Chapter 126: Imprisonment

There was no movement around Huang Rang’s ears. She waited for a long time and finally cautiously opened her eyes.

Di Yiqiu was standing in front of her, covered in dust from the statue. Amidst his disheveled hair, only his eyes remained bright and sharp, radiating a chilling light.

“Di Yiqiu?” Huang Rang softly called him again, extending her hand to gently lift his chin. “Look at me, I’m back.”

After a long while, Di Yiqiu finally reached out. He used his fingertips to touch the tip of her nose and then pinched her cheek. Huang Rang held onto his hand, saying, “It’s not a dream, Di Yiqiu, it’s not a dream.”

“You…” Di Yiqiu tried to say the first word, but the rest of the words hesitated and didn’t come out.

For Huang Rang, this separation was just a moment of life and death, a blink of an eye. But for him, it was a prolonged torment lasting thirty-seven years. His transformation into a beast was intensifying day by day, and he no longer approached crowds or engaged in conversation. He disliked bright light, so he spent his days carving statues and, when tired, chose a cave for solitary sleep.

Huang Rang gently wiped away the dust on his cheeks. Despite her smiling face, tears rolled down. “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

She opened her arms, wanting to embrace Di Yiqiu, but the stirred-up dust made her cough continuously.

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There was even a swing in the backyard!

“This is…” Before Huang Rang could finish her sentence, Di Yiqiu made a hand seal, and everything in front of her turned black!

Huang Rang heard a sound of water, opened her eyes, and found herself on a flower-brick path. Beside her, clear water emitted mist, and fallen leaves drifted. She picked up one, realizing it was a maple leaf.

Ahead, a small courtyard was nestled in the midst of a red maple forest, appearing pristine as if it had escaped the mundane world.

Behind her, a breath approached her neck. Huang Rang quickly turned her head, and there stood Di Yiqiu.

Time seemed to stand still. After a while, he spoke, “In the past, everything was rushed, and official duties were heavy, making your life difficult. After you left, I forged this realm of illusion.”

He raised his gaze slightly, locked eyes with Huang Rang, and slowly said, “I always wondered… what if… you could come back?”

Like a swallow returning to its nest, Huang Rang dove into his arms.

It doesn’t matter. Whatever this world has become doesn’t matter. Mundane matters are insignificant as long as she in his embrace. Tears fell from Huang Rang’s eyes like rain.

The dust on Di Yiqiu’s body stained Huang Rang’s light golden dress. He carried Huang Rang horizontally and walked slowly into the small courtyard.

The courtyard had artificial mountains, green bamboo, pavilions, and towers, all arranged delicately. Huang Rang didn’t have time to look closely; Di Yiqiu had already carried her hurriedly into the bedroom. Outside the bedroom, there was even a hot spring.

The pool surface was covered with white jade, luxurious in every aspect.

Huang Rang found it strange and asked, “Are these created by your painted array, integrated into it?”

Di Yiqiu nodded, placing her on the ground. Huang Rang was still puzzled, saying, “It’s too extravagant, doesn’t seem like your style.”

“After Yuanrong was dismantled, it left behind a lot of debris,” Di Yiqiu explained unabashedly. “Many of them could still be useful.”

He spoke frankly, and Huang Rang suddenly understood, “That makes sense.”

Di Yiqiu thought for a moment and asked, “Do you find it ominous? It’s not difficult to dismantle and rebuild.”

“Why rebuild?” Huang Rang, while loosening his waistband, casually replied, “To deal with Shi Wenyu, you were seriously injured, and I almost lost my life. Using some discarded tiles and wood, isn’t it perfectly justified?”

Di Yiqiu agreed, and when he finally reacted, Huang Rang had already removed his soaked clothes.

She was about to take off his inner garment when Di Yiqiu stopped her hand. After a while, he said, “I’ll do it myself.”

“Oh,” Huang Rang responded but remained motionless. After staring at her for a long time, Di Yiqiu finally said, “Can you go out first?”

Huang Rang gazed at him with deep eyes for a while, then suddenly pounced, forcefully pulling off his undershirt. “Dream on! Today, I’ll scrub you with five basins of water! No, six basins!”

Di Yiqiu wanted to dodge, but fearing she might fall, he had no choice but to let her pounce, and both of them fell into the jade pool of the hot spring.

Huang Rang chased after Di Yiqiu, eagerly wanting to help him take a bath.

But Di Yiqiu kept avoiding her, and Huang Rang could clearly sense it for some reason. Di Yiqiu frowned again and said, “Let me do it myself, okay?”

Pretending not to notice his stiffness, Huang Rang casually replied, “Sure, then go ahead and wash up. Are there clean clothes here? I’ll get them for you.”

However, Di Yiqiu simply said, “They are in the storage artifact. Look around; I’ll find you after my bath.”

Tsk, so indifferent.

Huang Rang said, “Fine.”

