Covering the Sky: The Years I Was the Empress's Strictest Master

He quietly left the quiet room, gently closing the door behind him, leaving the tranquility of the deceased to those inside.

……

inside the house.

I don't know how much time passed.

Tan Lin slowly released his hand, gently placed Xiang Jun's arm back under the covers, and carefully tucked the blanket around him.

He stood up and solemnly bowed slightly to Xiang Jun's corpse on the bed.

…………

Chapter 159 Chi Yao: If You're Not Going, Then I Will (Bonus Chapter for 3K Views, Please Subscribe)

This ceremony served both as a farewell to Xiang Jun and as a brief conclusion to his own nearly year-long stay with the Chi family.

Over the past year, his cultivation level has advanced from the Four Extremes Secret Realm to the peak of the Dragon Transformation Realm, and he is only one step away from the Immortal Platform Realm.

His physique and invincible fist intent were further refined at the top of the Hedao Cliff, becoming stronger and purer.

Now, it's time for him to leave...

After the ceremony, Tan Lin slowly turned around and looked at the girl in the green dress who was still sitting there with her head down.

In my sight, the girl's shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly, and a crystal tear, for some unknown reason, slid down and dripped into the jade bowl in her hand, splashing out a small ripple.

Seeing this, Tan Lin remained silent for a moment, then slowly spoke:

"Thank you so much, Sister Chi Xuan, for taking such good care of Brother Jun these past few days..."

His voice was calm and detached, revealing little emotion, and he concluded by saying:

"I, Tan, would like to express my gratitude to my sister, and on behalf of the Xiang family, also thank you."

Upon hearing this, Chi Xuan suddenly looked up.

Her red eyes were still wet with tears, but she forced herself to put on her usual arrogant and aloof demeanor towards outsiders.

She pursed her lips, turned her head away, avoiding Tan Lin's deep gaze, and said stiffly to herself:

"Don't flatter yourself... There's no need for your thanks. Brother Xiang Jun has been living in our Chi family for over ten years, practically watching me grow up. Even without the connection between the Chi and Xiang families, I... would still do my part..."

Her voice had a heavy nasal tone, as if she was suppressing something.

Seeing this, Tan Lin said no more, only saying "Take care," and then silently collected Xiang Jun's remains, bed and all, and walked steadily out of the quiet room.

in situ.

Watching his resolute departure without a trace of lingering affection, Chi Xuan bit her lower lip tightly, forcing herself not to let any more tears fall.

But the indescribable bitterness and emptiness in her heart had already overwhelmed her like a tide.

It turns out that her tears just now were not only due to the sadness of Xiang Jun's passing, but also because she guessed that someone was about to leave...

However, she never expected that the other party would leave today without staying even a day longer.

At that moment, all the scenes of her past interactions with him flashed through her mind, a mix of emotions that filled her with mixed feelings.

The two first met at the Tianchi Mountain Pass more than half a year ago.

At the welcoming banquet, she subtly probed him with a hint of "scheming," later testing him in the Purple Mist Forest with that "terrifying embrace" after his defeat, and the "subtle" events after his tribulation at the Nine Apertures Spirit Lake...

Tianchi Palace refused the marriage proposal... and now this decisive departure.

At this moment, her grievances, resentment, unwillingness, frustration, and a hint of loss that she herself was unwilling to admit, all transformed into a stubbornness born of pent-up emotions.

Let's go, let's go, it's better that you're gone...

As she thought this, tears welled up in her eyes once more, as if a dam had been breached.

……

An hour later, outside the gate of the Chi family's territory.

Tan Lin formally bid farewell to Chi Yushan and the Chi Tianfeng couple, who were now gradually coming to terms with the truth.

The north wind of spring carries a hint of melancholy.

Chi Tianfeng and his wife had mixed feelings. They had long since stopped worrying about what happened more than half a year ago, since the main problem was with them.

After saying goodbye.

Unlike Chi Tianfeng and his wife, Chi Yushan didn't try to persuade Tan Lin to stay. He simply patted Tan Lin on the shoulder, handed him a storage jade box, and sighed:

"Young man, the road ahead is long."

The doors of my Chi family are always open for you. If you ever need anything, or wish to return for a visit… well, enough of that. Just come when the time comes.”

The jade box contained some of his early savings, which he no longer needed. He also handed over some of his cultivation insights to the other party.

He truly thought highly of this young man, and not just because the other party possessed an indestructible golden body.

Even if such a person is of mortal descent, he believes he can reach the pinnacle!

"Your kindness is truly appreciated, and I will certainly repay you in the future."

Tan Lin did not refuse the old man's kindness. He accepted the jade box and thanked him solemnly.

Perhaps not wanting his every move to be spied on by a former lover, he took off his divine silkworm robe and put on a black brocade robe.

The mountain wind whistled, blowing the boy's robes and hair.

That year, Tan Lin was thirteen years old.

The young man stood tall and straight, his gaze calm as he looked towards the distant sea of ​​clouds, where a wider world lay.

……

at the same time.

Inside the mountain gate, at a dark corner of the path leading here, a graceful figure in a green dress quietly disappeared into the woods.

