The villains are redeemed, and the heroines cry and beg for forgiveness.

Cheng Caimeng rested her head on Gu Ran's shoulder. Her voice was a little hoarse. She had only answered Gu Ran's question by forcing herself to stay calm.

"I do feel a little unwilling... cough cough, after all, before I met you, I had never missed out."

"Cough cough..."

"It's like before I met you, I would walk and think about things without ever bumping into anyone, but as soon as I met you, I bumped into you..."

Cheng Caimeng's voice was slightly hoarse and weak, but she still spoke fluently.

Gu Ran felt a little relieved.

Cheng Caimeng is a martial artist who has mastered the art of Qi Condensation, and her body is exceptionally strong compared to the average person.

Even if the internal organs fail like those of an elderly person, with proper care, they can still survive.

However, his combat ability will be greatly reduced in the future, and he will not be able to exert two or three percent of the strength of his martial arts condensation.

For cultivators, he would be practically a "useless person".

However, if one simply wants to survive, one can still have a normal lifespan.

But Gu Ran didn't know if Cheng Caimeng could withstand such a blow.

For martial artists, becoming a "crippled person" is a result that is even more unbearable than death.

Gu Ran listened silently to Cheng Caimeng speak.

“I noticed you from that time on, and you know what? I felt a sense of familiarity with you, a familiarity I will never forget in my life.”

Cheng Caimeng's voice suddenly grew slightly louder, and her face lit up with a newfound radiance.

"Actually, I should have died of illness when I was very young, but a mysterious person saved me, and the martial arts I practice were actually taught to me by him."

......

Cheng Youmeng was taken aback.

My sister's martial arts techniques weren't taught at the martial arts school; someone else taught her.

No wonder it's completely different from the system of a martial arts dojo.

And why was I completely unaware that my older sister almost died of illness when she was a child?

Why does my sister never tell me this?

......

Cheng Caimeng continued, "When I was about ten years old, my illness was almost completely cured, but it was also in that year that he left."

"However, before leaving, he took me into the ruins beneath the Reverse Origin Martial Arts Hall and told me how to control the ruins."

"At that time I was still very ignorant, but when I grew up I was extremely surprised, because even my father, the only successor of the Reverse Origin Martial Arts Hall, did not know about the existence of the ruins, let alone how to control them."

"But that mysterious person knew all this and told me about it. He also told me that when I met someone I thought was right, I should bring him to take the sword from the ruins and... the 'Ark Core'."

At this point, Cheng Caimeng's face suddenly turned very melancholy.

"Then the mysterious person left. I don't remember anything about his appearance or physical characteristics; I just have the impression that there was such a person."

"I've been waiting and waiting, but I've never met the 'right' person. Because that mysterious person never left any criteria for a 'right' person."

"I've always been very confused about this, and I've always been thinking about what the right person is."

"I've been to this site many times since then, trying to uncover more secrets. I've tried to pull out the sword stuck in the stone many times, but I couldn't even budge it, let alone pull it out. It's like the sword is completely fused to the stone."

"I am more skilled at manipulating the ruins, and I know that the 'Ark Core' may be a product of a long-ago civilization, but that's all."

"Until... I met you."

"The moment I met you, I noticed you and felt a strong sense of familiarity. It's just that so much time has passed that I've almost forgotten about it, so I didn't recall this feeling of familiarity for a moment."

"Until I went back and remembered the ruins, remembered the mysterious person who saved my life and taught me martial arts when I was a child, and then... remembered the feeling that mysterious person gave me, which was almost exactly the same as the feeling you gave me."

"but......"

Cheng Caimeng paused for a moment at this point.

"But we're actually around the same age, and there's a good chance you're a few years older than me."

Gu Ran continued Cheng Caimeng's words.

"Therefore, I cannot be the mysterious person who saved your life and taught you martial arts techniques, as you remember me."

"In fact, I didn't know you at all before I met you."

Cheng Caimeng smiled bitterly and said, "Yes, I could tell from you later that you really didn't recognize me, and you were indeed a few years younger than me. According to the customs of the slums, I would be considered an old maid at the age of twenty-four, while you are just a child who has just grown up."

