For the first time in his life, his mother was holding him, only to leave him behind in the blink of an eye.
A'Lie was too young to truly understand the meaning of death, he just looked at his mother like that and felt scared, so scared that he could barely move.
As Ning Zhiyu collapsed in front of everyone's eyes, A'Lie mumbled something to his mother and stumbled towards him, only to fall and feel pain on his cheek, realising that it was not a dream.
His mother had really hugged him.
He even apologized to him and said he was sorry.
But why did... Mother want to leave him after he had just gotten close to her?
He wasn't angry with his mother.
A'Lie couldn't figure it out.
He knelt down beside Ning Zhiyu and called out lowly in fear and helplessness, "Mother... Mother..."
Ning Zhiyu opened his eyes and looked slackly at the soft dumpling beside him. He opened his mouth to speak and coughed up a lot of blood, splashing a lot on the soft dumpling's white face.
A'Lie shook his little hand to wipe the blood dripping from Ning Zhiyu's lips, as big bean-sized tears fell from his eyes: "Mother... Mother..."
This was the first time that Ning Zhiyu had ever seen A'Lie cry. No matter how coldly he treated the child, A'Lie seemed to be unresponsive. He had thought that the child was foolish, but now he thought that was not the case.
He sighed in his heart and spoke with a breathless voice:
"I told you... not to turn back... how could you be so disobedient..."
A'Lie whimpered and cried, grabbing Ning Zhiyu's hand and pressing it to his face with his blood-stained hand, "A'Lie knows he was wrong, A'Lie will be good and listen to Mother from now on, Mother, don't be angry with A'Lie..."
The demonic blade hurt not only the flesh, but also tore at Ning Zhiyu's soul. He was a mortal, how could he bear this pain? His consciousness became heavier and heavier, and every word he spoke was so difficult that he had to use all his strength.
The blood mist in the sky cleared as the battle between the gods and demons ended, revealing a serene blue sky. Ning Zhiyu seemed to have gained his freedom, but in reality, his life had long since been dulled, and there was no longer a bright path for him to walk peacefully.
As he was dying, he looked back on his wasted and futile life and regretted that he had come to this world.
He had been hurt and had hurt others, and now he had atoned for his sins with his life. The only thing he was sorry for was this soft little dumpling beside him. He was innocent, but was hated by his mother for no reason from birth, and had never received a single sliver of warmth from him.
Ning Zhiyu was ashamed of A'Lie, but he couldn't take care of himself, all he could do right now was to try his best to smile at the child and try to lift his hand to wipe away his tears, but he didn't have the strength.
"A'Lie, don't cry... Mother... is not angry with you..."
"Then why is Mother leaving A'Lie..." The little boy was crying more and more. "A'Lie knows that Mother is often in a bad mood and doesn't want to see A'Lie, A'Lie can endure not seeing Mother. Mother, don't leave A'Lie..."
"A'Lie will listen... Mother... A'Lie will listen..."
Ning Zhiyu could not bear to look at him again and closed his eyes, a line of tears escaping from the corner of his eyes: "... I'm sorry."
"A'Lie doesn't want an apology, A'Lie wants Mother to stay by A'Lie's side..."
Ning Zhiyu's breathing was getting weaker and weaker. A'Lie moved over and hugged his neck, pressing against his face like a puppy, calling hoarsely, "Mother... Mother..."
Hot tears flowed into the nook of Ning Zhiyu's neck, but they could not warm his body again. He didn't live a full life, but he left in a decent way, with a child by his side and someone grieving for him.
"A'Lie is a good boy... from now on you should listen to Uncle Yan's... words..." The faint sound of his breath poured into A'Lie's ears, this kind of advice only made A'Lie feel endlessly afraid.
"No... A'Lie has a mother and a father, why should he listen to anyone else..."
"A'Lie doesn't want anyone, A'Lie only wants his own father and mother..."
Ning Zhiyu was running out of time, there was no way to continue coaxing him. His eyes were closed and he didn't even have the strength to open them: "A'Lie doesn't listen... Mother... won't like you anymore..."
The soft dumpling was immediately afraid: "Mother, don't dislike A'Lie, A'Lie will listen, A'Lie will listen..."
"Then Mother, don't leave A'Lie, okay?..."
Ning Zhiyu curved the corners of his mouth and coaxed him, "Okay..."
Then he turned his head slightly, "Yan Yuan... I have done everything I promised… what you promised me... must... do it..."
Yan Yuan and Xuan Long watched all this in silence from the side.
No one had expected that Ning Zhiyu would suddenly kill himself.
Ten thousand years ago, Xuan Long was stabbed in the heart with a demonic blade and died, and ten thousand years later, the Demon Lord used a demonic blade to kill himself. Gods and demons were unable to live after being pierced by a demonic blade, let alone Ning Zhiyu's mortal body.
There was no way back.
"... Okay." Yan Yuan replied to him.
Ning Zhiyu smiled in relief, "Then I'll... be at ease..."
The fierce wind had stopped at some point, and the surroundings were quiet, without any sound at all. It was eerily silent.
A'Lie was stunned for a moment, then propped himself up to look at his mother's pale face, put his hand gently over his cheek, and cried out tentatively:
"Mother... Mother..."
No one responded.
"Didn't you promise A'Lie that you wouldn't leave..."
"Don't ignore A'Lie..."
"Mother... look at A'Lie, look at A'Lie..."
"A'Lie promised to take Mother to play in the mortal world, A'Lie will take Mother to play in the mortal world today... Mother look at A'Lie, okay?..." No matter how sensible he was, he was just a four-year-old boy who didn't know what to do when it came to such things.
