Li Yan's gaze followed the slope downward, to a dense forest at the foot of the mountain. The trees had grown ever larger and sturdier, while thick shrubs carpeted the ground, long since swallowing every trace left by that battle.
Li Yan could not even find the tree he had leaned against before losing consciousness, yet in his mind's eye, he seemed to see Strategist Ji lying in a pool of blood once more.
There was a deep, mangled gash across his throat, flesh turned outward. His body twitched convulsively as his eyes stared fixedly upward at Li Yan, filled with unwillingness and fury...
Li Yan's thoughts churned in chaos. Slowly, all hatred for Strategist Ji faded from his heart. If not for him, Li Yan would never have set foot upon the immortal path.
Whether the path of immortality Strategist Ji had led him onto was good or bad was something even Li Yan could no longer clearly say.
He had lost the chance to fulfill his filial duty to his parents while they were alive, yet he had also seen a far more dazzling and splendid side of the world.
Though it was fraught with peril, Li Yan felt that it suited his heart perfectly.
Rebelliousness had been in his bones since childhood. He had often slipped out of the private school and secretly followed the adults into the mountains to hunt wild beasts behind his family's backs.
Though he had known that joining the army for food meant facing death at any moment in the midst of great battles, he had still followed Uncle Guoxin into the city.
As for whether Strategist Ji had been good or bad back then, Li Yan could no longer put it into words. Perhaps if he and Strategist Ji met again