Kaelen returned home.

The villa itself seemed to sense the shift in their relationship, feeling cold and empty, devoid of warmth.

Kaelen felt no sentimentality. He went to the deepest part of his closet and pulled out his ceremonial robes.

He bathed, cleansed his hands, and changed. Then he returned to the main hall, lit incense before the central statues of the Sacred Trinity, and knelt in sincere prayer.

He had been abandoned by his parents as a child. It was his Master who had found him, brought him back to the Sanctuary, and taught him with care.

His life, if it were to be given, should be given back to his Master, not to Caden's child.

After three kowtows, Kaelen began to prepare the final talismans to sever his ties with Vera.

When everything was ready, he sat cross-legged in the living room, waiting for her to return.

At midnight, Vera came home.

The moment she walked in, she saw Kaelen dressed in his white robes. The night wind blew in through the window, making his robes flutter.

Their eyes met.

Kaelen's gaze was chillingly distant, frighteningly empty.

A sudden feeling seized Vera, a premonition that Kaelen was about to leave her forever.

Her heart skipped a beat, her throat tight. "I don't remember you wearing your robes for a long time. Why the change tonight?"

Kaelen avoided the question, extending two fingers to push a thin piece of paper across the table toward her. "The jewelry, the stocks, the house, the money—I don't want any of it. Just sign."

Vera glanced down, her heart pierced by the words "DIVORCE AGREEMENT" on the document.

A storm of emotions raged in her chest. She forced it down. "I won't agree, Kaelen…"

Kaelen had never imagined that one day, Vera's look of deep affection would seem so alien, so repulsive.

"Are you going to keep up this act? Your relationship with Caden, the child in your belly…"

"Vera, I know the truth. I don't want to fight with you, I don't want to cause a scene. I just want a divorce."

The mask on Vera's face finally cracked.

Her face was pale as she grabbed Kaelen's hand in a panic. "No, Kaelen, honey, listen to me, let me explain!"

"I did all of this for us!"

"You've always been unable to have children. I don't mind, but Thorne Corp needs an heir. I don't love Caden, I only love you."

"I promise, as soon as this baby is born, I'll bring it back for you to raise. From now on, he will be your biological child. You will be his only father!"

"Kaelen, please, believe me."

Seeing Kaelen unmoved, Vera dragged him before the statues of the Sacred Trinity.

"I can swear to the Trinity! I, Vera Thorne, only love Kaelen Shaw!"

Hearing this, Kaelen vaguely remembered a time when he, too, had pulled her before these same statues, where she had knelt in sincere prayer.

"By the Ancients, I, Vera Thorne, will never betray Kaelen. If I break this vow, may I lose all my fortune and die in misery!"

A dull ache throbbed in his chest. When he tried to recall the memory more clearly, nothing came.

Kaelen pulled his hand away. In Vera's stunned gaze, he took a talisman from his pocket.

"Have Caden carry this with him. It might protect him once."

A flicker of joy lit up Vera's heart. She reached for it.

But the next second, Kaelen withdrew his hand. "Sign the divorce papers, and I'll give you the talisman."

Vera's expression changed instantly. "Are you threatening me?"

Kaelen didn't deny it.

The date of his return to the mountain was drawing near. He just wanted to settle his karma with Vera as quickly as possible.

He picked up the divorce agreement and held it out to her.

He saw her reach for it and breathed a sigh of relief.

But the next second, with a sharp rip, Vera tore the agreement in half and threw the pieces into the air.

"Kaelen Shaw, either you die or I die. Otherwise, we will never get a divorce!"

Then, she grabbed his hand, pried his fingers open, and took the talisman.

"Kaelen, I'm just trying to give us a child. I believe one day you'll understand."

With those words, Vera left.

Kaelen stood there, the lingering pain from his pried-open fingers echoing in his heart.

If there's no looking back, why not forget? If there's no destiny, why make a vow?

He stood for a long time before returning to his room.

With only three days left until his departure, Kaelen went to the Bureau of Unorthodox Affairs.

The moment he saw the director, he stated his identity and his purpose. "Director, I want to cancel my registration. I want to erase the worldly identity of Kaelen Shaw."

It was a common practice for cultivators like him to erase their identities to detach from the world.

The director wasn't surprised, merely offering a word of caution. "Are you sure? Once your identity is canceled, the person Kaelen Shaw will cease to exist. Your records, your identity, will all be defined as 'null'."

"I'm sure," Kaelen said without a moment's hesitation.

Since Vera wouldn't agree to a divorce, he would simply make it so that the mortal Kaelen Shaw no longer existed. Only the cultivator Kaelen of Serenity Peak would remain.

Seeing his resolve, the director stopped trying to persuade him, issued a certificate, and sent him to the records department.

An hour later, Kaelen walked out of the records department.

The red stamp on the certificate of cancellation in his hand felt like a giant hand lifting a massive stone from his heart.

Ever since marrying Vera, he had never felt so light.

All that was left was to wait for the day of his return.

Kaelen smiled faintly, tucked the certificate away, and went home.

He had nothing to take with him, only things he had used and formed attachments to that needed to be dealt with.

He instructed the housekeeper that after he left, she was to replace all the bedding.

As for Vera… after their fight, she had not returned.

Kaelen cast a quick divination. The reading showed that he and Vera had one last meeting.

Sure enough, on the night before his departure, Vera returned.

Seeing her, Kaelen felt a moment of blankness.

It took him a while to remember they were married, that she was his wife.

Thinking about everything that had happened, his heart no longer felt the turbulent emotions of before, only a calm strangeness.

Vera was also remarkably composed. As if they had never fought, she opened her arms to embrace him.

"Honey, don't be angry anymore."

Kaelen took a step back, avoiding her.

The gentle smile on Vera's face froze, but she quickly recovered her affectionate expression.

"By the way, what's wrong with your bank card? I've been trying to transfer money to you these past two days, but it keeps failing."

"I called the bank, and they said they have no record of you."