CHAPTER 14 (Part 1)
The Heart Pavilion's Shadow
The Trial Chamber was silent.
Not the silence of peace—
but the silence after thunder.
Zheng Wen Te remained on his knees, breathing hard, as if the River of Time had never truly released him.
His chest hurt.
Not from injury.
From regret.
From the weight of a love he had once called a chain.
The ancient elder spoke again.
"Do you understand now?"
Zheng Wen Te's voice was hoarse.
"…I understand that I was a fool."
Disciple Liu shifted uneasily.
The arrogant confidence he once carried was gone.
He looked at Zheng Wen Te differently now.
Not as trash.
Not as curiosity.
But as something dangerous.
A man marked by Heaven.
The frost-haired elder's eyes were sharp.
"You abandoned her."
Zheng Wen Te flinched.
The words struck harder than any sword.
The stone-skinned elder snorted.
"And because of that, an entire mortal life collapsed."
"Pathetic."
Zheng Wen Te's fists clenched.
His nails dug into his palms.
"…I didn't know karma could follow across worlds."
The ancient elder's voice was calm.
"Karma is older than worlds."
"Karma is older than sects."
"Karma is older than immortals."
He paused.
"Even Shangdi does not erase it."
The name filled the chamber like an ancient bell.
Disciple Liu swallowed.
"…Elder."
"If he is truly tied to Shangdi…"
"Then what do we do with him?"
The frost-haired woman answered coldly.
"We cannot keep him."
The stone-skinned elder growled.
"We cannot kill him either."
Zheng Wen Te's head snapped up.
Kill?
The ancient elder raised a hand slightly.
Silence returned.
Then he looked directly at Zheng Wen Te.
"Your path is not ours to decide."
"The Creator has already placed you on it."
Zheng Wen Te's throat tightened.
"…Then send me back."
The elders paused.
Disciple Liu blinked.
"Back?"
Zheng Wen Te's eyes burned with something new.
Not despair.
Not emptiness.
Resolve.
"To that world."
"To the Heart Pavilion."
"To her."
His voice cracked.
"I don't even know her name anymore."
"But I remember her eyes."
"I remember the way she waited."
He swallowed hard.
"I thought immortality was freedom."
"But it was just another kind of cruelty."
The frost-haired elder's gaze softened, only slightly.
"…Love is the oldest tribulation."
Zheng Wen Te whispered:
"Then I will face it."