[217] Clash of Titans

The little Huangquan girl was completely the type who remembered treats but never lessons—exceedingly easy to dupe. After Yu Xian reassured her repeatedly, she naively took his word for it. Fortunately for her, this time she had actually run into a decent person. "Do you still remember how to get home?" Yu Xian asked, looking down at the aggrieved little thing in his arms. She shook her head. With a slight headache, Yu Xian asked, "Then do you remember what your mother looks like?" She nodded. Next, the little Huangquan girl took Yu Xian's index finger in her chubby little hand. In an instant, a scene unfolded before his eyes. It was truly wondrous. Although it was clearly the little Huangquan girl's own memory, the perspective was as if an outside observer were watching, with the little Huangquan girl herself visible in the scene. Rocking, gently rocking... In the memory, a beautiful woman held an infant in her arms. She had long gray hair and delicate, gentle features, radiating the gentle glow of motherhood. The moment Yu Xian saw the woman, his heart stirred. He knew this had to be the little Huangquan girl's mother, Wangchuan. The scene shifted continuously. The little Huangquan girl slowly grew, and from the surrounding environment, it was clear her growth was agonizingly slow, advancing only slightly every thousand years or so. Yet when she reached an appearance resembling a five-year-old child, Wangchuan's appearance began to change. Every time Wangchuan appeared before the girl, she looked subtly different. For instance, her clothes would show slight tears, wounds would appear on her back, and her originally smooth, well-kept long hair gradually became tangled and disheveled. The only constant was her love for the little Huangquan girl. Yu Xian, however, already sensed something was wrong. Wangchuan's situation was likely deteriorating, probably due to trouble in the outside world. Sure enough, in the final scene, Wangchuan appeared once more. Straining to conceal the injuries covering her body, she gently told the little Huangquan girl not to leave home and to wait for her return. Yet after leaving that time, Wangchuan never returned. The little Huangquan girl waited and waited, waiting endlessly, until a very long time later she finally mustered the courage to leave home. After that, she ran into the old crone in the River Wangchuan... The vision ended, and Yu Xian fell silent. Cradling the little Huangquan girl in his arms, he could not bear to tell her that her mother was already dead. No wonder the River Wangchuan hadn't stopped the little girl from rescuing the old woman—the sacred spirit of the River Wangchuan had already perished. "Big Brother, can you help me find Mama?" the little Huangquan girl asked timidly, gathering her courage as she looked up at Yu Xian with aggrieved eyes. An ordinary person might have laughed it off with a white lie, claiming they couldn't bear to hurt the child's tender heart. Yu Xian, however, had also experienced the death of his mother. He knew full well that some truths had to be accepted. Only by facing them could one grow and slowly learn to live with the pain. Meeting the little Huangquan girl's hopeful gaze, Yu Xian parted his lips slightly, his tone gradually turning firm. "I'm sorry, I can't help you find your mama... because she has already passed away." "You're fibbing!" The little girl was stunned at first, then her eyes welled with tears as she cried out with a wavering voice. Lowering her head, large tear droplets fell one after another. Even though she contradicted Yu Xian's words, deep down she had already accepted her mother's death. She knew everything Yu Xian said was the truth. "Go ahead and cry. When my mother left me, I cried many times too, for a very, very long time," Yu Xian said earnestly, holding the little girl tight. At first, the little Huangquan girl had simply curled up in Yu Xian's embrace, weeping. But after hearing what he said, she slowly reached out her arms to hug him back, sobbing for a long time. During this time, the Spartan Warriors had actually sneaked back once. Yet after surveying the devastation left across the battlefield, the bearded warrior gripped his spear, turned around, and ordered everyone to retreat. There was no need for them to offend a Star Rank powerhouse. The Spartans were reckless, but that didn't mean they were brainless. The Spartan King was indeed formidable, but even he couldn't prevent a Star Rank combatant from fleeing and biding their time. If they failed to pull the weeds up by the roots, it would lead to immense trouble down the line. If a Star Rank expert ambushed their other members from the shadows, who besides the Spartan King could survive? They couldn't let the entire Spartan faction be reduced to just the Spartan King alone, could they? Were the rest of them supposed to just forfeit their lives? In fact, the Spartans had two entirely different reputations depending on whether one was below or above the Star Rank. Transcendents below the Star Rank viewed the Spartan Warriors as overbearing tyrants who slaughtered people at the slightest disagreement. To powerhouses above the Star Rank, however, the Spartan Warriors seemed quite polite. Such was the difference wrought by strength. From different heights, the scenery one saw was completely different. *** Late at night. Yu Xian sat beside a campfire, with Little Nora and the little Huangquan girl seated on either side of him. One was devouring meat in massive bites, while the other stared curiously at Yu Xian in a daze. "It's done roasting. Do you want some?" Yu Xian asked, holding out a skewer of roasted meat to the little Huangquan girl. The little girl shook her head, showing zero interest in roasted meat. Little Nora immediately snatched the skewer excitedly from Yu Xian's hand and beamed. "If you're not eating it, I will!" "Is there anywhere you'd like to go?" Yu Xian cast a helpless glance at Little Nora before turning back to ask the little Huangquan girl. She shook her head. Evidently, she had nowhere left to go and nowhere she wanted to go. Although she thought of home for a brief moment, the thought that her mother would never return made her feel as though she didn't really want to go back either. "Then do you want to come with us?" A myriad of options flashed through Yu Xian's mind in an instant, but he discarded them one by one before asking. The little Huangquan girl wasn't truly a harmless, ordinary child. She remained connected to the ghost mask; once she put it on, she would transform into the Ghost-Faced Man, her personality swayed by the mask. The problem was that Yu Xian had no way to permanently seal the little girl's ghost mask. Entrusting her to anyone else would require them to shoulder enormous risk. After thinking it through, he realized that he was the only one suitable. Besides, this little thing was far too gullible. If bad people took advantage of her, the consequences would be dire. Upon hearing Yu Xian's offer, the little Huangquan girl's droopy eyebrows lifted. Looking at Yu Xian while suppressing her joy, she asked with a flutter of excitement in her voice, "Can I really come with you and the others, Big Brother?" "Of course," Yu Xian nodded. The little Huangquan girl immediately nodded in agreement and happily threw herself against Yu Xian's leg, wrapping both arms around it. Overwhelmed by joy, memories of all her past suffering rushed back, and tears welled up at the corners of her eyes once more. "From now on, you can call me Big Brother just like Little Nora does. I'll take good care of you, just like I take care of Little Nora." Yu Xian's gaze softened. The little thing had truly been unfortunate, enduring so much hardship. Swallowing a mouthful of meat, Little Nora said indignantly, "Big Brother, I'm nothing like her! I'm very useful!" Saying that, it thumped its own chest twice with a thud. Not to be outdone, Little Huangquan retorted stubbornly, "I... I... I'm very useful too!" The two brats instantly locked eyes, setting the stage for a clash of titans.