Only then did Lin Wujiu snap out of his daze.
“Oh, right! Qisha’s awake, but I haven’t told him what happened yet. He’s still pretty weak.”
Pausing briefly, Lin Wujiu added, “Though I think the kid has already guessed something. As soon as he woke up, he tried slipping out on his own while we weren’t paying attention, but Uncle Lin stopped him. Brother Han turned out to be quite a man of principle too. Knowing full well the Lin family was in trouble, he never once mentioned leaving, which surprised me a bit.”
Li Guanqi smiled faintly. It seemed Han Sijin was indeed someone dependable.
Even so, Li Guanqi’s trust in him was still far lower than his trust in Lin Wujiu or Qisha.
The group sped through the sky at tremendous speed.
Along the way, Venerable Zhanhe probed Lin Jinting with subtle, indirect questions about Li Guanqi. He was no fool; he knew full well that everything that had transpired was inextricably tied to the young man behind them.
Venerable Zhanhe even suspected Li Guanqi might be a disciple sent down from some great clan of the Nine Heavens to gain worldly experience. Li Guanqi was simply too young… So young that it was almost unbelievable for a cultivator of his age to have reached the Heavenly Immortal Second Realm.
Yet Lin Jinting merely offered ambiguous evasions, neither confirming nor denying anything. Coupled with Li Guanqi’s extraordinary bearing and refined conduct, Venerable Zhanhe found it even harder to gauge his true background. In his conversation with Lin Jinting, his tone grew noticeably more cautious, and he humbled himself somewhat, showing a clear willingness to maintain close ties with the Lin family.
By the time they returned to the Lin manor, many Lin family members happened to be arriving from outside as well.
The moment they reached the gates, Lin Changlu flashed over to welcome them.
Lin Wujiu stood by the main hall’s entrance, supporting the pale-faced Qisha as they looked out toward the arrivals.
“I told you everything was fine, but you just had to drag yourself out here to look.”
The instant Qisha saw Li Guanqi wave at him, tears spilled from his eyes.
He had no idea what these people had endured on this journey, but he saw the holes torn in Lin Jinting’s and Li Guanqi’s robes—they had not even had time to change clothes.
Clenching his teeth and pressing his lips tight, Qisha choked back a sob, his eyes bloodshot. “What did I, Qisha, ever do… to deserve meeting the two of you…”
Closing his eyes, two streams of clear tears flowed down his cheeks.
Back when the assassins of Xutian Palace murdered his adoptive parents, he had not shed a single tear. He had known back then that crying meant death. Yet now, overcome by the warmth of others, he wept.
Li Guanqi flashed to his side, supported him, and channeled immortal essence into him to smooth the erratic flow of his internal breath.
“Hey, what’s all this emotion for? Aren’t we back in one piece?”
“Besides, I’ve got good news for you.”
Resting a hand on Qisha’s shoulder, Li Guanqi stared straight into his eyes, his gaze brilliant and clear. He glanced back at the grinning Lin Wujiu, and together they laughed aloud, speaking in unison.
“From this day forth, you no longer have the slightest connection to Xutian Palace!!”
Hearing their words, Qisha stared blankly at Li Guanqi, unable to believe what he was hearing.
Seeing him frozen in a daze, both Li Guanqi and Lin Wujiu felt a pang of sorrow. It seemed that for all these years, Qisha had been constantly pursued and hunted by Xutian Palace. No wonder he had kept his identity so carefully concealed from the start. Even when Li Guanqi and Lin Wujiu extended goodwill, he had refused to get involved with them.
Was that being cold and aloof?
No… it was because he feared dragging them down with him.
After a long silence, Qisha came back to his senses and looked at Li Guanqi, fresh tears welling in his eyes. “I… did I really… leave the organization?”
Li Guanqi nodded with absolute solemnity, his voice deep and steady. “That’s right! From now on, you are yourself. You are free… The world is vast, go wherever you please!!”
At those words, Qisha completely broke down. He collapsed against Li Guanqi’s shoulder, weeping uncontrollably. That hoarse crying sounded as though it had been suppressed for countless years.
