Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

That was him in his previous life.

At first glance, the appearances in this life are quite different, but upon closer inspection, one can still discern many familiar features.

"I wonder if Senior Yu Qingtu is still alive..."

As for the girl Clarice… she is a short-lived species, and under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for her to live into his future.

Qi Zhimu didn't think too deeply about it, nor did he ever consider searching for them; he merely sighed.

People should always look forward. Whether the past was regrettable or wonderful, let it remain in the past.

He took out a small sachet from the Jade Palace space, and the smiling eyes of a young girl appeared before him.

The question Clarice once asked echoed in my mind.

"If I were to die, would Mr. Qi be willing to remember me as much as possible?"

The answer at that time came from the heart, but it was not a solemn promise, nor did it carry much weight.

Ultimately, their relationship remained solely that of friends.

But... the tenderness and warmth Clarice showed him before her death were enough to be remembered forever.

"There was once a gentle girl named Clarisse who gave me a hug. I will always remember that warmth, and I will always remember her."

This is his belated, formal response after traversing a long period of time.

After putting away the sachet, Qi Zhimu had a zhongruan (a type of Chinese plucked string instrument) in his hand.

The wood has a deep, rich color and is finely crafted.

Of all the things I acquired in my previous life, this zhongruan is the only one I have no recollection of.

Perhaps it was related to unpleasant experiences that prevented me from carrying that memory into this life.

"That's enough."

Recalling the past only adds to the sadness, and the blurred boundaries and sense of incompleteness are equally unpleasant.

The thought that the demonic body of the Immortal Boatman was also intricately linked to his memories made him even more unhappy.

For hundreds of years since his retirement from the military, Qi Zhimu has never stopped his secret research on the Demonic Yin Body and the Power of Abundance.

Relying on the biological memory knowledge accumulated in his previous life, he did achieve some results.

Such behavior is ultimately a sensitive issue in the Immortal Ship. If the Ten Kings Division were to find out, a judge would surely come knocking on his door to invite him for tea.

The physicians in the Demon Yin Department of the Dan Ding Division have a get-out-of-jail-free card, allowing them to legitimately research the Demon Yin Body and the Power of Abundance.

However, the Demon Yin Division's main research focus is on healing, which differs from Qi Zhimu's.

Qi Zhimu never had the idea of ​​curing the demonic yin.

Why?

A very real question is before us: if one day the Immortal Ship can completely cure the demonic yin, how will we define life and death for people?

The consequences of immortality are already written in bloody lessons throughout the history of the Immortal Boat Alliance.

Unending population growth, resource competition, and class divisions will inevitably lead to endless unrest...

Exploring this topic in detail is more sensitive than anything else.

Therefore, even if the Immortal Ship could truly overcome the Demon Yin, it would absolutely not, and could not, be made available to the general public, and not a single word of it could be leaked.

People can tolerate certain facts existing in the shadows, but they cannot accept them being brought to the forefront.

The Demonic Yin Body is considered a hidden factor in maintaining order on the Immortal Ship; this is one of the unspoken consensuses.

Qi Zhimu only slowed down the progression of his mother's demonic influence, but did not seek a cure, and that was precisely why.

There are gains and losses; some Pandora's boxes must never be opened.

When Qiu Zhiyan got home, she was still awake.

When she saw Qi Zhimu enter the room with a normal expression, her lips moved slightly, but a moment of confusion and bewilderment flashed in her eyes.

Qi Zhimu saw this and sighed inwardly.

"It's almost midnight, why isn't Mother asleep yet? Is there something you want to tell me?"

After Qi Zhimu's reminder, Qiu Zhiyan's blank expression disappeared, and she gestured for him to sit down.

"Zhimu, while you were seeing General Tengxiao, I thought about many things... Go back now."

"…mother?"

Qi Zhimu was stunned; he naturally knew what going back meant.

Qiu Zhiyan held her son's hand, her tone complicated.

"Mother has been absent-minded lately, and easily forgets what she was thinking about... The time should be approaching soon..."

"A demonic body is the destiny of those who live forever. Your mother lived to the ripe old age of 995, but it became a shackle that bound you for most of your life..."

