Love Travels through Time (My father who traveled through time and space to cultivate immortality came back to pick me up) - Chapter 78
Chapter 78: Partners
Han Qi bowed deeply, offering a formal and lengthy salute to convey his apologies.
“I know that my actions were just as despicable as the Emperor’s, and that I have hurt you, Miss Xiang. I am truly sorry.”
Xiang Haikui refused to accept his apology.
Hanqi continued, “Even so, I still harbor a sliver of hope that when you act in the future, Miss Xiang, you will not rely solely on personal ‘loves, hates, desires, and dislikes.’ That is not the true Dao.”
Xiang Haikui shook her head.
“No, I am merely an ordinary person. ‘Loves, hates, desires, and dislikes’—that is my Dao.”
There was no need to preach any grand philosophies to her; she had no interest in listening.
“Senior, you consider yourself a sage, yet whether your Dao is truly your own personal ‘loves, hates, desires, and dislikes,’ or the collective choice of the entire human race, is something even I cannot quite tell.”
On one hand, Xiang Haikui admired Han Qi from the bottom of her heart.
Yet there was one point she could never agree with.
For the sake of the human race’s development, Han Qi had consistently aided the Emperor in carrying out genocide.
It was not limited to the Shanhai Clan; behind the assassinations of the Emperor by various other races, the handiwork of this “Grand Master” was always at play.
Furthermore, judging by Han Qi’s attitude toward the Shanhai Clan, his slaughter of those species was by no means forced upon him.
In fact, he engaged in it quite willingly.
Any race that presented a conflict of interest to the development of humankind was slated for complete eradication—even if it meant forcibly pulling the human race up by its roots.
Just as Yin Changli had said, in essence, Han Qi and the Emperor were fundamentally the same.
If Han Qi were to become the ruler of the Three Realms one day, he might very well turn out to be a second Emperor enforcing hegemony.
None of this had originally concerned Xiang Haikui, nor could she use her own values to judge whether others were right or wrong; she simply disagreed with it.
Under the current circumstances, however, no one was going to stop her from rescuing her master from his cage.
In the future, they would inevitably cross blades on the battlefield.
Nonsense was unnecessary.
Yin Changli had clashed with him for so many years that he found even talking to him exhausting now.
“Han Qi, I no longer remember how many times I have asked you this question. Do you truly believe that the entire human race is willing to flourish through such quick-fix, cruel, and exterminatory means?”
Han Qi fell silent for a moment.
Refusing to engage with Yin Changli, he looked only at Xiang Haikui.
“I felt earlier that Miss Xiang has been deeply influenced by Brother Changli.”
Xiang Haikui didn’t even bother to explain anymore.
She had known Yin Changli the longest, yet she had never been brainwashed by him for a single second.
Seeing that she was completely deaf to his words, Han Qi could only cup his hands in farewell.
“Since that is the case, further words are useless. Farewell.”
Offering one last “until we meet again,” Han Qi vanished along with Star Slave.
Only Xiang Haikui and Yin Changli remained on the shore.
Xiang Haikui stood for a moment before supporting her legs to sit down cross-legged, beginning to regulate her breath and heal her injuries.
At this moment, Bian City across from them offered a magnificent sight.
Spiritual energies of various colors intertwined, collided, and surged.
They were even distinct in their layers—the most brilliant explosions high in the sky were precisely the work of Qi Yin and Dugu He.
From Xiang Haikui’s perspective, that distant city on the sea did not look like it was enduring the flames of war; rather, it resembled a grand and gorgeous fireworks show viewed from across the shore.
Seeing Yin Changli sit down beside her, Xiang Haikui turned her head.
“Aren’t you going over to keep things under control?”
“The outcome is already decided.”
Yin Changli also began to regulate his breath, returning her a smile.
“My injuries aren’t light, either.”
Xiang Haikui couldn’t help feeling awkward—it was all her doing, after all.
Yet she didn’t want to bring it up again, so she didn’t offer an apology.
Just as she turned her face back toward Bian City, she heard him ask, “Are you truly certain you want to stand on our side? I hope it isn’t simply because Senior Qi’s rash behavior today moved you…”
Xiang Haikui asked in return, “Do you think standing with you is wrong?”
Yin Changli: “You are human, after all.”
Xiang Haikui found it amusing.
“And Shuluoye was the Crown Prince of the Celestial Clan.”
Yin Changli: “He was a madman.”
“He wasn’t a madman.”
Xiang Haikui raised her eyebrows slightly.
“The Shuluoye in your words was a wise and intelligent person. He was able to spend so many years scheming with you, forbidding you from killing Que Chi, advising you to leave behind a bond of goodwill…”
How could such a person possibly be a madman?
Just as the Emperor had questioned: among the living beings of the Celestial Clan, those with low Inspiration were numerous, no different from mortals. Did they all deserve to die?
Of course they didn’t.
So how could someone like Shuluoye—who forged bonds of goodwill far and wide and left a margin in all things—ever forge a divine artifact meant to exterminate his entire race?
