When Lin Zifan said "I'll help you," Lin Mu thought he was just being polite.
But early the next morning, Lin Zifan knocked on his door.
"Let's go."
Lin Mu blinked. "Where?"
"Reflection Cliff." Lin Zifan said. "That heart came from the bottom of the cliff. If you want to destroy it, you have to go back to where it came from."
Lin Mu looked at him, silent for two seconds.
"Do you know how to destroy it?"
"No." Lin Zifan said. "But I know someone who might."
"Who?"
"A fisherman."
Lin Mu froze.
The Fisherman?
"You know him?"
Lin Zifan nodded.
"I do." He said. "Three years ago, after your mother died, I sought him out. He said if I wanted to save you, I had to wait."
"Wait for what?"
"Wait for you to remember who you are."
Lin Mu was silent.
He looked down at his right hand.
On his ring finger, the character had changed again. From "Nian" to an ancient character he couldn't recognize—complex strokes, like some kind of seal.
"Host." The trash can poked its head out of his robe. "That character..."
"What?"
"It looks like the character 'Kai.'" The trash can said. "As in 'to open.'"
To open?
Lin Mu's heart stirred.
Open what?
"Let's go." Lin Zifan turned and walked out. "We'll talk on the way."
The two of them headed toward Reflection Cliff, one after the other.
The sun had just risen, painting the mountain path golden. The morning breeze carried the fresh scent of grass and trees.
After walking for a while, Lin Mu suddenly asked: "You've hated me for three years—is it because of mother's death?"
Lin Zifan's steps faltered.
"No."
"Then what?"
Lin Zifan was silent for a moment.
"I hated myself." He said. "Not you."
Lin Mu blinked.
"When mother died, she told me to take care of you. I failed." Lin Zifan's voice was low. "For three years, I watched you suffer, watched Zhou Yuan harm you, and did nothing. I hated myself for being useless."
He turned to look at Lin Mu.
"But I didn't dare get close to you. Because I was afraid that if I did, that heart would target you again."
Lin Mu didn't speak.
He looked at the three hearts above Lin Zifan's head.
The red one—still steady.
The grayish-blue one—more cracks than yesterday.
The gold one—still warm and bright.
"That gold one—was it left by mother?" Lin Mu asked.
Lin Zifan nodded.
"When she died, she gave me the last of her power." He said. "She said this power would protect me, keep that heart from controlling me again."
He paused.
"But she didn't know—the main thing this power does is make me think of her every day."
Lin Mu was silent.
They continued walking.
By the time they reached Reflection Cliff, the sun was already high.
At the cliff's edge, that rock was still there. The fishing rod was gone. The old man was gone. Only the rock and the wind remained.
Lin Zifan walked to the edge and looked down.
"This is the place." He said.
Lin Mu walked over and stood beside him.
Endless depths, shrouded in mist. Nothing visible.
"That heart came from down there?" Lin Mu asked.
"Yes." Lin Zifan nodded. "Three years ago, Zhou Yuan said he found it down there."
"What's down there?"
"I don't know." Lin Zifan said. "No one's ever gone down."
Lin Mu was silent for two seconds.
Then he pulled the black stone from his robe.
The stone lay quietly in his palm. That character "Kai" was clearly visible.
"What if I want to go down?"
Lin Zifan froze.
"Go down? Are you crazy? That's a bottomless abyss!"
"The heart is down there." Lin Mu said. "To destroy it, I have to go down."
Lin Zifan stared at him for a long time.
Then he suddenly laughed.
"You really are her son." He said. "Just as stubborn."
He took a deep breath.
"Fine. I'll go down with you."
Lin Mu shook his head.
"No. You wait here."
"Why?"
"Because we don't know what's down there." Lin Mu said. "If I'm not back in three days, just pretend you never had a brother."
Lin Zifan froze.
"Lin Yuan—"
"Bro Bin is coming with me." Lin Mu interrupted. "You wait here. If something happens, you can figure out what to do."
He turned and walked toward the cliff.
"Lin Yuan!" Lin Zifan caught up and grabbed his sleeve. "Don't be an idiot!"
Lin Mu turned back to look at him.
"I'm not being an idiot." He said. "I want to know—what was it that mother traded her life for?"
Lin Zifan's hand slowly released.
He looked at Lin Mu, his eyes reddening.
"Come back alive."
Lin Mu nodded.
He walked to the cliff's edge, took a deep breath, and jumped.
Wind roared in his ears.
Lin Mu fell, through layers of mist, seeing nothing. Only the wind, and the endless sensation of falling.
"Host!" The trash can's voice scattered in the wind. "You're too reckless!"
Lin Mu didn't answer.
He closed his eyes, feeling the speed of his descent.
After who knew how long, suddenly—THUD. He landed on something.
Not ground.
Something soft.
Lin Mu opened his eyes and found himself lying on a huge net. The net was made of something transparent and soft, cradling his entire body.
He climbed to his feet and looked around.
This was the bottom of the cliff.
