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"where……"

"She's no ordinary person! Father, you've seen the cloth stained with her blood, haven't you? The color is just as vibrant as imported goods! I can't let her go!"

"You wicked child! She's your sister... your sister!" The man sobbed, "How... how can I leave in peace? You wicked child... you wicked child... Xixue... Xixue..." His voice grew fainter and fainter until finally, silence fell. This cowardly man finally died.

Xi Xue stood outside the window, expressionless. She opened her palm; the tiny wounds were slowly healing. When she looked up again, her eyes were filled with uncontrollable anger.

It started raining in Zhicheng, and then there was torrential rain for several months.

Heavy rains rushed down from the mountains, causing floods that submerged thousands of acres of farmland and houses. That year, there was almost no harvest of grain in Zhicheng and even the downstream areas, and hundreds of thousands of people were homeless, subsisting on mud and tree bark.

Chapter Twenty: Epilogue

Chapter Twenty

Remembering events from a past life doesn't equate to remembering past emotions. Chen Yiting remained an observer, witnessing those vivid memories. He knew those events had truly occurred. Lan Ye couldn't see through the concept of past and present lives, stubbornly believing that a person remains the same after reincarnation. He wanted to fulfill his promise, therefore he believed Chen Yiting was Xi Xue.

In human relationships, there must be emotional ties. Chen Yiting didn't care about Lan Ye's anger, pain, or sorrow, nor did he care about that so-called promise. In his world, there was only Jing Ling who always radiated a dazzling light.

The disaster of that year ended with the sacrifice of those who were wiped away.

Chen Yiting watched her initial indifference, and then her final decision. Her slender body stood atop the mountain, her eyes filled with a quiet sorrow. Lan Ye's usual languid expression was gone, replaced by anxiety, just as he had been when he was trapped in his cage, burned by flames. He gripped her hand tightly: "Xi Xue...no...no...those people don't deserve it!"

She responded with a cryptic smile: "So you caused this disaster?"

Lan Ye remained silent, gazing at her with a sorrowful expression.

Xi Xue looked at Lan Ye with an almost admiring gaze and laughed, "You learn very quickly. A fox spirit, actually knows how to use mountain streams to create disasters. When I taught you all this, I was guessing how you would use what you learned. But I want you to know that since you can cause floods, I have a way to cure them."

"wipe out……"

“Lan Ye…can you say that you didn’t have any ulterior motives when you followed me? No. Similarly, I had my own reasons for taking you in and teaching you witchcraft.”

"Xue, don't pay any attention to these people, they deserve it."

Xi Xue gently touched Lan Ye's cheek: "Back then, what I hated most was my grandfather's nagging, my so-called mission as a sorcerer, and all the rules and regulations that bound me. They all thought I followed them perfectly, and yes, on the surface, that's how it seemed. But I wanted to see what would happen if everything got out of control. Now I see it: tens of thousands displaced, tens of thousands starving to death in the wilderness, tens of thousands separated from their families. This outcome was actually caused by my indulgence. Lan Ye, do you remember what I said when we first met?" Her eyes suddenly softened: "I said, I believe in fate. I know what kind of person you are, but since it's you, I accept it. Do you know what I accept?"

Lan Ye felt he had never heard Xi Xue say so much before. He stared at her intently, wondering what she would say next. But he didn't get an answer; he fell into a deep sleep.

The floodwaters receded three days later.

The snow fell into eternal slumber beneath a banyan tree by the river. Two hundred years later, a middle school was built there. Three hundred years later, people said there were two twin trees at Zhicheng Middle School, but few knew that they were just two branches of a tree whose trunk had been buried in the soil.

No one remembers washing the snow anymore.

Except for Lan Ye.

“I am not Xixue.” Chen Yiting pushed Lan Ye’s hand away and said calmly, “Xixue died three hundred years ago and is now fertilizer in Zhicheng Middle School.”

Lan Ye held on to him stubbornly, "You are! I met a water-elemental witch before, and at first I thought that person was you, but she wasn't. This time, I'm sure of it, and I won't let go again."

Faced with Lan Ye's obsession, Chen Yiting smiled: "If I were you, what would you do?"

