The "little pendant" hanging around his neck had no intention of letting go; instead, she hugged him even tighter.
Her soft little body pressed tightly against the crook of Jiang Xun's neck, and her ice-blue hair tickled his chin.
Jiang Xun sighed helplessly and tried to reason with her again:
"Frost Radiance, shouldn't you... go back?"
"No," Frost Radiance buried her little Face deeper, her voice muffled and carrying a child's characteristic stubbornness.
"Frost Radiance just found Daddy; I want to stay with Daddy for a while longer."
"..."
Jiang Xun's lips twitched, revealing a bitter smile that looked worse than crying.
"Your master... really raised you for nothing."
What kind of Sword Spirit immediately defects and refuses to leave upon seeing their "former master"?
"That's not true!" Frost Radiance immediately looked up, her little Face serious and her ice-blue eyes full of earnestness.
"Master didn't raise Frost Radiance for nothing!
When Master finds out Frost Radiance found Daddy, she will definitely be very happy too!"
She'll be happy?
The key point was that he wasn't happy!
Jiang Xun felt a wave of guilt and unease.
How could he have the Face, or the courage, to appear before Yan Qingning now?
Did he have feelings for Yan Qingning?
Jiang Xun asked himself.
In the game, of course he did.
It was a player's appreciation and affection for a meticulously designed, peerless virtual character—the satisfaction of a successful conquest.
He liked Yan Qingning's cold aloofness, her focus when practicing the sword, and her occasional glimpses of tenderness... but she wasn't the only character he "liked."
Any character with a beautiful model, distinct personality, and rich background resources—which one hadn't he been tempted by?
Which one hadn't he painstakingly tried to conquer?
Pure love? Devotion? What were those?
Could they speed up a playthrough or drop better equipment?
At this moment, Jiang Xun just wanted to howl at the sky:
Heavens! Why am I not a pure love fan! Why did I have to be a "polyamorous" completionist! Now retribution has come!
He couldn't help but think of another character from the game who had left a deep impression on him:
Jiang Hongyuan.
Daughter of the Demon Venerable, with a terrifyingly powerful background and a personality that was... uniquely insane.
Back then, Jiang Xun had racked his brains to grind for her favorability.
And the result?
When her favorability reached a certain threshold, that Young Miss, in order to "test" his sincerity, actually handed him a dagger with a smile.
She demanded he "cut out your heart and show it to me; I want to see if I am truly the only one inside it."
Even through the screen, Jiang Xun could feel the overwhelming, scalp-tingling paranoia and madness.
Yandere characters are great in games!
But once placed in reality, you'd wish your parents had given you two extra legs to run away.
Jiang Xun shuddered, not daring to think further.
At this moment, the Frost Radiance in his arms was actually docile and well-behaved, fragrant and soft, like a little daughter truly attached to her father.
If one set aside her identity as a Sword Spirit and her Face, which was a miniature version of Yan Qingning's, the scene could even be considered heartwarming.
But Jiang Xun knew very well.
A Sword Spirit being separated from its host for a long time—especially a Life-bound sword like "Frost Radiance" that shared a heart-to-heart connection with its master—was something Yan Qingning couldn't possibly fail to notice.
Once she became suspicious and traced the Sword Spirit's aura... the consequences were truly unimaginable.
He was currently in no position, and had no desire, to appear before her.
They liked Dao Xun.
But he was Jiang Xun; he only wanted to survive first in this real and cruel world, and then find a way to live a bit better.
He had to convince this little ancestor to go back on her own.
After some quick thinking, Jiang Xun had an idea.
He adjusted his expression to look a bit lonely and said softly to Frost Radiance:
"Frost Radiance, do you know... why Daddy hasn't gone to find you and your master?"
As expected, Frost Radiance's attention was caught. She tilted her little Face up, her ice-blue eyes full of confusion. "Why, Daddy?"
Jiang Xun pointed at himself and smiled bitterly. "Look at Daddy now. What is my cultivation level?"
Following his words, Frost Radiance reached out a tiny finger and lightly touched the space between Jiang Xun's brows, sending in a trace of extremely faint, icy Sword Qi.
After a moment, her little mouth hung open slightly as she said in surprise, "Daddy... how is your cultivation only at the... Qi Refinement Stage?"
She remembered clearly that in the memories of Chaos from when she was first conceived, Daddy's aura was powerful and warm.
And at that time, Jiang Xun's cultivation was at least that of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator.
But now... translucent tears instantly filled Frost Radiance's eyes. Her small hands cradled Jiang Xun's Face, her voice trembling with a sob:
"Daddy! What happened to you? Were you hurt by bad people? Tell Frost Radiance, and Frost Radiance will go beat them up for you!"
