“Tian Ya continued to live in solitude as he grew up. However, as time passed, people began to avoid him more and more. They were unwilling to even go near him, as if he had some kind of disease. There, he felt that his life was completely meaningless, and that there was no point to his existence. In that sort of environment, he had matured quite quickly. However, after being together with Dia Wu, his entire life changed.”

“From the time they were six years old, they were together nearly every day, and had innumerable things to talk about. Dia Wu was his teacher- by the time she was six, she was able to read and write more than one thousand words, and had a decent mathematical knowledge. When they were together, she would carefully and patiently teach Tian Ya... Tian Ya had never been to school before, but he could not be considered uneducated. This was because he had a very good teacher, who was Dia Wu. No matter what Dia Wu taught him, he would learn it extremely quickly, and would not forget any of it. As Dia Wu learnt more and more herself, she taught Tian Ya more and more. At that time, although Dia Wu’s family didn’t really care about her, they were unwilling to see her together with Tian Ya, so they tried to stop her and rebuked her. Even though Dia Wu was a gentle and kind girl, deep down she could be quite stubborn too. She, who had always been obedient, refused to comply this time... her family also talked to Tian Ya many times, and warned him to stay away from Dia Wu... one of Dia Wu’s older brothers even mockingly called Tian Ya scum, and said that he should have been kicked out long ago... he said many humiliating things, but Tian Ya endured it all. This was because Dia Wu’s older brother was ten or so years old at that time, and was quite strong. Tian Ya knew that he definitely wouldn’t be able to beat him in a fight, and he didn’t want to risk not being able to meet Dia Wu anymore... Although Dia Wu’s brother relentlessly mocked Tian Ya, because of Tian Ya’s special status, he did not dare to physically attack him...”

“Perhaps it was because Dia Wu was incredibly stubborn, or perhaps she was like Tian Ya, and saw him as he saw her, as the most important person in her life. Finally, her family relented... as long as she practiced her sword skills for 6 hours every day, the rest of the day she could have as her free time. That family was one that specialised in swords, and was an ancient, secretive martial arts family.”

“Dia Wu agreed... she, who had never touched a sword before, and was unwilling to even come into contact with such a thing that could take away lives, bitterly trained. Every day, after she finished her practice, she would go to find Tian Ya, and teach him everything she knew. Whenever she learnt a new sword skill, she would show it to him. She once said that she would practice hard, so that she could become as strong as her father and her big brother, so that when she grew up she could protect Tian Ya.”

“Everything she taught him, every single word she said to him, as well as every sword skill she showed him, Tian Ya remembered it all in his heart. They even began to create their own sword skills that were fun and looked nice. Although the time they had together had been reduced, they were still quite satisfied and happy. Although they were both still quite young, they had already understood what mutual dependence meant.”

Ling Shui Ruo silently listened, and did not say anything that would distract Ling Chen. After all, she knew nothing about his past, but every time she had asked him, he would say that he had forgotten everything. As such, she decided not to ask anymore. If the things from the past were that painful, she would prefer that he did not have to think of those things again. However, deep in her heart, she wanted to completely understand him and his past. No matter what had happened, she would help him through it and heal his wounds, and gradually help him forget about it.

“Dia Wu’s talent with swords was simply outstanding. She, who had always been neglected, was now revered as a genius, and was greatly favoured by her family. At the same time, they also began to gradually shorten the time she had with Tian Ya. However, despite this, Dia Wu would continue to go and find Tian Ya... especially when it was their birthday, she would spend the entire day with him.”

“As each day passed, they became more and more inseparable. As Tian Ya grew up, the way people looked and him grew weirder and weirder. However, Tian Ya did not care about this at all; he was happy as long as Dia Wu was by his side... however, even such a simple thing was eventually bound to be taken from him.”

Ling Shui Ruo’s small hands unconsciously clasped together.

“There was a young master in that family... a young master who was respected by everyone, someone who had grown up in praise and admiration. No matter what commands he gave, they would surely be fulfilled. That young master was older than Tian Ya by four years, but their differences were as large as heaven and earth. Because the young master was always out, Tian Ya very rarely saw him. Every time they saw each other, he would nod his head towards Tian Ya in a friendly way. Although they never spoke, he was not as cold and harsh towards Tian Ya than other people. On the fifth day after Tian Ya’s ninth birthday, that young master suddenly returned home, and as they walked past each other, Tian Ya found that his leg had been pricked by something. When he returned ot his room, he found that there was a small needle hole. Tian Ya thought that perhaps there was something sharp on the young master’s body, and had accidentally poked into him while they were walking past each other. The Tian Ya back then was not willing to associate with anyone except for Dia Wu, and he didn’t want to unnecessarily cause any trouble. As such, he didn’t pay much notice to this incident, and soon forgot about it, and did not even tell Dia Wu.”

