"...What is the name of your friend?"
"Yuanen Yehui." Said Tang Wulin.
Er Mings's eyes widened as his emotions underwent immense changes while Da Ming raised a brow.
"Er Ming, are you familiar with that name?"
"Um... The last name was the name I used when I met this maiden a thousand years ago. I saved her back then, and then she kept on following me, then one thing led to another..."
Ya Li covered her hands with her mouth in shock, as she didn't think Er Ming who showed such hate for the humans.
He would actually couple with one of them and even saved her life thousands of years ago.
Da Ming was enraged. "You idiot! Are you telling me you coupled with a woman and then left her? And also never once mentioned this to me before!"
"Big brother you have it mistaken... I admit I did experience the passion and love from that maiden those years ago. It was through her that I was able to understand why Xiao Wu was so dead set on following Tang San. The feeling of love is truly something astounding... But who would have thought she would be so far different than what I thought before." Er Ming shook his head with anger as he clenched his fist.
"I was the one that was abandoned in the end! Compared to Tang San and the faith he showed to Xiao Wu, she couldn't even show me a bit of it! The maiden was with me for less than a month before leaving. She did not even say anything before she left but just left me a note saying that our fate had ended. Brother, I feel wronged!"
Everyone around Er Ming had a fallen as they heard his story, Ya Li had a frown on her face.
But she didn't know what to say, as this happened thousands of years ago and the scars still remained.
While Da Ming was bewildered, wondering just how his little brother kept his pain hidden from him for so long. He knew Er Ming wouldn't lie to him, as they had been with each other for so long.
"Then, why haven't you told me about this matter before?" Da Ming asked in puzzlement.
"I'm too embarrassed to talk about it. I never heard from the maiden anymore. I only recalled after hearing the surname 'Yuanen'. Back then, I told her that my name was 'Yuanen Mingde'. The surname 'Yuanen' was referring to primeval favor. We are all gifted with the gift of being alive because of the most primeval favor given by nature and that was how I got the name. I didn't expect her to be pregnant with my child. I truly don't get it! Why would she leave? I would have been the happiest man if she hadn't left me!" Shouted Er Ming as his face sagged down.
"...Did you chase after her?" Questioned Ya Li causing Er Ming expression to turn even grimmer.
"Why would I? As if I could take the embarrassment and even more rejection from her..."
"...Did you really love her?"
"What?!" Shouted Er Ming as he glared at Ya Li but she only looked at him calmly, not cowering under his glare.
"You said you fell in love with her and that you would gladly spend the rest of your life with her. But at the first sign she left, with a note being left, you didn't once try to chase after her. To try and find out her true reason? How can you be so stupid? Is that how strong your love was for her." Said Ya Li with her words piercing into Er Ming like arrows.
"What the hell do you know?! What the hell would you know about seeing the person you loved leaving because you were a soul beast?!" Shouted Er Ming
"Er Ming...What are you talking about? Did you tell her you were a soul beast?" Questioned Da Ming with his eyes slightly widening.
Er Ming didn't say anything at first before a vivid scene began to show around all of them.
Thought Concretization!
Alongside audio added to it, allowing Tang Wulin and the others to hear the words of the images.
"Her name was Xiong Xiaoling... A rare human that I came across, from her feeding me mushrooms when I was bored and resting."
They saw the image of the women, they determined was Xiong Xiaoling feeding the little ape, which was Er Ming.
They were all a bit surprised that she wasn't scared at him even when he glared at her with murder.
"I once saved her from the fire that was burning down her hometown from the sudden attack of a meteorite."
They saw the sea of flames with Xiong Xiaoling in the middle of it, screaming hysterical.
Then a giant ape jumped through the flames, scooping her up before launching itself back into the forest.
"As I said after I saved her. She began sticking to me before I told her it was almost time for her to go before she pounces on me.."
They saw the interaction between Er Ming and Xiong Xiaoling. The way she asked him for his name and then her pouncing on him.
Before then the image shows them laying together, with her telling him that they should stay together.
And him agreeing.
"...I wanted to test and be honest with her. So, I wrote a note to her, about the fact that I was a Soul Beast, the Titan Great Ape. And that I would be back in ten days and that if she didn't care that I was a soul beast, she should wait for me."
