After rebirth, the eldest sister voluntarily abdicated and gave way to the wise.

Chapter 441 So-called Utter Foolishness

A sob escaped her lips.

"I admit my mistake, senior sister."

"It was my fault, I admit it, please don't ignore me, okay? Don't treat me like a stranger, don't drive me away from you!"

"At least now, at least now... Senior sister, don't send me away..."

Xu Youan, in a hoarse voice, repeatedly apologized and begged him in utter humility.

There were even drops of cold water falling on the back of her hand.

Jiang Liqian was stunned for a long time.

She never imagined that one day someone would shed tears in front of her like this, calling out her name and pleading for her, as if she were his whole life, someone he didn't want to be separated from and couldn't be separated from.

His burning passion made her want to back away, but he held her so tightly that she felt like she couldn't breathe.

“Xu Youan…” she murmured his name unconsciously.

Time seemed to have traveled through that instant, crossing a long cycle and returning to the very beginning, where he was him and she was her.

Silent lightning energy, carrying the shallow seawater, enveloped them in concentric circles, isolating them from sound and preventing anyone from spying on them.

"Xu Youan, have you been hiding something from me?"

Xu Youan's body stiffened, then he gave a bitter laugh and hugged her tightly: "Senior sister wants to know?"

Jiang Liqian didn't speak, but stared blankly at the golden light scattered on the sea, feeling a strange emptiness and an inexplicable sadness in her heart.

A sigh came from somewhere, and Xu Youan's voice rolled in the waves, sinking into the deepest purgatory.

"Senior sister, I'll tell you if you ask."

The sea breeze howls, and the waves crash like jade.

Jiang Li closed her eyes briefly, then raised her hand and gently hugged him back.

It was like grabbing onto a piece of driftwood that was floating and sinking.

I don't know if I finally sank down.

Or will he drown before her?

From the moment Jiang Liqian saw Xu Youan at Qiming Mountain, she knew he was hiding some secret. She didn't reveal it because she also had the secret of being reborn.

Who in the world doesn't have one or two secrets in their heart?

As long as they are all safe and sound, isn't that enough?

But, but...

In the black market, in a desperate situation, while she was racking her brains trying to figure out how to break out, she caught a glimpse of his hand seals out of the corner of her eye.

It was just a starting move, but she unexpectedly recognized it—she had seen it before in the library of Zhenfeng—a forbidden technique that damages one's cultivation and lifespan.

It was like a small flame that finally ignited all the anger she had been suppressing.

Xu Youan shouldn't have suffered such a serious injury.

Even in that life-or-death moment, even though the other person was far stronger than him, and a single moment could be fatal, his gaze remained fixed on her. Whenever she was in danger, he would rush over to protect her.

Yes, she could have dodged some of them, and she could have avoided vital points, but each slash and sword cut pierced his flesh.

She couldn't tell if she felt bewildered or shocked, but it all turned into uncontrollable anger.

An anger welled up from the bottom of her heart, an anger that wanted to burn away all her reason.

This feeling of being out of control is terrifying.

She had never felt this way in her past life, even when she was betrayed and died.

Her intuition told her that this was wrong, that this was not right.

very bad!

Whether it's for her or for him!

So she opened her thin lips and said to him, "Xu Youan, let's have a match. I don't care if you've healed or not; I've given you time."

"If I win, you can leave, go back to your sect or do other missions, but don't come with me."

“If you win, I’ll leave, and you can stay with them. They’re great companions, and you won’t feel out of place…”

"Senior sister!" Xu Youan interrupted her loudly, his emotions running high.

He raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, the corners of his eyes, which held a thousand stars, tinged with a crimson hue, like the fiery clouds on the horizon, about to burn away the last bit of splendor.

"Why, why are there only these two paths? Why isn't there a third path for me and my senior sister?!" he shouted angrily.

Finally, as if he had lost all his strength, he slumped down and grabbed Jiang Liqian's skirt, which was swaying with the seawater. The light in his eyes gradually turned into ashes in the dark night: "Senior sister, I admit my mistake. Tell me, I will change, I will change. Please don't send me away, okay?"

"Please, senior sister..."

Jiang Liqian's heart trembled.

She knew she had to be ruthless.

She knew that Xu Youan was deliberately trying to make her pity him.

Her reluctance to let him go is the key to his continued entanglement with her, an addiction that binds them together like glue.

But her, but her...

I really feel sorry for him.

I really can't bear it.

She didn't know where the deep sadness in his eyes came from every time he looked at her, just as she didn't know why she felt such a strong tremor in her heart when she first saw him.

She thought that perhaps what makes mortals mortals mortals is that they will fall into the abyss again and again, knowing the danger, yet still going without hesitation.

This is utterly foolish.

Jiang Li took two deep breaths and helped him up from the sea. She calmed all her emotions, looked at him seriously, and said, word by word, "Junior Brother, you must promise me that no matter what danger you encounter in the future, you must be fully focused, not distracted by others, and you must not get hurt unnecessarily. We will still be together."

"Sister..."

"I'm not saying you can't help your companions. You should know that the law of the cultivation world is the survival of the fittest. In any battle, if you don't take it seriously, if you're half-hearted or distracted, you'll be the one who loses in the end, and the price of failure is death. Do you want me to watch you die in front of me?"

Xu Youan pursed his lips, looked up at her, his heart surging with emotions. He felt a huge sweetness, wrapped in bitterness, welling up inside him, like the most intoxicating yet most pungent poison, making him unable to extricate himself, yet he knew that he was being slowly robbed of his remaining life.

The senior sister's anger was actually out of concern for him.

The senior sister's aloofness was because the gentleness of the moonlight had already gravitated towards him.

She didn't really hate him, dislike him, or get tired of him.

My senior sister's heart has already decided to take one step, and then another, closer to him...

She knew perfectly well that he had a problem, but she still crumbled bit by bit under his pleas.

He is really happy.

I'm so happy I could cry.

But he was so sad that he couldn't shed a single tear.

"Senior sister..." He suddenly hugged her, burying all his rot, baseness, and hypocrisy in the fragrance of her pine and snow, "Forgive my selfishness."

"sorry Sorry……"

Jiang Liqian thought his apology meant he had realized his mistake, and her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down. She patiently waited for him to finish hugging her before gently pushing him away.

She held out an ice-blue bead to his eyes: "This is your share of the reward for saving lives!"