"Cheers, my brother, Lu Hui."
"Are you really leaving, Jia Xuan?" A hint of sadness grazed Lu Hui's features.
Bai Jia Xuan lifted his cup, looking at his companion, "Yes, Lu Hui, it's time for me to leave."
"I came for my wife."
"And I've been here for five years already. That makes it 5000 years for me. My master once told me that for every 1000 years I spend here, only one year passes on Earth."
Upon hearing this, Lu Hui took a big gulp of his wine and said, "If you need to leave, I won’t stop you. I’ve heard about Earth too; it seems to be an odd place."
"Be careful, though. Earth is bristling with secrets too deep for us to plumb."
"Even for us, the celestial emperors, the depths of its mystery are unattainable."
"Let's not linger on farewells."
Hearing this, Bai Jia Xuan stood up.
His expression remained steady, not showing any visible signs of happiness or sorrow, though there was a hint of both. Over the past 5000 years, he had managed to leave behind his array of human expressions.
Why so? Because in the celestial realm where everyone is jostling for superiority, one could easily be killed if they are not careful enough.
Of course… His relationship with Lu Hui wasn't of the regular kind.
More accurately, they each reigned over a separate universe: Lu Hui, the king of his universe, and Bai Jia Xuan, the ruler of another.
And now, Bai Jia Xuan was time-travelling back for his wife.
One could say, if Bai Jiaxuan hadn't returned, he'd be the number one in that world, surpassing even his master in power.
Back in the day when Bai Jiaxuan lived peacefully on Earth with his wife and younger sister, he was tragically killed by his cousin.
But in an unexpected twist of fate, he transmigrated. During the last moment, a loophole appeared and sucked him in.
He could never forget the true faces of his loved ones, friends, and those he helped, and their last cold and ruthless words.
Thus, he arrived in the Immortal Cultivation World, relying solely on his own efforts and his longing for his wife and sister.
Finally, he had met his master. After choosing to attach himself to his master, he worked even harder than others and climbed up the ranks to become an Immortal Emperor.
In the last 5000 years, he abstained women and any form of companionship, to be more exact, only two persons ever had dealings with him.
One was his master; the other, his sworn brother.
As a result, he was referred to as the Ruthless Immortal Emperor, the Life-taking Immortal Emperor.
On his return, his brother was with him, but his master was not.
In that world, his master taught him many immortal techniques, and so he protected that world for 3000 years.
After those 3000 years, stability was restored to that world. That's why he made the decision to return and find his wife.
For 5000 years, others might have seen him as the Ruthless Immortal Emperor, but he thought of his sister and wife every moment. During each tribulation he encountered, the emotional ones were the hardest. After each test, he would drink alone in silence, silently recalling the faces of his wife and sister, and muster a silly smile.
Although only five years had passed on Earth, much had already happened. He was unsure if his sister and wife were happy.
After he crossed back, his relationship with Lu Hui can be described as "no fight, no acquaintance", because Lu Hui initially considered him an invader, leading to a fight between them.
But there was another astonishing discovery; he and Lu Hui were identical in appearance, hence he stayed here for three years.
Of course, there were reasons for staying here for three years. He couldn't return to Earth until after these three years, and even if he returned then, he would face a perilous risk akin to sailing through treacherous waters.
In other words, even if he returned to Earth, the odds of him surviving were minuscule, one in a million, even one in a billion.
But for his wife and sister, he was willing to brave it even if there was just a sliver of hope.
Why? Why could he risk everything for two women?
He could never forget the events from over 5000 years ago.
In the beginning, he was a wealthy young master, to whom money was just a tool.
Back then, he had everything he wanted, all within his reach, all so lavish.
But he wasn't the type of wealthy scion to act rampant and reckless. Many of his funds were devoted to charitable causes.
His wife was a woman from a respectable family. Bai Jiaxuan had helped her twice before, causing her to fall in love with him.
However, Bai Jiaxuan was a man already betrothed. His wife, aware of that realization, quietly left him.
But at that time, he did not understand what true love was, always thinking that he could get anything he wanted just like he was entitled to everything.
It was only when his family abandoned him and his parents died unexpectedly.
He transformed from the young master of one of the five elite families in the capital city, the Bai Family, into a penniless wanderer in the streets.
None of the people he had helped were willing to pay back his gestures, especially those families showing their ugly faces. He could never forget them; he committed each one to his memory.
At that time, he cried tears of blood.
He could never forget the scene of someone taunting him with a bun, waving it in front of him, throwing it away in the end.
The only one who cared for him was his sister. She chose to leave the Bai family, and endure hardship with him.
