[Thirteen seconds earlier, Li Shaobai lay in a pool of blood, his consciousness gradually blurring. His ears buzzed, and he could barely hear a thing.]
[Am I... going to die?]
["Shaobai... I'm sorry." The image of his gravely ill father surfaced before his eyes from his memories. "I made you shoulder the responsibility that should have been mine."]
[Ah, it was back then... when Father died of illness.]
[My life flashing before my eyes? That makes sense. I'm dying, after all.]
[As Li Shaobai thought this, his elderly father's voice grew clearer in his ears. He seemed to see his pale, frail father appear before him.]
["I forced you to practice the sword, forced you to grow up, and in the end, I even had to send you elsewhere. It was all because I failed you as a father."]
[It's all right, Father. It was all for the revival of our family.]
[Li Shaobai wanted to shout, but clotted blood blocked his throat, leaving him barely able to breathe.]
["Cough, cough, cough! Shaobai, I'm dying."]
["I won't be able to see you grow into a man..."]
[His father's sickly voice grew fainter and fainter, finally leaving him with these words:]
["From now on, if you can, live according to your own wishes."]
["Become... the person you want to be."]
[The person I want to be...]
[Though he had recalled it countless times before, only now, on the brink of death, did Li Shaobai suddenly freeze.]
["Hmm, your swordsmanship is good, but it's still a little lacking. Keep practicing, though. Given time, your sword will surpass mine."]
[That was his Master's hope.]
["Shaobai, with you in the sect's future, I can rest easy."]
[That was the Sect Master's hope.]
["Big Brother Shaobai, everyone says we'll get married when I grow up.