When the story reached this point, Liu Buli no longer knew what to say in response. He could only remain in a daze, his expression vacant as he quietly watched Master Linkong's face.
The two stood in a corner, their voices kept so low that, coupled with the din of conversations in the main hall, their potentially explosive exchange was a private matter shared only between them.
Having confirmed that no one else was paying them any attention, Master Linkong continued, "Even if you're not familiar with the specifics of our sect's cultivation techniques and incantations, you must have heard of them in general. Practicing these techniques for a long time has no real harm, but the impact on one's state of mind is immense. Take the simplest example: after learning these techniques, I felt my once fiery heart no longer beat as intensely as before."
As Master Linkong spoke, he touched his chest, as if genuinely trying to gauge the strength of his heartbeat and compare it to that of an ordinary person.
However, without a point of comparison, he couldn't reach any reliable conclusion. After a moment of silence, he resumed, "Although I only went into seclusion for a month, after that period of cultivation, my intense emotions seemed to have calmed considerably. I returned to my room intending to clean off the dust that had accumulated over the month. And guess what I found? Tucked away in a crevice in the corner of my bed, I discovered a letter. It was from my beloved, written and hidden there for me."
The letter's contents were simple and cliché. The girl had evidently anticipated that she wouldn't survive the wedding night. So, before the ceremony began, while Master Linkong was busy with wedding preparations, she had quickly penned the letter.
She expressed her deep affection for Master Linkong and acknowledged her poor health, knowing her lifespan was drawing to a close. She stated that if she could be a bride before her life ended, she would be immensely happy and grateful to her beloved.
But their destiny together would end there.
She knew Master Linkong possessed boundless talent in cultivation, a talent that shouldn't be shackled by their relationship, nor by her, who was destined to leave from the very beginning.
After her death, she would faithfully reincarnate. She would choose a new life for herself, forget Master Linkong, and live happily as a healthy person.
And Master Linkong, after her death, was to forget her as well, and never do anything foolish for her sake.
He had his own life to live.
And in that life, she was not meant to exist.
"It was only after reading that letter that I understood why she was so furious when I contacted her that day."
Master Linkong sighed and said, "She never resented me, nor did she ever blame me. No one understood my thoughts better than she did. Her words were only spoken because she knew that only by saying them would I give up pursuing her. And once I calmed down and thought things through, I would live the life she wanted me to, just as I am now."
As he uttered these last few sentences, Master Linkong's voice grew very soft.
He was struggling to suppress his sobs, afraid that if he spoke too loudly, tears would follow.
Even after a century or a millennium, even if he believed his heart no longer beat violently, the mere thought of the person hidden deep within his heart would bring a stabbing pain, a constant reminder that the so-called forgetting was merely a self-deceptive lie.
Liu Buli couldn't truly comprehend the years of torment the other had endured; after all, he himself felt he could barely hold on after just a few days of not being in contact.
He opened his mouth. He knew he shouldn't continue this topic, but seeing Master Linkong's state, he instinctively blurted out the question that had formed on his lips: "After that, did you ever contact her again? Did she truly go through reincarnation? Did the two of you... truly have no more chances?"
Liu Buli expected a definitive answer.
But Master Linkong's reply surprised him once again. He smiled faintly, his expression returning to its usual serene demeanor. "I don't know. After seeing her letter that day, I never again had the urge to contact her. Though I sometimes wondered if she was waiting for me at the Bridge of Forgetfulness, or if, as she said, she had already reincarnated, living a healthy life without me. In the beginning, I thought about these questions constantly. But as time passed, I found more peace."
Pausing briefly, Master Linkong continued, "If she chose reincarnation, I would sincerely pray in my heart for her to be born into a good family, for her to have a healthy body in this life. It wouldn't matter if she couldn't cultivate; at least living a healthy and happy life, a simple existence of a few decades, would be far better than suffering hardship and dying before twenty."
Liu Buli nodded dazedly.
Master Linkong looked into Liu Buli's eyes, took a couple of deep breaths, and then said, "Of course, if that foolish girl is still waiting for me in the underworld, I won't make any active moves to contact her either. Because that would upset her temper, make her angry with me. So, from that day on, I told myself: I will live my life honorably and uprightly, just as she wished. As long as I never do anything I regret in my life, as long as I can look back on my life with my head held high, then even if I meet her in the underworld, she won't blame me, she won't argue with me. We'll cross the Bridge of Forgetfulness together, and perhaps in the next life, she'll still be willing to be with me."