From the moment we were named the Holy Son and the Priestess, we became each other’s gu. Since we were both made to share a life-and-heart gu, our emotions were connected and we felt each other’s pain. The Priestess and I tormented each other for ten years. She hated me for separating her from her older brother and repeatedly leapt from the Cliff of Ten Thousand Snakes, trying to force me to divorce her. I hated that she loved someone else. Even as snake venom ravaged my body, I clung to our marriage contract and refused to let go. With each other’s lives in our hands, neither of us would yield first. But on the day Miaojiang fell, she led countless snake gu through an army of a hundred thousand, shielding me from a sky full of arrows as she helped me escape. “Yichuan, run! Don’t look back!” Carrying me on her back, she ran toward the Cliff of Ten Thousand Snakes until she lost her strength and crashed to the ground. Only then did I see the countless gu bites covering her chest. “I’ve repaid the debt of saving my life.” “If there’s another life, I only ask that the Holy Son let me be with him.” Teng Yue died clutching her older brother’s jade pendant. That night, Miaojiang fell. I held her as we plunged from the cliff, letting the snakes devour us. When I opened my eyes again, I was kneeling before my father, the clan leader. “I’ll go to the Central Plains in my older brother’s place and serve the Empress.” Teng Yue, you gave your life for the reunion you hoped for in your next life. In this life, I’ll make that wish come true for you.
