My Fool

"My consciousness gradually blurred, and I slowly grew numb to everything around me. I was only three years old—I didn't even know what despair meant. But at that time, everything inside my body was as cold as the world outside. I hated them. I hated Great Grandfather, hated Father, hated Mother. I hated everyone. Why? Why did they abandon me in a place like that?"

By this point, Cai'er was sobbing uncontrollably. Long Haochen had never imagined that she had gone through something like this. For a child of only three, how painful and tragic it must have been. No wonder, no wonder Cai'er was always so cold. It turned out that everything stemmed from that time.

Long Haochen felt as though his heart were aching terribly. He held Cai'er tightly, lifted her onto his lap, and embraced her firmly. He wanted to use the warmth of his body to warm her, to melt away the coldness in her body and heart.

Cai'er clung tightly to him as well. The eruption of fear in her heart made her feel as though she had returned to that damp, gloomy place filled with coldness and darkness. Her fingernails even dug into the muscles of Long Haochen's back, and her body trembled violently, like chaff in a sieve. For a long time, she could not calm down.

"From that moment on, Father, Mother, Grandfather, Grandmother, and Great Grandfather were nothing more than titles to me. I hated them. I couldn't see them as family. I hated them. Why were they so selfish? Even if everything they did was for the entire Temple Alliance... had they ever considered me? From that moment on, I was no longer their family either. I was a cold weapon, a weapon they wanted to forge into something even sharper."

Cai'er spoke again. Perhaps the warmth from Long Haochen had eased some of her coldness; the trembling of her body gradually subsided. Yet her voice remained mournful as she spoke, filled with sorrow and anger.

She had kept these words bottled up in her heart for more than ten years. Now that she had finally voiced them, she felt somewhat relieved.

"Seven days. A full seven days. When I was about to lose consciousness, I saw a black figure. It seemed to be a cloud of mist, and it entered my body just like that. In my despair, it plunged me into complete coldness. After that, I knew nothing.

"When I woke from that coldness, those family members of mine were surrounding me. What I saw was the delight on every one of their faces. What I heard were them speaking of the Reincarnation Spiritual Stove and the Reincarnation Sword. From that moment onward, there was also a mass of blackness and a sword inside my body. And on that very day, I lost my sense of smell. Later, I learned that I had been unconscious for two whole years. When I woke up, I was already five."

Long Haochen drew in a sharp breath. "Was that the power you released that day?"

Cai'er nodded gently. "The Reincarnation Spiritual Stove ranks first among all known spiritual stoves. It is an offensive-type spiritual stove. Before me, only one person had ever possessed it. He was a predecessor of our Assassin Temple, known as the Child of Reincarnation. The Reincarnation Sword was his weapon. With the spiritual stove and the sword, he once attacked the Demon God Emperor of that era, the First Demon God. In the end, the Child of Reincarnation died at the Demon God Emperor's hands, but the Demon God Emperor also died not long afterward, passing his position on to the next generation's Demon God Emperor. At a time when the Alliance faced peril, he bought it time to recover." Cai'er's emotions seemed to have gradually stabilized, but she still held Long Haochen very tightly. Her pert little bottom rested on his thigh, its soft elasticity going unnoticed because Long Haochen was equally immersed in her sorrow.

"The Reincarnation Spiritual Stove is immensely powerful. Especially when paired with the divine Reincarnation Sword, it can unleash unimaginable destructive force. Back then, the Child of Reincarnation had only recently entered the ninth step, and his total internal spiritual power was still under two hundred thousand. Yet the Demon God Emperor was a supreme powerhouse with nearly a million in internal spiritual power. Relying on the Reincarnation Spiritual Stove and the Reincarnation Sword, he actually managed to mutually destroy the Demon God Emperor. He became a legend of our Assassin Temple."

"But cultivating the Reincarnation Spiritual Stove also requires paying an enormous price." As Cai'er said this, her emotions seemed to darken considerably.

"To gain the acknowledgment of the Reincarnation Spiritual Stove and the Reincarnation Sword, one must first possess the Reincarnation Physique—an assassin with Innate Internal Spiritual Power exceeding ninety. Under the effects of the Reincarnation Spiritual Stove, my Innate Internal Spiritual Power was ultimately raised to its peak: one hundred. To truly wield the power of the Reincarnation Spiritual Stove, aside from constant cultivation, the body must also endure continuous trials, even torture. From that time onward, I began losing my six senses one by one."

