Goodbye Yet Parting

Whoosh~

The wind blew the leaves through the forest, sending them drifting down to the lake, where they stirred the shimmering ripples. A young man in a moon-white robe stood alone, holding a single sword, his eyes closed in repose. Moonlight cascaded from the heavens, draping over him like a celestial swordsman beneath the lunar glow. Around him, a host of figures lurked, each gripping a sharp blade, their murderous intent naked and raw.

Perched on a forked branch of a tree, Ye Shu‘s face burned with agitation. For him, it might have felt like only a few short months, but for others, over ten years had slipped by.

Lu Shouzhuo was still the same as before.

Unapproachable, cold—his face betrayed nothing, that deathly weariness worn like a mask for all to see.

Time had left no trace upon his features.

“Is he alone?”

The leader of the Soul-Sealing Hall’s protectors glanced around, sending his disciples to scour the valley. When he confirmed that not a single other soul was present, he let out a cold laugh. “Staying behind to cover the retreat for the others in the hideout?”

“No matter. Capturing one remnant of the Qingxuan sect is still a worthy achievement.”

He suddenly raised his voice in a sharp cry.

“Lu, you traitor! You colluded with the demonic path to slaughter all 781 members of my Mo family. Today, you die!”

“Surrender now, and we might show you mercy!”

“Otherwise...”

The protector sneered: “Don’t blame us for showing no grace.”

On the lake’s surface, Lu Shouzhuo kept his face calm, his eyes shut tight, as if he hadn’t heard a word these men had shouted, lost in his own world.

From the tree branch, Ye Shu watched coldly from below.

He waited only for them to strike, then he would launch a surprise attack from behind, catching them in a pincer with Lu Shouzhuo to annihilate them all.

Daring to harm his sworn brother—there was but one word for it.

Kill!

When Lu Shouzhuo made no response whatsoever, the protector of the Soul-Sealing Hall bristled with rage. How dare some backwater bumpkin ignore him!

“Stubborn fool to the bitter end!”

He snorted. “Form the formation!”

“Yes!”

The members of the Soul-Sealing Hall behind him answered in unison, and a ripple of invisible force spread outward. By the hundreds, they joined in a battle array, channeling all their combined power into the protector at the front.

The protector’s aura surged, climbing to its peak. His right hand rose high, gathering all the spiritual energy into a single finger that he thrust forward: “Boy, a country bumpkin like you should count yourself lucky to die by this move of mine!”

“Soul Emperor’s Annihilation Finger!”

Boom!

In an instant, the sky turned dark and murky. A colossal, blood-red finger, grander than a mountain, descended from the heavens, hurtling straight toward Lu Shouzhuo on the lake.

“Not good!”

Ye Shu, still hidden in his tree, felt his pupils shrink.

He had to admit—the Mo family, a reclusive clan that had once produced immortals, had deep reserves. He had thought their overconfident leader was merely at the Nascent Soul stage, but with the formation amplifying him, this one finger now pressed terrifyingly close to the power of the Return-to-Void realm.

He couldn’t wait any longer.

Just as Ye Shu braced to catch the protector off guard from behind and break the war array—

Lu Shouzhuo’s eyes snapped open. Piercing with light, they shone with a silver radiance, as if harboring the very moon and stars.

From his lips came a single word.

“Weak.”

In the next moment, Lu Shouzhuo raised his hand. His sword swept up from the ground, carving a clean, sharp arc in the air. The sword’s light was unparalleled, slicing toward the giant finger.

A keen flash cut through—and the enormous finger split clean in two, dissolving into a storm of shimmering motes that scattered into nothing.

“How is this possible?!”

The protector stared, eyes wide with disbelief. Even he couldn’t have weathered that blow, and yet this country boy deflected it so effortlessly?

The war formation was broken in a single stroke.

Beneath it, the Mo family disciples were struck by the backlash, each spitting out a mouthful of blood, their auras wilting.

But even after that one blow, it wasn’t over.

Lu Shouzhuo now radiated a soft silver glow, like an immortal descended from the moonlight.

“Mo family trash. Die,” he intoned flatly.

With a flicker—

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Countless silver threads of sword-light, finer than ox hair, burst from the tip of Lu Shouzhuo‘s blade, spreading like a snowstorm. In moments, they engulfed the whole valley, shining like daylight.

“Aaaaargh!!!!”

In that instant, the leader of the Soul-Sealing Hall’s protectors let out a blood-curdling scream. Countless holes perforated his body, each pierced by sword-light, as blood sprayed across the sky.

“Run! Quickly!”

Seeing this, the remaining Mo family disciples didn’t dare to linger. All fled in sheer terror, sprinting for their lives toward the horizon.

To hell with this fight!

The intelligence was wrong!

Way wrong!

Yet Lu Shouzhuo did not give chase. He stood on a large bluish stone, his form growing faint, even illusory. Countless bits of spiritual light seeped from his body, like the embers of a dying firefly about to fade.

He stood there, indifferent, gazing into the distance.

From the tree, Ye Shu felt his pupils tighten. A flicker of movement, and in the next moment he was atop the lake’s surface.

“Senior Brother Lu, your body...”

“Hm?”

Hearing a familiar voice suddenly, Lu Shouzhuo turned his head unconsciously. Seeing Ye Shu in his red robes, that wooden face of his flashed with rare surprise.

“Junior Brother?”

“Senior Brother!”

As Lu Shouzhuo’s form grew more and more ethereal, Ye Shu rushed forward, trying to heal his wounds, only to find that his own spiritual energy couldn’t penetrate Lu Shouzhuo’s body at all.

“I am not I,”

Lu Shouzhuo said blankly, looking at Ye Shu. “An avatar. I used your methods. The real me is elsewhere.”

At that, Ye Shu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

So it was only an avatar. He’d thought Senior Brother Lu had gone out with a bang and was about to take his last breath.

“Senior Brother, is Qingxue with you?”

Confirming that Lu Shouzhuo’s true body was safe, and this avatar was merely spent of its power, Ye Shu pressed urgently before it faded away.

“No.”

Lu Shouzhuo shook his head emotionlessly.

“NO??”

Hearing that answer, Ye Shu was stunned. How could she not be there? Wait, wait—so it was every man for himself, and you two went your separate ways? Each off on your own?

“Then do you know where she is?”

“No.”

Lu Shouzhuo shook his head again. “Senior Brother and I parted ways with Qian Jiang. Senior Brother is gone. Qian Jiang and I—the Mo family is hunting everyone down. The Master and Third Junior Brother were not found by the Mo family...”

As he spoke, his form grew hazier by the moment.

At the very end, he said nothing more. He simply shot one last deep look at Ye Shu and murmured,

“Junior Brother... you’re alive. That’s good.”

With that, the sword body, woven from moonlight, finally dissolved completely, scattering on the wind. Only Ye Shu, orphaned and alone, stood on that bluish stone... a man left utterly isolated and forlorn.