Within the Dark Ice Cave Dwelling, cold airrequiring several peopleandwasscattered, like eternal silence. Aunt Su lay quietly on the dark ice platform, her complexion palenearlythroughbright, long lashes casting faint shadows on her closed eyelids, as if immersed in an endless dream from which she could not awaken. Tang Xiaoqi sat cross-legged beside the ice platform, eyes closed, meditative. His aura merged with the surrounding cold, yet his spiritual sense was like the finest thread, carefully, gingerly probing toward Aunt Su's brow and sea of consciousness.
This was not his first attempt. For three years, he had countless times used his own gentle purification power to nourish Aunt Su's nearly exhausted soul. Yet he never dared go too deep into that shattered sea of consciousness, fearing the slightest carelessness might extinguish that fragile soul flame entirely. But Aunt Su's injuries remained stagnant; conventional methods seemed at their limit.
Today, he decided to take a risk, attempting to contact those sealed or chaotic memory fragments deep in her consciousness, hoping to find an opportunity to awaken her, or understand the truth of her joining the Shadow Snake Pavilion. His spiritual sense touched the barrier surrounding the sea of consciousness, sensing achaoticchaos and frozensilent. Tang Xiaoqi patiently guided purification power, like spring wind and rain, melting that ice strand by strand—the process slow and extremely careful. Who knows how long passed before, as if ice cracked a fine fissure, his spiritual sense finally "saw" some blurry light and shadows. **.
A summer afternoon, sunlight filtering through luxuriant branches, casting mottled light on blue stone slabs. Two little girls in lotus-pink dresses chased each other playfully in the courtyard, their silver-bell-like laughter clear and pleasant. The older girl, gentle brows and eyes, poised and serene—that was how Xiao Qi remembered his mother in youth. She turned back, extending her hand to her younger sister struggling to catch up, face flushed, smiling warmly: "Wan'er, run slower, be careful of falling."** **"Sister, wait for me!" Young Su Wan'er—later Aunt Su—pouted, trying to step with her short legs, eyes full of dependence and admiration.** This was.
Xu Lan Mountain Manor? The childhood of mother and Aunt Su. The images were warm and bright, full of carefree innocence. The images shifted, colors suddenly turning grayish and oppressive. **. In the martial arena, youthful Xu Zhan held a spear, posture straight as a pine, spear thrusts like dragons, drawing cheers from all around.
In the corner, Su Wan'er had grown into an elegant maiden, hiding behind a pillar, secretly gazing at that dazzling figure in the field, cheeks flushed, eyes carrying undisguised admiration and shyness. In her hand she tightly clutched a half-embroidered mandarin duck handkerchief, stitches meticulous, yet ultimately never given.** **Later, she watched her sister stand shoulder to shoulder with Xu Zhan, perfect match, like heaven-made pair. She quietly put away that handkerchief, deeply burying thatignorant affection in her heart, genuinely happy for her sister, only occasionally, a trace of even self-unperceived sadness flickering in her eyes.** Tang Xiaoqi's heart stirred. So Aunt Su had once had such feelings for Father.
The images shattered and reformed again, growing chaotic, twisted, filled with pain and struggle. **. Xu Lan Mountain Manor ablaze, cries of battle, screams unceasing. Su Wan'er (Aunt Su) as a young adult was desperately escorted out by loyal servants. She turned back, only seeing her sister, at the final moment, stuffing a jade pendant into a swaddling blanket, then turning resolutely, rushing toward where demonic energy was most concentrated, her figure consumed by flames and black fog.** **"Sister—!" Her heartrending cry drowned in the chaos.
She watched homes burn, relatives murdered. That despair and hatred, like toxic vines, instantly wrapped around her heart.** Memory fragments became chaotic, twisted, filled with pain and struggle. **. A mysterious figure in a silver mask found the displaced, hatred-filled Su Wan'er. "Want revenge? Want power?" The masked figure's voice was alluring.
"Xu Lan Mountain Manor's destruction was no accident. Join us, and you can touch the truth, gain power to avenge yourself on those hypocrites!"** **"Shadow Snake Pavilion." Su Wan'er murmured this name, eyessobones hatred and confusion. She knew this wasn't the righteous path, but towering hatred and the pain of losing everything made her grasp this sole "rescue Xiao Qiricegrass." She donned the same silver mask, becoming Aunt Su, completely burying her past innocence and goodness.** The following fragments were even more fragmented, filled with contradictions and torment. **. In the Shadow Snake Pavilion, she underwent brutal training, hands gradually stained with blood, heart growing cold and hard in darkness.
With extraordinary talent and ruthlessness, she rose step by step, becoming a Silver Mask Emissary. But whenever night fell and silence descended, her sister's gentle smile, Xu Zhan's proud figure, and that warm sunlight on the manor—all would appear like nightmares, tossing her in pain through the night.** **. She was ordered to secretly investigate the Xu bloodline. The first time she sensed that faint purification aura outside Qingxu Temple, shock and complexity overwhelmed her.
That was her sister's child! He was alive!** **. She began secretly observing Tang Xiaoqi's growth, repeatedly, risking exposure, giving hints and help in crucial moments, whether overt or covert. In the secret realm, she deliberately held back; before auctions, she left markers; when demonic cultivators besieged Qingxu Temple, she risked passing intelligence, even turning against colleagues to assist.** **.
Every act of help came with intense internal struggle. Guilt toward her sister, complex unspoken feelings for Xu Zhan, self-loathing for her identity, and andidn't knowwasvergeproduced, mother-like compassion and protective instinct toward that child—all intertwined, nearly tearing her apart. She lived in endless lies and disguise, walking on knife edges.** The final fixed image was in the Hall of Ten Thousand Souls, her stepping forward to create an opportunity for Xiao Qi, implementexpandemittingtechnique to trap the demonic-controlled Xu Zhan, shouting his true name to awaken his senses, then being severely wounded by the demonic entity fragment. "Ptoo—" Tang Xiaoqi violently withdrew his spiritual sense, his face slightly pale, fine cold sweat appearing at histemples.
Forcefully probing another's shattered consciousness, especially such deep memories, greatly consumed his spiritual sense. He opened his eyes, looking at Aunt Su still sleeping on the ice platform, his gaze incomprehensibly complex. This was no longer looking at someone needing treatment or a former ambiguous Shadow Snake Pavilion emissary. Those memory fragments, like jigsaw pieces, let him see a complete Su Wan'er.
Her childhood, her secret love, her destroyed home, her helpless choices, her struggles and perseverance in darkness, and that deep-hidden, never-extinguished kinship and kindness. She was not a born villain, but someone fate had toyed with, carried along by hatred, yet always retaining a spark of conscience in darkness. Joining the Shadow Snake Pavilion was for revenge and to seek truth. And what she did later was more to protect her sister's only child, to compensate for internal guilt.
"Aunt Su." Tang Xiaoqi softly murmured, this time with unprecedented understanding and a trace of heartache. He extended his hand, again transferring gentle purification power into her body. This time, it was not merely treatment, but more like a silent promise and acceptance. Within the cave, cold air remained, yet in that icy silence, perhaps a trace of imperceptible warmth appeared.
Deep within Aunt Su's three-year dormant, emptinesswaterlike sea of consciousness, nourished by that wisp of purification power carrying understanding and forgiveness, some extremely tiny corner seemed to. tremble extremely slightly.