Chi Xuan pressed her delicate hand against the tree trunk beside her, held her breath, and gazed at the receding figure outside the door with a complicated expression.

She didn't know what was going on either.

She had unknowingly arrived here. At this moment, the fingers of her other hand were unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes, her mind in turmoil.

Should we go and deliver it?

Is this a way to prove that I've moved on?

How ridiculous...

Her thoughts were swirling, and it felt as if two little people were arguing fiercely in her mind.

Just then, a familiar figure arrived from deep within the clan's territory.

Upon seeing the girl, the man immediately approached Chi Xuan with a fawning smile.

Following Chi Xuan's gaze, he saw the gradually blurring figure in black in the distance and said with a smile:

"That jinx surnamed Tan is finally gone. He's been loitering around the Chi family for half a year, eating and drinking for free, not only ungrateful but also causing so much trouble. It's a good thing he's gone now..."

As he spoke, Song Qiwu revealed a fawning smile.

He believed he had grasped the girl's resentment towards someone stemming from being rejected in marriage, and at that moment, he added fuel to the fire, giving Tan Lin, who had already left, a long and detailed tirade:

“A peasant from the Southern Region, relying on his special physique, dares to disrespect you, Sister Xuan, and the Chi family!”

How many outsiders see him as a fish on a chopping board?

He's been able to get away with it until now because the Chi family has sheltered him from the storm; otherwise, how could he still be alive and kicking? Now that he's left the Chi family, the real troubles are probably about to find him..."

As they spoke, seeing that Chi Xuan remained silent and did not refute him, Song Qiwu became even more fervent, his tone turning sharp:

"In my opinion, with his ignorance and arrogance, even if no one targets him, he's bound to run into big trouble sooner or later!"

Such ungrateful people have all left... Junior sister, you don't need to worry about them anymore..."

"enough!"

Suddenly, Chi Xuan's eyebrows furrowed, her pretty face turned frosty, and she uttered those two words.

Suddenly, Song Qiwu stopped speaking, somewhat puzzled.

shuh...

At this moment, the girl's beautiful eyes swept over Song Qiwu's face, which was full of ingratiating and fawning smiles, with an undisguised coldness and disgust.

Never before in the past had Chi Xuan felt so disgusted and hypocritical about the young man in front of her!

They don't understand that person at all... yet they're making wild guesses and kicking someone when they're down!

Normally, a girl might find such flattering words somewhat pleasing, or at least not too offensive.

But nowadays, Song Qiwu's choice of who to belittle is like choosing to fall into a pit!

The girl was already in a bad mood and emotionally unstable today, so the impact of her actions was simply indescribable...

"Senior Brother Qi Wu, could you please stop interfering in my affairs in the future?"

On the forest path, after uttering those two words to silence the young man, Chi Xuan silently took a deep breath, slightly controlling her nearly explosive emotions, and said coldly:

"It's none of your business to judge him..."

The sudden harsh words froze Song Qiwu in place. His face turned pale and then red, filled with embarrassment and disbelief.

He never expected that Chi Xuan, who should have harbored resentment towards Tan Lin, would scold him like that because of that kid.

What's wrong with this world?

However, no one cared about what he was thinking.

After saying that, Chi Xuan didn't even glance at him again; she turned her gaze back to the outside of the mountain gate.

There, the boy's figure had shrunk to a black dot, and even with her eyesight, she could hardly see him anymore.

Finally, after completely leaving the pass within the Tianchi Mountain Range, the black dot transformed into a streak of light and sped away into the distance, without looking back.

Chi Xuan stared blankly at the streak of light that quickly disappeared into the clouds.

The last bit of anger and turmoil in her heart seemed to vanish abruptly with the departure of that streak of light, leaving only endless emptiness and melancholy.

A moment later, she silently left the dense forest and returned to Qixia Pavilion.

She leaned against the railing, gazing at the empty sky, motionless for a long time.

"he's gone."

Suddenly, a cool and calm voice rang out beside her.

Chi Xuan didn't turn around; she knew it was her older sister, Chi Yao.

She simply responded with a soft "hmm," her voice carrying a barely perceptible sob.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to chase after someone or say goodbye, so why not?"

Chi Yao's voice remained flat, as if she were simply stating a fact.

Upon hearing this, Chi Xuan bit her lip and remained silent for a long time before finally saying in a muffled voice:

"I...I don't know what to say when I say goodbye to him."

And... he probably doesn't want to hear what I have to say..."

Her tone was filled with deep regret and a sense of self-loathing.

Beside her, Chi Yao watched her younger sister's distraught profile, a barely perceptible ripple passing through her clear, beautiful eyes.

But she didn't say anything more, she just gently squeezed the other person's small hand.

…………

About an incense stick later.

The summit of a solitary peak outside the Tianchi Mountains.

As Tan Lin descended, a wisp of Dao light silently condensed in the void ahead.

Immediately afterwards, a pure and elegant figure in white appeared and blocked the way.

It was Chi Yao.

She was dressed in white, her figure slender and graceful. When she appeared, she seemed to blend into the surrounding clouds and mountains, exuding a natural and refined charm.