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

Lin Wuhua is really going to die.

Xie Jiexue was certain of this the moment he saw him.

Or perhaps, she was already certain of it.

Xie Jiexue actually visited quite a few times during these days, but Lin Wuhua was unaware of it.

Almost every time she arrived, she would just stand at the mouth of the valley, watching Lin Wuhua's back, without getting any closer.

And every time she came, Lin Wuhua's condition worsened.

He coughed every day, his face was as pale as paper, and he always coughed up blood.

It's always been like this, and it's happening again this time.

But Xie Jiexue decided to meet him this time.

The chill reached Lin Wuhua's back even faster than she did, making him realize who was behind him.

"Ahem... You've come to see me, Jie Xue."

Xie Jiexue: "Mm."

She unconsciously crossed her arms, feeling a slight chill and a stinging sensation in her chest, but she didn't know why.

She thought it was probably the final clash between the sword and the bone.

"Are you cold?" Lin Wuhua asked. "Would you like to warm up by the fire with me for a while? I'm a little cold."

Xie Jiexue paused for a moment, then nodded.

She left and went to the forest outside the valley. With a few strokes of her sword, she chopped down several bundles of firewood and brought them back.

Lin Wuhua gently rubbed his hands together and breathed on them.

The flame flickered for a moment, igniting the firewood.

"Would you like to come over and sit with me for a while?"

Xie Jiexue took a few steps closer.

Then, the fire went out.

The ice flowers spread onto the firewood, extinguishing the fire.

Xie Jiexue and Lin Wuhua were both stunned.

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Wuhua suddenly coughed twice: "It really is... fate."

"I'm not that cold, and I can manage without a fire. Would you like to sit with me?"

Xie Jiexue turned away and rubbed her hands together, saying, "No, I'm not cold."

Lin Wuhua didn't try to persuade her any further: "...I see."

He raised his hands, rubbed them together, and then breathed on them.

The flame was relit.

But Xie Jiexue did not approach, and even took a few steps away.

She was so cold that if you got too close, the ice would extinguish the fire.

So she just watched from afar, watching Lin Wuhua sit alone by the fire.

She watched him, knees clasped in his hands, staring blankly at the fire.

Xie Jiexue did not leave until Lin Wuhua extinguished the fire and stood up.

"Let's enter the final level after he passes away."

Xie Jiexue thought so.

......

And so, Lin Wuhua studied swordsmanship day after day.

Until one day, he finally stepped out of the Sword Sect's forbidden area.

The sun shone brightly, illuminating his pale face and every mountain peak of the Sword Sect.

But at this moment, the Sword Sect is no longer as bustling as it used to be.

Black demonic smoke drifted in from afar, but was blocked by the Sword Sect's protective mountain formation.

Lin Wuhua pressed his hand against the cliff face and started walking down.

Along the way, a chaotic group of disciples passed by him, all looking at him with strange eyes.

So much time has passed that most of his disciples no longer recognize him.

Lin Wuhua stopped at a crossroads some distance from Xie Jiexue's cave.

A female disciple stopped Lin Wuhua.

"The Sword Master is in meditation; do not disturb him. Don't you know that?"

The female disciple glanced at Lin Wuhua's waist tag.

"Didn't they move out of the library a long time ago?"

Lin Wuhua coughed lightly: "Has Elder Bai Wushu already left?"

"Yes, they've moved away, they've moved to the back."

"War will break out here, so the entire library will be moved to a later date."

Finally, the female disciple, seeing Lin Wuhua's emaciated appearance, kindly offered a reminder.

"Elder, you can still go to the back mountain now and leave with the Sword Sect's flying shuttle."

Lin Wuhua remained silent, glancing at the distant Sword Sect, then at the increasingly bright Supreme Frost.

Aren't you leaving?

"Someone has to do something," another disciple said, walking over.

But it wasn't the disciple responsible for maintaining order; it was Zhao Qian, an old acquaintance of Lin Wuhua.

"Senior Brother Wuhua, it's been a long time. You don't seem to be in good health."

"Yes, I'm going to die," Lin Wuhua admitted.

He asked Zhao Qian, "What about intercepting the snow?"

From Zhao Qian's reply, Lin Wuhua knew that something serious had gone wrong at the front.

The defense line under the Sword Sect's control has been breached with a huge gap.

Demons far exceeding the capacity are surging in.

"They are deliberately heading this way, and there are at least twenty powerful demons."

"Reports from other regions indicate that the pressure on the demonic forces there has decreased significantly, but they dare not provide support, fearing they might fall into the demons' trap of luring them away from their base."

"The Sword Master is preparing, and we must prepare as well."

Looking at Lin Wuhua, Zhao Qian gave a wry smile.

"It's a pity I've never fought alongside you, and I haven't been able to let the demons witness the brilliance of Chief Lin."

Lin Wuhua laughed: "Shut up, you're just making things up."

As he was laughing, he started coughing again.

A little blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, which he wiped away.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me? I'd like to hear it."

Zhao Qian: "Aren't you leaving?"

"Where should I go? Let me hear what you have to say."

"Besides me, there's probably no one else who'd listen to you these days, otherwise you wouldn't have bothered coming all this way."

Zhao Qian paused, then gave a wry smile: "You still figured it out."

He scratched his head, his mature and composed demeanor gone.

The two of them leaned against the wall and started talking.

From entering a sect to discussing cultivation, from food and clothing to housing and transportation.

They talked about everything, but never about demons.

"I remember, when I first joined the sect, you were already in the Scripture Pavilion. You were only a year older than me back then..."

"And Elder Hua of Huichuntang, her skills are truly excellent, but ordinary disciples don't get to be treated by her."

"Elder Bai Wushu is going to the rear. It's a pity I didn't get to say goodbye to him."

"And there's Junior Brother Changlu, but unfortunately you probably haven't met him..."

The two talked for a long time.

As they were talking, Zhao Qian suddenly gripped his sword.

"I should go," he said.

Lin Wuhua called out to him.

Are you scared?

Zhao Qian paused, then nodded: "I'm afraid."

"But my senior brother Jiang Shouzhou is dead, so I think I can't be too afraid."

His hand gripped the sword steadily.

Lin Wuhua looked at the female disciple from before. She was waiting for Zhao Qian, but her hand was not very steady.

"She's scared," Lin Wuhua said.

Zhao Qian thought he was blaming him: "She's only been here for less than a year, there's nothing I can do."

"Why don't you propose to her?" Lin Wuhua suddenly joked. "Maybe she won't be afraid if you propose."

Zhao Qian paused, his face turning red.

"Hey, don't say things like that."

Lin Wuhua's expression became more serious.

"It's best to say what's going on sooner rather than later, so we don't miss the opportunity."

He coughed lightly twice, turned around, and prepared to leave.

Zhao Qian called out to him.

"Wuhua, do you want to see Jiexue?"

Lin Wuhua stopped walking, but he didn't turn around.

"No, I won't bother her."

"I've said everything that needed to be said and everything that needed to be said."

Behind him, the female disciple approached Zhao Qian.

"Brother Qian, who is this? He doesn't seem to be heading towards the exit of the back mountain."

"He is the Sword Master's lover. With the Sword Master here, where can he go?"

"Hey, does the Sword Master still have a lover?"

"Yes," Zhao Qian suddenly hugged her, "so they are all pitiful people."

He said this as his female disciple's face suddenly turned crimson.

"It's okay, I like you..."