Illusions and Departures

“…..”

Zhuang Xun fell silent for a moment, then cast the ball of energy in his hand out the window.

Afterward, he pinched his chin, seemingly lost in thought.

‘Could she still be immersed in the illusionary dream? Mistaking me for her husband?’

‘Why does this plot development feel a bit off?’

But then again, it made sense. After all, it had been a death trap, and now that he had forcibly changed it, some alterations were to be expected.

In any case, he would be leaving soon, so her thoughts no longer mattered.

“Let’s go. In a moment, I’ll deliver some elixirs to the Jiang Manor’s master.”

“Then this matter will be considered resolved.”

Zhuang Xun turned, ready to put a definitive end to the affair.

“…..”

In Jiang Ningwan’s eyes, Zhuang Xun’s movements seemed like he was abandoning her, embarking alone on an immortal path of no return.

He would no longer care for her, a mere mortal of the mundane world.

“Husband… please don’t leave… alright?”

“Madam Jiang, everything within the illusion was but a figment. Please adhere to reality and do not create further misunderstandings.”

The profound Daoist voice echoed in her ears, shattering the illusion in Jiang Ningwan’s eyes and revealing the true scene within the room.

“…..”

Unexpectedly, Jiang Ningwan gently bit her lower lip, silently lowered her head, and tightly clutched the hem of her skirt.

No one knew what she was thinking.

“Big Brother Zhuang Xun~”

Jiang Lishuang, however, had no such reservations. The moment she opened her eyes and saw Zhuang Xun, she leaped lightly onto his back.

“Hehe….”

“Thank you, Big Brother Zhuang Xun~”

“Come down now. I’ll be leaving soon. You’ll have to cling to someone else after this.”

Hearing Zhuang Xun speak of leaving, Jiang Lishuang immediately held on tighter, her soft, sweet voice making it impossible to refuse her.

“Mmm… no way~”

“I still want to learn more spells from Big Brother Zhuang Xun~”

Zhuang Xun simply reached out, patted her little head, and smiled.

“What I’ve taught you is enough for your current stage. Besides, I am merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator. With your talent…”

“You will have a more profound master to teach you in the future.”

Qin Zhaoyu, standing by, remained silent, but inwardly grumbled: ‘I’m familiar with this excuse.’

“Mmm…” Jiang Lishuang shook her head, still displaying a childish willfulness. “No, I only want Big Brother Zhuang Xun to teach me!”

“Stop being silly. A rogue cultivator like me wanders the world constantly. It’s impossible for me to take you with me.”

“Mmm……”

“Then why doesn’t Big Brother Zhuang Xun just stay here forever?”

“Those of us who are like idle clouds and wild cranes are accustomed to wandering freely; we cannot endure such constraints.”

Zhuang Xun gently set Jiang Lishuang down from his back, a slight smile playing on his lips as he patted her little head.

Then, he turned his gaze to Jiang Ningwan, who was still bowing her head, lost in thought.

“Madam Jiang, should a Daoist nun wish to take Lishuang as a disciple in the future, do not refuse. That will be a great fortune for the Jiang family.”

“As for the ‘Xun-lang’ you just mentioned, Madam, I implore you to forget the experiences within that illusion. Do not cling to illusory scenes with persistent sorrow.”

“Farewell.”

With those words, Zhuang Xun pushed open the door and departed without a trace of hesitation.

“……”

Qin Zhaoyu glanced at the beautiful mother and daughter, shook her head, and then turned to leave as well.

‘It seemed she had overthought things. With Master’s conditions, what kind of captivating beauty couldn’t he find? It was simply a matter of whether Master desired it or not.’

****

“Mother….”

After a long while, Jiang Lishuang sat by Jiang Ningwan’s bed and gently shook her mother’s shoulders.

“…..”

Jiang Ningwan gave no response, remaining in her seated posture on the bed, head bowed and eyes closed.

“Mother, what’s wrong? Big Brother Zhuang Xun has already left…”

“…..”

“…I know…”

It wasn’t that her resolve was weak; rather, the illusion had granted her the life she most desired. It had given her a husband she could entrust her life to, one she could lean on for half a lifetime.

She wouldn’t have to bear all burdens on her own shoulders. Most importantly, she could never forget the lingering warmth in her heart.

Even knowing it was false, destined to vanish at any moment like a reflection in a mirror or the moon in water, with her nature, she simply couldn’t forget it.

Because she was merely an ordinary mortal woman, prone to sorrow and sentimentality, she yearned for a beautiful marriage, to spend half her life with the man of her heart.

