A Shattered Hope, A Lingering Past

Xian Chengyue remained standing, yet the moment Lin Mo stepped from the room, the towering killing intent that had encircled her vanished without a trace. The sword, stained with fresh blood, had quietly returned to its sheath, casually plunged into the ground beside her. The wisp of remnant soul that had been protecting the Xuan Nv Sect had also dissipated entirely.

Upon the hilt, the tattered scabbard bore countless sword marks, obscuring the mischievous etchings of a certain girl.

With a heavy heart, she turned, striving to maintain her composure, her gaze fixed immovably on Lin Mo as she waited for him to approach.

Lin Mo rushed over, a gust of wind accompanying him, brushing against her simple, elegant sleeves, his smile so radiant it was almost dazzling.

“Pavilion Master! I…”

Lin Mo’s eager voice abruptly faltered, his gaze falling upon Xian Chengyue’s face. Though she remained silent, her expression as still as an ancient well, that subtle shift in her eyes caused Lin Mo’s heart to skip a beat.

‘No, absolutely not! I must be overthinking! I must be overthinking this.’

Lin Mo offered a smile, yet his lips refused to curve naturally, as if frozen, and his voice trembled slightly. Still, the thoughts relentlessly surfaced in his mind.

‘Could it be that this high-level cultivator… Could her divine sense instantly—’

‘No! No! I’m definitely overthinking!’

“Pavilion Master!” Lin Mo said, smiling, yet oblivious to the tremor in his voice. “I… I have a request. May I ask it?”

Xian Chengyue’s lips parted, but the words caught in her throat, and she swallowed them back down.

“What is your request?”

“I… I…”

‘The request is already clear in my mind.’

‘I want to bring Ji Xue here for Mom to meet. I want Mom to know about her daughter-in-law, her grandson or granddaughter, and how well and happily I’m living now, so she won’t worry. I don’t want to ask why Mom became a remnant soul, or why she was the Sect Master of the Xuan Nv Sect. I don’t want to know why only a remnant soul remains, or if she can be saved. I only want to cherish this time of reunion with Mom, to spend it warmly once more. For now, all I want is to spend a little more time with Mom. It’s such a simple wish.’

“I… I want Mom to meet Ji Xue, I… I want her to meet the person I love, Pavilion Master, I… I know I… I… really…”

Lin Mo was incoherent. He was nervous, wishing to speak quickly and concisely, yet his tongue felt clumsy, unable to articulate his thoughts.

The color visibly drained from Lin Mo’s face. The boundless joy, poised to burst forth from his heart, abruptly collided with an invisible, cold, and unyielding wall.

‘He was an intelligent child, perhaps too intelligent…’

Xian Chengyue did not wish to shatter Lin Mo’s beautiful hopes, yet the absolute departure of his loved ones made her instinctively avert her gaze, unable to bear witness to his burgeoning joy turning to desolation.

But with just that brief, averted glance, Lin Mo, the child, already knew.

His perceptiveness was often a blessing. Now, however, it was simply a curse.

“Pavilion Master…” His voice was now completely trembling. “My mom… she’s… still here, right?” This question was less a confirmation and more a desperate plea.

Xian Chengyue closed her eyes. The agony of that moment almost tore through her powerful self-control.

When she opened them again, she avoided Lin Mo’s eyes, which were slowly filling with panic. Her gaze seemed to pierce through him, settling deep within the serene courtyard, falling upon the ancient, rustic dwelling.

Her silence was her answer.

Lin Mo’s breathing suddenly quickened, a colossal wave of panic, like a tsunami, instantly engulfed him.

He spun around abruptly and rushed into the house.

“Mom?! Mom!”

His desperate calls collided with the courtyard walls, stirring a hollow echo.

The bamboo leaves still rustled softly, the stream still babbled gently, and the sunlight still shone brightly.

Only, upon pushing open the door, the empty room held nothing. The old plum tree, green bamboo, stone table, and stone stools in the courtyard remained, yet they were cloaked in a layer of somber stillness.

Clean and tidy, sunlight streamed through the window lattice, casting neat squares upon the floor. On the table, there was no longer the blue light figure left by Lin Ruoli’s remnant soul, only a sense of settled, deathly silence.

His gaze frantically searched every corner of the room: the walls, the corners, by the window… nothing.

The ethereal blue silhouette had vanished.

“Mom…” Lin Mo’s voice was a mere whisper, like a murmur in a dream, laden with a colossal and almost suffocating dread and disbelief.

His steps faltered as he entered the room, each one feeling as though he trod upon floating cotton. Standing still in the center of the empty hall, his eyes glazed over.

The solid ground beneath his feet seemed to sway and distort, and even standing still, he felt the world spin.

There were no heart-wrenching cries, nor a torrent of tears.

He simply stood there, stiff and utterly desolate, his gaze fixed on the spot where his mother’s remnant soul had sat, frozen as if turned to stone.

Xian Chengyue quietly moved to stand behind him. She said nothing, only stood silently beside him, offering silent companionship. The two of them remained frozen in the silent air.

‘Ruoli…’ she murmured silently in her heart, yet before her eyes, a vision seemed to float of that “girl” whose eyes were always bright, sparkling with a mischievous glint.

Time flowed for a long while in the stagnant air. Finally, a sound squeezed from the boy’s dry throat. His tone desperately tried to maintain calm, yet it could not conceal the bone-deep sorrow within.

“Pavilion Master… can you tell me about my mom’s past?”

Xian Chengyue slowly began, “This story is rather long, and there’s too much to tell.”

After listening, Lin Mo parted his lips and asked the question that weighed most heavily on his heart.

“Did she… ever…” Lin Mo’s voice was dry and hoarse, as if he could barely force out half a sentence. “…regret leaving me? Pavilion Master, you needn’t hold back for my sake; I understand. Perhaps you don’t know, but I was once a burden.”

