Transmigrating into the world of Jade Dynasty, I was targeted by the female lead in a reverse romanc

One year later, at dusk.

They walked through the Ten Thousand Mountains for a whole year, crossing countless mountains and streams, so many that even Xiaobai couldn't remember them all.

Those days were like a string of prayer beads, each day similar yet each bead different. Sometimes she walked ahead and he followed behind, sometimes the roles were reversed, he was in front and she was behind, but in any case, the distance between the two never exceeded ten steps.

On this day, they walked through a dense forest.

Xiaobai was walking in front of him when he suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Xiaochuan asked.

Xiao Bai didn't answer, but tilted her head as if listening to something. After a moment, she turned around with a strange expression: "There's something... ahead."

Jiang Xiaochuan gripped the Mo Xue sword tightly, walked to her side, and the two walked side by side through the last clump of trees, parting the drooping vines.

Suddenly, everything became clear.

It is a valley surrounded by mountains on all sides, with steep peaks as if cut by a knife, completely enclosing this place like a huge deep well.

There were no trees in the valley, only knee-high wild grass, which shone with a withered yellow light in the twilight. When the wind blew, the grass rippled and rustled.

In the very center of the valley, there is a cave.

The cave entrance was small, about the height of a person and the width of two people. It was dark and barren, with no vegetation growing around it. The exposed rocks were dark brown, as if they had been scorched or soaked in blood, fading into this dull color over the years.

But what truly made Jiang Xiaochuan stop was not the cave itself, but the stone statue standing in front of its entrance.

It was a woman.

The stone statue was very tall, half a head taller than him, with a slender and thin figure, and its clothes were fluttering, as if it were being blown away by the wind.

She tilted her head slightly, facing the cave entrance, or perhaps gazing at the narrow strip of sky above it. Her face was blurred, whether by the erosion of time or by the intention of the sculptor, only the position of her eyebrows and eyes could be vaguely discerned, along with a faint, almost imperceptible smile.

The smile was strange; it wasn't joy, nor mockery, but rather an indescribable...compassion.

It was as if she had seen something that others couldn't, or as if she was waiting for someone who would never come.

The setting sun slanted in from the western mountain pass, gilding the stone statue with a golden edge.

The light was warm and soft, falling on her as if it were alive, flowing through the folds of her clothes and lingering on her blurred face. She stood there quietly, in this desolate valley, for who knows how many years.

Jiang Xiaochuan stopped and stared at the stone statue for a long time.

The wind blew from behind him, making his robes flutter and his hair brush against his cheeks. He remained motionless, as if he too had been frozen in place, becoming another stone statue.

"This is it." He finally spoke, his voice very soft, as if afraid of disturbing something.

Xiao Bai walked to his side and looked up at the stone statue.

Her brows furrowed slightly, and there was a hint of confusion in her eyes.

"This is... Linglong?" she asked.

"It should be."

Jiang Xiaochuan nodded and walked towards the stone statue. Xiaobai immediately followed, walking half a step faster than him, as if trying to block something in front of him.

The stone statues are carved with exquisite detail; every fold of clothing, every ribbon, every strand of hair blown by the wind is depicted with remarkable realism.

But it was the face, the most important face, that was blurred.

Even so, it's still clear that she is an extremely beautiful woman.

Her eyebrows resembled distant mountains, her eyes were like autumn waters, her nose was straight and elegant, and her lips had distinct lines.

Even just a vague outline is enough to make one imagine the face's former beauty that could topple kingdoms, and that compassionate smile is etched into the texture of the stone, into the wrinkles of time, enduring through wind and rain for thousands of years.

She just stood there, staring at the cave entrance, as if looking at something, or perhaps waiting for something.

Jiang Xiaochuan walked up to the stone statue and looked up at it.

The light of the setting sun shone from behind the stone statue, outlining a halo around her, hazy and indistinct, like the halos behind the bodhisattvas in a Buddhist temple. He stared at it for a long time, until Xiaobai gently tugged at his sleeve, and he finally came back to his senses.

He suddenly felt that the stone statue... seemed to be alive.

It wasn't that she was actually alive, it was the feeling, the feeling that she was watching him.

Behind those blurry eyes, there seemed to be a pair of real eyes, looking at him quietly, gently, and sadly through the stone.

A strange, inexplicable emotion welled up inside him, like guilt or heartache, inexplicable and without reason.

He reached out, wanting to touch the base of the statue.

My fingertips just touched the stone.

A chill ran up my fingertips.

