The two sides held their ground briefly before pulling back in silent agreement.
With Qing Shu dead and Bai Ning Bing wounded—and the looming threat of the wolf tide—any further loss would be devastating.
If a large-scale battle broke out, both clans would face immense pressure just to survive.
In any world, people fight for their own interests.
And the greatest of all is simply survival.
In the end, Gu Yue Qing Shu's body and Gu worms were recovered by the Gu Yue clan's members.
Both factions retreated cautiously from the battlefield.
Rain began to fall from the sky, and the entire area was gloomy.
A group stood silently on a slope behind the village—the graveyard.
New gravestones appeared here from time to time.
Life in this world was harsh, and whether from outside dangers or inner strife, loss was inevitable.
The clan elder's solemn voice drifted into everyone's ears, deepening the heavy mood.
"We have the same surname, we come from the same clan, the same blood flows in our bodies."
"We are so close together in distance, yet we are forever separated by life and death."
"This pain aches in my heart."
"Wait for me."
"Someday in the future, I will lay beside you as well."
"Let us turn into ash and soil, as we support our future generations…"
Before a freshly erected gravestone, a group stood with heads bowed.
Some wept quietly, while others stared silently at the name carved into the stone, their hearts heavy with grief.
Death's cruelty felt like a skeletal hand, carving a fresh wound into each heart.
Some had grown numb to the pain, while others were still too young to fully grasp it.
Gu Yue Fang Zheng stood among them, his gaze fixed on the tombstone bearing the name 'Gu Yue Qing Shu'.
Dead?
His eyes were clouded with disbelief.
Yesterday's battle—the chaos, the struggle—was still etched clearly in his mind.
With little life experience, he couldn't yet comprehend the depth of Qing Shu's sacrifice or the nobility of his final stand.
Now faced with reality, he struggled to accept it.
"Dead? That kind Lord Qing Shu that always smiles, advises, shows concern and takes care of me… is actually dead?"
"Why did this happen?"
"Why is it that in this world, good people die easily, while bad people live long?"
"Is this a dream, am I having a dream right now?"
Fang Zheng clenched his fists, and the realistic feeling of touch caused him to feel ever more upset.
The discussions of the surrounding Gu Masters entered his ears.
"Sigh, I can't believe that this time, even Lord Qing Shu sacrificed himself."
"Humans will eventually die, but it is too much of a pity, I heard that Bai Ning Bing still had a breath of vitality left, he was eventually saved."
"May he rest well underground, and bless us with the hopes of surviving this wolf tide…"
The crowds slowly dispersed, until Fang Zheng was the last one left.
The young man's lonely shadow, facing the graveyard full of tombstones alone.
"Lord Qing Shu!" He suddenly kneeled on the ground, his tears falling on the ground.
He was lost, he was regretful, he was in pain!
Drip. Drip drop, drip drop…
Bean-sized raindrops fell from the dark clouds, hitting the earth and bending leaves and branches.
The scent of wet soil filled Fang Zheng's nose as he sobbed in anguish.
His cries mixed with the rain as he clawed at the ground, as if trying to pull Qing Shu back to life—only to end up with two fistfuls of mud.
Elsewhere, Bai Ning Bing lay on a soft bed, silently watching the rain.
His severed right arm was wrapped in white bandages, and his eyes had returned to black.
His Rank three cultivation was no longer suppressed.
When he awoke, he felt drained, hollow inside.
He remained still, eyes open for ten hours, letting his white silver primeval essence nourish his aperture, not caring.
The rain stirred memories buried deep.
It was in a rain just like this that the Bai clan leader officially adopted him.
He remembered the kind look in the leader's eyes and the elders' congratulations washing over him.
The younger him had stood barefoot on cold ground, staring out the window at the rain—feeling only emptiness.
"What is the meaning of living?" This question troubled him for twenty over years, and could continue to trouble him, until the problem of his self-explosion surfaced again.
"Is it for kinship, for the clan…" Bai Ning Bing unavoidably thought of Gu Yue Qing Shu.
From youth to adulthood, he had witnessed many such sacrifices—some from the Bai clan, others from Gu Yue or Xiong.
He never understood these zealots.
Born cold and detached, he couldn't grasp their mindset.
Gu Yue Qing Shu gave him no answers, so his thoughts turned to Fang Yuan.
He remembered the first time he saw him—sitting under a tree, eating wild fruit, emotionlessly watching a battle unfold.
Back then, Bai Ning Bing had trembled with excitement.
It was the first time he saw someone with eyes like his—deep, dark, and empty.
But now, looking back, Fang Yuan's eyes held something more.
