Luo Chuan nodded gently and said in a soft voice, "I understand. I will talk to her and make things clear."
"After all... it was my own decision back then."
Luo Chuan slowly stood up, gazing into the distance. Then, with a flicker, he appeared in the secluded bamboo forest behind the Hengyue Sect.
The wind rustled through the bamboo leaves, carrying a touch of desolation.
Lin Junwan sat alone on a blue stone, her slender shoulders trembling slightly, and she would occasionally raise her hand to quietly wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
She gazed at the distant sea of clouds, her eyes vacant, filled with grievance and loneliness.
For so many years, she kept those feelings hidden in her heart, growing from an innocent girl into a graceful young woman, but in Brother Lin Mu's eyes, there was only the long-gone Yao Xixue.
She thought that as long as she kept waiting, she would eventually be seen, but in the end, all that was left was bitterness in her heart.
The footsteps slowly approached.
Lin Junwan's heart tightened. She quickly wiped away the tears on her face, forcing herself to remain calm as she turned around. When she saw that it was Luo Chuan, her eyes widened in surprise, followed by a hint of panic, and even her voice trembled with a barely perceptible sob.
" Lin Mu... I shouldn't address you as Ancestor Luo Chuan."
Lin Junwan still habitually addressed him respectfully as "Old Ancestor," as if doing so would create some distance and conceal the overflowing emotions and sadness in her heart.
Looking at her red eyes and slightly red nose, Luo Chuan sighed softly. He walked slowly to the bluestone, his gaze calm yet filled with sincere apology, and said softly, " Jun Wan, I'm sorry."
Lin Junwan was startled and looked up at him, her eyes filled with astonishment.
Luo Chuan looked at her, his voice low and earnest. "Because of Yao Xixue's past, because I've been dwelling on the past, I've made you wait for so many years, and I've made you suffer so much pain you shouldn't have... It's all my fault."
As Luo Chuan uttered those words, Lin Junwan's tears, which she had been holding back, instantly blurred her vision again.
Back then, she always regarded Luo Chuan as her idol, but after learning that her existence was only to revive Yao Xixue, her heart was filled with pain.
After all, she always regarded Luo Chuan as her brother, but she never expected that she was just a substitute for him in order to revive Yao Xixue.
Luo Chuan sighed softly and said, "Now that I have removed Xue'er's soul from your body, and it has already been reincarnated, no one will harm you from now on."
Upon hearing this, Lin Junwan trembled violently and froze on the bluestone.
The huge weight that had been pressing on her heart for so many years, keeping her up at night, finally... came crashing down to her feet.
She is not Lin Junwan; she is Yao Xixue's substitute, a vessel for a remnant soul, and a tool for Luo Chuan to resurrect his former love.
From the day she learned the truth, this thought was like a poisonous thorn, deeply embedded in the softest part of her heart, impossible to remove or dispel.
Lin Junwan was terrified, afraid that she had never truly lived, and that all her joy, attachment, and waiting were, in Luo Chuan's eyes, merely because of another woman.
Hearing Luo Chuan admit that he had extracted Yao Xixue's soul and sent it into reincarnation, she realized that from now on, she was only Lin Junwan and no longer a substitute for anyone.
Tears could no longer be held back, rolling down in large drops that splashed onto my clothes, leaving a small wet patch.
Lin Junwan bit her lip tightly, not wanting to lose her composure in front of him, but her shoulders trembled uncontrollably, and her sobs were suppressed in her throat, making people's hearts ache.
Seeing her crying so helplessly, Luo Chuan felt even more guilty. He slightly raised his hand, his fingertips hovering in mid-air above her head, and finally gently lowered it, softly stroking the top of her head, his movements so light that he was afraid of disturbing her.
"Back then, I was so stubborn that I mistakenly took you as the only hope to awaken Xue'er. I never asked if you were willing, and I never considered your feelings."
Luo Chuan's voice was low and deep, carrying a hint of regret after years of experience. "It was me, Luo Chuan, who made you live in someone else's shadow, who made you bear a destiny that wasn't yours. I'm sorry."
Lin Junwan raised her tear-streaked face, her eyes blurry with tears as she gazed at the man she had looked up to her entire life.
He was the supreme patriarch of the Hengyue Sect, a legend who shook the Vermilion Bird Planet, and a powerful figure who could turn the world upside down with a flick of his wrist. But at this moment, there was only sincere apology in his eyes, not a trace of arrogance.
Lin Junwan choked back tears, her voice broken and fragmented. "I... I always thought that in your heart, I was just a shadow of Sister Xue'er... I was never Lin Junwan."
Luo Chuan gently shook his head, his gaze earnest and solemn. "I was confused before, but from this day forward, you are you, Lin Junwan who grew up in the Yuntian Sect, you are unique."
No longer a container, no longer a substitute, and certainly not anyone's shadow.
"From now on, you can focus on your cultivation, live your life in peace, go wherever you want, and do whatever you want."
I swear in the name of the patriarch of the Hengyue Sect that no one will ever again bind you with fate, and no one will ever again let you suffer the slightest injustice."
The wind rustled through the bamboo forest, as if softly echoing this long-overdue apology.
Lin Junwan gazed at Luo Chuan, tears still flowing, but this time, they were no longer bitterness and despair, but a sense of relief that had been suppressed for many years, finally being seen, understood, and liberated.
She lowered her head gently, her voice barely audible, yet carrying an unprecedented ease. "Thank you... Luo Chuan."
Luo Chuan looked at Lin Junwan in front of him, nodded slightly, and then said, "Cultivate diligently, and one day you too can leave Vermilion Bird Planet and roam freely in the Cultivation Alliance Star Domain."
"And I... must return to the Demon Spirit Land to reopen the cave of Immortal Emperor Qing Lin."
Upon learning that her Luo Chuan was leaving, Lin Junwan did not stop him, after all, she was only at the Nascent Soul Realm stage and had no way to help him with anything.
After bidding farewell to everyone, Luo Chuan took the Big-Headed Boy into his Immortal Mansion and then planned to leave Vermilion Bird Planet for the cave of Immortal Emperor Qinglin in the Demon Spirit Land.
Many years have passed since I left, and I have not returned. I wonder what has become of my former friends and the Soul Refining Tribe in the Demon Spirit Land.
When they left, Tian Yunzi and the others were chasing them. If it weren't for the help of Blood Ancestor Yao Xinghai, they would probably have died tragically at the hands of those old guys long ago.
If I ever get the chance, I will definitely kill those guys who hurt me!
Luo Chuan stood with one hand behind his back, gazing at the gradually dissipating clouds and mist. Then he slowly turned around, looking reluctantly at the ever-shrinking Vermilion Bird Planet.
" Vermilion Bird Planet... see you next time."