The wind swept fiercely across the sky.
Clara Heart stood motionless atop the Eight-Trigram Disc, her expression carrying an indescribable loneliness.
Thinking back, this entire romance was a mistake from the very beginning. A wrong start, wrong turns at every juncture, wrong all the way through—there was not a single part that wasn’t flawed. From start to finish, it was just a point for the great powers to exploit.
But after two lifetimes of mistakes, must there be a third?
“It truly is... a cursed fate.” That was the only judgment Clara could give.
She had already brought Anna Yang’s hairpin right before him, yet he remained unmoved.
Was his love for Birdie just a lie, a guilt-born illusion? And were those blossoms with Anna Yang beneath the moon tree also false?
Clara truly could not understand.
Her long memories had taught her much—far too much—but they also brought every kind of emotion, so much so that she could no longer calmly calculate against the Monkey, nor see through him, nor grasp his heart.
Looking back, if she could truly let go, why would she be so desperate to end it all?
Beside her, Aiden Chen was grinning happily.
“What are you smiling about?”
At her question, Aiden quickly shut his mouth and lowered his head.
“I asked you, what are you smiling about?”
After hesitating for a long while, Aiden finally whispered, "Since the Great Sage Equal to Heaven won’t take me as his disciple, doesn’t that mean I can become Sister Clara’s disciple instead?"
Hearing this, Clara Heart couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
The gloom that had clouded her face vanished instantly.
Reaching out to pat Aiden’s head, she sighed softly, “You have no idea what you’ve just lost.”
Aiden gazed at Clara with a look of pure confusion.
"My senior brother is the only Traveler’s Path Heaven’s Way cultivator in all Three Realms. Though he’s lost his Heaven’s Way cultivation, he could reclaim it any time he wished. Other than the Buddhist Order, there’s no one in the Three Realms who wouldn’t give him face. If you became his disciple, you could have anything you wanted; everyone would look up to you. You could do whatever you pleased, even Heaven itself couldn’t restrain you."
After speaking, Clara lowered her head and looked at Aiden. "Do you understand? The world of immortals is no different from the mortal world—birth and rank still matter. If I weren’t an inner disciple of Lord Lao and Master Sage Subhuti, how could I be so free?"
"I don't want freedom," Aiden replied.
"You're still young. You don’t understand."
Aiden pouted, gazing longingly at Clara.
"If you have something to say, just say it."
Aiden hesitated for a long time, then whispered, "Sister, do you not like me anymore?"
"Why would you say that?"
"Sister... you seem unhappy."
Clara was stunned for a moment, then reached out to ruffle Aiden’s hair again. "Don’t overthink it. I’m upset because of other things. From today on, you’re officially my disciple."
"Really?"
"Really."
Aiden was so happy that he leaped into her arms.
Master and disciple drifted across the endless sky atop the Eight-Trigram Disc.
Dozens of miles away, on a mountain peak, Master Sage Subhuti quietly watched, stroking his long beard.
......
In the pitch-dark night, on the banks of Blackwater River, Barry Bear carried over a pile of firewood, stacking it with a rhythmic clatter.
Marshal Silver reached out to grab the firewood, but Monkey stopped him.
"Let me do it tonight."
Marshal Silver glanced at Monkey, whose face was shadowed and somber, and frowned slightly.
"What’s wrong with you?"