Without hesitation, Lan Ye said, "Together forever!" But in less than a second, the excitement on his face vanished silently, and he said no more. The image of that beautiful woman appeared in his mind, completely occupying his thoughts.

His hesitation did not escape Chen Yiting's notice.

"Tomorrow night at 10 PM, I'll be waiting for you under the twin trees at Zhicheng Middle School, waiting for your choice."

Lan Ye nodded happily, "I'll definitely be there on time. I'll come find you after I've finished explaining." Chen Yiting watched his hurried departure, but his mind was filled with another image. The person as bright as a sunflower, the person who loved heavy eyeliner, the person who hated the heat, the person who loved sweet talk, the person who was unruly and prone to recklessness, the person with a stronger personality than anyone else… He suddenly smiled. How would such a person face the fox's betrayal?

At ten o'clock, the moon is shining.

Chen Yiting lay on the cool flower bed, looking up at the dark blue sky through the lush foliage.

Lan Ye did not come. Jing Ling used a forbidden technique to erase Lan Ye's memories. From then on, he only remembered a woman named Jing Ling, remembered that she loved him, and remembered that he loved her.

The blood cocoon grew larger and larger, ridiculously large.

The wind created by Chen Yiting's witchcraft caused the blood cocoon to sway and shake.

"Are we late?" a strange voice called out. Everyone turned towards the source of the voice. Feng Qi saw that Nian Yu was standing with Zhang Lihua, and in front of them were a wiry old man and a short, stout man with a full beard. The one who spoke was the energetic old man.

"Not too late, you old fool! You can wait until he explodes before coming. Didn't you do the same thing more than ten years ago?" Chen Yiting said coolly. The old man snorted twice, strode over to Chen Yiting's side, and examined the blood cocoon: "This is... that kid Chao You?"

"If it wasn't him, who else could it be?" Zhang Lihua shouted angrily. "Elder Chen! Haven't you been protecting him all along? Now, he's turned against you?"

Nianyu glanced at Zhang Lihua, said nothing, and looked worriedly at the blood cocoon and Chen Yiting.

Chen Yiting laughed and said, "Xu Pangzi from the fire element, Zhang Lihua and Old Man Feng from the wood element, and Nianyu from the earth element, you've all come together quite well."

The old man surnamed Feng rolled his eyes at Chen Yiting: "I'll settle the score with you later..." He turned to look at the blood cocoon that was still expanding outwards and asked, "Can Chao You control this witchcraft? Even if Jing Ling is resurrected, it's not certain that she can control it."

“Chaoyou…have you been resenting me all along?” the short, fat man suddenly said. “More than twenty years ago, I rejected your efforts and didn’t even grant you the qualification of a shaman…but you can’t disregard the rules of a shaman because of that!”

After the man finished speaking, Chao You, who had been silent all along, chuckled: "You don't need to say anything more. Today, I'm going to make you all pay with your lives!"

The Blood Cocoon Technique has always been a forbidden technique that leads to mutual destruction.

"Old Feng!" Chen Yiting shouted.

The elderly man surnamed Feng looked in the direction of the voice and saw Chen Yiting's gesture and position. His eyelids twitched, and he immediately understood. He quickly patted Nian Yu and Xu Jian beside him. These people were all top students in their respective departments, and after Elder Feng's reminder, they understood Chen Yiting's intention. Yu Ye had also run over at some point and joined their ranks.

The five individuals each occupied one of the five corners of a pentagon, their hands forming the incantation "Xie" in their respective sect's shamanistic language. Starting with Chen Yiting, the other four chanted in unison. The ever-expanding blood cocoon remained trapped at the center of the pentagon.

Chao You's strength was already weak, how could he possibly withstand the five people's sorcery? The crimson color of the blood cocoon gradually faded, and the blood threads surrounding him also dispersed one by one, turning into a pink mist. They all saw Chao You's snow-white face, his body enveloped in pink mist, his pupils blood-red, and a jujube-red mark the size of a walnut shell on his forehead slowly fading.

