Cloud Retainer looked at the small body on the ground, her deep eyes filled with sorrow.
In this state—already at death's door, missing an arm, one shoulder destroyed, and covered in wounds—this boy, on the verge of death, was not calling for help for himself but for the little girl on his back.
She saw the clothes binding the two children together. She understood.
The belief that had driven Li Mo to crawl out of the cave was not for his own life, not for his half-adeptus body, but for the little girl tied to his back.
Even Cloud Retainer, who had lived for thousands of years, was moved. Her eyes grew moist.
As an adeptus who had long distanced herself from the mortal world, she had not felt such emotion in a very long time.
The last time she remembered shedding tears was for a little girl crushed under a boulder a thousand years ago—a girl who had been picking herbs for her master and was eventually sealed in amber.
She stepped forward and gently fluttered her wings. The clothes binding Li Mo's back came undone, and little Shenhe fell to the ground.
Cloud Retainer examined Shenhe's injuries, her eyes filled with pity. She shook her head.
"Too late. If it had been two hours earlier, there might have been hope. But now, she cannot be saved."
"Unless—"
When she said "unless," she looked again at little Li Mo and shook her head regretfully.
What a pity. A half-adeptus body, with the potential to become a true adeptus. But now, it was useless.
Little Li Mo, clinging to his last breath, heard the word "unless." Hope flickered in his heart.
"Unless… what? Please… save… Shenhe…"
He had only one breath left. Before it left him, he wanted to see this adeptus save Shenhe.
Cloud Retainer looked at him. "Unless you are willing to transfer the heart of your half-adeptus body to this girl."
"Your flesh has been corrupted by the monster, but your half-adeptus heart is still pure. Though it is very weak, as the source of an adeptus's power, it can still save her."
This was her only solution.
Little Li Mo did not hesitate. "I… am willing… Hurry… save… Shenhe…"
He finished his sentence, broken and halting. He had reached his limit. His last breath was about to leave him.
At this final moment, Cloud Retainer looked at the dying boy and said slowly, "After you die, I will take the heart from your half-adeptus body and find a way to revive this little girl."
"Do you have any last words?"
She looked at him intently, filled with regret and helplessness. Even an adeptus was not all-powerful.
In his final moment, the young Li Mo spoke the last words of his life.
"Please… erase Shenhe's memories… of this… so she can have a happy childhood…"
As he spoke, a final tear fell from the corner of his eye.
He wanted to keep the sweet memories—doing commissions together; washing dishes at Wanmin Restaurant; serving tea at the teahouse; playing on Tianheng Mountain; searching for Lady Ganyu in the haystacks. Even when they bickered, those memories were so sweet.
But he did not want Shenhe to live with guilt toward him, with fear of the monster. He wanted her to live happily.
Hearing this, even Cloud Retainer, the adeptus, was moved. Her proud head bowed slightly toward little Li Mo, a gesture of deep respect.
"Don't worry. I will do my best to revive her. And I will erase these painful memories, as you wished."
She raised a wing to wipe away a tear and then lowered her noble adeptus head again.
When she looked at little Li Mo, his eyes were closed. He had taken his last breath. His life had quietly faded.
Under the night sky, silence fell, broken only by Cloud Retainer's sigh.
...
Days later, a new young disciple appeared in Cloud Retainer's abode.
On the first day Shenhe entered the adeptus's home, Cloud Retainer came to her room.
"Do you truly remember nothing of what happened before?" she asked.
Shenhe's eyes were blank. "Before?"
Clearly, she had forgotten everything that had happened before coming to Mount Aocang.
Her deceased mother. Her cruel father. The terrifying monster. And Li Mo—the boy who had carried her out of the cave on his broken body, who had given her his half-adeptus heart.
She remembered nothing.
Cloud Retainer sighed. The memory erasure had been successful.
But was it fair to the dead boy?
She placed a comb made of adeptus stone in Shenhe's hand. "Forgetting is good. Severing mortal ties is the first step to entering the adeptus path."
"This comb is a gift from your master. Take it."
With that, Cloud Retainer left, leaving Shenhe alone before a mirror.
Looking at her reflection, Shenhe felt an inexplicable sadness welling up inside her. Tears streamed down her face.
But no matter how hard she tried, she could not remember who she was crying for.
Slowly, she raised the stone comb and ran it through her black hair.
One stroke, clouds of sorrow brushed away.
Two strokes, no joy, no sorrow.
Three strokes, white hair, no regrets.
With the third stroke, Shenhe's black hair turned white. From then on, she would never meet her past again.