That 'something'—was the answer he sought.
The rain intensified.
Thunder rumbled, and lightning split the sky.
"What is the meaning behind living?" In the dark room, Gu Yue Fang Zheng asked the same question.
Gu Yue Bo sighed. He stared pitifully at the young man who had lost his soul, and then looked outside the window, at the rain.
Fang Zheng's doubt was understandable; an unavoidable death always urges people to think behind the true value of existence.
"You know something? More than ten years ago, there was another young man with a similar situation as you, and asked me the same question." Long after, Gu Yue Bo started to speak.
"That person, is your clan leader's… my adopted son — Gu Yue Qing Shu."
Fang Zheng was momentarily stunned, raising his head. A pair of swollen red eyes, showing an intense urge for answers.
"I said to him, a person has a thousand and one reasons to live. Why are you alive, I cannot answer that, only you have the answer. Go find it yourself," Gu Yue Bo said.
"Then clan leader, what is your answer for yourself?" Fang Zheng blinked in confusion, asking.
Gu Yue Bo laughed. In his eyes, Fang Zheng and Qing Shu's images were overlapping, Gu Yue Qing Shu had asked the same question in the past.
Clan leader thought for a moment, recalling the past, then repeating the same answer he gave back then, "An organisation is bound to have sacrifices. From the moment a person is born, death is imminent. Between life and death, humans are fragile, but one thing can warm the heart, and shine upon our souls. That is love — this is my answer."
Sacrifice is common.
Gu Yue Qing Shu was Gu Yue Bo's adopted son.
After raising him for years, his death brought deep pain to his foster father.
But as the clan leader, Gu Yue Bo had long grown used to loss.
With the resolve to face life and death, sorrow becomes easier to endure.
Fang Zheng stood quietly, head lowered, lost in thought.
Gu Yue Bo gave a faint smile, then pulled a letter from his drawer and handed it to Fang Zheng. "This is Gu Yue Qing Shu's letter. It records the answers to questions he's been thinking about for years, I am handing it to you now, you can take a look. This is his answer."
Fang Zheng felt a strong pull toward the letter.
He opened it immediately, and the moment he saw the first line, tears streamed down his face.
It was Gu Yue Qing Shu's handwriting, filled with his warm and familiar tone.
The beginning spoke of his confusion and sorrow.
Then, he shared thoughts and realizations gained over the years.
As Fang Zheng read, it felt like he was walking through Qing Shu's life, step by step, until he reached the final words.
At the end, this was written:
"The clan is like a forest, and we members are like the trees in the forest. The old trees extend their branches and shelter the young from rain and wind. When the young trees grow into large and tall trees, the old trees will turn into the nutrients in the soil, fertilizing the land and nurturing new trees. People will always die, and heaven and earth will not remember us. But new trees are the proof that the old trees have existed. Under this continuous testament, the clan forest becomes larger and spreads further, walking towards the path of prosperity and flourishment."
"People are bound to die. As Gu Masters, we cannot hide from impending death. Even Rank seven and eight Gu Masters can merely live a little longer. Towards death, I feel fear as well. But I understand deeply, eventually, one day I Gu Yue Qing Shu will die too. I might die of old age, illness, or the battlefield. But at that moment, I can leave peacefully with no regrets."
At the end of the letter.
"Lord foster father, the question I asked you before, I think I have found the answer."
After reading the letter, Fang Zheng silently wept.
His mind replayed memories of Qing Shu—how he never scolded, only comforted.
When troubles came, he offered encouragement. And in moments of doubt, his warm hand would gently rest on Fang Zheng's head.
Gu Yue Bo kept the letter and said, "In future, when you think of the answer, you can also write a letter and tell me. Go, return and have a rest. The danger of the wolf tide is not over, we need you to contribute your strength as well."
"No." Fang Zheng slowly raised his head, clenching his fists.
"What?" Gu Yue Bo asked.
"I've found my answer." Fang Zheng's tone was filled with indescribable determination as he continued, "I want strength! To protect my family, and protect them from any harm. I want to protect the clan, and strengthen the clan! I want the wolf tide to no longer be able to torture us, I want to see the happiness of joy of my companions! This pain, I do not want it to repeat. I want to use my pair of hands, my body, my soul, to protect those around me!"
Gu Yue Bo showed an expression of surprise, and at this moment, he felt that he saw Gu Yue Qing Shu.
"Qing Shu, you did not die in vain…" Seeing Fang Zheng's shining eyes, clan leader sighed emotionally in his heart.
An old tree has fallen, and as it slowly returns to the earth, a fresh sprout has already begun to rise.