Youmei had finally stopped crying and eventually fell asleep with her head on Wu Meiying’s lap. They were sitting on the bed now, and Wu Meiying was stroking the black panther’s hair, gently running her hands through the young magical beast’s fur. Wu Jian sat beside her, looking at the pair.

“I’ve never seen her get quite that emotional before, not even when we met with Jingshu and Lili,” he observed casually.

Wu Meiying’s smile was gentle as she looked at Youmei, like a kind older sister gazing upon her younger sibling. “That’s because Youmei is one of our companions from a previous life.”

“Wait. Really?”

“Yes. We had met her during our life when we came the closest to succeeding in our goal to kill my apprentice. She had joined us in our journey after we reached the Nine Heavens and helped us immensely. Of course, we failed in the end. I searched her timeline and discovered she could meet us again if I sent her into the future. I regressed her age so we could raise her ourselves. That cultivation method around her neck was one we found back then. It’s a divine grade cultivation method and one of the two Heavenly Balancing Cultivation Methods.”

She smiled at him with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

“The other one of the two Heavenly Balancing Cultivation Methods is mine, by the way.”

Wu Meiying’s cultivation method was called Circulation of Time’s Heavenly Dao. She tried to teach him the basics of how it worked, but most of what she said flew over his head. What he did know was that it was a cultivation method that relied on circulating time within oneself to grow stronger, and the stronger a person’s understanding of the Dao of Time was, the more powerful they became. As the former goddess of time, this cultivation method was perfect for Wu Meiying.

“Now that things have calmed down, can you tell me more about who you are? I still don’t know the full story,” said Wu Jian.

Wu Meiying cocked her head and her eyes became glazed as though listening to something. She blinked, then came back to herself and nodded.

“We have a bit more time. I’ve set up a time barrier around us, which has separated us from the rest of the world. However, I am only at the Deva Realm, and this barrier consumes a lot of chi. I won’t be able to maintain it for more than an hour, maybe two if I push myself. I’ll try to tell you what I can right now, but it will take several more of these sessions before I can convey the whole story.”

“That’s fine. We can just use this as an excuse to secretly rendezvous.”

“I don’t need an excuse to do that.” Wu Meiying’s smile was bright just like back when they were kids, but her eyes soon dimmed and the smile faded, expression turning pensive. “Since we are short on time, let me try to summerize what I can.”

Wu Jian already knew the basics. He knew about Wu Meiying’s disciple who was trying to tear them apart and bring her back, though he still didn’t know the man’s name. According to her, several words had a curse placed on them. This curse, which was called Ripples in the Time Continuum, created ripples every time someone said the word. It was like when someone threw a rock into a lake. Those ripples would spread out and reach the shore eventually.

“He can’t use words that are common because it would cause too many ripples, so he uses words that have significance to us. That was how he found us the first few times,” Wu Meiying explained. “His name is and always has been one of the words that was placed under a curse. There are others like my original name, but he tends to change the last one from time to time. This curse is powerful so he can only have three words placed under its effects at any given time. I don’t know what the third word is, so I’m being cautious of what I say.”

“Could it be my name?” asked Wu Jian.

She shook her head. “While your name never changes with any of our reincarnations, it is too common to use. There are millions of Wu Jian spread across the Nine Heavens. He would have a constant headache if he tried to place your name under a curse.”

Wu Jian nodded once.

“What is your goal? Do you want to kill your disciple?”

The moment he asked that question, Wu Meiying’s entire countenance became dark. Shadows covered her eyes, which had lost all their emotion and contained only a cold, burning fire. The hatred he felt radiating from her made him shiver. He knew it wasn’t directed at him, but at someone far from here, and yet that look still terrified him. What sort of horrors had she experienced to be able to make a face like that?

“Yes. I am going to murder him and any family he might have. I’ll kill them all to the tenth generation.” Her tone was as dark as her expression. He had never seen her like this before--at least, not in this reincarnation. Had any of his other reincarnations seen this? “I wouldn’t have bothered with him if he’d left us alone after our first time reincarnating, but he has never stopped chasing us. Reincarnation after reincarnation, he has done nothing but get in our way. The number of times he or one of his many followers have killed you is incalculable. I hate him and everything he stands for. The moment I regain my former power, I will go after him, remove his head, slaughter his disciples, and kill any family he has. I will burn their lives until they cannot even enter the cycle of reincarnation.”

Wu Jian shivered. Her tone was dark and filled with murderous intent, but beyond that lay a voice filled with pain. She had suffered more than anyone he knew. He could tell from her tone of voice alone that she had been dealing with this burden herself for a long time, but he couldn’t even guess at how many years she’d been doing this. Centuries? Millenia? He was almost afraid of the answer.

“Then our first step is to get stronger, right?” asked Wu Jian.

