Sitting in the carriage on the way back, Qin Chao touched his disheveled hair and sank into sorrow.
What happened to giving herself to me?! Why was my hair the only casualty?!
Qin Chao had thought Hu Liena had certain unusual tastes and had even prepared himself to surrender his body. Who could have guessed that she would merely give his head a thorough mauling, looking for all the world like a devoted cat owner?
Did I really look that much like a pet?
For the first time, Qin Chao began to question his own species...
Upon returning to Spirit Hall, Qin Chao had intended to tidy his hair first, but the guard at the entrance stopped him.
"His Holiness the Pope has ordered you to go straight to the main hall upon your return..."
With orders from the beautiful Pope, Qin Chao naturally dared not disobey. He cast a resentful glance at the gloating Hu Liena, then strode into the main hall with his head high and chest out, wearing the expression of a man marching bravely to his death.
"Greetings, Your Holiness..."
Inside the main hall, Bibi Dong wore a brilliant gold formal gown, looking as noble and beautiful as ever.
Hearing his voice, she looked up from her documents, an unconscious smile touching her lips.
"I already told you not to worry about those formalities... your hair?"
Bibi Dong was momentarily speechless, then laughed at Qin Chao's sorry appearance. "Haha, Nana did that, didn't she? That girl just loves fluffy things..."
She waved gently, beckoning Qin Chao to her side. As she looked at the gloomy little fellow, her eyes brimmed with tenderness.
He had only been away for a little over a month, yet Qin Chao seemed to have grown considerably taller. She naturally spread her arms and gathered him into her embrace.
"Little fellow, did you enjoy your trip?"
Bibi Dong asked softly, like a mother welcoming her child home, with none of the Pope's noble aloofness.
The familiar, rich fragrance reached Qin Chao's nose, and he immediately relaxed, settling comfortably into Bibi Dong's embrace. "Of course I was happy to see Grandpa again. And now I can finally help him. It really gives me a sense of accomplishment..."
He raised his head, his gaze utterly sincere. "Thank you..."
Without quite knowing why, Qin Chao blurted out his thanks.
Soul Masters' stipends were provided by the empire, but Spirit Hall was responsible for Martial Soul Awakening. They had discovered countless commoner Soul Masters whose talents would otherwise have remained buried. It was because of them that the common people of the Douluo Continent had hope.
Bibi Dong said nothing, merely reaching out to pat Qin Chao's shoulder gently.
She understood exactly where his gratitude came from, and vaguely felt as though she had found a kindred spirit.
Wherever there were people, there would be darkness. The Douluo Continent had never been an innocent Eden, and Spirit Hall's original purpose had been to bring a little light into that darkness.
From dealing with Fallen Soul Masters in the beginning to conducting awakening ceremonies now, Spirit Hall had never been an evil organization. But I...
"Did you meet a man named Yu Xiaogang while you were away...?" Spirit Hall had eyes and ears everywhere, and Qin Chao and Hu Liena were both members of the Golden Generation Plan. Naturally, Bibi Dong paid particular attention to their travels.
Qin Chao nodded. He had been planning to find an excuse to discuss this with Bibi Dong anyway. Since she had brought it up herself, he was spared the trouble of finding one...
"How is he doing now?" Bibi Dong's lips moved hesitantly, and after a moment's indecision, she finally asked the question.
"Pretty well, I suppose. He seemed a little forlorn, but after taking a disciple, he was clearly in much better spirits. It seemed he'd found something to anchor himself to..." Qin Chao gave a full, honest account of his impressions of Grandmaster.
"Although he looks gentle and refined, I always felt there was a certain aloofness and indifference deep in his bones. Only when he was facing Tang San did he seem like a living person..."
Bibi Dong looked thoughtful at his words. "A disciple... Tang San..." Her eyes flickered with complicated emotions: bewilderment, resentment, but above all, pain.
"Beautiful sister, is he a friend of yours?" Qin Chao asked, though he already knew the answer.
"A friend? Forget it. He doesn't want to be my friend, and I... hate him..."
Those were her darkest, most painful memories. Her lover had betrayed their love and chosen his own younger sister instead. Thanks to him, she had become Pope, but some wounds could never be healed by time.
Qin Chao reached out and gently brushed Bibi Dong's exquisite cheek. At some point, tears had already wet her face.
"Sister, I don't know exactly what happened between you and him, but I do know one thing. If thinking of him hurts you, then don't think of him..."
At Qin Chao's words, Bibi Dong smiled, but her smile was bitter.
Not think of him? How could that possibly be?
She hated Grandmaster, and had hated him for more than ten long years. The deeper her love had once been, the harder her hatred was to quell now.
"Qin Chao, you're still too young. You don't understand. The adult world isn't that simple. Sometimes, forgetting is the greatest luxury of all..."
"That's right, I don't understand. But I do understand one truth: what has abandoned me-the days of yesterday-cannot be kept!" Qin Chao lifted his head, his gaze exceptionally firm.
"Sister, whatever happened between you and him, it's already in the past. I wasn't the one who was hurt, so I have no right to speak of forgiveness on your behalf. I don't want you to forgive him, either. But those things are ultimately only the past..."
"No matter how dark the past was, the future will always hold a ray of light. Just like me before. Before my Martial Soul Awakening, I didn't even know whether I'd live to grow up. But now I have hope, and Spirit Hall gave me that hope..."
"I don't know whether Grandmaster is happy with his life now, but after he took Tang San as his disciple, the light in his eyes couldn't lie. He found a purpose in life, and something to anchor his feelings to. He has hope. What about you, sister?"
Qin Chao looked into Bibi Dong's eyes, little points of light shimmering in his gaze, bright as stars.
"Sister, I hope you won't remain imprisoned by the past, but will look toward the future instead. You're the Pope of Spirit Hall! If you let those old sorrows trap you, that wouldn't be like you at all..."
Back when he was reading the novel, Qin Chao had felt immense sympathy for Spirit Hall's female Pope. Her life had been far too troubled, filled with pain and deceit. Yet after truly getting to know Bibi Dong, he had overturned his preconceived notions.
She was an empress, the empress of the Spirit Hall Empire. Her strength lay not only in her power, but also in her spirit. Circumstances had merely led her down a dead end, wedged into the tip of an ox's horn. Now, he would open a way out of that horn...
"The past... the future..." Bibi Dong repeated softly.
Perhaps because the pain of her youth had been carved so deeply into her bones, whenever she thought of Yu Xiaogang, she became that helpless, grief-stricken girl again. She had even forgotten that she was already strong enough now...
Qin Chao was right. Hatred belonged only to the past, while I still had so much future ahead of me...
Bibi Dong's eyes shone brightly. At last, she had untied the knot in her heart that had troubled her for so many years.
Since she could not forget, she would stop clinging to the need to forget. The past could not be reclaimed, but the future still held promise.
This world had been peaceful for too long. It was time to stir some waves...
Before you continue