Chapter 108: Her Life Was So Flat and Simple...
"I can't stay in this world of sword cultivators anymore! That Li Xianghuan is completely incompetent! You all want to play house with her, then you can play along! I'm not playing along!!"
"She's become the sect leader, and she's still shedding tears! She's eighteen years old, I really don't know what she has to cry about. Isn't she just trying to gain sympathy and get Zeng Shujin and Zeng Shuqing on her side?!"
"Get out of the sword cultivation world!"
"Li Xianghuan, get out of the sword cultivator world!"
"Get down here!"
"You've made a mess of things again. You're not fit to be the sect leader at all. Get down!"
Roll down... roll down... roll down... roll down... roll down... roll down... roll down...
Get down here!
As those voices came, people kept deflecting them for her.
Zeng Shujin is a gentle person, something that everyone who has watched her grow up knows.
But during that very period, the originally gentle Zeng Shujin seemed to have suddenly disappeared, becoming assertive, cold, and prickly. She stood beside Li Chenjin as the vice sect leader, accompanying her to face countless doubts and accusations.
Finally, watching her gradually solidify her position and become the Sword God, a source of pride for everyone in the sword cultivation world.
At that time, Li Xianghuan, who was still young and had never learned how to govern the cultivation world before, heard the most from Zeng Shujin that...
"Don't be afraid, I'm here."
"With you and me together, it doesn't matter if there are knives or swords ahead."
"Don't cry, you didn't do anything wrong. After the sword cultivator world stabilizes, we'll go touch the wild boar's tail and steal the black bear's antlers."
“I never cared about your background. Father, you, me, and Shuqing, we will always be a family.”
As those past memories surfaced in his mind, Li Chen smiled helplessly and took a sip of tea.
She thought she should hate him, but unexpectedly, what came before hatred was the love she had experienced before. It was precisely because Zeng Shujin had always stood by her side that she was able to do everything she could to win Zeng Shujin's heart after she secured her position as sect leader.
Unfortunately, young people can't distinguish between dependence and love, which led to so many problems and arguments later on.
She sighed again, looked at the person opposite her, and the first question she uttered was not the one she had always pondered—"Why did you scheme against me?", "Why did you harm me?", "Why didn't you even spare the disciples?"—but rather…
"Shujin, why do you hate me so much?"
Zeng Shujin: "..."
He looked into Li Chenjin's eyes, his lips moved a few times, but he couldn't say anything for a moment.
After a long while, she asked, her voice choked with emotion, "Xianghuan... since you were still alive back then, why didn't you come back to take revenge on me?"
Li Chenjin smiled slightly, "I have been back."
"……when?"
"When you were in the midst of your glorious succession as the leader of the Wanshan Sect."
At that time, Li Chenjin, or rather Li Xianghuan, was so badly injured that he could hardly walk, let alone fly on a sword.
After she regained her mobility, it took her a long time to crawl out of the ruins.
Afterwards, he half-walked and half-crawled his way back to the world of sword cultivators.
Li Chen had forgotten what Li Xianghuan was thinking at that time. He only remembered that Li Xianghuan was extremely disheveled, a far cry from the glorious "Sword God" he was once revered.
Back then, Li Xianghuan still possessed some of the spirit of a "sword god." Even though he lived a life worse than a dog during that period, he still remembered to avoid people on his way back to Wanshan Sect and not let anyone see him.
Li Chenjin couldn't remember exactly how long Li Xianghuan climbed back to Wanshan Gate.
After all, Li Xianghuan at that time had experienced the ups and downs of life and was seriously injured. He was in a daze and could be said to be unaware of anything for a moment.
My mind and heart were in complete chaos, even my hatred was vague, and all my energy was focused on surviving and avoiding people.
At that time, Li Xianghuan believed that the people in Wanshan Sect truly believed in her and followed her. She thought that as long as she returned, she could make a comeback, rise to the top again, and become the sword god that the world admired and looked up to.
pity……
When she finally climbed back up.
What one could see from afar was the inauguration ceremony of the new leader of the Wanshan Sect, as well as cultivators from all walks of life who came to offer their congratulations.
Those people all wore joyful expressions and congratulated each other. No one thought about what the person they had previously revered as the "Sword God" was really like, nor did anyone show the slightest sadness or sorrow for the Sword God who had fallen in legend.
She watched quietly as one after another, neatly dressed monks, holding invitations and gifts, slowly entered the gates of Wanshan Sect. She also saw the Wanshan Sect disciples waiting for their guests outside the gates.
Many of those people were familiar faces.
Those familiar faces were people she had interacted with before, had some relationship with, or had met a few times.
