404. Shattered

Ling Yuan frowned as she noticed the bloodstains on the ground, her delicate brows furrowing.

A sense of unease rose in her heart.
Looking at the elegant woman in a black dress still kneeling on the floor, she said apologetically,
"Dean Liu, my deepest apologies. I am merely following orders. I hope you won’t make things difficult for me."

Liu Erlong slowly withdrew her gaze from the doorway.

Under Ling Yuan’s curious glance, a radiant smile unexpectedly bloomed on Liu Erlong's face.

Her visit to Spirit City hadn’t been fruitless after all, had it?

She had discovered Ah Jue's mother’s identity, understood the challenges she would face in the future,
and resolved many lingering doubts in her heart.

Most importantly—
she had seen the Ah Jue she had longed for day and night.

“Hmm.”

Liu Erlong nodded slightly, her smile tinged with bitterness as she struggled to her feet.

“Thank you for the reminder earlier, Your Excellency.”

“There’s no need to thank me.”

Ling Yuan stepped forward and helped Liu Erlong stand.

She then quickly retrieved some medicinal pills for healing from her soul guide device.

“Dean Liu, these are for treating your injuries.”

“Thank you.”

Liu Erlong didn’t refuse.

Her condition was dire, with the pain in her internal organs still lingering.

As Ling Yuan supported her, they began walking toward the exit.

“I’ll escort you out,” Ling Yuan offered.

After taking the pills, Liu Erlong felt a slight relief in her internal pain.

She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, shook her head, and declined politely:

“There’s no need to trouble Your Excellency. I can walk on my own.”

“That won’t do. I already have difficulty explaining myself to His Highness.
If I stand by indifferently, it might upset him even more.”

Ling Yuan shook her head and insisted on accompanying her.

Though offering 'aid' could appease His Highness to some degree, it wasn’t a solution to everything.

Even if it were a perfect solution, she needed to minimize His Highness's troubles as much as possible.

Hearing Ling Yuan’s words, Liu Erlong glanced at her, her eyes carrying a hint of curiosity, as though evaluating a kindred spirit.

“Then I must trouble Your Excellency.”

“It’s no trouble at all.”


---

With Ling Yuan escorting her, Liu Erlong moved more quickly.

She avoided the area where the participating teams were staying.

Ling Yuan guided Liu Erlong out through a different city gate.

After asking Ling Yuan to bid farewell to the leader of the Thunder Academy on her behalf,
Liu Erlong stepped out of the gate alone.

Under the blazing noonday sun, she began her journey toward the Heaven Dou Empire.

Even though Bibi Dong had driven her away, Liu Erlong was undeterred.

She firmly believed that once Qian Renjue regained his memories, he would face these challenges with her.

What did it matter if she couldn’t return to Spirit City?

Ah Jue would undoubtedly come looking for her of his own accord. She just had to wait.
Just as she had in the past—wait a little longer.

Once Ah Jue remembered her…

As these thoughts filled her mind, a hopeful smile appeared on Liu Erlong's face.

Crack!

But before she could take many steps, the smile froze on her face.

Her already pale complexion turned ghostly white, her eyes filled with panic.

The shattering sound had come from beneath her clothes.

The item in question was her most treasured possession, worth more than her very life.

With trembling hands, Liu Erlong hastily loosened her collar,
gently retrieving the spherical pendant nestled close to her chest.

At a single glance, her world spun. Her body staggered, and her face was overcome with terror.

Unknowingly, her voice carried a sobbing tone.

“How could this happen?!”

The memory pearl, the size of a bead,
was no longer pristine like glass, diamond, or crystal.

Its once-clear shell, like translucent rock candy, had shattered,
splintering into delicate cracks as it slowly disintegrated.

Thin, fragile fragments scattered like shards of her own bleeding heart.

Inside, golden mist swirled violently, as though desperate to break free—
to escape its confines and flee to freedom!



“Don’t... don’t let this happen! I beg you!”

Liu Erlong, overwhelmed and desperate, crouched down, tightly clutching the fragile object against her chest.

She held it close to her heart, not letting even the tiniest fragment slip away.

“Please, no! I beg you!”
Her voice trembled as she pressed her hands against it, tears streaming down her face.

The faint sound of shattering echoed in her ears, as if her very soul was being torn apart.

Her tears flowed uncontrollably as she bit her trembling lips, feeling utterly helpless.

“Ah Jue... Ah Jue, please come to me...”

Burying her face, Liu Erlong sobbed, calling out for him.

She dared not infuse soul power into it, nor attempt anything reckless.

All she could do was listen as the Memory Pearl shattered and dissolved in her grasp.

“It was then... it must have been then!”
Her mind flashed back to the moment
when Bibi Dong’s killing intent struck her.

The Memory Pearl must have been damaged at that moment!

There was no time for anger.

The pearl in her hands was at its end, its fragile state signaling its impending collapse.

“No—don’t let this happen!”

Amid Liu Erlong’s anguished cries,
threads of golden mist began to seep through her fingers, slipping away.

“No! Ah Jue, don’t leave me. Please, I beg you!”

The shattered remains of the Memory Pearl slipped from her hands, falling to the ground.

Tear-streaked and panic-stricken, Liu Erlong frantically tried to catch the escaping golden mist.
But no matter how hard she tried, it was all in vain.

The mist rose into the sky, dispersing with the wind,
drifting aimlessly in all directions until it seemed to vanish completely.

In an instant, it was as if it had evaporated into nothingness.

“Ah Jue...”

Liu Erlong stood motionless, her tears flowing ceaselessly.
Her disheveled appearance reflected her inner turmoil.

Her eyes were dull, her lips bleeding, and her face as pale as death.

Her tears fell onto the broken remnants of the Memory Pearl lying on the ground.
Slowly, she crouched down and picked up the last remaining fragments.

Crack!

The fragments shattered further, dissolving into faint specks of light before vanishing entirely.

“Haha... haha...”

Tears still streaming, Liu Erlong suddenly burst into bitter laughter, her face filled with sorrow.

Clenching her delicate fists tightly, she hugged her knees and buried her face,
her cries echoing into the clear sky.

“Ah Jue... I’m sorry! I’m so sorry...”
“It’s all my fault! It’s all my fault... please forgive me...”

Her sobs and hoarse apologies echoed under the bright, cloudless sky.

The long years of waiting, Bibi Dong’s relentless torment—
none of it had defeated Liu Erlong.

But now, her hope of restoring Qian Renjue’s memories
had shattered right before her eyes, in her very hands.

It was her fault.
She was the one who had lost the memories that connected her to Ah Jue.

Liu Erlong’s heart felt as if it had been torn to pieces.
Her trembling hands clenched tightly, her body shaking with grief.

“I’m sorry, Ah Jue... it’s all my fault. I’m so sorry...”


---

At the same time, in the square before the Pope’s Palace,
Ling Yuan’s figure was darting toward the outside.

Following Bibi Dong’s orders, she was tasked with keeping an eye on Qian Renjue.

Though the Memory Pearl had shattered and its fragments had dissipated,
Liu Erlong’s sharp eyes had failed to notice one critical detail:

The golden mist hadn’t completely vanished.

Instead, it had been absorbed into the surrounding air, blending and dispersing until it appeared nearly colorless.

The golden threads, rising and carried by the wind, scattered in different directions.

But they didn’t simply vanish into nothingness.

Subtly hidden within the sunlight, the golden mist twisted and writhed in the air,
seeking to find its original owner.

It drifted toward the serene, flower-filled courtyard...