Chapter 522 Extra: Sigh of the Mortal World
Even after many years, when Hong Xiangwan occasionally recalls the past in a lucid state, she still remembers the gentle smile Huang Pinjie gave her for the first time at that clan banquet.
“I’ve heard that some human beings want to know about my past with her.”
As the sun set, Hong Xiangwan was unusually lucid. She shook her pinkish-red fur, swept the dust off the stone with her tail, then squatted down and began to talk to herself in the air beyond the stone.
"But do you know that Xiaojie didn't hate me from the very beginning..."
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My name is Hong Xiangwan. I was born with a rare talent for cultivation, but after I awakened my wisdom and began cultivating, I knew that I had no future in this life.
Because I come from a branch of the family.
The fox pack needs fresh blood, so our emperor will neither let us stand out nor kill or waste us.
Only by recruiting many outstanding descendants from the branch lineages to protect the shadows can the strength of the Fire Fox Clan's main lineage be maintained.
It is very necessary for Your Majesty Gu Chan to take such precautions.
If we, the myriad races, become powerful, we will inevitably challenge her position, shatter her very bones, slaughter all the prodigies in her bloodline, and then drive the remaining weaklings to the outskirts to become branches...
But I was born without that chance.
My relatives feared Gu Chan's sharp claws. When I was found to have exceptional talent but was still unaware of it, they obeyed Gu Chan's orders and sent me to the clan to learn the secret passage.
The cultivators of the secret path are not foxes, but tools.
Moreover, the secret passage techniques mastered by the Fire Fox Clan are inherently flawed.
The cultivators of the Dark Path are usually taciturn and unable to experience the joys and sorrows of the world; they also lack the means to reach the heavens, so most of them stop at the Profound Spirit Realm and have no hope of achieving the Great Dao.
I refuse to be a tool!
So, after racking my brains and asking around, I found some unconventional methods, and then chose the best one and took a shortcut.
I swear to the heavens that with the blood of my kin, I will forge the foundation of the ruthless path.
The vow to attain enlightenment is indeed convenient.
Whenever I fulfill the conditions required by the oath, I will receive the corresponding skills and cultivation in the unseen realm.
Moreover, I haven't killed all those foolish and selfish relatives yet. I've left one of my younger brothers, Hongjian, and he naturally attained the Profound Spirit Realm.
Perfect!
I thought to myself that since I still have relatives to kill, I must have a chance to cultivate to the Supreme Realm or above.
As long as I can cultivate to the King Realm, I will surely achieve the Emperor Realm, and my path of ruthlessness will be within reach!
As we all know, the path of ruthlessness is difficult to traverse, but as long as it is passable, it is always a sharp blade.
Thus, having achieved the Profound Spirit Realm through the Path of Ruthlessness, I was immediately taken away from the Dark Passage by Gu Chan's special ability and became a guard in the Fire Cloud Cave.
Although I am just a guard, everyone is afraid of me and dares not come near me, and I am happy with that.
Because of this, I have more time to cultivate and become stronger.
One day, I too will attain the Dao and become a great cultivator, driving that narrow-minded Gu Chan off the stage.
If it weren't for her suppression of our branch lineage, with my talent, how difficult would it have been for me to become an emperor and attain sainthood!
I naively thought that the vows upon which my ruthless path of cultivation was based only included blood relatives;
I never expected that I would meet Huang Pinjie, and I couldn't help but regard her as a close friend and a treasure from the bottom of my heart.
It was at a clan banquet that I first met Huang Pinjie, who was the head maid of the Third Miss.
I hadn't noticed her at first, but when the Fire Fox Clan saw me coming, they all made way for me.
I became interested when she led the Third Miss to sit on the table above where I was standing, her expression perfectly normal.
This yellow fox from outside wasn't afraid of me at all, nor did it give me a disgusted look. It was really novel!
I stared at her blankly. She noticed my gaze and returned my gaze with a gentle smile.
That smile reflected in my eyes, and I seemed to see a thousand flowers blooming.
From that day on, I felt an uncontrollable fondness for her, and I longed to be close to her.
Having lost my elders and friends, I was troubled by this when my good-for-nothing brother, after hearing about my story, actually took the initiative to talk to me for the first time.
His eyes darted around, and he smirked, declaring confidently, "Sister, you must have fallen in love with her!"
The fact that you show no interest in male foxes that show you affection indicates that you don't actually like males; you prefer females.
Sister, please go and kill her.
Haha, otherwise, you'll surely ruin your future.
"Shut up! Don't think I don't know what you're up to!"
I knocked Hongjian to the ground with one paw.
But his words sparked complex expectations in me regarding Huang Pinjie.
