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Gu Yuxuan had originally maintained a considerable calm, but from the moment he heard Ziyan recount her background, his initial pity had transformed into deep heartache.
As he learned that she had been betrayed by her beloved boyfriend and pushed off a cliff by his accomplices, his heart began to race with an unsettling rhythm, ultimately becoming a tangled knot of pain and indignation.
Just as he had understood from the beginning when she mentioned coming from the Otherworld, and from the way he observed her at the table, he realized that she must have endured many hardships and faced too much injustice.
However, when he truly grasped all the truths, Gu Yuxuan felt his heart clench for her, deeply empathizing with her infinite suffering, to the point where his heart ached just like hers.
His fists were tightly clenched, exerting increasing pressure, and faint creaking sounds could be heard.
Of course, the person lost in memories also sensed this. At that moment, a long and slender arm that had hesitated for a long time firmly embraced Ziyan's small body into its warmth.
Thus, Ziyan's heart began to race wildly. She tried to relax as she leaned against this strong and broad shoulder.
What filled her mind was a sense of peace and security that she had never experienced in her previous life but felt strangely familiar now. Suddenly, she envisioned the face from her dreams—the one wearing a Golden Mask with eyes deep as the sea.
Ziyan squinted slightly and shook her head vigorously, muttering to herself, "No way, that was just a dream."
Gu Yuxuan could feel the turmoil within her heart at that moment, and his own feelings mirrored hers.
At the same time, the hand holding Ziyan couldn't help but tighten its grip around her.
"And also, I—I was already 23 years old when I died in my last life. You—"
"Don't say any more. That was just in the past life. The cycle of life is like this; you only have memories of your previous life in this one. No one else remembers it. Everyone experiences reincarnation; I do too. Perhaps in my last life, I was an old man in my eighties or nineties with many grandchildren. So don't dwell on what happened in your past life. In this life, as long as you don't leave me, I will stand by you through thick and thin."
At this moment, Gu Yuxuan seriously looked up at the sky, raised his left hand, and shouted loudly, "I—Ling Yuxuan—swear to the heavens: in this life, I will be bound to Ziyan in life and death. If I ever betray this vow in the future, may I be shattered to pieces and meet a terrible end!"
"Don't!" Ziyan, who suddenly realized what was happening, tried to stop him from making the vow, but it was already too late. She could only shake her head helplessly. "You're being foolish. Is it worth it?"
"Of course it's worth it, Yan'er. Forget the past and believe me. I will spend my life shielding you from the wind and rain, giving you happiness without worries. If possible, we can also promise each other another life in the next world—"
"Is that even possible? You fool."
"Of course it's possible. As long as we sincerely make a promise to the heavens, it will definitely come true."
After saying this, Gu Yuxuan really raised his voice again to the heavens: "O heavens above, please allow me, Ling Yuxuan, and Ziyan to share another life in the next world and every life in the cycle of reincarnation. May we reunite and stay together until we grow old, until the heavens collapse, the earth shatters, the seas dry up, stones rot away, the end of the world comes, and life completely turns to ashes."
"Come on, Yan'er. You should also pray to the heavens like I did."
With that, Gu Yuxuan released his embrace around Ziyan, straightened her posture, and looked at her with earnest eyes.
Thinking to herself that ancient people were so stubbornly superstitious about the heavens, she decided to go along with his wish.
Thus, Ziyan also tilted her head towards the sky and shouted: "O heavens above, please allow me, Ziyan, and Ling—wait, isn't it Gu Yuxuan?"
Lost in her own thoughts until now, Ziyan finally realized that Gu Yuxuan had sworn twice before using the name Ling Yuxuan.
Huh? What does this mean?
Gu Yuxuan understood Ziyan's confusion and gently brushed her hair away from her forehead before saying, "You first make your wish to the heavens in the name of Ling Yuxuan. After you finish your prayer, I will explain the reason behind it."
"Mm!" Ziyan was not foolish; she understood that he would tell her his story next.
So she once again raised her voice to the sky and prayed, "Heaven above, please allow me and Ling Yuxuan to carry on in the next life, in another world, and in every life and every world of reincarnation, so that we may reunite and stay together until we grow old, until the heavens collapse, the earth shatters, the seas dry up, the mountains decay, the end of the world, the universe concludes, and life completely turns to dust."
After finishing her prayer, Ziyan fell silent, waiting for Gu Yuxuan's voice. She knew that Gu Yuxuan would surely share his story with her.
Sure enough, after a brief silence, Gu Yuxuan finally spoke. "My surname is Ling. I was born into a very large family with a significant estate. The head of the family is my grandfather. He had many women in his life but only three sons. My father was the youngest, third in line. My uncle served the country in his youth and fought bravely on the battlefield. During one battle, outnumbered by the enemy and unable to wait for reinforcements, he heroically sacrificed himself."
As he spoke this, Gu Yuxuan's eyes reddened slightly as if a tear had flashed by, but he struggled to control his emotions.
He continued, "My grandfather originally favored my father and intended to hand over the family estate to him. However, my second uncle was discontented and ultimately committed fratricide for that so-called family estate. Fortunately, my master Qin Ming risked his life to secretly take me out of the capital, allowing me to escape to this remote mountain where I have lived incognito for nearly ten years under the surname Gu."
Ziyan had read countless classical texts from both Eastern and Western cultures in the twenty-first century; she understood that Ling Yuxuan's family story was merely the tip of the iceberg.
In ancient times, men often had multiple wives and concubines even in ordinary families. If they were nobles or kings, their wives and concubines could number in the dozens or even hundreds. This inevitably led to internal strife within families, sometimes resulting in violent confrontations and mutual killings—these brutal events were not uncommon.
Moreover, listening to Ling Yuxuan's implications made it clear that his family was certainly not an ordinary noble family.
A marquis? A royal family? The surname Ling?
These questions swirled repeatedly in Ziyan's mind until suddenly she recalled that the Ling surname seemed to be associated with the Nanchu Kingdom; the current emperor bore the surname Ling.
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