What The Heart Refuses To Let Go

Hao Nhien froze.

The four words had been spoken plainly.

There was no fear in Lanh Hoa's voice.

No panic.

Yet from the look in his eyes, Hao Nhien understood that he had no intention of explaining further.

Lang Tuyet also remained silent.

After a moment, Earth One tapped the end of his staff against the stone floor.

Click.

The sound echoed clearly through the quiet cavern.

Hao Nhien looked toward him.

Earth One remained seated.

He did not ask what Lanh Hoa had seen.

Nor did he appear surprised by the reactions of either person who had touched the water.

That only made Hao Nhien more puzzled.

Did Earth One already know what would happen?

Or did he simply not care what each person saw?

Hao Nhien had no answer.

He turned toward the pool again.

After awakening, Lang Tuyet had stared at him for a long time, her gaze carrying an emotion he could not understand.

Lanh Hoa, meanwhile, had immediately returned to his side and stood closer than before.

Two completely different reactions.

Yet one thing was the same.

Neither wanted to explain what they had experienced.

Hao Nhien stared at the black water.

A possibility gradually formed in his mind.

Perhaps this place did not simply show people images.

Perhaps it reached into something much deeper within consciousness.

Things a person might never have truly confronted, even within themselves.

But that was only his guess.

At that moment, Lang Tuyet suddenly spoke.

"You don't have to try."

Hao Nhien turned toward her.

"Why?"

Lang Tuyet looked at the pool for a moment.

"I don't like it."

Hao Nhien laughed softly.

"Lanh Hoa said the same thing."

"This time, he is right."

She did not smile.

Hao Nhien noticed the seriousness in her eyes.

Still, after thinking for a while, he slowly stepped toward the water.

Lang Tuyet frowned.

"You're still going to try?"

"Mm."

"Because you want to know what you will see?"

Hao Nhien looked at the black surface.

After a moment, he shook his head.

"Not exactly."

"Then why?"

He was silent for one more beat.

"I want to know what it will search for inside me."

Lang Tuyet looked at him.

In the end, she said nothing more.

Lanh Hoa immediately stepped closer.

Hao Nhien raised one hand and signaled him to stop.

Then he sat beside the pool and looked down at the perfectly still black water.

Since they entered the cavern, the surface had not changed.

The ripples caused by Lang Tuyet and Lanh Hoa had long since faded.

Nothing reflected upon it.

No light.

No shadow.

No image.

Hao Nhien slowly extended his hand.

His fingertip descended.

Touched the water.

Cold immediately entered him.

It was not the cold of Yin energy.

Nor did it contain spiritual fluctuations.

The sensation was difficult to describe.

It felt as though he had touched a door that had remained sealed for a very long time.

Before Hao Nhien could determine anything else, every sound around him disappeared.

The dripping of water along the cavern walls.

Lang Tuyet's breathing.

Even the faint sound produced by the sword at Lanh Hoa's waist.

All of it vanished.

The cold at Hao Nhien's fingertip disappeared as well.

He did not know when his eyes had closed.

When his awareness settled again, the cavern was gone.

So was the small pool surrounded by black stone.

There was only sea.

A silent sea stretching farther than his sight could reach.

There was no visible sky.

No ground.

No moonlight.

No stars.

The water extended infinitely through a space without any recognizable direction.

The silence was so complete that Hao Nhien had the strange feeling that if he spoke even once, he would shatter the entire world.

He stood in the middle of the sea.

He could not tell what existed beneath his feet.

He did not know whether he was standing upon the water or floating within an invisible emptiness.

Hao Nhien tried to sense the True Qi inside his body.

It was still there.

Everything around him, however, was so unfamiliar that he had no idea where to begin examining it.

Then, very far away, a figure slowly appeared.

At first, it was only a faint outline in the stillness.

Hao Nhien focused.

The shape gradually became clearer.

A woman.

Dressed in blue.

Standing with her back toward him.

Her long hair moved faintly in a breeze that seemed to come from nowhere.

Hao Nhien unconsciously stopped breathing.

Only a silhouette.

No face.

No voice.

He did not need either.

He already knew who she was.

His throat suddenly went dry.

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For a very long time, Hao Nhien did not step forward.

He did not call out.

He simply stood there and watched.

As though the moment he spoke, the distant figure would disappear.

But in the end, Hao Nhien’s lips still moved.