But his 10-year-old sister suffered even more than he did.
Both of them were soaking wet under the bridge.
They were reduced to fighting dogs over food scraps, sleeping under arches, drinking cold water, rummaging through rubbish bins, and being ridiculed by the offspring of wealthy families.
He could bear this, but seeing his sister hurt made him extremely heartbroken.
Why? His sister was so young and should be playing at this age. Instead, she had to bear the cold stares and ridicule of others.
However, his sister never left him. Even when the Bai family asked her to come back, she did not leave him.
She was always by his side, holding his hand, comforting him, and believed that good things would happen tomorrow. At that time, his sister was only ten years old and she endured so much hardship with him. He remembered all of this.
During this period, he became despondent, almost believing that true love didn't exist in this world. Apart from his sister, no one was nice to him. He felt everyone in the world should die.
But it was during this time that she appeared - his fiancee.
He thought his fiancee loved him back then.
But his fiancee didn't give him much, only a letter.
She broke their promise. After that, she and Bai Jiaxuan had nothing to do with each other.
His heart ached.
His beloved fiancée,
the one who had always pouted for his attention.
His fiancée who he would give anything for.
Yet,
when he was at his lowest,
in desperate need of help,
craving for comfort,
she discarded him.
Like an obsolete toy tossed into the trash bin, mocked for its outdated design, and was there anyone who would cherish him anymore?
He was deemed a waste of air in his life, and a waste of land in his death.
In those moments, he was enraged. He stood up and roared, “What goes around comes around…”
Only to be met with more beatings from his fiancée. His sister fiercely shielded him, sparing him from a fatal blow, but at the cost of her own severe injuries, she came perilously close to death.
A ten-year-old girl, they showed no mercy. Even though he was only eighteen at the time.
In that moment, all he had within him was vengeance.
But it was during this time that the woman who would change his life appeared - his beloved Jo Anning.
She reached out in his darkest hour, not caring about his filthiness, even bearing him to her family and their scornful gazes.
That was the first time his heart felt only a glimmer of warmth and hope.
However, it did nothing to alleviate his inner torment. He immediately presumed that she was intentionally mocking him, extending a little warmth only to belittle him afterward.
But he was terribly mistaken, for when he ran away and jumped into the river, Qiao Anning followed suit without hesitation.
While in the water, one sentence reverberated in his mind and remained unforgettable, a vow of eternal love: "I love only you in this life and beyond, even unto death, which might seem foolish. You may not love me in return, but my only wish is to silently protect you, simply let me love you."
In the end, she revealed an innocent smile.
That time, he deeply felt this woman's love for him, and he truly understood his own cowardice.
He finally understood what it meant to be human.
In the end, neither of them perished, and they clawed their way out of the river, taking his sister to a brand new city.
They all started a new life there, gradually getting back on their feet.
Qiao Anning, too, stopped her studies for the sake of his sister. They both went out to work, and at first, Bai Jiaxuan found a job on his own, but his earnings were not enough to support their education.
Despite the fact that they both had the most basic of jobs, they finally had each other to depend on and found their beloved counterparts. They could finally rely on each other.
A few years later, they managed to get a small house with their savings and earnings, which brought a sense of home.
Those were hard times indeed.
Hard and exhausting, yet filled with warmth.
The items within the room might be the cheapest, but they were accumulated little by little through their own sweat and effort. Because of the family love within, it seems priceless.
And then, an unexpected event occurred.
Bai Jiaxuan's father had left him some inheritance after his death, which his cousin learned about and demanded him to surrender it.
But Bai Jiaxuan knew nothing about this inheritance. When he did find out, more accurately, he was already dead by the time he found out, crushed under a tire.
But when he thought he was dying, he crossed into another world.
In that world, he survived with the lingering thoughts for his beloved wife and sister, pledged a sworn brother, took a master, and gradually prospered, eventually becoming the greatest Immortal Emperor the world had ever seen.
Then he returned, not for anything else, only for his sister, only for his wife.
Only because his sister was willing to shield him from all harm.
Only because his wife was willing to quietly protect him at all costs.
Reflecting on all this, he looked upon Earth and said, "Brother Lu Hui, I am leaving, perhaps we will meet again after a hundred years." After saying that, he didn't look at other people's expressions and stepped into a black hole and disappeared.
"Jiaxuan" Lu Hui bowed his head silently. He knew this was Bai Jiaxuan's choice, and no one could change it, just like Lu Hui's love for Ling Yunxi.
But right at this moment, someone else jumped in too.
Lin Xiaohan.