The chill wasn't just ordinary cold; it was a bone-chilling cold, as if someone had suddenly thrown you into an ice cellar, or as if something unseen had crawled into your body.

A chill ran down his arm, through his veins, and instantly spread throughout his body. He shivered violently, his teeth chattering. He tried to pull his hand away, but found it wouldn't obey him, as if it were stuck to a stone.

The coolness circulated throughout his body, from his fingertips to his shoulders, from his shoulders to his heart, from his heart to every part of his body, and finally gathered on his forehead.

Suddenly, I felt a warmth between my eyebrows.

It wasn't a burning heat, but a warm, soft touch, like something gently and slowly touching his forehead.

Very light, very fast.

It felt like a kiss.

He abruptly withdrew his hand, staggered back two steps, covered his forehead with his hand, and gasped for breath. The soft touch still lingered on his forehead, warm as if someone had just kissed him there.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Bai's expression changed. She stepped forward to support him, her other hand already gripping the hidden weapon in her sleeve, and she looked around warily.

Jiang Xiaochuan shook his head, slowly lowered his hand, and looked at the stone statue again.

The stone statue remained the same, motionless, its face blurred. The setting sun still shone warmly upon it, and it stood there as before, gazing at the cave entrance with a sorrowful expression.

That feeling just now felt like an illusion.

But he knew it wasn't.

"This stone statue...something's not right," he said, his voice hoarse.

"Something's not right?" Xiao Bai's hand was still gripping the hidden weapon, his eyes scanning back and forth between the stone statue and the cave entrance.

Jiang Xiaochuan didn't answer. He just stared at the stone statue for a long, long time, as if trying to see something from that blurry face. Then, he suddenly turned around and looked at the cave entrance.

The entrance to the cave was dark, and a breeze was blowing out from inside.

He stared at the cave entrance, the inexplicable attraction in his heart growing stronger and stronger.

The feeling was strange, like someone was calling him from inside the cave, the voice so soft it was almost inaudible, yet every word landed clearly on his heart. It was also like an invisible thread tied to his chest, the other end of which was deep inside the cave, tightening little by little, pulling him further in.

He wanted to go in.

The thought came suddenly, yet it was terrifyingly strong, so strong that he could barely control his feet and was already taking a step forward.

"My dear husband!" Xiaobai grabbed him, her voice filled with unusual anxiety.

"Don't rush! This cave is very strange. Let's take a look first."

Jiang Xiaochuan took a deep breath, suppressed the impulse in his heart, and abruptly stopped in his tracks.

He stood there, staring at the cave entrance, his gaze seemingly trying to pierce through the darkness and see into the deepest part. Xiao Bai also stared at the cave entrance, his brows furrowed, his fingertips glowing slightly, as if sensing something.

Just now.

Suddenly, a cloud of white mist rose into the air in front of the cave entrance.

The white vapor increased and became denser, gradually condensing into a human shape.

It was the silhouette of a tall man.

The white mist continued to condense, and facial features, armor, and the weapon held in the hand became visible.

The man held a giant sword in his right hand, its blade almost as wide as a door panel, and a large shield in his left hand, its surface engraved with strange patterns, like some kind of ancient runes.

His entire being was composed of white mist, semi-transparent, swaying uncertainly in the wind as if it might dissipate at any moment, yet his features were exceptionally clear, his eyebrows and eyes were sharply defined, his expression solemn, carrying an inviolable majesty.

This is a malevolent spirit.

Jiang Xiaochuan gripped the Ink Snow Sword tightly, the blade humming in its sheath. Xiaobai stepped forward, blocking his way, the phantom of nine tails appearing and disappearing behind her.

After the evil spirit took shape, it didn't look at Xiaobai; its gaze went straight past her and landed on Jiang Xiaochuan.

He stared at it for a long time.

The look in his eyes was strange; it wasn't like he was looking at a stranger, but rather like he was looking at someone he had been waiting for a very long time.

The same compassion as that stone statue.

Then, the evil spirit slowly spoke, its voice hollow:

"You've finally arrived."

Jiang Xiaochuan paused for a moment: "You know me?"

"I know you," the evil spirit said, "but you don't know me."

Jiang Xiaochuan was even more bewildered.

He looked at Xiaobai. Xiaobai shook his head, his brows furrowing even more.

The evil spirit looked at Xiaobai again, this time his brows furrowed and his gaze turned cold.

"A fox demon?" His voice held a hint of displeasure. "Why are you by his side?"

Xiao Bai raised her eyebrows, gave a cold laugh, and slightly lifted her chin: "He's my husband, so naturally I'll stay by his side. And who are you? What right do you have to block my way? Haven't you heard of 'a good dog doesn't block the way'?"

