Jingliu's influence on Blade ran too deep.
She was the one who had shaped Yingxing into the Blade he was today.
Yingxing suffered, and Jingliu believed that only death could end his suffering and wash away his sins.
Blade believed the same.
So when the Stellaron Hunters tried to recruit him, the only thing that could move him was the promise of death in the future.
Perhaps that was simply Blade's fate.
It had been decided the moment Jingliu took him out of the Prison of Deep Seclusion.
Jingliu would not allow Blade to change. He had to suffer constantly, until his death, to repay the debt he owed.
Not even the slightest change was permitted.
Yet when Kafka stood in front of Blade, Jingliu stared at her for a long time through her black veil, but ultimately said nothing.
She gave Blade one last look. The man remained silent, without a word.
Jingliu still remembered their first meeting. The boy had been shorter than her sword, yet he had declared that he would master every craft in the Artisanship Commission. A mere pup of a short-life species, with barely a century to live, and so arrogant. If Baiheng hadn't looked after him, she would never have wanted to know such an irritating fellow.
How could a short-life species compare to a long-life species with centuries of experience?
Yet when Jingliu saw him again, that little pup had grown into a man taller than her. He had made a brilliant name for himself in the Artisanship Commission and earned the honor every Xianzhou artisan dreamed of.
By tradition, an artisan who earned that honor could take charge of the Artisanship Commission.
But despite earning it, he had been shut out.
A short-life species, and an Outworlder at that-wouldn't putting him