Bright Sword: Conquer the monk at the beginning and take down Zhou Weiguo

No one dared to touch her deep wound. But Qin Cang didn't need to know too much. He only knew that the fate between him and her had long been tightly bound together by some invisible force.

"Let's go." Qin Cang said again. This time there was less hesitation in his tone, and more of a determination that there would be no turning back.

Liu San didn't say anything more. She just nodded and turned to walk away. Her back looked a little lonely in the sunset, but she was very determined.

Qin Cang followed closely behind. The two spoke without a word, only the sound of their footsteps echoing in the silent battlefield. At this moment, it felt as if the world no longer belonged to them, as if even this devastated land was silently mocking their persistence and perseverance.

As night fell, the temperature began to drop rapidly. The two found an abandoned campsite and set up a simple, makeshift shelter. Qin Cang pulled out some rations from his backpack and handed Liu San a compressed biscuit. He sat beside them, silently polishing his sword.

Liu San didn't move, still looking down at the biscuit in her hand, as if hesitating whether to eat it. There was a hint of fatigue in her eyes, but she still maintained her calm demeanor.

"Don't you want to eat?" Qin Cang looked up and asked, with a hint of hidden concern in his eyes.

Liu San shook his head gently and said in a low voice: "I'm not hungry."

Qin Cang said nothing more, simply eating his biscuit, but a faint sense of unease remained within him. He knew that Liu San wasn't simply refusing to eat because she wasn't hungry, but because she was already suffocating under a heavy burden. Her strength wasn't innate, but rather a result of an unbearable secret.

The night deepened, starlight shone on their camp, and the surrounding scene was eerily quiet. Qin Cang suddenly had an illusion, as if he and Liu San were no longer part of this world. They were like two lonely stars floating in the vast universe, with nowhere to go.

"How did you get to this point today?" Qin Cang suddenly spoke, his voice low and filled with unspeakable pain.

Liu San didn't answer immediately. Her gaze retracted from the distance and fell on Qin Cang's face. Her eyes were still without any emotion, like a pool of stagnant water, without a ripple.

"You don't need to know." She said calmly, her tone as cold as the wind. "The path I've taken to where I am today is my own choice. I don't need anyone to judge me."

Qin Cang lowered his head, gently stroking the sword in his hand. The sharp blade seemed to carry the pain in his heart. He was no stranger to Liu San's determination. The past she was unwilling to reveal was like an unhealable wound, deeply engraved in her life.

"Don't you want to go back?" Qin Cang asked in a low voice, but with a tentative tone.

Liu San was silent for a while, then slowly said: "Go back? I have nowhere to go back to."

Qin Cang's heart suddenly tightened. He raised his head, trying to read more from Liu San's eyes, but she still looked as cold as ice, without any emotional fluctuations.

"Then why are you still insisting?" Qin Cang asked, with a bit of confusion and concern in his eyes.

Liu San sighed softly, slowly stood up, and looked into the distance. Her figure seemed particularly lonely in the dim night, and that loneliness seemed to resonate with this desolate land.

"I don't want to give up," she whispered, her voice filled with a hint of helplessness, yet also with an immensely resolute strength. "If I give up, I won't even recognize myself anymore. How can I go on living?"

Qin Cang silently stood up and walked to her side, gazing at her resolute back. He knew that Liu San was no longer the woman who could be easily swayed. Deep in her heart, an insurmountable wall had long been built, and he would never be able to understand the weight she bore.

The night wind, with a hint of chill, swept through the desolate camp, ruffling the hems of Qin Cang and Liu San's clothes and stirring certain ripples in their hearts. No birdsong filled the air, only the faint whisper of the wind, as if the entire world were immersed in an unspoken silence. This silence was the oppression of the soul, a loneliness far removed from all noise, the dullness left by the world having forgotten them both.

Qin Cang stood beside Liu San, gazing at the endless darkness in the distance. Suddenly, a strange emotion rose in his heart. This emotion was extremely complicated, as if some long-buried thought had finally found an outlet, or perhaps some fragment of memory had stirred waves in the corner of his heart.

He didn't want to admit it, but a voice deep down inside him kept reminding him: He was no longer the ignorant boy who only knew how to wield a sword to kill his enemies. Those days had long been swallowed up by war, buried by slaughter, and all that remained was a heart hardened by constant pressure.

