I Am the Fated Villain

Chapter 1790. You truly have no heart—there are no regrets anymore

Beside the bed, a figure in white stood quietly there, appearing without a sound.

Empress Xi Yao’s beautiful eyes widened slightly. She wondered if she was mistaken, if she was hallucinating.

But at that moment, even Song Youwei seemed to sense something. Some memories surfaced in her mind—memories that did not belong to the present, nor to this era. Her entire body jolted in shock.

“Alliance Master…” she bowed towards Gu Changge, then left Empress Xi Yao’s side and withdrew.

“I didn’t expect it to be real after all. However… you shouldn’t be the you of this present time, right?”

Empress Xi Yao looked at Gu Changge’s close, handsome face and murmured. As expected of a generation’s empress of the demon world, although she sensed that aura on Gu Changge that did not belong to this era, she still quickly calmed herself.

However, she still turned her head away, as if unwilling to let Gu Changge see her current appearance.

“I came from five hundred years in the future, just to see you once,” Gu Changge said as he walked to the bedside and slowly sat down on the spot where Song Youwei had just been sitting.

Although speaking of matters involving time and the future would cause great causal entanglements and changes, to Gu Changge now, such effects were negligible. He did not care at all.

Moreover, this was only within the Daochang True Realm, not the vast outer world of the Cangmang.

“So that means… after I die for five hundred years, you only then learned that I was dead, is that it…” Empress Xi Yao was stunned for a moment, then said faintly.

Gu Changge remained silent. He could not lie, nor did he wish to lie.

Although such words sounded cruel, they were indeed the truth.

If not for Song Youwei coming to find him, he likely would never have known anything related to Empress Xi Yao. He would never have taken the initiative to investigate or peer into such matters.

Because in his heart, there had never been any place reserved for her.

“Reality really is cruel and laughable. Only after I’ve been dead for five hundred years would you think of me… because you returned to the Daochang True Realm, and Song Youwei came to find you, telling you about me, right?”

Empress Xi Yao’s emotions suddenly surged violently. She turned her head away, tears welling in her reddened eyes, yet her voice remained calm.

As intelligent and perceptive as she was, she deduced the future in just a few words.

At that moment, even though Gu Changge was right before her, so close she could almost touch him, she felt he was extremely distant—like someone in another world she could never reach.

His heart was as cold, as emotionless as when he left the demon realm back then.

After so many years, he had not changed at all. And neither had she—still as laughably foolish as ever.

Two streams of cold tears slid down Empress Xi Yao’s cheeks. She stared with her beautiful eyes, silently crying.

Countless fantasies, countless hopes, countless nights of waiting outside the palace on tiptoe—all of it shattered like bubbles in a dream, leaving only desolation and emptiness.

Gu Changge looked at her snow-white hair, her aged hands already showing wrinkles, and remained silent.

“If that’s the case… Why did you make those promises to me back then? Why did you make me feel like you could be relied on? Why did you make me think I finally had a place of peace and a safe harbor…”

“Do you know how envious I was on the day of your marriage? But I also knew that such a scene would never happen to me. You are the Young Master of the Gu family, the master of the Divine Kingdom, the leader of the Heaven-Defying Alliance, the Demon Lord who once shook all heavens…”

“And I… am just a small, insignificant empress of the demon realm. A woman who is more than six thousand years older than you without even realizing it.”

“I’m not blaming you. I just think I was foolish, clinging to an empty expectation for so many years.”

Empress Xi Yao’s voice grew weaker and weaker, yet every word remained clear and calm.

Gu Changge stared at her blankly, momentarily at a loss for words. His careless words back then… she had actually taken them seriously, and had longed for them for so many years.

But thinking from that time’s perspective, it was indeed so. At that time, she was already an empress, yet her mentality was not much different from a naive and innocent girl.

“Sorry…” Gu Changge said softly.

If he returned to that moment, he would still not change his decision or his thoughts. He would not choose differently.

He had never regretted what he had done. This apology was merely him sincerely expressing remorse—for his past deception and exploitation of her.

Perhaps it sounded ridiculous, but at this moment, he truly felt a trace of guilt.

This feeling was very similar to when he had once cultivated mortals in Qing Mountain Village.

Empress Xi Yao seemed surprised that Gu Changge would ever say such words.

“You… really have no heart,” she sighed faintly, and said nothing more.

In truth, many things—no matter how much is said—change nothing.

Gu Changge also said no more, only taking her hand. He understood her entire physical condition clearly.

However, this still depended on her own will.

When facing the heart demon tribulation, she clearly knew it was an illusion, knew what was real and what was false, knew the outcome—but she still chose it without hesitation.

If she wanted to live, Gu Changge could let her live. But if she wished to die, he would also respect her will.

“No need to worry about me anymore. I’ve lived enough in this life. In the next life, I don’t want to be so tired anymore. I don’t want to be anyone’s chess piece again…”

Empress Xi Yao seemed to understand what Gu Changge was thinking and turned her head to look at him. Her eyes were still red, but her expression was calm.

Scenes of her life flashed through her mind like a lantern running at full speed: deceived by her mother, questioned by ministers, chaos among great demon clans, countless assassination attempts, betrayal by trusted attendants… and even at the end of her life, she never received a single glance back from the man she loved most.

If there was a next life… she did not want any of it anymore. Her youthful beauty was long gone, but at this moment, Gu Changge seemed to see again the peerless figure in a phoenix robe he had once seen at the True Immortal Academy.

“Can you hold me?” She suddenly asked softly, looking at Gu Changge with a humble plea. “If you do, then in this life… I should have no more regrets.”

Gu Changge looked at her and nodded.

“Alright.”

Empress Xi Yao suddenly smiled—bright and beautiful as before. She slowly propped herself up and leaned towards him.

Gu Changge reached out and embraced her, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

“This feeling of peace… is really nice…”

Empress Xi Yao closed her eyes gently and murmured, her voice growing weaker and weaker.

Gu Changge simply held her quietly, feeling her vitality and spirit slowly drain away from her body, feeling her temperature gradually fade and disappear.

Finally, her head fell heavily, and the arms that had been around his neck loosened. In her final moments, Empress Xi Yao exhaled her last breath. A faint smile remained on her face—calm, peaceful, without regret.

Demon Realm, Fengyi Year 13,500. Empress Xi Yao had passed away.

The demon race mourned in sorrow; all beings grieved.

Gu Changge returned to the present world, holding in his arms a white jade porcelain basin. Inside, clear water flowed, and a beautiful fish swam restlessly—sometimes drifting away, sometimes raising its slightly intelligent yet still ignorant eyes to look at him.

“I’m sorry for you in the past…”

“Then in this life, let’s start over. I hope that when you regain your memories, you won’t resent my selfishness.”

He looked at it and said softly.