It was a small ornament that had been hanging from Xiao Yi Han’s belt. The noise was faint, but it echoed in my mind like a morning bell, jolting us both back to reality.
Xiao Yi Han glanced at the fallen ornament, his entire body stiffening. I followed his gaze, and recognition struck me like a bolt of lightning.
It was the pendant—the same one he had taken from the demoness during that long-ago encounter in the maze.
I stared at the ornament for a long moment before turning back to Xiao Yi Han. His dark eyes, wide with shock, met mine.
He looked at me silently, as though seeing me for the first time. In the reflection of his pupils, I saw myself—disheveled hair, flushed cheeks, and half-open robes. The image was unmistakably intimate, but in the context of our master-disciple relationship, it was utterly horrifying.
The expression on his face felt like a blade slicing through my heart. Was he regretting his actions? Regretting kissing me? Was it because he felt guilty about the demoness he loved, or because he felt he had wronged me, his disciple? Or worse… was he shocked that I hadn’t resisted him?
Unable to endure the thoughts spiraling in my mind, I scrambled to my feet and shoved him away. Without waiting for his reaction, I fled the room and returned to my quarters.
How pathetic. Even at a time like this, I had nowhere else to go. My entire life had revolved around Xiao Yi Han.
I sat in my room for the rest of the night, trying to compose myself. Dawn broke, and I resolved to confront him. This matter was awkward, but I could excuse it as drunken foolishness. I couldn’t imagine cutting ties with him entirely.
As soon as the first light of day crept over the horizon, I went to Xiao Yi Han’s door and knocked. I knocked again and again, but no response came.
Had he gone down the mountain to drink again?
Lowering my gaze, I pushed the door open. Perhaps I could tidy up his room while he was gone. But as I stepped inside, I found the room already spotless. His sword was gone. His wine gourd, too. On the table sat a single unlit candle, pinning down a pale piece of paper:
“This master departs and will not return. Take care, little disciple. Do not dwell on me.”
Fourteen simple characters. Yet each one pierced my heart like a dagger, leaving me breathless and dizzy. The world seemed to tilt on its axis, spinning out of control.
I had no idea where Xiao Yi Han had gone or where he planned to go. Acting purely on instinct, I ran to the mountain gate, praying desperately that he hadn’t left yet.
By some stroke of fortune, I arrived just in time to see him bidding farewell to Grandmaster. He carried a bundle on his back, his wine gourd in hand, but no sword. He wasn’t even wearing the robes of the Xian Ling Sect. Step by step, he descended the long stone staircase, as if cutting all ties to the mountain and its people.
“Master!” I nearly tumbled off my sword as I rushed to his side. “Master!”
Reaching out, I tried to grab his arm, but an invisible barrier flung me back. Unprepared, I was hurled three meters away, landing hard against the stone steps. Pain shot through my hand, as though my bones had fractured.
Despite the agony, I staggered to my feet, intent on pursuing him again. But Grandmaster stepped in my way, his hair white as snow.
“He has made up his mind,” Grandmaster said, shaking his head with a sigh. “Do not harm yourself further, little one.”
Through tear-blurred eyes, I turned to look at Xiao Yi Han one last time. He continued walking without a single glance back, his steps casual and unhurried. It was as if he felt no attachment to the years spent on Xian Ling Mountain—or to me.
Finally, I choked out, “Master, I’ll go with you! Wherever you go, I’ll follow!” I dropped to my knees and crawled down the steps after him, crying, “I’ll do anything! You can treat me however you like—just don’t leave me!”
My voice, hoarse and desperate, echoed through the narrow mountain path like a ghost’s wail. “Don’t leave me!”
But no matter how much I cried, Xiao Yi Han never turned back.
And so, he vanished from my sight.
For eighty long years, I remained on Xian Ling Mountain, utterly alone. I cultivated an immortal body and achieved a mind as barren as the emptiness surrounding me.
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