Chapter 306: Western Suit, and Witnessing

The courtyard.

Chu Muyun picked up a branch frozen solid in his hand and lightly tapped it on the ground. Snap—the branch broke into three pieces, falling with ice shards into the brazier and extinguishing the last glowing embers. The empty courtyard fell into an icy silence. The brazier, which had barely provided warmth, was now frozen solid by the frost, and the wailing wind, accompanied by a roar, echoed outside the courtyard walls.

“The aurora has vanished,” Bai Ye said, subtly raising his head. His eyes under the baseball cap looked at the sky, where nothing remained.

“Yes.”

“Is she still alive?”

Chu Muyun’s fingers gently rested on the neck of the woman by the stove. Her cold skin no longer held any warmth. Amidst the cold wave blowing from the Forbidden Sea, she had ultimately frozen to death, even while near the stove.

“...Dead,” Chu Muyun’s voice was devoid of emotion.

Bai Ye sighed and slowly stood up, his silver serpent-shaped earring swaying slightly. He turned his head to look outside the door. “It’s time. Let’s go.”

“I’ll go change,” Chu Muyun said, turning to head back into the house.

Half a minute later, Chu Muyun returned to the courtyard. He had shed his unchanging wool coat and vest, replacing them with a solemn black suit. He gently smoothed the wrinkles from his black tie and wore black leather shoes, appearing notably thin in the freezing wind. He ceremoniously took a black playing card from under the table and placed it in a hidden pocket on his left chest, leaving only the top visible outside. From a distance, it seemed to meld perfectly with the suit. In the top left corner of the card, the only part visible outside the suit pocket, was a white “7”.

“What about you? Aren’t you changing?” Chu Muyun asked Bai Ye.

Bai Ye smiled faintly and snapped his fingers. His clothes automatically transformed into the same black suit. A black playing card was also visible on his chest. However, its corner displayed a white “Q”. Bai Ye adjusted his black tie to the correct position and spoke softly, “Let’s go.”

The biting cold wind lifted the coattails of their suits. Black coats, black ties, black leather shoes… They stood before the frozen courtyard gate, their expressions grave and somber, as if about to attend a funeral.

Chu Muyun pushed open the courtyard gate and was about to step out when he saw a familiar figure slowly approaching.

“Senior Chu, Senior Bai Ye?”

Jian Changsheng saw the two dressed in black, confusion dawning in his eyes. “Are you… going to someone’s funeral?”

“You’re finally back. We were just about to look for you,” Chu Muyun said, stepping aside and gesturing towards a room. “Your clothes are ready. Go change.”

“Clothes?” Jian Changsheng grew even more bewildered. “Like yours? Wearing so little in this weather… I’ll freeze to death, won’t I?”

“Less talk, go change quickly.”

“Oh…”

Although bewildered, Jian Changsheng obediently went back inside to change. A moment later, he emerged wearing an identical black suit, but he held his tie, apparently not knowing how to tie it. Chu Muyun walked up to him, took the tie, and meticulously began to tie it for him.

“Senior Chu, what are we going to do?” Jian Changsheng couldn’t help but ask.

Chu Muyun gently adjusted the tie, tucking it under the suit. He slowly turned to look at the silent, desolate city, his expression complex as he spoke. “...To witness the demise of a realm.”

Outside Aurora City.

A black figure shot out from the shattered city gate like lightning! He rushed out of Aurora City without hesitation, plunging into the Forbidden Sea area, and raced straight towards the white-clad figure gradually surrounded by calamities.

Strange, grotesque calamities leaped out from beneath the mirror-like seawater, attempting to block his path, but Tan Xin’s gaze never left the Aurora Lord. He took a deep breath, and his racing foot stomped hard on the sea surface!

“Get out of my way!!”

His invisible domain expanded again. In that instant, the forbidden incantations covering the sea surface seemed to encounter a powerful repulsive force, being forcefully dissolved and eradicated. The calamity figures rushing towards him suddenly paused, then softly and weakly fell into the seawater. Under Tan Xin’s suppression, even the calamities were affected. He was like an eraser, wiping everything away, forcefully clearing a path of vacuum from within Aurora City.

Hundreds of meters away from him, the Aurora Lord swayed, then weakly knelt on the sea surface, coughing violently. Each cough brought up large amounts of crimson blood, and his breathing grew increasingly weak and rapid.

“He’s… dying…”

“He killed… too many… Lords… Kill him… for revenge…”

“Let the Forbidden Flower… bloom upon… his corpse…”

Hoarse whispers, like a tsunami, surged around the Aurora Lord. Figures swirling with black incantations lunged wildly at him, seemingly ready to tear him to shreds. The Aurora Lord knelt, now too weak to move. His gradually dimming eyes looked towards the black-clad figure charging from Aurora City. He took a deep breath, and a sharp glint of light flared in the depths of his eyes once more!

“Kill me… You are not worthy!”

Boom!!!

Millions of bolts of lightning descended again, creating a pool of thunder that separated the Aurora Lord from the calamities behind him. The flickering lightning illuminated his pale face. This was the last time he could buy. Finally, he saw the black-clad figure surge forward, reaching him!

“Aurora Lord,” Tan Xin said, covered in blood. “...I’m here.” He opened the black box and put on the Hand of Redemption. Tiny electrical arcs wound around its surface, emitting a low hum.

The Aurora Lord knelt before the thunder pool, a pale smile playing on his lips. “...You came just in time.”

Tan Xin raised the Hand of Redemption, aiming it at the Aurora Lord’s heart. But then, he saw the Aurora Lord’s eyes and hesitated.

“What’s wrong? Weren’t you going to kill me and take my soul?” the Aurora Lord asked calmly. “Why aren’t you doing it… What are you waiting for?”

“You…”

Tan Xin’s mind replayed the image of the Aurora Lord entering the Forbidden Sea alone moments ago. Guilt and reluctance surfaced in his eyes. “Is there anything else you want to say?”

The Aurora Lord smiled, the frenzied roars of the calamities and the angry thunderous growls echoing behind him. He slowly raised his hand, gripped the Hand of Redemption, and then forcefully plunged it into his own chest!

Crimson blood stained the ground. His soul, transforming into a magnetic field, surged into the Hand of Redemption. A brilliant, dazzling aurora, like magnificent fireworks, gradually engulfed both him and Tan Xin.

At the same time, the Aurora Lord’s whisper sounded from within the light:

“The aurora never fades.”