The empty Cave Residence soon returned to silence.
Yingning didn’t seem to be in the mood to teach Gu Qinghan how to cultivate at the moment.
After a sigh that sounded like she was giving up, she ducked back into the Spiritual Ring to sulk.
What she didn’t know was that Gu Qinghan’s earlier answer, which had frustrated her so much, was actually intentional.
The black-haired girl’s thoughts were currently very messy; she wanted to be alone, but Shizun was a bit too noisy and seemed to be secretly doing something she strongly disliked.
Thus, she had simply silenced her by sending her back into the ring.
She was often so wooden and stoic that others wouldn’t notice even if she did this on purpose a few times.
This was a small scheme that only Gu Qinghan herself knew about, but it couldn’t resolve the confusion in her heart.
Her intuition told her that what Yingning had said today seemed to have another purpose, but for the most part, it was actually correct.
Gu Qinghan put herself in another perspective. If Qian Yu were replaced by someone else—if someone else had caused her death in her past life—she would absolutely never forgive them so easily.
Much less would she let go of the grudge and become friends with them.
There was definitely a factor involved that she currently didn’t understand.
This factor had already begun to affect her state of mind and her cultivation.
Gu Qinghan couldn’t tolerate this.
She wanted to solve it, and there were only two ways.
Either she had to understand exactly why this was happening, or as she had said before — she would have to sever her ties with Qian Yu.
This didn’t necessarily mean she had to kill her; she could also sever all memories related to the other girl and become strangers from then on.
Just like how Qian Yu had severed her own Sacred Body — acting decisively and forgetting what must be forgotten.
‘Just what should I do…’
Gu Qinghan raised her hand, gently catching several strands of moonlight that seemed just as confused and lost as she was.
Suddenly, a familiar scene imprinted itself onto her heart.
The horizon was gradually brightening, yet the wind and snow continued.
A snow-white, slightly mottled, fluffy fox was currently holding a small food box, curled up and crouching at the entrance of her Cave Residence.
She had been thinking about how to treat Qian Yu, and now she had even imagined the scene of the girl coming to find her for the first time in this life.
‘Wait. This isn’t imagination…’
While she was wondering why the corners of her mouth were curling into a faint smile, Gu Qinghan suddenly froze.
She realized this wasn’t an imagination at all, but a real scene reflected by her Divine Sense.
She had been lost in thought for so long that she hadn’t even reacted.
However, hadn’t this fox left with Nalan Yunyan? Why had she come back now that dawn was approaching?
Gu Qinghan didn’t notice that her previously heavy heart had lightened slightly.
However, after she thought of something else, that lightheartedness quickly transformed back into coldness and irritation.
A moment later, when the door opened and Qian Yu shook the snow off her body before stepping inside, the air in the Cave Residence had already turned extremely icy.
The black-haired girl sat at a table made of ice and snow.
There were no lamps in the room; everything looked somewhat eerie, illuminated only by a few rays of pale moonlight.
In fact, before seeing Qian Yu in person, Gu Qinghan was only somewhat confused about the nature of their relationship.
But now that she saw her, many of the things the girl had done suddenly came rushing back all at once.
This fox… her excuses from the very beginning when she first approached were lies.
Otherwise, why would Nalan Yunyan have impulsively saved her?
Since it started with a lie, everything that followed must be the same!
Besides, hadn’t she already gone back with Nalan Yunyan?
Why was she coming to find her now?
‘Does she want to have it both ways?’
Gu Qinghan stared at the slightly awkward fox who had been keeping her head down without saying a word since she entered.
Her gaze gradually shifted from sharp to disappointed.
The other’s silence seemed like a sign of a guilty conscience, and this guilt made her even more displeased.
She even felt an impulse to sever all memories of the girl right then and there.
She simply didn’t understand why she was so special and tolerant toward a fox so full of schemes and deception.
Gu Qinghan hoped Qian Yu would open her mouth and offer an explanation, or proactively approach her like she did with Nalan Yunyan—even if it meant she would have to push her away.
