"Mother, is she okay?"

「Qin Zhu Courtyard.」

Qin Luoli's face was full of worry, even a touch of self-reproach. "Lin Mu, I'm sorry. I didn't protect Mother well."

She felt responsible for Chen Xinlan's group capturing Lin Mu's mother.

Lin Mu checked on Lady Su. He had already removed the poison, and she was now just suffering from a bit of a fright. She would be fine after some rest.

Hearing Qin Luoli's words, Lin Mu took her hand and said, "How could this be your fault? You had no idea that woman Chen Xinlan would do something like that."

Qin Luoli's eyes were slightly red, her face filled with guilt.

"Alright, don't overthink it. Isn't Mom okay now?"

His soothing words finally managed to calm Qin Luoli's emotions.

"By the way, Xiao Tian is still waiting outside. You should go see him. I'll stay here with Mother." Qin Luoli sat by the bedside, holding Lady Su's hand, unwilling to leave.

Lin Mu nodded and walked out of the room.

Shi Potian was in the living room, so restless he could neither stand still nor sit down, his expression a mask of complexity. He was both excited and apprehensive, not even knowing where to put his hands.

When Lin Mu saw him, he furrowed his brow slightly. "Are you alright?"

Lin Mu walked over and glanced at Shi Potian, who was covered in blood, his face a little pale. But Lin Mu noticed something deeper. Shi Potian's aura was in extreme chaos, his internal qi and blood constantly battering his meridians and blood vessels. If it wasn't resolved quickly, Shi Potian could very well die from his blood vessels bursting under the pressure.

"Lin... Brother Mu!"

Hearing Lin Mu speak to him, Shi Potian's face flushed with excitement, but before he could finish his sentence, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He was about to lose control of the wildly surging qi and blood within him.

"Don't speak. Close your eyes and feel carefully."

Lin Mu walked over and gently tapped Shi Potian's shoulder.

Shi Potian's entire body trembled. He felt a vast yet gentle stream of energy flow from Lin Mu's hand, like a refreshing rain swiftly dousing the raging fire within him. Not only that, but the rampaging qi and blood, as if suppressed by some incredible force, began to calm down, resting peacefully within his vessels. Then, guided by a new force, it began to circulate slowly throughout his body.

A look of utter shock appeared on Shi Potian's face; it all felt so incredible. However, having witnessed so many unbelievable things recently, Shi Potian was no longer a complete novice. He knew what this moment meant for him, so he quickly sat down cross-legged and carefully guided the force within his body.

Gradually, the chaotic qi and blood in Shi Potian's body were subdued. His wounds began to heal at a visible rate, scabbing over and flaking off. In the blink of an eye, his injuries were almost completely healed. Moreover, he found he could control the surging qi and blood in his body with much greater ease, and his strength had grown even more formidable.

Shi Potian was now confident that if he were to encounter those Dwarfs again, he wouldn't be in such a pathetic state. He was even confident he could take them all down with him!

Shi Potian opened his eyes and looked at Lin Mu with excitement. "Thank you, Brother Mu." Scratching his head, he asked bashfully, "Can I call you that?"

Lin Mu gave a rare, gentle smile. "You can call me Little Uncle-Master."

"Ah? Little Uncle-Master?!" Shi Potian's mouth hung open, unable to process it for a moment. "Then... wouldn't I have to call Sister Qin..."

Lin Mu chuckled. "We'll address each other as we see fit."

"Oh, that's good," Shi Potian said, sighing in relief. But he still seemed to have something on his mind.

"If you have a question, just ask." Lin Mu seemed to have a great deal of patience for Shi Potian.

Shi Potian took a deep breath. "Lin... Little Uncle-Master, why are you being so good to me?"

I used to be just a security guard, an insignificant nobody. It's impossible for someone like Little Uncle-Master to be this kind to me for no reason.

Yet he couldn't figure out what about him was worthy of such kindness.

Lin Mu hesitated for a moment before replying calmly, "Because you remind me of an old friend."

"An old friend?" Shi Potian asked. "Is it the person who's always appearing in my mind?"

Ever since he had woken up, whether he was eating, sleeping, or doing anything at all, a figure would always emerge in his mind. The man's head touched the sky while his feet stood upon the earth, surrounded by a vision of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. The ghastly wounds covering his body were a shocking sight. But the powerful, unyielding obsession conveyed in his repeated cry of "Nine deaths, no regrets!" always made Shi Potian's eyes turn red and his heart ache with an unbearable sorrow.

"Yes." Lin Mu looked at Shi Potian, his gaze deep and ancient. "In you, I see his shadow."

Shi Potian felt a bit uncomfortable under Lin Mu's gaze. "Was he your senior brother?"

Lin Mu's voice was heavy with memory. "He was my sworn elder brother."

Back in the Eternal Immortal Realm, when I had no family, I traveled far and wide, making many friends. I still remember meeting him because we both rushed to help a little girl who was being bullied. The three of us became acquainted and traveled everywhere together, eventually becoming sworn siblings. That fellow always insisted he was the eldest brother since he was the oldest, and the little girl, being the youngest, was our dearest little sister. As for me, I was the happiest of all. I had an elder brother to protect me and a younger sister whom I could protect—a happiness anyone would envy. Indeed, even up to the very last moment, he never stopped protecting me and the little girl, facing nine deaths without a single regret!

When we were young, we each had our own dreams. I wanted to become a great Immortal with boundless longevity; he wanted to become the most admired of all heroes; and the little girl would always shyly say she wanted to marry her Second Brother.

That fellow would always earnestly tell the little girl, "You and Second Brother can't get married."

The little girl would always ask naively, "Why not, Big Brother? We aren't related by blood."

He would become exasperated and say, "After you get married, you're bound to argue. If you both come crying to me, who am I supposed to side with?"

The little girl would always hug his arm and say with a grin, "Second Brother adores me; he would never bully me."

And so, he would always end up sitting on the threshold sighing, wearing a sorrowful expression, as if his precious daughter were all grown up and leaving the nest.

「Later.」

He never became a great hero. Instead, he became the most feared Demon Lord in the entire Eternal Immortal Realm.

The little girl never married me. Instead, she was taken away by the Luo River Goddess Clan to become a candidate for their next Goddess.

And I became the most revered existence in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths of the Eternal Immortal Realm: the Grazing Emperor.

「In the end, however...」

For my sake, my brother fought the Twelve Demon Gods alone, perishing without regret, his very Dao obliterated.

For my sake, my sister sacrificed her Divine Soul, summoning a mysterious power to open a cosmic passage and send me away.

As for me, I became a lone soul, wandering the depths of the universe, waiting for my own return.

These memories from a past life, though from two lifetimes ago, felt as vivid as yesterday, causing Lin Mu's heart to twinge with pain.

He patted Shi Potian's shoulder and said, "So, it wasn't I who chose you. It was he."

"Cultivate diligently. Don't disappoint the expectations he has for you."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.