Recognition?

Qian Daoliu slowly raised his eyes.

After a long while, he finally spoke. His voice was low and hoarse, carrying indescribable weariness and the weight of time, yet also an unquestionable resolve:

"This matter... concerns Spirit Hall's future, and Xue'er's own fate."

"Let her... choose for herself."

Golden Crocodile Douluo was stunned by those words, while a purple glint flashed through Bibi Dong's eyes. A cold, unreadable curve touched her lips.

"Hmph!"

Bibi Dong snorted and said nothing more as she abruptly rose to her feet.

The hem of her brilliant golden dress swept across the polished floor. Without even looking at the two worshippers, she turned and walked straight out of the conference room.

Qian Daoliu remained where he was, his gaze distant as his fingers unconsciously worried at his sleeve.

Evening.

After finishing his meditation and basic swordsmanship practice, Jiang Bai emerged from the back mountain and headed toward the dining hall.

As he passed the familiar lake, his steps slowed of their own accord.

By the lake sat a slender figure in gold, hugging her knees.

The evening breeze stirred her loose hair and pale skirt, making her silhouette seem somewhat frail in the twilight.

The same time, the same place, the same person.

Jiang Bai swept his gaze over the surroundings. The forest was quiet, with only the occasional chirp of birds returning to their nests.

After a brief hesitation, he still walked over.

After all, they could be considered acquaintances. Besides... judging by how she looked, it was probably because of her new Pope mother again.

He did not know that, at the exact moment he walked toward Qian Renxue, a figure hidden in the shadows turned his gaze toward them.

Qian Daoliu looked at his granddaughter's lonely back by the water and sighed inwardly, hesitating over whether to reveal himself and comfort her.

Or... whether he should find that little fellow who had once eased his granddaughter's mood and let him try.

Unexpectedly, the thought had barely formed when he saw Jiang Bai walking over on his own.

Qian Daoliu's eyes shifted slightly as he watched in silence.

Jiang Bai approached and sat beside Qian Renxue. Following her example, he looked out over the rippling lake.

After a moment, he spoke in as calm a tone as possible. "Senior Qian? What's wrong? Sitting here alone again?"

His voice broke the silence by the lake.

Qian Renxue did not turn around. She still hugged her legs, chin resting on her knees, her unfocused gaze fixed on the sky reddened by the sunset. Her voice was so light that it seemed like the wind could scatter it.

"Why... why does she never look at me?"

"I've worked so hard too. More than anyone, I want to make her satisfied... but in her eyes, I've never existed..."

There was none of the tearful breakdown from last time in her words, only bone-deep exhaustion, confusion, and sorrow.

Her beautiful purple eyes were still swollen and red, yet so dry that no new tears could fall. There was only endless bewilderment within them.

"You tell me..." She finally turned her head slightly and looked at Jiang Bai, her gaze as fragile as glass. "Am I useless?"

She sniffed, her voice low and thick with tears, as though she were speaking to herself.

"I... I only want one word of recognition from her. Even a nod, or just one glance, would be enough... but she won't."

"She... wants me to carry out a very secret, very dangerous mission. I have to go somewhere far away, hide my identity for ten years, twenty years, maybe even longer..."

"You're going undercover?"

Jiang Bai asked directly. He remembered that in the original story, Qian Renxue had indeed begun infiltrating the Heaven Dou Empire around this age.

Qian Renxue blinked blankly. Her swollen, reddened eyes made the action look a little comical.

She tilted her head at Jiang Bai. "How did you know it was undercover work? I don't think I said what the mission was."

"..."

What a foolish child. They were actually sending her undercover.

Looking at Qian Renxue's puzzled expression, which seemed to say, "I'm sad, but don't think you can fool me," Jiang Bai quickly patched things up.

"Secret mission, hidden identity for many years, going somewhere far away... aren't those the typical signs of going undercover? Unless you're going abroad to study?"

He did his best to make his tone sound like he was merely making a reasonable deduction.

Qian Renxue thought about it. She seemed to find it reasonable, lowered her head again, and gave a muffled "Oh," without asking further.

Jiang Bai shook his head helplessly and said seriously, "That doesn't make you useless."

Qian Renxue lifted her eyes and looked at him.

"Wanting someone else's recognition, especially recognition from someone you care about; wanting to speak with someone more; wanting them to see your efforts and strengths... that's only human. It's perfectly normal."

Jiang Bai's voice was steady and clear, as though he were stating a simple fact.

"As for whether she sees it, cherishes it, or is willing to give you the response you hope for... that's her problem, not your fault."

"You can't deny your own worth and efforts just because of her coldness and neglect, can you?"

Those words might have sounded commonplace, but to Qian Renxue at that moment, they were like a clear spring flowing through her dry, aching heart.

