After the ghost-hunting master descended the mountain, his fame spread throughout the capital.

Seeing that he remained silent, Chu Mingzhu's eyes grew anxious, and she shook his hand again, her breath weak but stubborn:

"Xie Dai, promise me!"

Xie Dai looked into her eyes, where the last embers of her life burned with hope and pleading, and his heart ached.

Finally, he nodded with difficulty, squeezing out a broken voice from deep in his throat:

"…good."

He closed his eyes, then opened them again, his eyes filled with unfathomable pain. "I promise you."

Having received his explicit promise, Chu Mingzhu felt as if all her worries had finally been put to rest, and she relaxed completely.

Even the melancholy that had been lingering between his brows for years seemed to be gently smoothed away by an invisible breeze.

She no longer looked at Xie Dai; her gaze seemed to pierce through the curtains and walls, casting an eye toward the distant future, as she murmured:

"I only hope that... Chen'er can marry the one he loves in this life, that they can love each other and stay together until old age, and that he can see the scenery he wants to see, free and unrestrained, like I was, imprisoned for life, unable to control his own destiny..."

Before she could finish speaking, she coughed violently again. This time, instead of a muffled cough, she coughed up bright red blood and foam.

The glaring red stains her lips and Xie Dai's eyes.

She was panting, as if she had used up her last bit of strength, and gently pushed Xie Dai, her eyes gazing tenderly towards the outside room:

"Alright, go and call Chen'er in. Let me take another look at him..."

Xie Dai trembled as he wiped the blood from her lips with a handkerchief, carefully laid her down, and covered her with the blankets.

He gazed at Chu Mingzhu one last time with greedy eyes, as if trying to etch her face into the depths of his soul.

Then, he stood up, walked to the door, and called Xie Jinchen into the room.

On that day, the few old red plum trees in the courtyard of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion seemed to sense something, and bloomed exceptionally brightly and vividly in the biting cold wind.

A cold wind swept through the hall, taking away the last bit of warmth.

The scene in my memory, accompanied by Chu Mingzhu's gentle gaze at the end of her life, vanished like wisps of smoke scattered by the wind.

In the secret room, Xie Dai slowly loosened his grip on Xie Jinchen's hand, as if to convey all the unspoken words to him.

He looked at his son, who had grown into a tall and strong man, and a complex smile appeared on his face.

That smile held relief, pride, and a sense of relief at finally being able to unload all the burdens.

"I have finally fulfilled all the promises I made to your mother." He said softly, his gaze seemingly piercing through Xie Jinchen, looking towards the distant past, towards the person who occupied his entire heart in the ice coffin.

"Watching her most beloved son grow up safely, marry the woman he loved, and become a duke capable of standing on his own." With each sentence, his tone grew softer.

Xie Jinchen did not ask, "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

The scenes in my memory have already explained everything.

If the late emperor used his mother as a pawn, pushing her to the forefront to attract all the open and covert attacks.

So the father built a high wall with his own body, standing in front of him and his mother, and bearing all the misunderstandings and resentment alone.

It's not that he doesn't love, but that he loves too deeply, too intensely, and too willingly.

Xie Dai looked at Xie Jinchen, reached out his hand, as if he wanted to pat Xie Jinchen's head one last time, just like he did when Xie Jinchen was a child.

But in the end, the hand trembled very slightly before slowly being lowered.

The son has grown up and no longer needs his father's comfort.

And he will soon no longer be the father who needs to shield his son from the wind and rain.

Xie Dai's smile grew gentler, yet also more distant: "Chen'er, I promised your mother I would watch you marry and have children. Dusheng is a good boy, and you two are doing very well."

He paused, a barely perceptible sob in his voice: "But Chen'er... forgive your father, be selfish this once."

Xie Dai's gaze fell upon the ice coffin, his eyes filled with longing. "I've waited for this day for far too long."

"Your mother must be very cold and lonely over there all by herself. Dad is going to keep her company."

"No! Father!" Xie Jinchen's pupils shrank, and he instantly understood Xie Dai's intention.

He stepped forward to try and stop him.

However, Xie Dai acted even faster.

He didn't even look at Xie Jinchen one last time, but instead slashed his palm.

Using flowing blood as ink and the void as a brush, he drew a rune in mid-air.

The moment the rune took shape, it resonated strongly with the entire mountain.

The runes on the wall lit up one after another, a deep rumble came from the ground beneath our feet, and the biting cold seemed to be given life, frantically converging towards the runes.

Xie Dai closed his eyes and rapidly recited:

"Use my blood as a catalyst!" he uttered in a low voice, and the blood-red light in his palm intensified.

"By my soul, I pledge my allegiance!"

Xie Dai's voice suddenly rose, filled with a liberating excitement:

"This body, these bones, will all turn to dust and smoke!"

"Scatter this mysterious ice, sever this mountain's connection!"

"My soul returns, to sleep eternally with you—"

He roared out the last word, almost with all his might:

"open!"

"boom!"

A violent shockwave suddenly erupted, centered on Xie Dai.

The shockwave, mixed with a bone-chilling cold, acted like an invisible barrier, forcefully repelling Xie Jinchen who was rushing towards them.

Jiang Dusheng was prepared. He channeled his spiritual power and barely managed to catch Xie Jinchen, whose blood and qi were churning from the shock. He then spoke:

"It's useless. This is an array that connects to the mountain's veins and the ice coffin at the cost of one's own life essence and body."

"Once the formation is activated, it cannot be interrupted. Forcibly stopping it will only cause Father's soul to be scattered, leaving no room for maneuver."

At the center of the shockwave and light, Xie Dai's body began to blur, as if ice and snow were melting in the sunlight.

At the same time, the crystal-clear ice coffin also emitted a crisp cracking sound.

Cracks appeared on the coffin lid and body, and the face sealed within for more than twenty years seemed to soften under the power of this formation.

It's as if someone who has been in a deep sleep has finally been reunited with their loved one.

Xie Dai took one last look at Xie Jinchen and Jiang Dusheng, and the last concern in his eyes turned into complete peace of mind.

His voice was ethereal, as if it came from the horizon, yet every word was clear and imprinted in Xie Jinchen's heart:

"Chen'er, after this matter is settled, bury my ashes and your mother's ashes together. There's no need for a high tomb, no need for a monument, and certainly no need for any empty honors or funerary offerings..."

"Let's find a quiet, sunny slope in the Qingzhou Mountains, dig a grave, and bury us together."

His voice was filled with tenderness, "To share the same bed in life, and the same grave in death... that would be good."

Before his voice had completely faded, Xie Dai's figure had completely transformed into specks of shimmering light.

It merged with the ice coffin, which had shattered into countless ice crystals and light points.

The points of light resembled stars on a winter night or melting snow in spring, slowly sinking.

Finally, they coalesced on the ground into two handfuls of ashes that emitted a faint glow.

At the same time, subtle changes began to occur in the secret chambers that existed within the entire Yituo Mountain.

The chill that had persisted for decades quickly dissipated. The space, seemingly existing out of a persistent obsession, had fulfilled its mission with the departure of its owner and was about to return to the wilderness.

The blinding light dissipated.

Inside the secret room, only Xie Jinchen and Jiang Dusheng remained, tightly embracing each other, along with two handfuls of ashes on the ground that still seemed to retain warmth.

We shared the same bed in life, and the same grave in death.

Half a lifetime of scheming and forbearance, in one day the soul returns to be with him.