The evil spirit wasn't angry. It remained silent for a moment, its gaze shifting back and forth between Xiaobai and Jiang Xiaochuan, before finally speaking slowly:

"I am a guard under the command of the priestess, and I am here on her orders."

He looked at Jiang Xiaochuan again, his gaze calm and still as an ancient well:

"Your Majesty has been waiting for you for a long time. Please come into the cave with me."

Jiang Xiaochuan did not move; his hand gripped the Ink Snow Sword, his knuckles turning slightly white.

"Your Highness? Your Highness Linglong?" he asked. "Why is she waiting for me? I'm a complete stranger to her. Why would she wait for a junior like me?"

"You'll know once you go in," the evil spirit said.

He turned around and floated towards the cave entrance.

His body, made of white mist, swayed in the air like a flag fluttering in the wind. When he reached the cave entrance, he stopped, turned to the side, and made a "please" gesture.

Jiang Xiaochuan hesitated.

This cave is strange, and this evil spirit is strange too.

The Lady Linglong waited for him for a thousand years? That sounds utterly absurd.

What makes him, a transmigrator and a junior disciple of the Qingyun Sect, worth a witch waiting for three thousand years?

He didn't want to go in.

But the attraction in my heart grew stronger and stronger.

It was so strong that he could barely stand, his legs felt weak, as if something was pulling him and trying to drag him into that dark hole.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his turbulent emotions, and asked, "What if I don't go?"

The evil spirit fell silent for a moment.

The silence was long, as if it had frozen in time. The wind blew out of the cave entrance, howling like someone was crying.

Then, the evil spirit slowly spoke.

His voice remained hollow and calm, yet every word struck Jiang Xiaochuan's heart like a hammer blow.

"Then leave. No one will force you to stay."

He paused for a moment.

"only……"

He turned around, his empty eyes staring straight at Jiang Xiaochuan, devoid of any emotion. But it was precisely this lack of emotion that made it all the more chilling.

"The beast demon has broken free of its seal, and the world is in turmoil. The cause and effect are yours."

Jiang Xiaochuan's body jolted violently, as if struck by an invisible bolt of lightning.

Beast Demon.

Beast God.

That being who unleashed a cataclysmic disaster in the original story, the one who killed countless righteous elites and nearly destroyed the entire world.

Is the cause and effect his?

"Stop spreading alarmist rumors!" Xiaobai said sternly, her voice filled with rare anger.

She stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Jiang Xiaochuan.

"What beasts and demons, what carnage? What does it have to do with us? Young master, let's go. This place is terribly eerie; don't listen to his nonsense!"

She tried to pull Jiang Xiaochuan's hand to leave, but she couldn't budge him.

Jiang Xiaochuan stood rooted to the spot.

He looked at the ghost's back, then at the deep cave entrance, and then at the stone statue in front of the cave entrance that looked at the sky with pity. The cold touch between his brows seemed to still be there, faint, like a mark branded on his soul.

The malevolent spirit, the strangeness of the stone statue, and the inexplicable urge deep within me to go inside and find out what was going on.

Beast God.

The Eight Fierce Fire Formation.

Exquisite flesh and blood and soul.

The mission of the Witch Clan.

Kuroki's obsession.

Countless fragments of information collided in his mind, like a jigsaw puzzle that was being pieced together piece by piece. He vaguely saw an outline, an outline related to him that he had never thought of before.

The cause and effect are in his...

What cause and effect?

Was it his arrival here that led to the breaking of the Beast God's seal?

Is it that his retreat today will lead to the devastation of the people in the future?

he does not know.

All he knew was that if he turned and left today, he would dream of this statue every night thereafter.

I dreamt of those compassionate eyes, I dreamt of the words "The cause and effect are in your hands," I dreamt of that dark cave entrance, I dreamt of that figure formed from white mist, speaking in a hollow voice.

You finally came.

He would ask himself: If I had gone in back then, would things have been different?

This problem will be like a thorn stuck in his heart, for the rest of his life.

He took a slow breath.

He took a very long breath, as if he were inhaling all the courage he had in his life, and then he looked at Xiaobai.

Xiao Bai was gripping his arm tightly, her fingertips digging into his flesh, causing him sharp pain.

Her eyes reddened, tears welling up but not falling. Her lips trembled, but she didn't speak, only looking at him and shaking her head desperately.

She knew what he was going to say.

"Xiao Bai," Jiang Xiaochuan spoke, his voice soft yet unusually calm, "listen to me."

"I won't listen!"