THE WHITE MOONLIGHT ONLY HAS A HAPPY ENDING - CHAPTER 49

The kiss fell upon the skin beside the whip wounds, and alongside the cooling salve, it seemed to truly dispel the searing pain. In its place came a feeling of being cherished. It was a sensation of white-hot intensity, yet delivered with a cautious, fragile tenderness.

It was a strange feeling.

She was a Nascent Soul cultivator; at no point was she ever seen as someone in need of care. On the contrary, she was always the one stepping out to shield others. She was the one who endured the ache and grit her teeth in silence, forever aware that she was the pillar for everyone else. Over time, she had lost many traits a person should have. She had been wounded countless times and was an expert at endurance.

But today, he seemed determined to force a moan from her lips.

Her back and her small waist were such sensitive areas. Compared to the numbing tingle that felt like being kissed by threads of lightning, pain seemed easier to bear, especially when the demon’s silken black hair fell across her skin, cool and provocative, creating a contrast of ice and fire.

His scorching breath fanned over her as he lifted his head, voice low and raspy. "Does it still hurt?"

She turned her face away so he couldn't see her expression. "Yanyan! I told you, it didn't hurt to begin with."

He responded by biting down lightly on her shoulder blade. She let out a muffled groan, her fingers tightening around the soft quilt.

"It doesn't hurt?" the demon sneered, his tone turning dangerously low. "Next time you get hurt, I will kiss wherever the wound is. Here, or here, I'll kiss them all."

His hand slid down, catching her hip. He narrowed his phoenix eyes dangerously. "If you get hurt here, I’ll kiss here too."

She stiffened completely, feeling a heat rush from the spot he touched all the way to her head. After a long moment, she turned to glare at him, snapping, "Yanyan, even when you were in that state at the Colosseum, I wasn't this excessive!"

The demon sat back on the bed with ease, lazily narrowing his eyes. "Did I forbid you from kissing me? Did I say you couldn't kiss me wherever you liked? I was even prepared to let you strike me that day, but you couldn't bring yourself to do it!"

Jinsui: "..."

Fuming, she hugged her pillow and tried to burrow further into the bed, but he pressed her down, glaring. "Don't move around!"

He has such a foul temper and is so volatile. If he were cast out, surely no one could stand such a demon!

She thought this, but despite the sharp pain from before, perhaps because the salve was working or because of the lingering traces of his kisses, she gradually stopped feeling uncomfortable. Without realizing it, she drifted into sleep.

Night on the Divine Tree Plains carried a fragrance of vegetation that settled the mind. She vaguely felt him sitting by her side the entire time, guarding her in silent stillness. This demon always loved watching over her while she slept, like a dragon guarding its treasure, refusing to close its eyes day or night.

Before, his gaze reminded her of that little calico cat that often visited Moonlight Mountain, staring intensely at humans sleeping in the middle of the night with eyes that occasionally glowed green. But at some point, she had grown accustomed to his watch. Even with him staring at her, she could fall into a deep sleep quickly.

When she woke in the morning, it was snowing on the Divine Tree Plains. Outside the window lay a serene, white landscape.

When Mu Yuan brought breakfast, he remarked, "It has never snowed on the Divine Tree Plains."

Such an abnormal change in climate was a sign that the end was coming for this realm. Yet, the people of the Divine Tree Plains didn't seem particularly afraid. Unlike the panicked residents elsewhere in Water-Cloud Realm, they merely looked up in surprise at the snow. Mu Yuan’s tone held only wonder and delight.

The searing pain on Chao Jinsui’s back had lessened significantly. Had it not been for the Golden Bell protection, the wound would have reached her internal organs and wouldn't have healed so easily.

She moved to get up. "I'm going to see Chao Zhaoyue."

He sneered. "Stay in bed. If he dies, I’ll reach into the cycle of reincarnation and snatch his soul back for you."

She suddenly thought of Su Liuyun’s miserable remnant soul. "..."

She was forced back onto the bed by the demon for another round of medicine. He bandaged her up and told her to wait for the salve to absorb before getting up, even appointing the serpent "jailer" Little Eyes to watch her.

Since the Heaven-Mending Stone was in place, the sky wouldn't collapse immediately. She took the opportunity to enter her sea of consciousness and open the Kunlun Sword Manual.

She had mastered the first four layers and had not fallen behind in her fight with Chao Taichu. If he wanted her life, he was still far from capable. However, Chao Taichu had now reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, his strength exploding, and he had gained the troublesome Thunder Snake Sword technique.

