His eyes, as sharp as stars in the sky, fixed all their attention on the woman, now aged and her features ravaged by hardship. Yet, that voice from moments ago, so deeply familiar, was hers.

The instant he saw the old woman, the old man was utterly stunned, tears welling in his eyes. He could only shakily press his hand against the car window, as if she were right within reach.

And the most important thing is... she's still alive! She's still alive! Standing before me, alive... It's like a dream.

His dreams... they used to be filled with her youthful smiles and expressions. But in the blink of an eye, decades had passed! How many decades does a person even have in a lifetime?

Therefore, the tears on the old man's face could no longer be held back. Mumbling, he strained to lift his head. Then, looking steadfastly at her profile, his own face streaked with tears, he said, "Green Grain? Is that you? You're actually still alive..."

At that moment, the old man desperately wanted to stop, to share all his experiences from these intervening years with her, to close the distance between them!

One should know, if he hadn't assumed her dead all those years ago, he wouldn't have returned to Quan State, founded the Cheng Family, established his career, and fathered so many descendants! Unexpectedly, she too had assumed him dead and had followed him all the way here, to his Quan State. Then, through the factions she established, she had taken such good care of his Family.

She must have believed those people were the closest connection in this world to the him she believed to be dead!

Because, all of this, the old man understood instantly when he saw the emblem on the car Green Grain was in. That was why his son had come to him repeatedly, saying, "Father, are you sure you aren't acquainted with them, or have no connection? This is the thirty-eighth project they've conceded to us..."

Clearly, the old woman loved him deeply. Her devotion ran so profound.

And so, the old man, Hua Qing, immediately recalled her name.

Green Grain! Green Grain! The hope of life, a future harvest, verdant and lush, yearning for the distant! Perhaps, in this entire world, he, Hua Qing, was the only one left who knew this name and its meaning!

Hua Qing even remembered when they had first declared their love, Green Grain had said to him, "Hua Qing, do you think this war will ever end? If it does, let's find a place. I'll farm, you'll raise fish, and we'll live a simple life in the countryside together, until we're old and gray..."

Thinking of this, the Old Man could no longer suppress the surging emotions within him.

BOOM!

His immense aura instantly pressed down, immobilizing the small car, stopping it dead in its tracks.

He had to see Green Grain. He had yearned to see her for decades, and now, he *would* see her!

But the problem was, the young descendant in Green Grain's car noticed this. Looking at his matriarch with a troubled expression, he hesitated, "Grand Ancestor..."

However, to both his and Hua Qing's surprise, the old woman, who was weeping, sobbing inconsolably, shook her head without a moment's thought, decisively refusing her descendant's unspoken question.

Then, she said, "Let's go. No need to stop..."

She was determined to press on towards Quan State City.

Because... it was missed! It was truly too late!

Even though the old woman was in agony, her heart twisting as if stabbed by knives, she knew. The past was the past. Now, they both had their own Families!

The only difference, perhaps, was that Green Grain had taken in orphans who had barely survived the war. Hua Qing, on the other hand, had used his own bloodline to propagate a vast Family!

Ironically, she had, in a way, been by his side all these years, yet he had never realized.

Perhaps... it was time for her dream to shatter! Otherwise, why the saying: 'If fated, you'll meet though a thousand li apart; if not fated, you won't meet even if face to face.' This... this was a sign of no fate.

Then, suddenly, the fragility vanished from the old woman's face in an instant. It was gone completely. Even though grief still wracked her, she abruptly lifted her head.

Her heart might be roaring, questioning, Cursed Heavens, why do you treat me so!

But, she was, after all, strong.

She was a woman first, a woman who yearned for love. But if love had already dissipated like smoke, with no chance of being rekindled, then she would be a Martial Artist—a powerful Martial Artist! And the path of a Martial Artist was always one of resolute steps, following one's heart's desires without overstepping boundaries.

So, since it has passed, let it pass! Life holds regrets, and destiny toys with people. Beyond the whims of time and fate, what is there to truly fret over?