"You don't need to comfort your mother with the excuse of voluntariness. Whether your mother speaks up or not, she is the direct reason that influences your choice."

"Imagine if I had died in battle like your sister and that deadbeat father, would you still have chosen to retire?"

No one knows a child better than their mother, but how could Qi Zhimu not understand his mother's inner turmoil?

They both knew the answer, but he didn't want his mother to live with guilt for the rest of her life.

People's state of mind tends to change slowly over time, especially those on the Immortal Ship who are about to fall into demonic influence.

The closer that day gets, the more the negative emotions buried in the past will be amplified.

Qiu Zhiyan's face remained that of someone in their early twenties, but her eyes were filled with the vicissitudes of life she had witnessed.

"Your maternal grandparents and uncles died on the battlefield when your mother was very young..."

"When we were young, your father and I swore an oath atop the mountain of corpses of evil creatures, vowing to cut down all the abundant evil creatures before us."

"At that time, your father was all I had in my world, and then you came into my life."

"People change. Starting with your sister, that seed had been planted in my heart. And after you were born, watching you grow up, I suddenly felt—"

"Whether it's your mother suddenly leaving you, or you joining the army in the future to fight against evil creatures and teeter on the edge of death... it's all unfair and cruel to you."

"On the night of your sixth birthday, I discussed with your father the idea of ​​letting you choose your own path in the future, instead of sending you directly to the Cloud Rider Training Camp and deciding your life on your own."

"But your father is stubborn and full of ancestral precepts; he absolutely disagreed... That was the first time we argued, and we even got physical..."

Qiu Zhiyan sighed deeply, unconsciously tightening her grip on Qi Zhimu's hand.

"I lost so much when I was young, and I'm really afraid of losing more..."

"But I still lost your sister and your father. Although your father was stubborn, old-fashioned, and didn't understand human relationships, he wasn't anything special except for his martial arts skills."

"But... he is ultimately the person Mother wants to spend her life with..."

"Mother is a cowardly person. After the battle of Jade Palace, she used the excuse that she couldn't lose you again to drag you into this cage as well, where you've been trapped for hundreds of years..."

"I have let down the ancestors of the Qi family, I have let down your father, and I have let you down the most."

"You are a descendant of the Qi family, and the only one in more than ten generations to have grabbed the weapon in the child-testing custom."

"I didn't believe in these things before, but the talent you've shown since you were little has made me believe that perhaps it's all destiny."

"For hundreds of years, no one has ever summoned a member of the Qi family back to the ranks. Now you are nearly six hundred years old, exceeding the average retirement age of the Cloud Cavalry, yet the general has unusually come to visit you."

"Although General Teng Xiao didn't say it, I could sense that something big was about to happen in the coming years, and I could no longer selfishly keep you locked up in a cage."

After listening to many things, Qi Zhimu grasped his mother's hand in return.

"If we can't even protect one's own home, how can we protect the lights of countless other homes?"

"If the price of protecting the lights of every home is a family, then someone will always be willing to sacrifice for it..."

Tears welled up in Qiu Zhiyan's eyes, and respect appeared on her face.

"This... is the tacit choice made by the Qi family generation after generation... Despite their initial reluctance, they still went ahead without hesitation; they were all unwilling heroes..."

"Zhimu, your mother doesn't want you to become a hero, but she also doesn't want the Qi family's two-thousand-year-old tradition of bravery and loyalty to be tarnished because of my interference."

The warmth of his mother's skin reached his palm, and Qi Zhimu's heart surged with emotion. He remained silent for a long time.

"...I understand, Mother."

After a moment of silence, Qi Zhimu smiled.

Actually... he always understood.

Ultimately, however, he was just a mortal.

As the hunting envoy, the Immortal Boat General, the Immortal Boat's supreme combat power, was powerless in the face of many difficulties, and even died in a foreign land, let alone him.

He didn't have such grand ambitions.

All he wanted was to protect his mother and his family.

That's it.

Mother... even if you never said it aloud, I am destined to tarnish the Qi family's courage and righteousness.

Because… my initial motivation for joining the army as a child was always simply to protect you, not…

—Fairy Boat.

If I ever die on the battlefield in the future, I will be the same unwilling hero you speak of.