Lin Mo had left with a carefree air.
Shenhe had no idea that Lin Mo had never truly intended to keep those so-called promises.
Buying a house and land…
Waiting for her return after her studies to marry her in Liyue Harbor…
Friends and family raising their glasses in celebration.
Growing old together…
All these promises Lin Mo had made.
And that gentle smile on his face when they parted.
All of it, every last bit, had sustained Shenhe through year after year within the adeptal abode.
At first, Cloud Retainer had been somewhat dismissive of the "red ropes binding the soul."
Watching Shenhe treasure the red ropes, holding them close every day.
Carefully cleaning them each day.
And in her spare time, cradling the ropes, gazing blankly at the sea of clouds over Jueyun Karst.
Cloud Retainer would often admonish Shenhe.
Do not foolishly believe such childish methods can suppress the Solitary Star and Calamitous Fate; improving your cultivation is the true path.
However… Shenhe paid Cloud Retainer's words no mind.
Until one day.
When Cloud Retainer took Shenhe down the mountain.
Intending to test Shenhe's cultivation by having her slay monsters.
The red ropes Shenhe wore on her person were accidentally severed by a monster during the battle.
The only thing Lin Mo had left for Shenhe was those two red ropes.
The ropes broke and fell. One can imagine Shenhe's state of mind?
It was only then that Cloud Retainer truly witnessed.
Just how terrifying Shenhe's combat power was when the Solitary Star and Calamitous Fate were fully unleashed.
The monsters meant for training were instantly slaughtered by Shenhe, leaving none alive.
And from that day on.
Even Cloud Retainer came to believe the lie that the red ropes could bind one's soul.
Fortunately, repairing the red ropes wasn't too difficult.
Shenhe once again treasured them, binding them to herself.
Feeling the ropes wrapped around her.
In Shenhe's heart.
These red ropes represented Lin Mo's gaze upon her, his protection of her.
Finally.
Five years passed in a flash.
It was also in this year, amidst the blessings of the adepti, that Shenhe completed her coming-of-age ceremony.
After the ceremony.
The first thing Shenhe did was secretly descend the mountain, come to Liyue Harbor, and search for Lin Mo's figure, her heart full of anticipation.
But she searched all over Liyue Harbor, yet still could not find Lin Mo.
She had no choice but to seek out Ganyu, who had also been under Cloud Retainer's care.
She borrowed the register of Liyue's citizens from her.
From a list of hundreds of thousands of names, she searched for the name "Lin Mo" with desperate speed.
Days and nights of filtering.
She did find a few people named "Lin Mo."
But Shenhe discovered…
Their ages simply didn't match.
They were either underage children or youths.
Or they were already middle-aged men in their forties or fifties.
She remembered clearly, when she first met Lin Mo, he had repeatedly said he was eighteen.
After four years together, he would be twenty-two.
After five years apart, he would be twenty-seven.
Among the list, there was simply no "Lin Mo" in that age range.
"Liar…" A single tear.
Dropped onto the register.
In that instant, Shenhe's emotions could no longer be calmed.
Wisps of dark gray smoke gradually began to emanate from around her. Shenhe knew.
This was precisely the sign of her unstable emotions, the Solitary Star and Calamitous Fate about to become uncontrollable.
Fortunately, due to cultivating adeptal arts, she could temporarily suppress it.
Fearing she might go on a rampage in Liyue Harbor.
She fled Liyue Harbor as if escaping. Spear in hand, she ran all the way.
The hilichurls and slimes along the path to Mt. Aocang were not spared, all perishing under Shenhe's wrath.
Even a Treasure Hoarder squad that had just robbed a merchant caravan at the foot of Mt. Aocang met a gruesome end beneath Shenhe's spear.
And from that day on.
Shenhe realized.
The red ropes binding the soul were false.
Lin Mo's promises were also false.
Even Lin Mo's very existence might be false.
Now, Lin Mo looked into Shenhe's eyes, which were fixed on him with a deep, unsettling gaze, feeling a bitterness in his heart he couldn't express.
If he had known there would be a day of reunion and recognition.
He wouldn't have painted such grand, empty pictures to coax Shenhe back then.
At the very least, he would have found some gentler, less awkward words to make her willingly enter the adeptal path and become Cloud Retainer's disciple.
Looking into those resentful eyes.
Lin Mo knew he couldn't escape.
He could only explain with an apologetic expression: "Back then… I… had reasons difficult to speak of, I had to leave."
"Whatever the reason, you lied to me, right?" Shenhe asked coldly.
"I…"
Lin Mo was at a loss for words.
Seeing Lin Mo's unrefuting, powerless-to-explain appearance, Shenhe felt her heart give a violent lurch.
The next moment, she involuntarily took a step closer to Lin Mo, her eyes filled with panic as she said:
"You said… you would buy a house and land for us to start a family…"
"You said… you would wait for me to finish my studies and return, and marry me in Liyue Harbor…"
"You said there would be many of your friends and family, raising their glasses in celebration… toasting our lifelong union…"
"You also said… we would have a lovely child…"
"We would accompany our child… hold your hand, and grow old together…"
By the end, Shenhe had unknowingly gripped Lin Mo's sleeves tightly, asking hoarsely: "Were all these… just lies to me?"
"Shenhe…"
"I don't want to hear explanations!"
Shenhe immediately cut off Lin Mo's words, pleading as she asked: "I just want to know, were they lies to me?"
Lin Mo did not respond immediately.
Instead, he gently brushed away the warm tears on her cheek with one hand, and said with a faint smile:
"Every promise I made back then can become real."
"Shenhe, are you willing to give me a chance to fulfill those promises?"
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T/N:
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