After the spiritual energy was restored: Goddess girlfriends came knocking.

As Jiang Yan's aura completely dissipated.

In the courtyard, the teacup in Cang Yao's hand slipped silently and shattered on the ground, splashing water everywhere.

Ruoshui's smile froze, her fox tail stiffening behind her, motionless.

They were already mentally prepared, but the moment they truly felt that aura dissipate, everyone's face turned pale.

Jiang Wuchen and his mother rushed out of the inner courtyard at almost the same time.

Jiang Wuchen landed at the courtyard gate, his steps abruptly halting. He looked at the smiling face on the recliner, his lips moved a few times, but he said nothing.

Jiang's mother staggered to the recliner, her hand trembling as she reached out to touch her son's face, only to find it ice-cold to the touch.

The others from the city lord's mansion also arrived.

The entire courtyard fell into a deathly silence.

Then they saw that Jiang Yan's body began to glow.

Pale golden specks of light began to emerge from his fingertips, like fireflies on a summer night, lighting up one after another.

The light spots spread along the arms to the shoulders, and then spread from the shoulders to the whole body.

The white hair turned into stardust in the light, and the body gradually became transparent.

Before long, Jiang Yan could no longer be seen on the recliner; only pale golden specks of light floated slowly in the air.

A gust of wind blew by, and the points of light scattered in all directions, passing through the courtyard, skimming over the Jiang-character military flag on the city wall, and merging into the vast sky above Chang'an.

Jiang's mother stretched out her hand, and a point of light landed in her palm, flashed twice, and then went out.

She clenched that hand, pressed her fist to her chest, and finally broke down in tears.

Ruoshui stood beside the recliner, looking down at the empty rattan seat. Her lips were pursed into a thin line, her fox ears were pulled down low, and she seemed to have lost half her energy.

Jiang Wuchen stepped forward, put his arm around his wife's shoulder, his eyes were red, but he didn't let the tears fall.

A moment later, Ruoshui was the first to react. She wiped her face hard with the back of her hand and took out the recording stone from her bosom.

The golden patterns flowing on the surface of the photo stone had lit up at some point, glowing faintly in her palm—a sign that the spiritual energy restriction had been automatically lifted.

"You can open it now." Her voice was a little hoarse, but it had calmed down.

Upon hearing this, everyone took out their own recording stones, and sure enough, all the patterns had lit up.

Cang Yao took a deep look at the trajectory of the disappearing light, grasped the recording stone, and immersed her consciousness into it.

Jiang Yan's figure appeared in the void.

He was wearing that light blue long robe, his black hair was neatly tied up, and he stood in a blur of light and shadow, with a smile on his face that they all knew all too well.

"By the time I can open this memory stone, I'll probably be gone."

Cang Yao's fingertips trembled slightly.

"Let me repeat the most important thing again," Jiang Yan spoke from within the memory stone, her tone resolute. "I won't die, it's just that this body is failing. I will be reborn in another place, carrying all my memories. So we are only temporarily separated, not forever."

He paused, as if giving them time to process what he had just heard.

What I'm about to say might surprise you.

His gaze pierced through the void, as if looking directly at everyone watching the memory stone: "I am not actually from this world. My hometown is called Blue Star, a place you may have never heard of. Lin Chu is me, and Jiang Yan is also me."

"Both births were due to some special circumstance."

Cangyao and Ruoshui looked up at the same time and exchanged a glance.

"So I left my true spirit mark in Cangyao's comb and on Ruoshui's glass fox." Jiang Yan continued, "I don't know exactly when Lanxing will appear, but as long as Lanxing reappears within the sensing range of this world, the mark will be able to pinpoint my location."

His gaze became exceptionally earnest, as if he were looking at everyone across time and space: "We will meet again in time, but I may not remember you all immediately, so—be patient, I will definitely remember you, I'm waiting for you."

Cang Yao held the photo-recording stone, and the corners of her mouth slowly turned up.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

She lost him once eight hundred years ago, and she lost him again eight hundred years later.

But this time was different. This time he left behind a promise, a direction, and an undeniable commitment—he would remember, he would wait for them.

That's enough; it's much better than last time.

Next, a separate telepathic message entered Cang Yao's ears.

She paused for a moment, then tears welled up in her eyes.

But the corners of his mouth curved up.

"I understand, my husband."

Ruoshui also received a separate message.

Her fox ears perked up instantly, her eyes were terribly red, but her expression was a mixture of crying and laughing.

She didn't say anything, but simply pressed the photo stone tightly against her chest.

In the memorial stone for Jiang's father and mother, Jiang Yan's voice was a little softer: "Father, Mother, don't worry about me. This son of mine may not have any other skills, but he's very resilient. You should cultivate diligently, and we will definitely meet again."

Jiang Wuchen's expression relaxed a bit compared to before.

Jiang's mother wiped away her tears and nodded vigorously.

In the commemorative stone for Wen Chaosheng and Yu Qian, Jiang Yan gave instructions regarding Chang'an: "Chang'an is now in your hands. Yu Qian will be in charge of internal affairs, and Wen Chaosheng will be in charge of external affairs. This division of labor has worked well all these years and will continue to do so in the future."

Then he mentioned a name separately: "I have been observing Jiang Shouzhou for a long time. His talent is not top-notch, but his character is excellent. He is capable of great things and is worth cultivating."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I'll leave Liu Qingyi's old sword to Shouzhuo, and as for the ancestral sword, I'll give it to Jianli."

After everyone had finished looking at their respective commemorative stones, the sadness in the courtyard remained, but the overwhelming despair had faded.

Instead, there was an inexplicable and unwavering determination.

Ruoshui stood in the center of the courtyard, her fox tail slowly unfurling behind her.

Her face no longer held that carefree, cynical look; instead, it displayed an unprecedented composure and resolve.

She glanced at everyone's faces, then walked up to Jiang's mother and took her hand to comfort her.

"Auntie, he said he will come back."

Cang Yao also stepped forward and stood on the other side of Jiang's mother.

Looking at the girls in front of her, Jiang's mother still had tears on her face, but she managed to force a smile.

She reached out and patted Ruoshui's hand, then patted Cangyao's hand, and said in a hoarse voice, "Okay, okay, Auntie will wait for you to bring him back."