"First came my sense of smell, then my hearing, then my sense of taste. The most terrifying period was when I lost sensation and touch. When I could no longer feel anything or receive any feedback, I couldn't even control my own body. I lay in a cold, gloomy place for two and a half whole years before gradually recovering. The sixth thing I lost was my sight. So now, I can't see you."

As she spoke, Cai'er withdrew one hand from behind Long Haochen's back and gently stroked his face.

Long Haochen's heart trembled. He had always known that on the path of cultivation, he possessed not only talent, but had also worked very hard. But compared to what Cai'er had endured, what did his efforts amount to? How much torture had Cai'er suffered to achieve what she had today?

"Several times, I truly couldn't hold on any longer. Especially when I lay there for two and a half years, unable to move at all. I was truly about to go mad. Back then, I felt there was nothing left to live for. Since there was so much suffering, death would be better. But whenever that thought appeared, the image of a fool would emerge in my heart. A fool who had no real ability, yet used his own body to shield me. A fool who stood up for me against powerful enemies, who was willing to protect someone he had only just met from everything."

"It was that very fool who planted a warm seed in my heart. Relying on the warmth it gave off, I felt that life was still worth living. I began looking forward to the day I could repay him. It was that support in my heart that allowed me to persevere. Whenever the Reincarnation Spiritual Stove tortured me beyond endurance, I would think of that fool who protected me when I had lost my sense of taste and my ability to speak."

"You... are that fool. That kind-hearted fool. My fool."

At those words, tears flowed from Cai'er's eyes again. But unlike before, these were no longer tears of pain and sorrow. They were tears of happiness at having grasped that single thread of warmth.

Long Haochen said blankly, "You... you were that little girl back then?"

Cai'er suddenly laughed through her tears. "You really are a fool. If I hadn't known you, why would I have let you take me home the very day we met?"

Long Haochen stared at her in a daze. "But we both grew up. I didn't recognize you! How did you recognize me?"

Cai'er gently touched the Forget-Me-Not ring on his hand. "That day, you seemed to be putting your weapon back into the ring. I had been about to leave, but then I suddenly sensed Forget-Me-Not's energy fluctuations.

"I've worn it since I was little, so I'm far too familiar with it. Later, when I asked you to hold my hand, it was to confirm that it really was it. Then I asked your name. How could I not know it was you, you fool? You were still just as foolish—seeing a blind girl you didn't know and immediately wanting to help me."

"So that's what happened. I was wondering why you suddenly changed your attitude that day." Only then did Long Haochen understand.

Cai'er said softly, "I never thought I would see you again so soon. I had planned to find you after I completed the final stage of cultivating the Reincarnation Spiritual Stove. I didn't know what you would become like, but I wanted to repay the warmth you gave me back then. Yet you simply appeared before me. Perhaps this is fate."

"Do you know? That was the happiest period of my life. Every day, I waited for you to take me home, to walk that short stretch of road while you held my hand. The warm seed in my heart seemed to take root and sprout. When you told me that day that you would protect me for a lifetime, I knew that I finally had family again. I was no longer alone. Only by your side could I feel that I was a person, not a weapon made for killing."

"You're not a weapon. You're a person. You're my Cai'er." Long Haochen hugged her tightly, as if afraid that he would lose her.

Cai'er closed her eyes and nestled against Long Haochen's chest. Warmed by his body, her breathing gradually became even, and she fell asleep in his arms just like that.

Curled up in Long Haochen's embrace, she was so quiet. A few crystalline tears still clung to her long eyelashes. Her slightly pale, lovely face had gained a hint of rosy color, seemingly brought by warmth, and a satisfied smile rested at the corners of her lips.

She slept deeply. Even after Long Haochen gently laid her on the bed, she did not stir in the slightest. Long Haochen wanted to leave, but Cai'er held him too tightly, far too tightly. In the end, he could not bear to leave just like that. Looking at her peaceful sleeping face, all he felt was tenderness.

He carefully pried Cai'er's hands apart, then wrapped her delicate body in the blanket. Only then did he lie down himself, holding the blanket-wrapped Cai'er and keeping her head against his chest. That way, there would not be too much contact between their bodies. He never wanted Cai'er to suffer even the slightest harm, not even the small embarrassment she might feel upon waking.

Cai'er's longing for warmth had surpassed even his obsession with cultivation in Long Haochen's heart.

He wanted to give her that warmth.

He gently kissed her forehead. "I'll always be your fool."