Moreover, the situation had already reached this point. According to their conjectures about Jin Botao, the fate of Quan State City this time was likely to be perilous, a true matter of life and death.

So, what was mere romantic longing in the face of that? Could old folks like them, already with one foot in the grave, truly not see past it?

However, though she could be ruthless with herself, how could that Old Man, Hua Qing, who had just alighted from his car, be willing to miss this chance again? He couldn't let go either! Similarly, he couldn't accept it—that after decades of separation, they would meet by chance in Quan State, only to become strangers once more. It felt like a cruel mockery by fate.

So, he had already missed decades; was he to continue missing out? No, he couldn't afford to miss another moment. Otherwise, he would carry this regret to his grave, a sorrow for eternity!

Therefore, while the strength of others at this moment might be directed at slaying enemies or settling old grudges, this Old Man named Hua Qing, in a flash, caught up to the car.

Then, he was like Wukong descending from the heavens, golden-banded staff in hand, to save Zi Xia from the Sea of Fire, all to say one thing to the woman who had been rooted in his heart for unknowable years, "All these years, just as before, I've been missing you!!"

However, when the Old Man forcefully stopped the old woman's car, and even when she ordered her descendant to drive right through him, he didn't yield an inch. Only then did the old woman seem to regain some of the fiery spirit of her youth, though her back was now stooped. Like a young maiden again, albeit an old one, looking at a ruffian before her—a nobody who only knew how to use brute force—she asked coolly, without mincing words, yet with a touch of disdainful distance, "What exactly do you think you're doing? Do you really believe that just because you've become a Martial King in your old age, you're invincible and can do whatever you please?"

An infinite distance lay in her words. If these had been three complete strangers, the old woman's former comrades would have rushed forward by now. However, the earlier scene between the two had made it clear to everyone: these two old souls had a profound and complicated history from their youth! So, this affair, a potential reunion of fated lovers, was best left to them. The others couldn't interfere.

So, one could only see them shake their heads slightly before signaling their own descendants to bypass the pair and continue towards Quan State City.

「In the now-quiet spot」

The two elders, left behind by the others, remained in a standoff for a short while. Only then, finally having a moment unobserved, was the ice broken by Hua Qing's words.

Hua Qing laughed heartily, his tone as bright and optimistic as when he was a young man. "Actually," he said, "my Family, they're not of my own blood. They are the descendants of my sworn elder brother, left behind. I was merely responsible for looking after them, taking care of them a bit. Because for a time there was no elder to lead, my brother's son, after discussing it with me, decided to be formally adopted under my name, to stabilize the household..."

Green Grain laughed coldly, utterly dismissing his words. After listening, she retorted sharply to Hua Qing, "What does any of that have to do with me? Besides, you have a Family—do you think I don't? What a joke! Keep your pointless games to yourself!"

With that, she turned and got back into the car without a backward glance. Her ever-respectful descendant, without any further questions, steadfastly carried out her command.

So, only the Old Man Hua Qing remained standing there, his face a mask of astonishment, the light in his eyes slowly dimming with disappointment.

He stared blankly at the departing car as it receded into the distance. It was as if he were watching a unique treasure, one only he possessed in all the world, slip away, forever beyond his reach. It felt as though it would soon vanish completely from his sight, leaving no trace, like a dream...

「In the car」

The old woman, Qing He, couldn't stop the two streams of turbid tears that Xu Xu flowed from the corners of her eyes again. She was no longer the beautiful girl of yesteryear. She had become an old woman, decrepit and nearing death, her once-beautiful face cruelly marred by a beast.

More importantly, given their age—even by the standards of the era of their youth—to dare pursue or yearn for love at such an age was essentially to act improperly, something that would earn them scorn for years to come. In the final analysis, they were no longer young. How could they still be as passionate and unrestrained as children?

So, she could only watch through the rearview mirror, her gaze fixed on the figure receding into the distance behind her, and on the helplessness and despair that Xu Xu surfaced in his eyes.

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