He was not as selfless as Zhou Ping, nor did he hold the world in his heart like King Mask. At the end of the day, he was still that boy from Cangnan City who had knelt beside the dying Zhao Kongcheng's body, pointed at the neon-lit city in the rain, and asked, "For them, is it worth it?"
He knew that his choice might betray the identity of a Night Watchman, but so what?
He had never joined the Night Watchmen to protect all living beings. He had joined for a ten-year promise.
Along the way, Lin Qiye had experienced much and met all kinds of Night Watchmen—Ye Fan, Zuo Qing, Li Deyang, King Mask, Lu Qiu... He admired the radiant spirit within them and had done his best to fulfill his duties and become a qualified Night Watchman.
But deep within his soul, he was still Lin Qiye first, and a Night Watchman second.
Just as was said when Under the Nightfall was founded, "The world is too vast, and there are too many people. We cannot manage them all, nor do we wish to... All I want is for those I cherish beneath this nightfall to be safe for all eternity..."
Within the reach of that nightfall, Lin Qiye could protect all living beings.
But he was still too weak. His nightfall could only protect those by his side, the people he cherished.
Perhaps doing this would let down King Mask. Perhaps it would make him unworthy of being a Night Watchman... But if he could stand here now, relying on the immortality Jialan had given him, and watch the people he cherished die before his eyes while he survived alone, then he would no longer be Lin Qiye.
Thus,
Lin Qiye passed through the murky seawater