Bidding Farewell

Su Mo looked at Liu Feng, who had died atop the white crane with his face twisted in anguish, his expression conflicted.

Apart from feeling that those who had died unjustly deserved better, there was no other ripple in his heart.

The fear of his first killing was gone, as was the guilt. There was no empathy...

Was this the price of growing up?

Su Mo looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh...

I merely saw... and did what I wanted to do...

I suppose... I have avenged you...

Now you can rest in peace... can't you?

Suddenly, a red glow rose from Liu Cheng's dead body, and a mysterious fire ignited.

"Karma fire?"

The dark red flames burned with an unusual restraint, seemingly consuming only the corpse without harming anything else.

Within those flames, Liu Cheng turned to ash in the blink of an eye.

A gust of wind scattered the ashes across the air... where they became specks of light and vanished.

Within those specks of light, shadowy figures suddenly appeared...

"These are..." Ning Baixue murmured, staring at the figures that had appeared.

The white-haired Spirit Transformation elder sighed softly:

"...Resentful spirits who have found peace!"

These shadowy figures filled the entire sky above the forecourt, lending it an air of sorrow.

One after another, they gazed at the clear, bright sky, bewilderment in their eyes...

Ten thousand miles of clear sky, with the brilliant sun shining high...

The confusion gradually faded from the eyes of a figure cradling a swaddled infant. Looking around, she spotted the youthful figure below, dressed entirely in white, his hair tied up and his features delicate.

His eyes held complicated feelings, sincerity, and sympathy...

The figure cradling the infant seemed to understand something. Her gaze upon the young man below became filled with tenderness and gratitude.

She slowly bowed to Su Mo...

The bewilderment slowly receded from the eyes of the figures in the air, and all of them turned toward that familiar figure below.

That slender yet resolute figure, upright yet gentle...

Slowly, they too seemed to understand something...

The figure of a swordsman looked down at Su Mo and opened his mouth, seemingly remembering that Su Mo still owed him a flask of Apricot Blossom Village...

But he has even avenged me... I suppose that settles the debt...

The swordsman's spirit waved his empty hands at Su Mo a few times, his sleeves swinging, as though he still held a sword...

Seeing Su Mo's puzzled expression, the swordsman's spirit laughed heartily.

Then he sighed and bowed to Su Mo...

The spirit of a frail old woman stared blankly at Su Mo below. It was that familiar presence...

That tender comfort from that night...

"Granny said... she would cook dumplings for you..."

"And you said... you would come eat Granny's dumplings..."

That gaze... was full of reluctance to part...

A tiny figure came to her senses.

The little spirit lowered her gaze toward Su Mo, whose white robes fluttered gracefully, and Prince Ying, who stood in the forecourt holding his spear...

The person who, unlike that night when he had been dressed all in black, now wore white, just like her family.

And that imposing man with a heart as vast as the heavens... who stood only in the forecourt, yet seemed to stand between heaven and earth!

"Big brother..."

"Daddy..."

Prince Ying stared numbly at the tiny spirit in the air, his entire body trembling uncontrollably, swaying on the verge of collapse.

"Tongtong... Tongtong..."

"My poor Tongtong..."

"My poor... daughter..."

Prince Ying kept his eyes fixed on that tiny spirit, not daring to blink, terrified that the sweet little figure would disappear the moment he did.

"Tongtong... Tongtong..." Someone drifted into the forecourt, her long hair disheveled, as though it had not been tended to in a very long time.

The newcomer was stunningly beautiful and tall. But tears covered her pale, grief-stricken face as she looked at the tiny spirit in the air and wept bitterly! Even all her cultivation could not bring her daughter home!

"Mommy..."

The little spirit looked at the three people below, tilted her head, and broke into a smile...

That smile was like spring awakening... like a hundred flowers blooming at once!

"Tongtong... has come home..."

Thousands of spirits hovered above the Imperial Palace, and some of the people in the Imperial City looked up at them.

The people buzzed with discussion, none of them understanding what had happened.

Until someone spotted a familiar figure among that vast multitude of spirits...

A woman covered her face and wept as she looked at a spirit who resembled a butcher.

"That's... my child's father. That's... my child's father!"

"Child... child..." The woman turned toward the house and cried, "Come out... come out... look at your father again... look at your father again..."

A child ran out of the house. The woman pulled the child down to kneel on the ground and look up at the spirit in the air.

"Daddy..." the child murmured softly.

The butcher's spirit also saw his family below and grinned...

Something seemed to dawn upon the child's innocent mind. With tears streaming down, the child bowed deeply toward the sky...

"Your child..."

"Respectfully bids Daddy farewell..."

A group of students rushed out of their school and saw the spirit of their teacher in the air.

Outside the school, the students arranged themselves in rows and sat on the ground, just as they did inside their classroom.

Facing their teacher in the sky, they swayed their heads and began reciting the Rules for Disciples he had once taught them, which they had been unwilling to learn, exactly as they used to in class:

"The Rules for Disciples are the teachings of the Sage,

First, honor your parents and elders; next, be careful and trustworthy.

Love all people, and draw close to the benevolent.

With strength to spare, then study books.

When your parents call, answer without delay.

When your parents give an order, act without laziness.

When your parents teach, listen respectfully.

When your parents rebuke, accept obediently.

In winter, keep them warm; in summer, keep them cool.

Greet them in the morning; help them rest at dusk..."

The teacher's spirit in the air smiled through tears at the sight...

The students bowed deeply toward the sky...

"We, your students... respectfully bid... our teacher farewell..."

A man who looked like a scholar sat slumped beside the street, holding up a wine flask as he gazed at a lovely figure among the multitude of spirits above.

His eyes held boundless devotion!

And that delicate figure in the sky looked at the scholar and smiled faintly, her smile filled with endless tenderness and reluctance to part...

"In this life..."

"I failed you... In the next life, I will never be a scholar again..."

"We..."

The scholar took out a black pill, placed it in his mouth, and raised his wine to swallow it.

Seeing this, the lovely figure in the sky shook her head and sighed softly...

"...Will meet again in the next life!"

"In the next life... we'll meet again..."

The entire Imperial City sank into a stillness-not an absence of sound, yet an absolute stillness.

Farewells of every kind slowly unfolded!

Everyone in this world had their own sorrows, and love could be found everywhere...

How were they any different from you and me?

We were all miniature reflections of this vast world; some suffered, some rejoiced...

Amid our own sorrows and joys, we searched for that thread of affection which seemed intangible... yet might stay with us for a lifetime.

Entrusting it with our deepest love,

Embracing it as we said farewell...