Seeing the little Sword Spirit's genuine concern, Jiang Xun felt a rare twinge of guilt, but the act had to go on.
He gently patted Frost Radiance's back, his tone desolate:
"It's okay, Daddy isn't hurt. It's just... Daddy is Cultivating again, walking a different path.
So for the time being, it's not convenient for me to appear before your master."
He paused and asked tentatively, "Frost Radiance, what Realm is your master in now?"
Frost Radiance sniffled and replied, "Master is very powerful! She's at the Peak of the Void Penetration Realm! She's only a tiny bit away from entering the Ascension Realm!"
Another layer of cold sweat broke out.
He braced himself and continued to guide her:
"See, Daddy is only in the lowly Qi Refining Realm now; I'm not even qualified to be a gatekeeper for your master.
How could Daddy... have the Face to see her?"
"It doesn't matter!"
Frost Radiance immediately shook her head and said urgently, "Master won't look down on Daddy! Master is the best! And with Master around, wouldn't it be easy for her to help Daddy raise his cultivation?"
"But I care!"
Jiang Xun emphasized his tone, a touch of loneliness and pride belonging to a "former powerhouse" appropriately appearing on his Face.
"Daddy wants to rely on his own efforts to walk back up.
That way, when I see your master again, I can stand tall, right?"
Frost Radiance was stunned.
Her ice-blue eyes were full of ignorance and struggle.
Her little head couldn't yet understand such complex emotions or adult Face, but she could feel the seriousness and... sadness in Daddy's tone.
"Then... then what Realm does Daddy need to Cultivate to before meeting Master?" she asked softly, reluctant to let go.
"If that's the case... will Frost Radiance not be able to see Daddy for a very, very long time?
Frost Radiance only just found Daddy..."
Seeing the little Sword Spirit looking so aggrieved she was about to cry, Jiang Xun's heart softened, and he comforted her in a gentle tone:
"It won't be long. Daddy promises you, once I've cultivated back to... well, at least back to my former Realm, I will go find you and meet your master."
"Really?" Frost Radiance looked at him with teary eyes.
"Really." Jiang Xun nodded solemnly and held out his pinky. "Pinky swear."
Frost Radiance smiled through her tears and reached out her cold little finger, clumsily hooking it with Jiang Xun's.
"Then... okay." She sniffled, finally relenting.
"Frost Radiance will listen to Daddy."
Jiang Xun had just breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Frost Radiance suddenly look up, her ice-blue eyes gazing into the depths of the night sky to the southeast:
"She's here."
"Who's here?" Jiang Xun's heart skipped a beat, a foreboding feeling washing over him.
"It's Master!"
Frost Radiance said happily, her little body squirming as if she wanted to fly out of Jiang Xun's arms.
"I can feel Master's aura! Frost Radiance is going to tell Master that I found Daddy!"
"Wait!" Jiang Xun was quick, grabbing Frost Radiance's cold little wrist, his heart nearly jumping out of his throat.
He forced himself to calm down and composed his words as quickly as possible, a complex expression of both joy and apprehension squeezed onto his Face:
"Frost Radiance, promise Daddy one more thing, okay?"
"What is it, Daddy?"
"Don't tell your master that you've seen me yet."
Jiang Xun stared into Frost Radiance's pure eyes and said each word clearly, trying to make his voice sound full of anticipation and mystery.
"I want to wait until I've succeeded in my cultivation and appear before her in person to give her a... surprise.
Okay?"
"Surprise?"
Frost Radiance blinked, seemingly trying to understand the meaning of the word.
She looked at Jiang Xun's sincere Face, then sensed the familiar, deeply comforting aura rapidly approaching from the southeast.
Ultimately, her attachment to Daddy and the temptation of a surprise won out.
"...Okay." She was a bit reluctant, but she still nodded. "Then Frost Radiance won't say anything."
Jiang Xun felt a wave of relief and gave her a gentle hug. "Good girl."
Reluctantly, Frost Radiance gave Jiang Xun's neck one last rub, the cold, soft sensation flashing by.
Then, her small body transformed into a streak of pure white-blue light, "whooshing" out of Jiang Xun's embrace and flying rapidly toward that subtle yet vast aura to the southeast.
In an instant, she vanished into the deep night.
In the mountain forest, Jiang Xun was once again alone.
He stood there, the faint sensation of coldness still seemingly lingering on his neck, but more than that, his back was drenched in cold sweat that soaked through his clothes.
A faint white light appeared in the southeastern night sky.
She's here.
She's really here.
Jiang Xun didn't dare stay any longer; he didn't even care to check his direction as he turned and ran in the opposite direction of where Frost Radiance had gone, plunging headlong into the denser, darker depths of the forest with all his might.
Now, he only wanted to get as far away from here as possible.