"It really has been a long time."
He Luo strolled through the Grain Rain, tilting his head as he watched the boy in the distance. One hand gestured slightly at his waist. "The last time I planted the Soul-Lost Charm in you, you were only this tall."
"Hold on, what did you say?"
Huai Shi raised a hand, took off the earbud in his right ear, and looked at him in confusion.
As though he had not heard him.
Unmoved.
"It's fine. You probably forgot."
He Luo walked leisurely, unusually talkative. "It might actually be a good thing if you can't remember. After all—your parents were killed by my own hand."
He paused, tilting his head as he recalled it. "You might feel a little awkward hearing this, but they were still begging for mercy right up until they died. It was rather unbecoming."
Unexpectedly, the boy remained calm and even gave a slight nod.
"I actually agree with that," he said. "After all, they never set much of a good example from the time I was little."
A flicker of astonishment passed through He Luo's eyes, and his steps stalled for an instant.
"I know you're trying very hard to make me angry. Unfortunately for you, calm is what I have in greatest abundance right now."
Huai Shi pointed at his head, his tone gentle. "So there's no need to keep playing those little tricks. Just tell me—"
The ornate ritual blade collided with the invisible axe in midair, throwing sparks that illuminated that face, cold as iron.
"—How do you want to die?"
Wind and rain crashed down upon them!
The heavy curtain of rain was cut apart by the ritual blade's slash. Huai Shi seemed to lose all weight and merge with the wind. In an instant,