After falling into deep thought, Sun Lichai tossed the wooden puppet aside. Immortal Xu, whose limbs were broken save for his right arm, still persistently clawed at the ground, dragging his body, desperate to escape this sorrowful place.
He struggled to crawl for a while, only to arrive at the spot where Huan Xin had previously dropped the wood. He was overjoyed and quickly took the wood to repair his damaged body, the first piece he grabbed being the Phoenix Perch Parasol wood stained with Huan Xin's fresh blood.
Huan Xin turned her head, saw this scene, and shouted, "Hey! That's the parasol wood I gathered for my foster father, how can you take it without asking!"
Her foster father coughed, "Xin'er, never mind him. For now, we truly don't have a good strategy to eliminate this Immortal Xu, but once my cultivation recovers, it won't be so easy for him to harm us, father and daughter... By the way, why is there blood on that wood? Where did you get hurt?"
Huan Xin giggled, tiptoeing and spinning in a circle, "Foster father, don't worry, that's just a scratch I got from a branch while felling the wood."
Hearing this, her foster father couldn't help but sigh softly, "Heaven's will..." With that, he walked over to Immortal Xu, squatted down, and said, "These few key points you've assembled incorrectly. Let me do it."
Immortal Xu and Huan Xin both gasped. They were enemies just a moment ago, so why was he now offering help?
However, things were indeed that strange. Her foster father truly went all out to help Immortal Xu, repairing his wooden puppet body that very day.
From then on, the two were inseparable, like brothers.
Sun Lichai, seeing that Huan Xin was unharmed, returned to her small hut. In the days that followed, everyone lived in peace.
"What a thing, foster father said nicely that he would make a wooden puppet to play with Xin'er, but now he's the one having the most fun!"
Fortunately, she now had another place to go. Every day, except for three meals in the bamboo hut, she would run off to Sun Lichai's place.
Sun Lichai constantly guided Huan Xin, and now the little girl's martial arts were advancing by leaps and bounds.
...
"Fairy Sister, you seem to have something on your mind?"
Sun Lichai nodded, "Indeed, there is something I don't know how to handle."
"Can you tell Xin'er?"
"Little Huan Xin, I ask you, if one day, the living beings of the world suffer unprecedented hardship, and only you can save them, but the price is your life, would you be willing to sacrifice yourself?"
Huan Xin blurted out, "Of course!"
Sun Lichai shook her head, "Think about it carefully again, no need to rush your answer."
Huan Xin was very puzzled. Looking at Fairy Sister's expression, there was a deeper meaning. She immediately had a thought, musing, Fairy Sister's words might not be asking me to make a choice, but rather that she herself is facing such a dilemma. It makes sense, a peerless woman like her, with high martial arts and a kind heart, must be thinking of the people of the world... Huan Xin, oh Huan Xin, you must answer carefully. On one side are the common people, on the other is the sister you respect most. Choosing either is difficult.
Sun Lichai watched Huan Xin's troubled face, sighing repeatedly, and vaguely walked out the door, thinking to herself if she had put too much pressure on this child too early, that she had been too impatient this time.
Child, in the end, should I choose the world and abandon you, or choose you and betray the world?
Or rather, should I betray the Buddhist Son?
...
Huan Xin returned to the bamboo hut in a daze. Her foster father's voice came from the second floor, "Xin'er, dinner's on the table, eat by yourself. Immortal Xu and I have something to discuss."
"Got it!"
Huan Xin was unhappy all day. It wasn't until evening that her foster father finally took his attention away from Immortal Xu and immediately noticed the little girl's unease.
"What's wrong? What made Xin'er upset?"
"Nothing, it's just..."
Her foster father smiled slightly and winked at Immortal Xu, who understood, rose, and returned to his room.
"Come, Xin'er, it's been a long time since we've had a good talk, just the two of us. Tonight, the cool breeze is refreshing, and the sky is full of stars and moon. It's a perfect time for a heart-to-heart."
They sat side by side under the eaves of the bamboo hut, listening to the endless cicada chirps, looking up at the rustling Milky Way. For a moment, all their worries and troubles were forgotten.
Her foster father sighed slightly, "The stars in the sky are the most lovely. Looking at them, you won't have memories, and without memories, there will be no pain. Xin'er, you should look at the sky more. A martial artist's cultivation involves refining inner qi and strengthening the body outwardly. Diligently practicing for decades can make one a master. However, without a broad mind and an unyielding will, one can only remain at that level for life, unable to reach higher realms."
Huan Xin savored the beauty of the stars, feeling her heart's burdens lighten. Listening to her foster father's words, she suddenly felt quite warm.
"Foster father, you said, is dying to save all living beings a worthwhile thing?"
Her foster father's face darkened upon hearing this, "Why do you have such strange thoughts?"
"Foster father." Huan Xin calmly met the old man's gaze, her eyes filled with her magnanimity, like a precious pearl in a box, now shining brightly in the dark night.
"Foster father, I've thought about it all day. I just want to know the answer. If it were you, how would you choose? All living beings, or yourself?"
The old man pursed his lips. His usually stern and upright face was now as hard as stone, almost unfeeling.
"...You." He spoke, his voice low, "Don't think about these things anymore. We are all common people. We are the common people. Such a dilemma doesn't exist."
Huan Xin's eyes were clean and clear, seemingly flowing with dreams. She smiled, as if radiating light, "No, foster father, I think this question actually leaves no room for choice. It's not us who decide what to give up, but those high above. We just have to accept reality."
Her foster father was both shocked and angry at her words, "Blasphemy! How can you say such things! Did that woman teach you this!"
"No, these are all Xin'er's own thoughts."
"Your personality is so... how could you think of such things, such things!"
"Because I saw it."
"What?"
"Fairy Sister is being forced to make a decision."
...
Sun Lichai stood on a treetop, her toes balanced on a single leaf, her body as light as willow catkins. As the strong wind blew, the branches swayed, and she swayed with them, yet she never fell.
"Little girl, this path is not easy for any of us. If possible, I'd rather die myself, but you are different after all."
Now, she faced two challenges.
First, how to take Huan Xin to The Ends of the Earth.
Second, how to ensure her survival.
...
Her foster father sat on the edge of the bed, turning his head to look at the night view outside the window, his gaze deep and lonely.
Immortal Xu stood in the corner. Seeing his appearance, he chuckled strangely, "Little blacksmith, although your adopted daughter faces a death tribulation, it's not unsolvable. Don't act like a little girl anymore, just rest easy."
Her foster father didn't speak, he looked at the scenery outside the window for a while longer, then turned back, lay on the bed, and slept in his clothes.
His eyes were half-open, half-closed. The faint moonlight caressed his face, which was furrowed like the earth, and his shimmering eyes were like a cold pond.
Xin'er, you will never die. As long as you live, the world will have hope.
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