"Sleeping Snow Pure Cold... what kind of ending awaits them?" Jingliu asked in a low voice.
She was not entirely oblivious to the world outside, nor was she purely immersed in the grief of losing her Master.
Jing Yuan would inform her of the merits and faults of those involved in this catastrophe via jade messages.
Currently, all she knew was that Sleeping Snow Pure Cold had followed her Master in meddling with the forbidden and were undergoing interrogation at the Shackling Prison.
Regardless, they were seniors she had known for a thousand years, and more importantly, they were her Master's... As for her Master... he was no longer here.
She knew him all too well.
Once he decided to do something, he wouldn't care about his reputation after he was gone, let alone how outsiders would judge him after his death.
"For them, the pain of Qi Zhimu's departure is no less than yours, so... their ending will be decided by themselves."
Fu Hua's voice carried a hint of complexity before she changed the subject.
"The same goes for you; how you walk your future path depends on yourself."
With that, she did not linger, her figure quietly dissipating... Jingliu sought out a secluded place where she wouldn't be disturbed to check the contents of the jade messages one by one.
One was a Tracing Jade Buckle, which all Cloud Knight Vanguards carry when on the march or on a mission.
Its function was similar to a surveillance Cycrane, recording scenes occurring within a certain range in real-time.
Another was an interrogation record jade message, a model exclusive to the Ten Lords Tribunal.
Looking at its shape, it should be the model used by the Hall of Karma to reconstruct past images through something like memory reading.
The last one was an ordinary text-recording jade message, similar to a portable notebook that could be bought anywhere.
She chose to open the Tracing Jade Buckle first.
An image of a mountain peak towering into the clouds came into view; Fu Hua stood with her back to Qi Zhimu, hands behind her back at the edge of the cliff.
Qi Zhimu stood behind her, and his first words made her brow furrow.
He said he wanted to see the Originator of Longevity...?
Fu Hua: "First tell me, what does she mean to you?"
She?
Or him?
Jingliu was dazed, momentarily unsure if it referred to the Originator of Longevity, or...?
Then came a long silence.
Jingliu skillfully adjusted the angle of the Tracing Jade Buckle's recording and saw countless complex memories flash through her Master's eyes.
After a long while, she heard:
"The day I accepted Jingliu, I secretly made a promise. Therefore, I will not, and absolutely cannot, fail her."
His tone was firm, making Jingliu's heart tremble. So the 'her' the Marshal mentioned was herself... It turned out her Master cared about her far more than she imagined. But what did the 'failing' her Master spoke of refer to?
Jingliu continued watching, but what she saw and heard was somewhat shrouded in mist.
But she soon understood; Fu Hua must have seen that her Master had activated The Self-Actualization Aspect, which was why she asked if it was worth it.
She remained silent.
"I hope that one day in the future, you can pass away peacefully," Fu Hua suddenly said.
"I will leave a sharp blade for that day."
"..."
Jingliu was instantly stunned.
Thinking of a certain possibility, she tremblingly took out the broken sword her Master had left behind.
The words her Master spoke on the day he gifted the sword still echoed in her ears.
To use this sword to fight from now on?
The truth might be... that only this sword could kill him?!!
Otherwise, how could one explain why this gazing radiance, which had remained as sharp as new for hundreds of years, would suddenly break after his passing?
It was as if... gazing radiance's life was deeply linked to her Master's.
Jingliu wanted to know the answers—all of them!
Continuing to follow the perspective of the Tracing Jade Buckle Fu Hua had given to Qi Zhimu, the view moved to the Luofu, entering the Shackling Prison to see the target.
"I have a patient who has been in a coma for several years. Her vital signs are weakening at a strangely constant rate."
"The elixir organ in her body is constantly plundering physical energy to maintain its own activity, like a Suiyang parasitic on a host, constantly absorbing the seven emotions and six desires."