“Tieu Lan…”

The call was so soft that it almost dissolved into the endless silence.

The distant figure paused.

Then slowly turned around.

Hao Nhien froze.

It was Tieu Lan.

But not the Tieu Lan who lay motionless within the Cosmic Ark, her face pale and her life force so fragile that he always had to be careful whenever he approached her.

The Tieu Lan before him was standing.

Her long hair fell over her shoulders.

The hem of her blue dress stirred gently in a breeze that seemed to come from nowhere.

Her face was exactly as he remembered it.

The clear eyes.

The familiar gentleness at the corners of her lips.

She looked at him and smiled.

Hao Nhien’s chest tightened.

He had imagined countless times what it would be like when Tieu Lan finally woke.

Perhaps she would cry.

Perhaps she would blame him for taking so long.

Or perhaps she would smile foolishly and tell him she was fine, just as she had done so many times before whenever she tried to hide an injury from him.

He had always thought that when that day came, he would scold her.

Scold her for never valuing herself enough.

Tell her she was never allowed to sacrifice herself for him again.

But now, standing before that familiar smile, every accusation and every question he had stored inside himself caught in his throat.

“Tieu Lan…”

She continued looking at him.

She did not answer.

Hao Nhien stepped forward.

The sea beneath his feet did not move.

He walked faster.

Then began to run.

He could clearly feel his body moving forward.

Yet the distance between them did not shrink at all.

“Tieu Lan!”

She still did not answer.

She only watched him quietly.

Eventually, Hao Nhien stopped.

His breathing had grown heavy.

He lowered his gaze toward the sea beneath him.

There was not a single ripple.

Not even the slightest trace that he had just run.

Tieu Lan remained directly ahead.

Close enough that he could see every detail of her face.

Yet impossibly far away.

“What is this place?”

Hao Nhien called out.

No one answered.

He tried calling Little Spirit within his consciousness.

Nothing.

Even the connection that had always existed between him and the Cosmic Ark had become faint and distant, as though everything outside this place had been completely cut away.

Hao Nhien looked back at Tieu Lan.

“Is it really you?”

She remained silent.

He knew the person before him was most likely only an image created by the lake.

The real Tieu Lan was still lying within the Cosmic Ark.

She had never awakened since that day.

Knowing that was one thing.

Accepting it was another.

He had wanted to see her standing again for far too long.

Even if this was only an illusion, Hao Nhien could not bring himself to turn away.

A single tear slowly rolled down Tieu Lan’s cheek.

Hao Nhien stiffened.

She was not sobbing.

That gentle smile still remained on her lips.

He did not know whether the tear came from joy, sadness, or was simply another image produced by the lake.

But it immediately reminded him of all the times she had been hurt and still forced herself to smile so that he would not worry.

“Don’t smile like that…”

His voice grew hoarse.

“Tieu Lan, don’t smile like that.”

She tilted her head slightly.

Then slowly shook it.

The movement was so familiar that Hao Nhien felt his eyes sting.

Tieu Lan lifted one hand as though she wanted to touch his face.

Hao Nhien instinctively reached toward her.

The distance remained unchanged.

He stared.

Only then did Hao Nhien realize that his vision had already blurred.

A drop of water fell toward the sea.

It made no sound.

No ripple.

Hao Nhien touched his cheek.

Only then did he realize he was crying.

Since the day Tieu Lan collapsed, he had never forgotten her.

Every time he entered the Cosmic Ark, he visited her.

Sometimes he merely stood and watched.

Sometimes he sat beside her for a long time, carefully checking her remaining life force and the smallest changes within her soul.

He had continued searching for a way to save her.

He had never intended to give up.

But only now did Hao Nhien understand that refusing to give up and accepting that he might lose her were two entirely different things.

Ever since Tieu Lan fell unconscious, he had almost never stopped moving.

Become stronger.

Learn more.

Travel farther.

Meet people who possessed knowledge he had never encountered.

As long as he continued forward, he could keep telling himself that eventually he would find a way.

Perhaps tomorrow.

Perhaps in another secret realm.

Another cultivation realm.

Or through some opportunity that had not yet appeared.

But here, before the familiar figure he could not reach, all those possibilities suddenly felt very far away.

Hao Nhien had faced experts vastly stronger than himself.

When he could not win, he could still flee.

Use artifacts.

Use secret techniques.

Or gamble with whatever he had left.