Elder Feng breathed a sigh of relief. The Blood Cocoon Technique was incredibly powerful; if one wasn't careful, it could harm the surrounding area and was difficult to prevent. Unexpectedly, Chen Yiting had come up with a solution using the most basic "leakage" technique combined with the purification spells of the five elements to stop it, and it seemed to be quite effective.

Chao You watched in horror as the blood trickled down his body: "Don't come any closer!" He roared angrily, "Chen Yiting! Don't you hate me? I used you?"

Chen Yiting raised an eyebrow: "With you?"

"Heh, me?!" Chao You roared, his voice hoarse. "You've always looked down on me. I wasn't as pretty as my sister before, and people often laughed at me for being ugly. Later, I got plastic surgery and practiced witchcraft diligently, but you still look down on me! Why?! That woman has everything, and I... can't even get your respect?" He finished with a sinister smile. "You'll always remember me..."

Before the words were even finished, a loud "bang" was heard, and it exploded on You's entire body. Tiny pieces of flesh and blood splattered on the faces of everyone present, and blood plasma mixed with some scattered organs slowly flowed out.

Everyone was stunned.

The Blood Cocoon Technique, which supposedly destroys everything, only managed to kill the caster.

Chen Yiting's face was extremely pale. Yu Ye noticed this and stepped forward to gently grasp his hand: "Yiting?"

He turned to meet her gaze with a cold expression: "All my efforts have been in vain."

After Jing Ling's death, he spent many years researching the Blood Cocoon Technique, finally devising a method that could simultaneously protect both the caster and the recipient. The blood cocoon dissipated, the mark faded—everything proved his idea was correct. Yet, Chao You actually ended his life by self-destruction.

"I never thought you'd be used by someone." Elder Feng was somewhat gloating, partly because he was able to find the real culprit, and partly because he was finally free from being an enemy of Chen Yiting.

Chen Yiting glanced at Elder Feng, snorted coldly, and turned to leave.

Feng Qi, hiding in the courtyard, witnessed everything. He was bent over, one hand on the tree trunk, the other clutching his collar, vomiting violently.

Chen Yiting walked up to him.

Feng Qi looked up and inadvertently saw the eyeball that originally belonged to Chao You hanging on Chen Yiting's shoulder. The urge to vomit came over him again, and he no longer cared about being embarrassed. He immediately vomited, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"Will you become my apprentice?" Chen Yiting asked casually.

Feng Qi looked up in confusion, trying to keep his attention away from Chen Yiting's blood-stained long gown: "Why do you always want me to be your apprentice?"

"You're so fun."

Feng Qi almost cursed, "I'm not doing it."

"reason?"

"In no mood."

"That's not a reason."

"I don't want to be a wizard."

"You are a wizard."

"Then, I want to find my biological parents first."

Chen Yiting didn't speak again, quietly looking at Feng Qi, yet as if she wasn't looking at anything: "What's the point of bringing parents who have no feelings for each other here?"

"But we are bound by blood."

"Feng Qi".

"Um?"

"I'll give you two choices: one, become my apprentice and we'll find your parents together; two, I'll kill you."

Feng Qi froze, looking at Chen Yiting's serious expression, which didn't seem like a joke. He suddenly felt incredibly embarrassed and mumbled, "One."

Chen Yiting smiled, like the bright moonlight after the rain.

"But is Elder Feng a relative of mine?"

"No, he's just a lousy old man."

"But he's a wood element person, and his surname is Feng."

"I said no, and that's final." Chen Yiting's voice turned cold, mixed with the sound of Feng Qi's teeth chattering. Feng Qi reluctantly grunted twice: "You're so great, you're the boss."

Under the eaves not far from them, Yu Ye watched the two people in the courtyard, her face pale. She heard every word of their conversation. She remembered facing a similar choice several years ago.

She chose Asakusa, and then said to Ting, "I will no longer ask you to leave with me, nor will I care about your affairs. From now on, whether you are good or bad, it has nothing to do with me."

Her eyes burned, tears blurred her vision, and she collapsed to the ground, burying her head deep in the black panther's fur: "Asakusa... will you always stay with me?"

The black panther's deep blue eyes gazed resolutely into the distance: "Haven't I always been with you?"