Above him, layers of mist—the top invisible. All around was a grayish space. The ground was black rock, bare, nothing else.
But in the distance, something was glowing.
A grayish-blue light, flickering.
Lin Mu jumped off the net and walked toward it.
After about fifteen minutes, he stopped.
Before him stood a wall.
A massive black wall.
The wall was covered with carved characters.
Those characters—he recognized them.
All of them were "Bury."
Tens of thousands of "Bury," densely packed, covering the entire wall.
"Host..." The trash can's voice trembled. "This is..."
Lin Mu didn't speak.
He reached out and pressed his hand against the wall.
The "Bury" characters on the wall suddenly lit up.
Not just lit—they flowed.
As if alive, they moved across the wall, converging into one place, forming a massive vortex.
At the center of the vortex, there was an opening.
Lin Mu stared at that opening.
Something inside was looking at him.
He saw it.
A heart.
Black, fist-sized, surface smooth as a mirror.
Identical to the one in his stone.
But much larger.
And much darker.
Dark enough to swallow light.
"The Resentment Spirit Heart Seed." Lin Mu murmured.
That heart beat once.
Just once, and the entire space shook with it.
Lin Mu steadied himself, staring at that heart.
"You're the thing that killed my mother?"
That heart beat again.
As if answering.
Lin Mu pulled the stone from his robe.
The character "Heart" inside the stone was glowing.
The same light as those "Bury" characters on the wall.
"This stone—is it yours too?"
That heart didn't beat.
But on its surface, a face appeared.
That face—Lin Mu recognized it.
It was Zhou Yuan.
Zhou Yuan's face on that heart, expression twisted, mouth open as if trying to speak.
But no sound.
Only mouth movements.
Lin Mu stared at those lips and slowly read:
"For... give... me."
Forgive me?
Lin Mu froze.
Zhou Yuan's face vanished.
Another face appeared.
This face—Lin Mu didn't recognize it.
A woman.
In her thirties, gentle features, looking like an ordinary person.
But the moment Lin Mu saw her, his heartbeat skipped.
Because she looked so much like him.
"Mother..." Lin Mu whispered.
That face smiled.
Then opened its mouth and said something.
Lin Mu read the lips, word by word:
"Don't... blame... him."
Don't blame him?
Blame who?
Blame Zhou Yuan?
Or blame this heart?
That face vanished.
Another face appeared.
This face—Lin Mu recognized it.
It was himself.
No—it was his past self.
That youth in white.
The Reincarnation Sovereign.
"You're here." That face said.
This time, it wasn't lip movements. It was sound.
Lin Mu heard it.
"You... were waiting for me?"
"Waited three thousand years." That face said. "You've finally come."
Lin Mu was silent.
He looked at that face, identical to his own, and asked one question:
"Who are you, really?"
That face smiled.
"I am you." He said. "And I am it too."
It?
That heart?
"This heart—I created it." That face said. "With ten thousand years of my resentment."
Lin Mu was stunned.
Ten thousand years?
Not ten thousand people?
"I killed many." That face continued. "Killed until I myself became resentment. That resentment couldn't dissipate, so it condensed into this heart."
He paused.
"I sealed it here, then reincarnated. I thought sealing it would be enough. But it still got out."
Lin Mu thought of Zhou Yuan.
Thought of Lin Zifan.
Thought of his mother.
"It harmed many." Lin Mu said.
"I know." That face said. "That's why I waited for you."
"Waited for me to do what?"
"Waited for you to end it."
That face looked at him.
"And end me."
Lin Mu was silent.
He looked at that massive black heart, at that face identical to his own upon it.
End it?
How?
"Kill it?" Lin Mu asked.
"Kill it, and I cease to exist." That face said. "And you become completely free."
Lin Mu tightened his grip on the stone in his hand.
The character "Heart" inside the stone grew brighter and brighter.
That massive heart began to beat.
Faster and faster.
The whole space shook.
"Do it." That face said. "While I'm still lucid."
Lin Mu stared at him.
"Lucid about what?"
"Lucid enough to await death." That face smiled. "Waited three thousand years for this moment."
Lin Mu took a deep breath.
He stepped forward.
Another step.
Before that heart.
It was huge—taller than him. Its surface smooth as a mirror, reflecting his face.
He raised the stone in his hand.
The character "Heart" inside the stone blazed blindingly bright.
"Bro Bin." Lin Mu said.
"Here."
"If I die, remember to tell Lin Zifan I came back alive."
The trash can froze.
"Host—"
Lin Mu pressed the stone against that heart.
BOOM—
A deafening sound.
The world spun.
Lin Mu felt himself pulled into somewhere.
All around was endless darkness.
He fell.
Fell and fell.
After who knew how long, he suddenly landed somewhere.
He opened his eyes.
All around was white.
Endless white.
Nothing else.
Only one person stood before him.
A youth in white.
The Reincarnation Sovereign.
"You're here." He said.
Lin Mu looked at him.
"Where is this?"
"Inside the heart." The youth said. "Inside the Resentment Spirit Heart Seed."
