On Spirit Peak, within the small courtyard, the light in Qiu Min's eyes dimmed once more. When she had seen Taishan "return from the dead," she had still harbored a sliver of hope, wondering whether Feng Wujiang had done the same—erased his Battlefield Mark and hidden somewhere all these years without showing himself.
But hope was only hope in the end.
It made sense. If he were truly alive, he could not possibly have remained hidden for so many years, much less refused to see his own daughter.
Feng Wujiang had, after all, died long ago.
"Where have you been all these years?" Qiu Min gathered herself and asked.
"Wandering about, seeing the world. I never stayed anywhere for long," Taishan replied with a smile.
"Why did you fake your death? Were you hiding from someone?"
"Not at all. Senior Sister Qiu need not overthink it. There were simply some matters that I could not understand while trapped within the situation back then. Only by stepping out could I see them more clearly."
Qiu Min frowned slightly. Taishan's words were vague and incomprehensible to her. She increasingly felt that the Taishan before her was vastly different from the one in her memories.
"Then... have you seen clearly now?"
Taishan slowly shook his head. "It is baffling and shrouded in mist, but at least I am no longer as utterly directionless as before."
"That's good." Qiu Min nodded.
The two chatted idly for a while longer.
Then Taishan said, "Senior Sister Qiu, I actually came to see you this time because I need something."
Qiu Min looked at Taishan and smiled. "Just say it. With the friendship we have shared for so many years, why be so formal?"
Taishan stared into Qiu Min's eyes, his expression solemn. "I need the thing