Chapter 76

"Then... at that time, Lan Ling'er had already fallen into a state of apparent death?"

Hao Qi leaned against the window, outside of which was a lake as clear as a gem, the sacred lake of the Sutuka tribe, the source of its survival. All the residences near this sacred lake were the most luxurious, only to be inhabited by the tribal chief, the elders, or the warriors of the tribe. Hao Qi lived in such a house.

It had been a week since the battle at the ruins, and Hao Qi still had minor injuries. The reason was that he had been severely injured during the battle, and the injuries had affected his very core. Even with the self-repairing ability of the Inner Strength Realm, it took a week to be almost fully recovered, with only a final thread left to mend.

Compared to Hao Qi, Lan Ling'er's injuries were much more severe. According to Sutuka, Lan Ling'er's physical body had actually died at that time, but she was barely maintaining the last bit of energy circulation with a stream of inner energy in her dantian. However, as the saying goes, 'what ruins also saves,' it was precisely because of her congenital lack of meridians that she could not practice martial arts, but this congenital lack of meridians became her last hope. Because she had no energy circulation system, she could withstand a large amount of inner energy entering her body, just like an insulator can withstand high voltage. If it were an ordinary person, a large amount of inner energy entering the body would have burst and exploded. But for someone with congenital lack of meridians, it was like an insulator to high voltage, and the inner energy would hardly harm Lan Ling'er.

Under the repair of the inner energy, the body that had just died regained vitality. After that, Sutuka took her and nurtured her daily. It wasn't until a week later that Lan Ling'er regained consciousness. Compared to her, Hao Qi's condition was a hundred times better.

Next to Hao Qi, Su Shiyun was slowly peeling fruit. This was a special fruit of the Sutuka tribe, the fruit of a water plant that grew in the sacred lake, crisp and sweet. In this scorching desert, eating one was like eating a piece of ice watermelon in the summer of Hao Qi's previous life. However, the yield was very small, and it was usually used to entertain distinguished guests or consumed by the tribal chief and elders. Now, Hao Qi and his companions were naturally the distinguished guests of the Sutuka tribe, and these fruits were all supplied to them, even Sutuka hadn't eaten one.

"Yes." After peeling a fruit, Su Shiyun placed it on a silver plate. She then tucked her hair behind her ear and said, "Lan Ling'er is very brave, but she cried after waking up. Now she is probably eating. Although she is constantly nurtured by inner energy, she is still a person with congenital lack of meridians, and inner energy cannot be integrated into her body. It can only maintain her vitality and cannot replace the energy consumption of her body. She is very hungry now."

Hao Qi looked at Su Shiyun's ear, finding it very beautiful, especially with her long, black hair, her noble and refined demeanor, and her beauty that could easily win a beauty pageant. The ear looked incredibly beautiful, and her current posture was also very sexy, making him stare for a moment.

Su Shiyun, with her head slightly lowered, blushed as she peeled the fruit. She looked up and gave Hao Qi a scolding glance, making him awkwardly laugh. The two fell into a silence, and a peculiar and ambiguous atmosphere began to flow between them.

After an unknown amount of time, Hao Qi said, "Why haven't I seen Zhang Heng? Did he follow the Sutuka people into the ruins?"

Su Shiyun shook her head and placed the silver plate next to Hao Qi's bed. She then said, "He was stimulated by you. At that time, you said he was a burden. Now I see that he practices martial arts diligently every day, which is harmful to his body and mind."

Hao Qi remained silent for a moment and then shook his head. "It won't harm his body, but he needs to be careful with his mind... Actually, it's good. In the future, we will travel across the seven seas, and even to more distant places. Without strength, one cannot reach the destination. This journey will involve countless difficulties and obstacles. Some things can be avoided, but some cannot. Without martial arts, one cannot protect the most important people and things. So let him go. He is an adult and knows his limits. If he really harms his body or mind, he will learn to control himself after one or two times."

Su Shiyun nodded, her face slightly red. After a long time, she suddenly said, "You... what do you really feel about me?"

"Hahaha, nothing much." Hao Qi directly interrupted Su Shiyun, speaking hurriedly as if he were blushing.

"You!" Su Shiyun immediately glared at Hao Qi, her beauty enhanced by a touch of heroism, making him almost dazed again. She didn't care and said, "What do you mean by 'nothing much'? Do you think deceiving people is fun? Or did you just plan to die alone when you acted heroically?"