No matter how much he shouted, how much he admitted his fault, how much he pouted, Ning Zhiyu ignored him as coldly as before.
A'Lie did not understand what he had done wrong.
Why did his mother treat him so badly?
He had only just started to love him, yet suddenly he was backtracking.
Ning Zhiyu's body would not dissipate after death like the gods and demons. A'Lie could not accept that his mother, who was alive and well, had suddenly become a cold corpse.
He cried out from his heart, like he wanted to vent out all the grievances he had suffered from his mother since he could remember.
He had never cried in front of his mother before because he did not like him and if he made any noise, he would annoy him even more, so if he had any grievances, he would always talk to his father and cry as he secretly hugged him from behind.
Now he cried out in front of his mother, but she could not hear him. His mother had always treated him coldly, and when he saw him crying, he might not feel truly sorry for him, but that didn't matter, he only wanted his mother back. If he came back, it wouldn't matter if he treated him as badly as before.
But his mother would not come back.
When people die, they don't come back...
He would never have a mother again.
A'Lie did not know how to tell his father the news, but if he knew, he would cry too.
After a long time, the wind suddenly began to howl, laced with the cries of a child's heart and soul, like the wailing of Heaven and Earth. Such a small child, even smaller than A'Zhi, reminded Yan Yuan of the way he had left A'Zhi in the mortal world, when A'Zhi had also taken his hand and begged him not to leave.
Even though Ning Zhiyu was at fault, the child was innocent. He promised Ning Zhiyu that he would take care of the child for him, and would give the child a place to live.
Walking forward, he knelt down and patted A'Lie's young shoulder from behind: "The deceased has passed away, your mother would not want to see you grieve like this."
The elderly couldn't bear the pain of bereavement, so how could A'Lie hear such words? He hugged his mother's neck and cried so hard that he almost fainted, mumbling that he wanted to take his mother to his father, who might be able to save him.
The war between the gods and demons, the battle between the two clans, Yan Yuan had no way to explain to A'Lie what was at stake, let alone tell him that he no longer had a father.
It was too cruel for a four-year-old child to lose both of his beloved parents on the same day.
As a last resort, Yan Yuan had no choice but to perform the sleeping technique, pick up A'Lie and take him back to the Nine Heavens. Ning Zhiyu's body was buried on a monument in a quiet place in the mortal world, and a monument was erected. He was born in the mortal world, so he should return to where he came from after his death. He same cleanly and left cleanly.
On this trip, apart from seeking revenge on the demons, another purpose was to bring Ning Zhiyu back to marry and resolve the heavenly punishment. Now that Ning Zhiyu has killed himself, the original plan had gone awry, and all the immortal gods and goddesses were preoccupied on the way back, feeling no joy at having defeated the demons.
Yan Yuan rode an auspicious cloud at the front. He deliberately slowed down and travelled side by side with Xuan Long: "Don't worry about me, as the Emperor of Heaven, I can't die so easily. If I die, I won't see you again, and I can't afford to leave."
Xuan Long was indeed lost in thought, he didn't even notice when Yan Yuan reached his side. Hearing this, he looked towards Yan Yuan and saw him smiling lightly at him, and could not help but frown slightly.
Heavenly punishment, if it was really that easy to endure, why would it be called heavenly punishment?
Tens of thousands of years ago, there was a god who defied the will of Heaven and died as a result of the heavenly punishment, not even leaving a complete body behind...
"One day in Heaven, one year underground, if we can find the reincarnated Immortal Monarch Zhiyu before the 15th of next month, it shouldn't be too late." Xuan Long used his voice transmission technique to speak.
Yan Yuan could not maintain the smile on his lips and asked in a soft voice, "Do you want me to marry someone else so badly?"
Xuan Long lowered his eyes and did not look at him, "You and Immortal Monarch Zhiyu are destined by the Heavenly Way, it is not something that can be controlled by others if they want to."
Yan Yuan couldn't help but raise his hand and grab Xuan Long's wrist, and the ends of his eyes flushed red: "If you say one thing, that you don't want me to get married to someone else, I won't get married..." I will live for you even if I die.
Xuan Long calmly drew his hand back: "Whoever you marry, it has nothing to do with me."
As far as the eye could see, there was a boundless sea of clouds. Yan Yuan's eyes were filled with despair: "That's right... Whoever I marry, it has nothing to do with you."
In the mortal world, the moment Xuan Long lay in his arms covered in blood and died giving birth to A'Zhi, he was completely disqualified from having him.
Even if the Heavenly Way had played a part in that, had he not been so weak-minded, he would not have allowed it to play such a trick on him.
He and Xuan Long were incompatible, so what if he had the ability to survive? The closer he got to Xuan Long, the worse it would be for him, so it was best to stay away.
After returning to the Heavenly Realm, Yan Yuan ordered someone to house A'Lie and sent a healer to Xuan Long's bedchamber. Xuan Long had been wounded in the battle, and if he didn't take care of him, perhaps he wouldn't even know to hire a healer.
He waited stealthily outside General Xuan Hall and waited for the Healing Immortal to come out and confirm that Xuan Long's injuries were nothing to worry about and that he would be fine after taking medicine for a few days before he left.
On that day, to celebrate the victory of the gods, the Purple Cloud Sky Palace hosted a banquet where all the gods gathered. Yan Yuan was dressed in a silver imperial robe and wore a crown of twelve white jade beaded curtains. When he was seated, he suddenly saw a white-clothed immortal sitting behind the first platinum table on the left side of the hall. That immortal looked like a breeze, and his bones were slim; it was Ning Zhiyu.