There is no set date for my return, and life or death remains unknown.
Although both hearts were filled with reluctance to part, the urgency of war called for actions, and as men, protecting the homeland was an inescapable responsibility.
They made promises to each other, with Hua Yan asking Su to come back alive—she would wait for him.
Su said that once the war was over, he would come to marry her.
On the day of their parting, Hua Yan broke off a newly bloomed flower and gave it to Su, for him to carry with him as a token of her thoughts, which he could look at whenever he missed her.
Su knew that the flower he was carrying would probably wither in a few days, but he couldn’t bear to refuse, so he tucked the flower away and headed for the battlefield.
Strangely, even though the flower had no roots, it lay inside Su’s pouch for several days without wilting.
Surprised at heart, Su took good care of the flower.
Upon arriving at the frontier, Su planted the flower in the camp.
Every time the camp was moved, Su transplanted the flower.
The war lasted four years, during which the flower was uprooted and replanted countless times, yet it survived.
As the war was coming to an end, Su believed both he and the flower would live to return home.
But in the last battle, there was a traitor in the army, and countless soldiers died tragically.
Countless soldiers were buried on the battlefield, and Su died as well.
As the triumphant army returned, Hua Yan eagerly awaited her beloved, only to receive the news of Su’s death; even his remains could not be returned.
Overwhelmed with grief, Hua Yan utterly refused to believe it and set out for the frontier overnight to search for Su.
Even if he were dead, she wanted to bring back his remains.
There were too many deaths in the war, bones littered everywhere; she couldn’t identify which of the skeletons was Su’s.
Unable to find Su alive nor his remains, Hua Yan sat on the battlefield and wept, her tears flowing for a day and a night until she fainted from her crying.
When Hua Yan awoke, she found herself in a sea of flowers. The desolate battlefield had turned into a purple floral paradise overnight.
Amidst the vast sea of flowers, Hua Yan saw the souls of countless soldiers, which included Su’s spirit.
As the wind blew, the sea of flowers swayed, and thousands of voices whispered in her ears. Hua Yan heard their requests—they wanted to return home.
From then on, Hua Yan became a transporter on that battlefield, taking each flower and sending it back to its homeland.
Countless soldiers’ souls returned to their hometowns; as leaves to their roots.
From then on, the Purple Flower got its name.
However, in the Mystic Sect Classics, Soul’s Return to Hometown had another name—the Soul Binding Flower.
This flower automatically binds the souls of those who die within a hundred meters of it, and unless someone with cultivation level intervenes, the souls can only be released when the flower withers.
However, the flowering period of the Soul Binding Flower is long, measured not by seasons or time, but in years.
The longest blooming Soul Binding Flower can bloom for a hundred years.
Originally, Gu Zhiqi had only intended to visit the place where Meng Xiao was "supposed to be dead" to investigate the scene of his death or look for the whereabouts of his spirit.
Unexpectedly, he found the Soul Binding Flower.
Indeed, there was a spirit within the flower, and it was a living soul.
However, whether the spirit belonged to Meng Xiao was still under question.
After Gu Zhiqi took out the flower and placed it on the ground, he formed several hand seals and directed them at the flower.
Soon, dazzling light radiated from the Purple Flower, and a shadowy silhouette floated out of it.
Looking up at the shadow hovering above the Purple Flower, Gu Zhiqi’s brows lifted slightly.
"Who are you?" the phantom, that floated out from the Purple Flower, asked guardedly, "Can you see me?"