Mo Tiange was aware there were many Foundation Building cultivators keeping guard outside, but she was too lazy to worry about them. Even if she went to deal with them, what could she possibly do? How could an Aura Refining cultivator fight against so many Foundation Building cultivators? In any case, without reinforcements, it was only a matter of time before she and Second Uncle lost their lives.

　　A boisterous rumbling noise outside snapped Mo Tiange out of her trance. She took out her Green-Wood Sword. In order to avoid being subjected to torture after falling into the hands of those cultivators, she was determined to go to the underworld together with Second Uncle.

　　However, just as she was about to swing her sword, her hand suddenly became numb. Her grasp loosened and the sword fell to the ground. Soon after, she heard a familiar voice, “What are you doing?”

　　Mo Tiange looked up and was instantly dumbfounded. “You…”

　　Qin Xi, who had walked into the house, furrowed his brows and asked, “Do you perhaps want to kill yourself?”

　　“Senior Martial Brother Qin?” Mo Tiange stared at him in disbelief.

　　Qin Xi didn’t say anything. He directly walked towards them, held Ye Jiang’s wrist, and inserted some spiritual aura to examine Ye Jiang’s injuries.

　　His brows were once again furrowed during the process. When he finished, he took out a small jade case from his Qiankun Bag and opened it, exposing the fresh, succulent spiritual plants inside. He then took one of its leaves and squeezed it into Ye Jiang’s mouth before making a hand seal. A bright, fire-like ray was delivered along with that leaf into Ye Jiang’s body.

　　His movements were very fast. It was only after he finished that Mo Tiange finally regained her train of thought and reacted. She asked, “Senior… Senior Martial Brother Qin? Why are you here? What did you feed my uncle?”

　　Qin Xi, who was still transferring his spiritual aura to Ye Jiang’s body, simply raised his head and cast her a glance before he answered, “This is only a temporary method to prolong his life. Your uncle’s injuries are too heavy – I can only wake him for a moment.”

　　“This…” Mo Tiange didn’t know what to say. The situation had now completely exceeded her expectations and her brain was filled with a bunch of questions, yet she couldn’t utter a word. Moreover, she felt that Qin Xi seemed to be different from how he was before. She felt like she seemed very, very small in front of him. Did that mean…

　　“Senior Martial Brother Qin, you’ve succeeded in building your foundation?”

　　Qin Xi didn’t answer as he remained focused on transferring his spiritual aura to Ye Jiang’s body.

　　Seeing that his actions didn’t seem unfavorable to Second Uncle, Mo Tiange pondered it some more then decided to leave. To her surprise, the surroundings were completely barren; there wasn’t even a single person there!

　　She was thoroughly shocked. Even if Qin Xi had successfully built his foundation, how could he have possibly fought against more than a dozen Foundation Building cultivators? Besides, how did he get here in the first place?

　　Mo Tiange felt her mind was a total mess right now.  What’s happening?

　　However, she didn’t get the chance to ask because, at this moment, Ye Jiang suddenly moaned as he apparently regained consciousness.

　　“Second Uncle!” Mo Tiange called out while hastily rushing towards him.

　　After a lot of effort, Ye Jiang finally managed to open his eyes. He observed the scene in front of him for a moment before finally fixing his gaze on Qin Xi’s body. He said, “You are…”

　　Qin Xi said, “My surname is Qin.”

　　Ye Jiang trembled with wild excitement flashing across his eyes. “You… you are…”

　　Qin Xi showed a faint smile and said, “I’m from Qin Clan. I happened to receive the message, so I rushed over.”

　　Although Qin Xi’s answer confirmed his guess, Ye Jiang unexpectedly became calm. He closed his eyes, grabbed Qin Xi’s hand with a gasp and said, “Finally… Finally… made it in time…”

　　Qin Xi raised his other hand to stop him. He said, “Don’t get too excited yet; I can’t heal your injuries. Right now, all I can do is keep you alive for a moment. If you have anything to say, please say it as soon as possible.”

　　What Qin Xi said made Ye Jiang’s eyes a bit bleak, but he soon revealed a faint smile. He had long known he couldn’t survive, but at least Xiaotian would be saved!

　　“Second Uncle…” Although she knew Second Uncle didn’t have long to live, watching him while unable to do anything still made her heart feel torn. She then raised her head, stared at Qin Xi and said eagerly, “Senior Martial Brother Qin, you have a way, right? Can you save Second Uncle’s life—”

　　Ye Jiang raised his hand to stop her. He smiled and said, “Xiaotian… don’t be sad… This day… was unavoidable.”

