Dia Wu...

Ling Chen vigorously shook his head, but he was unable to get rid of this name, as well as that angelic face from his mind. He forced himself to believe that she had already died thirteen years ago; forced himself to believe that she couldn’t possibly have any connection with the Sword Emperor; repeatedly told himself that he would only be with Shui Ruo in this life.

However...

How could he forget... how could he just lie to himself like that.

Because that person was someone who he had been willing to protect with his life...

Dia’Er, is it really you...

Why do I so desperately hope that it is you, yet at the same time hope that it isn’t? If it isn’t you, my heart will be shattered again; if it is... what should I do?

He heavily leaned back against the tree, his heart in shambles. Leng’Er, hugging a doll, appeared at his side, curiously looking at him.

“Master, Leng’Er, wants to hear Master... tell a story.”

With one hand, Leng’Er hugged her doll, and used the other hand to pat Ling Chen’s shoulder. Her soft, gentle voice broke the silence that hung over the area.

Ling Chen gave a slight smile, and replied, “Master is a bit tired today, so I’ll tell Leng’Er a story tomorrow. Here, this doll is for you.”

He took out a doll and gave it to her, causing her to become extremely delighted.

Not too long after, five familiar silhouettes appeared, walking towards Ling Chen. The appearance of these people caused Leng’Er to hurriedly return to the Pet Dimension.

“Big brother.”

As soon as she arrived, Shui Ruo was able to sense that Ling Chen’s spirits were quite low. Her emotions also plummeted, and she walked over to him and sat down.

“Big brother Ling Tian, are you alright? Did you know? You were so, so cool and awesome today!” Xiao Qi loudly said.

“Is that so?” Ling Chen smiled, and held Shui Ruo’s small hands. He looked to Yun Meng Xin and said, “Meng Xin, I lost control and ended up killing Long Tian Yun.”

“Don’t worry,” Yun Meng Xin gently shook her head, “You have the freedom to do whatever you want. We’re all guildmates, so we don’t want to burden you or inhibit your freedom. As long as you’re okay, that’s fine.”

“That’s right, that’s right!” Xiao Qi vigorously nodded her head, “I know that big brother Ling Tian must be worried that Long Tian Yun might take revenge on us because of our connection to you. Hehe, don’t worry! Even if he knows that we’re guildmates, he can’t do anything to us. I’m the princess of the Battle Alliance, so I’m not afraid of him at all. Su’Er’s dad is the Mayor of Beijing, and Su’Er’s uncle is also quite influential as well. Plus, he’s after big sister Meng Xin, so he won’t do anything to her, and big sister Bing Yao is so strong that she doesn’t have to be afraid of him at all. Even if he tortured us, we wouldn’t tell him your true identity... because we don’t even know. So, big brother Ling Tian just has to look after himself. You don’t have to worry about us at all.”

“Big brother Ling Tian, please take care of yourself.” Su’Er said in a nervous voice while blushing.

A warm feeling spread throughout Ling Chen’s heart, and his gaze rested on each of the three girls’ faces. He smiled, and replied, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely protect myself. Unless I permit it, Long Tian Yun can do nothing to me.”

“En! We all believe big brother Ling Tian... big brother Ling Tian, did you know? You were so cool today! So cool that you just can’t describe it! Right now the whole world is talking about you. Wherever we go, people are always talking about you. Right now, big brother Ling Tian has become the idol of the entire country!”

“Really?” Ling Chen amusedly laughed.

“Now that you’re number 1 on the Heaven Rankings, more and more people will be paying attention to you. No matter where you go, you’ll always see things about you. The waves you’ve created will last for quite a long time, as the things you did today were probably the most exciting things that have happened in a long time. Moreover, you’ve also raised quite a bit of attention in other countries as well.” Yun Meng Xin said.

“Haha, people will soon forget about this sort of thing after a while, don’t pay too much attention to it.” Ling Chen calmly and casually replied.

“Then, big brother Ling Tian, can you fulfil a small, small wish of ours?” Xiao Qi clasped her hands together, her body leaning towards, looking at Ling Chen with a sparkle in her eyes.

Ling Chen was a bit shocked, “A small, small wish?”

The ever-energetic and playful Xiao Qi suddenly seemed to be a bit bashful and nervous. She battered her eyelashes, and said anxiously, “Right now, we’ve all known big brother Ling Tian for a while, but none of us have seen your face before. Can we see what the big brother who we think is so cool, so strong, looks like?”

After speaking, Xiao Qi once again stared into his eyes. Although they had all known each other for quite a while now, they had never seen what Ling Chen really looked like. The more time passed by, the more their curiosity grew.

Ling Chen’s hand moved to his mask, and stopped there. As the girls’ hearts sped up, he put down his hand, and gently shook his head, “I’m afraid that if I take off my mask, everyone will be disappointed... I think I’ll let you all keep whatever images you have in your head, haha.”

