He had erased his identity. Of course, the bank card registered to Kaelen Shaw would be deactivated.

Kaelen offered a random excuse. "Maybe it's a glitch with the bank."

In the past, even if Kaelen didn't like a gift from Vera, he would still pretend to be happy.

Never had he been so indifferent.

Vera assumed he was still angry and softened her voice to coax him.

"It's okay. Didn't you say you liked the winter view from that villa on Lakeview Road? Autumn is almost over. Tomorrow, I'll have my assistant transfer the property to your name. When winter comes, I'll move in with you to watch the snow."

Kaelen thought to himself that she would be disappointed again. After tonight, he would be gone.

Today's events are like water leaving no trace; by tomorrow's dawn, you will be a stranger…

They wouldn't be watching the snow together in winter. They wouldn't even have a chance to eat together tomorrow.

"There's no need," Kaelen replied coolly.

Vera's face fell, her fingers clenching at her sides.

She couldn't understand. She had already humbled herself so much, why was he still not satisfied? Why wouldn't he forgive her?

She was angry, but seeing Kaelen in his ceremonial robes, looking so detached from the mortal world, she was strangely reminded of him before he had left the mountain.

Back then, he had no one but her.

Vera's heart suddenly softened. "Honey, I won't force you to accept it anymore. Tomorrow, I'll send Caden away, and I'll have the child taken care of. We can go back to how things were, okay?"

Hearing this, Kaelen found it laughable.

If Vera had made this decision when he first discovered everything, he might have believed her.

But now, with the Sorrow-Eater wreaking havoc in his soul, whatever she said was too late.

Besides, he had already forgotten everything about their past. How could they go back?

"Vera, we have no past to go back to."

Vera had never seen him so hard-hearted. She opened her mouth, but found she had nothing left to say.

Just then, her phone rang, a sudden lifeline.

She quickly answered and walked out to the courtyard balcony.

Kaelen watched her back, then turned his gaze away, preparing to find a clean box to pack the statues of the Sacred Trinity.

But he had only taken two steps when the doorbell rang.

Kaelen had to change course and open the door.

To his surprise, it was Caden.

He looked at Kaelen, his eyes filled with jealousy and resentment.

"Didn't you promise you would divorce Vera? Why are you still here? Or are you so desperate for a woman that you don't even care about the reputation of Serenity Peak? Do you want your brothers to be dragged through the mud again?"

Kaelen had never seen such an arrogant third party. His face instantly turned cold.

"I will do what I promised. But if you dare to involve Serenity Peak or my brothers again, even if it means destroying my own virtue and cultivation, even if it means I'll be cast into the deepest hell, I will not let you go."

Caden had never seen him so stern and was frightened into taking a step back.

Just then, Caden's phone rang. It was the hospital.

When he learned that Vera had miscarried, his face turned deathly pale.

"What? Vera miscarried?"

Hearing this, Kaelen froze for a moment.

Although he had foreseen that the child would not be born, he never expected it to happen like this.

…

The two of them rushed to the hospital emergency room.

Vera's weak voice came from within. "Caden, how is the baby?!"

"Vera, our baby… is gone…" Caden sobbed, tears streaming down his face. "It was Kaelen! He did this!"

Vera turned to Kaelen in a fury, but was met with his indifferent gaze.

He said, "I told you before, this child was not meant to be born."

At that moment, a wave of panic washed over Vera. It felt as if something had already left her, and the words of accusation were stuck in her throat.

She looked away from him, back to Kaelen.

She instinctively tried to get up, to go to him, to lock him away by her side forever.

But Caden held her down.

"Vera, your body is weak. You need to rest…"

Caden held her shoulders firmly, preventing her from getting up.

It was as if if she left with Kaelen, he would rather die right there.

Vera had no choice but to take his hand and say to Kaelen with guilt in her eyes, "Kaelen, wait for me at home."

"Whatever it is, once I've recovered and dealt with his affairs, I will come find you."

"Trust me, I'll be back soon!"

…

But she never knew.

Today was the day Kaelen was to return to the mountain.

Walking out of the hospital, Kaelen's heart clenched, and a single hot tear fell from the corner of his eye.

When he wiped it away, it signified that his love for Vera, his ties to this mortal world, were all severed.

An autumn wind blew. He calmly looked away, returned to the house, and packed the statues of the Sacred Trinity.

At midnight, a black Lincoln pulled up quietly at the gate.

A cultivator in white robes got out and said, "Brother Kaelen, I've come to take you home."

Reunited with his senior brother after so long, a warmth spread through Kaelen's chest. He slowly walked out of Vera's house.

The moment he stepped out, a sharp pain shot through his heart. The world inside his head began to blur, memories fading until they were gone.

He knew it was the Sorrow-Eater his Master had planted, erasing the last of his memories with Vera.

From now on, this world would only have the cultivator Kaelen, the Guardian of Serenity Peak.

The Kaelen Shaw of the mortal world, Vera Thorne's husband, was no more.

In the quiet night, the car drove slowly eastward.

Only the sound of scriptures playing from the car's speakers drifted through the air: "All that has form is an illusion. All conditioned things are like a dream, a phantom, a bubble, and a shadow…"