　　How could Mo Tiange not have known that she was being unreasonable right now? It was just that… she really couldn’t…

　　Ye Jiang heaved a soft sigh and said, “Xiaotian, you… go and wait outside. In a while, you can come in again.”

　　Mo Tiange wiped the tears off her face with confusion. “Second Uncle, I…”

　　“Do what I told you to,” Ye Jiang said while staring at her with an uncompromising gaze. “Just for a moment…”

　　Upon noticing her hesitation, Qin Xi said, “Junior Martial Brother Ye, rest assured, I’ll be here.”

　　Mo Tiange stared back and forth between the two people in front of her. Eventually, under Second Uncle’s insistence, she nodded her head. Second Uncle must have his own reasons. She thought… she’d better do what Second Uncle told her because in the future… she might not have the chance to do that again.

　　After Mo Tiange left, Qin Xi saw Ye Jiang’s eyes and understood what Ye Jiang meant. With a wave of his hand, a Sound-Insulating Barrier appeared around them. He then said, “Fellow Daoist Ye, you can speak frankly.”

　　Ye Jiang stared at the youth, who looked just about twenty years old, as if he was studying that youth. He then said, “I don’t dare to… be called Fellow Daoist. I think, Senior… must be… Master Daoist Shoujing, right?”

　　Qin Xi lowered his eyes and asked in a calm manner, “How did you know?”

　　Ye Jiang gasped for breath before continuing with a smile, “Although my… cultivation level isn’t… as good as Senior, I still… have a bit of experience… although I have cultivated… only until… until the Foundation Building realm… your means are… are those of… a Core Formation senior.”

　　Seeing how hard it was for Ye Jiang to speak, Qin Xi once again transferred some of his spiritual aura into Ye Jiang’s meridians. “Your esteemed brother was a friend whom I went through challenges with. Since you’re his brother, you don’t need to call me senior.”

　　Ye Jiang relaxed slightly once he heard Qin Xi’s words. However, he still didn’t change the manner he addressed Qin Xi. “That means… Senior doesn’t care… care about that year’s matters?”

　　Qin Xi just smiled and said, “I can understand your thought process. But why would I argue with juniors over these trivial matters?”

　　Now that he received affirmation, Ye Jiang finally could let go of his worries. Ye Jiang closed his eyes and gasped for breath for a moment. It was only when he recovered his breath that he spoke again. “Please forgive… junior for being… rude… Does Senior… perhaps have a… a good impression of… Xiaotian?”

　　Once Ye Jiang’s question came out, Qin Xi’s gaze became sharp. He asked calmly, “What do you mean?”

　　Ye Jiang naturally knew his question angered Qin Xi a bit. However, Ye Jiang wasn’t flustered and continued to speak slowly, “Senior, please don’t… don’t misunderstand… The good impression… junior means isn’t… love. It’s just that… because Senior seems… unwilling to let… Xiaotian find out about… your identity… junior can sense that… Senior treats… Xiaotian differently.”

　　After making such a long speech, Ye Jiang once again had difficulty breathing. Qin Xi transferred his spiritual aura into Ye Jiang’s body for a while. Although he didn’t give a direct answer, Qin Xi said indifferently, “If you want peace of mind, I will fulfill your request. From today onwards, I will take her back to Xuanqing School and give her shelter until she has the ability to protect herself.”

　　A happy smile appeared on Ye Jiang’s face. Finally, he hadn’t bet wrong.

　　“There’s another matter… that junior can’t feel assured about… unless junior asks clearly…”

　　Qin Xi already guessed what he meant and said, “You’re talking about her constitution?”

　　Ye Jiang nodded with difficulty. He then said, “Junior knows, what junior is asking is… rather outrageous… However, if junior doesn’t ask… junior might not… be able to rest his eyes in death…”

　　This time, Qin Xi was silent for a long time before he answered, “Alright, I’ll fulfill your wishes. If she doesn’t consent, I will never force her.”

　　“No,” Ye Jiang said while shaking his head. “What… what junior wants to ask… is that when it is… necessary… Senior may… push her to…”

　　Qin Xi was stunned, quite confused about Ye Jiang’s intentions.

　　—

　　Mo Tiange waited outside while staring blankly at the sky.

　　Since she couldn’t hear anything from the house, she knew they must’ve used something to soundproof the place.

　　She was quite astonished. She never expected Qin Xi to actually be from Xuanqing School. Moreover, based on what he said, he seemed to be a junior of Master Daoist Shoujing.

　　Nevertheless, her mind was also enlightened. It was no wonder – no wonder that all the treasures and belongings of this Senior Martial Brother Qin were extraordinary… no wonder he exhibited an extraordinary demeanor in all respects.

