The myth begins with the Lotus Lantern

Chapter 193 Suicide
Even now, the Cowherd is still resentful of his son. His anger stems from his son's betrayal. As for loneliness and the separation from his wife and children, how could a selfish person care about such things?

All this painstaking planning turned out to be completely counterproductive.

A thousand years of time, all just a fleeting illusion!
"Hahahaha!"

Suddenly, Taurus Star Lord burst into maniacal laughter, laughing until tears streamed down his face, revealing his ugly side. It was unclear whether he was laughing at the Cowherd, at himself, or at both.

After a long while, the sound subsided.

Taurus turned to look in the direction of Weaver Girl.

“It is unjust for the Golden Ox to put his granddaughter in danger for his own selfish reasons,” he said, taking a deep breath and suddenly bowing down to the Weaver Girl.

The Weaver Girl paused for a moment, but the hatred on her face did not lessen in the slightest.

Taurus ignored him and turned back to look at Ziwei Xingjun. A strange light suddenly flashed in his eyes. He got up from the ground, flicked his sleeves, and performed a grand salute, each step with all his might, making the floor tiles tremble.

"Taurus, is this the end?" The voice of Emperor Ziwei came from the heavy light and shadow, somewhat complicated.

"Your Majesty," Jin Niu finished kowtowing and remained kneeling on the ground, "I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's favor, for selecting me from among the common people. In just a thousand years, you have granted me the position of Star Lord. This favor is heavier than Mount Tai. Having received such great kindness and virtue, I should have repaid it with my life. However, I have used my position for personal gain, which is disloyal."

“Disloyal and unjust,” Taurus Star Lord lowered his head, his gaze seeming to pierce through a thousand years, seeing his mother and brothers who died tragically years ago. He also took that debt upon himself, and then murmured, “Unfilial and disrespectful to brothers…”

"Now that the matter is settled, I, the Emperor, will deal with Taurus," the Ziwei Emperor said without even glancing at Taurus Star Lord. "As for the rest, as previously stated, the Queen Mother will decide their fate." He paused, then continued, "Taurus Star Lord has privately descended to the mortal realm, intending to harm the bloodline of the Heavenly Family. He is hereby stripped of his Star Lord status, never to be employed again, and banished to the mortal realm to be punished with the torture of a mountain of knives. Only after a thousand years of reincarnation will he be allowed to be reborn as a human."

"Ziwei, the matter here is clear. The Golden Ox is ensnared, the Cowherd is wicked, but my granddaughters are the most innocent. According to the Heavenly Rules, the innocent must be punished, but the culprit is only sentenced to a thousand years of reincarnation. You have gone too far!" The Queen Mother's voice came from behind the Cloud Platform.

"Since the Great Celestial Venerable is not here, according to the Heavenly Rules, each department performs its duties. The Golden Ox is my subordinate, and I am free to decide the severity of the punishment. Your Majesty, since I have decided on the punishment, I will not interfere with how you deal with your granddaughters later," said the Ziwei Emperor.

"You want to make an exchange with me?" said the Queen Mother. A sigh came from behind the cloud platform. "Time flies. I still remember that young gentleman who went to Chaoge to offer a treasure to save his father, only to be cut into a thousand pieces and made into dumplings. He was so upright and incorruptible. Years have passed since then, and he looks like this now."

The Ziwei Emperor remained silent.

“Your Majesty is greatly mistaken. The young gentleman of yesteryear is now the Ziwei Emperor who rules over all the stars. Times have changed. A ruler should have a sense of right and wrong. If he were not such a great emperor, how could he be worthy of our protection and support?” said Taurus Star Lord. He kowtowed and said, “Taurus thanks Your Majesty.”

The purple light trembled. "Your words are nothing but cowardice and a fear of death!" the Fifth Fairy retorted sarcastically.

“Your Majesty,” the Taurus Star Lord ignored him, looking at the purple light and shadow, and said, “Having served you for a thousand years, I know you value relationships most. Even now, you are unwilling to abandon me. Even if my soul is scattered, do you still have regrets? Your Majesty, you are good in every way, except for this… Your brothers respect you, love you, and only ask that in the future we can… fear you. A ruler must balance kindness and severity, only in this way can he live up to the name of the Emperor! Only in this way can he live up to the majesty of the Emperor!”

"Just now, Taurus said he would give you an explanation after the matter was over. Now that you have already made your judgment," Taurus said, standing up. He raised his hand and beckoned, and a golden light flew from the distant horizon. It was his original source stored in Taurus Star. "Taurus will obey, Cowherd," Taurus Star suddenly smiled. "Someone like you will only feel the pain when the punishment falls on your own body. Your mistake will be punished by the Empress later, but you still haven't paid back what you owe me."

Taurus Star Lord reached out and pointed his index finger, which resembled a sharp sword, slashing down his forehead, leaving a straight line of blood. He then grabbed the wound with both hands and ripped it open with a "ripping" sound, and blood gushed out. A complete cowhide was torn off his body and wrapped around the Cowherd from top to bottom.

"Moo!"

The cowherd felt a darkness before his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but only managed to let out a moo. Looking down, he saw no cowherd, only a yellow ox. The art of creating animals was a minor skill, which should have little effect on cultivators. However, using the hide of a celestial ox as a vessel made it a different matter entirely.

"Haha!" Taurus laughed heartily, then looked at Emperor Ziwei, "Your Majesty, I am deeply grateful for your kindness and care, but... now it is all my own fault, so why should I ruin Your Majesty's and my brothers' grand plan? You must not... I will risk my life to plead for you, my granddaughter!" Taurus suddenly shouted, "The suffering you have endured all these years is what I owe you, and I will repay you with my life!"

The blood-soaked body of Taurus Star Lord suddenly swelled up like a balloon. He took one last look at Ziwei Emperor, whose purple light flickered before finally returning to calm. Without making a move, he curled up the corners of his mouth, revealing a genuine smile.

Indeed, Your Majesty, even if Taurus dies, you will not be sad. But you must remember that Taurus is still the same Taurus as before, the one who clearly distinguishes between gratitude and resentment, repaying kindness and settling debts. Taurus has never changed, but you need to change. The brothers need more than just a righteous elder brother; they need a true ruler. Let this change begin with Taurus.

His body, which had swelled to its limit, collapsed in an instant. The smile on Taurus Star Lord's lips twisted, and he vanished silently, his physical body and soul annihilated in a flash.

The soul is gone.

Witnessing this scene, the Weaver Girl remained unmoved. The damage was already done and could not be repaired. The so-called eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth was just revenge. Revenge may be satisfying, but it would be better if it had never happened and all would have been peaceful.

"Mother."

Niu Jin bent down, letting the Weaver Girl embrace him, bringing a touch of warmth to his cold heart. He didn't look at the Cowherd who had turned into a yellow ox again. Since this so-called fatherly love had always been a lie, then he would expose it and discard it like worn-out shoes. Why bother pretending when he had never possessed it?

The girl seemed somewhat reluctant, staring blankly at the cowherd.

After a while, they finally looked away.

(End of this chapter)