Chapter 21: A Final Farewell

If everything had proceeded normally, the last spirit vein transplantation would have been a few months away, but because of Lin Qiyou’s impatience, this surgery was brought forward a little.

However, for Qingmu, an earlier end wasn’t necessarily a bad thing—it was actually better.

Because he felt he was fast approaching the point where he could no longer hide the truth that his body was worn out and depleted.

Using the medicine he had bargained for from the transplant doctors, he had been pretending to be fine in front of Lin Qiyou all this time.

If Lin Qiyou found out, it would only complicate matters further.

Besides, in the real world, the situation with the Saintess Yue Lan had to be stopped quickly; she could not be allowed to harm any more heroes.

There were still two days before the spirit vein transplant; the day after tomorrow, the doctors would come here directly to perform the final surgery.

So today and tomorrow were Qingmu’s last remaining time in this world.

Last night, he had stayed up all night writing at his desk, and in the morning he took pills to mask his declining condition before sitting quietly in the courtyard for a while.

Just as he was about to leave, his “Dao Companion,” Qin Shuang, arrived.

Qin Shuang stood at the gate holding food, her expression grave, staring at Qingmu.

Qingmu had always found this junior sister quite interesting—although he hadn’t told her much, she had a keen intuition for many things.

He had once wanted to scold her over the matter with Lin Qiyou, but after reconciling with Lin Qiyou… perhaps he should be more grateful to Qin Shuang instead?

But he never really got the chance.

He smiled at Qin Shuang as she entered. “You’re here?”

“Senior Brother Qingmu, I hope all is well.”

Qin Shuang came to the stone table in the courtyard and sat down, unpacking the food from the basket.

Qingmu was somewhat surprised by the food she brought—this junior sister really seemed to know his taste.

“No need to be polite,” Qingmu said as he sat opposite her and accepted the rice bowl she handed over.

At first, he took it steadily, but as he tried to put it down, his hand trembled slightly, and the bowl tilted down.

Qin Shuang saw the ink stains on his hand and the bloodshot eyes behind them.

“Sigh…”

She sighed, as if seeing through something, and asked quietly, “Are you afraid?”

“Afraid of what?”

“You know what I mean.”

“No.”

Qingmu shook his head; of course, he wasn’t afraid.

It was all an illusion—he wasn’t truly dead.

“Eat.”

Qin Shuang said no more, quietly watching him finish the food. Then she tidied up and walked toward the gate.

“I will miss you.”

With those words, Qin Shuang looked at Qingmu with sadness before leaving.

Qingmu sat stunned for a moment before leaving his residence.

He didn’t thank Qin Shuang, partly because he worried she might go to Lin Qiyou to say something, but then he thought that seeing him like this, Qin Shuang probably wouldn’t mention it to Lin Qiyou.

“Disciple greets Master.”

The first place Qingmu went was Master’s residence.

“Mm, good.”

Master sighed when he saw Qingmu; he seemed to find nothing to say, just glanced at Qingmu a few more times before bowing his head to busy himself with his own affairs.

It wasn’t that there was nothing to say, but rather a sense of powerlessness.

Just as Qingmu was about to leave, Master suddenly remembered something and called him back.

“Qi Jue is actually an incomplete manual. When I obtained it, the man who sold it to me said there was another incomplete version held by some demon clan.

That’s all I know.”

Qingmu had asked Master about this before when he realized he had hit a bottleneck after completing the Qi Jue cultivation.

At that time, Master had said he didn’t know.

“I see, thank you for the reminder, Master.”

At first, Qingmu was excited to hear this, but after thinking it over, he realized it was of little use now.

He understood, and Master understood as well.

What, were they really going to simulate this again?

Qingmu grinned wryly, feeling resigned inside.

Today, he wandered around the sect a bit, like someone visiting a new place for the first time.

He followed the sect guidebook in an orderly fashion, walking a full circle, realizing he hadn’t explored here with a relaxed heart in ten years.

As he walked, Qingmu seemed to understand why he felt so lost.

Was it because he had come to regard this place as home?

Indeed, having lived here for over ten years in the simulation, it was only natural to feel lost when the simulation was about to end and he had to leave.

With that thought, Qingmu returned to his residence shortly after.

The next day, before dawn, someone knocked on Qingmu’s door.

Qingmu feared it might be Lin Qiyou returning today, so he tried to take the pills he hid by his bedside first, but found there were none left.

He dared not open the door.

Fortunately, the person outside spoke, and after confirming it wasn’t Lin Qiyou, Qingmu opened the door.

“No more pills?”

The woman was one of the two doctors, the one who had given Qingmu the pills.

“Please come in, Doctor.”

Qingmu coughed and stepped aside to let her in.

“This will be the last spirit vein transplant. You know what will happen after this, right?”

The doctor spoke bluntly, expressionless as she looked at Qingmu.

“Of course.”

Qingmu nodded frankly, then asked, “Doctor, could you give me a few more pills?”

“All right.”

The doctor didn’t refuse, taking out a few more pills from her medicinal gourd.

“You know, the feelings between you two only exist because of the spirit vein, right?”

The doctors had found that the strange emotions caused by the spirit vein wouldn’t immediately disappear.

“I know.”

Qingmu nodded.

“Don’t you resent it? You still have a bright future ahead, but because of certain… reasons, you became a talent whose spirit veins were extracted.”

The doctor asked.

“No.”

Qingmu shook his head and reached out his hand for the pills.

“I see…”

The doctor closed her eyes, handed over the pills, then took out a diary and used her spiritual energy to record something.

Suddenly, footsteps came from outside, and the doctor sighed helplessly, “Really bad timing. She’s here.”

She turned and hid behind the door, formed a hand seal, and disappeared into the shadows.

“Knock knock knock—”

“Qingmu! I’m back!”

Lin Qiyou’s voice came from outside.

Swallowing the pill, Qingmu checked carefully to confirm the doctor was gone before walking over to open the door.

Lin Qiyou outside looked very excited, with faint blood vessels visible in her eyes.

Qingmu had good reason to suspect she hadn’t slept in a long time.

Still, her excitement was not hard to understand.

“Tomorrow, my spirit vein will be healed. So, what do you have to say now?”

Lin Qiyou looked at Qingmu with burning eyes.

The pills took effect immediately, and Qingmu’s face looked healthier.

“I know.”

Qingmu nodded and smiled faintly at her.

“Tch.”

Lin Qiyou was a little disappointed, but it was within her expectations.

Suddenly, she grabbed Qingmu’s collar, their faces inches apart.

“Looks like I have to make you speak with my actions.”

Her lips so close, Qingmu could feel the hot breath from Lin Qiyou’s words against his face.

Lin Qiyou stared at Qingmu for a long while.

Today, Lin Qiyou would not see Qingmu again, because the head of the Lin family had also arrived.

So the next time they met would be after the spirit vein transplant.

For Qingmu, this was the final farewell.