Watching this, Lin Wujiu’s eyes reddened as well. He wrapped an arm around both of their shoulders, patting them firmly. “Go ahead and cry. It’s over. It’s all in the past!!”
Night fell, and the entire Lin manor was ablaze with lights, bustling with celebration. Li Guanqi, Lin Wujiu, and the others did not join the lively banquet. Instead, almost all the Lin family elders attended; with a Golden Immortal visiting the manor, even the Lin family had to treat him with utmost care and deference.
Lin Jinting, however, carried himself with natural ease, acting as if he and the guest were on equal footing. Before the evening banquet, disciples of Nine Tripods Heavenly Palace had already visited the Lin manor, holding a private discussion with Lin Jinting for nearly two hours before taking their leave. Venerable Zhanhe had witnessed this, prompting even more speculation in his mind.
Upon the rooftop of a detached courtyard, Li Guanqi, Lin Wujiu, and Qisha lay side by side, enjoying the cool breeze.
A few small side dishes rested beside them, accompanied by more than a dozen wine jars tipped haphazardly across the tiles. Lying between the two, Li Guanqi looked up at the shifting sky, yet he could not forget the moment he had soared straight into the heights and touched the boundary.
The Ten Lands were, in the end, only the Ten Lands.
With eyes glazed from drink, Qisha poured out many heartfelt words. Lin Wujiu replied to him sentence by sentence, then tilted his head toward Li Guanqi.
“Old Li… what kind of person are you, really?”
Li Guanqi sat up, looked at Lin Wujiu with a faint smile, and gave the question serious thought.
“What kind of person am I…”
“Me… back in the Human Spirit Realm, a single year of my life was more thrilling than your entire existence, yet I was merely an insignificant chess piece. A piece nobody cared about. But that very piece had the audacity to leap beyond the board and become the player.”
At that point, Li Guanqi chuckled.
He tilted his head back, taking a swig of wine. As the fiery liquor burned down his throat, the corners of his mouth curved upward. Beneath the moonlight, his eyes shone as bright as the luminous moon. Turning to look at the drunken Lin Wujiu, his smile carried a subtle, indescribable weight.
“And now, that chess piece has leapt down from the board.”
Lin Wujiu furrowed his brow, rolled his eyes, and muttered while waving his hands aimlessly, “Don’t get it… don’t… get it at all…”
Li Guanqi looked at them with a laugh, then rose slowly and flew toward the rear courtyard.
In a secluded courtyard bathed in moonlight, Han Sijin was also drinking alone. Carrying a wine jug and a plate of side dishes, Li Guanqi dropped down with a warm smile and took a seat.
“Brother Han.”
“Fellow Daoist Li.”
“A toast to you, Brother Han.”
“To you as well.”
Clink!
Their cups tapped together. Sitting in the courtyard with his hands tucked into his sleeves, Han Sijin looked up at the moon, his eyes brimming with longing. Li Guanqi did the same. After drinking, neither spoke, their gazes unfocused as each reminisced about the person cherished in their memories.
Li Guanqi took out a jade slip and said softly, “Uncle Lin, regarding my master… and Brother Han’s beloved wife, could you ask Senior Zhanhe to lend a hand?”
Han Sijin turned toward Li Guanqi in astonishment. He naturally knew that a mighty Golden Immortal cultivator had come to the Lin manor as a guest today, but he never expected Li Guanqi to possess such sway.
Soon, Venerable Zhanhe’s hearty laughter rang out from the jade slip.
“Hahaha, Little Friend Li is far too polite! Such a minor matter, leave it to this old man. Shall we begin right now?”
Li Guanqi chuckled, gently raising a hand to soothe Han Sijin’s rising excitement, and said with a smile, “Tomorrow will be fine. Let us not disrupt Senior’s enjoyment tonight. This junior will come by shortly to toast you.”
Setting down the jade slip, Li Guanqi clearly felt Han Sijin let out a long breath, his tense shoulders relaxing at last.
Chapter 1711