Leaning her head slightly to the side, Xiang Haikui leaned in closer to him, speaking in a whisper.
“Since you and Shuluoye became bosom friends, your ideals must have been in complete harmony. I don’t know him, but I know you. You would never associate yourself with a madman.”
Yin Changli let out an “Oh,” issuing a soul-searching question, “What? Am I not just a total piece of trash in your eyes?”
“A certain part of you is definitely pretty trashy,” Xiang Haikui cast him a side-glance, signaling for him not to interrupt.
Yin Changli pursed his lips slightly.
“You are very kind,” after a brief pause, Xiang Haikui uttered these four words.
Whether dealing with the Emperor or Han Qi, whenever Xiang Haikui interacted with them, she could constantly feel the weight of the word “race.”
To serve their own species, they would resort to any means necessary, even sacrificing a portion of their own kin.
For instance, simply to target Yin Changli, Han Qi—fully aware of the Meng family’s actions—still allowed blood to flow like rivers in Silver Sand City, even adding fuel to the fire.
Yet when she was with Yin Changli, Xiang Haikui could not feel that sense of “race.”
Though he, too, acted high and mighty, loved putting on airs, and struck pretentious poses—all day long sporting a face that practically screamed ‘I am the most brilliant and superior, and the rest of you are all scum’—that stemmed purely from personal arrogance. It had nothing to do with race, which was precisely why he could enter into equal bargains with anyone.
He never slaughtered the innocent indiscriminately; in fact, he forged bonds of goodwill far and wide, rescuing people wherever he went.
In those earliest years, Xiang Haikui had experienced no shortage of his kindness.
“Shuluoye was likely the same, which is why the two of you were able to become bosom friends,” Xiang Haikui lowered her voice to whisper again.
“So, what you and Shuluoye wish to accomplish shouldn’t be as simple and brutal as exterminating the Celestial Clan and reviving the Shanhai Clan, right?”
What these two tirelessly pursued ought to be a form of “balance.”
Only because of this could Xiang Haikui say the words “I choose the Shanhai Clan” without the slightest psychological burden.
Yin Changli had constantly been blaming himself for his “weakness,” so suddenly receiving Xiang Haikui’s praise of being “kind” left him stunned for quite a long while.
Once he snapped back to reality, he asked a question almost inexplicably,”Do you like… ‘kindness’?”
Xiang Haikui was caught off guard by the question, asking in return, “Should I like… ‘malice’?”
“No,” Yin Changli offered a faint smile. “Though, did you choose my side based purely on your own conjectures?”
“This isn’t a conjecture.”
Yin Changli’s character was something she had observed through their interactions.
In the past, she hadn’t been bothered to care about their squabbles and conflicts.
Now, in order to save her master and eliminate Jing Ran, she had to cooperate with Yin Changli, which meant she needed to carefully evaluate her business partner.
Xiang Haikui retrieved a short arrow from her storage ring.
“This is the arrow you gave me before you entered your slumber.”
Two had been used, leaving just one.
The destinations of those two arrows belonged to two immensely unreliable Shanhai behemoths.
The third arrow was likely no different.
“Back then, I was truly exasperated by your Shanhai Clan—what a bunch of eccentrics. But Senior Wuxiang said something to me: he advised me not to judge the entire Shanhai Clan based on him and Ba Ying. These three arrows were merely three controllable ones you selected…”
Looking at the arrow, Yin Changli nodded.
“I knew they were unreliable, but as for the others, you wouldn’t have been able to control them.”
Xiang Haikui asked, “Regarding your clansmen, you have an estimate in your heart. For those who are uncontrollable, you wouldn’t release them, right?”
Yin Changli pinched his earlobe, stopped himself mid-thought, and gave a nod.
Xiang Haikui let out a sigh of relief.
Yin Changli hesitated briefly before transmitting his voice: And your guess is correct. That divine artifact is indeed not meant to exterminate the Celestial Clan. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be in such a wretched state… That divine artifact is actually a…
“Stop!”
Xiang Haikui held out her palm, urging him to pause.
Only he knew this secret in the whole world.
To uncover it, how much blood and sweat had the Emperor and Han Qi expended?
She didn’t want to know in the slightest.
Rescuing her master, killing the Emperor, sharing aligned goals and compatible values—that was more than enough.
She made a high-five gesture.
“Senior Yin, a pleasure working together.”
After a brief daze, Yin Changli also raised his palm and clapped against hers, smiling.
“Miss Xiang, a pleasure working together.”
With that settled, Xiang Haikui began to cross her legs and meditate in earnest.
Once the sword aura of Tian Kuang faded, the wound hurt—hurt immensely.
This fight between her master and Dugu He wouldn’t stop for at least ten days to two weeks, which gave her the perfect opportunity to nurse her injuries.
Yin Changli could clearly feel that the vengeful fury within her had vanished.
