Looking at the way Nangong Min looked at her, how could Mu Jin not understand what Nangong Min meant by "a lifetime"?
Mu Jin suddenly felt a little afraid to face Nangong Min. She lowered her head with a slightly evasive look in her eyes. She had never thought that Nangong Min would have such feelings for her. This realization left her feeling somewhat at a loss.
Mu Jin looked down at the sash on her clothes, her fingers constantly twisting it, but her mind was not on it at all.
After a long silence, Nangong Min slowly said, "I was born in the Nangong Divine Sect. My father is the sect leader, my mother is the spirit maiden of the Miao Palace, and my grandmother was the previous sect leader. Our family has a single lineage for generations, and no matter whether the offspring is male or female, they will be the successors of the previous sect leader."
"In the clan, I am the most loved one. Not only my grandmother, but also my parents and the elders of various clans are very good to me. They taught me skills and how to love everyone and everything in this world."
"To outsiders, we are a mysterious tribe isolated from the world, but in fact we are just like ordinary people. We often disguise ourselves as ordinary people and travel to various countries around the world to treat those poor people who have no money for medical treatment."
“I remember when I was eight years old, my parents took me on a journey back to our ancestral home. We met a boy covered in blood. He was an orphan and was often ridiculed and beaten by the villagers. They even robbed him of the house his parents had left him. My parents couldn’t bear it, so they treated his wounds and brought him back to our ancestral home.”
Mu Jin looked up at Nangong Min and whispered, "Is that boy covered in blood Nangong Ce?"
Nangong Min nodded and continued, "That boy was two years older than me. When he first returned to the sect, he didn't want to talk to anyone. Later, I gave him all the gifts that my parents and elders had given me and talked to him every day. Gradually, he started to smile at me and would say a few words to me on weekdays."
“Once, when we went to the valley to collect herbs, we encountered wolves. He protected me and we escaped together. He pushed me up a big tree and fought the wolves from below. By the time the disciples of the sect arrived, he had almost been bitten to death by the wolves. After we returned from the mountains, my parents were grateful to him for saving my life, so they adopted him as their godson and named him Nangong Ce.”
“Nangong Ce and I studied pharmacology and martial arts together, and traveled down the mountain together. Because we grew up together and were about the same age, we were inevitably compared by people in the sect. In fact, Nangong Ce was very hardworking no matter what he studied. It’s just that perhaps it’s the special nature of my bloodline that makes me better in some aspects than Nangong Ce could ever achieve. Some people even said that he was too violent and told me to be wary of him.”
“I don’t like people talking about him like that. He saved my life, and I don’t believe anyone who says anything bad about him. I warned those who spoke ill of Nangong Ce and comforted him, telling him not to be sad. I’m also very considerate of him in daily life. My parents are very pleased to know this and often praise me for being sensible. They also told Nangong Ce not to pay attention to what outsiders say.”
“When I was 16, I went down the mountain with my parents and Nangong Ce to travel. One day, my parents were inexplicably killed in their sleep in the bed in the inn. My parents were very skilled in martial arts, and ordinary masters could not get close to them. How could they be killed so easily? Although there were many suspicious points, we could not find the murderer and could only let it go.”
“The night before I was to become the sect leader, after I left my grandmother’s room, Nangong Ce suddenly came to me and said he wanted to talk to me about the ceremony for becoming the sect leader the next day. I had no suspicion of him and left with him. But after drinking a cup of tea in his room, I lost consciousness.”
"When I woke up, I was in a closed water dungeon. He had my limbs chained up, and every hour he would let the water in the dungeon submerge me until it reached my head. When I was about to suffocate, he would let the water out to let me catch my breath. Sometimes he would pull me out of the water dungeon and whip me relentlessly. But because of my special constitution, no matter how terrible the wounds were, they would slowly heal over time. When Nangong Ce found out, he became even angrier and inflicted even more torture on me."
"Later I learned that Nangong Ce wanted to inherit the position of sect leader. He knew that people revered the Nangong Divine Sect like a god, so he returned to the sect with us. Knowing that my father was the sect leader of the Nangong Divine Sect, he thought about how to get close to me and please my parents. He only knew that the sons of the Nangong Divine Sect inherited the position of sect leader at the age of 18, but he did not know the secret of our bloodline through generations."
"So he couldn't wait. It took him two years to develop a calming incense to kill my parents. He killed my parents while they were asleep, thinking that with my parents dead, the sect would help him become the sect leader."
Mu Jin said, "It's a good thing he didn't know your family's secrets. If he did, he would have already drained your blood to make medicine."
As Nangong Min finished speaking, his body involuntarily tensed up, and he clenched his fists.
Mu Jin knew that recalling the past was like reliving that cruel experience, so she quickly grabbed Nangong Min's hand and whispered to him, "It's all in the past, don't be afraid. I'll go back with you this time, and we'll make Nangong Ce pay the same price."
Nangong Min looked at Mu Jin holding his hand, and after a long while he calmed down, he put his hand on top of Mu Jin's hand. Only then did Mu Jin realize Nangong Min's feelings for her. She was a little embarrassed and tried to pull her hand away, but Nangong Min held it even tighter.
“I also thought that if I could escape and survive, I would definitely go back and torture him in the same way. One day, two disciples in the water dungeon released me when Nangong Ce went down the mountain, but Nangong Ce’s people found out soon after and chased me all the way to the Southern Yue Kingdom. When you met me, I thought I was going to die.”
"Fortunately, you and General Mu saved me. I was like a newborn in the General's Mansion, by your side, learning how to live and how to get along with people. In that process, I unknowingly developed those feelings for you. When I found out, I was very scared. I felt that it was a desecration to you."
"The night I went to the bandit's den to find you, I suddenly remembered the past. I was filled with anger. I felt that those bandits were like Nangong Ce, taking away the people I cared about and everything I had. I kept killing. Later, I found you. When I looked at my own hideous face, what difference was there between me and Nangong Ce?"
“The night I returned to the Yunwang Mansion with you, I thought a lot. I thought about whether to leave you and go back to the Nangong Shenzong to seek revenge, or to stay by your side as a lowly guard. Later, I made contact with the people in the sect and learned that my grandmother was doing well there. But I watched you being plotted against time and time again in the capital. I couldn’t bear to leave you. If Nangong Ce hadn’t discovered that I was alive and even planned to harm you, I would have planned to continue being the Eleventh without memories and stay by your side forever.”
Mu Jin said in a low voice, "The tree may wish to be still, but the wind will not cease. You may want to let Nangong Ce go, but does he ever want to let you go? You can never escape it; you are Nangong Min's past."
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