Because of the high mortality rate in slums, the population is depleted rapidly, and girls usually get married and have children at the age of fourteen or fifteen.

Twenty-four years old is indeed considered an "old maid".

Boys, on the other hand, are expected to marry after they turn twenty and are fully physically mature.

Only when a boy is fully mature can his strength reach its maximum, and only then will he have enough "strength" to marry a wife.

Gu Ran appears to be a young man under twenty years old. It is only because of his unparalleled strength and imposing presence that people overlook his age.

Of course, martial artists and people with superpowers have much longer lifespans, so their "youth period" is also longer.

Many martial artists who were obsessed with martial arts training in their early years didn't get married and have children until their forties or fifties.

While it's not uncommon for someone in their twenties to achieve Qi Condensation in martial arts, it's not exactly rare either; such a person could be considered a "genius" to some extent.

Such a martial artist, at such an age, is as young as could be.

Cheng Caimeng said that as a joke, just to "mockery" herself.

Perhaps, there was also a complex emotion involved that she herself could not quite articulate.

Since Gu Ran is a "child" who has just grown up, and her age is older than Gu Ran, then Gu Ran is definitely not the mysterious person in her memory.

—The person she regarded as her teacher and respected immensely.

“You are not that mysterious person, but I can really feel that sense of familiarity about the mysterious person from you.”

"I can't help but want to continue exploring you, to uncover your secrets, but..."

Somehow, the more I understand you, the more I feel...

Gu Ran suddenly noticed that a small patch of Cheng Caimeng's neck was red.

There was a moment of silence, and Cheng Caimeng ultimately did not say what "a kind" was.

He didn't press further.

She abruptly changed the subject.

"You have a strong sense of mystery about you. You claim to be a bounty hunter, yet you possess profound scientific knowledge. You have no spiritual power, yet you can use any tool made of star stone, and you are so powerful that you have almost no rivals."

"Although you are not the mysterious person who saved me back then, you are very likely the person the mysterious person told me was the right person to give that sword in the stone."

Even if you are not him, you have such similarities, so he must be talking about you.

"Although I'm certain that you are the person he was talking about, I don't know if the timing is right."

Don't worry, don't worry, it wasn't cut.

Let me tell you about the current situation of the author, Gou.

I was originally planning to resume regular updates after the New Year, but when I actually started writing, I fell into a feeling of aversion.

Just like after doing a hundred math problems all day, my mind goes blank as soon as I sit in front of the computer.

Then, whenever I felt like writing, I would start scrolling through my phone, aimlessly and without gaining any insights. I would constantly open various social media platforms and community apps, aimlessly browsing short videos and community information.

Watching various information feeds and consuming all sorts of gossip allows the mind to be completely relaxed and entertained.

At the same time, I kept opening various reading platforms, reading this novel and that novel.

I regularly clear out my stamina in Ark and Endless Journey every day, try out new activities, and occasionally play Master on the computer.

And so another day passed, but I neither wrote anything nor studied anything.

At the end of the day, I felt empty.

But I can't control my hand from scrolling through my phone.

My mood also became anxious.

—Perhaps this is also because we've been staying indoors for over a week due to the rainy weather.

I usually go out for a run, a walk, or a hike to relieve stress and relax. I was planning to go see The Wandering Earth 2 after the Lunar New Year, but I couldn't go because of the weather.

But don't worry, I won't cut it, because this book is already close to the end. As a newbie, I think the experience of finishing the first few books is still important. After all, I'm not a genius, and my performance gets better and better with each book I cut. As a primary school student in the online novel world, I, the author, have a relatively clear understanding of my own talent.

Don't worry about the poor performance due to the long hiatus. The book's performance was already getting worse because of the limitations of the subject matter and the poor writing skills of the author. So I stopped checking the backend performance a long time ago, and of course, I didn't check the comments section either. I was just focused on finishing the book without being affected.

My condition has been really bad lately, and updates have been hard to keep up with.

I will try to recover as soon as possible.

You can leave this book for now. I'll send a notification when it's finished.

Thank you for reading this far.