The Ethereal Domains

Chapter 117: Cruel And Unscrupulous!

Cruel And Unscrupulous! . . .

The realization that Gu Jin-Long had taken the life of a woman who had devoted her entire existence to waiting for him left Cha-Eun Xiao utterly appalled.

"How is this even possible?" Cha-Eun Xiao couldn't contain his disbelief. His anger simmered just beneath the surface, ready to erupt. "Why?" he demanded, his voice trembling with indignation. "She spent her entire life waiting for you. Every moment was filled with misery, and yet you callously ended her life without hesitation. She had nothing but hope to sustain her throughout her entire existence. Finally, you returned, and she had the chance to see you once more. Why would you treat a woman who loved you so deeply in such a heartless manner? You didn't offer her any comfort, care, or remorse. It's already terrible that you didn't want her to recognize you, but why did you kill her?"

Despite having anticipated this revelation, hearing Gu Jin-Long confess to such a heinous act was profoundly jarring.

Any person with a shred of humanity would never stoop to such depths of cruelty. The woman, who had been sentimental and eagerly awaited her husband, was instead greeted with a sharp blade after fifty years of longing.

Gu Jin-Long closed his eyes, tears pooling in his gaze, and he retorted vehemently, "Why couldn't I kill her? In my heart, there was only the young and beautiful Han-Er, with a voice like an angel. She was the most beautiful memory I held dear. Can you fathom my torment upon returning and finding an elderly, unsightly woman?"

"Her face was marred by wrinkles, her body was tarnished, and her once supple breasts had sagged. She had even lost her melodious voice, replaced by a grating sound. Was she still my Han-Er? Was she? No! She wasn't..."

Gu Jin-Long cried out in anguish.

Cha-Eun Xiao regarded him with a mixture of astonishment and contempt.

[Just because she grew old and appeared less attractive, she was no longer Han-Er to you? Didn't she spend her entire life waiting for you?]

Cha-Eun Xiao couldn't help but feel an overwhelming fury at the callousness of the man before him.

"That wasn't my Han-Er. Absolutely not. Han-Er, in my heart, remains the most beautiful girl. That elderly woman was not my Han-Er," Gu Jin-Long declared vehemently. "She desecrated the image of Han-Er I held in my heart. She tarnished the memory of the beautiful Han-Er within me. So I killed her. I killed her without hesitation and buried her here. It was my Han-Er who was interred in this grave, not that elderly woman. Absolutely not!"

Cha-Eun Xiao turned his head to look at the solitary grave, a poignant reminder of the tragic story that unfolded here.

The grave had silently borne witness to the heartbreaking tale.

A sense of chill crept over Cha-Eun Xiao, despite having absorbed the frigid qi from the Cosmic Hades. It permeated his being, causing him to shiver from within.

It wasn't Gu Jin-Long who evoked this chill; it was the woman resting beneath the soil.

A woman who had devoted her life to waiting for the man she loved.

Yet, her reward for such unwavering devotion was not a warm embrace, but a cold blade.

Cha-Eun Xiao found himself overwhelmed with a newfound determination to exact vengeance.

His hatred for Gu Jin-Long had multiplied tenfold due to what he had done to Han-Er, more than for anything that had transpired between them personally.

[He's not a human being.

He's nothing more than a wolf, a heartless creature.

He possesses no humanity, no compassion. He's a wild animal that incites rage.

What a monstrous abomination.]

Gu Jin-Long rose to his feet, his gaze still fixed upon the grave as he murmured, "Han-Er... How are you? I've come back to see you. Brother Da-Long is here to visit you..." Tears streamed down his cheeks as he spoke.

Cha-Eun Xiao was rendered speechless, his eyes trained on Gu Jin-Long. He couldn't fathom how a man as heartless as Gu Jin-Long could shed tears. He couldn't understand how Gu Jin-Long could return to this place, address the woman as 'Han-Er,' and even refer to himself as 'Brother Da-Long'...

Was he devoid of guilt or self-reproach?

Did he not comprehend that the moment he embraced the path of cultivation, he ceased to be Gu Da-Long?