At that moment, I could no longer lie to myself; I realized that deep down I desperately wanted my family and friends back.
However, having chosen the path of ruthlessness, I can no longer have any kinship ties, nor do I dare to, for I would die!
I haven't become a great cultivator yet, and I haven't killed Gu Chan, who controlled my fox life. How can I face death peacefully?
I must save myself! I must seize this opportunity to cultivate compassion! Although it carries great risk, I am confident that I will survive!
So I ran over to Hu Pinjie and firmly told her, "I love her!"
I gave her flowers, gifted her spirit crystals, and searched for all sorts of spiritual herbs for her...
During that time, the Fire Fox Clan members openly and secretly mocked Huang Pinjie and me. Even the good-tempered Huang Pinjie was greatly annoyed by my harassment.
I thought that Huang Pinjie would quickly grow to hate and despise me because of this;
In this way, my affection for her will fade away along with her dislike; and thus, I will be free.
Even if I were to kill her in the future, I would do so as without any emotional reaction as if I were to chop off my own relatives.
However, the disgust I had imagined did not come; instead, I saw pity in her eyes.
One day, I blocked her path again. She suddenly sighed, pulled me aside, and said, "Xiang Wan, you are young, but you should know that you are not in love with me, but... but... with filial piety."
I've heard that you cultivate the path of ruthlessness, so you must be careful to discern clearly and not ruin your future.
"If you're willing, if you're able, I'm willing to let you be my sister."
"Boom!" The words exploded in my mind, and I felt a faint cracking deep within my soul, as pain swept through my entire body.
I unfurled my five fiery red tails and roared with all my might, "No, I just love you, I love you so much! I even switched to cultivating the path of love for you!"
"If you don't love me, why humiliate me!"
The commotion I made attracted many foxes to come and watch the fun, and Huang Pinjie's face turned bright red instantly.
This time, her eyes finally showed disgust, but also mixed with regret and disappointment.
Ah, if only I could not understand the emotions hidden beneath her disgust!
Unfortunately, I yearn for family so much, how could I not understand!
She and I were evenly matched.
I can't bear to kill her, and I can't bring myself to kill her;
But I want to live, and I even aspire to achieve the Great Dao, so all I can do is hate her!
I don't want to kill her either. If I kill her, I don't know what the point of living would be.
From that moment on, I knew my resolve had crumbled. Even though I kept deceiving myself, I knew I was doomed.
From then on, I roamed among the foxes, yet I remained unhappy, and the meridians within my body grew increasingly deteriorated.
I cannot walk this path of love!
I thought to myself that if I wanted to cultivate to the Great Dao, I had to live, so I had to find a way to make myself hate Huang Pinjie.
So I summoned Hong Jian ahead of schedule.
"What a pity." I thought regretfully, "Good brother, I originally wanted to keep you alive until you reached the Venerable Realm before killing you myself, but now I've acted so wickedly that I can only let you live a few years less."
Hongjian is dead, and I've finally gotten my wish to hate her.
But I don't hate her for killing my brother; I hate her for killing my shortcut to becoming a Venerable.
I will hate her, I will hate her for the rest of my life; only then can we both be at peace.
Huang Pinjie, please forgive my cowardice.
More than loving you and being your sister, I love myself. I long to become a great monk and see the vast world that they have collectively obscured.
However, I misjudged myself once again.
Xiao Jie, only after you died did I realize how much I longed for you. If only I had agreed to be your sister that year.
Even if that means my journey is cut short, at least I'll still have you, a friend and family member, by my side.
But everything is irreversible.
"Xiao Jie, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I've finished telling this story of my miserable and awkward fox life."
Perhaps soon, I too will vanish. I hope you won't end up like me, deceiving yourselves and others.
...
As dusk approached, Hong Xiangwan, having finished her story, suddenly smiled shyly at the air opposite her and said, "You've come."
Her imposing aura receded like a flood at that moment, her fur quickly turned white, and pale red tails fell off her body one by one, but she seemed unaware, staring straight ahead.
As the last rays of sunlight faded, she closed her eyes and whispered, "Sister Jie, you're really amazing. Do you know that the chick you raised has become the supreme ruler? He's spreading his teachings and running literacy classes all over the Nine Provinces, teaching those untrained cultivators skills."
"That's wonderful! From now on, foxes like us without illustrious backgrounds can also... freely become... cultivators, as long as we work hard."
"Pfft... rustle..." As the last words fell softly, Hong Xiangwan's fox body scattered in the air like sand.
In the 612th year of the Immortal Era, Hong Xiangwan, a lone fox, passed away peacefully on a rock in Liangling Mountain, Liangzhou, leaving nothing behind.
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