"Mmm." Li Molin nodded emphatically and said in a childish voice, "So beautiful."

The woman said proudly, "This is my Taoist supernatural power... We Taoists use spiritual energy for life, while the demons use it for death... Lin'er, listen to your mother. I will teach you Taoist techniques, but you are not allowed to learn demonic methods, understand?"

Li Molin still looked bewildered, but nodded subconsciously and said, "Lin'er understands."

"My Lin'er is the best." The woman's eyes crinkled into crescent moons as she softly said, "My Lin'er, I will never let you become one of those cold-blooded and heartless people."

Li Molin was still staring blankly at the woman's face when the scene before him suddenly changed. Now, his small figure stood on a barren piece of land, the wind whipping sand and stones against his body and face, making his black hair and clothes flutter wildly.

He was still in a daze when he suddenly noticed a familiar figure walking away. He recognized it as his mother.

Li Molin was heartbroken and cried out, "Mother! Mother!"

"Mother! You can't leave, you can't abandon Lin'er! You said it, you said you would never leave Lin'er!"

"Mother!"

As the calls continued, the childish voice became almost a scream. Yet the woman's back remained firmly in place.

Tears streamed down his face as he ran, trying to catch up with the woman, but even though she seemed so slow, he couldn't catch her no matter what he did.

He ran until he had no strength left, and finally despaired, kneeling on the ground and sobbing uncontrollably.

Suddenly, everything went black before his eyes, and a tall, imposing man dressed in black was kneeling in front of him and embracing him tightly.

The man in black seemed to be on the verge of tears but was trying his best to hold them back. His voice was deep and sorrowful as he said, "Lin'er, I've done my best. I knelt down and begged her not to leave..."

"I begged her not to abandon us..."

"But she still left..."

"Lin'er, she doesn't want us anymore..."

"She... doesn't want us anymore..."