Originated from mountains and seas, life never ends

The cold moon hung high in the sky. A thin figure with long hair was sitting beside a stream among the mountains and forests.

The bushes behind him rustled softly. The man tilted his head slightly and looked over here. His snow-white hair swayed slightly with his movements, like waves from a waterfall.

The man turned his head, his bright golden pupils shone into the boy's eyes like the sun, the corners of his mouth curved gently, his eyebrows slightly curved, and for a moment, the moon hanging high behind him seemed to serve as his foil.

The beauty is breathtaking and mind-blowing.

Qin Xiao suddenly opened his eyes, sat up and gasped, his whole body was soaked in cold sweat, blood was faintly visible in the bottom of his eyes, his pupils were dilated and his brows were tightly furrowed, and he was unable to come back to his senses for a long time.

"Qin Xiao?"

Qin Xiao seemed to be frightened, he shivered suddenly, and looked towards the source of the sound. It was late at night, and Qin's father only lit a candle and sat in front of the window. The window was wide open, and the cold wind blew in, bringing a chill. The candlelight flickered, and shadows were cast, so it was impossible to see the expression on his face.

Qin Xiuyun looked at Qin Xiao with gloomy eyes. He had never seen such violent emotional fluctuations in Qin Xiao.

Qin Xiao's lips were trembling, his pupils were still shrinking and trembling because of the information he received, and his mind was a mess.

He remembered... who that man was.

Qin Xiao licked his cracked lips unconsciously and looked at his father in surprise and suspicion.

"This is my room." Father Qin spoke slowly, turning his head to look at the woods outside the window, as if recalling something. "You had your own room when you were three years old. Now you haven't been here for almost a year, right?"

Qin Xiao slowly calmed down and replied softly, "Yes."

"Qin Xiao." Qin Xiuyun opened his mouth, closed his eyes, and spoke in an extremely calm tone, "I need an explanation."

Qin Xiao looked at him steadily, remained silent for a moment, and said, "I'm not from here."

Before Qin Xiuyun could speak, Qin Xiao added: "To be precise, it was in the previous life, not here."

Qin Xiuyun's eyes moved slightly, but he didn't say anything.

Qin Xiao continued, "I think you should have noticed something. I was already in my forties when I died, so I'm naturally not as lively as Qin Jiuyuan. My master was in my previous life, and I don't know where he is. The technique used by that man today is very similar to the one I encountered in my previous life, so I wanted to ask him who he learned it from, but I lost control and killed him."

Qin Xiao spoke extremely calmly, as if he was talking about something as simple as "crushing an ant to death".

"I also want to find my master. From what I know now, he should have come here as well, but I don't know where he is now."

"Who is your master?" Qin's father suppressed his uneasiness and shock and asked slowly.

"He is not a human." Qin Xiao said, "He is a consciousness generated by a mountain, but he is different from other mountains."

Father Qin curled his fingers slightly and stared at Qin Xiao, as if he wanted to see even the slightest bit of a joke on his face: "How did you die?"

"He was cut into pieces and finally blew himself up." Qin Xiao remained calm.

He suddenly exerted force with his fingers and grabbed the handle of the seat.

"Why? Because of the technique?"

"No." Qin Xiao recalled, "Because I killed a lot of people and was caught."

"How many were killed?"

"Forgot, how many thousands?" Qin Xiao was not sure either.

"Because of what?"

"……Can not remember."

Qin Xiuyun looked at him heavily and sighed. Qin Xiao felt that the atmosphere became more solemn.

"You also saw today how the elders treated the evil cultivators... especially Qin Ao." Qin Xiuyun frowned slightly, "Do you think you can stay safe in the Qin family after using such means?"

"I didn't want them to see it." Qin Xiao explained symbolically, and then thought for a moment, "Do you want me to leave?"

Qin Xiuyun's eyes were particularly scary, staring at him straight: "...What if I say yes?"

"Sure." Qin Xiao nodded, "I can leave tomorrow."

