It was the jade pendant that he personally gave to A Zheng on New Year’s Eve of that year.

"Why?"

Li Fan held his natal sword in his hand. He thought that he would never use this sword again.

"laugh!"

The purple civet cat sneered and spit out An An, and its huge cat claws kept playing with the tiny corpse.

"My Immortal, this is called... tit for tat!"

"Tit for tat?"

Li Fan whispered softly, and a small barrier was instantly formed in the house. The temperature inside the barrier continued to drop, and soon a thin layer of frost formed on the ground.

He held the sword and walked slowly towards the purple civet cat.

The purple civet cat had no intention of running away. It licked its paws with its tongue and said to itself:

"Although our Purple Fox clan is a demonic beast, we have never done evil. My son was just being naughty and frightened a few farm servants who were cutting firewood in the mountains, and you killed him."

"At that time, did you ever think about today?"

"When your daughter was born, do you remember that my child begged for mercy under your sword?"

Zili let out a sad roar towards the sky, with crystal tears constantly flowing from his eyes.

"My poor son was less than a hundred years old at that time!"

"So what if you're an immortal? Now, I want to destroy your family and make you pay for your blood debt with blood!"

Li Fan belatedly remembered the purple raccoon cub that he had killed with his sword, and he looked at An An again.

"If you want to practice Taoism wholeheartedly, you must cut off worldly ties."

"To cultivate immortality is to go against the will of heaven. If one forces himself to have any connection with mortals, he will surely fall into an irretrievable situation."

The master's words were still ringing in his ears, and he seemed to finally understand.

But why should he pay for the sins he committed with the lives of his wife, daughter, and everyone in the village?

“Puff!”

The sharp sword blade pierced into the neck of the purple civet cat. The purple civet cat trembled for a while, but it laughed and stared at Li Fan with its golden vertical pupils without blinking.

"You're done."

"You're done hahahaha!"

The purple civet cat said this, revealing his scarred belly, his eyes full of joy.

"Do you think this is the only evil thing you have done? Do you think I am the only one who wants their lives?"

"Immortal, you are destined not to become an immortal!"

"Hahahahaha my son! Mother has finally avenged you!"

With a loud "bang", the barrier shattered and the hut collapsed.

Heavy snow fluttered in, and Li Fan fell to his knees, shaking uncontrollably.

He personally cut open the purple civet cat's belly, and inside it, he saw A Zheng.

And the unborn child.

“Hahahahahaha!”

He laughed loudly towards the sky, tears of blood flowing from his eyes, wetting the moon-white robe that A Zheng had made for him.

He should have thought of it, he should have thought of it earlier.

It's him.

He was the one who killed everyone.

He forgot that he had practiced Taoism and killed many monsters.

In the beginning, he relied on his extraordinary talent to offend many families.

Those people didn't dare to hurt him, so they waited day by day.

Wait for him to get married, wait for him to have children, wait for him to return to the sect self-righteously to put an end to it.

Then he slaughtered everyone close to him.

The jade pendant he gave to A Zheng was a magic weapon he had made himself, but so what?

The thing that is most in short supply in the world of cultivating immortals is magical weapons.

He picked up An An's body, put the light yellow jacket on her, and kept murmuring: "An An, don't be afraid, Daddy is back."

Snowflakes fell on his head. He sat in the snow and his hair turned white overnight.

Later, he picked up his sword and killed every family one by one.

All the families and independent cultivators who participated in this incident, no one in the world could survive under his sword.

But what good would revenge do?

He was already alone.

He returned to Qingshui Village. The tragic scene of the past was no longer there. Green grass was growing vigorously on the raised graves.

But he still remembers it, remembers it very clearly.

Aunt Liu at the head of the village had lost both her son and daughter-in-law, leaving behind only a frail and sickly little granddaughter.

Uncle Li has bad legs and feet. When it rains, the pain is so severe that he cannot get out of bed.

Grandma’s specialty is roast chicken, and An An loves it the most. Every time he eats it, his face is covered in oil.

Grandma’s little granddaughter is called Xiaozhi. She has a sweet smile and loves to follow An An and call her “sister” all day long.

He remembers every person in the village.

And...A Zheng.

On the day of her departure, A Zheng said to him, "I'll wait for you to come back."

He was tormented by these memories day by day, as if he was trapped in that snowy day forever and could never get out.

He didn't want to come out either.

To come out means to forget.

He doesn't want to forget, how dare he forget?

So he went to the Far North, where heavy snow fell day and night.

Deep in the Far North, he created an illusion with his own hands.

In this fantasy world, everyone is alive.

Aunt Liu's granddaughter is still frail and sickly, and Uncle Li's leg has not recovered either.

Grandma would call him to eat every now and then, and Xiaozhi would hold the ball with squinted eyes and ask the city lord to hug her.

The only difference is.

In this illusion, there is no Li Fan.

He is neither Li Fan nor Li Qingji.

He put a lot of effort into playing the role of A Zheng.

He knew which family in the east raised chickens, which family in the west lost their dog, which family's child was sick, and which family was going to have a new baby.

On cold nights, he imagined whether Qingshui Village would always be as peaceful and tranquil as in this fantasy if he had not appeared in front of A Zheng.

"Daddy, what about An An?"

"Daddy, don't you want An An anymore?"

He opened his eyes and the dark night was silent.

Two lines of tears rolled down from the corners of his eyes. He stared at the empty street outside the window and responded to the voice for the first time.

"An An, go find your mother."

"Mother?"

The childish voice gradually became distorted and sharp. She screamed in the city lord's ear: "No! Do you want to get rid of me? Impossible! Do you think mother doesn't hate you? Do you think everyone in Qingshui Village doesn't hate you?"

"Li Fan! You will never be able to get rid of me! Never!"

The city lord just smiled gently, as if An An was still resting on his shoulder. He reached out and gently stroked An An's cheek.

"Okay, An An won't leave. An An will always be with me. An An and A Zheng will always be with me."

The sky seemed to be bright again.

…

"Go east for ten miles and north for twenty miles, there is an ice lake."

Sheng He stopped and looked up. According to the direction given by the old man and the guidance of the compass, the lake in front of him should be Jinghu Lake.

She looked over and saw that in such a world of ice and snow, there was only a thin layer of ice on the surface of Mirror Lake. The water was a bright ice-blue color, extending all the way to the horizon and actually connected with the sky.

Sheng He tentatively stepped on the ice. Through the ice, he could clearly see the scene at the bottom of the lake.