Opening the Heart

Huo Yu'er remained silent for a long time.

The lake breeze blew past, lifting the stray hairs on her forehead. She kept her head down, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her shirt, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force. Lin Shuo did not urge her, simply sitting quietly by her side, his gaze resting on the last trace of dark orange afterglow on the distant lake surface.

"Big Brother Lin," her voice was very soft, as light as a feather landing on the water, "actually... I escaped from the Duke White Tiger Mansion."

The lake breeze grew colder.

Huo Yu'er's voice trembled slightly in the twilight, as if it had taken a great deal of effort to force these words out.

"My mother... was originally the personal head maid of the Duke White Tiger."

Her fingers twisted the hem of her shirt tighter.

"Later, Mother became pregnant with me. But when the Duke White Tiger went away to war, the affairs of the entire Duke's Mansion were managed by the Duchess. The Duchess was jealous that my mother had grown up with the Duke since childhood, so she drove us both into the servants' quarters. When I was eight years old, while I was helping my mother hang clothes, I was beaten by guards under Dai Huabin's orders. To protect me, my mother passed away a year ago just like that."

"I hate the Duke White Tiger Mansion. If it weren't for them, Mother wouldn't have left this world so early."

The last of the afterglow sank below the horizon, and twilight completely enveloped the shores of Sea God Lake. Lin Shuo withdrew his gaze from the distance and turned his head to look at the girl beside him.

She sat on the bench with her fists clenched, her shoulders taut like a string pulled to its limit. In her deep blue eyes surged twelve years of grievances, anger, and unwillingness. For the first time, there was no timid evasion in those eyes, only a scorching, almost overflowing hatred.

"Sigh." Lin Shuo heard an aged sigh. The sigh was extremely faint, yet it dragged a complex, indescribable tail—like reminiscence, like lamentation.

Lin Shuo ignored Electrolux; this Electrolux had finally made some movement after being nurtured in his spiritual sea for so long.

Lin Shuo reached out and gently pressed his hand onto Huo Yu'er's clenched fist. The fist was ice-cold, the knuckles unnaturally white from the strain.

"Yu'er, your hatred is not wrong."

Huo Yu'er looked up, meeting his pair of pure black eyes. There was nothing there that she feared seeing—no evasion, no strangeness born from knowing her background. That gaze was exactly the same as when they first met in the Star Dou Great Forest three months ago.

"Those who have hurt you, those who took your mother away—it is only natural that you hate them. You don't need to feel guilty for this, nor do you need to blame yourself. If someone tells you that you should forgive, it is only because they have never endured that kind of pain."

Huo Yu'er's eyes turned red, but she bit her lip hard, refusing to let the tears fall. She did not want to appear as a crybaby in front of Big Brother Lin.

Lin Shuo withdrew his hand, his tone still calm, yet possessing a certainty that made one dare not question him.

"But hatred can be your starting point, not your destination. Your mother certainly wouldn't want you to live your whole life carrying only hatred; she would want you to live with your head held high."

His gaze rested on Huo Yu'er's face. "Huo Yu'er is no longer the daughter of a maid who can be bullied at will. She is a student of Shrek Academy, she will be the champion of the freshman assessment, she is a possessor of a Body Martial Soul, a disciple of the Tang Sect, and a future powerhouse. One day, the people of the Duke White Tiger Mansion will all look at you with awe."

"You are going to seek revenge in the future, but I hope you can think clearly about who exactly you should be seeking revenge against. Do not forget this hatred, but do not let it blind your eyes."

Huo Yu'er lowered her head, her hands clenching even tighter. After a long time, she took a deep breath, and when she looked up again, the hatred remained in those deep blue eyes, but beneath it lay something more solid.

"Big Brother Lin, thank you. Thank you for not urging me to let go. I promise you—I will not let hatred blind me. I want to become strong, strong enough to avenge my mother, strong enough that those people can never hurt me again."

She paused, her lips curling into a somewhat clumsy yet incredibly earnest arc.

"Strong enough that if you ever have trouble in the future, I can stand in front of you."

Lin Shuo was stunned for a moment. "Alright," he said, standing up and reaching out a hand to her. "Then it's a deal. Future master Huo Yu'er, go back and rest now; there's still the final tomorrow. As for that brother of yours, you will avenge your mother yourself in the future; I will give him a little lesson tomorrow."

Huo Yu'er grabbed his hand and stood up from the bench. She realized her hands were no longer shaking.

After seeing Huo Yu'er back to her dormitory, Lin Shuo returned to Dorm 108 alone. Moonlight spilled in through the window lattice, dividing the stone floor into a grid of light and shadow. Lin Shuo did not turn on the light; he walked to the bed, sat down, and closed his eyes in the darkness.

His consciousness sank into his spiritual sea.

This was a vast, boundless ocean, with seven-colored light flowing slowly through the void—that was the origin of his martial soul. At the edge of the spiritual sea, a mass of gray air was floating quietly, much more solid than it had been three months ago, with the faint outline of a human figure visible. Lin Shuo stopped in front of the gray air.

"Old Senior, you're awake?"

The gray air fluctuated slowly, and then an aged, peaceful voice echoed in the spiritual sea.

"Little friend, this old man comes from another world. Because I sensed the aura of the Gold of Life upon you, this wisp of a remnant soul was attracted and settled into your body."

"After being nurtured by you for this period of time, I have also recovered some memories. My name is the Necromancy Holy Magic God, Scourge of the Undead—Electrolux."

"Little friend, you are not simple!" Electrolux sighed. "Such a powerful dragon bloodline—I fear I never saw its like even when I was alive. This old man is now but a wisp of a remnant soul; I bear you no malice, and I fear I will be unable to leave you from now on. If you have any needs, little friend, you may inform me. This old man still has some research into light magic, the power of purification, and necromancy."

Lin Shuo nodded slightly without continuing to press. As a transmigrator, he knew enough about Electrolux. "Old Electrolux, feel free to rest here. If you have any needs in the future, just say so. If I have any needs, I will trouble you as well."

The gray air swayed slightly, and the aged voice sounded again: "Then this old man will shamelessly continue to reside in your spiritual sea. I heard everything you said to that Huo Yu'er just now. Back then, I seemed to have been blinded by hatred, leading to irreversible consequences."

He paused, remaining silent for a moment before continuing.

"You said, do not let hatred blind your eyes."

Faint ripples appeared at the edge of the gray air, as if some emotion were surging within it only to be suppressed.

"If I had understood this principle, perhaps some things that happened later would not have come to pass."

After Electrolux finished speaking, his aura fell silent.