The Sorrowmender

Chapter 53 – Even

The wind blew gently, sweeping across the moonlit wilderness.

The battle before him continued.

The once-clear stream had long turned murky, and the lush green grass was buried under the fresh mud splattered in the height of summer.

The plum tree in the distance, once dense with foliage, now stood bare, stripped by the wind.

The roar in his ears persisted, accompanied by swirling dust that refused to settle.

The white-haired girl's figure darted across the battlefield, and Xu Qingzhou watched as Daoist Master Dongyun was hurled into the sky, only to crash back to the ground.

He was blasted to the east, then kicked down to the west.

A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed to the north, and soon the ground to the south was littered with white hair.

Xu Qingzhou had no intention of intervening in this fight; he clutched his chest and watched silently.

There was simply no need.

Daoist Master Dongyun, in the late Foundation Establishment stage, was utterly powerless against the white-haired girl after being injured by him.

This wasn't a fight; it was a massacre.

In terms of speed, strength, and defense, the two were not on the same level at all.

Xu Qingzhou never imagined that the white-haired girl could be so formidable.

Daoist Master Dongyun also hadn't expected the white-haired girl to be so fierce.

It was said she could shake the Foundation Establishment with her mortal body, but no one mentioned that the word "shake" could be replaced with "crush."

He seemed to understand the words the white-haired girl had once said to him.

"Killing yourself is too slow; it's faster if I do it."

Now it seemed she wasn't exaggerating; it was an undeniable fact.

He didn't know how much time had passed—perhaps a quarter of an hour, or maybe just a few minutes—but Xu Qingzhou was so engrossed that he didn't keep track.

All he knew was that the wind gradually stopped, and the roar in his ears hadn't sounded for a while. As the dust slowly settled, he saw the white-haired girl's silhouette standing motionless on the chaotic battlefield.

Though frail and desolate, she seemed inexplicably grand and imposing.

Daoist Master Dongyun, having exhausted all his means, lay limp in a pit.

His face was covered in blood, his hair and beard sparse, limbs twisted, and his expression one of despair, barely clinging to life.

A massive hole in his chest was a bloody mess, his dantian destroyed, and all his mana wasted.

[Redefining: Daoist Master Dongyun's dantian is destroyed, his true essence shattered, cultivation lost, and his life is nearing its end. Would you like to expend 1000 Merit Points to activate [Heavenly Fire] and finish him off?]

The system's voice echoed in Xu Qingzhou's mind at the end of the battle, providing the latest definition.

Xu Qingzhou withdrew his gaze from the battlefield, looked at the Worry-Free Book before him, took a deep breath, and then silently put it away.

Daoist Master Dongyun, in the late Foundation Establishment stage, was now a mere shell, and killing him was cheaper than killing a mortal.

But Xu Qingzhou knew well that this wasn't his doing; it was the white-haired girl before him.

He hadn't expected that this girl would follow him and even take action to cripple Daoist Master Dongyun.

Some things were within expectations, while others were beyond them.

And everything before him was an unexpected surprise.

Though killing Daoist Master Dongyun was already a foregone conclusion.

But using the Worry-Free Book to kill him and having the white-haired girl do it were two entirely different concepts.

He saved money and learned of the white-haired girl's strength.

A fallen divine beast might have become mortal, but its claws remained sharp.

He couldn't help but feel grateful; if it weren't for Wuyou, and this child turned against him, he would likely be dead.

For this, he was secretly relieved.

He felt deep sympathy for Daoist Master Dongyun; such a death was undoubtedly painful.

He adjusted his thoughts, mobilized his true essence to stabilize his foundation, and then slowly walked forward until he reached the white-haired girl's side, where he stopped.

The white-haired girl continued to stand quietly, the frost on her body long gone, and after the battle, the cold aura was nearly depleted.

She heard the movement, turned her face slightly, her fair cheeks in the moonlight cleaner than snow.

Her clear eyes, however, were tinged with a hint of crimson, no longer purely innocent but mixed with a trace of ferocity.

She looked up at Xu Qingzhou, her gaze lingering on him with a touch of concern and worry, and after a long while, she slowly spoke:

"You helped me once, I helped you once, we're even."

Xu Qingzhou turned his head slightly, looking at her as well, and as their eyes met, he smiled calmly.

"Alright, whatever you say!"

The white-haired girl, hearing this, involuntarily twitched her eyebrows four times, then lowered them, her gaze shifting away from Xu Qingzhou.

The next second, the one who had just been a whirlwind of destruction suddenly collapsed backward like a floating duckweed in the wind, or willow fluff by the shore.

Without warning.

Fortunately, Xu Qingzhou had been watching her closely, and with quick reflexes, he caught her steadily.

His smile froze, and worry reappeared between his brows.

He crouched down, quickly checking the white-haired girl's breath and meridians.

Her vital signs were normal, but her body was as cold as before.

"What happened, why did she suddenly faint?"

[Ah! What a pity---]

Seeing the white-haired girl's stable life signs, Xu Qingzhou finally relaxed a bit, but the system's sigh made his heart skip a beat.

His relaxed brows furrowed tightly once more.

"What do you mean, what a pity?"

[This child forced the Golden Crow's blood to flow backward throughout her body to defeat Daoist Master Dongyun, further damaging her already broken meridians. And it happened during the full moon, when her cold poison flared up. The Flame Grass could have suppressed her cold poison for three years, but now it seems its effectiveness will be halved.]

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingzhou's tense body relaxed again, his shoulders slowly sinking as he let out a long breath.

"You scared me; I thought something serious happened."

[Aren't you heartbroken? That's Flame Grass!]

Xu Qingzhou shook his head and slowly said, "As long as she's okay, it's just a stalk of Flame Grass. How can it compare to the Golden Crow's body?"

"Besides, with you as my foster father, a mere stalk of Flame Grass will be available whenever I need it in the future."

[System:... You have a good eye.]

Undeniably, Xu Qingzhou was right. To the system, Xu Qingzhou was the most understanding host it had ever had, and he showed great respect.

He treated it like family, calling it Foster Father.

It was deeply gratified.

Ending their conversation, Xu Qingzhou gently laid the white-haired girl on the ground.

After all, the system said she was merely exhausted and would naturally wake up. Meanwhile, he had unfinished business to attend to.

He approached Daoist Master Dongyun, stopping at the pit he had been thrown into, and crouched down.

He asked softly.

"Senior, are you alright?"

Daoist Master Dongyun's mouth, nose, ears, and eyes were all bleeding. He struggled to lift his eyelids, glanced at Xu Qingzhou, and with just that one glance, he nearly exhausted all his strength, letting them fall again.

In a voice weak as a mosquito's buzz, he spoke haltingly:

"Mister... your luck... is really good, I was careless... and I lost..."