Jiang Qingyi didn't know how she managed to walk out of the Medical Hall.
She flew back to Lingqian Peak like a soulless automaton.
Her mind was consumed by one thought: her master only had thirty years left to live.
She couldn't imagine what a world without her master would be like.
A world without her master.
'What meaning would that world even have?'
Before she knew it, Qianling Peak appeared before her eyes.
'I can't be like this... I can't face Master with this expression. He'll be sad.'
Jiang Qingyi patted her cheeks, took a deep breath, and forced a smile onto her face, pretending she knew nothing.
When Jiang Qingyi returned to the courtyard, she saw her master sitting there.
The afternoon sun shone on Xiao Mo's paper-pale face, and the young woman's heart felt as if it were being twisted by a knife.
If she could, she would willingly take all of her master's suffering upon herself.
"Master, why are you out in the courtyard? You should be resting."
Jiang Qingyi landed on Lingqian Peak and ran toward her master.
Xiao Mo smiled. "Staying inside all the time isn't good either. It's too stuffy. I needed to come out for some fresh air."
"Then I'll stay with you."
Jiang Qingyi rolled up her sleeves, poured her master a cup of tea, then moved behind him. Her small, fair hands began to gently knead Xiao Mo's shoulders.
"Qingyi, there's something I want to talk to you about, to ask for your opinion."
Just as Jiang Qingyi was forcibly suppressing the chaotic thoughts in her mind, Xiao Mo spoke.
"Please just say it, Master. No matter what it is, I will agree to it," Jiang Qingyi said, her eyes curving into a smile.
Xiao Mo patted Jiang Qingyi's small hand. "I want to go out for a while. Do you want to come with me?"
"Go out for a while?" Jiang Qingyi blinked, looking at her master in confusion.
"That's right." Xiao Mo nodded. "I want to leave the Longquan Sword Sect and see more of this world. Qingyi, are you willing to accompany me?"
"I am!" Jiang Qingyi didn't hesitate for a moment. "No matter where Master goes, I will always be by his side!"
"Good." Xiao Mo smiled and nodded. "Then go and pack. We'll set off tomorrow."
"Okay! I'll go pack right now!"
Jiang Qingyi quickly ran into her room and began to pack her belongings.
For Jiang Qingyi, she also wanted to travel with her master and forget about the Sect's affairs.
'Besides, what if we meet a powerful cultivator during our travels who can cure Master's injuries?'
'Or what if we come across some fortuitous opportunity, and Master's injuries are healed?'
'It's not impossible.'
'In any case, it's far more hopeful than just staying in the Longquan Sword Sect!'
The next morning, Xiao Mo and Jiang Qingyi left the Longquan Sword Sect.
They didn't say goodbye to anyone.
In truth, Xiao Mo didn't know where to go either. He simply led Jiang Qingyi north.
They arrived in a town and bought a horse-drawn carriage.
Jiang Qingyi drove the carriage while Xiao Mo sat inside.
The two of them passed through one town after another.
Sometimes they would stay at an inn.
Other times they would camp in a cave.
Before they knew it, a month had passed.
Neither of them knew how far they had traveled, but they had at least left the territory of the Liang Kingdom.
「Two months after leaving the Longquan Sword Sect.」
As their carriage traveled along a small path at the foot of a mountain, a woman appeared, standing before them.
"Who are you?"
Jiang Qingyi stared at the woman in front of her.
Her longsword, Profound Frost, was already in her hand.
"Qingyi, she is an old acquaintance of mine." Xiao Mo's voice came from inside the carriage.
Xiao Mo lifted the curtain and stepped out.
Jiang Qingyi quickly helped her master out of the carriage.
"Qingyi, go fetch some water," Xiao Mo said to her.
"But Master..."
Jiang Qingyi glanced at the cold-looking woman.
She knew her master was trying to send her away.
But this person didn't seem to come with good intentions.
"It's all right." Xiao Mo patted her small hand. "I'll be fine. Be good."
"..." Jiang Qingyi pressed her lips together, gave the woman one last look, then took the waterskin and walked away.
"I'm very curious. Why did you help me?"
Xiao Mo asked, looking at Xia Chan.
Two months ago, when Xia Chan had come to find him, Xiao Mo had nearly killed her.
But during their time on the road, Xiao Mo realized something was off.
If Xia Chan had truly intended to tell Qingyi the "truth," she wouldn't have come to him.
There would have been no need for such an unnecessary step.
She could have gone directly to Qingyi.
Therefore, Xiao Mo came to a conclusion.
Xia Chan had come to warn him on the spur of the moment.
Her purpose was to make him take Jiang Qingyi and leave the Longquan Sword Sect.
"Because that one winter, when I was about to starve to death, it was the Madam who saved me."
Xia Chan said slowly.
"Now, Prince Xiao's Mansion has spared no expense or favor to hire the Blood Butterfly Pavilion.
"Originally, the Prince wanted to tell Jiang Qingyi about her past, to make her hate you, destroy her Dao Heart, and let all your years of hard work go to waste.
"But since the Blood Butterfly Pavilion has taken over, that's no longer necessary.
"The Prince had me relay a message to you, Young Master: this is his final act of mercy toward you, as a father."
"Hehehe... The Blood Butterfly Pavilion, hmm? When they strike, it's to the death, never-ending until their target is dead." Xiao Mo chuckled. "Then let the Blood Butterfly Pavilion come and try... COUGH COUGH COUGH... COUGH COUGH COUGH..."
Xiao Mo began to cough violently.
"Ptooey!" Xiao Mo spat a mouthful of blood to the side, then took a small vial from his robes, tipped out an elixir, and swallowed it.
Xia Chan looked at Xiao Mo's half-dead state and frowned. "That Innate Sword Bone was forcibly transplanted into you, Young Master. It had nothing to do with you. You only needed to cultivate properly, and your future would have been limitless.
"Yet now, you're in this half-dead state.
"Do you think it was worth it, Young Master?"
"What isn't mine can never be mine, and I don't want it. I just want to arrive in this world clean and leave it clean, just like my mother."
Xiao Mo smiled as he looked at Xia Chan.
"Back then, when my mother found you in the snow and brought you back, do you think it was worth it for her?"
Xia Chan: "..."
"You should go." Xiao Mo waved his hand. "My disciple is coming back."
Xia Chan turned her head and saw Jiang Qingyi staring daggers at her from behind a tree.
"The Madam was a good person, but good people don't always get good rewards." Xia Chan turned and vanished into the woods.
After Xia Chan left, Jiang Qingyi hurried over. "Master, what did that person want with you?"
"She told me someone wants to kill us and has even hired the Blood Butterfly Pavilion." Xiao Mo patted Jiang Qingyi's head. "Well? Are you afraid?"
Jiang Qingyi gripped the back of her master's hand and shook her head forcefully.
"As long as I'm with you, Master, I'm not afraid of anything."