Chapter 226: The Departed, the Living, and Regret

"What I cannot forgive most is, in fact, myself," Shui Bing'er suddenly said at this moment.

Ning Feiliu was silent for a moment before he said again, "Alright, it is all in the past. Your mother certainly would not wish to see you looking like this now, Bing'er."

"No, you don't understand, Feiliu," Shui Bing'er said, her beautiful eyes filled with deep sorrow. "When Mother was about to leave... I was too afraid. Father kept saying that day that it would be the last time I would see Mother, and he told me to go over, but I didn't dare..."

"I thought that as long as I didn't see that final moment, I would be able to see Mother again later, but I didn't know that after that, I would never be able to see Mother again."

Hearing her explain the general reason, Ning Feiliu suddenly understood.

He sighed.

Shui Bing'er was still too young back then; she thought that this so-called final meeting meant her mother was going to leave for another place.

As long as she didn't have that meeting with her mother, her mother would stay behind—that was likely what she thought at the time.

But what Shui Bing'er did not know then was that by missing that meeting, she and her mother would never see each other again.

It was a finality that meant they could never meet again, forever.

It was her mother's eternal regret.

And it was her own eternal regret as well.

No wonder Shui Bing'er said she could never forgive herself.

One could imagine that on her deathbed, Shui Bing'er's mother must have been hoping more than anything to see her daughter appear before her.

Yet Shui Bing'er had hidden away, thinking that by doing so, she could keep her mother.

"I have failed Mother, I cannot forgive myself, I am truly too pathetic..." Recalling the past, Shui Bing'er was instantly bathed in tears, repeating this sentence over and over.

Ning Feiliu was silent for a while, then his gaze suddenly sharpened, and he roared loudly at Shui Bing'er, "Do you think you can make up for your regrets by doing this?!"

Shui Bing'er, who had been silently weeping, was stunned by Ning Feiliu's sudden roar, looking at him with red, beautiful eyes.

Since she first met Ning Feiliu... this was the first time she had seen him be so... rough.

So she could not help but be startled out of her sorrow.

After all, in the nearly two months she and Ning Feiliu had known each other, Ning Feiliu had always acted like a gentle, handsome youth.

Let alone roaring so roughly, he had never even been angry.

"Stop it! You cry because you want people to think you regret it, that you have regrets, but have you ever truly thought about making up for your mistakes, about making up for your regrets?!" Ning Feiliu continued to scold loudly.

"I..." Shui Bing'er lowered her head, continuing to cry as she said, "I just can't make up for my mistakes, I can't make up for my regrets, I can only cry here... I am truly too useless."

She did not know why, but she, who had always appeared exceptionally strong, could not help but show her weak side in front of Ning Feiliu.

Or rather... she actually knew why she would show her weak side in front of this man she had only known for two months.

"You are wrong! You still have a chance!" Ning Feiliu took a deep breath and then said to her, "The one who tied the bell must untie it; you must repair your own regrets yourself! Don't cry here, crying is useless."

Shui Bing'er looked up in confusion, gazing at him, and said, "Still have a chance?"

Then his palm brushed over the Ruyi Hundred Grass Pouch at his waist, and suddenly, a flower radiating a pale pink light appeared before Shui Bing'er's eyes.

"Let's go," Ning Feiliu said directly to her.

Shui Bing'er was stunned for a moment, then continued to ask in confusion, "Go where?"

"To let you... meet with Auntie, that is, your mother, Bing'er," Ning Feiliu said directly.

"Meet... with Mother?" Shui Bing'er was stunned and said, "How is that possible... Mother passed away many years ago, how can I meet Mother?"

"Follow me, and I will tell you more," Ning Feiliu said casually.

Then, without saying anything more, he walked straight outside.

Seeing this, Shui Bing'er had no choice but to immediately follow him out.

After walking out, Ning Feiliu handed the Blooming Spirit Flower in his hand to Shui Bing'er.

Looking at Ning Feiliu, who was offering her the flower, Shui Bing'er's pretty face flushed slightly.

"Take it," Ning Feiliu said helplessly.

"This... what is this?" Shui Bing'er felt her pretty face growing hot, but she still asked.

"It is a Blooming Spirit Flower, a miraculous flower with the ability to let people of the present world meet their departed loved ones," Ning Feiliu said.

Some time ago, when he returned to Dugu Bo's Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he had naturally taken quite a few Blooming Spirit Flowers from the Spirit Blossom Tree.

He had been thinking that during this time traveling through the Northern Territory, he would complete that related task for Mordekaiser whenever an opportunity arose.