After saying that, she turned and left, planning to explore the island depicted in the painting.

Waiting until she left,Di Yiqiu finally took off his inner garment. In the misty steam, he examined his body. On his right arm and chest, a lush green layer of snake scales had grown!

This was the price of his body undergoing a demonic transformation. Whenever his emotions fluctuated, these snake scales constantly reminded him of what he had become.

Di Yiqiu submerged his entire body in the water, and after a moment, a giant snake rolled and floated in the pool.

Having been away for all these years,Di Yiqiu had even grown accustomed to this snake-like appearance of his.

But… could she get used to it?

Huang Rang didn’t understand why Di Yiqiu kept rejecting her closeness. It certainly wasn’t because he was too dirty.

Walking on this small island, Huang Rang saw that it wasn’t excessively luxurious everywhere—Di Yiqiu was not a flamboyant person. He just appropriated some waste materials from the imperial palace to refine this world.

The more Huang Rang looked, the more delighted she became. Every blade of grass, every tree, every water and grain of sand seemed to cater to her preferences.

She took a deep breath, facing the clear water, hands cupped like a trumpet, “I’m back!”

The clear water echoed layer by layer, and she joyfully shouted like a bird, “Di Yiqiu, I’m back—”

Her voice echoed in the painting and faintly reached beyond the canvas.

In the human world, a gentle breeze blew, leaves rustled lightly, and people sowed seeds in the spring sunlight, while all things thrived.

But there was one person who had already walked far and for a long time.

Before Shi Wenyu was an endless expanse of yellow sand, surrounded by what should have been a river. However, this river had long since dried up. Soft yellow sand covered the world, and with every breath, he felt his lungs filled with dust.

“Humph! Just a mere temporal prison. Trying to trap me?” His eyes glared with hostility as he contemplated ways to leave this place.

Surveying his surroundings, he remarked, “If this world were successful, how would it differ from the real human realm? I just failed…”

He refused to admit defeat, muttering, “Just a small failure. Once I break out of this cage, let’s see what you’re capable of.”

He desperately soliloquized, as if doing so could prove he was still composed.

The world was empty, devoid of any living being. He sifted through every grain of yellow sand, finding nothing inside. This was the world he had once created.

Originally, when Xie Hongchen fully controlled the Yuanrong Tower, he had intended to enter the tower to compete. However, at the moment he stepped into the tower, time shifted, and he was permanently trapped in this world.

And this sandy world, more desolate than the future realm Huang Rang had visited, was now nothing but arid wasteland.

Apart from sand, there wasn’t even a single set of bones.

Shi Wenyu repeatedly explored the border of the world. Each time he was about to step beyond the dry river, time would reset. His entire being would return to the center of this world, and he would embark on another journey.

“That brat Di Yiqiu could break through the temporal prison. I have no reason not to.” He muttered to himself, “I can do it. I definitely can!”

But the vast world remained silent. There was no one to respond to him.

Exhausted, Shi Wenyu stopped moving forward. He sat down, holding the yellow sand in his hands. The sunlight was intense, and due to the lack of water, his hands were already cracked. The yellow sand entered his wounds, causing pain and thirst.

The taste of dehydration, he hadn’t experienced it for many years. And now, it felt like a pair of devil’s hands slowly tearing at his flesh. He could only stand up, step by step, walking towards the dried riverbed.

Until he was about to step out of the riverbed, time reset, and he returned to the center of the world. However, in the endless expanse of yellow sand, he repeated the cycle of walking or dying of thirst.

He laughed while clutching the yellow sand. Then, slowly, he spoke words he didn’t know were coming out of his mouth.

Sometimes, he would endure the scorching sun, dragging his exhausted body beyond the borders. Only in this way could he temporarily return to the moment he first fell into this place, temporarily free from hunger and thirst.

But this comfort was fleeting, leaving him with nothing but the remaining time of his sentence.

Shi Wenyu knew that he was trapped by the will of heaven.

But what good did knowing do?

The Yuanrong Tower had already been destroyed, and he was trapped in this alternate world, endlessly cycling through an eternity without escape.

“Kill me, kill me—” A piercing scream echoed in the endless sandstorm. However, gradually, the scream began to sound hoarse. The wind and sand invaded his nostrils and mouth, obscuring his vision. He refused to close his eyes, so his eyes were invaded by the yellow sand.

—He had gone blind.

He had to grope forward step by step, possibly dying of thirst, starving, or walking in eternal life.

“Release me, release me—” He didn’t know how much time had passed. All he could hear was the sound of the wind and his own cries and pleas.

Shi Wenyu had heard countless tragic sounds, but only now did he truly understand the despair within them.

“Kill me.” He stared at the sky with his blind eyes, murmuring.

The yellow sand rubbed against his eyes, and he shed tears of blood. The sunlight fiercely baked the earth, and time slowly passed by him, refusing to respond.