But now, he did not know what to do.

There was no enemy to defeat.

No clear road to follow.

Tieu Lan stood before him.

And he could not reach her.

A thought he had suppressed for a very long time finally surfaced.

I failed to protect her.

Hao Nhien clenched his hand.

More tears rolled slowly down his face.

“I’m sorry…”

Tieu Lan gently shook her head.

She continued smiling.

Her eyes remained soft as they rested on him.

Hao Nhien did not know what the gesture meant.

But it reminded him of the times she had insisted she was fine.

The times she had hidden her own pain simply so he would not worry.

That memory only hurt more.

“Do you know…”

He paused and tried to steady his voice.

“How many times I’ve thought that if I had been a little stronger that day…”

“A little faster…”

The words caught in his throat.

Hao Nhien could not continue.

Tieu Lan tilted her head again.

Hao Nhien looked at that familiar gesture.

A laugh escaped him.

But the smile disappeared almost as soon as it formed.

“Fool.”

He spoke softly.

“You really are such a fool.”

Tieu Lan kept smiling.

Hao Nhien looked at her for a very long time.

Then slowly raised his head.

If ordinary movement could not close the distance, could Spirit Wings?

He quietly circulated True Qi and began drawing upon Wind force, preparing to burst forward.

He had no idea whether this place followed the rules of the outside world.

But he still wanted to try.

The instant his True Qi moved, however, the perfectly still sea suddenly rippled.

Hao Nhien froze.

The ripple quickly spread.

Strange fluctuations moved through the surrounding space.

Tieu Lan’s distant figure began to fade.

“No…”

Hao Nhien immediately stopped circulating True Qi.

The Wind force dispersed.

But Tieu Lan continued becoming more transparent.

He did not know whether he had caused it.

All he knew was that the moment he saw her disappearing, every thought of forcing his way across the distance vanished.

“Tieu Lan!”

Hao Nhien reached out.

Then stopped.

Afraid even that movement might make her disappear faster.

Ahead, Tieu Lan slowly lifted her own hand.

As though answering him.

Their hands reached toward each other.

Never touching.

“Tieu Lan, don’t go…”

Hao Nhien’s voice nearly broke.

He did not know whether she could hear him.

The familiar details of her face were becoming transparent.

Her blue dress.

Her long hair.

Her clear eyes.

Everything faded into the silent space.

She still looked at him.

The smile never disappeared.

Just as the final traces of her face were about to vanish, Hao Nhien suddenly felt something.

Not a sound.

Not actual words reaching his ears.

Only an extremely familiar feeling.

So gentle that it made his chest ache.

As though someone were trying to tell him that he did not need to apologize.

That he did not have to keep blaming himself.

As long as he was still alive—

for that person, it was enough.

Hao Nhien stood motionless.

He did not know whether the feeling truly came from Tieu Lan.

Or whether it was simply what some hidden part of himself had always wanted to hear.

Then Tieu Lan disappeared completely.

The sea before him began to tremble.

Ripples spread outward and collided.

Faint cracks appeared throughout the entire space.

Before Hao Nhien could react, everything shattered at once.

His eyes opened.

The pool remained before him.

Black.

Still.

Without a single ripple.

His hand was still resting on the water.

As though it had never moved from the beginning.

A drop of water fell onto the stone floor.

Hao Nhien lowered his gaze.

Only then did he realize it had not come from the pool.

Tears were still running down his face.

He did not wipe them away.

Nor did he immediately stand.

He simply remained seated beside the water, one hand still touching the surface, as though withdrawing too quickly would cause everything he had just seen to disappear completely from memory.

Slowly, Hao Nhien lifted his hand away.

His breathing had not fully stabilized.

The experience remained so vivid that if he closed his eyes, he could almost see Tieu Lan smiling again.

But she was still lying inside the Cosmic Ark.

Still unconscious.

He wanted to see her stand again.

To hear her speak.

To hear her call him Young Master the way she once had.

Not inside an illusion.

But truly beside him again.

Hao Nhien lowered his head for a long time.

Then he sensed someone approach.

Not too close.

No one urged him to move.

He slowly looked up.

Lang Tuyet watched him for a moment.

Then raised one hand.

Hao Nhien paused.

The motion reminded him of the way she had behaved immediately after waking from the lake.

Her fingertips stopped only a short distance from his face.

After a moment, Lang Tuyet slowly withdrew her hand.

