Chapter 72

Walking alone, leisurely and solitary.

Xiguang's arm muscles tensed instantly, he gripped the longsword in his hand, took two steps forward facing the black-haired girl, and stood in front of Fu Guang.

Fu Guang's steps were light, perhaps because she is a water element, the water surface swallowed and dissipated the sound of her movement.

Fu Guang raised her hand and lightly patted Xiguang's right arm that held the sword; beneath his smooth clothing his muscles were tensed like a stone, poised to strike, as if as soon as she gave the order he would rush forward.

"Let's explore ahead, no need to stop our steps."

The girl's voice was faint, and she didn't mind the black-haired girl who looked exactly like her.

Xiguang lowered the raised sword, his muscles beneath the clothing, still trembling slightly from the violent pain, were still savoring the feeling from the dream.

It was not like a dream; it felt as real as if it had truly happened to him.

A round, plump blue bubble, about the size of Fu Guang's palm, could be seen as having just been rubbed out by the girl.

The bubble hovered above his head, popped with a 'pou' sound, drenching him from head to toe; the icy water seemed mixed with boiling blood, neutralizing the heat and agitation that could not be dispelled.

The spasming muscles eased, his fingertips no longer twitched uncontrollably; the tip of his nose was filled with the girl's special scent, fresh and invigorating, yet icy cold as if it would freeze his viscera.

"This guard sentinel looks passable." The black-haired girl flicked her eyes, nimbly slipped past the tall man, hugged the little sprite, and caught up with Fu Guang walking ahead.

She turned her head with a challenging look in her brows and eyes, as if to say that with Fu Guang's words present, you couldn't do anything to her.

Xiguang stood in place for a while, his gaze following Fu Guang as she slowly walked away not far off.

The agitation had not ceased, yet in the water imbued with healing, like endless ripples spreading outward, when they touched flesh it felt like a droplet of water falling on bare skin, within the range he could endure.

Wait until he could gradually accept his current body, then lift his steps to follow ahead.

Fu Guang glanced toward the direction from which the black-haired girl came; her gaze fell upon her embrace, where the Light Sprite she held had its wings somewhat flared, cradling it protectively before her like a radiant golden little sun.

On her face was a look of bewilderment; under the perception of the spiritual form, the two girls before her emitted the same spiritual fluctuation, indicating they were one person.

But how could one person become two?

Could there have been a silken split?

The tiny spiritual form's head was full of question marks; its small golden hand rested on a red sleeve, its eyes blinked blankly, looking somewhat dazed.

The spiritual form's simple thought transmitted to Xiguang's mind; his steps halted, and a watchful gaze flashed again.

Fu Guang gazed at the Light Sprite; the position of its golden halo above its head was somewhat dangerous—just right for 'her' to bite if she lowered her head.

Why think this way? Because she also felt the urge to probe the halo, but she restrained herself.

But the girl would obviously not restrain herself.

Fu Guang extended her hand without allowing refusal, her blue eyes fixed on the girl.

The black-haired girl hehehed, as if knowing just what Fu Guang had been thinking; she lowered her head, revealing a row of white teeth, and lunged for the halo.

She insisted on doing what she was not allowed to do.

"Stop."

Fu Guang calmly uttered a single word.

The black-haired girl involuntarily stood rooted in place, her pupils dilated, an expression of over-the-top shock.

Just as she handed the Light Sprite to the sentinel behind her, the black-haired girl's prohibition was lifted.

She rubbed her fingers, then slipped her right hand into her left sleeve as if to pull something out, while saying, "So you were waiting for me here?"

She fumbled twice, pulling out nothing, and said Fu Guang let her run wild, as if she had long mastered a way to control her, treating her like a circus act.

"Where is the weapon?" she blurted at Fu Guang, asking where the weapon in her sleeve had gone.

"I forgot." Fu Guang replied lightly.

The black-haired girl's face puffed with rage, her anger exploding—really treating her like a circus act?

Because she forgot the weapon in her mind, does that mean the weapon in her sleeve disappeared?

She felt both angry and happy, tangled together.

Hateful master. She stared at Fu Guang; originally she should not have appeared again, for the former nightmare had long been shattered, and now Fu Guang's heart was as still as water, with nothing able to keep her obsession from ceasing.

It was Fu Guang who wanted her to appear, and so she did.

Xiguang followed behind, for the first time feeling unable to grasp anything about the matter—was this black-haired girl not a pollution?

How could she be so vivid and lifelike, having her own thoughts, like a living person?

Fu Guang walked up to her former self, patted the shoulder at the same height, and said, "Then farewell, never to meet again."

The black-haired girl suddenly curled her lips into a smile, then her grin blossomed like a radiant flower, her face brimming with intense unwillingness.

"On what grounds?" she said word by word, reaching out to grab Fu Guang's arm, her knuckles all prominent.

At this moment, Xiguang finally noticed something from the black-haired girl's hand: Fu Guang resembled her greatly, yet was not exactly the same.

Fu Guang was very thin, perhaps due to having lived in an orphanage, giving her a malnourished frailty.

After over a month of recuperation, she had gained a bit of weight, no longer having a knife-cut boneless face.

But the black-haired girl was entirely like Fu Guang used to be—no flesh anywhere, as if only bones remained.

Her knuckles protruded; with her emotions aroused, veins stood out on her neck against the pallid skin, like cords.

Aside from her aura, this person was like a hemp stalk wrapped in a coat, ready to blow away at any second.

Fu Guang knew what she wanted to say: "By what right do you let her descend, then make her vanish? By what right do you decide her fate?"

She was somewhat lonely, therefore 'she' arose in Yummengze, the place most able to forge dreams.

Lively, spirited, just as she once was.

But the past has long passed, not worth her dwelling in; a fleeting reverie suffices, and she will press on again.

A smile flickered in her eyes, and she gently brushed away the hand that the girl once clung to.

Because, you never existed.

In Fu Guang's pale blue eyes, she said thus. She remained just as calm, as if past hurts had all passed, leaving no trace; looking at her, it was like looking at a stranger.

Fu Guang touched her former head, the prickly hair like a thorny pin, making her hand ache.

The girl before her eyes was stubborn and obstinate, still persistently wanting to obtain an answer.

She did not accept this answer.

She sighed, as if since her rebirth she had been sighing continuously.

Because, I have grown up, accustomed to solitude and also enjoying solitude.

Who would have thought that in this second life, I would have to bid farewell, one by one, to my former self?

The black-haired girl before her eyes slowly dissipated, her eye sockets red, a tear fell and landed in Fu Guang's palm.

Alright, this reason is somewhat acceptable.

I have forgiven myself.

As it turns out, even someone who once feared loneliness can also enjoy walking alone.