Qin Xiuyun's face twitched uncontrollably and he closed his eyes as if he was trying hard to endure something.

"Where are you going to go after you leave? How are you going to survive? With your current body and cultivation level, as soon as you leave the Qin family and show any evil methods, you will be torn into pieces by the Qi cultivators immediately." Qin Xiuyun's tone was icy, without a trace of emotion.

Qin Xiao didn't feel much: "Go begging? I'm not sure. But if I leave the Qin family, then my life or death will have nothing to do with you, right? In other words, even if I'm torn to pieces, it has nothing to do with you."

"You guys?" Qin Xiuyun's voice was trembling, as if his suppressed emotions were leaking out.

"After six years here, is there nothing worth remembering?"

Qin Xiao felt that something was wrong with Qin Xiuyun.

But Qin Xiao still sought truth from facts: "...I don't know."

Qin Xiao found that Qin Xiuyun's breathing was disordered, and he tried to comfort him: "If you think my problem is too big or too difficult, I can leave. I won't cause you any trouble."

Qin Xiuyun almost sneered: "What about the cost of supporting you for the past six years?"

Qin Xiao was silent for a moment: "I will pay it back."

"..."

Qin Xiuyun suddenly looked up, stared at him, and asked word by word.

"What about feelings?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the air around them seemed to freeze.

Qin Xiao was stunned for a moment, looking at Qin Xiuyun's complicated and sad eyes, and finally realized that what he said was not only completely useless, but made the situation even worse.

Qin Xiao didn't understand Qin Xiuyun's complicated feelings, but he knew that he seemed to have overlooked something.

So he apologized to Qin Xiuyun: "I'm sorry. I... don't quite understand why you are like this."

For a moment, Qin Xiuyun wanted to grab Qin Xiao's shoulders and ask him whether he had any feelings.

Although he had long realized that Qin Xiao's emotions were somewhat indifferent, it was not until today that he realized how sad this problem, which he had always thought was not a big deal, was. Just a few short sentences could make people feel extremely powerless.

Even if Qin Xiao had just asked him for help, even if he had only said a few soft words, he would have stood in front of him without hesitation and tried his best to shield him from the storm.

however……

Qin Xiuyun felt an unprecedented powerlessness. This powerlessness was not like the sadness when his wife left, but the sadness that you knew clearly but could not change.

Qin Xiao had never asked for anything from himself. Now thinking about it, he seemed to have just regarded himself as a passer-by in the family. He never took it for granted like other children that their parents should give them something. If they were given, they would accept it, and if they were not given, they would not complain. It has always been like this.

Qin Xiuyun didn't even know if he needed his help.

Qin Xiuyun closed his eyes. He was very curious about what kind of life could make a person get along with his parents in such a cold-blooded way.

"Qin Xiao...have I done anything wrong to you?" Qin Xiuyun finally asked, but in fact he had already thought of how Qin Xiao would answer.

"No."

Sure enough, Qin Xiao shook his head.

"Then why can't I feel your feelings?" Qin Xiuyun walked forward, his eyes filled with sadness.

Qin Xiao was stunned for a moment.

"You have never asked me for anything, not even the most basic affection. Over the years, your mother passed away early, and you and Jiuyuan are close in age, but I have focused almost all of my attention on Jiuyuan, and have paid very little attention to you. You have never had any objection to this."

Father Qin spoke, venting the emotions that had been suppressed for these days: "I realized it later and wanted to make it up to you, but I found that you never had any needs for us. It seems that you don't need me at all, or even us family members."

"Why, Qin Xiao?" Qin's father frowned, his eyes full of grief, "No matter what you were like in your past life, I am your father in this life, right? Logically speaking, the people closest to you in this life should be our family, right? Then why don't you want to tell me anything, and want to leave us as soon as something happens?"

"Because..." Qin Xiao opened his mouth but couldn't say anything.