Lin Mo gradually offered a seemingly relaxed smile, blinking frequently, doing his utmost to appear at ease, his tone conveying a sense of profound relief.

Yet, how could Xian Chengyue fail to see the misty film clouding his eyes?

“Lin Mo, she never once thought that!”

“Pavilion Master, you don’t need to comfort me; I’m fine. My… my mom… no, my mother left very early. I think her leaving was a good thing, after all, caring for me was too exhausting. Perhaps you don’t understand, but back when we had no cultivation, when we were poor, at that time… how should I put it…? There was just… no hope. I was like a cage, trapping my mother, binding her… Lin… Lin—”

“—Lin Mo!” Xian Chengyue roared, her composure utterly shattered. “She never thought that!” Xian Chengyue’s reply was categorical, delivered with an undeniable force. “Her heart was entirely devoted to you! I once, by chance, glimpsed a part of her past and understood her thoughts. She never harbored such a notion about you!”

She emphasized her words, her gaze locking firmly onto Lin Mo: “Lin Mo, you must believe that in her heart, you were never a burden.”

As her words fell, Lin Mo’s face remained utterly undisturbed, calm as a deep pool, devoid of any change in expression.

‘But this is just comfort, isn’t it? There’s no proof, is there?’ Lin Mo understood Xian Chengyue’s intentions, yet he was like a stubborn child; this notion had taken root, stubbornly lingering in the depths of his mind, refusing to be dispelled.

Xian Chengyue saw it all, understanding in her heart. For this child who had just experienced such a profound upheaval, mere words of comfort would be useless. She fell silent for a moment, recalling with effort. “The Sect Master’s Manor… Your mother once resided there for a period, though she never grew accustomed to the place. Nevertheless, since she lived there, she must have left some of her belongings behind. Mu Qingli, as the current Sect Master, should know the details.”

“Lin Mo,” Xian Chengyue’s voice softened. “Follow me. We will go retrieve the things your mother left behind.”

“There’s no need, Pavilion Master.” Lin Mo shook his head, rising to his feet. “Please take me back to the Hall of Clarity… let me continue with the trials. I…”

Xian Chengyue’s hand silently settled on Lin Mo’s trembling shoulder, her fingertips transmitting a warm yet undeniable spatial fluctuation. Lin Mo felt the scenery before him blur and twist rapidly, and he instinctively closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, the serene courtyard had vanished, replaced by the grandeur of the Sect Master’s Manor.

Lin Mo, however, felt a sudden chill. Looking down, he saw that his neat male attire had, in the instant the teleportation completed, been replaced by a flowing female silk dress, as if by unseen, skilled hands.

He took a deep breath, forcing down the sob that threatened to escape his throat, striving to make his voice sound cold and “sober”: “I appreciate the Pavilion Master’s kindness. Disciple Lin Wan’er—now only wishes to return to the quiet room in the Hall of Clarity! I only wish to cultivate! I only wish to improve my cultivation!”

He finally turned around. His face bore no tear stains, only a nearly numb tranquility, yet beneath that calm, tumultuous waves surged. He forced himself to meet Xian Chengyue’s gaze, which held a hint of anger, uttering each word with chilling clarity: “Because I’ve ‘come to terms’ with it?!”

Xian Chengyue’s usually placid expression finally showed its first crack. At this moment, Lin Mo was simply disheartened.

Xian Chengyue felt both anger and profound heartache. But what could she do?

“Is this what you mean by ‘coming to terms’? This despondency? Do you think she didn’t love you? Didn’t like you? How she wished she could stay with you! She—” Her voice carried a heavy sorrow.

“But she’s gone! Nothing matters now! If she truly cared about me, why would she sacrifice her life? Why would she go to such a dangerous place and not return, leaving behind only a remnant soul?! She…”

But before Lin Mo could finish—

“Pavilion Master…? Wan’er?”

A clear, cold female voice, laden with deep confusion and a barely perceptible hint of wariness, abruptly cut into the almost frozen space.

Their argument came to an abrupt halt. However, the subtle atmosphere still allowed Mu Qingli to sense something amiss. She gently asked, “You two… why have you come?”

Neither of them answered, responding only with silence to Mu Qingli.

Mu Qingli was about to reprimand them when she suddenly remembered something, an matter that had been put aside due to the Hall of Clarity.

“Ah, Wan’er, it’s a good thing you’re here. I actually needed to speak with you. Pavilion Master, might you grant us some privacy?”

Xian Chengyue said little, likely needing to escape the oppressive atmosphere herself. She had never comforted anyone, nor did she know how to face a child who had just found and then lost his mother. Nodding, she transformed into a streak of light and soared into the sky.

It wasn’t until Xian Chengyue had departed that Mu Qingli finally let out a sigh of relief. From her storage ring, she carefully took out an item. It was a palm-sized, thin piece of paper, faded yellow with age, its edges heavily worn. Its material was peculiar, not paper, and its smooth surface was imprinted with clear, oddly formatted text and symbols.

Most striking were the two clear handwritten signatures on either side of the paper: Lin Ruoli, Lin Mo.

Mu Qingli’s gaze rested on the paper, as if it were an incomprehensible sacred artifact. She held it up to Lin Mo’s face and asked in a low voice: “Disciple. This is… my master, Lin Ruoli’s item. Lin Mo… what is your relationship with my master?”

Lin Mo slowly took it, the yellowed paper feeling as heavy as a thousand catties in his hand. His fingertips trembled slightly, his gaze fixed on the prominent large characters at the top of the paper.

Destination: Dreamland Amusement Park
Date: The Sunday before Lin Mo’s transmigration.

‘These are… my and… Mom’s names…?’

Suddenly, everything became clear to him.