But the girl did nothing.
She stood there silently, put down the food box silently, and then continued to stand there with her head bowed.
She didn’t even want to bother with deception anymore.
“Take your things and leave,” Gu Qinghan said indifferently, closing her eyes.
She was someone whose Dao Heart was as cold as ice and snow, but for some reason, whenever she faced Qian Yu, there were always so many emotional fluctuations.
She wasn’t used to this. It was fine if they were the somewhat happy, positive emotions from before, but when these emotions turned into irritation and questioning, Gu Qinghan wanted to push them away.
Furthermore, it might be for the best to just sever her memories of Qian Yu.
Not only would she return to a state of calm, but she would also save a lot of time spent wondering why these emotions existed in the first place.
‘Oh… okay…’
For some inexplicable reason, she had a sliver of hope that she would hear Qian Yu refuse.
However, she didn’t.
After she issued the order for her guest to leave, that dull fox didn’t say anything.
She simply nodded, picked up the food box on the table, and walked outside.
One step.
Two steps.
Her footsteps were light, but she didn’t turn back at all.
Gu Qinghan was a little dazed.
Before seeing Qian Yu, she had been reluctant to sever the memories.
When she saw her, she impulsively wanted to cut them out of her mind.
And now, seeing the girl about to leave, the previous hesitation and reluctance came circling back.
Why was this happening?
“Qian Yu, what are you doing? Coming here in the middle of the night just to leave without saying a word?”
Gu Qinghan didn’t understand, and the question blurted out.
Her question caused the little Half-Yao to stop in her tracks.
She even turned her head.
However, when Gu Qinghan clearly saw the girl’s current appearance, her cold and irritable heart shuddered slightly, as if it had been struck by something.
She was crying…
The little Half-Yao, who was usually either acting foolish or being intentionally playful and cute, showed none of her usual expressions.
Her current appearance was clearly one of someone who had been crying. Her eyes were red, and her shoulders were trembling slightly.
The morning light was as thin as gauze.
Gu Qinghan could clearly see the tears rolling down one by one, leaving a trail of wet marks.
She could also clearly see how the girl was biting her lower lip hard, trying to keep herself from letting out a sob.
The trembling of her heartstrings became even more intense.
Gu Qinghan was suddenly at a loss.
At this moment, things like coldness, questioning, or severing the threads of worry were no longer being considered.
The only thought in her mind was: why was Qian Yu crying, and what could she do?
Gu Qinghan stood up.
Seeing Qian Yu’s tail, she felt even more ashamed.
She had discovered Qian Yu’s method of observation a long time ago, but due to her previous irritation, she hadn’t noticed at all that the girl’s big tail had been drooping for a long time.
“Qian Yu… why are you crying? Was it me, or did Nalan Yunyan bully you?” she asked.
After a long silence, Qian Yu gave her answer. “You…”
“Huh?”
Gu Qinghan admitted that her earlier cold demeanor was a bit frightening, but she had always been like this.
There was no need for Qian Yu to cry, right?
The girl looked fragile, but in reality, she was someone who wouldn’t hesitate to sever her own Sacred Body.
Her character was far more resolute than it appeared; surely she wouldn’t cry over something like this?
A moment later, Qian Yu provided her answer.
“Senior Sister, you want to drive me away, don’t you? You didn’t light the lamps tonight…”
These words seemed irrelevant, but Gu Qinghan understood exactly what she meant.
Due to a deeply ingrained experience from her childhood, Gu Qinghan didn’t care about most things, with one exception… at night, whether she was cultivating or sleeping, she had to light a lamp for illumination.
Otherwise, it meant her heart was extremely unsettled or even consumed by negative emotions.
And the last time she had been like this was when Qian Yu had slashed her face.
It was the first time in her life she had felt betrayed, and she had thought about killing Qian Yu several times.
But… that was something from her past life.
Why would Qian Yu remember it?
In the next moment, Qian Yu suddenly burst into loud wails.
“Those… those things weren’t done by me! Senior Sister, don’t drive me away, *waah*…”