No one had ever said such things to her.

Her grandfather loved her, but his affection was more often protection and indulgence. He rarely touched upon such delicate emotional entanglements.

Jiang Bai's words were simple and direct. He was even somewhat unreasonably taking her side.

Qian Renxue lowered her head and slowly, awkwardly wiped the remaining dampness from the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand. She neither refuted nor agreed, only suddenly said,

"You don't seem to care much about what other people think, and you don't seem very interested in climbing higher."

"Everyone wants different things." Jiang Bai looked at the deepening night as he spoke.

"For me, being able to do what I want properly and being able to control my own strength and fate are more important—and more solid—than gaining someone's recognition or climbing to some predetermined position."

He paused, then turned toward her. His eyes fell on Qian Renxue's delicate profile, and his tone grew more serious, even carrying a trace of probing.

"What about you, Senior Qian? Do you still... want to carry out that long, dangerous undercover mission for the sake of gaining that recognition you may never receive?"

"I... I..."

Qian Renxue was stumped. She opened her mouth, only to find that she could not immediately give an answer.

Before this, perhaps she would have stubbornly thought, Fine, I'll go! I'll prove it to you! Or she might have bitterly wondered, If I complete it, will you finally accept me?

But now that Jiang Bai had questioned her so directly, she suddenly felt a bewilderment unlike anything she had known before.

It was not fear of the mission's dangers, but fear that she might give everything and still achieve nothing.

Seeing her hesitation, Jiang Bai slowly spoke. His voice was not loud, but it struck Qian Renxue's heart like a heavy hammer.

"Using your pride, talent, and youth as stakes; going to a completely unfamiliar and hostile place; pretending to be someone else and spending half your life there... is that recognition truly what you want most deeply in your heart?"

"If you go undercover and succeed, perhaps you'll get one sentence: 'Well done.' If you fail, perhaps there will be no return."

"But whether you succeed or fail, the right to explain, the standard of judgment, whether that recognition is given, and how much is given... will all remain firmly in her hands alone."

Jiang Bai's tone carried a calmness and clarity beyond his years.

"It's like a game where she sets every rule, while you have to wager your entire life and everything you possess. Even if you win, that recognition will likely be nothing more than a casual, condescending 'You should have done that,' or 'At least my arrangements weren't wasted.'"

"By then, you may find that what you wagered everything for was not a warm embrace or sincere praise at all, but a cold, preassigned label saying 'qualified.'"

"And what you lose will be the vivid life that should have been yours, a life that can never return."

Qian Renxue's body began trembling uncontrollably as Jiang Bai spoke.

It was not that she had never considered these things. She had simply been overwhelmed by intense longing and grievance, unwilling to think too deeply about them.

Now that Jiang Bai had laid them bare, the cold reality sent a chill through her bones.

Even Qian Daoliu, hidden in the shadows, could not help but be shaken. His gaze toward Jiang Bai was filled with astonishment.

This boy... was only six years old. How could he see through the games of human hearts, power, and emotion so clearly?

Those words did not sound like they came from a child at all. They sounded like the words of a wise man who had endured the vicissitudes of life and seen through the world!

He had originally only wanted Qian Renxue to choose for herself. He believed that whether she went or stayed, with the foundation of Spirit Hall and the Angel God, Qian Renxue could afford to make mistakes.

Even if her undercover mission failed and delayed her cultivation, she could make up for it through the Divine Examination.

Jiang Bai looked at Qian Renxue's pale face and trembling shoulders, knowing that his words had had an effect. He changed the subject, his tone becoming a little lighter.

"Senior Qian, want to hear a story?"

"???"

Qian Renxue raised her head in disbelief, her swollen eyes staring at Jiang Bai.

Her gaze seemed to say: At a time like this? I'm heartbroken and facing a major decision in my life! And you want to tell me a story? Look how much I've been crying!

Yet for some reason, perhaps because Jiang Bai's words had struck too hard, or perhaps because she subconsciously wanted to escape this suffocating reality—

Her little mouth moved beyond her control. In a voice thick with tears, she honestly asked,

"W-what story?"

Seeing her look so wronged and angry yet unable to suppress her curiosity, Jiang Bai could not help but curl his lips into a somewhat mysterious smile.

"Fusu's Death, Crown Prince Liu Ju, the Xuanwu Gate Incident, the Jingnan Campaign... which one would you like to hear first, Senior Qian?"

Qian Renxue was a little dazed, huge question marks seemingly filling her beautiful purple eyes.

Fusu? Liu Ju? Xuanwu Gate? The Jingnan Campaign?

What were all those things?

She blinked blankly, looked at Jiang Bai's expression that plainly said, "I have many stories to tell," hesitated for a moment, and finally let curiosity win out. Softly, she said,

"You... tell them one by one."