Zhan Luo strolled along the rugged peaks of Kunlun Mountain, the cool evening breeze tugging at his robes. The serenity of the mountain's summit usually calmed him, but tonight his thoughts were restless. Ruo Yin's question—why he had helped her—lingered in his mind, an echo of the past.
"Even after all these years, with her memories wiped clean, that girl hasn't changed," he murmured to himself, settling on a smooth rock beside a roaring waterfall. The sound of cascading water filled the air, blending with the tranquility of Kunlun's ancient forests. "She still dives headfirst into trouble, just like before."
The peaceful surroundings couldn't hold back the tide of his memories. Zhan Luo's thoughts drifted to a time five thousand years ago, when the Immortal Realm was on the brink of upheaval.
Back then, the clans coexisted in fragile harmony. But everything shifted with the mysterious death of the old Demon Lord. His successor, You Xie, was a young and untested deity, and his ascension was met with widespread doubt. Yet, with no one else to claim the role, the immortals reluctantly accepted him.
For centuries, You Xie proved them wrong. Under his rule, the Demon Clan thrived, and tensions eased. The other clans began to trust him—until rumors spread of an insidious plot against the Sky Clan.
In response, the Sky Clan sent spies to uncover the truth, but their efforts ended in disaster. You Xie captured the spies, decapitated them, and sent their heads back as a grim message. The charming facade of the young Demon Lord shattered, revealing the true You Xie: cruel, ruthless, and ambitious. It became clear that ruling the Demon Clan was not enough for him. He wanted to conquer the Immortal Realm and seize the title of Sky Emperor.
And so, the war began.
Zhan Luo remembered it vividly—those years of bloodshed, the countless lives lost, and the innocents caught in the crossfire. Among them were Ruo Yin's parents.
The memory still haunted him. He recalled the moment You Xie struck them down, and the look in young Ruo Yin's eyes as she witnessed it. Her gaze burned with hatred, a fire as intense as the Demon Lord's own. "That girl even stabbed me," Zhan Luo thought, a rueful smile touching his lips.
Her parents, even as they lay dying, had begged him for one last favor. Protect her. Erase her memories. They feared that the pain of witnessing their deaths would turn her into something monstrous—a reflection of You Xie himself. Before Zhan Luo could ask how they could be sure You Xie wouldn't kill her, their lives slipped away.
Zhan Luo honored their request. He subdued the enraged Ruo Yin, erased her memories of the tragedy, and carried her away from the battlefield.
The war ended soon after, with You Xie defeated and the Demon Clan brought to its knees. The Sky Emperor, ever merciful, forgave them—but at a cost. The Demon Clan was marked with red tattoos on their necks, imbued with restrictive magic that subdued their powers to just above mortal strength.
In the aftermath, Zhan Luo learned that Ruo Yin had been named a princess of the Demon Clan. It puzzled him at first. Then came the annual reunion of the clans, and with it, clarity. You Xie wasn't raising her out of kindness. He was grooming her.
"Five thousand years," Zhan Luo murmured, the words bitter on his tongue. "You Xie's revenge has been brewing all this time."
Yet Zhan Luo hadn't alerted the Sky Emperor. He'd made a different choice. Instead of exposing You Xie's potential schemes, he decided to marry Ruo Yin. It was a calculated and risky move—one that he knew You Xie would never refuse. What better way for the Demon Lord to spy on the War Deity than by placing Ruo Yin at his side? Zhan Luo also knew You Xie would twist the truth, poisoning Ruo Yin's mind against him.
"Tomorrow, we meet again. After all this time." A faint smile curved his lips as he gazed at the starlit sky. "Fate, perhaps."
The thought of their wedding brought with it a mixture of emotions. He was prepared for the hardships ahead, knowing that their future would be fraught with schemes and half-truths. One day, he would tell Ruo Yin everything—the real story, the truth of her parents' last moments. But not tomorrow. Tomorrow, he needed to see where her loyalties lay and how far You Xie's influence had reached.
Rising from the rock, Zhan Luo turned to head home. His mind lingered on one final question as he walked. Had erasing her memories been a mistake?