Pei Yiman

Faced with Ling Wuyuan's firm and decisive refusal,

the little girl's face showed unmistakable disappointment.

To someone like her, who had never had many friends to begin with, Ling Wuyuan—a guy willing to risk his life for her—might only have been someone she had met not long ago, but he already counted as a friend, even a reliable support of sorts.

When trouble came, he truly stepped up.

That alone

already made him better than countless so-called close friends she had known for years.

So after being rejected by him, her face held not only disappointment, but also a trace of unwillingness to accept it.

Still,

after opening her mouth,

she ultimately said nothing more.

She understood that, at this very moment, neither of them knew what lay ahead.

Besides,

just as Ling Wuyuan had said before, during an escape, one person being too strong while the other was too weak could easily result in one dragging the other down, leading to both of them being wiped out.

However,

even so, the disappointment on her face was still rather difficult to conceal.

Seeing her like this,

and wanting to find something to talk about, Ling Wuyuan voiced a question that had been on his mind.

"Why did you give me the qualification to use the [Spirit Awakening Ritual] during the day?"

"Huh?"

Still feeling dejected, the little girl looked up in surprise. "You knew we were the ones who gave you the qualification?"

"...After all, out of everyone on the stage, only you and your Patriarch looked at me strangely."

Noticing Ling Wuyuan's choice of words,

the little girl scratched her head slightly.

"Was my gaze really that strange..."

"I was only curious. You obviously looked like you were having a terrible life, yet you had this inexplicable air of freedom and ease about you."

"When the Patriarch saw that I was a little curious about you, he meant well and directly asked whether I was interested in taking you in as a family servant. He planned to give you some opportunities to change your life, which was why he paid special attention to you..."

At this point,

she turned her face away somewhat awkwardly.

"To be honest, I was a little envious of that carefree air of yours..."

Her parents had died early, and in recent years, her outstanding aptitude had made her the focus of her entire family's expectations. Inevitably, she carried a certain invisible pressure—a pressure born of life and circumstance. That was why she had been curious about Ling Wuyuan, whose pressure was clearly countless times greater than hers, yet who still lived so freely.

After saying that,

perhaps recalling something, she sighed.

"But now, everything has changed..."

"Originally, I had planned to let you pick out some suitable martial arts from our family to cultivate..."

"I imagine that if this hadn't happened, you could have become one of the family's backbone members."

Hearing that,

Ling Wuyuan slowly let out a sigh and could only shake his head slightly.

"If I gain it, it is my fortune; if I lose it, it is my fate."

"Being able to obtain the [Spirit Awakening Ritual] is already an immense blessing to me!"

"My fate has already changed because of it."

"Therefore, my gratitude toward you will not change."

To him, the enhancement of his physical fitness and the awakening of his abilities were like a life on hard difficulty suddenly transforming into normal difficulty—or even easy difficulty.

For one thing,

he at least now had the confidence that he would not starve to death.

So his words to the little girl came entirely from the heart.

Then, Ling Wuyuan looked at the little girl with an extremely solemn expression and said,

"Though this may sound a little pessimistic,"

"after we part today, whether either of us lives or dies is impossible to say. So, do you have any wishes?"

"If you do, I would like to hear them."

"If I am fortunate enough to survive in the years ahead while you are unfortunate enough to die, I will do my best to fulfill your wish for you."

At first, the little girl wanted to say there was no need, that she had no wishes. But after a brief hesitation, she ultimately spoke with hatred in her eyes.

"Then help me take revenge!"

"If you gain the strength to avenge me in the future, then please help me avenge the destruction of my family!!"

"I want them to die more miserably than my clansmen did!!!"

The little girl's words were filled with undisguised hatred.

And repaying vengeance with vengeance was human nature.

At the very least, it was far more human than repaying resentment with kindness.

So Ling Wuyuan did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately nodded.

"All right."

He promised her face-to-face.

"If I gain sufficient strength in the future, I guarantee that I will make your enemies die miserably enough."

As for if he was not strong enough?

Then there would be nothing he could do...

Ling Wuyuan could only say that he would do his best.

"What about you?"

"Do you have any wishes?"

Faced with that question,

Ling Wuyuan thought for a moment before answering frankly.

"To be honest, I do not have any wishes."

"Or rather, no one else can fulfill my wish for me."

"After all, my wish is to become strong enough to do whatever I please..."

Hearing that his wish was so real and unpretentious, the little girl was left somewhat speechless.

His wish

really was not something others could easily help him achieve.

She could hardly say, Then I'll enjoy life in your place in the future, right?

It was not impossible,

but something about it felt off...

"If nothing else, then treat me to a meal the next time we meet."

As the saying went, if you did not know what you wanted, then let the other person treat you to a meal.

Ling Wuyuan chose the simplest approach.

"All right then..."

Though she was somewhat dissatisfied with such a wish, thinking that it might represent the two of them meeting again, the little girl immediately agreed.

At this moment, when they were about to part,

the little girl asked Ling Wuyuan with utmost seriousness, "What is your name?"

"Ling Wuyuan."

Ling Wuyuan smiled and asked,

"What about you?"

The little girl answered proudly, "Pei Yiman!"

"That is my name!"

"Now, I have firmly remembered your name."

"So you must firmly remember mine as well. When we meet again, you absolutely cannot forget what my name is!"

Naturally, Ling Wuyuan readily agreed. "No problem."

"I will definitely remember it!"

At that moment, the little girl named Pei Yiman smiled and hugged Ling Wuyuan.

"Then, take care!"

Feeling her slightly trembling body, Ling Wuyuan had not expected her to pull something like this. After briefly freezing, he reached out and hugged her as well.

"Mhm..."

"Take care!"

"Finally, you must remember one thing."

Without raising her head,

Pei Yiman, clinging tightly to Ling Wuyuan, merely asked in a muffled voice, "What is it?"

"You must be ruthless enough, and you must be decisive enough!!"

The next moment,

Pei Yiman answered seriously,

"All right!"

"I understand!"