Chapter 37 - The Most Important Decision
"I won't allow you to do this!"
"Young Master Luo's life is a life; so your life isn't a life, is that it?!"
Inside Gu Jing's small cabin, never before had the atmosphere been as tense as it was now.
This year, Luo Hongyu was nineteen years old.
She held the Autumn Maiden Sword, stood firmly in front of her own door, and looked at Luo He inside the cabin with contained anger, speaking word by word.
"If the future of the Tianchen Sword Sect absolutely must rely on sacrificing a disciple to be preserved, then we might as well not have this Sword Sect!"
"Taking ten thousand steps back, even if there absolutely must be someone, why must that person be you..."
At this moment, Gu Jing's face showed none of her usual dignified composure.
She seemed as if she had recalled something extremely unbearable; the expression on her face so fragile it seemed it might shatter at any moment.
It was hard to imagine; as one of the strongest sword experts in the world, her sword-holding hand was now trembling uncontrollably.
She looked at Luo He, who was pressing closer step by step; a certain color of despair flashed in her eyes, seeming to carry a kind of plea, and yet also seeming like a kind of expectation.
Luo He said nothing, merely walked slowly before her.
He, at this moment, compared to the child he was back then, was already half a head taller than her.
Luo He looked at Gu Jing; Gu Jing's sword was still positioned horizontally between him and the door of this small cabin.
"If you absolutely must go out... then step over my body!"
"......"
Her hoarse voice, her somewhat reddened eyes... did not cause Luo He to show any expression.
What he was thinking about now were all matters concerning Luo Hongyu over there.
Since her fifteenth year, after that conversation Luo He had with her, Luo Hongyu had begun to cultivate far more arduously and diligently than before.
But... the results were minimal.
Another four years passed; Luo Hongyu finally broke through Qi Refining and reached Foundation Establishment.
If it were an ordinary small sect or minor faction, reaching Foundation Establishment at nineteen might still be considered a pretty good seedling.
But this was the Tianchen Sword Sect. And Luo Hongyu was a top-tier immortal family disciple who had been exposed to various heavenly materials and earthly treasures since childhood.
For her, Foundation Establishment at nineteen.
Was mediocrity within mediocrity.
If before, one could still use the excuse of "not having worked hard" to make allowances for Luo Hongyu's talent, then after this time, it could be said to be beyond dispute.
Luo Hongyu, on this path of cultivation, had no future.
Within the sect, the opinions regarding her, this talentless Young Master, also grew larger and larger.
Perhaps it was due to various pressures from the outside world and from herself; perhaps it was due to the promise made with Luo He in her fifteenth year.
She went alone to the Sword Sect's Sword Hiding Pool; that was the place where the Tianchen Seven Swords were stored.
She wanted to use her identity as the Sword Sect Young Master to forcibly subdue the Lu Lan Sword, but she never expected that the Lu Lan Sword would show no appreciation and no mercy.
The sword intent accumulated over several thousand years revealed the tip of an iceberg; Luo Hongyu's sword heart and spiritual soul suffered immense trauma.
Through the sect's resources, her life was now barely saved.
But as for the future, how long she could hold on, no one knew.
A method to save her, there was one.
Since the sword heart and spiritual soul had suffered heavy trauma, then finding a way to make it complete was the solution.
What to use to make it complete... needless to say more. The condition was, it had to be someone whose sword heart was compatible with Luo Hongyu's, would not be rejected by her, and who could subdue the Lu Lan Sword's sword intent still rampaging within Luo Hongyu's body.
As far as one could see, there was only one suitable person.
The very next moment after learning this news, Gu Jing had knocked Luo He unconscious and tied him up in her small cabin.
She directly kept him confined here for seven days.
And during these seven days, Luo He, on the contrary, wasn't in a hurry to get out; he used this time to think quietly.
Now, he had thought it through clearly.
He looked at Gu Jing, his gentle eyes and brows flickering with a somewhat indescribable color.
"Senior Sister Gu, why must it be like this?"
"What 'why must it be like this'? No matter how good your relationship with Young Master Luo is, you can't joke around with your own life..."
"I can't die; you knew that long ago."
"So what!"
Gu Jing shouted loudly; even she herself was shocked at this moment by the despairing sorrow she had revealed.
Strange... so strange...
Clearly, she was just stopping Luo He from doing something foolish.
Why was her current mood as if...
Luo He had already done it?
No, not only that, but also...
Luo He spoke no more, merely continuing to press closer to Gu Jing.
With every step he took forward, Gu Jing would unconsciously retreat a step. Gu Jing retreated until she was against the wall, but the sword in her hand was still positioned horizontally there.
So, Luo He walked towards the Autumn Maiden Sword in her hand.
The chill on the sword's edge seemed to gradually dissipate as he approached.
Luo He, step, by step, then stopped.
The edge of the Autumn Maiden Sword pressed against Luo He's neck; Gu Jing's hand was no longer trembling.
Luo He turned his head to look at Gu Jing; she pleaded, shaking her head.
So Luo He continued to walk forward; a line of blood was cut across his neck.
Clang!
The Autumn Maiden Sword fell to the ground; on its blade, as smooth and white as snow, were dotted several blossoms of blood.
Gu Jing collapsed powerlessly to the side.
"Senior Sister Gu, since you made your choice long ago, then you should have carried that choice through to the end."
"Growing soft halfway through... benefits no one."
Luo He's words fell calmly, settling in Gu Jing's heart.
What choice was he talking about, or rather, which choice was he talking about...
Gu Jing didn't know.
She only knew, this deep sense of powerlessness that now enveloped her, as if she had sunk into a bottomless mire...
Seemed to be the deepest underlying color of her very being.
...
Outside the cabin, it was currently nighttime.
The vast Still Water Peak was deserted.
Luo Wenshui was still not within the sect. Luo He walked straight into that towering great hall, passed through many doorways, went directly to the innermost room, and opened the door.
Inside was an extremely rare cold jade bed, used for nurturing the spiritual soul, seldom seen in the world. Luo Hongyu sat cross-legged upon it, eyes closed, regulating her breath.
Hearing a sound, she slowly opened her eyes. Seeing it was Luo He, she smiled gently.
Her face was filled with a haggardness as if she were about to dissipate.
The not-yet-fully-healed wound at her heart was still entwined with the Lu Lan Sword's all-conquering sharp intent.
"Why did you only come now?"
Now, even her speaking voice was so soft.
"I was delayed for a while by Senior Sister Gu."
Luo He sat down beside her and impassively placed a hand on her back.
"Mmm... she really does love you."
"She actually loves you more."
"...Sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
"I'm too useless."
This was still the first time Luo Hongyu had belittled herself so directly.
"In the future, not only will I have no fate with cultivation, even the several decades of springs and autumns of a mortal, I probably won't be able to see them all through."
"Sorry, I clearly wanted to walk further with you... but in the end, I walked into a dead end myself."
"I probably won't get to hear you call me Elder Sister anymore."
Luo Hongyu showed him a sad smile.
"Mm, you won't hear it."
"......"
Luo He glanced at her and continued to speak.
"Do you still remember that person I told you about four years ago, Luo Hongyu?"
"...What about her?"
"I actually didn't lie to you; there really is such a person."
"Haha..."
"You definitely don't believe me now, but it doesn't matter."
"In another five years, you will believe it."
"......"
Luo Hongyu suddenly fell asleep.
Luo He withdrew his hand, looked at Luo Hongyu who had fallen onto the bed before him, his expression calm and unruffled.
If this dreamscape were considered a text adventure game, then what he was facing now was the key choice concerning a good ending or a bad ending.
He had to make his own decision.