She took a clean handkerchief from her sleeve and held it out to him.

“Wipe your face.”

Hao Nhien accepted it.

He looked at her.

Said nothing.

Lang Tuyet did not tease him.

She simply stood beside him and looked toward the pool.

Her complexion had returned to normal.

But every now and then, her gaze still settled on the black water with an unreadable thoughtfulness.

Behind them, Lanh Hoa had been standing silently.

One hand rested on his sword.

His eyes were not on the pool.

They were fixed on Hao Nhien.

Only after seeing him fully awake did the fingers gripping the sword slowly loosen.

Hao Nhien looked toward him.

Lanh Hoa gave a slight nod.

Hao Nhien returned it.

Neither asked anything.

After a while, Hao Nhien finally used the handkerchief to wipe the remaining tears from his face.

Then he slowly stood.

Earth One was still seated on the rock not far away.

From beginning to end, he had not approached.

He had offered no comfort.

Asked no questions.

Only when Hao Nhien stood did Earth One’s gaze shift slowly from the pool to him.

Hao Nhien looked back.

The two remained silent for a moment.

Finally, Earth One planted his staff against the ground and rose.

He studied Hao Nhien.

“You saw someone very important.”

Hao Nhien paused.

“Senior knows what I saw?”

“No.”

“Then how do you know?”

Earth One looked toward the handkerchief in Hao Nhien’s hand.

Then at Lang Tuyet.

Then Lanh Hoa.

“This old man does not know what any of you experienced inside.”

“But sometimes, how a person reacts after returning says more than the thing they saw.”

He looked first toward Lang Tuyet.

“That girl smiled after she returned.”

“That does not necessarily mean what she saw was happy.”

Lang Tuyet raised her head slightly.

She said nothing.

“The man behind you was different.”

“The moment he returned, he went straight back to his usual position.”

“And stood closer to you than before.”

Lanh Hoa frowned faintly.

Earth One ignored it.

His gaze returned to Hao Nhien.

“And you…”

“You opened your eyes and cried.”

Hao Nhien remained silent.

There was no mockery in Earth One’s voice.

Only calm observation.

After a while, Hao Nhien asked,

“Then what exactly does this lake show people?”

Earth One turned toward the black water.

“What they desire.”

“Desire?”

“There are things a person may pursue for an entire lifetime without ever truly understanding why they cannot let them go.”

“The lake forces them to face that.”

Hao Nhien looked at the water again.

Tieu Lan’s figure surfaced in his thoughts.

“Is that why Senior brought us here?”

“Partly.”

“And the other part?”

“No need to rush.”

Hao Nhien frowned slightly.

Before he could continue, Lang Tuyet spoke.

“Senior wanted to know what each of us desires most so you could judge whether a transaction is possible.”

Earth One looked at her.

The corner of his mouth lifted.

“Oh?”

“Why do you think that?”

“If a merchant wants to make a deal, the first thing he needs to know is what the other person wants.”

“But some things cannot be priced in spirit stones or artifacts.”

Lang Tuyet glanced at the lake.

“If you want to know how much someone is willing to pay, you first need to know what they cannot let go.”

Earth One watched her for a while.

Then nodded.

“Girl, you understand commerce quite well.”

“This junior has only had some experience with trade.”

“Compared with Earth Spirit, what I know is hardly worth mentioning.”

“No need for modesty.”

“You are not wrong.”

Lang Tuyet did not respond to the praise.

She simply looked at him.

“Then has Senior seen enough?”

Earth One’s gaze moved over the three of them.

Then he nodded.

“Enough.”

Lang Tuyet asked nothing further.

She glanced at Hao Nhien.

Their eyes met briefly.

Then she quietly stepped aside.

Hao Nhien looked down at the handkerchief in his hand.

He now understood that Earth One intended to negotiate.

But he still did not know what the man could possibly offer.

After a moment, Hao Nhien raised his head.

“Senior.”

“Speak.”

“If someone is still alive…”

“Their life force has not been extinguished.”

“But they have been unconscious for a very long time, with no sign of awakening…”

Hao Nhien paused.

Then looked directly at Earth One.

“Do you know how to save them?”

Earth One did not answer immediately.

He looked at Hao Nhien for a long time.

Then slowly planted the tip of his staff against the stone floor.

Click.

“Now…”

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

“Now we can talk about a transaction.”