Chapter 221: Yesterday Has Passed Like Flowing Water

It was like a dream of a past life; once the dream ended, he fell back into a darkness. Yet the scene before his eyes was so clear—so clear it felt within reach, yet ultimately impossible to attain.

Long Qi fell into the darkness once more, unable to walk out no matter what. He screamed and ran wildly, but the scene of the courtyard floated before his eyes like a mirage.

Every time he thought he could step into it with his next move, the ethereal void on the right would instantly appear; even though he exhausted all his strength, he could never reach it.

He yearned for the scenery before him; that peace which struck the depths of his heart made him incomparably greedy for it. Little Long Qi did not know why he had such thoughts, only feeling that he must reach that place, otherwise he would lose everything.

But...

Everything was in vain...

Agitation... unease...

All sorts of anxieties mingled together, causing his footsteps to gradually become chaotic, and before long, he stumbled and fell to the ground.

Long Qi stretched out his hand, waving it in an attempt to grasp the scene before him, but he could grasp nothing at all. He struggled to prop up his body, but no matter what, he could not stand up.

He had no strength left!

He truly had no strength left!

Just at this moment, the "creak" sound came to an abrupt halt, and the surroundings fell into a deathly silence once again. Long Qi was filled with despair; he lowered his head and cried out, his voice hoarse and exhausted.

He had lost everything once again!

Suddenly, the sound of water dripping reached him. Long Qi looked up in shock, tear tracks still on his face, but he was no longer in the form of a child; instead, he had become a youth with flamboyant braids, as if he had grown up in an instant.

"Drip... drip..."

The sound of the water droplets was like heavenly music, unexpectedly calming the agitation and unease in his heart in an instant. At this moment, a childish voice came from behind:

"Why... do you cultivate the Dao?"

The tone was flat, yet it struck Long Qi's heart like a heavy hammer.

He raised his head to look forward. On the shelf by the courtyard wall, a hammock hung quietly, neither swaying nor moving. In the courtyard, pebble paths crisscrossed, surrounded by a medicine field enclosed by a low fence, among which two large vats were particularly conspicuous.

The person behind him did not seem to be in a hurry either; having asked the question, they did not speak again, waiting quietly as if frozen in time.

"Drip... drip..."

The sound of the water droplets remained unhurried, seemingly waiting for Long Qi's answer as well.

That's right, why did he cultivate the Dao?

For revenge?

Indeed, it was because of revenge that he had lingered on until now, but that was absolutely not the reason he cultivated the Dao.

Then... why was it?

Long Qi was stunned. He was lost, not knowing how to answer. He just stared ahead, but his eyes were hollow, reflecting no scene at all.

At this time, a gust of wind blew by, gentle and warm, blowing away some of the gloom from his brow.

A flash of snow-white drifted past, entering his vision and landing in his hair. A petal turned leisurely, drifted with the wind, lingered on his lips for a moment, and then went away with the wind.

Long Qi's eyes widened abruptly. He raised his hand to touch his lips; this softness was fragrant and sweet.

He remembered!

It was as if he had returned to that afternoon; he was so tired he lay on the ground, and a little person poked his face, talking nonsense with a straight face, looking smug and beaming with joy.

"Hey~ this is where you and I differ. Although you have practiced martial arts since childhood, it only forged your outer body, which counts as Body Tempering, but you have no achievements at all on the inside. The entry to immortal cultivation is Qi Refining, which must be personally experienced when one is extremely exhausted. The so-called 'exhausting the muscles and bones before tempering the heart and will' is exactly what you need to do right now. As for me, sigh~ fortunately, I was blessed by heaven, and I obtained the power of Foundation Establishment without having to refine my tendons or clear my meridians..."

That faint fragrance would intoxicate him like old wine.

It was Lingxiang!

"Creak... creak... splash..."

The hammock on the shelf began to sway, emitting a series of sounds, and the sound of water droplets turned into the sound of flowing water. Only the wind was still blowing quietly, blowing up a flurry of white petals dancing.

As the wind rose, the petal in Long Qi's hair swayed for a moment and finally drifted behind him with the wind. At this moment, the voice from behind sounded again:

"Why... do you cultivate the Dao?"

Long Qi did not know where the strength came from; he slowly stood up, and without looking back, he answered calmly: "I cultivate because I cultivate; there is no 'why'."

A soft laugh came from behind. Long Qi turned to look, but he only had time to see a tattered corner of a garment, and that corner of the garment only flickered once before disappearing into the darkness, leaving no trace to be found.

Turning back again, Long Qi also smiled, then stepped forward steadily. This time, he walked in within a few steps.

Behind him was no longer darkness, but the usual bustling of people. The things in the courtyard remained the same, no different from when he first arrived at Youran Abode. Long Qi looked around at the scenery, constantly recalling the things from that time.

The Lingxiang of that time loved nothing more than to lie on that hammock every day, enjoying the sun while gesturing at him with snacks in hand; or squatting in the medicine field, carefully tending to her so-called treasures; or otherwise, sitting in the courtyard, watching him work himself to death filling the water vats while sighing that the courtyard was deserted and no business was coming.

Long Qi suddenly realized that although Lingxiang always made him jump with anger at the beginning, now that he thought about it, only smiles remained.

Just as he was constantly recalling the past, the door of the inner room opened abruptly, and a person walked out from inside.

"Lingxiang!"

Upon seeing the person, Long Qi immediately became excited and hurriedly stepped forward to hug her. The person was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly patted Long Qi's back, signaling him to let go quickly.

"You... you are... choking me to death..."

Hearing this, although Long Qi was reluctant, he had to let her go quickly. He was still holding her hand, wanting to say something, but...

But just as he held her hand for a moment, he suddenly pushed her away and subconsciously reached for the sword on his back.

However, there was nothing on his back.

Long Qi had no choice but to retreat repeatedly, frowning and staring at the person: "Who are you!"

"Oh ho?" The person raised her eyebrows, which was exactly like Lingxiang. She rubbed her chin, smiling as she scrutinized Long Qi: "Just a moment ago you were hugging and holding people, and now you are acting all hostile; what is the logic in that?"

Long Qi did not speak, only staring at the person vigilantly, not daring to relax in the slightest. Seeing him like this, the person felt strange.

"Why are you so certain that I am not that girl?"

Long Qi looked guarded and took a few more steps back: "Lingxiang is not one of those delicate young ladies; her hands are not that smooth."

So the problem was here. The person looked at her own hands and then sighed: "Aiya, I didn't think of this; miscalculation, miscalculation."

This tone and posture were clearly no different from Lingxiang's, yet they stirred displeasure in Long Qi's heart.

"Who exactly are you!"

That person smiled, seemingly not caring in the slightest about Long Qi's attitude; they just smiled, walked over to the hammock, turned over, and lay down on it, then with a casual wave of their hand, conjured a bag of snacks and began eating them self-indulgently, swaying back and forth while they ate, looking quite content.

Seeing them act like this, Long Qi was even angrier; they actually dared to lie in Lingxiang's hammock, a hammock he had never even used himself! He was just about to draw his sword, but suddenly remembered that there was nothing behind him.

Huh? Where was his sword?

Seeing Long Qi like this, that person chewed on a snack and sneered: "Fumbling around for ages and coming up with nothing, truly laughable, truly laughable." Then, after a moment's pause, they added: "Haven't you noticed what is different about this courtyard?"