through several mortal lives. My heart truly could not bear it, so I disregarded the Heavenly Punishment and transformed one soul and one spirit into a mortal body to accompany you. Although we never truly bowed in marriage, you have long been my wife. I have already carved our names onto the Three Lives Stone. Currently, my true body cannot leave the Celestial Realm, so I have sent Xi, the eldest son of the Serpent Clan, to accompany you. He is not a rival; he is merely protecting you for me. I am not afraid that you will fall in love with a mortal, but I am afraid that you will forget me, this Immortal, and forget the way home.

One day in Heaven is one year on Earth. In the Celestial Realm, I endure the Heavenly Punishment every twenty minutes, but how can the pain of the flesh compare to the torment of the heart? Without your return, I cannot eat well or sleep soundly. A’Lian, please come home quickly. If you love the mortal world, we can stay there together, alright? I have missed you for so long, and my inability to constantly be by your side already fills me with guilt. A’Lian, I miss you. The phrases mortals often use—’I love you,’ ‘I miss you,’ ‘My heart aches for you’—roughly capture my current state of mind… I must go serve my sentence now.”

The signature was “Your loving Fourth Fox Brother.”

Lianhua’s hand, gripping the letter, shook uncontrollably, and her eyes instantly reddened. Only now did she realize that the “old acquaintance” who always appeared when she was in distress throughout those ten lives and ten generations was actually one soul and one spirit of Hu Si; only now did she realize that to protect her, he willingly endured the suffering of the Heavenly Punishment, being tortured daily in the Celestial Realm, enduring thousands of years of yearning.

Silence stretched for a long time. She tightly clutched the letter in her palm, her heart feeling blocked by something, both sour and searing hot.

The sixty-year term arrived in the blink of an eye. On this day, the heavens and earth were filled with brilliant, multicolored light. Father Emperor, accompanied by a host of Immortals, descended from the sky. Mother Sovereign also came down personally. Hu Si, bracing his heavily wounded body, stood beside Father Emperor, his gaze fixed intently on Lianhua.

“My child, your tribulation is complete. Return to Heaven with your Father and receive your sealing and ascension,” Father Emperor’s voice was gentle, yet carried undeniable authority.

Hu Si stepped forward. Ignoring the intense pain caused by the activation of the restraints on his body, he spoke hoarsely, “A’Lian, I have waited for you in the Celestial Realm for thousands of years. This time, don’t leave me alone again.”

Lianhua looked at the crowd before her, at Hu Si’s pale face and the obsession in his eyes. She thought of the green grass before Moyuan’s grave, the bitter tribulations of the mortal world across ten lives, and the searing words on the letter. She nodded gently. The immortal light around her suddenly flared, and the shackles of her remaining mortal body shattered inch by inch. The phantom image of her true form, the Purple Lotus of the Jade Pond, emerged behind her. Immortal energy surged, shooting straight into the clouds.

The power of ascension enveloped her, drawing her toward the Celestial Realm. She looked back at the mountains and rivers of the mortal world, then looked at Hu Si, who was enduring his pain beside her, and whispered, “Fourth Brother, I’m coming back with you.”

Hearing this, Hu Si’s eyes instantly burst forth with brilliant light. Even as the agony of the Heavenly Punishment swept through his entire body again, he smiled with relief. Father Emperor and Mother Sovereign exchanged a knowing look, and the elder brothers nodded in approval. The Immortals collectively cast spells, protecting Lianhua’s immortal body as she steadily ascended.

However, as Lianhua looked at the scars that had not yet faded from Hu Si’s body, a dull ache crossed her heart—she returned exhausted in both mind and body, while he, waiting for her, was already covered in wounds. This deep affection, spanning the divide between Immortal and mortal and enduring ten generations, finally settled into an unfinished ending within the light of ascension.