"I just asked you. You could have asked me for protection. This is my responsibility as a father. But you didn't. Your first thought was to leave the Qin family! You didn't even ask a probing question!" Qin Xiuyun felt more and more upset, his brows furrowed. "As your father, I have the obligation to raise and educate my children. When I didn't want to take on this responsibility, you could have questioned and complained instead of just saying, 'You know, what do you know?'"

"You have never fought for your rights from me. My feelings for you and my support for you are rights that you should enjoy! You don't have to pay anything. Why are you so indifferent to such things? When I asked you to return the money, you actually wanted to pay it back? What on earth do you think of me?!!"

Qin Xiuyun's words exploded like thunder in Qin Xiao's heart. He stared at Qin Xiuyun blankly, his mind going blank.

Qin Xiao fell silent, then slowly said, "I don't quite understand."

After saying that, he looked at Qin Xiuyun's ugly face and added, "I'm sorry."

Qin Xiuyun turned his head away and said nothing for a long time.

There was silence for a long time in this suffocating atmosphere. Qin Xiao didn't know what to say and just stared at Qin Xiuyun.

"Forget it." Qin Xiuyun held his forehead and said tiredly. He pulled the chair behind him forward and sat down beside Qin Xiao's bed.

"Actually... Qin Xiao, you really can't stay at home." Qin Xiuyun stared at him, trying to find other emotions on his face.

Qin Xiao nodded in understanding, and just as he was about to say something, he heard Qin Xiuyun continue.

"You asked me before if there was anything I needed you to do... There was indeed such a thing." Qin Xiuyun said slowly, "Yesterday's test was because of the abnormality in Wu Suzhong, and I was worried about your character, so I did it. And you were very calm yesterday, but the method you displayed was frightening... So I think it's a good choice to let you go for this matter."

"In every family, no matter how big or small, even the royal family, one child will be chosen in each generation to go there when he is six years old. I don't know the actual reason, but I know that place is very dangerous and only a few people can come back alive." Qin Xiuyun said in a heavy tone, his eyes also revealed a gloomy look, "Qin Xiao, I want you to go."

Qin Xiao just nodded when he heard Qin Xiuyun finish the last sentence.

"And come back alive." Qin Xiuyun looked straight at him.

Qin Xiao was stunned for a moment.

"Normally, the time you're gone is four years, but it's not absolute. You once had an uncle who never came back because of this incident. Qin Xiao, I hope that no matter how dangerous it is, you can come back alive."

"No matter what kind of person you were in your previous life, you are my son now. I hope... no matter what means I use, you can come back alive so that we can continue to live together, okay?"

Qin Xiuyun spoke very seriously. Qin Xiao could tell from his eyes that he was speaking from his heart.

But Qin Xiao did not answer immediately. He was thinking about what Qin Xiuyun said. He had heard Qin Xiuyun and Qin Jichen talking about going into the mountains before. It should be this matter, and it was dangerous... Letting a six-year-old child go into the mountains is indeed very dangerous.

"I'll try my best." Qin Xiao would not make promises about things he was not completely sure of, so he just nodded.

Qin Xiuyun rubbed his fingers unconsciously and wanted to ask something.

"What was your name before?"

"Xiao."

"A single word?" Qin Xiuyun frowned.

Qin Xiao nodded.

Qin Xiuyun's eyes were heavy, and he seemed to be hesitant to speak. In the end, he said nothing, patted Qin Xiao's shoulder, and did not insist on this topic anymore.

"Every child is provided with weapons and other things by their family when they leave. What do you want?"

As Qin Xiao was thinking, a long sword with black and blue patterns suddenly appeared in his mind.

"Two long swords." Qin Xiao said, "I want the kind of swords whose handles can be connected and separated."

"I understand." Qin Xiuyun nodded and said, "I'll have someone make it for you."

Qin Xiao nodded, and when he saw Qin Xiuyun getting up and about to leave, he took the initiative to ask, "When are you leaving?"

"...a week later." Qin Xiuyun didn't look back.

Qin Xiao said he understood. Qin Xiuyun saw that Qin Xiao had nothing else to do, so he left after saying "have a good rest".

