Chapter 17: The Last Time

Yan Shu kept her head lowered, her voice hoarse as she said, “What the senior brothers said is absolutely right. After the heart demon was expelled, looking back upon my own actions, I too am filled with shame. So, this is what I owe him. If it weren’t for his heart’s blood, I would have had no strength to resist the demon, and would never have survived to see the day it was gone.”

Hearing this, Liu Zhiqing and Bing Shien both fell silent.

After a long pause, Liu Zhiqing finally spoke, his voice rough, “This matter is known only to Heaven, to Earth, to you, and to us. It must not be revealed, not even to Eldest Brother or Fourth Junior Brother. Since Xiao Jihan has chosen to endure and keep silent, I doubt he’ll speak of it. From now on, treat him well.”

Yan Shu nodded and raised her eyes to him. “I’m sorry, Senior Brother. I’ve brought disgrace to Xuantian Sect.”

Liu Zhiqing sighed without replying. Bing Shien spoke softly, “It isn’t all your fault. At the time, you were under the sway of the heart demon, and with Master’s passing, you developed an obsession and lost your way. If we’d noticed your change sooner, we might have prevented this. We too are to blame.”

“Second Senior Brother is right. We failed to take proper care of you,” Liu Zhiqing added.

He then took out the Blazing Fire Furnace and, after rummaging through his storage pouch, handed Yan Shu a pile of items. “Give these to him. If there’s ever anything lacking, or if he has questions, just let your senior brothers know.”

Bing Shien also took out a generous supply of artifact-forging materials and handed them to Yan Shu. “The same goes for me. If he needs instruction in forging, or lacks a weapon, just come to me.”

Yan Shu carefully stowed all the items her senior brothers had given her. Her nose tingled with emotion. With such good brothers, things should not end as they did in the novel.

For these brothers’ sake alone, she ought to work hard to cozy up to the main character and win his favor!

After seeing Liu Zhiqing and Bing Shien off, Yan Shu took a deep breath and rallied her spirits.

So what if his favorability was at negative seventy-five—hatred? She’d already seen negative ninety-five—murderous intent—so what was there to fear?

She puffed out her chest, clenched her fists in a silent cheer for herself, and strode off toward the small house, bold and full of fighting spirit.

By now, night had fallen. In the little courtyard, two cabins stood; one already glowed with lamplight.

The lamp inside flickered, and through the outer window, one could just make out Xiao Jihan’s figure, seated cross-legged in meditation.

Yan Shu approached with great momentum, but as she entered the courtyard and saw the silhouette inside, she suddenly lost her nerve.

She really wasn’t Xiao Jihan’s type; just a few glances from him and his favorability would drop. She couldn’t help but feel anxious.

She stood at the door, staring at the figure within for a long time, hesitating, but in the end she dared not knock, and instead walked away toward the adjacent cabin.

Upon entering, Yan Shu found the room empty. She set the Blazing Fire Furnace in the center, then took out the materials her brothers had given her.

Glancing around, she saw only a simple rack in the room—not nearly enough space for all these things—so she put everything away and dashed out the door.

After she’d left, Xiao Jihan, who had been cultivating in silence, slowly opened his eyes, gazing through the window at her faint figure in the moonlight before closing them again.

But soon, he opened them once more, just in time to see that pretty figure hurrying back again.

His phoenix eyes darkened, brows drawn, a touch of annoyance flickering across his face.

She had a movement technique—why insist on running back and forth on foot? Was it just to disturb his cultivation?

Suppressing his irritation, he closed his eyes once more.

Yan Shu retrieved the rack from her storage pouch and neatly arranged the items. Truly, the cultivation world was a marvel—no matter how large or heavy, a simple incantation let you store anything in a pouch, saving all the effort of carrying things back and forth. Setting them out was even easier; a little spiritual power, a wave of the hand, and everything fell into place.

After arranging everything by category, she even thoughtfully carved new nameplates for each section.

When she finished, the once-empty room was now neatly filled with supplies. Satisfied with her handiwork, Yan Shu took out a slip of paper, wrote a few words, and folded it into the shape of a flying crane.

Carrying the paper crane into the courtyard, she infused it with spiritual power. Watching it flutter through the window into Xiao Jihan’s room, her heart suddenly tightened.

She didn’t dare linger to see his response—she turned and ran, shutting her door behind her. Then she paused. Wait, she had a movement technique—why was she running like a fool?

Realizing this, Yan Shu felt utterly deflated. With the main character’s peculiar way of thinking, would he assume she was purposely drawing attention to herself, or trying to disturb his peace?

She pressed her face in frustration. Enough. What’s done is done. She’d done all she could—if Xiao Jihan remained unmoved, then so be it.

The little paper crane flapped its wings as it flew in.

Xiao Jihan did not reach out to catch it but glanced at the figure trotting away outside.

Only after that figure vanished did he withdraw his gaze and open his palm.

The crane, which had been fluttering before him, at once settled lightly onto his hand, then gradually lost its vitality, becoming an ordinary paper crane.

With his head bowed, Xiao Jihan used those slender, elegant fingers to gently unfold the crane, revealing a line of graceful characters: “Don’t punish yourself for my mistakes.”

Black ink on white paper, the flowing script was as slender and lively as its author.

He stared at the words for a long time, a few loose strands of hair falling to shadow his handsome face and those slightly cold phoenix eyes.

It was only a few simple words, yet he gazed at them for a good while.

At last, he raised his head, his fingers twitching slightly. The paper instantly turned to ash and vanished into the air.

After a long silence, Xiao Jihan slowly stood and walked outside.

He went to the adjacent room and pushed open the door. At once, he saw the Blazing Fire Furnace, the very one he’d refused before, sitting in the center of the room.

He looked up. The once-empty space was now filled with wooden shelves, all crowded with various materials.

He stepped inside, glancing over the shelves and their neatly sorted contents. For a moment, he was speechless.

Some spiritual herbs, deprived of the simulated environment of the storage pouch, were already losing their vitality. Some pills, exposed to the air, had lost much of their potency.

Looking at the carefully organized shelves, each one labeled with category nameplates, Xiao Jihan was speechless for a long time. At last, he simply reached out and swept everything back into his pouch.

Finally, he gazed at the Blazing Fire Furnace. After a moment’s hesitation, he pressed his finger to draw a drop of blood and let it fall onto the furnace.

He closed his eyes. In a voice almost too soft to hear, he murmured, dissolving into the darkness:

“This is the last time…”