Chapter 78: A Fragile Dream

Chapter 78: A Fragile Dream

At night, Yu Ling sat cross-legged on the bed, lightly dressed, her thin garments barely covering her.

Behind her, Chen Yin gently channeled spiritual energy into her body.

Her meridians were like an immense maze, with walls thick and intricately complex. But now, they were in utter ruin, filled with broken debris and devastation.

The Record of the Forgetful Blossoming Heart technique was like a raging flood, surging through the maze and enveloping everything within.

Water nurtures all things, and everything within her meridians was being slowly nourished.

Before long, beads of sweat began to seep from her body. She wrinkled her delicate nose in discomfort.

“...Sticky and gross... it’s unbearable,” she complained softly.

“Bear with it,” Chen Yin said indifferently. “You can bathe later.”

“Can’t I just heal in the bath?”

“You can, but I’m not going into the bath clothed. If you don’t mind me naked, then fine.”

She pouted, her dissatisfaction growing even more apparent.

“Little sprout, one day I’ll make you pay for this,” she grumbled petulantly.

For once, Chen Yin didn’t respond to her teasing. Instead, his gaze lowered as he focused intently on her internal injuries.

—It was as if he was engraving every tiny wound into his memory.

Time passed, until her thin garments were completely soaked with sweat. Only then did Chen Yin slowly withdraw his hands.

“Phew... finally done,” he said.

Yu Ling stretched lazily and was just about to get up when she suddenly frowned, a wave of dizziness washing over her. Her body swayed, and she nearly collapsed.

Fortunately, as she fell backward, a solid chest was there to catch her.

“Who told you to move recklessly?” Chen Yin frowned, his tone slightly reproachful. “Don’t you understand your own injuries? Why are you pushing yourself?”

Surprisingly, the soft reprimand left her without a retort. She glanced at him briefly before silently looking away.

Chen Yin knew all too well how much she valued cleanliness—she would rather die than endure the feeling of sweat covering her body.

Without another word, he scooped her petite frame into his arms, causing her to gasp in shock.

“—Hmph!”

Caught off guard, her face flushed slightly. She quickly grew irritated and shouted, “What are you doing?! I-I can walk by myself!”

“Quiet,” Chen Yin said softly.

She squirmed a bit in his arms, but her small limbs were no match for him. Realizing her struggle was futile, she sulked and reluctantly shrank back.

The steamy bathhouse was shrouded in mist. Carrying her in a princess hold, Chen Yin walked to the edge of the pool and prepared to remove the damp robe draped over her.

But she suddenly clutched at her clothes, glaring at him fiercely.

“Close your eyes. Don’t look!”

Chen Yin sighed helplessly.

“What’s this? You’re always so bold with your teasing words, yet now you’re too scared to let me look?”

“I-I’m just worried you’ll get arrested as a perverted pedophile!” she retorted.

“You are anything but a child, you’re just a stinky, bratty old hag.”

“Ha! Try saying that to the authorities and see if they believe you!”

After their familiar bickering, Chen Yin relented, closing his eyes and deftly helping her remove the soaked clothes before lowering her into the bath.

As her body submerged completely into the warm water, her playful expression faded, and her gaze dropped slightly.

“...Did you uncover the truth about Xiang’er?”

“I only managed to uncover part of it,” Chen Yin replied slowly. “But I did manage to rescue her from the demonic faction. At least I didn’t fail my mission.”

After speaking, he sat down on the edge of the bath with his back to her and said quietly,

“About Xiang’er... did you know the truth from the beginning?”

She didn’t answer.

The faint sound of water rippling echoed behind him, accompanied by a soft, almost imperceptible sigh.

“I didn’t originally plan to get involved in this matter. I was really busy,” she murmured, her watery gaze tinged with melancholy.

“But that day, as I passed through Ziqing Prefecture, I happened to walk down a snowy street.”

“I saw a little girl, barely clinging to life, and I just couldn’t harden my heart.”

Even though she had already guessed the little girl’s identity at the time. She knew full well that taking on this burden would invite endless trouble.

But on that snowy day, the little girl lay in the snow, barefoot, staring at her.

The oversized, dirt-stained Daoist robe barely covered her frail body. Her breathing grew weaker and weaker, yet her eyes remained steady and unyielding, like black ink on white paper.

—In the end, she couldn’t pretend not to see and just walk away.

“So I brought her back to the mountain and raised her as if I knew nothing,” she explained nonchalantly.

Chen Yin was silent for a moment before asking another question.

“What about me?”

“Why did you bring me back to the mountain?”

“You?” She chuckled, her tone teasing as her eyes gleamed with mischief.

Her expression held a hint of mystery.

"Because I saw that you, boy, had good potential—delicate skin and fine features. Once you grew up, you'd make a fine companion to ease my lonely nights," her master said with a playful smirk.

Chen Yin heard the dodge in her words. She had no intention of answering truthfully.

So, he didn’t press further and instead asked another question:

"How much of the responsibility for Xiang'er’s situation lies with the Misty Spirit Sect?"