【Help one hundred spirits fulfill their dying wishes to obtain Mordekaiser's Undead Forbidden Arts and Ochen Language Proficiency. (100 more to go)】

Hearing Shui Bing'er's story now, it was just the right time to help Shui Bing'er and her mother make up for their regrets.

After all, according to what Shui Bing'er just said, her mother's dying wish must have been to see Shui Bing'er one last time.

"A flower... that can let people of the present world meet their departed loved ones? A Blooming Spirit Flower?" Shui Bing'er was stunned; she almost dared not believe it.

After all, she had never heard of such a flower that could allow one to see a Spirit Soul.

However, Ning Feiliu already had a successful example; Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan had already successfully met Dugu Xin and Duan Zilin.

In the year he had spent traveling, Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan had even used the Blooming Spirit Flower a second time to see the Spirit Souls of Dugu Xin and Duan Zilin.

This was enough to prove that the Blooming Spirit Flower basically worked consistently.

Unless that person had been dead for several decades and their soul had dissipated, or they had been struck down so hard that even their soul was scattered.

But the latter was basically impossible; in the original work, the setting added later for the Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo—that they could not even be resurrected because they were killed instantly by Bibi Dong and their souls were turned to dust—was extreme.

It seemed that only Tang San and god-level powerhouses could achieve such a thing.

At the very least, it would require a powerhouse with the cultivation of a Title Douluo or above for matters involving the soul.

Plus, Shui Bing'er's mother had likely passed away due to illness, not killed in battle, so it was basically the same situation as Dugu Xin and Duan Zilin.

The Spirit Soul should still be attached to the remains or near the remains.

In that case, the Blooming Spirit Flower would definitely be able to work.

"Mm, trust me, would I lie to you?" Ning Feiliu said with a smile. "Let's go... that 'I'm sorry' you owe Auntie, you have to go and say it yourself."

Shui Bing'er was suddenly somewhat emotional; if she could really see her mother again and personally say sorry...

She would be completely satisfied.

"Then where are we going next?" she asked again, feeling somewhat puzzled.

"Of course, to your aunt's final resting place; the Blooming Spirit Flower... needs to be used before the spirit," Ning Feiliu said. "Let's go, you lead the way."

"Alright... but, after Mom passed away, she was buried in the back mountain of my home..." Shui Bing'er said immediately. "We have to go to my home first."

She felt a bit shy inside; did this count as bringing Ning Feiliu home? "Hmm, that's no problem," Ning Feiliu shrugged, then said, "Let's go, let's head over."

"Alright..." Shui Bing'er then held the Blooming Spirit Flower in her hands and led the way forward.

Shui Bing'er's home was in front of a small mountain near the outskirts.

It was just that her home did not look ordinary at all; a luxurious manor was situated in front of the small mountain, looking scenic and with fresh air.

In fact, this was indeed the case; although Shui Bing'er's family was not some illustrious noble clan of generations, they were not completely commoner stock either.

After all, her martial soul was a top-tier ice-type martial soul, the Ice Phoenix; although it was inherited from her mother, her father's family's martial soul was not weak at all.

"Eldest Miss, you've returned." There were two guards outside the manor who greeted her respectfully when they saw Shui Bing'er.

"This person is..." they looked at Ning Feiliu beside Shui Bing'er and asked curiously.

"This is my... teacher," Shui Bing'er said immediately.

Ning Feiliu was indeed her teacher now, that was correct.

"Teacher?" However, the guards looked at Ning Feiliu's overly young face and were somewhat incredulous.

But they still let them pass; after all, they were only guards and could not possibly make any overstepping moves.

Moreover, Ning Feiliu could feel that their cultivation was not high, at most at the level of a Spirit Master.

Ning Feiliu followed Shui Bing'er inside, walking through the manor all the way to the back.

It seemed Shui Bing'er's mother's grave was behind the manor.

However, when they walked to the back garden, a mature, gentle voice came over.

"Bing'er."

Shui Bing'er immediately took a step forward and stopped in front of a handsome middle-aged man in ice-blue fine robes, calling out softly, "Dad."

Shui Bing'er's father nodded, then looked at Ning Feiliu behind her and said with a smile, "Bing'er, this is..."

"Dad, this is Teacher Ning, the one Yue'er and I mentioned..." Shui Bing'er introduced him immediately.

"Hello, Uncle, I am the junior Ning Feiliu," Ning Feiliu also called out quite politely.

"Teacher Ning? Truly a hero among the youth. When I heard Bing'er and Yue'er say they met a Spirit King of similar age to Bing'er, I couldn't believe it." Shui Bing'er's father, Shui Yingcang, looked at Ning Feiliu with a smile and said, "Now it seems... it really is true."

