Thank you to [Laofen Cuteness Pinch], [Su Who Likes White Swans], and [Yuzuriha is Number One in the World] for the God-level Certifications!
I worked from after my shift until now without even eating dinner, I really can't go on anymore. I'm short one chapter, I'll owe it for now and find time to make it up in the coming days... On the mountaintop where the long-ruined Qingxin Residence stood, a desolate figure sat alone.
Jingliu held the broken sword covered in cracks, her eyes empty and lifeless, sitting motionless like a withered tree.
Several days had passed, with only the same two syllables occasionally escaping her lips.
"Master... Master..."
She had completely lost her master.
Truly, truly, forever and ever, she could never find him again.
All that her master had left her was a broken sword and a silver moon jade pendant.
No... not just that.
There was also that gentle gaze he gave her before parting.
But why did it have to be right at the moment of eternal farewell?
Why... why why why why!!!
Jingliu had long forgotten to breathe. No matter how her body protested or ached, it was not one trillionth of the pain of losing Qi Zhimu.
Master, you were cruel to your disciple so many times, so why did you choose to offer that sliver of tenderness at the very end?
Do you know that tenderness offered right before an eternal farewell hurts a thousand, a hundred times more than being pierced by ten thousand arrows?
After years of bitter, fruitless searching, the moment she finally saw him, an unbridgeable chasm, eternal and insurmountable, instantly appeared between them.
If the condition for receiving that trace of tenderness was your inevitable departure...
Then—I would rather not have it.
I would rather forever bury my head in the false lies my master wove, bearing the pain alone, walking towards my demise alone.
Behind her, three women appeared one after another.
Gazing at that back, as desolate as ever, their expressions were varied.
From the end of the battle where Shuhu fell until now, they had all remained on the Luofu, never leaving.
There were far, far too many answers they needed to find.
Now, they naturally knew that the woman before them, named Jingliu, was Qi Zhimu's only disciple in this lifetime.
Anyone could hear the vast, ocean-like torrent of emotion hidden beneath the heartbreak in those soulless calls of hers.
Her love for Qi Zhimu was no less than that of any one of them.
Perhaps... it was even greater.
After their investigations during this time, Black Swan and the others had gained some understanding of Qi Zhimu's life in this incarnation.
Born in Azure City, his entire life was spent facing loss.
Family, homeland, friends... He spent the greater part of his life battling the Abundance, without a wife or children. Apart from one disciple, only his long-serving guards were his constant companions.
Until Shuhu died, the fire of vengeance imprisoned in his heart was extinguished along with his life.
He, who had always faced loss, ultimately made those who cared for him taste the full bitterness of it.
Black Swan could deeply understand the feeling in Jingliu's heart at this moment.
Yu Qintu understood as well.
Ruan Mei... understood even more.
It is said that as the Long-lived Species of the Xianzhou age, their threshold for feeling emotions gradually rises, and their memories become diluted and weary over the long passage of time, leaving only the most extreme, vivid residues.
And these are almost always the dregs of painful and regretful memories.
For the vast majority of Xianzhou natives, the probability of reaching this day increases year by year after they exceed 700 years of age.
Yet Jingliu has lived for over a thousand years. Even witnessing Qi Zhimu's departure, even killing him with her own hands, she never fell into mara affliction... Perhaps, her feelings and obsession for Qi Zhimu outweighed all the painful and regretful memories.
"Master... you liar..."
Suddenly, Jingliu finally murmured a different phrase.
Hearing this, the three women in the distance all had subtle shifts in their expressions.
Black Swan and Yu Qintu's gazes simultaneously fell upon Ruan Mei, whose eyes instantly dimmed.
Back then, when they heard this phrase from Qi Zhimu's past memories, each of the three women had been more agitated than the last.
That Ruan Mei, under the influence of alcohol, had carved an indelible mark in the youth's heart, and had even given him the most tender promises and beautiful moments.
And the result?
She carved the mark, then personally and heartlessly crushed it, leaving the youth not a shred of leeway.
She gave promises, then wiped the slate clean, put on her clothes, and refused to acknowledge him, pushing the youth into the abyss of nothingness with her own hands.
If not for Black Swan's companionship and the warmth she provided in Qi Zhimu's final days, Yu Qintu suspected he would have gone further and further down the path of Self-Extinguishment.
Once a Self-Extinguisher reaches the stage where their physical body no longer perishes, they either plunge deeper into nothingness, losing the vast majority of their emotions.
Or, they become ghosts wandering the border of nothingness, even forgetting their own existence.
Either possibility is suffocating to imagine.
Qi Zhimu thought of his teacher Ruan Mei, respected her, took care of her daily life, made the snacks and drinks she liked, all just wishing for his teacher's happiness.
How could he have known that the wine he brewed was a Curio, possessing rule-like effects?
Where did he go wrong?
His mistake was this: the teacher he followed was a mad scientist, deeply trapped in her own obsessions, ignoring all the beauty around her, her mind filled only with herself.
And now, Qi Zhimu's disciple also called him a liar... They didn't know what Qi Zhimu had lied to Jingliu about, but at least they knew his deception must have had its reasons.
Otherwise, given his nature, how could he bear to make his discip... Wait—
Yu Qintu recalled Qi Zhimu's manner of conduct, so proper it was almost uncomfortable.
Could it be that even after dying once, he still retained that personality?
Thinking of this, Yu Qintu's gaze towards Ruan Mei grew increasingly strange, as if looking at the source of all evil.
"You truly are a good teacher, Ah Ruan. To have tormented a perfectly good Qi Zhimu into such a state, with such far-reaching effects..."
Ruan Mei remained silent.
Before she could respond, the icy figure not far away, clutching her sword as if she had lost her entire world, seemed to catch a key phrase. In an instant, she appeared before the three of them.
Those dead, empty eyes emitted a chill that made one's spine tingle.
"What do you mean... tormented Master?"
"Exactly what it means."
Yu Qintu crossed her arms, paying no heed to the cold, murderous aura radiating from Jingliu.
Ruan Mei was still silent.
She could not explain, nor had she the right to argue, for that was the truth.
Unless Qi Zhimu had completely forgotten all the experiences and bonds of his previous life.
Black Swan inquired softly, "Miss Jingliu, did Mr. Qi ever mention three names to you?"
Jingliu's gaze fell upon her.
But Black Swan looked at the other two: "Yu Qintu, Ruan Mei, and... Clarice Durand."
"Never."
Jingliu answered without hesitation, then her eyes turned 'harmoniously kind'.
"Now, it's time for you to continue answering my question."
"Miss Jingliu, are you willing to believe in the concept of reincarnation?"
"I can believe it, and I hope it exists even more."
"That's good then."
A faint light glowed in Black Swan's palm as a memory bubble gradually took shape.
Ruan Mei now cast an inscrutable look her way, as if a warning.
However, Yu Qintu's hand was already on Ruan Mei's shoulder, her eyes slightly narrowed at her.
Also as if in warning.
The corner of Black Swan's lips lifted slightly as she directly tossed the memory bubble towards Jingliu. It silently merged into her forehead.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
Twenty seconds... Moments later, without warning, Jingliu raised her sword and stabbed towards Ruan Mei!
Her speed was extreme. No one present could see it clearly, let alone react in time.
The sharp sword wind stung their cheeks. The tip of the sword stopped less than half an inch from Ruan Mei's pupil.
Jingliu trembled all over, her breathing becoming increasingly rapid as she stared fixedly at the woman before her: this woman who had once been her master's teacher.
—If Master truly had a past life... Let's speak plainly: Please, dear readers, take 15-20 seconds to give Haji Huan some free 'Powered by Love' clicks!