As the black-and-white light within the cave suddenly extinguished, it was as if every sound in the world had been sucked away, and time itself froze. Shen Mingyue felt the surging power within her recede like a retreating tide. Her limbs felt sapped of all strength, as limp and fragile as a withered autumn leaf, and she could barely twitch a finger. She stumbled forward, only to fall into an embrace that carried a faint scent of blood. The broken pieces of Gu Jinghong’s armor pressed painfully against her, but the arms he wrapped around her waist were as steady as stone—like an ancient tree rooted deep in the earth, unshakeable even by the fiercest storm. "It’s over," he said. His voice was low and hoarse, carrying a tremor he couldn't quite mask, yet it resonated like a great bell through the empty cave, startling the bats roosting on the rock walls. The sound of their fluttering wings in the silence was jarring, a final farewell to the brutal battle.
Su Li slid down to sit against the stone wall, her fingertips brushing the cracked jade pendant at her chest. Every fissure in that piece of jade was a testament to the pain and struggle she had endured over the years. She suddenly let out a low laugh—at first faint, as if squeezed from the depths of her throat, laced with bottomless bitterness, before it dissolved into an uncontrollable sob. "So, this is what liberation feels like..." Before she could finish, a deafening roar erupted overhead. The entire valley seemed to tre…
Chapter 145