Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

"You already know the general outline of my first life, and you also know about my experiences with her through the Black Tower. In other words, you are clear about the bond that they formed with me."

"Black Tower knew about these experiences before you did."

"Disciple, may I ask you something?" Jingliu suddenly asked.

"Go ahead and ask."

What was Black Tower's reaction when it learned about its master's past life?

"I have no idea."

Eh?

Jingliu was stunned, his eyes wide with surprise.

However, Master probably wasn't lying.

"When the Black Tower learned of these things, I had not yet remembered my true experiences in my first life, nor did I have any memories of my second life."

Qi Zhimu patiently explained.

"In fact, it was because I wanted to find my true past that I asked Black Tower for help."

"Through the simulation of the universe and everyone's assistance, I retraced my past life's path and finally saw my past clearly. It was only by reaching the end that I regained everything."

"When my consciousness returned to reality, Black Tower didn't react excessively; it just looked at me with heartache."

"...Disciple understands." Jingliu pursed his lips slightly.

"But even before that, the Black Tower had already guessed your existence through the jade pendant you gave us and the sachet from the Black Swan."

Qi Zhimu removed the pendant and placed it on the table along with the key around his neck.

Jingliu's gaze followed it, sweeping over the complexities.

The silver moon jade pendant, which was once given to my master and was eventually broken, has now been restored to its original state as the gap between them disappeared.

The sachet given by the black swan was the purest expression of her love for her master, which remained unwavering even when she knew he was about to pass away during her youth.

The key to the Black Tower... is a deeply etched piece of evidence between the two, and proof of keeping their promise.

Both of them felt no less affection for their master than she did.

"...What about the others, Master..."

Upon hearing this, Qi Zhimu took out an elegant zhongruan.

Gazing at the musical instrument before him, Jing Liu's expression became complex as his thoughts drifted.

"Didn't Master ever hate her?"

"Never before."

Qi Zhimu slowly shook his head and sighed softly.

"Didn't I just tell you that you have to bear the consequences of your own actions, whether good or bad?"

"My desire to live is the root of everything."

"At that time, my master could no longer speak, but she could observe the desire for life and hear my silent answer that I wanted to live."

"Kyoryu, if you had to use a simple vocabulary to describe what your master did to you, what would your answer be?"

The topic suddenly shifted from Ruan Mei to himself, but Jing Liu was not caught off guard.

Almost without thinking, the four words came out.

Treat them like your own children!

"Yes..." Qi Zhimu sighed again.

Jingliu gleaned the answer he sought from it, his expression becoming even more complex.

This is also Master's answer.

To his master, what Ruan Mei had done for him was no less than treating him as her own son.

They say they're just treating him as an experimental subject, but as long as it's to get rid of the virus in Master's body, the starting point is the same.

That is to let Master live.

The master was the same; he never gave gentle but strict training and requirements. His core goal was to ensure that his disciple had the confidence and ability to escape unscathed from any enemy.

If one only wishes to follow Aunt Qiu Zhiyan's last wish, there is no need to comfort a dejected person.

Ensuring someone's safety on the Immortal Ship is far too easy.

There's no need to take her, who is so frail, as an apprentice, nor is there any need to spend years painstakingly training her.

If I hadn't taken him under my wing, none of this would have happened...

In a timeline where Jingliu wasn't taken as a disciple, perhaps the master's anchor point would be the two older sisters, Xueyi and Hanya, and he would still be Shunxue Jinhong.

He can still take revenge and perish together with Shuhu.

The same applies to Nguyen Mai.

Not accepting her master as a student or saving her master will not prevent her from becoming a member of the Genius Club #81 in the future.

Planting a seed with a known cause, but not knowing the future effect.

"But Master... after Ruan Mei drove you away, can she still be considered..."

"That's another cause."

Qi Zhimu understood what Jing Liu wanted to say and interrupted him softly.

"The 111-year wait began because I overstepped my bounds by deleting my teacher's most important research materials."

"Jingliu, you should understand that the world is not black and white. From my perspective, overstepping the bounds is for the teacher's sake, and I don't want to see her go astray."

"But from the teacher's perspective, it is being betrayed and let down by someone they trusted without reservation."

"You can imagine how disappointed she was at the time... A mistake is a mistake, and people must take responsibility for their actions."

"What if...she takes advantage of you and then denies it?"

"That was also the cause I sowed. Without plum blossom wine aged four years or more, how could there be the subsequent fruit?"

"But Master brewed the wine out of respect and... fondness, and to make Teacher happy. He didn't do anything wrong."

"That's why we say the world isn't black and white. There's no right or wrong, it's just a matter of different perspectives."

The master and apprentice's gazes fell simultaneously on the plum blossom wine on the table.

"No matter how many circles you go around in, no matter how many reasons you find, it will all eventually come back to the cause that if she hadn't saved me, none of the subsequent events would have happened."

"...Is this the real reason I don't hate her?"

"good."

"Master..."

"A drop of water entering the sea does not increase the sea's size, but the drop of water is thus prevented from drying up."

The help of benefactors is as vast as the ocean, and they will not care about adding a single drop of water.

But for that drop of water, it was precisely because it merged into the ocean that it gained eternal life.

Qi Zhimu sighed and said, "A drop of water in need is repaid with a spring of water, and a small mistake is repaid with a great kindness. This is also the motto of my master in every life."

"Black Tower is similar to me in temperament and is also deeply affected by these words. She feels that I once gave her salvation, and she can never repay me in the rest of her life. Therefore, she is willing to accommodate and tolerate me and only makes a promise with me."

"Returning to the previous topic, after Black Tower guessed your existence, it did not ask me to sever ties with you. It only asked that if any future encounters cause disputes, I should not interfere."

"Does that mean...we're supposed to solve this ourselves?"

"Um."

"..." Jingliu was at a loss for words.

So that was the real reason why Black Tower said those words.

"And the minor transgression can be repaid with great kindness... Master believes he doesn't owe many people anything, except for Danfeng, whom he cannot make amends for betraying his trust."

"Danheng was unwilling to inherit Danfeng's past, which is why I reunited with Heita first, not you. The cause of this outcome has nothing to do with him."

"But the fact that you've become like this, unable to control your emotions, is something your master bears an unshirkable responsibility for."

"It has nothing to do with Master, it's all my fault."

Jingliu shook his head vigorously.

Master had to restrain himself to save her by losing his vital essence, all so as not to harm her. How can you let Master take the blame?!

……