The only move she had that could directly counter his Thunder Snake was the Frost Realm. The Thousand Jin, Gale, and Heart’s Desire layers were designed to make her sword fast, precise, and ruthless. The Golden Bell was a defensive technique. Calculating it all, in both her past and present lives, only the Frost Realm served as her finishing blow.

But her Frosty Sword was more of an area-of-effect move; its single-target lethality didn't match Chao Taichu’s Thunder Snake.

As she thought this, she heard a cold sneer from the Sword Spirit.

"Inferior to the Thunder Snake?"

She stepped into the Ancestor’s "classroom." This time, the moment she entered, she felt as if she had walked into a world of ice and snow. The little golden figure stood opposite her and, without a word, swung its sword!

The sword intent transformed into a massive blade of ice! The cold light flashed with such speed that she only felt a chill run through her body. She looked down to see the ice blade passing through her torso, and then she felt herself flying.

It turned out her head had been sliced clean off.

She snapped her eyes open on the bed, instinctively reaching up to touch her neck. Fortunately, her head was still there.

The Sword Spirit of the Kunlun Sword seemed to have a competitive streak. Usually sarcastic, it now humphed, "Inferior to the Thunder Snake?"

What defined a "finishing blow"? If it hit you and you could still hop around, it didn't deserve the name!

Chao Jinsui fell silent for a moment before laughing, her eyes sparkling with brilliance.

Realizing Yan Xueyi had been gone for a long time, she began to worry if something had gone wrong with Chao Zhaoyue. With her back bandaged, she threw on a heavy cloak, bypassed the snoring Great Serpent Little Eyes hanging from the bedpost, and headed toward Granny Shui’s residence.

Her worries were misplaced. Chao Zhaoyue had indeed injured his heart meridians, but Granny Shui’s medical skills were exceptional, and with divine items like Bodhi seeds, he had already woken up, though he couldn't leave the bed.

However, the moment he woke, he was met by Yan Xueyi, who had come to check on him. If he hadn't recognized the man at first, several months had passed, he would have been a fool not to know who this was by now.

When Chao Jinsui pushed the door open, the atmosphere was bizarre.

"A passing, kind-hearted person?"

"An unknown cultivator named Yan?"

Chao Zhaoyue, pale and clutching his chest while trying to sit up, sneered, "So the Demon Lord is warm, friendly, and loves helping others?"

The Demon Lord replied, "I do indeed enjoy helping others. I killed too much in previous years, so now I like to do a good deed a day."

Both men snorted simultaneously. Hearing the door, Zhaoyue and the Demon Lord looked over in unison.

She looked at Chao Zhaoyue, who was pale but still looking for a fight, and then at the tea-sipping Demon Lord. She took a step back, closed the door, brushed off her clothes, and walked away.

It seemed Chao Zhaoyue was doing just fine if he had the energy to argue. No need to snatch his soul from reincarnation just yet.

She turned a corner and found Granny Shui.

"Granny, how is Chao Zhaoyue?"

"Holding up the Water-Cloud Realm is no small feat," Granny Shui sighed. "He injured his heart meridians. But we have Bodhi seeds here; with rest, he can recover."

Chao Jinsui felt relieved. As long as the damage wasn't irreversible, it wasn't a major issue for a cultivator. She hesitated for a moment before finally speaking. "Granny, was my mother a member of the Divine Tree Tribe?"

She asked calmly, but her clenched fists betrayed her tension. After a long silence, the old woman let out a deep, haunting sigh. The answer was clear.

"Then what about the Xu family outside Water-Cloud Realm?" Jinsui asked.

Granny Shui, normally a kind old woman, changed her tone the moment the Xu family was mentioned. "It was all because of that father of yours!" She struck the table. "He pretended to be a good man on the surface, but he looked down on our A-Pu for having no family or status! He thought he was the high and mighty Sect Leader of the Kunlun Sword Sect, and that marrying A-Pu was beneath him!"

"He wouldn't lose face, so he registered A-Pu with the Xu family, marrying her off as their adopted daughter!" Granny Shui sneered. "At least the Xu family were the wealthiest in Tianci Prefecture; it sounded better than being an orphan girl!"

Chao Jinsui remained silent, but she wasn't surprised. She lowered her eyes, a coldness settling in her heart. She had long known what kind of man Chao Taichu was. He had looked down on her and Chao Zhaoyue for being "children of a mortal." It wasn't surprising he had done such a thing.

