Chapter 748 – A Century-Long Dream, the Sage Longing to Forget Emotion - Part 2

The gorge descended into chaos.

Bandits leapt out from behind the rocks, charging at the scattered escorts. The remaining guards scattered, fleeing in all directions.

But standing at the exit of the gorge, blocking the only path out, was Uncle Ma.

The former senior escort leader now stood like a wall of steel. One man, guarding the pass, unmovable and unstoppable.

His blade danced like a reaper’s scythe, cutting down his former comrades without hesitation or remorse.

Luo Lietong saw the exit getting closer. No time to think. No time to doubt. She clenched her jaw and raised her sword, ready to fight her way through.

Just as she prepared to strike, her horse suddenly neighed and reared up again.

She quickly pulled tight on the reins, gripping the saddle with her legs to stay balanced.

Looking ahead, she saw Lu Bu charging at full speed, eyes sharp and focused, blade raised high, straight toward Uncle Ma, the so-called killing god at the mouth of the gorge.

Her horse’s hooves hit the ground again and, in the next instant, surged forward, galloping right behind Lu Bu.

Idiot,

Luo Lietong cursed silently.

She had known, of course. Over the years, how could she not notice the way that boy used to look at her? But she never imagined he would one day throw his life on the line for her.

The senior escort leader, Uncle Ma, grinned, cracking his neck as he tightened his grip on his blade. A surge of killing intent burst from him, his arm glinting with a metallic sheen as energy surged through it. The weapon in his hand howled through the air, turning into a silver arc of death as he swung at Lu Bu, intending to cleave him clean in two.

Lu Bu didn’t flinch. He raised his own blade and struck back. Ninth rank versus seventh.

There should’ve been no contest, but Lu Bu had his monstrous strength.

It was like a thunder god wielding a whip of lightning. His blade crackled through the air with a deafening

boom

, like thunder crashing down from the sky.

And in that instant, his blade met Uncle Ma’s.

KLANG!

The veteran’s sword was blasted clean out of his hands.

Uncle Ma stared in disbelief.

Before he could recover, two horses surged past him, almost side by side, carving twin trails through the dusty air.

The wind from their gallop blew back his hair. He turned slowly, his expression darkening as he saw them already a dozen paces away, escaping fast.

Rage erupted in his chest.

With a cold grunt, he stepped forward, ready to give chase. A dozen paces? For someone like him, it was only a matter of moments.

But just then, Lu Bu twisted in the saddle.

In one swift movement, he raised his hand in a mock throw, as if about to hurl his blade straight back at him.

Uncle Ma froze. He had felt the boy’s power firsthand. That freakish, unnatural strength. He didn’t dare let his guard down. Muscles tensed, breath held, eyes locked onto the blade. He was ready to dodge.

But Lu Bu smirked. It was just a feint.

Lu Bu raised his blade, poised to throw it, but he didn’t.

And that brief hesitation was all it took. While the senior escort leader froze, the two riders, Lu Bu and Luo Lietong, had already galloped ahead another dozen yards, rounding the bend at the gorge’s mouth and vanishing from sight.

The man let out an enraged howl, but behind him, other escort guards were still charging forward.

He had no choice but to turn back and deal with them first, cutting down one after another with ruthless efficiency.

Moments later, the Fragrant General arrived to provide backup. Only then did the traitorous escort prepare to give chase.

But the Fragrant General raised a hand, blocking his path. He licked his lips and said with a grin, “Old Ma, let me handle this one. I’ve got a taste for spirited girls like her.”

Old Ma didn’t argue. He only gave a word of warning. “Watch out for that brat. His strength is...unnatural.”

The Fragrant General chuckled. “A measly ninth rank? Please, you just couldn't handle him.”

And with that, he leapt into the air and disappeared into the distance.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Several days later.

In the middle of a barren wasteland, the Fragrant General’s head went flying.

Lu Bu stood there, drenched in blood, his blade long gone. Gasping for breath, he slumped against an old, gnarled tree, tilting his head back to stare at the sky. His fingers couldn’t even summon the strength to clench.

A girl in red came sprinting to his side, tearing strips from her robes to wrap his wounds.

