"Xiao Miao! I'm here!" Jun Mo Xie's body jolted as he grabbed her hand.
"Do not touch me! You're not worthy of this name, you liar!" Miao Xiao Miao shook his hand off forcefully and cleaned it on her clothes. Then she lowered her head and remained still, until her body stopped trembling.
She waited till she stopped trembling before taking two deep breaths.
Then, Miao Xiao Miao raised her head and looked at Jun Mo Xie. She smiled and said, "Manor Lord Jun, didn't you want to explain? I'm listening to your explanation!" Her voice had turned extremely calm.
But this calmness was as still as death!
Jun Mo Xie felt his heart ache.
Miao Xiao Miao may look deathly pale and may be smiling, but there was a dull look in her eyes. With the current circumstances, no matter how he explained, she would not listen to any of it!
Jun Mo Xie sighed internally and only felt his heart ache.
"Xiao Miao, the situation was like this… since I started cultivating Xuan skills, I began to breakthrough at unimaginable speed, I was already a Saint Emperor within a few years time." Jun Mo Xie knew that explaining was useless, but right now, he couldn't not explain himself.
As someone who led two lifetimes, he had never felt this guilty!
And had never felt that it was this difficult to say something.
"When one has significant cultivation, their longevity will naturally be prolonged. But Xiao Yi, Qing Han, and the rest always followed me devotedly! But there problem before us was that…"
Jun Mo Xie let out a long sigh. "… I may still be able to maintain my appearance for hundreds and thousands of years without aging, and so can Xue Yan. But everyone else was destined to not be able to do so, because their cultivation would not reach that sort of level. Or rather to say, no one is capable of this. Xuan cultivation can only increase one's lifespan, but it is unable to maintain one's youthful appearance. Even if they cultivate to a Saint Emperor's level like us, they are still subjected to the mercy of time. This problem may not be an issue to us, men, but for women it is…
"Xue Yan and I am able to not age due to reasons…" Jun Mo Xie skimped on the details of this part. "To a woman, if they see that their lover and their sister is able to keep their youthful appearance and never age while they have to age along with time, that is undoubtedly an extremely cruel thing!
"I did not wish to see them getting hurt in the future and do not wish to lose them… they're my women, so I naturally will want to protect them to the greatest of my abilities!" Jun Mo Xie said. "But there is only one way to resolve the aging of one's looks and boost one's cultivation greatly. That is to consume both the Exquisite Lotus and Seven Colored Holy Fruit at the same time!"
"Aside from this, there is no other way!"
"And so you set your mind on Heaven Saint Palace and Misty Illusory Manor? For your lovers?!" Miao Xiao Miao said apathetically.
"That is the case. In Chrysanthemum City, I battled with the three Holy Lands, and the stakes were the Exquisite Lotus! In the end, they lost, so I went to Heaven Saint Palace according to the bet and obtained the Exquisite Lotus. And you experienced the effects of the Exquisite Lotus I've cultivated earlier.
"As to the Seven Colored Holy Fruit, it was even more difficult to obtain. The first challenge was that I had no way to enter the Misty Illusory Manor. So… when I was in Chrysanthemum City, I left a hint of the Free and Natural Physique beforehand…"
"Then, you made us of your so-called 'Free and Natural Physique' to cheat Cao Guo Feng's trust! Then set up obstructions along the way so that they would do everything to bring you into Misty Illusory Manor…"
Miao Xiao Miao laughed coldly. "Evil Monarch, truly a great scheme! Everyone is toyed in your palms! Before this, I've only heard of the saying 'to produce clouds with one turn of the hand and rain with another'. But Great Manor Lord, you have truly let this lass witness the true meaning of this saying!"
"Indeed! I finally got what I wished for and entered Misty Illusory Manor! My original intention was to silently steal the Seven Colored Holy Fruit the moment I found it and leave. After I obtained it, 'Mo Jun Ye' would completely disappear. No one will see the Rainbow Holy Tree that I obtained, so no one will suspect me of it." Jun Mo Xie no longer tried to conceal anything. He just spilled it all out.
"But you had never expected that the Rainbow Holy Tree does not exist within the Misty Illusory Manor, but in another independent dimension. So you came up with another plot and set your mind on me?!" Miao Xiao Miao chuckled coldly. "But I have to say, a silly lass like me is truly too easy to deceive. No wonder you would set your aim on me. The facts have proven it. You've succeeded! Your scheme is completely flawless!"
