For a moment, no one spoke.
Kuang Yuanba's expression turned complicated. He furrowed his brows slightly and asked Gu Jun, "If Brother Lian hadn't stepped in earlier, wouldn't you have hurt a lot of innocent people?"
Gu Jun's expression didn't change. He nodded. "Yes."
At that, no one spoke for a moment.
He couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "Why would you do that? What if Brother Lian hadn't stepped in? Were you going to kill everyone?"
The string of questions left Gu Jun silent. He didn't say another word.
Xiao Lian, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke. "He was certain I'd step in. He also wanted to see whether my true strength met his standards, so he could tell me what he was after."
Everyone froze. Su Ran asked softly, almost in a daze, "You mean that thing where you'd get the Witch Spirit Sword as payment for killing that... Elder?"
Gu Jun looked at her gravely and nodded. "That's right. It's the only reason I'm alive now—my only reason for living."
Kuang Yuanba sighed, his face full of helplessness. "You still won't give up on revenge?"
Gu Jun turned back to him, suddenly wearing a faint smile. "Brother Ba, you know, when you saved me back then, I wasn't grateful to you at all."
"I even hated you. Why did you save me? Why didn't you let me die with them?"
Kuang Yuanba nodded with a sigh. "I know. After that, you tried more than once to find a chance to kill me, didn't you?"
Gu Jun smiled. "That's right. But little by little, I came to understand. Since I'd survived, I might as well cultivate hard and look for a chance to avenge them. From then on, there were only two things