Amidst the chaos of the fleeing cultivators, only Lin Que held his three-foot sword and transformed into a streak of light, flying toward the city ablaze with flames.
The cultivators traveling with him all saw Lin Que rushing alone to defend the city.
Many of them thought he was foolish. How could the lives of mere mortals compare to those of them, the exalted immortals? Once they escaped, they could always avenge the mortals later.
Staying behind now would only mean throwing their lives away for nothing.
So they fled without hesitation, never once reflecting on the fact that this disaster was one they had brought upon the city in the first place.
However, perhaps moved by Lin Que’s actions, a few noble heirs did choose to stay behind and defend the city alongside him.
Even so, the difference in strength between the righteous and the demonic forces was overwhelming.
A brutal battle of the outnumbered defending the city began.
Spells clashed across the skies, sword energy sliced through the land for miles, and an unprecedented rain of blood poured down from above, falling upon the city below.
By the time Jiang Moqing and the elders arrived, the battle was already over. In the middle of a battlefield littered with corpses, only Lin Que remained standing, numb and silent.
In that moment, his whole body was drenched in blood, the thick crimson obscuring his vision and soaking through his white robes.
His dominant right arm hung limp and powerless, forcing him to switch to his left hand to hold his sword.
But the spiritual sword was already shattered, with only the hilt left in his grasp and even then, he refused to let go.
More than half of the city’s civilians survived, and all the demonic cultivators were annihilated.
However… of all the cultivators from the Sword Seeking Sect who stayed behind, only Lin Que survived and even that survival came at a heavy price.
His Eight Extraordinary Meridians were completely severed, his Golden Core shattered, and his cultivation was utterly lost. Even though An Xiaoyao did everything she could afterward to try and salvage the situation, Lin Que’s cultivation could not be restored. Even his sword-wielding right hand was completely crippled.
Although this was something that had happened in the past, Qin Wanyuan still covered her mouth, her eyes misting over with tears.
“So something like this happened to Lin Lang before…”
Qin Wanyuan had always known that Lin Que’s past couldn’t have been ordinary. Even though he always claimed to be just an average inner sect disciple, she wasn’t a fool. Whether it was the medical skills he used to save Qin Qian’er or his extraordinary strength, everything about him spoke of a life far from ordinary.
But still, Qin Wanyuan had never imagined that Lin Que had suffered such immense hardship in the past.
The scene shifted back to Lin Que’s room, time rewinding a little.
Lin Que lay alone in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
At that moment, the door creaked open, and Jiang Moqing entered, dressed in plain robes. She brought a bowl of medicine and placed it on the bedside cabinet.
Unlike An Xiaoyao, she didn’t start feeding Lin Que right away. Nor did Lin Que ask her to. He simply picked up the spoon with his right hand but it trembled uncontrollably, spilling much of the medicine.
Watching the once high-spirited Swordsman now struggling just to hold a spoon, Qin Wanyuan’s brows slowly furrowed.
“For the sake of the people in that city… was it worth it?”
Two voices echoed the question simultaneously…. hers and Jiang Moqing’s in the dream, perfectly in sync.
Qin Wanyuan knew she was someone with a small, narrow heart. Her world was tiny, so small it could only hold Lin Que and her younger sister, Qin Qian’er.
That’s why she couldn’t understand. Why would Lin Que risk his life to protect the people of that city, only to end up in such a tragic state?
Was it really worth it?
Hearing Jiang Moqing’s question, Lin Que remained silent for a while. Only after he shakily brought that half-spilled spoonful of medicine to his mouth did he slowly speak.
“In this life, if you want to do something, you just do it.”
A casual remark, offering no explanation at all for why he had made such a choice.
“…So foolish.” Qin Wanyuan sat by Lin Que’s bedside and couldn’t help but reach out, gently caressing the young man’s face. That once-handsome face now bore a fierce, ugly scar.
Even though doing so might expose her presence and cause the dream to shatter, she couldn’t hold back the emotion.
Fortunately, Lin Que didn’t seem to notice anything at that moment. He simply continued to gaze quietly at the dream’s version of Jiang Moqing.
A silent exchange of looks.
A moment later, Jiang Moqing turned to leave the room. But just before walking out, she left behind a single sentence:
“The survivors in that city erected a monument in your honor. Once you’re able to walk again, you might want to go see it.”
“Mhmm. Thank you, Senior Sister.”
The conversation was brief and characteristically in line with how the two usually spoke.
And yet, Qin Wanyuan still couldn’t understand. By that point, Jiang Moqing had already spent years with Lin Que. She hadn’t yet entered the Heartless Valley. Her reaction shouldn’t have been so detached.
“Doesn’t she feel even a little heartache for Lin Lang…? She didn’t even help him take his medicine.”
Watching Lin Que trembling as he fed himself in that quiet room, Qin Wanyuan felt a deep ache in her heart.
However, not long after Jiang Moqing left, the young maid came rushing in. She sat by the bed, took the spoon from Lin Que’s hand, and gently wiped the spilled medicine off his body with her sleeve.
“Young Master, let me help you…”
Lin Que didn’t refuse but simply asked, “How is your sword training coming along?”
“Thanks to you, Young Master, my training has been going fairly well. I’ve grasped about half of the sword manual’s teachings, and I can now release sword energy.”
As if hoping to cheer him up, the young maid spoke in a livelier tone.
“From now on, I’ll be able to protect you even better.”
By now, the once-little maid had grown into a graceful young lady. Her personality had changed slightly too. Her cheeks were faintly flushed, and when she looked at Lin Que, her eyes held not only sorrow, but also an emotion that was hard to describe.
As a bystander, Qin Wanyuan could see it clearly…it was affection.
“So long as you’ve learned the sword manual, that’s good,” Lin Que said calmly. “I’ve already spoken to the teacher. In a few days, she’ll take you out of the sect. You’ll be apprenticed to one of her friends. You have great potential, and they’ll accept you.”
His tone was calm, but the young maid’s expression instantly changed.
“I don’t want to leave you, Young Master!”
“I’m already a cripple. There’s no point in you staying by my side.”
“But I only want to stay with you! No matter what you become, I’ll always…”
The young maid didn’t finish her sentence. Her cheeks flushed red, and tears welled up in her eyes, on the verge of falling.
She reached out, her fingertips gently touching the scar on the side of Lin Que’s face.
“I will never leave you, Young Master.”
Faced with what was almost a confession, Lin Que’s expression remained calm.
“I won’t deliberately say hurtful things to push you away, but leaving is better than staying. For both you and me.”
His tone was as calm as ever, though his words were more than he usually said.
“With Teacher still around, those who harbor ill intentions toward me won’t act openly. But they’ll target you instead. I can’t protect you. Do you really want to see me so powerless and weak?”
“…No, I don’t.”
Hearing Lin Que’s calm reasoning, the young maid lowered her head slightly.
“So, leave this place. Find a better path. Seek the Dao, pursue immortality. That is my final order to you. From this day on, you are free.”
But as she listened to Lin Que’s words, the young maid shook her head firmly. Wiping away her tears, she said to him:
“I will always be your maid, Young Master. I’ll train even harder, and once I’ve mastered my skills and return, I will protect you. I’ll never be a burden to you again!”
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