A useless person with five spiritual roots? I sacrificed the proud daughter of heaven.

That was the jade pendant he personally gave to A-Zheng on New Year's Eve that year.

"why?"

Li Fan held his natal sword in his hand, thinking that he would never have to use it again.

"laugh!"

The purple raccoon chuckled and spat out An'an, its huge paws constantly fiddling with the small corpse.

"Immortal, this is what they call... an eye for an eye!"

"An eye for an eye?"

Li Fan murmured softly, and a small barrier instantly appeared inside the room. The temperature inside the barrier continued to drop, and soon a thin layer of frost formed on the ground.

He carried his sword and slowly walked towards the purple raccoon.

The purple raccoon didn't intend to run away. It stuck out its tongue and licked its paws, muttering to itself:

“Although we Purple Foxes are demonic beasts, we have never done evil. Back then, my son was just being naughty and scared a few farm laborers who came up the mountain to chop wood, and you killed them without hesitation.”

"Did you ever imagine this day back then?"

"When your daughter was born, did you remember how my child begged for mercy under your sword?"

The purple fox let out a mournful roar, tears streaming down its face.

"My poor son was not even a hundred years old at that time!"

"So what if you're an immortal? Now, I'm going to make sure your family is destroyed and your blood debt is repaid!"

Li Fan belatedly remembered the purple fox cub he had slain with his sword, and then looked at An An.

"If you want to focus on cultivating the Tao, you must sever all worldly ties."

"Cultivating immortality is inherently defying the heavens. If one forcibly entangles oneself with mortals, one will inevitably fall into an abyss of no return."

His master's words still echoed in his ears, and he seemed to finally understand.

But why should his wife and daughters, and the lives of the entire village, pay for the sins he committed?

"Pfft!"

The sharp blade pierced the purple raccoon's neck, causing it to convulse. Yet, it laughed loudly, its golden vertical pupils fixed on Li Fan without blinking.

"You're done."

"You're finished, hahaha!"

After the purple raccoon finished speaking, it revealed its scarred belly, its eyes filled with satisfaction.

"Do you think you've only done this one evil deed? Do you think I'm the only one who wanted them dead?"

"Immortal, you are destined never to become an immortal!"

"Hahahaha, my son! Your mother has finally avenged you!"

With a loud "boom," the barrier shattered, and the thatched hut collapsed.

The heavy snow fell in, and Li Fan knelt on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

He personally cut open the purple raccoon's belly, and inside, he saw Ah Zheng.

And that unborn child.

"Hahahahaha!"

He laughed loudly, tears of blood streaming from his eyes, wetting the moon-white robe that A-Zheng had made for him.

He should have thought of it; he should have thought of it long ago.

It's him.

He killed everyone.

He forgot that he had cultivated Taoism and killed many demonic beasts.

Back then, he relied on his extraordinary talent and offended many families.

Those people dared not harm him, so they waited day after day.

Wait until he gets married, wait until he has children, wait until he arrogantly returns to the sect to settle things.

Then he slaughtered all those close to him.

The jade pendant he gave to Azheng was a magical artifact he had personally crafted, but what good is a magical artifact?

The cultivation world has no shortage of magical artifacts.

He picked up An'an's mangled body, draped the pale yellow jacket over her shoulders, and murmured repeatedly, "An'an, don't be afraid, Daddy's back."

Snowflakes fell on his head, and he sat there in the snow, his hair turning white overnight.

Later, he took his sword and went from house to house, killing his way through.

No family or independent cultivator involved in this matter survived his sword, no matter where they were in the world.

But what good is revenge?

He was now all alone.

He returned to Qingshui Village. The tragic scene was gone, and green grass grew vigorously on the mounds of earth.

But he still remembers it, he remembers it very clearly.

Aunt Liu at the village entrance has lost her son and daughter-in-law, leaving behind only a frail and sickly granddaughter.

Uncle Li has bad legs and feet; he gets so much pain on rainy days that he can't get out of bed.

Grandma's specialty is roast chicken, which An'an loves the most. She always eats it until her face is covered in oil.

Grandma's little granddaughter is named Xiaozhi. She has a sweet smile and loves to follow An'an around all day calling her "sister".

He remembers everyone in the village.

And... Ah Zheng.

On the day she left, A-Zheng said to him, "I'll wait for you to come back."

He was tormented by these memories day after day, as if he were trapped in that snowy day forever, never to escape again.

He didn't want to come out either.

Moving on means forgetting.

He doesn't want to forget, how dare he forget?

So he went to the far north, where there is no distinction between day and night, and it snows heavily all the time.

Deep in the far north, he created an illusion with his own hands.

In this illusion, everyone is alive.

Aunt Liu's granddaughter is still frail and sickly, and Uncle Li's leg hasn't healed either.

Grandma would call him to eat every few days, and Xiaozhi, holding the ball, would smile and ask the city lord for a hug.

The only difference is.

In this illusion, Li Fan is not present.

He is neither Li Fan nor Li Qingji.

He put a lot of effort into playing the role of Ah Zheng.

He knew which neighbor had raised chickens, which neighbor had lost a dog, which family had a sick child, and which family was about to have a new addition to the family.

On cold nights, he imagined whether Qingshui Village would remain as peaceful and tranquil as it was in this dream if he had never appeared before Azheng.

"Father, what about An'an?"

"Father, do you not want An'an anymore?"

He opened his eyes; the night was pitch black and silent.

Two lines of tears slid down his cheeks. He stared at the empty street outside the window and responded to that voice for the first time.

"An'an, go find your mother."

"Mother?"

The childish voice gradually became distorted and shrill. She screamed in the city lord's ear, "No! You want to get rid of me? Impossible! Do you think your mother doesn't hate you? Do you think everyone in Qingshui Village doesn't hate you?"

"Li Fan! You can never get rid of me! Never!"

The city lord simply smiled gently, as if An'an were still resting on his shoulder. He reached out and gently stroked An'an's cheek.

“Okay, An’an won’t leave. An’an will always be with me. An’an and A’zheng will always be with me.”

It seems like it's getting light again.

……

"Go ten miles east, then twenty miles north, and there is a frozen lake there."

Sheng He stopped and looked up. Following the direction the old man had given him and the compass's guidance, the lake in front of him should be Mirror Lake.

Looking out, she saw that in this icy and snowy landscape, the surface of Mirror Lake was covered with only a thin layer of ice, and the lake water was a bright, icy blue that stretched all the way to the horizon, seemingly connecting with the sky.

Sheng He tentatively placed his foot on the ice, and through that layer of ice, he could clearly see the scene at the bottom of the lake.