No one avoided this rain.
Jing Yuan's face was etched with sorrow, but more than that, helplessness.
He could not step forward to comfort his master, nor was he allowed to.
At this moment, any words of comfort seemed pale and cruel.
Bai Heng, gravely wounded, lay in Dan Feng's arms, her ears soaked by the rain, drooping powerlessly.
Her vision blurred, and she could no longer hold on, falling unconscious.
It wasn't just from witnessing a dear friend's grief, but also from mourning the passing of a respected senior in such a manner... Even the usually aloof Dan Feng, affected by the atmosphere, felt a similar pang in his heart.
Suddenly, a faint, faint glow appeared on the surface of Qi Zhimu's long-cold body.
Everyone looked towards the change, only to see two figures slowly separate from within him.
Judging by their appearance, they were the missing Mian Xue and Qing Han.
Their eyelashes fluttered lightly as they slowly opened their eyes. Like puppets, they rose vertically, then knelt beside Qi Zhimu, deeply bowing their heads.
"Liar..."
"Liar..."
They spoke in unison, their voices filled with desolation.
It was true that embracing the abyss with him would lead to complete death.
But in the instant before death, he had instead used Shuhu's power to strip away, restore, and protect the last proof of their existence in this world... They witnessed it all but could not speak to stop him... They could do nothing... They had already resolved to offer everything for Lord Zhimu, had nestled in his arms before setting out, agreeing to journey to the Yellow Springs together.
Yet... he left them behind, departing alone.
Even though they had also become monsters, even though they were unworthy of any salvation, even though that ending would have been enough... Lord Zhimu still deceived them.
Just as he had deceived Jingliu... In that moment, their weight in Lord Zhimu's heart was nearly equal to that of his most cherished disciple, Jingliu.
Yet it was precisely this equality that drove him to choose selfishly, to make the choice for them.
He was unwilling, could not bear, for those he deeply loved to share his death.
He slew Shuhu, but no trace of Qi Zhimu remained in the world.
What meaning was there in living like this?
Four figures arrived from different directions, their gazes collectively falling upon the man surrounded by three women, devoid of any sign of life.
Hua closed her eyes, letting out a silent sigh.
The fate you claimed you had no choice in has, as you wished, finally become reality.
And in The End, it has left others with wounds that will never heal.
Betraying The Hunt, turning to Abundance, becoming a monster no different from those Abominations, completing his revenge with that resolve... Hua had long foreseen this day, yet she never imagined the blade Qi Zhimu left for himself would be so cruel.
But just as he had said back then—
He had no choice.
From the moment he stepped onto the path of Abundance, he had chosen his own grave.
Unlike Hua, who did not reveal her presence, the three other women who had arrived here all had their expressions freeze solid.
Before they could react further, Qi Zhimu's body began an irreversible disintegration, rapidly transforming into golden branches and ginkgo leaves, which then turned to dust in an instant.
The curtain of rain washed over, dissolving and scattering even the shattered jade pendant, leaving nothing behind.
Clang—
The sound of shattering metal rang out.
The longsword in Jingliu's hand broke into several pieces, just like her shattered heart.
Her dead, dark crimson pupils stared at the broken sword. Unable to maintain what little consciousness remained, she plunged completely into darkness.
"Mr. Qi..."
"Little Fellow..."
"AMu..."
The faces of the three women—Black Swan and the others—were filled with disbelief, almost unable to trust their own eyes.
Though his appearance differed from their memories, from such a close and fleeting glimpse, they were one hundred percent certain—
It was him... Absolutely him!!
Yet after a lifetime apart, after a separation of over a thousand years, their reunion had, in The End, turned into another farewell with no end in sight.
They hadn't had time to recognize him, hadn't had time to ask him if he still remembered them.
And even less time to tell him... about the emotions and longing that had settled over a dozen amber eras, not fading but growing richer and more profound.
Black Swan surveyed this scarred and battered world.
Even as her brain throbbed with splitting pain, she did not stop, straining to search for traces of lingering memories.
And also... the memories Mr. Qi had left behind... But this time, she could not find what she sought.
She could only barely piece together some fragmented causality from the remnants of this monumental battle to the death.
Yu Qintu's figure flickered lightly as she arrived beside the Mian Xue sisters, then glanced at the unconscious Jingliu.
She could sense that in this life, Qi Zhimu had forged deep bonds with them that even death could not sever.
"You... who are you to him..."
Sleeping Snow Pure Cold subconsciously lifted their gazes, meeting Yu Qintu's complex look. They did not answer, only slowly closed their eyes.
But Yu Qintu understood, sighing helplessly in her heart.
Black Swan ceased her memory search, taking repeated deep breaths to digest those past events that stirred her emotions.
Once again, regret and sorrow did not completely consume her reason, though her heart remained heavy with grief.
She began to ponder whether Qi Zhimu truly, as Yu Qintu had said years ago, would have an afterlife after death.
As for the speculation that The End had reversed time for him, it now seemed that was not the case.
She had realized this possibility, but what about Yu Qintu and Ruan Mei?
Perhaps they had also considered it, but right now... Black Swan looked at Ruan Mei, understanding flashing in her eyes.
At this moment, Ruan Mei's expression and gaze were no better than the Mian Xue sisters', perhaps even more turbulent.
"AMu... my AMu..."
"Your teacher searched for you for so many years, and found you, yet again you did not wait for me..."
Ruan Mei murmured softly. The Oil-paper umbrella in her hand slipped, falling with the heavy rain into the churning magma below.
Black Swan paid her no mind, continuing to ponder a crucial question—
If Mr. Qi still had a next life, how could they find him in time?
Rely on the plum blossom brew he made as a clue?
Not very realistic.
The universe is vast and boundless, with countless civilizations. Even if plum blossom brew appeared on the IPC's auction lists, they might not notice it in time.
Moreover, it might not even get listed.
In Mr. Qi's first life, the brew was simply called plum blossom brew; in his second life, it gained the prefix 'worry-forget'.
If there were a third life, and he brewed it again, it might not bear that name.
There existed an unverifiable paradox: whether Mr. Qi's new life would possess memories of past lives.
The Galaxy is filled with countless people with similar appearances but vastly different experiences and personalities.
Mr. Qi's ability to brew the worry-forget plum blossom brew did not necessarily prove he relied on past-life memories; perhaps it stemmed from the unique imprint of his existence sequence within the universe.
If he had memories of his previous life, why had he never searched for them in this one?
Born into a major faction like the Xianzhou Alliance, with its advanced civilization, finding that small planet where the IPC had left its mark should not have been difficult.
With Xianzhou's technology, traveling to the old place on his own would have been more than sufficient.
But Mr. Qi did not.
All those years passed, and he never did... Thinking this far, Black Swan temporarily reined in her thoughts, suppressed her sorrow, and looked towards the three unfamiliar women over there.
To clarify these questions, further contact with them was indispensable.