Marshal Silver lowered his head, staring blankly at Nisha as she sobbed in his arms.
Her body was right there in his embrace, her breath so real, a faint fragrance lingering and seeping into his very core... Yet his hands, suspended in midair, only trembled slightly, never finding the courage to hold on to this fleeting happiness.
Tripitaka stood quietly, slowly closed his eyes, pressed his palms together, and softly recited, "Amitabha."
Aiden Ao and Louis Quickpaw exchanged glances, both visibly moved.
Old Master Gale collapsed helplessly onto the ground, wailing and crying out again and again, "Calamity... calamity..."
A breeze slipped through the cracks in the window lattice, swaying the firelight, stirring the long skirt, and nudging the fallen marriage contract—becoming the only movement in the hall at that moment.
It was as if the entire scene had frozen in this instant.
After a long time, Nisha clung tightly to Marshal Silver, pressed her face to his chest, and choked out, "Don't go, okay? I don't want you to leave..."
"But... but I'm a demon, you saw it yourself, didn't you?"
His voice, too, carried a trace of choking sobs.
"No matter what you are, just don't leave, okay?"
"You don't understand... I'm a demon... I'm just a demon..."
"So what if you're a demon? Does being a demon mean you can just abandon me?"
"I... Can I really stay? If I don't leave, everyone will despise you..."
"So you're going to throw me away? If that's the case, then why did you come in the first place? Why did you come? Tell me!"
He had no way to answer.
If he couldn't reveal himself, why did he come at all?
If he came, why didn't he appear in his true form?
Why, after meeting her life after life, did he never teach her cultivation or keep her by his side forever...
All of this—he had no way to answer.
Each question swirled in Marshal Silver's mind like a dagger, stabbing into his chest.
He couldn't pick them up, nor could he let them go.
Nisha's grip around Marshal Silver tightened, her tears soaking into his chest.
In that instant, Marshal Silver felt his heart—frozen for a thousand years—begin to melt, turning into a flood of tears that overflowed his eyes and trickled down his grotesque face, dropping onto the shoulder of the woman he considered perfect.
How many years had it been, how many times had he thought himself numb to such partings of life and death? He was wrong.
In the end, he cried in front of her—because this journey was simply too bitter, too long... so long that the horizon could not be seen, forcing him to grit his teeth and keep walking forward, guarding himself alone in the darkness, not even knowing what he was holding out for.
In a haze, he seemed to recall the words Nisha had repeated over and over in the Moon Palace...
"Will you tell me everything?" Pressed tightly against Marshal Silver's chest, Nisha whispered, "Tell me your real name, tell me... your secret, tell me why you treat me so well, won't you?"
Time passed—so long that no one present could find words to describe it.
Marshal Silver slowly pulled Nisha away with his rough hands and whispered, "I'm sorry..."
Nisha stared up at him in a daze.
Avoiding Nisha's gaze, Marshal Silver whispered, "It's all my fault. If I hadn't come here, none of this would have happened... So, I'm sorry... Please, forget me. In this life and the next, I'll never appear before you again, never... disturb your life. Old Master Gale will surely find you a better husband. I'm sorry..."
As he spoke, he backed away step by step.
"Where are you going?"
"To a place you'll never see me again. Thank you, but a demon like me... is no match for you."
He smiled slowly, tears streaming down his face as he did.
Step by step, he retreated out the door, turned around, and leapt into the sky.
Everyone watched in stunned silence as he disappeared into the distance.
Until he vanished at the horizon, Nisha collapsed to the ground clutching her chest, eyes wide, tears streaming uncontrollably, overcome by a suffocating feeling.
She sat there in a daze for a long time, not moving at all.
For more than ten years, she had imagined countless scenarios, but never once had she thought... it would end like this today.
"Is this... what my love amounts to?"
Tripitaka took a deep breath and stepped forward, about to speak, when Old Master Gale, still sprawled on the ground, suddenly screamed and wailed, "Don't come over—don't come over! If you want the family property, take it! Just spare us—spare me and my daughter! I beg you, spare us!"
Tripitaka could only sigh inwardly, steady himself, and stand silently without saying a word.
Just then, Monkey—covered in blood—landed at the manor gate.
The crowd of villagers watching immediately scattered in panic at his appearance.
Clutching the Golden Staff, Monkey strode quickly into the hall, glanced around at the chaos, and quietly asked Tripitaka, "Where is he?"
"He's gone."
"Gone? Where did he go?"
"I don't know," Tripitaka swallowed nervously. "What exactly happened? Why did you all suddenly reveal your true forms?"