Thus, in the winter of star calendar 7277, on the morning before the expedition.
"Master, I'm leaving."
"Wait."
A sword was thrown toward her.
At that time, she caught the sword, feeling its extraordinary weight and familiar shape, her heart filled with surprise.
"Master... this..."
"I had someone reforge it; it is now heavy as a thousand catties."
"Master, I don't even know its name yet."
"It never had a name. If you have any ideas, name it yourself. Under Hoolay's rule, the Borisin have been dormant for centuries, their power growing ever stronger. From now on, use this sword and carry your Master's will to kill the enemy."
"Then... how about gazing radiance?"
"That works."
"...Thank you, Master."
A short dialogue, a simple farewell.
Carrying the sword gifted by her Master, she set off on the Hunt expedition with a heart full of joy.
She did not know the true meaning represented by gazing radiance.
She did not know it carried 77 years of her Master's effort and weight.
Even more, she did not know... it carried her Master's final trump card, and for her, the cruelest future.
"Designing it so your disciple kills you with her own hands... Master... how could you be so cruel to me?"
It turned out Master had prepared long ago.
Taking all accidents into account, not hesitating to break major taboos to seize the Power of Jianmu, using himself as bait, swearing to completely exterminate Shuhu.
While she was away, Qingxin Residence appeared as peaceful as usual on the surface.
Only in the dead of night would Master occasionally feed; the rest of the time, he mostly worked with the Sleeping Snow sisters to refine The Self-Actualization Aspect.
He copied and modified his own abilities, bestowing them upon them.
As their cultivation deepened, Sleeping Snow proposed the idea of using herself as a vessel to carry more Power of Jianmu as a trump card.
At first, Master refused without hesitation.
Unable to withstand their daily persuasion, he finally gave a reluctant consent.
The seniors' resolve to die for Master, even setting aside all the truths discovered so far, was enough to move her.
And then, came the day Master, for the first and last time, actively broke the boundary.
Jingliu wiped the corners of her eyes and took a deep breath.
What happened that day was unforgettable.
While fulfilling her duty as a master to teach Jing Yuan, she learned her Master was so lenient with his grand-disciple. She felt aggrieved and treated unfairly, wanting to question him.
As it happened, a comrade was visiting; Lord Yingyue was playing chess with Master.
Combining the truth revealed by the Sleeping Snow sisters, Jingliu finally understood how wrong her thoughts were after that ambiguous encounter.
Regarding the plum blossom brew, Master hadn't lied.
It was she who had accidentally taken the only jar of plum blossom brew that could make one drunk, triggering the desires Master had suppressed for years.
There was affection, and there was something else.
They fell into the hot spring, lips and teeth intertwined, hugging tightly, wishing to merge into each other's flesh and blood.
At that moment, she could feel Master loved her.
Even if there was a mental gap, at least the body was honest.
Unknowingly, the Azure Dragon was about to cross the White Tiger Bridge.
At the final moment, Master bit her neck, tasting her blood for the first time in a thousand years.
Even a single drop was enough to set off a tidal wave in his heart.
Because the impression was so deep, and because it was a craving branded into instinct, it made him snap awake instantly, not succumbing to that intoxication and desire.
They had a big fight then.
Master left heartlessly, leaving his disciple, who had just tasted him, heartlessly behind... That was what she thought then, that Master was crueler than ever, making her feel completely broken.
Thinking about how he said they were just master and disciple, and it was just the alcohol—the body doesn't lie.
Thinking that using alcohol as an excuse was the biggest flaw.
If it were really the alcohol, why didn't he go to Sleeping Snow and Clear Cold, but came specifically for her?
Looking back now—
Sleeping Snow and Clear Cold were indeed not at Qingxin Residence then.
They took advantage of the gap when Master 'naturally' invited Lord Yingyue to visit, using the Self-Actualization Aspect Method to disguise themselves and sneak into the depths of Scalegorge Waterscape.
Silently reaching the seal of the grotto where the Jianmu was located, scouting in advance to ensure no mistakes in the future plan.
Only when they returned did they see Master, who had nailed himself to the wall in the secret room.
His neck, waist, and limbs were all wrapped in heavy chains; his fangs were bloody, his face frenzied.
There were no images left of what happened next; there were crude traces of deletion.
Clearly, the scene was so bloody that even the Judges of the Ten Lords Tribunal's Inquest Hall couldn't bear to look... Before dawn that night, Master took over a hundred jars of plum blossom brew and went to Pier Point with Clear Cold to hide from her.
She thought Master felt guilty, but how was the truth about hiding?
Master clearly hadn't suppressed the bloodthirsty craving; if he didn't leave, the Ten Lords Tribunal would likely notice something wrong.
At that time, if the fact that they were practicing The Self-Actualization Aspect was exposed, there would be no place for them in the entire Xianzhou Alliance.
The best outcome would be defecting from the Xianzhou and wandering the sea of stars.
The worst would be facing the Ten Lords Tribunal's judgment and losing their final freedom.
And all of this was because she took the wrong wine.
Following Clear Cold's perspective, watching Master leave the Luofu, she realized what immense pain he was enduring.
She couldn't help but feel pity for Clear Cold... On the starship, her neck was bitten through by Master several times. One can imagine how bloody the scene in the secret room was.
Most likely... Master had become a man-eating monster in the truest sense, not much different from a Borisin.
Because of her mistake, Master and the seniors suffered an undeserved disaster.
Master lied to her... but he had to.
Heartlessly refusing was the choice Master could think of that would hurt her the least.
Clearly, he was considering her with all his heart, yet she saw it as heartless harm.
Because of Master's deception, she had wronged him.
Jingliu clutched her chest, the pain almost causing a spasm.
"How many things are there that I don't know..."
Thinking back carefully on the more memorable events that happened after that, Jingliu was suddenly stunned.
Not many, just two... First, the Alliance learned of Hoolay's whereabouts. On the eve of her departure with the army, she wanted to say goodbye to Master according to the Cloud Knights' annual custom.
Unexpectedly, she caught Master having intimate relations with Clear Cold and the others.
That time should have been real... There was no suppressed pain in the voice, but the joy of body and soul merging.
At the same time, it was also Sleeping Snow and Clear Cold's final farewell to Master.
They knew they would soon face Shuhu and had prepared from the start to sacrifice themselves for Master, never intending to return alive.
But the ending was heartbreaking.
They, who gave their lives and everything, returned alive instead, though with the added status of Ten Lords Tribunal serious offenders.
And the second thing... happened after the hot spring incident.
She became the Sword Master, and Master unexpectedly praised her, saying she did well.
Subsequently, on the night she returned from her Hunt expedition, Master gave her a round, golden pill.
He didn't explain its origin or effect, just told her to eat it.
Thinking of a certain possibility, Jingliu bit her lower lip, not even noticing when it bled.