He didn't know how this sentence had penetrated through the young boy's cracked heart; perhaps not all of it was sincere, because, for the most part, Gu Yun never thought that he was wrong. Even if his conscience spoke up occasionally, it was not necessarily that he knew where exactly he went wrong.

His gentleness and indulgence brought on by the wine had given Chang Geng a way out.

Chang Geng held onto his hand tightly, like grabbing the last life-saving straw. The shoulders that had stiffened for many days suddenly fell. He almost broke down into tears.

He now realized that what he had been waiting for all this time was only these two simple sentences. As long as that person said to him 'yifu was wrong, yifu still needs you', it was enough for him to know that even after the Xiu Niang who abused him no longer existed, after losing Xu Baihu whom he did not even have the chance to see again one last time, in this world there was still this one bit of warmth left for him... then he could forgive his little yifu for anything.

In the past, and for ever after.

Whether he was called Shen Shiliu, or Gu Yun.

Gu Yun felt that his eyelids were getting heavier and heavier. He leaned on the bed, closed his eyes, then said, "Chang Geng, many things will change from now on. No one can know where their final destination will be right from the start, sometimes you must not think too much."

Chang Geng stared at Gu Yun without blinking. His eyes unknowingly carried hints of carefully hidden greed. He admitted with sorrow that Gu Yun was right; many things would change, living people would have to die, good times would dissipate, relatives and friends would be separated in the end, affections as deep as the sea and as high as the heaven would eventually resemble a stream of water flowing towards the ends of the earth...

Only his own final destination was already permanently established: he would become a madman.

Gu Yun moved further into the bed, then patted the empty space beside him: "Come here, we will have to quickly be on the move again tomorrow, sleep here at my place tonight."

After midnight, Chang Geng fell asleep in Gu Yun's Marshal's tent. As usual, the Bone of Impurity refused to let go of him, endless nightmares came one after another. But he could always sense a faint medicinal scent around him. He knew very well that he was safe, even vaguely understanding that he was only dreaming, those fears and resentments seemed to be separated from him by a layer.

For Chang Geng, this was a rare night of peaceful sleep.