After the path was cut off

Tianzhu Peak.

It was still that familiar long corridor, the wind rustling gently under the eaves, the mountain scenery outside the corridor unchanged. Only now, there was another person sitting under the corridor: Li Wangxiang.

Xiao Huanshan has been reclaimed.

Li Wangxiang only took some of his old personal belongings and moved back to Tianzhu Peak.

There's really not much to tidy up.

In recent years, Zhen Chuan has spent most of his time traveling and has spent relatively little time in his cave. To be honest, that place is more like a shell for storing his identity than a "home" where one can feel at ease settling down.

An Ting propped her head up and sat quietly beside him, unusually so.

She has been much quieter since returning from that trip to the Hall of Mastery.

Li Wangxiang did not ask what Lord Huanyou had said to her.

He is no longer in a position to ask.

Just as before, Junior Sister would never ask him for the true intentions of the Hall of Mastery. Those things that could be said didn't need to be asked; those things that couldn't be said were futile to ask.

The sunlight outside the corridor was bright, the clouds were thin, and the mountain breeze, passing under the eaves, still carried a hint of the lingering coolness of early spring.

Li Wangxiang raised his head and looked at it for a moment.

He didn't actually want his junior sister to sit in that seat.

To outsiders, the term "true lineage" signifies glory, the seed of the golden elixir, and a chosen one of heaven, high above all others, receiving the bestowal of a single sect.

But only those who actually sit in it know that it's not like that.

This is just like the day.

When you're far away, you feel the vastness of the sky and the clear blue sky, because all of that is irrelevant to you. But once you get close, you only feel the cold, the heaviness, and the awe and fear of that feeling of being suspended high above your head, unable to look directly at you.

If possible, Li Wangxiang actually hoped that his junior sister wouldn't go to that main hall.

Unfortunately—

There are no other disciples left on Tianzhu Peak.

Li Wangxiang sighed softly, slowly suppressing the old thoughts that had resurfaced, and finally turned his gaze back to the table.

The old wooden box sat on the table.

The box contained the letter he had written a few days earlier, which he had stopped writing halfway through.

Li Wangxiang reached out and took it out, then unfolded it again.

The sentence on the paper, "Soon I will—", remains there to this day.

He stared at it for a long time, and finally a very faint smile appeared on his lips.

Now, I can finally write this letter home with peace of mind.

When An Ting saw him take out the letter, she also leaned her head closer.

"Is my senior brother writing a letter home?"

Li Wangxiang nodded.

An Ting looked at the paper, her expression suddenly fell, and her voice became softer.

"You went home... and now I'm all alone again."

After she finished speaking, she lowered her eyes and unconsciously tapped the edge of the table with her fingertips, as if she regretted speaking so bluntly.

After a moment, she added in a low voice:

"I've heard that those who leave the sect to establish their own immortal sect are not allowed to return without a transfer order."

Li Wangxiang glanced at her, his tone still gentle.

"If you really want to come, your senior brother won't stop you."

"When your cultivation level is higher and you can descend the mountain on your own, come find me in Yunmeng."

Upon hearing this, An Ting's mood didn't sink any further; she simply gave a muffled "hmm."

"That will have to wait until I reach the seventh level of Qi Refining."

As she spoke, she reached out and moved the inkstone closer to herself.

"Senior brother, you write it."

"I'll grind the ink for you."

Li Wangxiang didn't say anything more, but simply picked up his pen again.

As the ink settled, he finally continued the sentence that had been left unsaid on the paper for so long.

I will be returning home soon.

My brother has now been granted the sacred land of "Yunyin Lake" by the sect, and is hereby ordered to establish a sect.

The purpose of this trip back to my hometown is to bring my brother and the neighbors with me.

My brother has been practicing Taoism for over fifty years.

He thought he had seen through birth, aging, sickness, death, fame, and fortune.

I believe I have severed all worldly ties, and my heart is like a withered tree.

But when I wake up in the middle of the night, my heart is only with my brother and my neighbors.

Thinking of how you all have been displaced and wandered to avoid the calamities of evil practices.

This has resulted in the parents being alive while the children are left without joy.

This resulted in the infant child needing to be fed, yet feeling no warmth in one's arms;

This led to a situation where, even in old age, the wife he had married could not stay with him.

When people think of the pursuit of profit in this world, selfishness becomes the norm.

Desire should be kept in mind; indulgence should be the heart's desire.

Evil comes first, and killing is the way.

Thinking of forcing good into evil, thinking of...

I recall how, back then, my elder brother knelt before the enemy and shamed himself to save my life, resulting in the death of my uncle's bones scattered across the wilderness.

There is hatred, resentment, regret, and heartache in all of this.

It's a pity that fate is unfair, and all living beings suffer.

Now I finally have the opportunity to fight for a way out for you all.

Let me lead you out of this impoverished Central Plains and find a place where you can settle down and make a living.

To establish a celestial sect for ten thousand generations, not seeking immortality, nor seeking immortality.

He only sought to protect this mortal realm, so that evil cultivators would not dare to intrude and calamities would not befall them.

Seeing this scene, my life is finally complete, and I have no regrets.

An Ting sat to the side, resting her chin on her hand, watching the letter from nothing to something, watching the words fill the paper line by line, but she remained silent.

Li Wangxiang paused after finishing the last stroke, gently placing the pen back on the pen holder, and only then did An Ting speak.

"Senior brother."

"Um?"

An Ting pointed to the last few lines of text in the letter, her expression remaining calm.

"You're being naive again."

Li Wangxiang was taken aback. The warmth he felt from writing the letter hadn't yet dissipated, and when she suddenly pointed it out with those words, he surprisingly showed a hint of embarrassment.

He instinctively reached out to take the letter.

"You don't understand."

"Stop looking."

An Ting, however, refused and leaned forward, pressing down on the corner of the letter.

She didn't say anything more, only adding softly:

"You can protect them."

"But you can't give them strength."

After those words were spoken, the corridor fell silent for a moment.

The heat that had been surging in Li Wangxiang's chest just moments before seemed to be gently pressed down and slowly subsided.

He looked down at the letter, and after a long while, he raised his hand and gently tapped An Ting's forehead.

"People need hope to keep going."

An Ting covered her forehead and glared at him.

Li Wangxiang's tone was very flat.

"Especially those who are vulnerable."

"Not saying something when you can't do it, and saying something when you can't do it—these are two different things."

After hearing this, An Ting was taken aback for a moment, then gave a soft "humph".

"You're spouting nonsense again."

She had already prepared to turn the page, but her gaze inexplicably fell back to the end of the letter.

He paused, then suddenly looked up at Li Wangxiang.

"Oh, right."

"What did you mean by your last sentence, 'I have no regrets'?"

"Are you hiding something from me?"

At this moment, Li Wangxiang's previously calm expression finally faltered slightly.

He slowly folded the letter, his movements slower than before, as if he were stalling for time.

"I……"

He opened his mouth, but the words caught in his throat, as if he had suddenly forgotten how to say them.

He could only look away somewhat awkwardly and mumble:

"I got to that point...the atmosphere was right."