Lin Mu was stunned.
"You pulled me in here?"
"Yes." The youth nodded. "Some things can't be said out there."
He stepped forward, looking at Lin Mu.
"Do you know why I created this heart?"
Lin Mu shook his head.
The youth was silent for a moment.
"Because the one I loved died." He said. "Died before my eyes. I couldn't save her."
Lin Mu's heart tightened.
"Who was she?"
The youth looked at him.
"Your mother."
Lin Mu's mind went blank.
"What did you say?"
"Your mother was the one I loved in my past life." The youth said. "She pursued me for three thousand years, all the way to this life."
He smiled.
That smile was bitter.
"But she still died. Died at the hands of the Resentment Spirit Heart Seed."
Lin Mu stood there, unable to speak.
His mother was his past life's lover?
Then who was he?
He was the reincarnation of the Reincarnation Sovereign, and his mother was the Reincarnation Sovereign's past-life lover—
The relationship was a tangled mess.
"It's normal that you don't understand." The youth said. "Wait until you've lived three thousand years—then you'll get it."
He walked up to Lin Mu and extended his hand.
"Come."
"What for?"
"To give you this heart."
Lin Mu froze.
"Give it to me?"
"Yes." The youth said. "You are my reincarnation. You have the right to inherit it."
"Inherit? But isn't it supposed to be destroyed?"
The youth smiled.
"Destroyed? Who said it's supposed to be destroyed?"
"You just said—"
"I said 'end it,'" the youth interrupted. "Ending isn't destroying. It's making it submit."
He looked at Lin Mu.
"Submit to you."
Lin Mu was silent.
He looked at the youth, at those eyes identical to his own.
"Why?"
"Because you need it." The youth said. "The world out there is more complicated than you imagine. With your current power, you can't do anything. With this heart, you can protect those you want to protect."
He paused.
"Like your brother."
Lin Mu's heart stirred.
"Lin Zifan?"
"Yes." The youth said. "The golden heart above his head—it won't last much longer."
Lin Mu froze.
"What do you mean?"
"That was power left by your mother." The youth said. "But that power was bought with her life. Three years—it's almost used up."
Lin Mu's heartbeat skipped.
"You mean—"
"She's about to disappear." The youth said. "Completely."
Lin Mu stood there, mind blank.
His mother was about to disappear?
The mother who traded her life for his?
"How do I save her?" Lin Mu asked.
The youth looked at him.
"Accept this heart." He said. "Use it to bring her back."
Lin Mu stared at him.
"You can guarantee that?"
The youth smiled.
"No." He said. "But it's the only way."
Lin Mu was silent for a long time.
Then he nodded.
"Okay."
The youth reached out and pressed his hand against Lin Mu's chest.
A vast power surged into his body.
Lin Mu felt his consciousness expand, spread, merge into this white space.
He saw it.
Saw the origin of this heart.
Ten thousand years of resentment.
Ten thousand years of waiting.
Ten thousand years of solitude.
Then he saw his mother.
She stood in a field of white light, smiling at him.
"You're here." She said.
Lin Mu walked over and stood before her.
"Mom."
Mother smiled.
It was a smile he had never seen before.
Warm. Bright. Like sunlight.
"I've waited so long." She said. "Waited for you to grow up, to grow strong, to come for me."
Lin Mu's eyes stung.
"I've come for you."
Mother nodded.
She reached out and touched his face.
"Good child."
Then she dissolved into light, merging into his body.
Lin Mu closed his eyes.
Felt that warmth.
That warmth three years too late.
When he opened his eyes again, he was back at the bottom of the cliff.
That massive black heart was gone.
The "Bury" characters on the wall were gone.
Only he stood there, in the empty space.
And in his hand, that stone.
Inside the stone, a new character had appeared.
"Mother."
Lin Mu stared at that character for a long time.
Then he looked up toward the top of the cliff.
Time to go back.
At Reflection Cliff, Lin Zifan waited for two days and two nights.
On the third morning, as the sun rose, he saw a hand reach over the cliff's edge.
Then Lin Mu climbed up.
Covered in wounds, clothes tattered, but his eyes bright.
Lin Zifan ran over and grabbed him.
"You're finally back, dammit!"
Lin Mu smiled.
"I said I'd come back alive."
He leaned against Lin Zifan, catching his breath.
Then he pulled out that stone and handed it to Lin Zifan.
"Look."
Lin Zifan took it and looked down.
Froze.
Inside the stone were two figures.
One was himself.
One was Mother.
Mother was smiling.
"This—"
"Mom is back." Lin Mu said. "Just a trace of her consciousness, but she's back."
Lin Zifan stared at that blurry figure in the stone, his eyes reddening.
"Mom..."
The figure inside the stone moved slightly.
As if responding.
Lin Mu leaned against him, closing his eyes.
Sunlight fell on them, warm.
In the distance, something was watching them.
A fishing rod.
Leaning against that rock at the cliff's edge.
The Fisherman's voice came on the wind:
"Not bad."