He looked at Liu San, but she still hadn't turned her head. Her eyes stared blankly into the distance. There was no longing for the future in her eyes, only indifference and weariness towards the past. Qin Cang knew that this woman had long since died in some unknown corner. Although her body was still alive, her soul had long been torn apart.

"Have you ever thought about escaping from all this?" Qin Cang asked in a low voice, his voice almost blending with the sound of the wind.

Liu San's body stiffened slightly, a complex emotion flashing across her eyes, but then she regained her composure. She didn't answer immediately, her lowered eyelids concealing the pain hidden deep within them.

"Escape?" She smiled softly, a smile as cold as frost, as if it could freeze even the air. "Where can I escape? Can I escape this land? Can I escape myself?"

Her words were heavy and powerful, each one like a blade, piercing Qin Cang's heart. He could escape the land, the enemies, and these endless battles, but could he escape himself? Within everyone's heart lies an insurmountable mountain, and Liu San had already carried too much, traveled too far, and had no way back.

Qin Cang didn't say anything else. He could understand her feelings. But understanding didn't mean accepting them. He still hoped to give her a hand, even if she didn't need it, he still hoped to give her a little hope.

However, all of this seems too insignificant.

Suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps shattered the surrounding silence. Qin Cang's body instinctively tensed, his gaze darting around, his alertness instantly reaching its peak. It was a subtle sensation, as if the air around them were shifting, an unusual presence quietly approaching.

"Someone." Qin Cang said in a low voice.

Liu San spun around, her gaze warily fixed on the surrounding darkness. Her form remained lithe, yet possessed a deadly sharpness, as if every movement could rend the air. She didn't immediately draw her sword, but simply bent slightly, her movements graceful and swift, as if blending seamlessly into the night.

Qin Cang also tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword. His heart began to beat faster, and the feeling of unease grew stronger. The air around them seemed to grow heavy, as if oppressing their breathing.

At this moment, a deep voice suddenly came from behind them: "Do you really think you can escape?"

Qin Cang turned sharply, his sword almost unsheathed, but when he saw the man's face, the sword in his hand stopped in mid-air. The man stood behind them, tall and shabby, but his eyes were strangely cold and profound. Qin Cang frowned. The man was not their enemy, but a stranger.

Who is he?

Liu San's expression changed. Although she didn't show any panic, Qin Cang knew that she was also slightly moved. The appearance of this person was obviously not simple.

"Who are you?" Qin Cang's voice was still low and alert.

The man smiled slightly, his lips curled up, revealing a smile that seemed to be profound: "It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is that you have no choice now."

"No choice?" Qin Cang felt uneasy. Although he was reluctant to admit it, his intuition told him that the appearance of this person was not a coincidence.

Liu San said nothing, simply tightening her grip on the hilt of her sword, her eyes fixed on the man. Though she appeared calm, her inner composure was far from over. She sensed an unknown threat, a threat that seemed to reach deep into her soul. Qin Cang could sense her nervousness; though her eyes remained calm, her slightly trembling hands betrayed her inner unease.

"What do you want to do?" Qin Cang asked in a low voice, his voice was colder and full of warning.

The man shrugged, his smile unwavering. "You've been hiding, haven't you? Hiding from your enemies, from the past, from your own destiny. But do you know that running away won't set you free? Instead, it will push you deeper into darkness."

Qin Cang's brow furrowed even deeper. He couldn't discern what this person was saying, but he knew every word he spoke wasn't empty talk; there was a profound meaning hidden behind it. More importantly, this stranger appeared at their most vulnerable moment. Whatever his motives, it was enough to make Qin Cang feel deeply uneasy.

"What on earth do you want to do?" Qin Cang's voice was as cold as ice and snow, and the edge of the sword made a faint buzzing sound.

The man did not answer immediately, but slowly took a few steps closer until he was only three steps away from Qin Cang and Liu San. He stopped and stared at them deeply, as if to see through their souls.

"You don't have many choices left," he said softly, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Whether you continue to hide or face it, time won't give you any more chances."

Qin Cang gripped his sword tightly, and a strong intuition arose in his heart that this person seemed to be a "messenger" carrying some kind of warning from fate.