The Sorrowmender

Chapter 58 – See you again

If one were to say that the flickering candlelight danced with the wind, casting shadows that overlapped and shifted, it might be due to the dimness of the night, perhaps a trick of the eyes. But this voice, Mo Shengge could not mistake.

In the world she saw, there were few she admired, and even fewer she feared. She could not be mistaken, nor could she mishear. This was the voice of Mister Forgetting Worries, resonant and clear like the strings of a zither.

Mo Shengge's eyes flickered with changing emotions as her thoughts raced through her mind. First came shock and confusion, a hint of panic, and then gradually, she calmed, her chest rising and falling.

Finally, she fixed her gaze and couldn't help but ask in a startled voice, "Mister, how are you still alive?"

Xu Qingzhou still wore a smile at the corner of his mouth, but in his eyes lay an extreme coldness, a murderous intent hidden by the gentle candlelight, unnoticed by others.

He teased, "From what the Lady says, it seems I shouldn't be alive?"

Mo Shengge fell silent. Xu Qingzhou being alive could only mean one thing: there was a problem within her ranks. The news of Xu Qingzhou's death had been personally delivered by the death warrior Meng Xiao. If Meng Xiao had deceived her, then... Her gaze swept around, then looked up at the dome.

Something felt missing. Xu Qingzhou could appear here unharmed, and there were no signs of a fight in the hall. Those death warriors secretly protecting her must have all betrayed her by now. And Daoist Master Dongyun, her greatest trump card, was likely...

Thinking of this, her delicate brows furrowed deeper, her eyes growing darker and more somber. She suppressed her voice, speaking softly, "I never expected, Mister, you truly surprised me!"

Between intelligent people, some things need not be spoken too clearly; they naturally understand. Mo Shengge was one, and Xu Qingzhou naturally was as well.

Hearing her words, Xu Qingzhou looked suddenly enlightened, his fingers gently tapping the table, producing a "thud, thud, thud" echo. His gaze shifted from Mo Shengge to the documents on the table, the neat lines of small characters more pleasing to the eye than the woman before him.

"I told the Lady long ago to mind her own business, to pretend that night never happened. But the Lady didn't heed my words, so I had to come personally to reason with her."

As Xu Qingzhou spoke, the scenes from that night inadvertently flashed through Mo Shengge's mind again. She hadn't forgotten Xu Qingzhou's words to her. After all, in this world, only Xu Qingzhou dared to threaten her like that and still lived. His words were etched into her memory.

She composed herself, breathing steadily, her tone returning to its usual calm and dignity, slowly responding, "I dare not forget Mister's words. Mister said if I revealed that matter to a third person, Mister would be unreasonable and ensure my soul's destruction."

"Oh—didn't expect the Lady to remember so clearly?"

Pausing, Xu Qingzhou looked up at her, continuing, "If that's the case, why did the Lady defy fate?"

"Mister wrongs me. I didn't tell anyone about that night; I merely sent someone to kill Mister."

Xu Qingzhou was taken aback, a complex look flashing in his eyes. Upon reflection, it seemed she wasn't wrong. He had only told her to keep it secret, not explicitly warned her to behave. He couldn't help but shake his head, sighing, "In that case, I wrongly accused the Lady."

Mo Shengge slightly curtsied, gracefully saluting Xu Qingzhou. "Mister is discerning!"

The world was eerily quiet, strangely calm, on what should have been a dark and stormy night for murder. In their exchange, it felt more like old friends reminiscing, determined to settle past rights and wrongs.

Xu Qingzhou waved his hand, unwilling to discuss such topics further. He rose and stepped down from the hall, speaking as he walked, "Very well, very well, right or wrong aside, I'm sure the Lady knows why I'm here today. If the Lady has any cards left, let her play them all."

"Don't let it be said I bullied a woman."

Mo Shengge watched Xu Qingzhou approach her step by step, a slight panic in her heart, but outwardly she remained calm and composed. "May I ask Mister a question?"

Xu Qingzhou stood before her, gazing intently at her, uttering a single word, "Speak."

"The two people I sent to find Mister, what happened to them?"

Xu Qingzhou knew well that Mo Shengge's question was merely to ascertain whether Daoist Master Dongyun was killed by his own hand and whether the white-haired girl had betrayed her. It was to redefine his strength, nothing more.

Since she asked, it proved she was still unwilling to give up, clinging to a sliver of hope, struggling for a chance on this stranded shore. But since she asked, Xu Qingzhou saw no reason to hide it.

He replied directly, "It's no harm to tell the Lady. Daoist Master Dongyun was buried by me personally. I dealt the final blow. In fact, I killed him, but strictly speaking, I didn't."

Mo Shengge raised her head, her eyes visibly changing at that moment. "And the child? What about her? Is she dead?"

Xu Qingzhou didn't respond, merely shaking his head, the meaning clear. Seeing this, Mo Shengge didn't panic but instead laughed.

"Heh... Li San was right, that child did betray me. I suppose Daoist Master Dongyun was wounded by her."

Mentioning the white-haired girl, Xu Qingzhou's gaze inadvertently glanced at the corner beside him, taking over the conversation. "Betrayal? Isn't it inappropriate for the Lady to say that? From what I know, she had no intention of betraying the Lady."

"On the contrary, it was the Lady who intended to kill her first, wasn't it?"

Facing Xu Qingzhou's questioning, Mo Shengge didn't hide anything, speaking bluntly, "Mister is right, I intended to kill her."

"Why?"

Mo Shengge's beautiful eyes glared, a fierce look emerging from her eyes. "For someone like me, isn't it normal to do such things? Does the reason matter to Mister? Even if I told you, would you believe it?"

"Besides, Mister is Mister Forgetting Worries. How could anything in this world escape your knowledge?"

Xu Qingzhou didn't deny any of her words. Betrayal and ingratitude were possible. Doing other things wasn't surprising either. He knew the answer to the question as well. But the answer needed to come from Mo Shengge for it to be meaningful, for it to be valid.

"The Lady wants to kill me because I know her unspeakable secrets."

"But she and I, and ordinary people are different. She's simple-minded, young, and still useful. The Lady wouldn't want to kill her for such reasons."

"So I'm truly curious, did the Lady want to kill her just because she hadn't killed me yet?"

Mo Shengge bit her lip, subconsciously shaking her head. "Of course not."

"Then what is it?"

Facing Xu Qingzhou's persistent questioning, Mo Shengge raised her head, looking directly at Xu Qingzhou, speaking with unusual seriousness, "A sharp blade, in anyone's hand, can kill."

"She is a blade, a blade that has always been in my hand."

"But one day, I couldn't hold it anymore. It fell to the ground. I thought of picking it up, but somehow, I couldn't."

"I thought, if I can't pick it up, no one else should either, so I buried it."

"My things should be mine. The best things in the world should be mine. If I can't have them, no one else should either. I'd rather destroy them in pain."

Mo Shengge pursed her lips, "That's the reason."

"So does Mister think I was wrong to do so?"