Without a moment's hesitation, you pushed Mo Zhu forward. Mo Zhu looked at you, her face full of astonishment.
You merely gave Mo Zhu a faint smile.
"Go. I'll guard our home here. I'll wait for you to come back."
You smiled at Mo Zhu, though beneath that smile lay a trace of sorrow. Once one became a cultivator, one would stand high above the rest, no longer a mere mortal.
Who would want to miss such an opportunity?
Yet for the sake of the one you loved, you ultimately chose this path.
Mo Zhu fell silent. She knew your temperament—once you had made up your mind, it was difficult to change it.
After a moment of silence, Mo Zhu finally looked into your eyes and nodded.
"Wait for me to return. I'll teach you cultivation and protect you."
Leaving behind those words, Mo Zhu turned and left. You, meanwhile, smiled like a fool. You knew that with just those words, it was enough.
Mo Zhu was gone, and you drifted through every day as though you had lost your soul.
The villagers, even your parents, all felt it was not worth it for you. This was cultivation—an opportunity to become a cultivator! They all thought you had acted far too impulsively.
Yet you paid no heed to such gossip. You believed that what you had done was the most correct choice.
You worked the fields every day. Then, one night, you left the house alone and headed into the deep mountains. There was not much food left at home, and there were still half a month until the autumn harvest.
If this continued, your whole family would starve to death. You entered the mountains alone to hunt.
But deep in the mountains, you encountered a tiger. The only weapon