I stood mere inches away from the two of them, watching helplessly as the bodies of Ye Xiao and Ye Lan grew cold. I felt as though my own chest had been hollowed out. Night rain and blood snaked past my feet, yet not a single drop touched me.
They could not see me, nor could they hear my voice. When I reached out to touch them, my hand simply passed through them like a phantom. Confused by the situation, I asked vacantly, "Is this a dream?"
"It is all real," a familiar voice answered me.
The man in black, wearing the fox mask, stood amidst the rain and mist, watching it all with an indifferent, unruffled gaze.
Looking at him, I felt a chill permeate my entire body for some unknown reason. I took two steps back in fear. "You... you aren't Ah-Tan."
The man let out a cold sneer. "Of course I am not Ye Tan. If you could even mistake him for someone else, then you truly deserve to die."
"Where is Ah-Tan? He... where is he?" A terrible premonition gripped my heart.
"Hmph, you wish to see him?" The man stepped forward and seized my wrist, his smile grim. "Just in time. There is still enough time to see him off on his final journey."
As he squeezed my wrist, the sound of the night rain ceased abruptly, replaced by a heavy, suffocating silence. The cold light of Han white jade shimmered within a tomb; the air was thick with moisture, and the ever-burning lamps flickered precariously.
I recognized this place. It was the corridor of the One Sword Tomb, where discarded corpses and broken swords were cast away.
Beneath my feet lay a mountain of shattered blades and countless mangled remains.
He looked at me with feigned interest and chuckled softly. "The trouble is, Ye Tan’s body isn't quite whole anymore. I wonder if you can still recognize him? Since you love him so much, you should be able to tell which hand is his, and which fragment of collarbone belongs to him, right?"
I didn't know how to react. I only noticed a fresh, thick trail of blood extending from the pile of corpses toward the entrance.
It looked like the mark left by someone who could no longer stand, dragging themselves out step by step.
At the end of this bloody trail, a partial silhouette lay prostrate on the ground. His breath was weak, but he gripped a longsword firmly, crawling and struggling toward the exit. Yet, that body truly lacked the strength to go any further.
There was only half of him left.
"Ah... Ah-Tan...?" My mind went blank as I approached the figure mechanically. "Ah-Tan? Ah-Tan?"
It was indeed Ye Tan.
He was covered in blood and filth, his torso mangled beyond recognition. His legs had been severed at the waist, and his left arm trailed behind him, the joints completely shattered. Those beautiful eyes held a despair that was suffocating to behold.
The man spoke tonelessly. "While in seclusion, Ye Tan received news of your death at the Zhongli Estate. In his haste to leave and find you, he suffered a qi deviation. To his credit, even with half his meridians destroyed, he forcibly broke through the sword formation. Unfortunately, he failed to make it out of the One Sword Tomb alive."
"Ah-Tan? Ah-Tan..." I wanted to hold him, to press down on his wounds, to make him rest. "He’s not dead yet, there’s still time. Why won't anyone save him? He shouldn't be abandoned in a charnel house... Ah-Tan, Ah-Tan, stop moving. Look back at me... I’m right here... look at me..."
But he couldn't see me.
He continued his futile struggle toward the exit.
I could only kneel by his side, watching helplessly as he sank into hell.
That’s right... I... I was already dead. Was it because I was already dead?
Could I... do nothing at all?
"Ha... how pitiful. I’ll give you a hand." The man in the fox mask seemed to be in high spirits as he flicked his finger against my forehead.
I felt my entire body grow heavy, and I couldn't help but fall to the ground. Only then did I realize I could feel the floor.
"Master...?" Ye Tan looked at me vacantly as I suddenly appeared. His death-grip on his sword loosened as he clutched the corner of my robe. "Master? Is it really you?"
"It’s me, it’s me. It’s not an illusion." His body was covered in wounds, and I was afraid to touch him recklessly, but I didn't care about any of that. I just wanted to hold him, to stop him from being so bone-chillingly cold.
Ye Tan said urgently, "The subordinates said... something happened to you... So it wasn't true. That’s good, that’s good."
I nodded frantically. "Yes, I’m fine. I’ve been fine all along. You don't need to worry about me."
"I promised to protect you... but I... I am going to break my word... I am so sorry." A moment ago, his eyes had been dry and lifeless; now, seeing me, they welled with moisture. Ye Tan gave a weak smile and said sorrowfully, "Please forget me as quickly as possible. I hope... they can protect you well in the future. I truly... am unwilling."
I shook my head. "Ah-Tan, you once said that when I meet the person I love, doing even the most ordinary things would be happier than anyone else. I’ve thought about it for a long time, and you are the most suitable. I only want you."
Ye Tan froze, his voice trembling. "I can no longer stay by your side. I... I would rather not have heard those words. I would rather the person you love wasn't me."
I didn't dare let him see me crying. I pressed my forehead against his, nuzzling him. "It’s okay, it’s okay, Ah-Tan. It’s all a dream. Just sleep, and everything will be fine when you wake up. I’ll wait for you, and you must wait for me too."
Ye Tan pursed his lips and forced a smile. "...You... so you... can lie too."
I said repeatedly, "I’m not lying to you, I never lie to you. It won't end like this... I promised to take you to the Sword Pavilion, to buy many, many large ships, to take you to the Heavenly Mountains, to the Sword Washing Pool, to all the world's grandest sights. I promised to make up every festival in the world to you. We have a promise, Ah-Tan. Believe me, I will never break my word."
"Mm... okay." Ye Tan gave a faint smile. "You have never lied to me. I believe you."
He had reached his limit. Finally, he whispered a soft sentence to me: "Then... goodnight, my Master."
Holding Ye Tan’s bone-chilling corpse, I collapsed as if all my strength had been drained away.