“Yes.” Wu Meiying nodded. “We have an advantage here. The cultivation method you’re using now is perfectly suited to you. I don’t know why, but your ability to manipulate the Dao of Space is even better than my ability to manipulate the Dao of Time. That cultivation method is one we never utilized to its full extent because my apprentice cornered us before you could begin to truly unlock its secrets. He won’t be able to find us while we’re on this small planet, so you should use the time we have to unlock as many of its secrets as you can. I will help you with that before I leave.”

“You know the Dao of Space?”

Wu Meiying shook her head. “No, but you do, and I spent a lot of time watching you. I remember what your previous reincarnation did when he was using this cultivation method. I can impart what I saw to you.”

That would be helpful. Wu Jian had been using this cultivation method as best he could, but he was still stuck right now. It made him wonder if his previous reincarnations were better. However, as if she could tell what he was thinking, Wu Meiying shook her head.

“They were not better, but they had access to more resources and were able to travel to places where the Dao of Space was strong. You can gain greater understanding of a Dao by spending time in places where the Dao is stronger. I used to study the Dao of Time in places where time had been fractured like the Great Battlefield of the Heavenly Demonic Planes--oh, that’s a place where the Jade Emperor and the Asura Lord fought during one of their wars. The battle was so great that it shattered time in that area. Studying the fractures granted me incredible insight into the Dao of Time. There are places like that where the Dao of Space is strong, but we cannot reach any of those places right now.”

“Then it’s useless?” asked Wu Jian.

“It’s not useless. You won’t be able to make as swift progress using this method, but you can still study using other methods. I’ll show you what your previous self did. Face me and lean over.”

Wu Jian did as instructed, and when he did, Wu Meiying gently cupped his cheeks and pressed their foreheads together. Images soon flowed into his mind. He saw himself sitting in a meditation pose underneath a great waterfall from which spatial streams flowed instead of water. The images changed to him sitting on a matt overflowing with the Dao of Space, spatial tears appearing all around them. Another image, this time of him fighting with the Dao of Space. The style he used in that image was very different from the way he fought now. It was cleaner, more efficient. He took notes of how his other self fought. Would he be able to fight like that as he was now?

Wu Meiying removed their heads, and Wu Jian felt a sense of loss, though he quickly shook the sensation away.

“We don’t have much time left right now. Is there anything else you’d like to know?” she asked.

He hesitated. “When we first met… you said you would severe our connection if I wanted. Was the reason you said that because one of my previous reincarnations?”

Wu Meiying took a shaky breath. Her smile was tumultuous and her face pale as if just remembering brought her pain. He felt bad, but he also believed it was important to know.

“Nothing slips by you,” she said with a sigh. “Yes. It was your last reincarnation. My reincarnation was slightly off, so I was older than you by a few years and already a cultivator when we met. I had managed to evade my persuers but was injured in the process. To be honest, our meeting was a complete accident. You found me in the woods and brought me home. You and your family cared for me and nursed me back to health. I… I was so happy I had finally found you after years of searching that I decided to stay… but that was a mistake.”

Wu Meiying placed a hand on her chest and took a shaky breath. Wu Jian already had an idea of what happened, but he wanted to hear from her, to confirm his thoughts.

“They found us. Using a method to mask their presence in time, I was too late in warning your family of the danger. I… managed to kill our attackers myself since they weaker than me after I regained my strength, but your mom, dad, and little sister were all killed right before your eyes. You knew they were here for me. Your family were not cultivators, just regular people. Such powerful individuals would have never sought to kill you. I still… still remember the look of utter loathing you gave me as you condemned me just before taking your own life. Your words back then still haunt my nightmares. I… I…”

Wu Jian felt his heart ache as Wu Meiying tried to contain her tears. He quickly wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, allowing the pained woman to bury her face into his shoulder. Her body shuddered against him as she struggled to contain her emotions. Youmei, still asleep, shifted on her lap.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up such painful memories,” he whispered.

“Mm mm.” She shook her head. “You deserve to know everything.”

They remained like that for several long seconds, but then Wu Meiying sighed and reluctantly pulled back.

“We’re out of time. I need to get going.”

Wu Jian nodded. He didn’t want her to leave, but he knew they couldn’t remain together yet. He gently removed Youmei and let her sleep on the floor, then stood up with Wu Meiying and walked over to the window. She turned to him and smiled.

“Well… I’ll be off.”

He hesitated as something welled up inside of him. This feeling was hard to describe and even more difficult to contain, but as the woman he’d known for so long turned around to vanish into the night, Wu Jian was unable to hold in his desire. He grabbed her hand to prevent her from leaving. She turned around, surprise in her clear blue eyes, and when she opened her mouth to speak, he lunged forward and pressed their lips together.

This was the kiss Youmei had interrupted.

He wrapped his arms tight around her, as if to prevent her from leaving. Under the gentle rays of silver moonlight, Wu Jian kissed the goddess in his arms.