Gu Jin-Long's words trickled out softly, his voice filled with melancholy. "Brother Feng, I'm a sentimental man... I can't forget that day when Han-Er gazed at me, tears adorning her face. I remember her eyes and her beautiful hair. She wore the purple dress I gifted her, and that day, it fluttered in the breeze... Her tearful eyes were fixed on me. It was both a poignant and exquisite sight, one that I can never erase from my memory."

With a sudden cry, he continued, "Every time I recall it, my heart aches..."

[My heart aches now. Understand?]

Cha-Eun Xiao sighed internally.

Gu Jin-Long remained immersed in sorrow for an extended period before eventually standing up. He cast his gaze upon the grave and murmured, "Han-Er, I'm leaving now. I'll visit you again... Please take care of yourself in heaven. Don't let me worry..."

Observing him as he took out some paper money and candles, lighting them with sincerity, Cha-Eun Xiao struggled to put his emotions into words.

To him, this man was utterly unhinged, a lunatic.

Perhaps, when Gu Jin-Long embarked on the path of cultivation, he was still Gu Da-Long. When he reunited with Han-Er, he remained Gu Da-Long. However, the one who had taken Han-Er's life was Gu Jin-Long, and Gu Da-Long had perished alongside her.

Taking some incense from Gu Jin-Long, Cha-Eun Xiao ignited them and reverently placed them before the solitary woman's grave. He bowed to the lonely soul residing within the grave, which had endured solitude for millennia.

In his thoughts, he addressed her, [Your name is Han-Er, Li Ming-Han, correct? ... I promise you, I will avenge you. I will eliminate this monster, not just for my sake, but for yours. I will do it for the life that was wasted waiting for him.

I will slay Gu Jin-Long, no matter what.]

Cha-Eun Xiao made a solemn pledge within his heart.

Never had he yearned to take someone's life with such intensity.

The fervor within him raged so strongly that it nearly overwhelmed him.

Once he had finished his inner vow, the wind suddenly howled in the otherwise serene sky. Fallen leaves and blades of grass were swept into the air.

In front of the grave, a whirlwind seemed to materialize. Leaves and grass swirled about in front of Cha-Eun Xiao...

It was as though the spirit of the woman was responding to him...

When the wind subsided and tranquility returned, a small mound had formed before Cha-Eun Xiao.

Gu Jin-Long gazed at him with gratitude and expressed, "Brother Feng, thank you. You offered incense for my Han-Er. I knew it was right to call you my brother..."

Forced to smile, Cha-Eun Xiao replied, "It's fine, big brother."

Gu Jin-Long raised his head, allowing the breeze to brush against his face. He smiled and remarked, "See, Han-Er is content... She's pleased that I came to visit her. Her years of waiting weren't in vain, were they..."

With a disdainful roll of his eyes, Cha-Eun Xiao remained speechless.

Gu Jin-Long drifted into contemplation for a moment before speaking softly, "I've never shared this with anyone over all these years... I must have appeared quite foolish in your eyes."

Cha-Eun Xiao responded with a touch of irony, "I never realized you were such a sentimental man."

The words were dripping with sarcasm, but Gu Jin-Long, lost in his emotions, failed to grasp the irony. Tears streamed down his face as he continued, "The biggest flaw in my life... is my sentimentality."

Cha-Eun Xiao had to suppress a surge of revulsion at those words.

[How shameless can one be?]

Gu Jin-Long seemed to attribute his cruelty to sentimentality, a level of shamelessness that defied description.

As they departed from the grave and descended the mountain, Gu Jin-Long appeared reluctant to leave, taking a few steps back to gaze longingly at the site.

To onlookers, he might have appeared genuinely sentimental.

Cha-Eun Xiao took a deep breath, trying to contain the anger simmering within him, fearing it might erupt suddenly.

Once they reached the city gate, they parted ways. Gu Jin-Long had extended an invitation to the salesroom before bidding farewell, but Cha-Eun Xiao had no desire to accept.

He felt nauseated by Gu Jin-Long's so-called "love story" and wanted nothing more than to distance himself from it.

Following their parting, Cha-Eun Xiao's cultivation underwent a noticeable improvement. In his pursuit of further progress, he occasionally tossed one or two pieces of spiritual jade into the Space, activating the Cosmic Hades' fierce mode. He sought substantial advancements in his cultivation through these perilous endeavors.

Each time he did so, he faced great danger, yet he always bore a smile during the process...

That smile embodied a cold, murderous desire.