58.2

Suddenly, her body reacted. Her pupils shrank and a sharp pain shot out from her chest, as if her heart was being squeezed by an invisible hand. She convulsed and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Ji Yunhe looked at the blood on the ground and felt her chaotic heartbeat. It finally dawned on her -- her body was now so weak that she really could die from the sun... Maybe she might even die in the next minute.

Ji Yunhe leaned against the boulder under Changyi's shadow and slowly caught her breath. She could not see his face against the sun, but she could clearly feel his eyes on her.

"Changyi..." she said, "perhaps, we were both wrong... My life doesn't belong to you or me, it belongs to fate..." Once again, she was pushed to the edge between life and death.

Ji Yunhe no longer felt any fear, she only felt absurd. Her life had been under someone else's control all along. They could make her laugh, cry, live or die all on a whim.

Whenever she felt like she could finally gain control, fate would slap her in the face and wake her up again. The freedom she sought after always seemed so close, yet remained just out of her reach.

She was so small and insignificant, tumbling and drifting helplessly in the world like a floating weed. The "truth" that hovered on the tip of her tongue was swallowed down again.

Her body had reached its limit after six years of torment, and the battle with Princess Shunde was probably the last of her remaining power and strength. Her future now was nothing but a dead end. How could she still tell Changyi the truth?

Because of her "betrayal", this innocent big-tailed fish had gone through a significant transformation. Now that he was finally able to punish her, if she were to tell him everything then die right afterwards, how was he supposed to deal with it?

If the remainder of her life was destined to be this brief, then might as well make the most of it again...

Ji Yunhe looked at the blood on the ground and asked, "Changyi, I must look hideous right now..."

After a while, Changyi answered with a low voice, "Less hideous than your human heart."

Ji Yunhe lowered her head. Under the cover of the black cloak, she smiled. If punishing her could give Changyi some inner balance and closure, then...

… so be it.