Without exception, those people usually got along quite well with her, or rather, very well, at least in her eyes.
But it wasn't until that moment that she realized all those good things were just her own perception.
Just like she thought she and Zeng Shujin were very close.
In the end, not only did no one genuinely want to befriend her, but no one also hoped that she could go back.
ridiculous.
sad.
The so-called Sword God is nothing more than a laughable and pathetic buffoon.
It turns out that once someone is placed on a high platform, that seemingly magnificent and sturdy platform is actually quite fragile.
With just a gust of wind, it collapsed and turned into a pile of ruins that no one cared about.
Therefore, no matter how much respect one was received in the past, it was all just empty talk.
Once a person disappears, no one will remember them, and no one will care.
Those who are still alive will find it easy to forget those they once respected and loved, just like countless ancestors who have appeared over the past millions of years.
Throughout the long river of history, both the cultivation world and the mortal world have produced many geniuses, and countless predecessors have been crowned with the titles of "god," "saint," or "immortal."
But after those geniuses left, there was only one ending: to be gradually forgotten.
The heroes of the world are as numerous as carp crossing the river (1). Even if some of them have crossed the Dragon Gate, how many will be remembered as time goes by?
Time will erase all evidence of a person's existence. As old people disappear, new people will be born. Every era has its own legends, but eventually, old legends are destined to be replaced by new ones and forgotten by people.
And in the end, she will only be forgotten and disappear from the world, just like the legends of the past, as if she had never existed, at most...
At most, future generations will write a sentence or two summarizing her life, or perhaps just a few words.
It turns out that such flat and simple words can summarize her long yet short life.
It was only then that Li Xianghuan suddenly understood something.
Everything she cared about before was wrong.
All wealth and fame are ultimately fleeting, and all attachments will eventually amount to nothing.
She was no different from ordinary people; she came into this world with nothing, and when she left, she couldn't take anything tangible with her. It turns out that everything she had done was wrong, which was utterly ridiculous...
She wanted to kill all those who had wronged her, so that she could at least give herself some closure.
Unfortunately, at that time, Li Xianghuan had to crawl half the way to the vicinity of Wanshan Gate. Moreover, because her spiritual veins were severely damaged, she could not even mobilize her spiritual power. Let alone take revenge, even a three-year-old child might be able to kill her.
It's ironic and utterly laughable that a dignified swordsman would end up in such a state.
Li Xianghuan knelt on the ground, gazing at the clear blue sky above, his face expressionless as he pondered where else he could go.
In the end, she chose the place where her most reliable and loving master lived in seclusion.
At that time, Li Xianghuan's master needed to recuperate due to a serious illness. Therefore, he chose a secluded place outside the sword cultivation world, far away from various sects and towns, and naturally quite far from Wanshan Sect.
Even when flying on a sword, it usually takes four or five days to travel at a leisurely pace, so you can imagine how far the distance is.
But at that time, Li Xianghuan, thinking of her master, mustered her courage and endured the waves of pain coming from her spiritual meridians. She half-walked and half-crawled her way up the mountain where her master lived in seclusion and pushed open the door of the bamboo house.
But when she opened the door, she did not see her master.
Fortunately, the bamboo house was not large, with four rooms in addition to the main hall.
Of those four rooms, one was her master's own bedroom, and the other three were prepared for her three disciples.
She dragged her weak legs and slowly searched through all the houses.
Finally, when she arrived at her master's room, she did not see her master. Instead, she found a letter on the table, which was being covered by a teapot.
Upon seeing the letter, Li Xianghuan was completely jolted, a flurry of thoughts she had never considered before flooding her mind. A voice seemed to be screaming in her head, telling her not to look at it, not to pick up the letter, not to open it, to pretend she hadn't seen it, and to leave this place as soon as possible.
But in the end, she slowly reached out and took the letter from under the teapot.
But after picking up the letter, she didn't open it immediately. Instead, like a mentally unstable person, she walked out of the house and closed and locked every door and window of the bamboo house, from the outside to the inside.
After all the doors and windows were closed, she slowly sat down by a wall near a window, took out the letter that had been tucked into her chest, tore open the envelope, and slowly pulled out the letter inside.
When she unfolded the letter and saw her master's familiar handwriting, a heavy, mountain-like grief slowly rose from the bottom of her heart, eventually engulfing her like a tidal wave.
Sobbing, the tears that flowed down her face were like a tide that overwhelmed her mouth and nose, making her feel suffocated for a moment.
The letter read:
The author's note: (1) From "A Visit to Gaoyang Village"
Xiao Li, I love you. Sometimes writing about you feels like writing about myself, and it has helped me understand many things. Thank you.
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