"As someone who once held the title of the Ghost Doctor of the Xianzhou, do you know the root cause of this condition?"
"!!!"
Despite having her suspicions, Jingliu couldn't help but widen her eyes, her heart filled with shock.
So this was the truth behind her decades-long coma!
It turned out her Master sought the Originator of Longevity because he was at his wit's end... and had no choice but to try and seek help from a major criminal imprisoned deep in the Shackling Prison... He had searched for famous doctors for her, unwilling to let go of any sliver of possibility... This... this... Then, Jingliu heard the Originator of Longevity describe the details of the illness, but instead of clearly stating a cure, he threw the conversation back to Qi Zhimu.
Finally clearing up the sequence of events of those years in a coma, Jingliu's heart was filled with mixed emotions, but mostly with being moved.
Her Master was not gentle with her, but he never lacked concern for his disciple.
She saw the self-reproach in her Master's eyes, and her heart ached slightly.
It's not your fault, Master. You were strict with your disciple only because you wanted her to become stronger so she could survive on the cruel battlefield.
You didn't know your disciple had a congenital Dan-deficiency; nobody knew.
It really isn't your fault... Master... The images in the Tracing Jade Buckle ended there, and Jingliu turned to open the recording jade message.
As soon as she saw the first passage of text, she couldn't help but be stunned.
It was actually her Master's diary... but who among ordinary people would write a diary?
[star calendar Year 6300, July 12th.]
"Jingliu was unable to complete the three thousand sword-swinging exercises, as expected. Tonight, the Medicinal Bath Body Tempering officially begins."
"Current stage medicinal dosage: 20%."
"Medicinal absorption: took 74 minutes and 46 seconds. Effect is good."
After reading these few simple lines, a look of bewilderment appeared on Jingliu's face.
A doubt that had puzzled her for many years and had gradually been forgotten was now answered.
It turned out that after she fainted at night, her Master would perform Medicinal Bath Body Tempering for her. Although she didn't know the specific effects, it certainly had to do with her waking up full of energy the next day.
Continuing to read down, she found that there were entries every day... Even if ordinary people wrote diaries, they would rarely record every single day, right?
The content was almost entirely about her training status, medicinal dosage, and absorption time.
With her Master's memory, it was unlikely he would forget these changes. Could it be a regulation of the Qi Family for cultivating descendants to record these?
With the intent to find an answer, Jingliu continued reading.
[star calendar Year 6300, July 28th.]
"Jingliu interrupted her sword-swinging training for the first time and was unable to complete the weighted long-distance run, as expected."
"Current stage medicinal dosage: 26%. Tolerance established. Beginning silver needle assistance for channeling."
"Medicinal absorption: took 62 minutes and 37 seconds. Effect is good."
"I know a bit of medicine and have studied the silver needles. Since I've ordered you to undergo this training, I naturally have a way for you to practice without any worries. Do not ask more."
The words her Master had once said to her echoed in her ears, incredibly clear.
At that time, she trusted that her Master would not lie to her and that the strict training was for her own good, so she simply gave up thinking; whatever her Master told her to do, she did.
Reminiscing about that time, before Jingliu's emotions could settle, the next two lines of text made her nearly lose control.
"General Wind of Evil came to inspect whether I showed signs of falling into mara affliction. Successfully concealed it."
"As time passes, conventional methods will surely be difficult to suppress. I may consider using forbidden techniques; this matter requires careful consideration."
"?!!"
Her Master had already shown signs of mara affliction after the Azure City catastrophe. How could this be... The meaning of the vague conversation between Fu Hua and Qi Zhimu not long ago finally became clear.
So when her Master said that such was fate and he had no choice, it was because he already knew he had one foot in the mara affliction.
Once one fell into the mara affliction, there was no turning back; it was equivalent to death. How could one even talk about revenge then?
"So this was the reason you said you wouldn't fail your disciple..."
It turned out he wrote a diary because he was afraid of forgetting important matters or important details...