Chapter 383: A Leisurely Move
When Zhou Moran opened his eyes, the morning light was slanting across the bed.
He froze, slowly turning his head to look at the bronze mirror beside the bed. The mirror reflected a young face, with eyebrows like swords, yet eyes carrying a few traces of vicissitudes.
This was… the room where he had previously "died"?
He sat up abruptly. A sharp pain shot through his chest, making him grunt involuntarily.
Looking down, the skin beneath his clothes was perfectly intact, without the slightest scar. Yet that pain seemed to spread from the depths of his soul.
Did I… come back?
No… perhaps I never left…
He muttered to himself, his voice hoarse beyond recognition, carrying a few degrees of self-mockery.
Memories flooded in like tidewater—the false world, the manipulated fate, Liu Yunyao's "joke," the guilt and evasion in Lin Xinyao's eyes…
And the final scene—
Zhou Moran suddenly laughed softly, his laughter carrying a few degrees of relief.
"So that's how it was…"
There was never any reincarnation in this world. Everything was falsehood.
It was a great figure with heaven-reaching means who had performed a play for him.
He thought he would be angry, would hate, would go mad—
But at this moment, he was unexpectedly calm.
He reached out to touch his chest. It was empty there, as if something was missing.
But strangely, he didn't feel regret. Instead, he felt a sense of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
Just then—
"Still thinking about your two childhood sweethearts? Is it because you learned that everything you experienced was merely falsehood, so you think the real them might still be deceived by that person, waiting for you to rescue them?"
A voice suddenly rang beside his ear, gentle yet carrying a few degrees of banter.
Accompanied by this gentle voice.
True memories flooded in like tidewater—when Lin Xinyao received the jade hairpin he gave her beneath the peach tree, the reluctance that clearly flashed in her eyes; when Liu Yunyao sparred with him in the Sword Pavilion, the hesitation every time she withdrew her sword; and the heartfelt radiance in their eyes when they looked at Zhou Qingyang…
So that's how it was…
Zhou Moran suddenly laughed loudly, laughing until tears seeped from the corners of his eyes.
He remembered the final moments of his previous life—the calm look in Lin Xinyao's eyes as she watched him fall, Liu Yunyao's resolute figure as she turned and left.
Those behaviors he once thought were signs of being deceived, now seemed so clear—they had never had his shadow in their eyes.
So…
Zhou Moran did not turn back. He merely smiled faintly: "No."
He stood up and walked to the window, gazing at the peach tree blooming in full splendor in the courtyard.
That voice laughed: "If you wish, I can send you back to the Upper Realm."
Zhou Moran shook his head: "Actually, I knew long ago. There was never any deception."
He said softly, "After so many years, if there had been even a trace of me in their hearts, I wouldn't have ended up at this point."
A breeze passed by, petals drifting down in profusion, like silent sighs.
"Actually, from beginning to end, what controlled me was nothing but my own unwillingness to accept and my refusal to believe," Zhou Moran's voice was very calm, as if narrating someone else's story, "And even… for this, I betrayed those who truly treated me well."
"So…" He turned around, looking toward somewhere in the void: "Actually… what I needed was merely a barely acceptable reason."
He paused, then said solemnly: "Thank you. Whether you are the Saint Master or not, thank you for giving me this reason."
The room was silent. Only the chirping of birds outside the window could be heard.
Zhou Moran took out a jade slip from his bosom. The jade slip was pure white, its surface flowing with faint golden light.
This was something left behind by that person back then, which had inadvertently come into his possession through various twists and turns.
"This is what you left behind… Now it returns to its rightful owner."
He gently placed the jade slip on the table. The moment the jade slip touched the table surface, it emitted a crisp "ding" sound.
Zhou Moran looked at the jade slip and suddenly smiled bitterly: "I really lived a wretched life in this lifetime."
His voice grew lower and lower, as if his strength was being drained bit by bit: "If only… I could really reincarnate…"
Before his words fell, his body swayed slightly, then slowly collapsed.
In the final moment before his consciousness dissipated, he seemed to see a slender hand reaching out from the void, catching that jade slip. At the same time, a faint sigh reached his ears.
Suddenly, he used his last bit of strength to kneel down on both knees, his forehead heavily striking the bluestone slab.
"Sorry, Master, sorry…"
This bow was for the betrayed sincere heart. This kowtow was for the absurdity of self-deception.
Blood seeped from his forehead, blooming into dark red flowers on the stone slab.
…
Immortal Spirit Valley, wooden house.
Chen Chang'an played with the jade slip in his hand, his gaze falling upon the water mirror. Zhou Moran's body still maintained the posture of kneeling and bowing, but had completely lost its vitality.
However, in Chen Chang'an's eyes, the last remaining True Spirit had not dissipated. Instead, it was wrapped in a wisp of golden light, suspended in mid-air.
Chen Chang'an knew that was the final thread of obsession everyone has before death.
Thus, he was about to wave his sleeve gently—
"Are you really going to do this?" Ji Hongli stood nearby, her brows slightly furrowed.
Chen Chang'an smiled: "What, do you really think that at this point, his remaining obsession would still be about those two women who betrayed him?"
Ji Hongli shook her head: "No… I just think that those who betray others are not worthy of sympathy."
"I'm not sympathizing with him. I'm merely… believing in a simp's awakening, going with the flow. Perhaps in the future, he will give me or others a small surprise."
Chen Chang'an revealed an unfathomable smile.
After thinking, he sighed again, "Moreover, the fact that he could awaken at the end already makes him stronger than most people."
As he spoke, he waved his hand. The scene in the water mirror switched to the Zhou Residence in Jade Script City—Lady Zhou was leaning on a couch taking a nap, her abdomen slightly bulging, clearly already pregnant.
"In this life, let him truly start over from the beginning."
Chen Chang'an lightly tapped with his fingertip. That wisp of golden light wrapping Zhou Moran's True Spirit transformed into a shooting star, silently sinking into Lady Zhou's abdomen.
Then he merely moved his mind.
Time in the Spirit Realm hurried forward several years.
Ripples appeared on the water mirror, continuously reflecting new fragments—
An infant cried at birth, its eyebrows vaguely resembling Zhou Moran's shadow;
A youth practiced sword beneath the peach tree, his posture straight as a pine;
A young man stood on the city wall, gazing into the distance, his gaze firm and clear…
Ji Hongli looked at these scenes and suddenly asked: "Will he still remember his previous life in this lifetime?"
Chen Chang'an put away the jade slip and smiled faintly: "So what if he remembers, so what if he doesn't?"
"The meaning of reincarnation is never to repeat the past, but to have the opportunity… to walk a new path."
He turned with a flick of his sleeve, and the scenes in the water mirror dissipated.
Outside the window, the morning light was perfect. A new day had just begun.
Unlock 30 chapters instantly (for the price of the old 20-chapter tier) and get 50–55 new chapters every month.
If you're enjoying the story, consider supporting me here:
patreon.com/anish_44