It Was Her...

"Aren't you going to eat something?"

Brother Jiang.

At the bow of the spaceship, Jiang Lin to Zhen Xian's side. Zhen Xian made a move to get up, but Jiang Lin gestured and sat down next to Zhen Xian.

In Jiang Lin's hand was a large skewer of lamb that had been grilled long ago.

Outside the spaceship, Niannian was riding on Sheng Yu's back, holding Xiao Jiu Yi, as they cruised around the spaceship.

Sheng Yu for a drive, he also relieved himself, and the little fountain that came out of his mouth always reminded Jiang Lin of a certain ZZ Goddess with light blue hair.

"Have you been nourishing her with your own Yang Qi all along?"

Looking at the Ink Plate in Zhen Xian's hand that housed the Female Soul, Jiang Lin asked.

"Um."

Zhen Xian didn't make any further pretense and nodded.

"This is what I owe her mother."

"..."

Jiang Lin was actually quite itchy to hear what kind of love and hate entanglements this youngest sage in Confucian history had gone through.

But hearing his weathered tone, Jiang Lin felt too embarrassed to ask.

Jiang Lin lay down, feeling the increasingly intense sword energy. After a month of travel, they had already entered the Ten Thousand Swords Continent.

Legend has it that Ten Thousand Swords Continent was formed in Ancient Times when the strongest human swordsman cleaved the earth with a single Ten Thousand Swords Continent strike.

It was from that time onward that the Sword Dao Luck in the Ten Thousand Swords Continent became extremely prosperous, Sword Cultivator emerged in great numbers.

"Although Young Master Jiang is Sword Cultivator, he possesses the refined manners of a Confucian scholar. Surely he still remembers the Three Restraints of a Gentleman?"

Just as Jiang Lin in thought, Zhen Xian spoke up.

Jiang Lin rolled his eyes at him. "A gentleman has three things to guard against: when young, when his blood and energy are not yet settled, he should guard against lust; when he is in his prime, when his blood and energy are vigorous, he should guard against fighting; when he is old, when his blood and energy have declined, he should guard against greed."

"What, what did you do wrong?"

"The first and the second."

"That's true, you're still young, you won't make a third mistake."

Zhen Xian shook his head and began to tell his story:

When I was young, I met a girl.

Her name is Su Fang.

She is beautiful and kind.

She has a pair of beautiful, bright eyes.

The braid was thick and long.

That day she asked me about my studies, and her handkerchief wiped my sweat; it smelled really good.

In my memory, she was lively and adorable, her Xiao Xiao braids swaying gently.

Before I knew it, she had already entered my heart.

But in my heart, we have no future together.

I became so engrossed in studying that I could not extricate myself, and could only gently bury that beautiful memory.

I closed the door to my own heart.

But on the day she left the Confucian Academy, she asked me about learning.

We then went to the riverbank.

Tears she had never shed before.

Flowing along with the stream.

I will never forget it in this lifetime.

Thank you for the kindness she showed me.

It accompanied me through countless summer nights.

Countless times I've looked back at the path I've walked.

My heartfelt blessings to that kind girl.

Jiang Lin was already singing aloud in his heart, heard Zhen Xian's voice stop abruptly. He turned around, and Zhen Xian poured a glass of wine from his Storage Bag: "And then?"

"And then..."

Zhen Xian downed the rice wine in one gulp.

"I thought I could forget her, but I overestimated myself. Every time I have free time, she is the only thing on my mind."

Three years later, a letter arrived from the Great General's Mansion of the Bei Ming Dynasty, in which she said she was getting married.

That day I was drunk all night, and tried to go down the mountain several times, but in the end I didn't even step out of the courtyard.

Five years later, the third prince of the Bei Han Dynasty heard that he had invited cultivators to help him seize the throne, so I took the initiative to accept the responsibility of supervision and went to the Bei Ming Dynasty.

What kind of surveillance was that? I can't even fool myself; it was just an excuse for me to see her.

The moment I saw her when she first came to the Wutong Academy, I knew I had broken the precept against lust.

After drinking another bowl of wine, Zhen Xian continued, at which point Jiang Lin had already replaced the wine bowl with a wine jar.

Ancient wine may not easily intoxicate, but it can easily break your heart.

"However, when I arrived at the general's mansion Moon Empress, it was already engulfed in flames."

Mortals are ultimately no match for cultivators.

The general's mansion was already destroyed, and amidst the corpses, I saw her commit suicide to preserve her innocence.

That very night, I stormed into the Third Prince's residence and slaughtered all the cultivators he had hired.

In the end, they didn't even spare the Third Prince, who was a mortal. When he died in front of me, I actually felt that it was too easy for him.

At that moment, I realized that I had violated the principle of "avoiding fighting."

After the deaths of the eldest and third princes, the only survivor was the eighth prince, who was not yet eleven years old, and he successfully ascended the throne.

But that's no longer important. What's important is that when the Bei Ming Dynasty stabilized and everyone who had been lost from the General's Mansion that night was taken into account, I learned that she had another daughter.

However, her daughter's body was not found in the general's residence.

At that moment, a candle was lit in my life.

Finally, after a thorough search by the Bei Ming Dynasty, on a cold winter day, I found a servant from the General's Mansion. Beside her was a four-year-old girl with a rosy face, named Hong Qin.

"Then why is she involved with the Sword Sect?"

"At that time, I originally planned to have the old servant of the general's mansion take her to hide in the bustling city and live a life without worries about food and clothing. However, when the old servant saw that I was an old friend of her young lady, he breathed his last after handing Hong Qin to me."

With Hong Qin by my side, I lived with her in the mortal world for two years, until Wutong Academy finally learned of my affairs and, having reached their limit of tolerance, came to arrest me.

Turning his head, Jiang Lin asked, "Why not take her back to the academy?"

Hearing Jiang Lin's words, Zhen Xian simply shook his head.

"I understand." Jiang Lin sighed softly. "It's not just that your master forbids it, fearing she might disturb your cultivation; it's also because of yourself—you don't want to take her back."

"Yes."

Zhen Xian gently stroked the Ink Plate.

"It's only been two years. She's only ten years old, and her little face is just beginning to show. Yet she already looks four or five parts like her mother. The guilt and self-blame keep tormenting me. If this continues, I'm afraid I'll become Become Devil."

Fortunately, at that time, an elder from the Sword Sect happened to be in Bei Ming Country selecting potential talents, and Hong Qin happened to possess sword talent, making her a natural talent for cultivating the sword path.

Wutong Province and Ten Thousand Swords Continent.

I thought we would never meet again in this life, and this was the best ending, because I killed the Third Prince. Although he colluded with cultivators and was not entirely innocent, he was still a mortal. According to the rules, I should return to the Wutong Academy to reflect on my mistakes in seclusion.

Unexpectedly...

Zhen Xian raised his head, looking at the white clouds flying across the sky, unsure whether to cry or laugh.

"When I walked out of Self-Reflection Peak after ten years of contemplation, the first thing I saw was her..."

[Starting tomorrow, I'll be updating three times a day, roughly...]