216 . 2 – Gong Tianyang’s Sorrow

  He looked away from Xue Qilin and gazed into the distance .

  “Older Sister Xue, if I die, do you think everything will be different? Will grandfather, father, and even older sister become free? Their hearts aren’t free right now, but are firmly bound by my existence . ”


  Xue Qilin, who didn’t expect Gong Tianyang to have such thoughts, revealed a look of astonishment .

  “Gong Tianyang, you……”


  Then, the astonishment turned into a rueful sigh .

  “You should know that they are happy to be bound . ”


  Just like Xue Qilin is willing to be bound by the Merak Temple, the same must be the case for Gong Jing and his son and Gong Tianqing .

  “But, Older Sister Xue doesn’t wish for older sister to be bound by me, right? If I die, older sister won’t have to sacrifice herself anymore . People often talk about cause and effect . And I am the ’cause’ . ”


  Is that true? Xue Qilin has her misgivings .

  Even if Gong Tianyang died, as long as Gong Tianqing’s distorted values remain unchanged, there will be many other Gong Tianyang in the future .

  Actually, the “cause” is not on Gong Tianyang, but on Gong Tianqing .

  However, killing Gong Tianyang is not without meaning . It can earn Gong Tianqing more time . If there’s really no way to change Gong Tianqing, then Xue Qilin will kill a “Gong Tianyang” when she sees one .

  After all, she’s a selfish person .

  Gong Tianyang appears to take Xue Qilin’s silence as confirmation .

  While supporting himself with the wheelchair’s armrests, he slowly and wobbly stood up, and then walked to Xue Qilin .

  Xue Qilin, who was covered by a shadow, raised her head . Although Gong Tianyang, with the sun behind him, is dazzling, but he is also extremely weak . He looks like a malnourished little brat . Whether it is his arms or waist, they give off the impression like they can be easily broken .

  “Older Sister Xue –“


  Gong Tianyang squatted down and grasped Xue Qilin’s hands .

  The force with which he grasped her hands is not intense, and is even incredibly light . Yet, it made Xue Qilin feel suffocated like she was held tightly by the neck .

  “Kill me . ”


  With his back facing the sun, Gong Tianyang’s silhouette is outlined by dazzling light .

  Everything became blurred . Only the smile of yearning for liberation on his lips was clearly reflected in Xue Qilin’s eyes .

  “Kill me, and then see if everything will change or not . ”


  “Life” is not more important than “death” .

  Whether it is birth or death, it will somewhat change the existing things, because everything in the world is closely linked .

  If Gong Tianyang dies, some things would change for certain .

  However, will these changes lead to happiness? Xue Qilin doesn’t know .

  Because she doesn’t know, she chose to stay silent .

  — silence pervaded for a long time .

  ＊


  Perhaps out of pity, or maybe she felt that it wouldn’t be of help .

  But until the end, Xue Qilin still didn’t raise her hand to break his fragile neck .

  Maybe deep down she cannot muster the thought to kill Gong Tianyang .

  After staying about an hour, Gong Tianyang said that he would go home for dinner . In fact, he and Xue Qilin had just stared blankly into the space in the garden the whole time .

  When pushing Gong Tianyang to meet with his guards, Xue Qilin suddenly thought of something and started another conversation .

  “Gong Tianyang –” Xue Qilin shook her head, “Little Yang . ”


  She no longer calls Gong Tianyang by him full name, but by a nickname replete of her style . This means that Gong Tianyang is no longer a dispensable stranger in her heart, but an “acquaintance”, or even a “friend” .

  Gong Tianyang, who seems to have detected the meaning contained behind the change of the way the other party addresses him, shook all over . Right after, he turned his head and showed Xue Qilin a glistening smile .

  — Gong Tianyang is a child really suitable for smiling .

  The smile slightly dispelled the sick and pale shades on his face and added a little radiance to it .

  No, in fact, children in general are suitable for smiling . That’s the expression they should make to begin with . Always carefree, smiling due to some minor things, this is how children should be like .

  At this moment, Xue Qilin thought thusly .

  “Yes, is something the matter, Older Sister Xue?”


  His tone contained slight excitement . Is he happy because Xue Qilin called him “Little Yang”?

  How childish . It’s just something trivial, yet he is this happy . Xue Qilin sighed inwardly .

  “Were you healthier when you were little than you are now?”


  After sweeping the disorderly thoughts to a corner, Xue Qilin got right to the point and asked so .

  “Um……” Gong Tianyang crossed his arms and pondered for a while, distressed, “I don’t remember much . But I heard that I could still run a few steps when I was three or four years old . ”


  Sure enough, it worsened . Xue Qilin nodded inwardly .

  “So, did you learn martial arts as a child?”


  “Ah?”


  Gong Tianyang blinked, and his eyes filled with surprise .

  “I did . How does Older Sister Xue know?”


  “Humph humph, the ‘true qi‘ oozing from you told me . ”


  “Woah, Older Sister Xue is amazing!”


  Xue Qilin stuck out her chest and gave her reply . In response, Gong Tianyang eyes immediately erupted with the light of astonishment .

  “I heard grandfather say that Older Sister Xue is already in the late-stage Heaven Realm . Older Sister Xue, are you really in the late-stage Heaven Realm?”


  “How should I know?” Xue Qilin shrugged helplessly, “People in the temple say that I am, outsiders also say that I am, so I take it that I am . Anyway, I myself don’t know . ”


  Since she became a martial practitioner halfway, Xue Qilin’s martial knowledge can be described as poor .

  According to common knowledge, martial practitioners are divided into five realms, namely, Human Realm, Earth Realm, Heaven Realm, Grandmaster, and Soaring Immortal .

  Furthermore, even in the same realm, there are still some differences in terms of cultivation base . In order to accurately measure a martial practitioner’s realm, the realms are subdivided into three minor realms, namely “early”, “middle” and “late” . For example, those who first enter the Earth Realm are called early-stage Earth Realm experts, when they are close to the Heaven Realm and can advance to the Heaven Realm at any time, they are called late-stage Earth Realm experts, while those in the between the previous two are called middle-stage Earth Realm experts .

  For major realms, the pronounced difference in terms of breath intensity is what distinguishes them . But for minor realms, the difference is faint . Xue Qilin doesn’t have enough experience to be able to differentiate between minor realms .