Fairy, you call this repaying a debt of gratitude?

Chapter 97 ends here.

This heavy snow, which lasted for several days and swept across several continents, is finally coming to an end.

Above the sky, from within the thick clouds, strands of golden light emanated, scattering across the mountains and bathing the snowfield in a warm, luminous glow.

"Let's end all of this here, okay?"

Gu Lengyue nestled gently in Shen Wei's arms, her eyes lightly closed, speaking softly like a child talking in their sleep.

At this moment, Shen Wei had regained his composure.

He calmly helped Gu Lengyue get dressed, then picked up where she left off: "What do you mean, 'everything'?"

"I know about your background, and I also know that there are many more secrets hidden behind your background."

"But let it all stop here—I never want to see you turn into such a horrible monster again."

"If it gets any worse, you might really leave me—"

I don't want you to leave me.

The girl's words were soft and gentle, yet they made it impossible for anyone to refuse.

After a long silence, Shen Wei finally spoke up, "Okay, I promise you, I won't leave you."

In his previous state, no one in the world was not afraid of him, but she, after seeing his most wretched and darkest state, still chose to accept everything about him.

"Um----"

He affectionately patted her head, preparing to get up: "Get up, do you want to sleep in this snow? I don't want to freeze to death with you."

"Don't say that, I don't want to hear it—let me sleep a little longer, I'm so tired."

Gu Lengyue nestled in his arms, refusing to move.

Shen Wei thought about it and realized that the girl really needed to rest more. She was physically weak and was much weaker than him, so it wasn't good for her to rest here.

At this point, Shen Wei recalled what had just happened between the two of them on this snowy ground.

It is both absurd and beautiful.

"It's not cold." Gu Lengyue seemed to sense his concern and murmured softly, pressing closer to him. "With you here, it's very warm."

Since she's willing, what else is there to say?

Then, the girl leaned against him and fell into a deep, carefree sleep, as if there was nothing in the world to worry about as long as he was there.

Shen Wei tightened his arms around her, holding her tightly in his embrace. Then he looked up at the gradually brightening, clear sky and felt a rare sense of relaxation. He slowly drifted off to sleep.

After a long while, Shen Weicai slowly woke up.

The moment he opened his eyes, he realized that the girl in his arms had been awake for quite some time.

He looked at the girl who was already awake but was lying on top of him, blinking her eyes but not moving, and asked with a smile, "What's wrong?"

"I'm counting your eyelashes."

"Have you finished counting? How many are there?"

"Left eye 167, right eye 165."

Shen Wei had never counted his eyelashes, but he had no doubt about what Gu Lengyue said. After all, who would tell a lie that had no reason to be told, especially her?

"Why are you counting these?"

He asked casually, while slowly propping himself up.

Gu Lengyue also stood up and stood steadily beside him, replying softly, "It's nothing, I just wanted to write it down properly."

She wanted to remember everything about him, and she did everything in her power to do so.

Shen Wei didn't reply, but simply stretched his slightly stiff body and then looked up.

After the snow cleared, the sky was crystal clear, as if nothing had ever happened here.

But at this moment, Shen Wei felt a mix of emotions.

He never imagined he would come here, nor did he expect so many things to happen here.

Some people die, and some things come to an end.

But for those who are alive, their stories continue.

Just then, Gu Lengyue suddenly grabbed his hand and, without waiting for him to speak, gently pulled him along, and they started jogging along the smooth, boundless snowfield.

Shen Wei did not resist, but simply followed her as she jogged along.

Finally, the two arrived at a low stone tablet.

Gu Lengyue gazed at the stone tablet before her and whispered, "My mother is buried here."

The short sentence didn't reveal any particular emotion.

This place is not far from the small mountain village where she and her mother depended on each other when she was young.

When Gu Lengyue came, she took a look at the house and found it empty; no one lived there anymore.

In the past, almost everyone associated with her died.

When Gu Lengyue mentioned that this was his mother's tombstone, Shen Wei's gaze slowly swept over the simple tombstone, imagining what this woman he had never met looked like.

He held her slightly cool hand tightly, and stood quietly with her in front of the monument, mourning the person who rests here forever.

"If you'd like, you can tell me about your mother," he said softly, his tone gentle. "I'd like to hear about your past."

He also wanted to know about her, any amount would do.

Gu Lengyue slowly squatted down, her fingertips gently brushing across the cool tombstone, wiping away the thin layer of snow on it layer by layer, revealing the name originally engraved on the tombstone.

Then, she slowly began to speak, recounting everything she remembered about her mother.

She talked on and on, from how good her mother was to her, to the warmth of their time together, to how her mother died at the hands of Xie Lingran.

Finally, she concluded, "My mother was trapped by fate her whole life, trapped by her inability to control her own destiny, and dared not choose the life she wanted."

Gu Lengyue, belatedly realizing the truth, saw through her mother's life.

Shen Wei listened attentively, and when he heard that her mother had died at Xie Lingran's hands, he fell silent.

That scene must have given Gu Lengyue countless nightmares, but why was she not afraid at all, and instead moved closer and closer to herself who was no different from Xie Lingran?

"I used to be afraid," Gu Lengyue said softly, slowly revealing the words she had kept hidden in her heart for many years, "afraid that I would end up like my mother, unable to escape my fate, and ultimately suffer the same end as her."

She turned her head to look at the boy beside her and said, "But now I'm not afraid anymore."

Gu Lengyue paused for a moment, then continued, "As long as you're here."

After listening intently, Shen Wei seemed to feel the atmosphere was too oppressive, so he said this with a smile on his lips.

"So, you're saying I've cleared my name now, and you're not going to kill me anymore?"

After asking that question, Shen Wei thought of Gu Hanfeng again, since his story with Gu Lengyue both started with him.

He recalled that in those final moments, it was Gu Hanfeng who sacrificed his own soul and flesh, giving everything he had to provide him with the crucial power to defeat Xie Lingran.

Of course, this sacrifice is not enough to erase all the hatred from the past, let alone forgiveness.

But he understands that people are not simply black and white; everyone has hidden struggles and multifaceted personalities.

Gu Lengyue stood up, then turned around and looked at him with a smile: "I'm just sparing your life for now."