“No way, no way, we definitely won’t be disappointed!” Xiao Qi almost began to jump up and down, “Big brother Ling Tian is so strong, he’s definitely.... Definitely very handsome!”

Ling Chen continued to shake his head, “For this period of time, I’m going to be getting my emotions back in control. When the time comes, I’ll show you all my face.”

“But...”

Xiao Qi wasn’t willing to give up so easily, but just as she began to speak, she was cut off by Meng Xin, “That’s alright, we believe that it won’t be too far away. Ling Tian, you seem quite down, did something happen?”

“I remembered some blissful, yet also painful memories.” Ling Chen held Shui Ruo’s hand as he stood up, and sighed, “It doesn’t matter though, people always have times when they’re down. I’ll be fine in a bit. I’m a bit tired today, so Shui Ruo and I are going to log off. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

“En.” Yun Meng Xin nodded.

After he exited the Mystic Moon world, Ling Chen opened his eyes, and looked at the white ceiling, his emotions in disarray. No matter if he opened his eyes or closed his eyes, what he saw and thought of was inevitably the Sword Emperor, completely wrapped up in her black cloak.

“Big brother... what made you... so upset?”

Beside him, Shui Ruo lay on the bed, listening to his irregular heartbeat. When she was sick, she knew that Ling Chen had never been truly happy. After her recovery, both of them had been extremely joyful every day... however, something had caused Ling Chen’s emotions to spin out of control.

“Shui Ruo, I... I...” Ling Chen started to speak, but had no idea how to say it to Shui Ruo.

“Big brother, if there’s anything that makes you feel down, please tell me, alright? That way, I can help big brother forget about those things.” Ling Shui Ruo reached over and hugged him, gently whispering into his ear.

As such, he decided to tell everything to this girl who was even more important to him than his life.

The room quietened down, and the only thing that could be heard were both of them breathing gently. After a long while, Ling Chen put his arm around Shui Ruo and looked up at the ceiling as he slowly said, “Ruo Ruo, I’ll tell you a story... it’s a story that happened a long time ago, before I met Ruo Ruo.”

Shui Ruo did not reply, instead gently nodding and moving closer to Ling Chen.

Ling Chen closed his eyes, and cast his mind back to the memories that were sealed deep in his brain...

“In a very powerful, very influential family, a boy was born in the wrong place at the wrong time. The year he was born, his mother had died. Before his mother died, she had given him the name ‘Tian Ya’ [TLN: Heaven’s Edge], because she could see his future... he belonged at the edges of heaven, the boundaries of the sea [TLN: meaning he should be free], as opposed to a powerful family. At that time, Tian Ya didn’t understand the meaning of the name his mother had given him, and continued to live in that family. His status in that family was very special. No one was willing to speak to him or even come into contact with him. Everyone would look at him strangely, but would not neglect him by letting him starve or freeze. Just like this, the boy called Tian Ya grew up in loneliness and solitude.”

“That family was extremely large, and every day there would be many people coming and going. Some were other families allied with his family, others were families that were there to protect his family. In one of these families, Tian Ya met a girl who was about his age. She belonged to one of the strongest families that protected his family. It was a pity that the family she belonged to only valued boys, and she was often neglected and bullied. However, that girl was incredibly cute and kind. They met when Tian Ya was five. She smiled at him, then shared a large pile of candy with him.”

“Tian Ya, who had always lived in loneliness, began to unceasingly think of that girl. Afterwards, he found out that she was called Dia Wu (Butterfly’s Dance), and that they were born in the same year, same month and same date... this sort of coincidence was as if the heavens had caused them to meet by fate.”

“Afterwards, when she was being bullied by some other kids, the boy rushed up and fought with them. He was not very strong, but he was incredibly vicious. In order to protect and stand up for Dia Wu, he was beaten very severely, but also injured the other kids quite a bit as well... from the onwards, whenever someone would try to bully Dia Wu, he would charge over like a rabid wolf... for her, his body was always covered in many bruises. Although it was very painful, he did not regret it at all. For him, who had been accustomed to living in loneliness, that girl’s smile was incredibly beautiful, and completely moved him.”

“When they were six, Dia Wu pulled him to the garden. Under a tree, she gave him a cake that had a few flowers and leaves on it, and wished him a ‘happy birthday’. That day, they had celebrated their birthdays together. It was the first time Tian Ya had ever celebrated his birthday, because before then, no one even remembered his birthday. Even he had forgotten that it was his own birthday. On that day, Tian Ya cried. Initially Dia Wu laughed at him, saying that boys shouldn’t cry, but soon, she began to cry with him as well... at that time, Dia Wu probably had no idea what that cake, covered with flowers and leaves, and that ‘happy birthday’ meant to Tian Ya...”