"Why? How did I become so terrifying?"
The Hong Ting of the past had been overcome with grief and remorse at Liu Shuxian's death. He would clutch Liu Shuxian's corpse tightly, half-kneeling on the ground as his heart wept and wailed.
But what about now?
Faced with Liu Shuxian's death, faced with Liu Shuxian's hope of spending the final moment of her life in one last tender embrace with her beloved, Red Lotus actually turned and left!
Could this Liu Shuxian not be the real Liu Shuxian?
Of course she was!
Red Lotus knew that very clearly.
She was still herself, still that Liu Shuxian. No matter how many times Red Lotus was reborn, her decisions and actions would never change. To protect her beloved, she would rather sacrifice herself and use her life to withstand the calamity of becoming a Venerable!
However...
Liu Shuxian was still Liu Shuxian, but Hong Ting was no longer Hong Ting.
"When did it begin? When did I start changing?" Red Lotus questioned his own heart.
This question was not difficult. He quickly found the answer.
It had begun with countless rebirths, countless attempts, countless deaths of Liu Shuxian, and countless disappointments harvested by him!
His heart was wounded time after time, bleeding time after time. Before scabs could form, Hong Ting himself would take the initiative to tear the wounds open again.
He had been hurt too many times, suffered pain too many times, and felt regret too many times.
Too many, too many—until he gradually grew accustomed to it, until he... gradually became numb.
Thus, he began to excel at schemes and calculations.
Thus, he began to analyze things calmly.
He used every resource at hand, doing everything in his power to strengthen and arm himself. He tried different paths, searching for