"Why did it turn out like this?" I pressed my face against his breathless cheek, my body arching in agony. "Why did such a massive catastrophe happen so suddenly... without any warning?"
"Suddenly? You’re telling me this was sudden?!" The man in the fox mask suddenly flew into a rage. He grabbed me by the hair and slammed me hard against the floor.
"From the first day you arrived here, Zhongli Zixi has been watching you like a hawk. Do you have any idea how many traps he laid along the way? And what were you doing? This martial world is treacherous and unpredictable; everyone bleeds and fights just to survive, but what about you? Did you ever have even a shred of vigilance?! Did you truly think you were so lucky that you could live peacefully until old age without doing anything? You even took pride in your 'permissions'—it’s laughable! Any common child from the mortal realm would have done ten thousand times better than you!"
He laughed coldly, his voice freezing my very blood. He spoke through gritted teeth: "Jun Xuanheng, sometimes, I truly loathe your naivety."
My heart grew colder and colder.
He was right... I always felt that everything in the martial world had nothing to do with me. They were the ones living on the edge of a blade, they were the ones walking on thin ice. Life was theirs, and death was theirs. Relying on Ye Tan’s devoted protection, I thought I could avoid trouble... I even deluded myself into thinking I could win a round against the Second Young Master.
It was I who failed to protect them.
I was clearly their master. I led them, ruled them, and was supposed to shield them.
But I did nothing. I did nothing well.
And I sent them, one by one, to their deaths.
"Can't handle this already? This was only one death." After a brief loss of control, the man behind the fox mask regained his usual indifference. He teased, "And this wasn't even the most tragic one."
"What... what do you mean?" My heart skipped a beat. I turned to look at him. "Ah-Tan... and us... we’ve died more than once?"
Could it be that the world I was in... wasn't the first time?
And that this world... had already been restarted many times?
"What you saw today was the conclusion of the first life. Later, I tried every possible method, attempted countless cycles... but I could never give him a happy ending. He only likes you... this naive, childish, incompetent Jun Xuanheng, who is also as flawless as white jade. Even I can't figure it out... in my eyes, this current life is clearly the most difficult and oppressive one." He sighed wistfully, a trace of loneliness finally appearing on his cold, indifferent face.
"But this flawless Jun Xuanheng lacks the ability to protect him. A Jun Xuanheng who is ruthless and possesses heaven-shaking power could protect his safety and well-being for a lifetime, yet he simply doesn't like that version."
"You... you are..." Realization slowly dawned on me, and a shocking answer surfaced in my mind.
I should have guessed who he was long ago.
If he hadn't used Ye Tan’s appearance to mislead me... I would have known.
"Yes, I am you. But I have no right to use the name Jun Xuanheng. He refused to bestow that name upon me—that name which belongs solely to the flawless you." The man removed his mask, revealing a face identical to Ye Tan’s. Paired with that cold, thin gaze, he seemed increasingly and terrifyingly foreign. "I am a voluntary discarded pawn. My name is Jun Wuwang."
I was utterly shocked.
I had cloned myself?
How was that possible?
That... in the Real World, was a taboo.
Those who violated the ban... would be stripped of their citizenship in the Real World, deprived of all permissions, and reduced to mere mortals.
Knowing my thoughts, he smiled. "Yes. I truly ran out of options. This was the final resort, and this is our very last cycle. When this cycle ends, regardless of victory or defeat, good or bad, you and I will return to nothingness, just like all the ordinary flesh and blood of the sub-worlds."
I simply nodded slowly.
I had lived through thousands of years of cold, lonely days in the Real World; I had long grown tired of it.
To be able to trade it all for a single encounter with Ye Tan was more than enough to be satisfied.
"Between... between the two of us..." I asked haltingly, "who is the original, and who is the clone?"
If I were the original, wouldn't that mean I had heaped all the suffering and memories onto the clone and selfishly sacrificed him?
If I were the clone, then this encounter with Ye Tan... was it just a stroke of luck, a stolen moment?
"...I don't know," Jun Wuwang said.
Me: "Eh?"
Jun Wuwang smiled bitterly. "Our identities were decided by drawing lots. After cloning myself, I wiped all the data and randomly chose one to import."
...Cough, that truly was my style.
I couldn't help but feel sad. We shared the same root and origin, yet our circumstances were worlds apart. Jun Wuwang said indifferently, "Don't pity me. You would have done the same. Have you ever considered what you would do if Ye Tan fell in love with someone else? My feelings are no different."
I thought about it. "If Ah-Tan fell in love with someone else... I would be willing to watch over him from afar. It wouldn't matter if he couldn't see me."
"You truly do think that way. In one cycle, you actually did exactly that." Jun Wuwang rarely showed a sincere, faint smile, and the hostility around him softened significantly. "There are many tragic examples of clones turning against their originals to fight for dominance, but you are the exception. Only you... are worthy of this perfect ending."
I couldn't help but ask the thing I was most curious about: "Why... why did you take on Ah-Tan’s appearance?"
Jun Wuwang paused, then said in a low voice, "Because I knew that in this life, I wouldn't have many chances to see him. In this lifetime, I will live in seclusion by the Sword Washing Pool of the Heavenly Mountains. Drinking with my own reflection in the water for the rest of my days won't be too lonely."
"Let me tell you one more piece of good news." He leaned down and helped me up. "This hell... is mine, not yours. You don't need to remember any of the suffering from these hundred years of cycles... after all, he only likes this version of you."
His cold fingertip touched the cinnabar mark between my brows, and he whispered, "Wake up."
***
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Fatal to Pretend With a Cheat | Chapter 63 | A Hopeless Reflection | Novela.app | Novela.app
