“Speak! You were raised by my Master, yet you were jealous because she picked me up later, and that is why you treated me so poorly!”
In the Western Desolation Region, a heavy rain fell upon the world.
Qian Yu’s voice carried the suppression and anger of her travels over the past several days.
Her fingers tightly gripped the collar of a pale, shivering young female cultivator.
It was the reincarnated Cloud-Weave Star Venerable.
She had struggled to regain her Past-life Wisdom and had been dreaming of returning to the Luoxia Immortal Sect to seek revenge on Qian Yu.
She never expected that before she could even travel far, she would be captured once again by this malicious calamity who appeared small but possessed extremely cruel methods.
Qian Yu did not kill her; she only continuously interrogated her with questions the girl did not understand.
“Saint… please, judge clearly. This disciple… this disciple really does not know your Master… In my previous life, I was raised by the various elders of the Sect. There was no Senior Sister…”
“You are lying!”
“I am not…”
Cloud-Weave Star Venerable was on the verge of tears, her young and beautiful face filled with nothing but utter terror and confusion.
“If you truly do not believe me, you can perform a Soul Search! I beg you, just give me a swift end!”
“…”
The tearful words were like a bucket of ice water poured over Qian Yu’s head.
The strength in her fingers gradually loosened.
The flames of anger died out, leaving behind only an infinite void and exhaustion.
Long before Cloud-Weave Star Venerable realized it, Qian Yu had already searched through her memories countless times.
But there was nothing…
The woman had truly never met her Master!
The torrential rain grew heavier, but Qian Yu did not even have the heart to resist it.
She allowed it to fall completely, soaking her fluffy fur until it was wet and matted.
Fragile and despondent, she looked as if she had returned to those childhood days when she suffered through constant bullying.
She stumbled as she let go, taking a step back, nearly unable to stand.
She allowed the reincarnation of Cloud-Weave Star Venerable to flee as if granted a divine amnesty, scrambling and crawling away without looking back.
“Yu…”
Gu Qinghan silently supported Qian Yu’s shoulder, and Nalan Yunyan immediately stepped forward, looking at her pale face with worry.
Their silent companionship gave Qian Yu a small amount of solace, but it could not fill the void in her soul.
During this time, she had tread across every old place where her Master might have left a trace.
She had visited every being who might have crossed paths with her Master, and she had even dug out and pored over dusty ancient texts until they were worn out.
The result, however, was a deeper despair each time.
The Cave Residence in the back mountains of the Luoxia Immortal Sect, where her Master was said to have spent 100 years in seclusion, was now just an ordinary stone cave with slightly abundant spiritual energy.
There were no traces of anyone ever living or cultivating there.
The earth-shaking battle recorded in ancient books where her Master had turned the tide for the Human Race now had blurred details.
The achievements were distributed among several predecessors who had long since passed away, and the logic was perfectly self-consistent.
Even the obscure wine shop in the small town outside the mountain gate, which her Master loved to visit most in Qian Yu’s memory, had changed owners several times.
They had no impression of “a wine-loving fairy,” only saying that several female cultivators did indeed enjoy the few types of wine passed down through their ancestors.
Every trace of the woman’s existence had been “corrected” or “overwritten” by an invisible yet absolute power.
Qian Yu even began to doubt her own memory, wondering if she truly ever had a Master.
She arrived once again at the most remote and desolate barren mountain on the edge of the Luoxia Immortal Sect, where a small thatched hut stood.
That was where she had lived as a child.
Since becoming a Saint, she had not visited this place for a long time, likely because it contained too many unpleasant memories.
But thinking about it now, aside from herself, this was also her Master’s home.
Without letting Gu Qinghan and Nalan Yunyan follow her, Qian Yu stepped inside with an indecipherable heart.
Everything inside remained as it had been years ago, but as she looked at the familiar wooden bed, she could no longer recall the figure of the drunken woman who always wore a teasing smile.
Even her memories were betraying her.
The details of her Master were already becoming blurred.
She knew her Master was a drunkard, but she could not remember exactly how she drank.
She knew her Master loved to bully her, but she could not remember exactly how she had been teased.
Even the scene of her Master using a chopstick to dip into wine for her to taste — making her stick out her tongue from the spiciness — had blurred into a mere memory symbol, and it was still fading.
She was clearly a Saint; she was clearly invincible in this world.
So why could she not even remember a single person’s name?
Leaning against the cold wall plastered with yellow mud, Qian Yu slowly slid down to sit on the ground.
She did not care as dust stained her white hem.
She hugged her knees tightly and buried her face deep within them, her thin shoulders trembling violently.
After a moment, she suddenly began to laugh.
A loud, boisterous laugh.
This seemed to be how her Master looked when she teased her… right?
Tears fell suddenly and surged without warning.
This was the first time Qian Yu had cried since becoming a Saint.
She cried because she realized she was truly about to forget.
“What a joke!”
Extreme fatigue and sadness rushed in like a tide, and Qian Yu’s consciousness gradually blurred and sank amid her tears.
In her daze, she felt as if she were falling into the edge of a cold yet warm, bizarre dreamscape.
Through the haze, a warm, white hand seemed to fall gently upon her head.
With a familiar, reassuring touch, it very tenderly rubbed her messy white hair.
“Look at you. Didn’t you always say I was lying to you when you were little? Now that I’m letting you forget me, you’re crying again.”
“But even if you cry, I’m not helping you pay back your debts.”
A voice that felt as distant as the other side of time, yet was incredibly clear, rang out like a dream, carrying deep apology and endless affection.
“Both worlds are actually real; they are just different Timelines.”
“I, your Master, actually felt a bit guilty for dying too early and making your childhood so miserable.”
“So… I peered as an Immortal and saw a possibility… I sent you to this Timeline.”
“Impressive, right?”
“No bullying, no suffering. You have friends, lovers, and you even became a Saint.”
“The only small price was making you forget me. I thought it was nothing, but I didn’t expect you to actually cry. You’re so useless. Your Master didn’t even cry when she died.”
“Forget it. Just forget me completely.”
At this point, the teasing voice paused, as if smiling, yet also sounding as if it held back tears.
“Only then can you… possess a brand-new, happy life without any burdens.”
The voice grew lighter and more distant.
However, just as it was about to dissipate completely into a sigh of contentment and regret, a slightly small, youthful hand suddenly grabbed it.
Qian Yu, who should have been fast asleep, opened her eyes at that moment.
“Got you.”
‘If the price of gaining power is forgetting you, I would rather not have it.’
‘Even if I return to the other world without anything you left behind, I can still become a Saint.’
“Impressive, right?”