Chapter 10: What Did I Do Wrong?

【You have discussed everything with your master, Li Wanshou】

【You are painfully aware of how terrible your body is, with no possibility of saving it, and you begin to make arrangements for your affairs】

【In order to ensure your sister can live a better life, you start teaching her, including but not limited to cultivation, interpersonal skills, and the Four Arts of Cultivation】

【Your sister is very dependent on you, but you begin to act coldly, hoping to reduce her dependence on you and weaken your relationship】

【You believe you are just a dying person】

【You should not become a stumbling block to the girl’s future】

【Given your current relationship, after you leave the Heavenly Sword Sect, Xu Moli will undoubtedly go to great lengths to find you. Therefore, you are actively sabotaging this relationship, hoping to reduce Xu Moli’s affection for you, even to the point of hating you】

【Only in this way will she not search for your missing self】

【Only in this way will she not discover the truth】

【Only in this way can you leave in peace…】

【Your actions are quite effective. Under your deliberate neglect and indifference, Xu Moli’s dependence on you has decreased, but she still holds you in high regard, seeing you as her elder brother】

【Under your guidance, Xu Moli officially becomes a Qi Refining cultivator. She is very happy, and under her expectant gaze, you say two words】

【”Average.”】

【Xu Moli feels wronged by your neglect, but you do not comfort her. Instead, you arrange more cultivation lessons】

【You are in a hurry. Theoretically, you have three years left to live, but signs of your body’s collapse are beginning to show】

【One day, you find that your hearing is failing】

【You disguise it well, and the girl does not notice your physical condition. You silently accelerate the teaching process, hoping to make the girl capable of standing on her own before your body completely collapses】

【Your overly strict teaching plan causes more dissatisfaction and resentment in the girl. She begins to suspect that she is not important in your heart】

【Why has it come to this? Why has the elder brother who once cared for her so much become so cold today?】

【More and more grievances, more and more doubts, make Xu Moli unable to bear it any longer】

Half a year later.

Inside the cultivation cave.

The girl, with her ethereal beauty, has tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, her lips tightly pursed, as if countless grievances are swirling in her heart.

Her lips tremble slightly: “Elder brother, what have I done wrong…”

Silence.

A long silence.

Facing his sister’s question, Xu Xi shakes his head: “You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Then why is elder brother—”

“Mo Li.”

Xu Xi interrupts the girl’s questioning, his eyes slightly closed, as if recalling something: “Do you remember how long we’ve lived together?”

The girl doesn’t understand why he suddenly asks such a question, but she still instinctively replies: “Seventeen years.”

Seventeen years.

This is the total time Xu Xi has spent in the simulation, and also the girl’s own age.

“Yes, it’s been seventeen years.”

Xu Xi speaks softly, his voice filled with deep exhaustion and an unmistakable hoarseness.

“When I first met you, you were just a newborn baby. To keep you alive, I had to trade my last bit of food for some human milk.”

“I was really hungry back then…”

“But I still worried every day, afraid you wouldn’t be happy, afraid you wouldn’t be warm, afraid you wouldn’t be full.”

“When you were ten, you suddenly fell seriously ill, and it wasn’t until this year, when you turned seventeen, that you were cured. For seven years, I never stopped running around for your illness.”

Xu Xi’s voice is calm, without complaint or blame.

Just a deep, weary sadness.

“Mo Li, if it weren’t for you, my life could have been more exciting.”

“I am also human, I have my own dreams. I can’t think of everything for you. I’m not that great, do you understand?”

“You are seventeen now, no longer a child.”

“You should learn to take care of yourself, to live independently!”

“I—”

“Am tired.”

Inside the cave, a heavy, oppressive atmosphere fills the air.

The light becomes dim and blurry.

The girl’s face turns pale, her eyes lifeless, as if she wants to refute something, but in the end, she can only say: “So, elder brother thinks Mo Li is a burden?”

“…Yes.”

Her heart feels heavy, as if falling into an endless abyss, all emotions devoured, leaving only a desperate escape.

Xu Moli chokes, unable to speak.

She runs out quickly.

Runs out of the cave.

Only Xu Xi, who has lost all strength, slumps in the wooden chair, silent and lost in thought for a long time.

Humans are truly contradictory creatures.

Xu Xi thinks to himself.

He had prepared various excuses long ago to destroy his relationship with his sister, to erase the image of the good elder brother in the girl’s heart.

But when it came to actually doing it, he still felt unbearable pain.

“It hurts… more than when I burned my spiritual root…”

Xu Xi clutches his chest, murmuring to himself: “But this way, that child can completely break free from my influence and live well in the Cultivation World.”

【Your words are sharp, like swords piercing and tearing apart the girl’s heart】

【She runs out alone for a long time】

【Crying alone, wiping her tears alone, comforting herself in the loneliest, most pitiful, and most aggrieved way in a deserted corner】

【When Xu Moli returns, her expression has become much colder, her gaze no longer filled with the same respect as before, and she no longer complains about your training】

【Your heart aches, your heart rejoices】

【After this incident, the girl’s will becomes much stronger. While you marvel at this, you casually cover your mouth, not letting the girl see the blood you cough up】

【You wholeheartedly assist the girl in her cultivation. The intense mental focus accelerates the collapse of your body. On a morning in the eighteenth year of your transmigration, you find yourself increasingly weak】

【You know it’s time for you to leave】

【Although you are reluctant, although you still want to witness the girl’s growth, staying in the Heavenly Sword Sect any longer will eventually lead to the girl discovering the truth】

【You choose to leave without saying goodbye, piloting the flying boat alone away from the Heavenly Sword Sect, breaking through the wind and clouds, heading to a place far from the Cultivation World】

【Where should you go next?】

【You are lost】

【For the eighteen years of your transmigration, your goals have always been cultivation and taking care of your sister. But now, neither of these goals can continue】

【After much thought, you decide to return to the once-familiar Blackstone City, to spend the rest of your time alone】

【The Cultivation World is vast, with countless mortal dynasties and places of pleasure as numerous as the stars. But for you, none are as familiar and comfortable as Blackstone City, as it holds five years of memories with the girl】

Whoosh—

The flying boat descends from the sky.

Unnoticed by anyone.

Silently, the young man, now without any cultivation or spiritual root, enters the old wooden house with a wooden sword.

Living alone, calmly waiting for death.

During this time.

Neighbors who still remember the young man greet him, and he responds one by one.

When asked about the girl, he simply smiles and avoids the topic.