Chapter 16 — The God of Light's Swapped Bride

Ten days later, when the detention period ended, Y Nhi was released. Da Vu had been waiting in front of the Nha Mon gate since early morning, and when the heavy iron gate opened, revealing her skinny, emaciated figure stepping out into the morning sunlight, he couldn't help but run up and hug her in the middle of the crowded street.

"She's finally home," he said, his voice choked with emotion.

Y Nhi leaned against him, tears of joy rolling down her cheeks. During the past ten days, she had to face many enticements from those sent by Co Bat Uy, promising everything to convince her to give up Da Vu, but she resolutely refused everything, keeping her promise to her husband.

They returned to the small house in the Ben Muon area, where the old woman next door had already cleaned up and cooked them a pot of nutritious chicken porridge, even though she herself didn't have much to spare. "I'm glad you're back," she said, her eyes welling up with tears. "Everyone in the neighborhood has been worried about her these past few days."

But that joy of reunion did not last long. Just a few days later, news spread throughout the Ben Muon area that the Lang family had officially posted public notices in many places in the city, announcing the renunciation of blood ties with Y Nhi, along with heavy words defaming her honor, blaming her entirely for the family's "disgrace".

That night, when Y Nhi happened to read a copy of that notice brought home by a neighbor, she couldn't hold back anymore. The anger and humiliation that had been pent up for so long suddenly exploded into a violent sob, her whole body shaking with pain and frustration.

"Why?" she screamed between sobs, her hands clutching the paper so tightly that it crumpled. "Why could he be so cruel? What did I do wrong? I just wanted to live a good life, just wanted to fulfill my duty, but in the end my own father defamed my honor in front of the whole world!"

Da Vu hugged her tightly, trying to soothe the intense emotions that were breaking out in her, but this time, Y Nhi's pain seemed to have gone beyond her usual tolerance. She lightly punched his chest, not to blame him, but as a way to vent her frustration that she didn't know how to express to anyone else.

"If heaven has eyes," she screamed between sobs, "why do good people have to suffer to this extent? Why do cruel and deceitful people live in leisure, while upright people have to suffer so much humiliation and injustice?"

That scream full of anger and despair rang out in the quiet night, and strangely, at that moment, the Light Stone that Da Vu always carried with him suddenly emitted a sudden, dazzling light, causing the whole small house to light up in an instant.

Y Nhi was startled, stopped crying, looked towards the cloth bag that Da Vu was still wearing on her waist, where light was leaking through the thin cloth. "What is it?" she asked, her voice still filled with tears but mixed with surprise.

Da Vu was equally stunned. He quickly took out the Light Stone and saw that it was shining much brighter than in recent days, as if it had just been awakened by some powerful source of energy. He closed his eyes, concentrated on feeling, and in that moment, a stream of information, a deep understanding suddenly flooded into his mind like a big wave.

Y Nhi's sincere indignation - not selfish resentment, but indignation at injustice, at the trampling on good values - resonated strongly with the nature of the Quang Thach slab, which was crystallized from the very moment he resisted the unjust order of the Heavenly Emperor to protect innocent lives in the past. That synchronicity aroused a large part of the aura dormant in the stone slab, transmitting a significant flow of power back to his body.

Da Vu clearly felt a change within himself — as if a door that had been locked tightly for twenty years was now opening a small crack, revealing the dazzling light that was once his true nature. He couldn't help but reveal for a brief moment, his whole body lit up as if covered by a layer of dim aura, before he hastily suppressed it, fearing that the sudden change would make Y Nhi panic.

But it was too late. Y Nhi saw it all, her eyes widened, not because of fear, but because of an extreme surprise mixed with something like understanding that was gradually forming.

"Da Vu," she whispered, her voice trembling, "you... who are you really?"

Da Vu looked at her, knowing that this moment, no matter how much longer he wanted to delay it, he could no longer avoid it. He took a deep breath, held her hand, his eyes filled with both sincerity and fear of rejection.

“I will tell you the whole truth,” he said, his voice low and serious. "But first, I need you to promise me one thing: no matter how big or unusual this truth is, please keep calm and listen to it all, before making any judgments."

Y Nhi nodded, even though thousands of questions were rising in her heart. "I promise," she replied, her voice regaining some composure.

Da Vu told the whole story - about his true identity as a Light God among the Twelve Light Gods of the Light Realm, about the night of the Great Light Extermination twenty years ago when he resisted the Heavenly Emperor to save the small village along the Lam Giang River, about the curse that banished him to earth as a mortal, and about the only condition for him to regain his lost divine power - a mortal heart willing to love him unconditionally.

Y Nhi listened in silence, her eyes wide open, one surprise after another as each piece of the story was gradually revealed. When Da Vu mentioned the part where the village he saved was the forerunner of today's capital Lam Thanh, she couldn't help but burst out.

"So...so you are the God of Dawn in the legend that the old lady next door told me?" she asked, her voice shaking with surprise.

"That's right," Da Vu nodded, his eyes gently looking at her, waiting for her reaction with endless anxiety. "I'm sorry for keeping you in the dark all this time. I'm afraid that if you know the truth too soon, you will feel deceived, or will be scared and stay away from me."

Y Nhi was silent for a long time, her eyes fixed on the Quang Thach slab still sparkling with gentle light in his hand, then she looked up at his face, the face that she was familiar with and had loved for the past few months.

"I'm not afraid," she said, her voice gradually steady again. "I'm just surprised, because I didn't expect that my poor husband, with whom I have overcome so many difficulties, has such a great identity. But no matter who he is, whether he is a god or an ordinary mortal, I still see that he is the Da Vu that I have loved - the person who ate frugal meals with me, comforted me every sleepless night, and did not hesitate to find a way to save me. That has not changed just because I have just learned more about your past."

Those words were like another stream of warm light, flowing straight into Da Vu's heart that had been waiting for twenty years. He looked at her, feeling more clearly than ever that this was the kind of sincere, unconditional love that Heavenly Emperor mentioned - not because of status, not because of power, but simply because of who he really is.

"Thank you," he said, his voice choked with emotion, pulling her into his arms. "I don't know what I did to deserve a wife like you."

That night, when both of them had calmed down, Da Vu sat next to Y Nhi, telling her more about the vague vision he had just felt through the resonance of the Quang Thach slab - a premonition that the seal imprisoning his power was gradually cracking, and soon, a major event would happen, forcing him to face his own fate head-on.

"I don't know exactly when," he said, "but I feel that day is not far away. And when it comes, I will need you by my side, the strength of your love to be able to face it all."

Y Nhi held his hand tightly, her eyes determined. “I will always be by your side,” she said, “no matter what the day brings.”

Outside, the late moonlight shined through the small window, covering a layer of gentle silver light on the couple leaning against each other, unaware that, this very night, the first steps towards a much bigger storm had begun to take shape, not only for their lives, but for the destiny of the entire Lam Thanh kingdom.