Hao Qi fell silent. He looked at Su Shiyun's face and her anger, then suddenly reached out and wrapped a strand of her black hair around his finger. "You care too much about your family. You have important ties within your family, right? Otherwise, according to your nature, when the elder of your family said you shouldn't go, you would have already drawn your sword. But you didn't. You even begged me. This tie has reached a point where it makes you go against your true self. What else do you want me to say? My feelings for you are real, and after this life-and-death experience, these feelings have deepened. This is the truth. But do you dare to follow me? To leave your family's ties and travel across the seven seas with me... You can't, right? Your expression already says it all."

"I can't possibly join the Sutuka family, let alone live fixed in the Blue Sea. I might travel in the Blue Sea for a few years or even a decade, but what's the point? If we are to part, it's better not to meet. We have already met, but it's not too deep yet. We can still forget each other, can't we?"

Hao Qi released Su Shiyun's hair, gazing at the woman he had feelings for, and smiled. "There are always things that need to be chosen, and things that need to be sacrificed. I don't know why you are so tied to your family, but since you are, there must be a reason. I won't persuade you to give up anything or accept anything. Everything needs to be chosen by yourself, just as I chose to travel across the seven seas and gave up joining the Sutuka family or living fixed in the Blue Sea. You also need to choose and give up, and the answer is already in your heart. So what do you want me to say? No matter what I say, it won't change your choice. You are deceiving yourself, Miss Su."

Su Shiyun's eyes were filled with confusion. After a long time, her gaze refocused. Looking at the smiling man in front of her, she felt the first flutter of her heart, the first tremor, and the first impulse to follow him. But all of this gradually dissipated under the ties of her family. She suddenly smiled, stood up, and bowed to Hao Qi. "Thank you for your advice."

The sunset outside the window cast a warm glow into the room. Both of them were smiling, one sitting on the bed, the other standing in front of it, close yet distant...

At this moment, in the tribal chief's room, the middle-aged and elderly man sighed. Lan Ling'er, who was eating at the table in front of him, swallowed the food in her mouth and asked, "Grandpa Sutuka, what's wrong? Why are you sighing?"

"I am sighing about the helplessness of life." Sutuka looked kindly at Lan Ling'er, walked to her side, and patted her head. Then he walked to the window and said, "Two hundred years ago, when I was in the Inner Strength Realm, I hated my mission. I wanted to go out and explore, to make a name for myself. In the blink of an eye, a hundred years have passed. Looking back, many things cannot be changed. I often feel regret, but in the quiet of the night, when I think back to those days, if I had to do it again, I would still go out and experience all these things. Humans are so contradictory and so helpless, and can only go with the flow... In this aspect, I am not as good as this young man, Hao Qi."

"Hao Qi? What about him?" Lan Ling'er clearly had a good impression of Hao Qi and immediately perked up her ears to listen carefully when Sutuka mentioned him.

"He is very good. I don't know what he has experienced, but he can be so carefree. Such a beautiful person, without a hint of hesitation. I even doubt if he really cares, but from his heartbeat and inner energy fluctuations, he actually cares a lot. Despite this, his decision remains the same. Truly carefree and truly resolute. But that's fine. If he weren't so carefree, he probably wouldn't have the ambition to travel across the seven seas. Hahaha."

Sutuka stood by the window, laughing heartily. Behind him, Lan Ling'er seemed to understand but couldn't think of anything, so she just continued eating.

Outside the window, by the sacred lake, Zhang Heng was pulling a bow, forming a full moon. This was a special body training method of the Zhang family's bow fighting technique, a rare martial art that completely separates training from combat. However, this training method requires a high level of physical fitness, and the training process is very painful, like the body being stretched like a bow. Ordinary people cannot endure it, and Zhang Heng couldn't either, which is why his martial arts skills were so poor.

But at this moment, Zhang Heng was pulling the bow, his body completely still. Only his eyes showed a complex mix of pain and shame. He was still thinking about everything that happened in the ruins, feeling helpless, helpless, helpless...

There is something called justice, and justice requires strong martial arts... Without strong martial arts, one cannot protect the most important people... Without martial arts, one cannot find the sources of rare treasures... Without martial arts, one cannot stay in this martial arts group...

Martial arts... Martial arts!