That alone would be an immense blessing.

“Mother, why are you crying?”

Jiang Lishuang saw two clear tears fall from the corners of her mother’s eyes and gently called out beside her.

But immortals and mortals walked different paths. She possessed no cultivation aptitude. In a hundred years, she would be nothing but a handful of dust.

While he would remain eternally youthful. How could they speak of sharing the beautiful moments of the rest of their lives?

“…So be it…”

“I’ll just do as he said…”

Jiang Ningwan’s voice was filled with weariness as she let out a soft sigh. A single phrase, “immortals and mortals walk different paths,” conveyed all her sorrow.

A single “farewell,” and who knew when they would meet again, or in what year? ‘Immortal Master… Ningwan also wished to cultivate immortality…’

****

“Master, are you truly uninterested in matters of love?”

On the desolate, empty street, Qin Zhaoyu linked her arm through Zhuang Xun’s, asking curiously.

“How could I be… I’ve simply witnessed too many people and events, and thus grown indifferent…”

Zhuang Xun had been a ‘thousand-year-old single dog’; how could he possibly be uninterested in matters of love? He wasn’t cultivating some Grand Supreme Path of Forgetting Emotions.

It was just that he had traveled the myriad heavens alone for too long, witnessed too many grievances, entanglements, rights, and wrongs. His cultivation had reached the ultimate realm, where there was no one to contend with, and no one to love.

If he could truly encounter a woman who stirred his heart, he would certainly pursue her actively. Yet, after thousands of years of wandering, Zhuang Xun hadn’t met a single one.

His heart was like dead ash. He couldn’t muster interest in any woman. He truly didn’t know if it was his own issue, or some other circumstance.

‘Surely, no one could have sealed off his perception of love, could they?’

“Otherwise, you little girl would have long fallen into my demonic grasp.”

Zhuang Xun casually flirted, yet it caused Qin Zhaoyu’s cheeks to gradually flush and grow warm. ‘Master… He actually had romantic thoughts about me before? It truly was a case of knowing a person’s face but not their heart… But if it was Master… Then it wouldn’t be entirely impossible…’

Suddenly, Zhuang Xun stopped, his expression stern, and pulled the distracted Qin Zhaoyu into his embrace.

“Be careful, a troublesome fellow has arrived.”

Boom!

A bolt of black lightning instantly struck down from in front of Zhuang Xun’s face, landing precisely at his toes.

“Heheheh~”

Accompanied by eerie, sinister cackles, dark clouds began to gather, instantly enveloping the entire county town.

“To think you could dodge that. No wonder you were able to kill my junior brother.”

Beneath the dark clouds, a grotesque, ghostly face, like a vast curtain, emerged, continuously spewing forth chilling ghostly energy. It was accompanied by a mocking voice.

“Master….”

Qin Zhaoyu snapped back to reality, turning her head as if to ask for Zhuang Xun’s opinion.

“Don’t move. You can’t defeat them.”

Zhuang Xun shielded Qin Zhaoyu behind him, stepped forward, and assumed a defensive stance.

Then, he calmly spoke to the ghostly face in the sky: “Sacrificing mortals’ blood to cultivate the Dao goes against the harmony of heaven. He deserved his death.”

“Hahahaha…..”

“How much cultivation is a mortal’s life worth? Dead is dead…. No different from ants.”

As the ghoulish words fell, several more sinister and strange bolts of lightning instantly descended, aiming directly at Zhuang Xun.

“Preaching grand principles to demonic cultivators like you is like casting pearls before swine.”

Zhuang Xun’s eyes were indifferent. A silver, dragon-shaped spear, overflowing with light, appeared in his hand. “Let our true skills speak for themselves.”

Without another word, he attacked!

The long spear swept horizontally, and a faint dragon’s roar began to rise, sweeping away the bizarre, sinister lightning.

[They are a Half-Step Soul Transformation cultivator, with strange and varied methods. They will absolutely crush you. Flee.]

A divine sense message entered her mind, and Qin Zhaoyu felt her body lighten, no longer suppressed by that overwhelming aura.

[But what about you, Master….]

[I won’t die.]

Zhuang Xun, spear in hand, stepped into the air, rising from the ground, and continued his message.

[If you stay here, you’ll only hold me back. Go back and tell Qin Yong one thing: A monarch who nourishes the Demonic Path with the blood of their nation’s people deserves to be overthrown by the Dao.]

Although her investigation process had gone a little astray, as long as the outcome was the same, then it shouldn’t have much impact on the plot’s development, right?