They saw Xiong Xiaoling picking up the note after she didn't see Er Ming all morning.
They saw her reading it before crying and cursing him out before then leaving the next morning with a small bundle.
"...But in the end, she left me. And I had to destroy everything if only to wipe out the history."
They saw the memory of Er Ming transforming and destroying the small house that they made together.
"So can you honestly say, I was at fault?" Questioned Er Ming as the memory and images came to an end.
"...Ming." Mutter Da Ming with a gloomy look while Ya Li only sighed.
"You truly are a fool." Said Ya Li causing Er Ming to glare at her with murderous rage.
"You-"
"How can you be so weak! Regardless of the reason for her leave, how could you not chase after her!" Shouted Ya Li with a glare towards Er Ming.
"You say you didn't want to be embarrassed? Who cares! You were worried about the reputation? It doesn't matter! The only thing matters at the end are the fact you're willing to go out of your way for her! The only thing your previous actions prove is that your love for her wasn't that much!"
Er Ming flinched from the sharp words of Ya Li, feeling them pierce through him and twist inside.
"Shut up! How the hell do you know how I feel! I told her I will be back in ten days but she left on the first day! She didn't even wait for a bit and simply left, as if what we shared meant nothing..." Er Ming had tears leaking out of eyes as the pain from thousands of years ago was resurfacing.
"...I understand you were hurt and this type of feeling must have been new for you." Said Ya Li as his gaze started to turn kinder to Er Ming.
"When my husband, Yun Ming chased after me all those years ago, there was a time that I once told him. I didn't like him because I didn't want him to go through so much trouble for me. So I said those hurtful words, attempting to hurt him and getting him to give up on me." Said Ya Li in a soft tone that drew the interest of Er Ming and the others.
"But that fool...Not only was he not hurt but he only laughed it off and said time will change that. And he went on to fight off all the troubles that encompass our relationship."
Tang Wulin heard about this before from Na'er, that Yun Ming quite literally fought a whole organization for Ya Li.
With her then saying this was also a reason for their bad relationship with the Federation.
She then smiled at him before saying, she knows he would do the same and even more.
'Troublesome girl.'
"But you do admit you would do the same and even more for her." Zeref's voice rang out with a chuckle, but Tang Wulin ignored him.
"When you love someone, truly love someone. You're willing to move all of heaven and earth for them. Willing to accept all the good and bad faults that come with them. To the world, they are an individual but to you? They are your world."
Ya Li's words were leaving them all in a trance, Er Ming was getting lost in his memories.
The time he spent with Xiong Long, the laughs, cheers, and love they spent together.
Da Ming was getting lost in his memories of being with Xiao Wu and Er Ming, how much they meant to him.
While Tang Wulin as he heard Ya Li's words, felt an indescribable warmth in his chest as various faces showed up in his mind.
His expression was still stoic but that didn't stop his eyes from softening as he strangely felt them around him.
As if they never left and always been around him, since the day they parted.
"Maybe you are right... That she left because you were a soul beast. That she didn't love you as much as you thought she did. That in the end, your love was nothing but a farce."
Each word of Ya Li was making Er Ming's whole figure tremble.
"But at the same time, maybe you were wrong. Maybe she loved you so much but she had to leave for a special reason." Said Ya Li softly causing Er Ming's eyes to widen.
As for the past thousands of years, he had never once thought about it that way.
That she had another reason for leaving him, that had nothing related to his status as a Soul Beast.
"...If there was another, why didn't she write-"
"What she did was no different than you testing her. In the end, it really doesn't matter, as in the end."
"The past is the past, that has long since passed by."
#
In the Sea God Pavillion house, Yun Ming was going through a set of reports that were recently sent to him.
He was frowning as he went through the reports, wondering just how did this slip through all these noses.
As well as wondering just what those fools, the Federation was thinking by keeping this a secret.
"Sea God Master! Wu Zhankong and the others have returned!" Shouted one of the school elders as he came rushing in.
"They have? Good! Tell them to come up. How are they?" Questioned Yun Ming as he glanced up from the reports.
"They seem okay sir, although they have some scratches and marks. Although the strange thing is that the holy mistress and Tang Wulin isn't with them." Said the elder causing Yun Ming frown even more.