A biting wind howled through the forest as snow piled high upon the ground, leaving the woods bleak and desolate.
The middle-aged man stood silently amid the blizzard, his face pale as he pulled his robes tightly around himself. His gaze was distant and unfocused as he remained still, allowing the snow to gather upon his clothing while layer upon layer of snow descended from the sky.
Before long, a young man with a cold, sharp gaze made his way up the slope. He knelt beside him and bowed. "Family head... That Black Langur has come again... He says he has come to collect this year's blood food."
A sickly flush rose on the middle-aged man's face. After coughing twice, he slowly closed his eyes and replied, "If he wants it, then give it to him..."
The young man clenched his teeth and accepted the order. "Yes..."
He rose to his feet, but after taking only a few steps, the middle-aged man called out to him once more.
"Suining..."
Li Suining turned back and saw the man open his eyes before speaking calmly, "I'm afraid I do not have much time left..."
A pang of sorrow welled up in Li Suining's heart. He stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Fifth granduncle, please focus on recovering from your injuries. If the Daoist Master were still here, he would never wish to see you treat yourself so lightly..."
"The Daoist Master..." The middle-aged man coughed several times. Deep hatred surfaced in his eyes, while pain etched itself across his brow. "I am ashamed to bear his bloodline. I possess neither the divine ability of the King of Wei nor any talent for alchemy. What a pity... what a pity..."
He paused before speaking in a hollow voice, "Suining."
Li Suining raised his brows and listened. "Run for your life."
Li Suining fell silent, staring bleakly at the snowstorm on the horizon. The middle-aged man continued to mutter, "You are the only remaining junior of our family with any respectable cultivation... and the one who has made us the proudest. Li Xixuan may have his faults, but he is no fool. Yet even he is not as clever as you. You know it as well as I do. If you stay here, you'll die all the same...
"Now even Daoist Master Ning has fallen. If even a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator could meet such an end, what hope is there for people like us? Stay here, and death is only a matter of time. You would be better off venturing out. Perhaps you might find a sliver of hope."
The young man remained silent, listening as the man continued, "We are all going to die... The moment that decree came down all those years ago, it became clear. Every one of us is doomed... The Bright Yang bloodline must be wiped out, otherwise they will never know peace day or night... I, Li Zhouming... I, Li Zhouming, am nothing more than bait...
"Grandfather... the King of Wei... They are the real reason... the true objects of their hatred..."
Li Zhouming's face was deathly pale. He seemed overcome by exhaustion, yet there was a strange dazed look in his eyes as his lips moved faintly. "Father... Elder brother... heh..."
Li Suining remained silent, but cold sweat had already drenched his body. Watching the pale-faced middle-aged man slowly close his eyes as though drifting into sleep, he was struck by sudden terror.
He dropped to his knees and cried out urgently, "Fifth granduncle! Fifth granduncle!"
Blood slowly trickled from the man's nose as he slumped into Li Suining's chest. Li Suining's pupils dilated to their limits. This young man, who had always been calm and resolute, who had walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, finally broke down into heart-wrenching sobs.
He cried out, "Wanling... the Wanlin Blossom... it's gone, granduncle!"
Yet the man in his arms only grew weaker and weaker, muttering broken fragments of words, "The old... days... where have those scenes gone..."
"Fifth granduncle!"
————
The chill of early spring still lingered in the air.
The lamps within the room had long since been extinguished. Cabinets on both sides stood open, revealing stacks upon stacks of Daoist manuals. In the dimness, faint traces of writing could still be seen upon their covers.
The dark room was silent but for the light snoring of the person on the bed, footsteps passing outside, and, from somewhere even farther away, the distant strains of a softly sung tune.
"Sincerely... received the love of... immortals..."
Then the hurried footsteps abruptly stopped, and a child's clear voice rang out, "Brother Ning!"
The voice outside called several times in succession. Only then did the half-grown boy on the bed stir and roll over. Yet he could not open his eyes, as though trapped within a nightmare.
Creak!
The door was suddenly shoved open, producing a harsh scraping sound. A child no older than five or six rushed inside, his face bright with excitement as he shouted, "Brother Ning!"
The child had barely entered when the nanny chasing after him arrived in a fluster, sweat covering her forehead.
Her expression changed drastically as she hurriedly whispered, "Don't disturb your brother!"
The words struck like a clap of thunder, finally shattering the nightmare. The youth groggily opened his eyes. The snowy landscape vanished before him, and the old Li Zhouming disappeared as well, leaving him momentarily dazed.
So it was a dream... I'm not dead... I actually dreamed of Granduncle Zhouming...
He was not surprised. Li Zhouming's death had struck him deeply, and dreaming of him was only natural. Yet amid his confusion, a sudden doubt erupted from the depths of his heart.
Cen Lufu... Didn't she bring down the Pristine Sea... How am I still alive...
No... ever since I began cultivating, how many years has it been since I last dreamed?!
In the next instant, the youth sprang upright from the bed. His eyes snapped open, bright as winter stars and brimming with killing intent, their icy sharpness cutting through the room.
He barked, "Who is it?!"
That single glance sent a chill through the nanny's heart and raised goosebumps across her body. Unable to help herself, she wondered, What has gotten into the young master... Has he somehow come to resent the master...
Nevertheless, she bowed and forced a smile. "Young master, please forgive us for disturbing your rest..."
Yet as she bowed, Li Suining seemed to fall into a daze. His gaze landed upon the child before him, and his pupils rapidly widened.
"You... Kuan'er..."
He lifted his gaze and swept it across the room in disbelief, examining every furnishing from beginning to end. Hot blood surged through his chest and rushed all the way to the bridge of his nose. Then, all at once, he forced his expression back under control.
This is... This is... Dongdi Manor...
He closed his eyes at once, as though overcome by drowsiness, yet he was rapidly examining everything around him and the pitifully thin thread of spiritual qi within his body. Every bit of it was utterly unforgettable to him!
It's... Moongaze Lake of Tingzhou...
No matter how many hardships and tribulations he had later endured, no matter how many sleepless nights he spent listening to the wind and rain outside his window, his thoughts had always returned to the days upon the lake. When he had fallen into the Pristine Sea, this same scenery had appeared before his eyes, yet it had never felt as real as it did today.