“Lu Bu! Lu Bu!” she called out as she worked, her voice trembling.

When he didn’t respond, she saw his eyes had closed.

Her nose stung. Her eyes turned red.

“Lu Bu! Don’t sleep! Don’t you dare sleep!”

His eyelids fluttered open.

In a voice hoarse and weak, he managed to say, “Your granddaddy... I... ha...ha...”

He didn’t finish the sentence. The cocky swagger dissolved into a violent coughing fit.

When the coughing finally subsided, his soul seemingly halfway gone, he muttered, “I’m fine...”

Tears streamed down Luo Lietong’s cheeks. “You’re still cracking jokes? At a time like this?”

Lu Bu looked at her, his gaze softening. “There’s...something I’ve always wanted to say.”

“Don’t,” she interrupted. “Tell me after you’ve recovered. When you’re well.”

But he shook his head slightly. “I’m afraid there won’t be time... Young Miss, I know I’m just a country bumpkin, an ugly toad... But even a toad dreams of tasting swan meat...”

Before he could finish, her lips were already on his.

Warmly and gently, she kissed him, full of feeling, arms wrapped around his battered body.

As their lips met, Luo Lietong felt a flicker of strength in his embrace. And suddenly, she understood he was pretending.

He wasn’t as weak as he let on.

But in that moment, in the rush of emotion, she didn’t care. She sank into the kiss, into him, and let herself fall.

When they finally pulled apart, eyes lingered on each other, soft, deep, and filled with unspoken affection.

Luo Lietong blushed. “Happy now? Got what you wanted? But let me be clear, you’re no toad. What kind of toad looks this handsome, huh?”

A look of peace spread across Lu Bu’s face. As if, at last, a long-held wish had come true.

Then...his eyes drifted closed.

Luo Lietong froze. Had she misread him?

Panic surged in her chest. “Lu Bu?! LU BU! Don’t sleep! Please, stay with me!”

She reached out to touch him and found his hands ice-cold. His forehead, too, was cold as stone.

She clenched her teeth, shame burning in her cheeks, but pressed herself against him anyway, wrapping her arms tightly around his body. If there was still a sliver of warmth left in her, she’d give it all to him now. She could worry about gathering kindling and starting a fire later. For now, keeping him alive was all that mattered.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

A year passed in the blink of an eye.

In Bravefell Town, a young couple walked through the streets.

They didn’t need to ask around to know what had happened. The Four Seas Escort Agency had suffered a catastrophic ambush during a mission and was forced to pay massive compensation. With its losses piling up, it had no choice but to lay off a large portion of its staff.

Those dismissed didn’t go far. They simply joined another up-and-coming escort agency.

And as if things couldn’t get worse, the Chief Escort Leader of the Four Seas Escort Agency was killed on his very next mission.

That was the end of the Four Seas Escort Agency.

Now, the most renowned escort group in Bravefell Town was a new name, the Five Mountains Escort Agency.

Its leader? None other than the former senior officer of the Four Seas Escort Agency, the traitor Ma, now promoted to Chief Escort Leader.

The young woman in the couple clenched her jaw, hatred flashing across her face.

But the man gently took her hand and pulled her away.

Silently, they left Bravefell Town behind, heading south.

Eventually, they heard rumors that one of the great sects was recruiting disciples.

The two of them decided to give it a try and traveled to the site of the entrance trials.

That couple, of course, was Lu Bu and Luo Lietong.

The recruitment ground was the Everpeak.

At the first trial, both of them passed the preliminary selection.

Luo Lietong, already at the eighth rank, was powerful. But because she had already forged her shadow blood, she couldn’t replace or improve it. Her path forward was limited.

Lu Bu, on the other hand, was still at the ninth rank. His shadow blood hadn’t solidified yet, which meant it could be reshaped, refined.

So she was eliminated.

And he advanced to the second round, then the third, cutting through each trial like a blade through silk, until he was accepted as a disciple under one of the sect elders.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Ten years passed.

In this age of fading spiritual energy, even those with decent talent and ample resources would be lucky to break into the seventh rank after ten years of training.

The sixth rank, meanwhile, remained what it had always been, a chasm.

