Chapter 88: The Eternal Shackles Named Love

When the Witch was young, she endured the world’s malice, closing herself off and fleeing the filthy, tainted world.

But there was someone who devoted his entire life to breaking the shackles binding the Witch.

He succeeded.

With his limited mortal lifespan, he accompanied the Witch until his final breath. Though only a few decades, it bloomed an eternal, dazzling flower in the Witch’s heart.

From then on, the Witch was free. The individual named Cressa Christina was free.

When Xu Xi passed away before the Witch’s eyes.

When the only one in the Witch’s heart vanished.

The shackles on Cressa shattered completely. She rediscovered human emotions, shedding silent tears, becoming the unrestrained, free-flying bird Xu Xi had wished for.

But Cressa didn’t want this. She didn’t like this.

“Mentor, please help me… put it back on…”

Cressa softly requested, handing the faintly glowing Sapphire Necklace to Xu Xi’s palm.

The shackles Xu Xi spent his life breaking for the Witch.

The Witch chose to wear them again.

This time, the shackles were named 【Eternal Love】, heavier than anything in the world, an eternal binding the Witch willingly imposed.

She never wanted, never wished to be separated from the sun in her heart again.

Only eternal companionship…

“Cressa, why did you take off the necklace?” Xu Xi asked, puzzled as he accepted the necklace.

“To clean up the trash, I was afraid it would get dirty,” the silver-haired Witch replied.

Trash? Xu Xi felt something was off.

But he couldn’t quite place it.

He decided to put the necklace back on Cressa first.

“Cressa, lower your head a bit,” Xu Xi said, stepping behind the Witch in the autumn courtyard, gently lifting her silver-gray hair with his hand.

The strands slipped through his fingers like a miracle’s light, soft and smooth.

The autumn breeze brushed by.

The warm sun shone gently.

That familiar feeling, like the New Year’s night when he first put the necklace on the Witch, seemed just like yesterday. Lost in thought, Xu Xi smiled.

He held both ends of the mithril chain.

Looping it around Cressa’s pale neck.

Meeting at the back, overlapping and fastening with a crisp click, completing the final adjustment.

The necklace was on.

“Thank you…” Cressa whispered, her voice faint, as if it might scatter with the autumn wind, yet crystal clear.

“Your necklace… I like it very much… very much…”

The autumn wind grew fiercer.

Howling, wailing, scattering Cressa’s silver-gray hair into the air, yet it didn’t make the Witch look unkempt. Instead, it highlighted her ethereal longing and delicate fragility.

Her skirt swayed in the wind, her coat flapping loudly.

The Sapphire Necklace hanging on her chest reflected a hazy, dreamlike glow. The light of the gem, the light of love, adorned the Witch’s heart, which struggled to express itself.

“If you like it, that’s good. It looks beautiful, doesn’t it?”

Xu Xi smiled.

He looked at Cressa before him, feeling more and more moved. Her unchanging 17-year-old appearance and her calm, unchanging expression made Cressa seem no different.

So familiar, so joyful.

Even though it was a reunion across worlds.

There was no sense of unfamiliarity in his heart.

Past and present, illusion and reality, blurred completely in this moment.

“The wind is strong outside, let’s go in,” Xu Xi said, taking the Witch’s slender, pale hand, leading her into the warm and cozy home.

The Witch had a home again.

Once inside.

Xu Xi thought to pour some hot water for them, but was stopped.

“Please leave it to me,” the eternally 17-year-old, forever youthful silver-haired Witch said to Xu Xi with a serious expression.

For the first time in a long while, Xu Xi met the Witch’s gaze again.

Unlike the previous black and gold, the emptiness in Cressa’s eyes had vanished, replaced by pure crimson.

Her beautiful eyes reflected Xu Xi’s figure.

Young.

Full of vitality.

Unbound by traits, mastering both Immortal Cultivation and Magic, Xu Xi no longer needed to worry about lifespan.

“Then, I’ll leave it to you, Cressa,” Xu Xi didn’t argue against the Witch’s persistence.

“Yes, please rest assured,” Cressa replied calmly.

She walked into the kitchen alone, her eyes scanning the room. Though it was her first time on Earth, she displayed an incredible understanding.

In moments, she learned how to use all the utensils.

Without using magic to create.

Or authority to summon.

Cressa acted just like before, as if living with Xu Xi in the world of magic, skillfully handling the utensils to boil water and brew tea.

Meticulous and serious.

Soon.

A cup of freshly brewed tea was handed to Xu Xi, with a small porcelain plate placed underneath to insulate the heat.

“Thanks, Cressa,” Xu Xi gently blew on the steaming tea before taking a sip.

A bit hot, but perfect for the chilly autumn.

The tea passed through his teeth, gathering on his tongue, releasing a faint aftertaste.

So calm.

Not intense.

Just like the life between Xu Xi and the Witch.

Back in the magic world, with their power, they could have lived a more extravagant life. But neither Xu Xi nor Cressa wanted to change their peaceful lifestyle.

A peaceful life held simple beauty.

Every little bit, every drop, was a precious treasure.

“Cressa, sit down,” Xu Xi said, letting the Witch sit. After handing him the tea, Cressa had been standing by his side, quietly waiting for his next command.

Her hands crossed over her abdomen, her posture so proper that anyone would think she was a maid.

“Yes.”

Cressa sat down.

The bleak autumn gradually darkened. The living room lights, turned on by Xu Xi, cast a warm, hazy glow, adding a soft light to the silver-gray hair resting on Cressa’s shoulders.

Clink—

Xu Xi set down the finished teacup, the base touching the porcelain plate with a crisp sound.

He looked puzzled, asking Cressa the question that had been weighing on his mind for a long time.

“Cressa, how… did you come here?”

“I saw your figure, heard your voice, felt your presence… so I came to find you.”

The Witch’s answer was simple.

In a calm, indifferent tone, she stated her actions.

But was it really as easy as it sounded?

Xu Xi felt that the truth was likely not so simple.

“You’ve worked hard, Cressa,” Xu Xi said, his voice filled with complex emotions.

“Not hard…” Cressa shook her head stiffly.

As long as she could see you, as long as she could reunite with you, everything was worth it.

Nothing else mattered.

Yes, nothing else mattered. You are the only special one…

The sapphire gem in the center of the necklace, like real undulating waves, sometimes calm, sometimes roaring, revealed the Witch’s heart.