“All of it.” Yu Ling sighed softly, her eyes closing slowly. “In truth, I never intended to tell you about this.”

“If you pursue this matter, it will only lead to an endless cycle of trouble.”

Chen Yin’s face remained calm as he replied, “And if I don’t pursue it, does that mean you wouldn’t have been injured?”

Yu Ling fell silent.

Chen Yin spoke seriously, “I don’t have the luxury to ponder philosophical truths. I prefer a simpler solution to problems.”

“And that is to deal with each person responsible, one by one.”

Yu Ling stared at him for a long time, her eyes distant, as if seeing something million miles away, before letting out a self-deprecating laugh.

“...That’s just so like you.”

“What?”

“Nothing.” Her tone grew calm. “As for what happened in the Changli Palace, instead of asking me, you should ask Xiang’er herself.”

“Once you’ve heard the truth, if you still insist on going after those old dogs of Misty Spirit Sect, I won’t stop you.”

“But there’s one thing,” her voice grew more serious.

“—Don’t die. I don’t have the strength to collect your corpse right now.”

Chen Yin listened quietly, then gave her a faint smile. Before leaving, his warm hand ruffled her damp hair.

“Don’t worry,” he said.

“Your disciple is the most cowardly and afraid of death.”

<+>

In the courtyard, the blooming Yushan Flowers swayed gently in the evening breeze.

Cool mist condensed into dewdrops on the petals, suffusing the air with a soft, lingering fragrance.

By the pond, Yu Xiang sat at the edge, lightly swinging her pale feet, her toes splashing the water playfully.

She didn’t know how much time had passed when someone suddenly sat down beside her.

“Senior Brother!” Yu Xiang’s eyes lit up immediately. “How is Master?”

“Don’t worry.” Chen Yin’s voice was gentle. “You know Master’s Record of the Forgetful Blossoming Heart. As long as she’s still breathing, she’ll recover eventually.”

“It’s just a matter of how fast.”

“I’ve already helped clear most of her meridians. With the technique’s natural flow, she should be mostly healed within a few days.”

Yu Xiang finally let out a breath of relief, though her expression soon grew somber. She lowered her head in sorrow.

“...Senior Brother,” she said weakly. “Was Master injured because of me?”

Chen Yin looked into her eyes silently before averting his gaze.

“Don’t overthink it. Master has enemies all over the world. It wouldn’t surprise me if someone finally managed to kill her one day.”

“But you,” his tone grew firm. “There are some things you need to come clean about.”

Yu Xiang’s eyes flickered, her heart trembling as if struck. She bit her lip tightly.

“What happened that year in the Changli Palace?”

“Of course,” he said gently, ruffling her hair, “if recalling it is too painful, you don’t have to say anything.”

Yu Xiang bit her lip harder, her gaze unconsciously misting over.

“If I tell you the truth... then there’s no turning back.”

Her voice wavered. “Senior Brother, it will mean you’ll truly become an enemy of the main sect—”

“Even if you don’t tell me,” Chen Yin’s tone remained calm, “I would still fight them to the bitter end.”

“I don’t have the patience to sit idly by after watching Master get hurt like this.”

Yu Xiang’s lips quivered. She slowly closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were filled with sorrow.

“That day’s events don’t really belong to me,” she said quietly.

“They’re the story of another girl, one named Yin Mengwan.”

<+>

Yin Mengwan was a lively little girl.

She grew up in the Changli Palace, the largest sect in Ziqing Prefecture. From birth, she was the cherished daughter of the sect leader, Yin Changli, beloved by the entire sect.

At her young age, she still remembered the senior brothers who let her ride on their backs, the senior sisters who made delicious pastries for her, and even the little junior sisters, too shy to speak, who blushed and followed her around, calling out sweetly:

“Senior Sister, let me play with you!”

She was happy.

It was the kind of happiness and warmth that most people in the world could only dream of.

But crystal-clear days are always the most fragile.

The little girl would never forget that day.

She was still playing with her mother and the senior brothers and sisters, their laughter echoing from the grand hall to the back mountain lake.

But then, suddenly—

Her father stumbled into the hall, his body drenched in blood.

He staggered toward the senior brothers and sisters, saying something with great difficulty. She couldn’t hear clearly.

She only remembered how solemn everyone’s expressions became. Her mother quickly picked her up and carried her toward the back mountain.

On the way, the little girl asked, “Why isn’t Father coming to play with us?”

“Little rascal,” her mother’s eyes remained gentle. “Don’t disturb your father today.”

“Be good and sleep early tonight.”

“—Father and I will meet you in your dreams,” she said softly.

That was the last thing the little girl ever heard her mother say.

She obediently went to sleep early that night and had a sweet dream.

In the dream, the sea turned into the sky, its colors blending with coral and rainbows. Whales swam through the clouds, and the grand sound of tides filled her ears.

When she woke, she rubbed her eyes groggily, searching for her mother.

But she didn’t find her.

—All she found was a lake stained blood-red.

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