It was a threshold most could never cross.

Without true discipline, natural talent, and some stroke of destiny, it was a wall that would stand for life.

But then, one day, Lu Bu broke through to the sixth rank.

He became one of the Everpeak’s elite disciples.

And yet...Luo Lietong couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

Still, Lu Bu, despite his growing power, despite all the temptations of the outside world, never once treated her coldly. He remained devoted, never straying, never getting entangled with anyone else.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Six more years passed like flowing water.

Lu Bu broke through once more from sixth rank to fifth.

His terrifying pace stunned the entire sect.

The title followed quickly,

the Everpeak’s Greatest Talent of the Younger Generation.

And what was the Everpeak? It was one of the greatest powers under heaven.

What was the Five Mountains Escort Agency compared to that?

Now, standing tall at the fifth rank, Lu Bu finally approached his elder and said, calmly, “There’s a blemish on my heart. A knot that must be untied.”

The elder, a formidable fourth rank cultivator, didn’t ask a single question.

He simply took his beloved disciple and soared through the skies, flying straight toward Harmony Province.

From high above, he floated quietly in the air, watching as Lu Bu stepped into the Five Mountains Escort Agency and wiped out every last one of the enemies who had betrayed and destroyed their former home.

He didn’t stop there.

Lu Bu tracked down the shadowy figures behind the agency, those who, years ago, had issued the doomed mission that sealed Four Seas Escort Agency’ fate.

Vengeance had a name. Debts had a debtor.

Lu Bu hunted down every last one of them.

Some tried to protect the culprits, including a few fifth rank cultivators. But none dared to make a move once they realized who Lu Bu’s master was, an elder from the Everpeak’s main sect, watching silently from above.

No one wanted to make that mistake.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

A month later, Lu Bu placed two heads before Luo Lietong.

One belonged to the traitorous Escort Leader Ma. The other belonged to the man who had orchestrated it all.

He looked at her and said softly, “It’s done. The debt is paid.”

Luo Lietong threw her arms around him. Silent tears streamed down her face, but these weren’t tears of sorrow.

They were the tears that came from a burden that she carried for far too long being finally lifted.

A lifetime’s vengeance...fulfilled.

And so, the two of them lived on, their love unwavering, their bond unbreakable.

On the 65th year of their life beneath the Everpeak, Luo Lietong passed away peacefully in her sleep.

In this life, she had known the love of a man who gave her his whole heart. Because of him, because he was a genius of the Everpeak, her once-dashed fate had been lifted and rewritten. Hers was a life of sorrow turned to joy, of hardship met with devotion. A life envied by many.

Two years after her passing, Lu Bu left the Everpeak and set out to wander the world.

He never returned.

His disappearance stirred quite a commotion. The sect searched far and wide, but he was never found.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Underworld.

By the banks of the Yellow Springs, atop the Mountain of Yearning, a man sat in quiet solitude.

His name was Li Yuan.

He gazed at the red flowers blooming along the river’s edge, lost in the memories of the life he had just relived.

A full life. A full love.

His eyes drifted toward the Bridge of Forgetfulness, watching a young girl approaching.

He smiled gently.

The girl stepped across the bridge, passed through the Mirror of Karma, and headed toward the path of reincarnation.

Just beyond the Gate of Rebirth stood another bridge.

By the bridge, Long Gumeng was offering bowls of Memory Soup to the souls who passed.

Behind her, a small child in mourning clothes stood at a boiling pot, stirring the bitter brew.

This was the method discovered by Yan Yu herself, using ghost items to gently erase memories of a spirit’s past life, with almost no side effects, before guiding them into reincarnation.

The girl moved forward. Her turn was coming.

Li Yuan remained still, watching her back in silence.

Suddenly, a voice rose beside him.

“You’re really just going to let her go?”

He didn’t need to look to know who it was.

He let out a quiet sigh. “Yan Yu.”

“Not happy about it?” Yan Yu asked.

Li Yuan shook his head slowly, eyes still on the girl as she lifted the bowl and drank the bitter soup from Long Gumeng’s hands.

He took a deep breath and said softly, “No, it’s not that I’m unhappy... I’m just...still getting used to it.”