What does it mean that they all lived with lifelong regrets?

Chapter 25 The New Sword Bone

"It's so cold..."

"I'm so cold..."

The biting cold awakened Xie Jiexue.

She opened her eyes and found herself standing in a blizzard.

The dark clouds swallowed the moonlight, and large, fluffy snowflakes fell, landing on her thin, coarse cloth clothes.

"How did I get here...?"

Xie Jiexue clenched her hands in a daze.

Those hands were small and felt unfamiliar to her.

"It's so cold... I want to go home..."

"Home...where is home...?"

The sound of a withered tree breaking came from behind.

Xie Jiexue turned around and found that the only path behind her was blocked by a dead tree.

That was the way she came.

"......Home."

"You little slut, what are you crying for? This is a life of luxury. The lords in the city are—"

The pain forced Xie Jiexue to raise her hand and cover her head.

She suddenly realized that she had no home anymore.

Her parents wanted to sell her, but she would rather die than be humiliated like that.

Unbeknownst to her, Xie Jiexue had already started walking.

The wind and snow lashed at her, robbing her of the little warmth she already had, and her body began to sway weakly.

But Xie Jiexue did not give up.

In a moment of intuition, she realized that she was going to see someone.

If I fall, I'll never see that person again.

A dilapidated temple appeared ahead.

Xie Jiexue propped herself up and climbed over the threshold of the dilapidated temple.

She didn't even have the strength to close the door.

In the corner, Xie Jiexue hugged her knees and curled up.

"Wait here, everything will be alright," a voice told her.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she heard a sound entering through the threshold.

He was a teenager.

He was wearing a blue long robe, carrying a large bag full of firewood on his back, a dead rabbit in one hand, and a sword hanging at his waist. He stepped through the door in a somewhat disheveled manner.

"Why is this damn rabbit running so fast?"

The boy cursed and closed the gate of the dilapidated temple.

Xie Jiexue curled up even deeper, but strangely, she wasn't very afraid.

Firstly, the boy was about the same age as her.

Secondly, the boy was extremely handsome, which made her unwilling to be wary.

"Crackling sound."

The firelight flared up, and the rabbit, held atop the flames by the boy, sizzled and crackled.

The light and scent lured her out of the dark corner.

But she still didn't go closer; instead, she hid in a corner and watched secretly.

She's been kicked out too many times.

Her father looked down on her, her mother treated her like merchandise, her brother wondered how much money he could sell her for, and her sisters said there was nothing wrong with being a rich man's servant.

But how could that be?

If a wealthy businessman buys her, will he care about her?

Would a person care about a piece of cargo?

Would anyone love her as a natural person, not because of her usefulness or value?

Without a doubt, this is almost impossible.

So she ran away.

Suddenly, Xie Jiexue's hand moved.

A pebble was thrown at her feet.

"Hey girl, wanna warm ourselves by the fire?"

The boy asked her.

.......

The firelight flickered, casting shadows on the boy's face.

But Xie Jiexue did not speak.

At that moment, the image shattered, and she remembered everything.

"The beauty of nature".

Before anyone knew it, tears appeared on Xie Jiexue's face.

Conversations by the pond, the struggles before the grand competition, the playful antics at the temple fair, the wreaths under the peach blossom tree...

And finally, the sharp blade that pierced her body.

The fire went out, and everything returned to darkness.

Xie Jiexue looked down and saw the huge wounds on her body.

A sharp chill spread from my chest, and the warmth of my body slipped through my fingers like sand—I could neither grasp it nor hold onto it.

Xie Jiexue moved her hand, trying to grab something, but she grabbed nothing.

she......

For some inexplicable reason, Xie Jiexue realized that this was the end of her life.

But strangely, the moment she realized this, she felt no fear, only regret—

She hasn't told Lin Wuhua what she wanted to say yet.

But suddenly, a slight sense of relief welled up inside me—

"If we tell him, Wuhua will remember it and be heartbroken. What will he do if he wants to get married in the future?"

Then came the worry—

"Will anyone love him as much as I do? Will anyone supervise his cultivation as I do?"

"What if that person is bad at talking and makes him angry?"

There was even a hint of jealousy—

"Will Wuhua treat someone else the same way she treated me?"

For no apparent reason, a tremendous sense of sorrow welled up inside me.

She realized that she would never see Lin Wuhua again.

The person who handed her half a rabbit in the snowstorm, the person who worried about whether she was dressed warmly enough, the person who named her, the person who made a flower wreath for her.

—Her—lover.

"No, I don't want to..."

She called out silently.

But the chill would not change according to her will; it would rob her of her last warmth and drag her into that deepest abyss of cold.

"Wuhua, I..."

So she began to pray, to rebel, and to struggle.

Even if it's just in my heart, I want to see him one more time.

The firelight shone for a fleeting moment.

In the firelight, Lin Wuhua's silhouette appeared.

"Are you cold? Cut the snow."

"Wuhua, I'm so scared... Don't leave me here alone... Don't forget me."

Firelight replied, "No."

In the last instant before the flames went out, a surge of intense warmth exploded in Xie Jiexue's heart.

I will never abandon you.

The world disappeared.

......

Amidst the intense pain, Xie Jiexue opened her eyes.

She moved her hands and found herself lying on a cold jade platform, covered with a thin brocade quilt.

"I...am I not dead?"

Xie Jiexue spoke in a daze, then stirred again, trying to get up.

For some reason, she felt very flustered.

The intense pain stopped her—her whole body ached.

From bones to flesh, from meridians to internal organs, everything is like this, as if it has been cut into a thousand pieces and then pieced back together.

Someone walked over.

It was Chu Hanxiao, the sect leader of the Sword Sect.

"Jie Xue, your body hasn't recovered yet. The new sword bone is adapting to your body. You need to rest."

Xie Jiexue: "What...?"

For a fleeting moment, she felt her consciousness freeze.

What is... the new sword bone?

Are there any other members of the Sword Sect who possess new sword bones?

She suddenly clutched her chest.

A unique feeling of fullness and abundance came from my chest.

A continuous stream of power emanated from my chest, bringing a familiar warmth.

Xie Jiexue turned her head with difficulty.

Then she saw—