Qin Xiao lay back on the bed, touched the gauze wrapped around his neck, and belatedly recalled why he was injured.

Accidentally, he touched the cold jade pendant, and Qin Xiao paused and gently moved away from it.

I remembered it, but not completely.

Qin Xiao looked at the ceiling. Maybe it was because Wu Luo discovered that the seal came from Mang Ling when he unlocked it halfway, so he sealed it again in a panic. So he only remembered the man's name and an impressive scene, and the rest were just fragments of memory that he had no way to sort out.

Qin Xiao turned over, his brows full of disgust. Just thinking of that person's figure made him feel uncontrollably uncomfortable and his heart beat rapidly.

why?

Qin Xiao hated the feeling of having no control over his emotions, and he even began to repel that person.

Moze...

Qin Xiao silently repeated his name and was annoyed to find that his heart had skipped a beat again.

Forget it. Qin Xiao closed his eyes.

Two days later, Qin's father sent someone to bring him two long swords. The style was made according to the child's mark. The blades were slender and sharp, and very light. Although it was not very convenient for adults to use, it was just right for Qin Xiao's body shape.

Qin Xiao weighed it a few times, then made a knife flower with his hand. Within half a day, he got used to the weight of the knife.

Qin Xiao put away the knife and found that there was a small space on the top of the handle of the knife for merging.

Qin Xiao estimated the time. He had just asked Qin's father yesterday, and he was told to let him go by himself. He handed him a piece of parchment with some writing and drawings on it. It was a map.

The afternoon before Qin Xiao left, he and Qin Jiuyuan watched the sunset.

"Brother, why haven't you come out to play these days?" Qin Jiuyuan hadn't seen Qin Xiao for a long time and was a little curious.

Qin Xiao looked at the setting sun expressionlessly: "Planning how to run away from home."

Qin Jiuyuan:?

"Brother? You want to run away from home?!" The little girl became inexplicably excited.

Qin Xiao glanced at her and nodded without any sign of guilt: "Yes."

"Where are you going?" Qin Jiuyuan's face was full of excitement, "Will Dad be worried?"

"?" Qin Xiao looked at her, "If Dad knew, would it still be called running away from home?"

Qin Jiuyuan covered her mouth, her eyes rolling around as if she knew something incredible.

"That……"

"I'm leaving tomorrow and will be back in four years." Qin Xiao looked at the setting sky and said, "I want to go out and see this beautiful mountain and river."

"So you have to keep it a secret for me." Qin Xiao suddenly turned his head, without any guilt for lying.

"Yes, yes, yes." Qin Jiuyuan nodded quickly, indicating that she was trustworthy, "I will definitely help."

Seeing Qin Xiao nodded with satisfaction, Qin Jiuyuan's eyes turned and he smiled embarrassedly: "Then I'll keep it a secret for you...shouldn't you give me some benefits?"

"what do you want?"

Qin Jiuyuan flew up happily: "Tanghulu!"

Qin Xiao: ...

Don’t you have any bold ideas?

Never mind, this is pretty easy to appease.

Qin Xiao turned his head and nodded in agreement.

The little girl danced with joy.

Qin Xiao: ...

If he didn't know that Qin Xiuyun would not abuse children, he would almost think that Qin Xiuyun would not give her food.

Isn't it just limiting her to eating it three times a week? Or is it because I'm afraid she'll get cavities?

Qin Xiao didn't understand.

The next day, before dawn, Qin Xiao left with the money bag Qin Xiuyun gave him and two knives on his back.

As soon as I stepped out of the door, a familiar voice sounded in my ears.

"So early?"

Qin Xiao looked up and saw Qin Xiuyun standing in front of the door, looking at him with complicated eyes.

"Yeah." Qin Xiao nodded and said goodbye to him.

Qin Xiuyun didn't say anything, but he looked very heavy.

Qin Xiao couldn't quite understand his contradictory psychology. Since he had already made the decision, why would he still feel guilty about him?

But Qin Xiao didn't ask. He looked down at the map and walked in the direction indicated.