"You know what happened after that."
With those words, Jiang Ling fell silent.
Over a hundred thousand years of memories, condensed into these few sentences.
After saying them aloud, she suddenly felt a little dazed.
She had never told anyone these things.
Why had she told him?
Perhaps because he had defeated an Immortal Emperor?
Perhaps these things had simply been bottled up in her heart for too long.
She took out the shattered Jade Token. "Zhu Yao said she and my father... were old acquaintances."
"I don't know whether that's true, but this is something my father left behind. I only trust it."
"I want all the Immortal Emperors dead."
"Zhu Yao's goal is the same as mine."
"So... we joined forces."
After hearing her out, Si Chen was silent for a moment. "Auntie, thank you for bearing all that."
Jiang Ling froze for a moment. "What?"
Si Chen looked at her and said earnestly, "Living so long on your own, carrying so much... it must have been hard."
Jiang Ling opened her mouth, unsure what to say for a moment.
Hard?
She had never thought that word could apply to her.
In the world of cultivators, who didn't have it hard?
To survive, to grow stronger, to take revenge-who wasn't gritting their teeth and pressing forward?
But now, looking into Si Chen's eyes, clear as spring water...
It was as though this truly was something that deserved compassion.
She opened her mouth, then looked away.
"...Busybody."
Si Chen smiled and said nothing more.
After a few breaths of silence, he suddenly added:
"My mother's cooking is pretty good too."
Jiang Ling's lashes trembled faintly.
Si Chen continued, "Would you like to come to Undying Mountain and try it, Auntie?"
"Just think of it as... a change of flavor."