　　From the momentum he released, he was probably in the Foundation Building realm, right? It was really weird; with his identity as Master Daoist Shoujing’s junior, he ought to be an elite disciple in Xuanqing School. Coupled with the fact that he presumably also had Core Formation and Nascent Soul elders, it should be rather easy for him to build his foundation, so why did he build his foundation in another sect? Could it be that this was some sort of strange hobby of children from famous cultivation groups and clans?

　　She couldn’t help but think it was funny. However, although her face shifted in amusement, no laughter came out.

　　She clearly understood Second Uncle was about to leave… What would she do without Second Uncle? She asked herself this question, yet she couldn’t come up with an answer and only felt empty inside.

　　It was unclear how much time passed before she finally heard Qin Xi’s voice coming from inside the house. He said, “Junior Martial Brother Ye, please come inside.”

　　Having collected her thoughts and after wiping off the traces of tears from the corners of her eyes, Mo Tiange directly entered the room. “Second Uncle!” she called out.

　　Ye Jiang leaned against the wall as Qin Xi continuously transferred spiritual aura into his body. Nonetheless, his vitality continued to dissipate rapidly; even opening his eyes was hard for him now.

　　“Xiaotian…” he extended his hand with great difficulty.

　　Mo Tiange hastily grasped it and kneeled in front of him. “Second Uncle, I’m here.”

　　Ye Jiang smiled. He still tried hard to extend his hand, wanting to stroke her hair like he did when she was a child.

　　This love-filled gesture made Mo Tiange’s tears fall.

　　“Xiaotian… Tiange, don’t cry… after Second Uncle leaves, you… have to live well…” Tears also flowed from Ye Jiang’s cloudy eyes, flowing through the wrinkles on his old face. He was well aware this would really be an eternal parting for them.

　　“Xiaotian, Second Uncle… has two things… I can’t let go…”

　　“Second Uncle can tell me. I will definitely do what you tell me to.”

　　“Alright… listen. First, wait until… you reach the Core… Formation realm, go… go back to Ye Clan in the secular world… see if… if there are any people with spiritual roots… No need to reestablish… Ye Clan… As long as you… give the juniors a bit of… a bit of help, that would suffice.”

　　Mo Tiange repeatedly nodded her head and answered, “I know. I definitely will… I will definitely go back and take a look.”

　　Ye Jiang nodded faintly. He stared lovingly at her and continued to say, “The second matter, Second Uncle… Second Uncle has entrusted you to Master… Master Daoist Shoujing… In the future, you have to cherish… cherish yourself well, understand?”

　　By the time he finished speaking, his face was already covered with tears. If he could, he really wanted, really wanted to personally see her thrive… Unfortunately, the heavens wouldn’t allow him to.

　　Mo Tiange, who was kneeling in front of him, was sobbing so fiercely that she couldn’t say anything. She could only nod with all her might.

　　Amongst his tears, Ye Jiang’s eyes finally began to lose focus. Even though Qin Xi was continuously transferring spiritual aura, he still couldn’t increase Ye Jiang’s vitality.

　　Ye Jiang suddenly muttered, “Elder Brother… sorry, I… I’m going to see you now…”

　　After that, there was no other sound.

　　Mo Tiange was kneeling in a daze. Her tears were flowing incessantly, but she didn’t make even the slightest noise. She vaguely felt like she returned to thirteen years ago, to the day her mother passed away. That deep grief over losing someone forever made her speechless. After her mother died, she already felt like the sky was going to collapse, but then Heaven gave her Second Uncle.

　　Second Uncle loved her, pampered her, but also instructed her strictly. Although she only called him Second Uncle, in her heart, she viewed him as her father. Sometimes, she also thought about how good it would be if her father was alive, yet every time she did, she would reprimand herself for being greedy. Second Uncle had given her everything he could, including his life. What more she could ask for? Having Second Uncle was already enough.

　　However… Second Uncle had now gone, abandoning her…

　　It seemed like… the sky… once again collapsed.

　　“Junior Martial Brother Ye!” In her trance, she heard someone shouting, “Do you want to die!?”

　　She opened her eyes with bewilderment. However, she couldn’t see anything clearly. She only sensed someone grasping her shoulder then shaking her hard while shouting, “Breathe!”

　　A forceful hit on her back made her cough, and along with that cough, her cries finally erupted. She hugged her legs, bawling her eyes out just like a child, allowing her tears to drown herself. Although she was studying the Law of Immortality, and although she was no longer weak, she felt like she was still the little girl from thirteen years ago at this moment.

　　Second Uncle said that loss happened so people could grow up. But she would rather not grow up!

　　Someone heaved a soft sigh, pulled her up and let her lean on their shoulder without saying anything.