"That is not true!" Jun Mo Xie said angrily. "From start to finish, I never thought of making use of you! Since I entered Misty Illusory Manor, to Gu Fei Yu's provocation, then the challenge by the brothers of the Zhan Family, Xiao Miao, when have I made use of you?"
"Manor Lord Jun, please don't call me Xiao Miao!" Miao Xiao Miao snapped angrily. "This is an addressment that only my closest kin have the right to use! You're not worthy! You do not have this right!"
Jun Mo Xie took a deep breath. "Fine, I shall not call you that! After I've understood the situation, I did everything I could to gain the quota for entering the Spiritual Herbal Gardens. The objective of the battle with the Zhan Family was also for this! I never tried to take advantage of your quota! You wouldn't deny this, would you?"
Miao Xiao Miao lifeless eyes turned away as she slowly nodded.
"It is just that the ways of the world are too peculiar, and plans will never be faster than changes. When the Zhan Family was defeated, in their unwillingness to admit their defeat, they tried to get rid of me. But you risked your life to save me. I am grateful for it. But I had also made up my mind to maintain a distance from you. Because this sort of feeling… I am unable to carry it… I knew that if I had embarked on this relationship with you, when the truth was revealed, it would only end up like today! I was afraid to take it! And am unable to carry it!
"So when you came to find me, I intentionally brought it up that I had a wife to reject you!" Jun Mo Xie squeezed his eyes shut. "I really did not wish to hurt you…
"But you… you are too deeply in love, more than I imagined! To fall completely unconscious upon returning home that day…" Jun Mo Xie breathed out in pain. "Your love, your determination, forced me into a path of no return! I couldn't just stand by and watch you fall into eternal slumber! So I chose to save you!
"I am indeed the Evil Monarch, with powerful forces and strength, but ultimately, I'm only a man. A gentle, gorgeous and talented beauty like you who is so devotedly in love with me. How could I not be moved? How could I not feel anything? When I made the decision to save you, I treated you as my woman! My, Jun Mo Xie's, woman!"
"You may not know… but… my mother, due to my father's unexpected death back then, in her extreme grief, also fell into a deep sleep like you… and she remained asleep for ten whole years… and would rather remain in her dreams than wake up.
"My mother's pain and love made me realize that I must not let the same tragedy fall upon you! So no matter what I have to face, I had to wake you up! And keep you by my side!" Jun Mo Xie looked at her firmly and said. "And give you happiness!
"Since I have made my decision, I will no longer hesitate or even regret! From that moment on, I never tried to run away with regards to our feelings! Even when I left… until now… my feelings towards you are genuine…"
"Is Manor Lord Jun done talking?" Miao Xiao Miao gave an apathetic smile and coldly said. "En? Are you done with your explanation?"
Jun Mo Xie knew that she did not listened to much of what he said. He couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
"Perhaps it is just as you said, whatever you've done has a reason that leaves you without a choice! You're good to your wives; for their sake, you can do anything, you can use all sorts of methods just for them to remain eternally young… This is something you should do as a man, as a husband. I understand, and do not blame you for it!
"But did it ever occur to you about how many people you've affected with your actions? In the Misty Illusory Manor, Cao Guo Feng and the other Saint Emperors. They placed all their hopes on you. They treat you even more dearly than their own children, yet you have deceived them! From start to end, through and through, you lied to them!
"And the elders of the Misty Illusory Manor. They all viewed you as the hope of the Misty Illusory Manor. They completely chose to support you! And you, also deceived all of them.
"As to me, you don't need to feel guilty… You did not deceive me!" Miao Xiao Miao laughed desolately. "I am not trying to be sarcastic, I am speaking from my heart. My husband is Mo Jun Ye; he did not lie to me, and he treats me very well. He really did. I am his wife, his woman! It is just that, he no longer exists anymore…"
"Mo Jun Ye still exists! I am Mo Jun Ye!" Jun Mo Xie yelled.
"No, you're not!" Miao Xiao Miao looked at Jun Mo Xie with clear eyes. "You're Jun Mo Xie! You are only Jun Mo Xie and not my Mo Jun Ye! Although he is just one of your identities, but you cannot replace him! He was born because of you and ceased to exist because of you.. No, how can my Jun Ye be gone? He will live on forever in my heart…"