TSFLIP Chapter 241

“I miscalculated one thing,” Xue Ran said softly. “The people I know, the ones who know me, they die generation after generation. I’ve seen it happen so many times that I grew bored. So, I started adopting infants, searching among them for someone who could bring me joy. Xiao Lier, Dan Ya, Zhi Jian, Yueyue, and Liunian… I was looking for someone to share eternity with me.”

“You said… Liunian?” Feng Guang was startled. “Do you mean Mu Liunian of the Thousand Gold Pavilion?”

“Yes, that’s her. Oh, you don’t know, do you?” Xue Ran found her surprised expression utterly endearing and leaned down to kiss her lightly. “The Gu of Old Friends, the Demon Sect, and the Thousand Gold Pavilion were all founded by me. I get bored easily, so I like to create things to pass the time.”

Not only that, but the legend of Baixiaosheng, the omniscient chronicler of the martial world, was also his creation. When one Baixiaosheng dies, the title of Pavilion Master is supposedly passed to the next. In reality, every Baixiaosheng has always been the same person—him.

Xue Ran had many faces and identities: Baixiaosheng, the Sage of Medicine and Poison, the former leader of the Demon Sect. These were merely a few examples from his long 500 years of existence.

Hearing all of this, Feng Guang should have been shocked beyond words. But Xue Ran being who he was, no matter how many earth-shattering revelations he shared, she found them almost… natural. Still, she was puzzled. “I wasn’t among your candidates. Why did you choose me?”

“You weren’t a candidate because you were an accident.” Xue Ran’s clear, untainted eyes overflowed with tenderness, like a child’s excitement upon receiving a long-awaited gift.

Years ago, Xia Chao and his wife had been childless despite their long marriage. Desperate, Xia Chao sought Xue Ran for a fertility potion. Not long after, Feng Guang was born. Xue Ran had never paid her any attention—not even when Xia Chao sent her to the Gu of Old Friends. He had thought she might prove useful if he failed to find what he sought. What he didn’t expect was how deeply she would affect his emotions.

“Keeping Qingyu and Yueyue around was just my way of ensuring my life wouldn’t be too dull. I figured, if they ever learned the truth and sought revenge, it might even be fun.” Xue Ran’s tone was calm, yet there was a warmth in his voice that was impossible to comprehend. Immortality was far too long for anyone else to understand. “But you, Feng Guang, are different from them. You exist in this world because of me. You were meant to be mine.”

Because of him, she was born. Her life was destined to belong to him. Only with her by his side did Xue Ran feel his heart—long since indifferent—begin to beat again. Thinking back on the days without her, those endless years had been unbearably dull.

“The Elixir of Immortality…” Feng Guang’s voice was dry. “Who was it originally meant for?”

He answered honestly, “I planned to give it to Yueyue. But that was before I met you. My dear, don’t be jealous.”

The way he called her “my dear” could make anyone’s heart tremble. In the past, he’d only addressed her like this in bed. He was a man who embarrassed easily, and even now, his ears flushed red.

For a moment, Feng Guang felt like he was the Xue Ran of old. She placed her hand on his slightly cool face, and his eyes lit up as though he’d been rewarded. Like a child receiving a prized toy, his joy was uncontainable. Unable to resist, she leaned up and kissed his lips. “Xue Ran, I can’t be the one to share eternity with you.”

“Why not?” He clutched her hand, still resting on his face.

Her smile was tinged with sorrow as blood trickled from the corner of her lips. “Because… I don’t have much time left.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Xue Ran said as he wiped the blood from her lips, unconcerned as it stained his pristine white robes. “I can cure any poison under the heavens. I’ll take you back, and you’ll be fine soon.”

“It’s too late… I timed the poison carefully. This toxin was developed by Qingyu to counteract the poison in Dan Ya’s body. So, I suppose I should thank you. Without you, I wouldn’t have found such an effective poison.”

Hearing that Qingyu was alive didn’t surprise him. Perhaps he had suspected it since Qingyu’s body disappeared with hers. He remained stubborn. “I’ll find Qingyu. Phoenix blood can neutralize all poisons. You’ll be fine.”

“I told you… it’s too late…” She frowned tightly, clearly in immense pain, yet she still had the energy to complain. “Qingyu, that kid… I’ll have to tell him someday not to make his poisons taste so awful…”