59: Chapter 59 Farewell

"Burning Origin."

You did not intend to hide it.

Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan's expression darkened.

He set down his teacup, walked over to you, pressed down on your shoulders to make you sit properly, and placed his right hand on your pulse point. A moment later, his fingers trembled slightly, and he slowly withdrew his hand.

"Dantian fissure." His voice was very flat, but you noticed his knuckles gripping the teacup had turned white. "Internal Energy will leak when circulating True Qi. It's fine in the short term, but in the long run..."

"My cultivation base will be pinned at the Early Stage of the Grandmaster realm." You finished for him. "I know."

Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan stared at you for a long while.

"What about Wei Feisen?"

"He is dead."

Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan opened his mouth, then closed it again; he did not ask for details.

This old man had spent so many years with you that he had long since figured out your temperament; if you said he was dead, then he was dead, and no proof was needed.

"It is good that he is dead." Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan picked up his teacup and took a sip. "As long as you have returned, that is enough. I will go speak to the Sect Head tomorrow and tell the outside world that you were severely injured but did not die, and that you have been healing in the mountains for three months..."

"Master."

You interrupted him.

Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan's movements halted.

"I do not intend to return to the Cangyun Sect."

The study fell silent for a few breaths. Outside the window, the night breeze swept through the bamboo forest, the rustling sound lasting for a while before stopping.

Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan slowly set down his cup.

"Why?"

You weighed your words.

"My Dantian has a fissure; this path of martial arts has basically come to an end. However, there is more than just the path of martial arts between heaven and earth. I want to go out and look for other paths."

"Other paths?"

"Master should have also heard that there might be Immortal Cultivators in this world."

Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan's gaze shifted.

"That Black-robed man behind Wei Feisen."

"It is a Puppet." You said directly. "It is not an Immortal, but the means of controlling the Puppet far exceed martial arts, and the power infused into it is not True Qi. This thing is concrete evidence that there really is something above martial arts in this world."

Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan fell silent.

It was not that he didn't believe it; he was digesting it.

"So you are going to look for... the so-called... Immortal Cultivators?"

"Yes."

"Your Dantian has a fissure, and your cultivation base is regressing rather than advancing. You are just going to set off like this?"

"It is precisely because of this that I must leave." You looked at him. "Staying in the Cangyun Sect, even if I recuperate for ten or twenty years, this fissure will not heal."

Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan leaned back against the chair, not speaking for a long time.

You knew what he was thinking; he was wondering if you were disheartened because the Sect Head had previously wanted to hand you over.

"It has nothing to do with the Sect Head." You took the initiative to speak. "In that situation, his choice was not wrong. One person versus one Sect—whoever was in his position would have chosen the Sect."

Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan's brows twitched, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just sighed.

"You have never been someone who could be kept."

He fished a small porcelain bottle from his sleeve and pushed it toward you.

"Here is a bottle of True Qi Condensation Pill that I have treasured. When your Dantian fissure flares up, take one; it should be able to stabilize it for half a month."

You took the porcelain bottle and put it away.

"Master, there are two more things I need to ask of you."

"Speak."

"First, please help me look after Xiao Wang. It is old now and cannot run anymore, so just let it stay at the Cangyun Sect to retire. Second, my mother... although the people I sent before lost contact, I confirmed with Wei Feisen that he did not harm my mother. She should still be in Yunjin City."

"I will send people to bring her back." Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan did not hesitate.

"Thank you, Master." You stood up and bowed to him.

Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan waved his hand.

"Go see Xiao Wang. That little guy has been lying at your courtyard gate every day for these past three months, refusing to leave, and no matter how much it is fed, it refuses to return to its den."

You nodded and turned to walk toward the door.

"Shuang'er."

You turned back.

Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan sat under the lamp, his expression complex. The lamplight shone on his graying temples, flickering in the light.

"Be careful on the road."

"Mm."

You left the study.

The night breeze rushed to meet you.

What you did not see was that less than a stick of incense later, Sect Leader Qin Tianxing, East Peak Head Li Xuantong, and South Peak Head Zhao Chongming appeared outside the door of Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan's study.

Sect Leader Qin Tianxing knocked on the doorframe.

"Come in."

The three entered one after another. Sect Leader Qin Tianxing's expression was very poor, his eye sockets sunken; he had clearly aged quite a bit over these past three months.

"Senior Sister Lin Shuang... was it her?" Sect Leader Qin Tianxing sat down on a chair, resting his folded hands on his knees.

"Since you recognized her, why didn't you go stop her yourself?" Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan's tone was neither salty nor bland.

Sect Leader Qin Tianxing smiled bitterly.

"I saw that she had concealed her appearance, snuck in under the cover of darkness, and climbed over the wall to the West Peak, so I knew... she did not want to see us."

Zhao Chongming said in a low voice from the side: "What did she say? Is it still because of what happened last time?"

Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan set down his cup.

"She said it has nothing to do with what happened last time."

Sect Leader Qin Tianxing looked up.

"Did she really say that?"

"She said that your choice was not wrong; one person versus one Sect—whoever was in your position would have chosen the Sect." Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan repeated your exact words, then looked at Sect Leader Qin Tianxing. "This girl has always been direct; if she says it's okay, then it is okay."

Sect Leader Qin Tianxing opened his mouth but could not speak.

After a long while, he lowered his head, his voice somewhat hoarse.

"Then why is she leaving?"

"She said she still has things to do, that her Dantian is injured, the path of martial arts has come to an end, and she wants to go out and look for other methods." Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan paused. "She did not elaborate on the specifics."

Li Xuantong frowned and said: "She is injured like that; can she be okay going out alone?"

Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan picked up his teacup and set it down again; after doing this back and forth twice, he finally said in a muffled voice: "You cannot stop her. From the first day this girl entered the Cangyun Sect, no one has ever been able to stop her."

The study was silent for a long time.

Sect Leader Qin Tianxing slowly stood up, walked to the window, and looked toward the West Peak. The moonlight shone on the snow-covered eaves, blindingly white.

"It is my fault." He said very softly. "That day in front of the mountain gate, she stood out alone to take the blade for the Cangyun Sect, and as the Sect Head..."

"Enough." Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan interrupted him. "She does not care about this. If you truly feel guilty, then help me take good care of her tiger; do not let it go hungry or cold."

Sect Leader Qin Tianxing turned back and nodded heavily.

By the bamboo forest behind the West Peak, you found Xiao Wang.

It was lying on the stone steps at the gate of your courtyard, with its head resting between its two front paws. Under the moonlight, you saw its belly was round and bulging, like an orange cat magnified ten times. The fur on its back was no longer as glossy as before, mixed with quite a bit of gray and white.

Hearing footsteps, its ears twitched, and it raised its head.

Then the whole tiger sprang up.

A low whimper squeezed out of its throat. It knocked open the bamboo fence and rushed to you, its massive head nudging into your arms with enough force to almost knock you over.

"Alright, alright." You supported its head. "To be this fat and still run so fiercely, aren't you afraid of straining your waist?"

Xiao Wang didn't care; it rubbed its head against your palm, whimpering, its voice low and clinging.

You crouched down and stroked its ears. It immediately rolled over to expose its belly, all four paws in the air, exactly the same as when it first showed affection to you at Daliang Mountain over a decade ago.

It was just that back then it was agile and fierce, rolling over neatly, whereas now it had to wobble three times to steady itself when rolling over, the flesh on its belly trembling.

You rubbed its belly.

"I am leaving."