Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

Thank you to the amazing verifications from 【Laufen Cute Pinch】【Su Who Likes White Swan】【Mayuri is the Best】!

I haven't even had dinner after get off work and I'm still writing this extra chapter. I really can't go on anymore. I'll leave it at 1 chapter and make up for it in the next few days when I have time.

……

On the mountaintop, where the Qingxin Residence has long since turned to ruins, a solitary, desolate figure sits alone.

Jingliu held the broken, cracked sword in his arms, his eyes empty and lifeless, sitting there motionless.

Many days have passed, and only occasionally do two identical syllables escape from his lips.

"Master...Master..."

She has completely lost her master.

Truly, forever and ever, I will never find him again.

All her master left her was a broken sword and a silver moon jade pendant.

No...not only.

And that gentle gaze before parting.

But why at the moment of final farewell?

Why...why why why why why!!

Jing Liu had long forgotten to breathe. No matter how much her body protested or how much pain she felt, it was nothing compared to losing even a trillionth of Qi Zhimu.

Master, you have been cruel to your disciple so many times, why did you give me that last bit of tenderness?

Do you know that the tenderness before parting is a thousand times more painful than being pierced by a thousand arrows?

After years of searching in vain, when they finally saw it, an insurmountable chasm appeared in an instant.

If you receive that tender condition in return, it means you are destined to leave.

Well then—I'd rather not have it.

I would rather bury myself forever in the lies woven by my master, enduring the pain alone and heading towards my own demise.

Three women appeared one after another from behind.

Gazing at that same desolate figure as always, their expressions varied.

Since the end of the sudden battle, they have remained in Luofu and have never left.

There are far too many answers to be found.

Now, they naturally know that the woman named Jing Liu in front of them is Qi Zhimu's only disciple in this life.

In those soulless cries, anyone could hear the immense emotion hidden beneath the despair, an emotion powerful enough to form a vast ocean.

Her love for Qi Zhimu was no less than that for any of them.

Even more so…

After some investigation, Black Swan and the others have gained some understanding of Qi Zhimu in this life.

Born in Cangcheng, I have spent my whole life facing loss.

Family, home, friends...

He spent most of his life fighting against abundance, and had no wife or children. Apart from an apprentice, he only had his bodyguard who accompanied him year after year.

Until his sudden death, the fire of revenge imprisoned in his heart was extinguished along with his life.

He always faced loss head-on, and in the end, he also made those who cared about him taste the bitterness of loss.

Black Swan could really understand Mirror Flow's feelings at that moment.

Yu Qingtu also understood.

Ruan Mei... understands even better.

It is said that as the immortal beings of the Immortal Ship age, their threshold for feeling emotions will continuously increase, and their memories will become thin and dull over time, leaving only the most extreme and vivid sediment.

And these are almost certainly remnants of painful and regretful memories.

For the vast majority of Xianzhou people, the probability of reaching this day increases year by year after they turn 700.

Ke Jingliu has lived for over a thousand years, and even after witnessing Qi Zhimu's departure and killing him with his own hands, he has never fallen into demonic possession.

…Perhaps, her feelings and obsession with Qi Zhimu outweighed all the painful and regretful memories.

"Master...you liar..."

Suddenly, Jingliu murmured a different sentence.

The words reached the ears of three women in the distance, causing their expressions to change slightly.

Black Swan and Yu Qingtu's gazes both fell on Ruan Mei, whose eyes had dimmed instantly.

Back then, when they heard these words from Qi Zhimu's past memories, the three of them were all deeply moved.

Taking advantage of her drunken state, Ruan Mei left an indelible mark on the young man's heart, and gave him the most tender promises and beautiful things.

The results of it?

He carved the mark, then ruthlessly crushed it with his own hands, leaving the boy no room for maneuver.

They made promises, only to take advantage of the boy and then abandon him, pushing him into an abyss of despair.

If it weren't for the black swan's companionship and warmth during Qi Zhimu's final days, Yu Qingtu suspects he would have gone further and further down the path of self-destruction.

Once the self-destructor reaches the stage where the physical body will not perish, they will either delve deeper into nothingness and lose most of their emotions.

Alternatively, one could become a ghost wandering the boundaries of nothingness, forgetting even one's own existence.

Either way, just imagining it is suffocating.

Qi Zhimu cared for his teacher Ruan Mei, respected her, took care of her daily life, made her favorite snacks and drinks, and did everything he could to make his teacher happy.

How could he know that the brewed wine was a wondrous thing, possessing effects similar to those of rules?

Where did he go wrong?

His mistake was that the teacher he followed was a mad scientist who was deeply obsessed, ignoring all the good things around him, and whose mind was full of himself.

And now, even Qi Zhimu's apprentice says he's a fraud...

They didn't know what Qi Zhimu had lied about to Jing Liu, but they at least knew that there must have been a reason behind his deception.

Otherwise, given his personality, how could he bear to let his disciple go...etc.

Yu Qingtu recalled Qi Zhimu's overly formal and unsettling manner of doing things.

Could it be that he died once and still retained his personality?

Thinking of this, Yu Qingtu's gaze toward Ruan Mei became increasingly strange, as if he were looking at the source of all evil.

"You're such a good teacher, Ruan. You've ruined Qi Zhimu so badly, and the impact is so profound..."

Ruan Mei remained silent.

Before she could respond, the icy figure holding a sword, seemingly having lost the entire world, appeared in front of the three of them in an instant, as if it had caught the key words.

Those empty, lifeless pupils exuded a chilling aura that sent shivers down one's spine.

"Master was tortured...what does that mean?"

"Literal meaning."

Yu Qingtu crossed his arms, seemingly oblivious to the chilling killing intent emanating from Jing Liu.

Ruan Mei remained silent.

She could not explain it, nor had she the right to refute it, because it was the truth.

Unless Qi Zhimu completely forgets all his experiences and ties from his previous life.

The black swan asked softly, "Miss Jingliu, did Mr. Qi mention three names to you?"

Jingliu's gaze fell on her.

Black Swan then looked at the other two: "Yu Qingtu, Ruan Mei, and... Clarice Durand."

"Never before."

Jingliu answered without hesitation, then his eyes showed a kind look.

"Now, you can continue answering my questions."

"Miss Kagami, would you believe in the concept of an afterlife?"

"I can believe it, and I hope it exists."

"That's good."

A faint light shimmered in the black swan's palm, and a bubble of memory gradually took shape.

Ruan Mei cast a strange look at her, as if giving a warning.

However, Yu Qingtu had already placed his hand on Ruan Mei's shoulder and squinted at her slightly.

It also seems to be a warning.

The black swan smiled slightly and threw the memory bubble directly at the mirror, where it silently disappeared into her forehead.

Five seconds.

ten seconds.

Twenty seconds...

A moment later, Jingliu suddenly raised his sword and stabbed Ruan Mei without warning!

The speed was so fast that no one present could see it clearly, let alone react.

The sharp sword wind stung her cheek, and the sword tip stopped less than half an inch in front of Ruan Mei's eyes.

Jingliu trembled all over, her breathing becoming increasingly rapid, staring intently at the woman before her: the woman who had once been her master and teacher.

—If Master really had a past life.

……

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