"Many thanks for the compliment, Uncle," Ning Feiliu responded with a faint smile.

"Then Teacher Ning, what is the reason for your visit today?" Shui Yingcang smiled, but then he said with a sad look in his eyes, "However, I'm afraid it's not convenient to host Teacher Ning these next two days, because tomorrow is the memorial day of my first wife."

Only then did Ning Feiliu see the messy bundle of flowers still covered in soil that he was holding in his hands.

It seemed he had never forgotten his late wife after all; although he had already taken a new wife, he still had not forgotten the first wife who had passed away over a decade ago.

However, what Ning Feiliu did not know was that Shui Yingcang's remarriage was actually facilitated by Shui Bing'er's mother, Ling Feng'er, before she died.

And Shui Yingcang's second wife, Mu Yunrou, was actually a partner whom Shui Yingcang and Ling Feng'er had known since they were young.

It was just that after Shui Yingcang and Ling Feng'er developed feelings for each other, she had withdrawn from the relationship.

But Ling Feng'er, knowing her time was near before she died, worried that Shui Yingcang and Shui Bing'er would have no one to care for them.

She also knew her friend still had lingering feelings for her husband; since that was the case, why not fulfill her friend's wish before she departed?

So she entrusted Mu Yunrou to be with Shui Yingcang after her death and help take care of Shui Yingcang and her own daughter, Shui Bing'er.

It was precisely because of this that Shui Yingcang remarried a year after Ling Feng'er passed away, and gave birth to Shui Yue'er the following year.

Likewise, this second wife of Shui Yingcang and stepmother to Shui Bing'er would treat and care for Shui Bing'er as if she were her own.

Simply because this was her friend's daughter.

Just then, a tall, graceful young woman also holding a bundle of flowers arrived beside Shui Yingcang.

"Mom..." Shui Bing'er immediately called out to the woman before her without the slightest awkwardness.

"This is..." Mu Yunrou looked at Ning Feiliu and also asked curiously.

Shui Bing'er introduced him again.

Mu Yunrou immediately said with a smile, "So it is this Teacher Ning; Bing'er and Yue'er have mentioned you to me several times... truly a heroic youth."

"Teacher Ning... how about this, in a few days I will prepare a modest banquet to thank you for your care of my two daughters during this time," Shui Yingcang said immediately.

"Hmm... apologies, because tomorrow is the memorial day of my husband's first wife, my friend, so it is quite inconvenient; I hope Teacher Ning understands," Mu Yunrou also said at this time.

Ning Feiliu did not waste words and said, "Actually... I came here to let Bing'er fulfill a wish and make up for a regret. This Blooming Spirit Flower can allow people of the present world to see the Spirit Soul of a departed loved one."

Shui Yingcang and Mu Yunrou were both stunned for a moment.

However, very quickly, Shui Yingcang frowned and said, "How is this possible? I have never heard of such a magical flower on the Douluo Continent!"

"Never having heard of it does not mean it's impossible, and this is just a trial; it won't have any negative effects," Ning Feiliu said calmly.

"Does Uncle not want to see Aunt again?"

Hearing these words from Ning Feiliu, Shui Yingcang was stunned.

That's right... he also wanted to see his first wife again.

After all, he had not forgotten her for so many years, which proved he still had deep feelings for his first wife.

Then how could he not want to see the wife who had departed many years ago? But...

What kind of Blooming Spirit Flower could have the ability to see the Spirit Soul of the deceased? He had truly never heard of it.

How could a flower possibly have such unimaginable power?

But just as Shui Yingcang was struggling with the decision...

"Brother Cang, just let this Teacher Ning give it a try."

The one speaking was... Mu Yunrou.

Ning Feiliu suddenly looked at Shui Bing'er's stepmother with some curiosity.

He had not expected that the person saying this would actually be Shui Bing'er's stepmother, the second wife of Shui Yingcang.

Even if she were magnanimous and kind-natured, she was, after all, the one who came later; could she really not be jealous at all?

Ning Feiliu did not know at this moment that Mu Yunrou and Shui Bing'er's mother, Ling Feng'er, had once been the best of friends.

Even though they both fell in love with the same man, it did not change the relationship between them in the slightest.

Furthermore, before Ling Feng'er died, she had even fulfilled the union of Mu Yunrou and Shui Yingcang; Mu Yunrou said softly at this time, "I also really want to see Feng'er one more time... to tell her that I am living well with you all now, and that I miss her very much; if it is just a try, what if it is truly as this Teacher Ning says, and we can see Feng'er?"

(End of this chapter)