Her mood steadily brightened, and a radiant glow even bloomed in her eyes once more.
She had returned to being that sunflower of the past—capable of swiftly adjusting her mindset, regaining her composure, and striving to be happy again.
It was likely because Qi Yin had braved life and death to stand up for her.
Yin Changli couldn’t help but recall the moment earlier when he was weighing whether to take her away immediately or wait two days before doing so.
Qi Yin had once said that charging straight in to snatch her away—even if she faced danger—would bring joy to her heart, because that was the true sense of security a woman desired.
That meticulous, bulletproof safety gained through calculated scheming, on the contrary, offered little real security.
At the time, Yin Changli hadn’t quite understood, believing that between “pleasing her” and “her safety,” safety was naturally far more paramount.
Now, he finally had a touch of enlightenment.
Perhaps for a girl like Little Kui, inner security was far more vital than environmental safety.
Yin Changli turned his head and stared at the profile of her face, growing lost in thought.
Before fully entering her meditative state, Xiang Haikui suddenly realized she was hungry.
She hurriedly pulled out a food box from her storage ring, retrieved a flatbread, and prepared to fill her stomach before resuming her recovery.
Sensing a burning sensation on her cheek, she turned her face and happened to collide with his gaze.
As their eyes met for a brief moment, Yin Changli snapped back to his senses, hurriedly pulling his gaze away.
“I’m sorry.”
Xiang Haikui took a bite of her flatbread.
“The look in your eyes just now… was very much like him.”
Upon hearing this, Yin Changli couldn’t help but furrow his brow.
“You still haven’t understood that we are the exact same person?”
Xiang Haikui shook her head with complete honesty.
“It’s not that I don’t understand, but that it isn’t easy to tell apart. Sometimes you seem alike, sometimes you don’t. In short, I’ve simply never been able to overlap the two of you into the same person.”
An inexplicable spark of irritation flared up in Yin Changli’s heart.
Watching her and the Emperor bite at each other like two mad dogs had only filled him with bitterness.
Yet when it came to his self of those ten years, he easily grew annoyed.
If he couldn’t beat out other people, fine—but was he seriously about to be defeated by himself?
“Look into my eyes.”
Yin Changli straightened his posture, hands resting on her shoulders to force her to face him head-on.
Xiang Haikui looked directly into his eyes while chewing on her flatbread.
Yin Changli: “Do you still remember my greatest skill?”
Xiang Haikui: “Hmm?”
“Tears on command.”
No sooner had the words left Yin Changli’s mouth than tears spilled from his eyes, rolling down his cheeks and lingering at the refined point of his jawline.
From reddening eyes to forming droplets to spilling over, the process unfolded in one seamless execution.
Xiang Haikui paused mid-bite.
“Do you see it clearly now?”
Having finished displaying his ultimate move, Yin Changli produced his beloved double-sided embroidered handkerchief, elegantly wiping the corners of his eyes and the stray teardrop on his chin before speaking with absolute gravity.
“I’ve possessed this skill since childhood. Well? Do you feel a sense of familiarity now? Can you overlap me with ‘myself’ now?”
After maintaining a blank face for quite a while, Xiang Haikui simply couldn’t hold back her laughter.
Fortunately, she covered her mouth with her hand just in time, or flatbread crumbs would have sprayed all over his face.
“Ouch.”
That sudden laugh tugged at the wound on her chest, instantly making her break out in a forehead full of cold sweat from the sharp pain.
Yin Changli hurriedly placed his hand against her back, channeling his spiritual energy into her body.
“It really is the same.”
Xiang Haikui did regain a touch of familiarity, though watching him burst into tears so deadpan was hillarious no matter how she looked at it.
Yin Changli felt embarrassed as well, putting on an air of composure while momentarily at a loss for words.
“Alright, I’ll take it from here.”
Xiang Haikui motioned for him to stop, wanting to use her own sword aura to regulate her breath.
“Though, Senior, among those one thousand methods of yours, are there any that can be used right now?”
Yin Changli was about to withdraw his hand, but paused slightly.
Xiang Haikui pondered for a moment.
“For instance… allowing me to absorb those two strands of spiritual essence, so I can use them to nurse my injuries?”
Yin Changli pulled his hand back, sat cross-legged once more, and looked out toward the “fireworks” over Bian City.
“Little Kui, I need to make my stance clear first.”
Xiang Haikui: “Hmm?”
Yin Changli: “When I proposed those one thousand methods back then, it wasn’t because it would be a major blow to me if this child succeeded in fusing…”
Xiang Haikui nodded repeatedly: “I understand. Back then, you were doing it purely for my own good.”
Yin Changli: “So whether to fuse or not, you don’t need to consider me at all—just consider yourself.”
“What is there to consider?” Xiang Haikui’s expression was somewhat blank.
It was merely a ball of un-fused energy, not even a fertilized egg yet.
Stopping the fusion right now was just like taking an emergency contraceptive pill after a one-night stand—did that really require deliberation?