Granny Shui didn't want to talk about it anymore and waved her hand. "It’s all in the past. Speaking of it only brings anger. Your wounds aren't healed yet; go rest."

Seeing the old woman turn to leave, Chao Jinsui suddenly looked up. "Granny Shui, did my mother really die in childbirth?"

Granny Shui paused. "Your father said it was childbirth?" She let out a cold laugh. "How could A-Pu die from something as trivial as childbirth!"

She pounded her cane against the floor in anger. "If you want to know how she died, go ask that father of yours how he murdered her!"

Chao Jinsui froze, her eyes narrowing. "Granny, what are you saying? My mother was killed by Chao Taichu?"

Granny Shui refused to say another word. She waved her hand and stepped out. Despite her age, she moved as if her cane were a mere ornament, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Chao Jinsui moved to follow, but was stopped by A-Che, Granny Shui’s attendant. The girl smiled. "Granny Shui said that since you came to the Water-Cloud Realm for Chao Zhaoyue and A-Pu, and now that Zhaoyue has been found, she wants me to take you to see A-Pu."

Hearing she was to see her mother, Chao Jinsui didn't pursue the old woman.

The snow continued to fall, making the wooden houses look as though they were dusted with sugar. They left the beautiful village and arrived at an open plain.

On the pristine white snow, purple flowers bloomed across the entire field. They braved the cold, their petals vibrant and full of life.

"This is the graveyard of the Divine Tree Tribe," A-Che introduced. "Whenever a tribesman falls, they are buried in this field. Each Purple Spirit Flower grows from the remains of a tribesman."

A-Che led her to the end of a path. "A-Pu is here."

The attendant left, leaving Chao Jinsui alone. Clad in her cloak, her silhouette looked profoundly lonely.

The system couldn't help but speak up: My condolences.

"I am not sad," she said.

Don't force yourself!

"I'm not forcing myself. I'm looking for my mother."

A-Che had gestured vaguely to a patch of dozens of flowers. Before she could even feel sad, Jinsui was seriously wondering: Is my mother the round one or the flat one?

System: "..."

Suddenly, a hand reached out and plucked a small purple flower.

Chao Zhaoyue appeared. "What kind of flower is this? It’s quite pretty."

Chao Jinsui: "..."

A second later, another hand reached out and plucked another flower. The Great Demon tore it away carelessly. "What are you doing here? What’s so interesting about these flowers?"

Jinsui: "That’s my mother."

Chao Zhaoyue, who had just crushed a flower, froze. The Demon Lord’s hand stopped mid-destruction. He looked down at the flower in his hand and immediately tried to stick it back into the ground.

On the way back, Chao Zhaoyue, who had been cold and hostile earlier, muttered, "I deserve to die."

The Demon Lord glanced at the girl’s profile. "I deserve to die, too."

Having both determined they deserved death, they lost their motivation to argue. The morning's explosive tension vanished, replaced by a strange, brief peace.

Chao Zhaoyue then said suspiciously, "I lived in the Divine Tree Plains for so long, and Granny Shui never told me about Mother. I’ve also never heard of a Purple Spirit Flower graveyard."

Chao Jinsui looked at him. Chao Zhaoyue immediately lowered his head. "I really deserve to die."

Still, there was something fishy about it. Who points at a whole field of flowers and says, "That's your mother"? Not even specifying which one, it was too casual. Would the tribesmen not get confused when they came to pay their respects?

The Demon Lord suddenly spoke up. "If you want to know if your mother is truly buried there, I have a way."

She stopped. She suddenly remembered that as the Demon Lord , he surely had ways to find the dead.

He turned to Chao Zhaoyue. "Give me a drop of blood."

A spark of Karmic Fire appeared in his palm. Karmic Fire could burn souls; it was essentially the fire of the dead. It wasn't hard to find a spirit by following the scent of the bloodline.

After feeding the flame a drop of blood, the spark drifted toward the plains like a firefly. It hovered for a moment over the Purple Spirit Flowers, then moved on.

Chao Jinsui looked at him.

Demon: "..."

The Karmic Fire had only lingered at the flowers for a second before flying into the air. Chao Jinsui looked up, watching the spark fly toward the giant Bodhi tree that dominated the entire realm.

Her gaze froze. She whispered the name, "A-Pu..."

The three of them looked up at the gargantuan tree.

A-Pu.

The "Pu" of Bodhi.

The Bodhi Divine Tree!

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