Since that single tear fell, another month passed. Tang Xiaoqi's guardianship never paused for a moment. He no longer relied solely on life-bound blood and purification origin nourishment. More often, he held Aunt Su's slightly cool hand, continuously transferring via spiritual thought those concepts about kinship, forgiveness, and the future.
He narrated plans for rebuilding Xu Lan Mountain Manor, described Qingxu Temple's current thriving state, even told of interesting events and confusions encountered in his cultivation—like a junior conversing casually with an elder relative. That Soul-Warming Jade's glow grew increasingly gentle. Aunt Su's fingertips' unconscious movements became somewhat more frequent. Though still unable to open her eyes, anyone could sense the frozen soul was melting faster, some change imminent.
This day was dusk. The sunset's afterglow, passing through refractive crystals set at the cave entrance, cast several warm orange, mottled light bands within the dark ice cave. One happened to fall on Aunt Su's pale cheek. Tang Xiaoqi had just finished a round of narration and was about to meditate when he suddenly sensed Aunt Su's finger in his palm, not merely moving but clearly, with a trace of strength. squeezing back!
His entire body trembled as he looked up. He saw Aunt Su's thick, curled lashes—like butterflies struggling to break from cocoons—violently trembling. Once, twice. finally, under Tang Xiaoqi's nearly breathless gaze, those eyes tightly closed for over three years, with great difficulty, slowly. opened a crack. At first, her gaze was unfocused, confused, as if unable to focus, carrying post-long-slumber turbidity and discomfort.
She seemed to want to move her eyeballs but found it extremely difficult. "Aunt Su?" Tang Xiaoqi's voice trembled with disbelief, calling out softly, his hand holding hers unconsciously tightening. This call, like a beam of light, pierced the chaos. Aunt Su's unfocused gaze slowly moved, finally fixing on Tang Xiaoqi's young face, written full of worry, exhaustion, yet alsobrand newemittedlightcolor due to extreme joy.
Her gaze shifted from confusion to recognition. After extreme weakness and daze, a complex, unnameable tide of emotions surged—shock, guilt, dawning realization, and. a tenderness deep in her heart that could no longer be suppressed. Her lips moved extremely slightly, seemingly wanting to speak, but only producing an almost inaudible breath sound. Cracked lips quivered, finally, using all her strength, shevomitemerge two vague, almost unintelligible words: "Xiao.
Qi." Voice hoarse, faint, like a candle in wind. But in Tang Xiaoqi's ears, it was like celestial music! "It's me! Aunt Su, it's me! You've awakened! You've finally awakened!" Enormous joy crashed against him, making his eyes instantly heat. He tightly gripped that hand trying to squeeze yet still weak, responding continuously.
Aunt Su looked at him, tears again seeping from her eye corners. This time, not unconscious sliding during slumber, but conscious tears carrying endless sorrow and relief. She seemed to want to raise her hand yet lacked even this strength. Tang Xiaoqi quickly transferred a strand of pure, balanced spiritual power, helping her stabilize her excited heart, speaking gently: "Aunt Su, you just awakened, your body is still weak.
Don't rush, take it slow. Everything has passed. You're very safe, at Qingxu Temple." Aunt Su closed her eyes, letting tears flow, seemingly digesting this enormous information and adapting to this body that had slumbered too long and felt unfamiliar. After a moment, she opened her eyes again. Her gaze was much clearer.
The heaviness and gloom accumulated over decades seemed washed away somewhat by those tears. She looked at Tang Xiaoqi, her gaze finally landing on features in his brow and nose somewhat resembling her sister and Xu Zhan. Her voice, still weak, carried an urgent inquiry: "He. Xu Zhan. your father." Tang Xiaoqi understood what she asked.
He took a deep breath, holding her hand, speaking calmly and solemnly. He recounted how in the Hall of Ten Thousand Souls, Xu Zhan had briefly regained clarity, used his final strength to reverse-manipulate his body, charging toward the Soul-Controlling Jade, how he transmitted spiritual thought informing truth and entrustment, finally dissipating together with the demonic entity fragment—completely, clearly. He did not hide Father's being controlled by the demonic entity's helplessness, nor beautify that mutual destruction battle's bitterness. But he emphasized Father's final clear, guilt-filled, reluctant yet resolute gaze, and that deep, mountain-like paternal love.
". Father finally said, 'Destroy the Soul-Controlling Jade to save me.'" Tang Xiaoqi looked at Aunt Su's eyes instantly filling with tears, speaking word by word: "He also said, 'Protect. yourself well.' He was lucid until the end. He made his own choice. He. never blamed you. He understood your hardships." Aunt Su listened, her body trembling slightly.
Tears burst the dam, no longer silent sliding butoppressed, woundedyoungbeastlike whimpering. This crying contained too much—decades of unrequited love, home destroyed hatred and confusion, struggles in darkness and self-loathing, guilt toward her sister, complex feelings for Xu Zhan. and finally, upon learning the truth, relief mixed with enormous sorrow. She did not cry for Xu Zhan's death, but for the past where fate toyed with them, missed each other, finally parting in such a way. For that man she once secretly admired yet ultimately had to "betray," he had actually known everything, and at the final moment, chose forgiveness and protection.
This crying seemed to pour out all the depression and pain pent up in her heart for decades. Tang Xiaoqi did not try to stop her, merely quietly holding her hand tightly, letting her cry. He knew these tears were the best medicine for healing heart and soul. After a long while, Aunt Su's crying gradually subsided into low sobs.
She closed her eyes wearily, chest heaving violently. But the gloom and heaviness that normally couldn't dissolve from her brow seemed, after this bout of crying, to have dissipated greatly. When she opened her eyes again, her gaze, though still weak, was much clearer. A peaceful release gradually surfaced.
"He. was ultimately that Xu Zhan." she murmured, voice carrying post-crying hoarseness yet a trace of unnameable tenderness: "He didn't disgrace. Xu Lan Mountain Manor's integrity." She turned to look at Tang Xiaoqi, at his undisguised concern and maturity beyond his years. She extended her other slightly trembling hand, extremely slowly, touching his cheek. Fingertips cold yet carrying a trace of real warmth.
"Xiao Qi. you've had it hard." Her voice carried sobbing, more pain and relief: "You've grown. Your sister and brother-in-law. if they could see you now. would be. would be extremely proud." Tang Xiaoqi held her hand on his face, gently shaking his head, showing a warm smile: "Not hard. As long as Aunt Su awakens, everything is worth it." Aunt Su looked at him, slowly showing an extremely weak yet utterly genuine smile, as if a thousand pounds had been lifted. That smile no longer held past allure and scheming, only vicissitudes after calamity and calm.
Decades of heart knots, in that bout of crying and relief upon learning truth, quietly unraveled. Past grievances and loves, obsessions and struggles, all seemed to, along with Xu Zhan's final clear and resolute figure, turn to clouds and smoke. She survived, carrying her sister and brother-in-law's bloodline continuation, carrying that late-arriving forgiveness and understanding, and also. the resolve to completely bid farewell to that past "Aunt Su." Awakening was not merely consciousness's return, but a reconciliation with the painful past, a rebirth of the soul. Within the Dark Ice Cave Dwelling, the sunset's warm light gilded these aunt and nephew, who had finally recognized each other after trials, with soft golden edges—tranquil and warm.