“However, from that night, his body often felt very light, and could clearly feel his strength flowing out from him. He usually slept at 10pm, but found that he went to bed earlier and earlier, and woke up later and later. He found that he didn’t want to walk or eat. Every day, he felt weaker and weaker, and his complexion became more and more pale. In order to not worry Dia Wu, he tried his best to act normal when he was with her. At that time, he naively believed that he just had a cold, and that he would be better in a few days... after three days, a big group of people wearing white clothes came to the family, and said that they were there to do a check-up on the whole family. Every wealthy and influential family did such check-ups, and everyone had to go through them, even servants. However, this time, they came much earlier than previous years. Although Tian Ya had never been checked before, this time they seemed to be especially focused on him... the results of his check-up sent the entire family into fear.”

Ling Chen’s eyes slightly opened, his eyes filled with a glow of hatred, “What they found in Tian Ya was the world’s most terrifying disease... Isrock Disease!!”

“Ahh!!” Ling Shui Ruo cried out. Her body trembled, and she grabbed onto Ling Chen’s hands, worriedly shouting, “And then, and then, what... what happened to Tian Ya...?”

Ling Chen gently held Shui Ruo’s small hands in his own, and his tone became gentle again, “The Isrock Disease that Ling Chen had contracted sent the entire family spiralling into fear. However, it was fortunate that Tian Ya had not contracted the Isrock Disease for too long, and he hadn’t transmitted it to anyone. Apart from Tian Ya, no one had contracted the disease. On that day, the family completely disinfected every single inch of their residence, and everything that Tian Ya had come into contact with was destroyed with fire. As for Tian Ya, he had become like a terrifying demon to everyone else. Whenever people saw him, they would run away in terror. Even the auntie who cooked for him and looked after him would stay far away from him... in the afternoon, he was locked up by a few people dressed in biohazard suits. They said it was only a temporary quarantine, so that no one else was infected, and that they would immediately inform the head of the family so that he could take care of things.”

“Tian Ya was already nine at that time, and he fully knew how terrifying the Isrock Disease was. There was no incubation period, and once someone was infected, it would rapidly devour a person’s lifeforce. At that time, Tian Ya had already contracted the disease for four days. After finding out that he had the Isrock Disease, he felt that he no longer had the strength to stand, and lay like a corpse on the cold, hard ground. He somewhat wished that he could just die there and then, but he also didn’t want to die, as he didn’t want to lose Dia Wu.”

“Just as he was calling out Dia Wu’s name, she appeared. She had gotten hold of a key, and unlocked the door. She rushed in, and hugged him while crying. Seeing Dia Wu, he was extremely happy, as if his dream had come true. However, he immediately pushed her away, and yelled at her to leave, and to stay away from him. Even if he was going to die, he didn’t want to infect Dia Wu with the Isrock Disease as well. However, Dia Wu continued to hug him, and no matter what he did, he was unable to push her away...”

Remembering that scene, Ling Chen’s heart trembled in happiness, as well as pain.

“On that night, Dia Wu carried the strengthless Tian Ya on her back to a small creek that they liked to go to together. The night sky on that night was especially beautiful, and there was not a single cloud in the sky. Tian Ya’s head lay on Dia Wu’s legs, and he looked up at the sky full of countless stars, as well as a pair of eyes that were even more beautiful than the stars in the sky...”

........................

“Dia’Er, I don’t want to die... If I die, I won’t be able to see your eyes or hear your voice... Dia’Er...”

“Big brother Tian Ya, you’re a man, so you can’t... you can’t cry... we all can’t cry... nothing’s going to happen to you... no matter what happens, I’ll stay with you... my everything belongs to my Tian Ya. If big brother Tian Ya really died... I... I will also die... no one will ever see my eyes again, no one will ever hear my voice...”

...........................

The girl’s voice from that night rang in his ears, assaulting his mind and emotions.