# Chapter 1370: Conclusion
"..." Yun Che did not help Ling Jie up, nor was he even surprised at this action.
Because he knew very well that regarding Chu Yuechan, Ling Jie had always carried a heavy weight on his heart... Although it was not his fault, it was just his nature, and it was also what Yun Che admired most about him.
"Mother?" Yun Wuxin, who was not good at interacting with outsiders, instinctively hid behind Chu Yuechan, looking at her with a confused expression.
Chu Yuechan's reaction was extremely calm: "You don't need to do this. It has nothing to do with you, and it is definitely not your fault."
"No," Ling Jie shook his head, his voice hoarse and heavy: "As a son, I must atone for my mother's sins. Back then, mother let jealousy turn to hatred and did unforgivable things to you... Fortunately, heaven had mercy, and you are safe and sound. Otherwise... otherwise..."
When he got to this point, he was choked with tears and could not speak.
He was no longer the slightly naive and innocent Ling Jie of the past, but the renowned Cang Feng Sword Saint. Yet at this moment, tears poured down like rain, unable to stop.
Back then, after Yun Che defeated Xuanyuan Wentian, he slaughtered two sacred grounds—the Sun Moon Divine Palace and the Tian Wei Sword Domain—which was undeniably cruel. But he spared Xuanyuan Yufeng... the person he hated the most.
Ling Jie understood why... because she was his mother.
To Ling Jie, this was a great favor and bond of friendship, as well as a heavy burden he found hard to let go. So he left the Tian Jian Villa, traveling the world with his sword alone, hoping to find Chu Yuechan, whose life or death was unknown.
Although Chu Yuechan was not found by him, seeing her safe and together with Yun Che allowed him to finally put down his burden and some of his guilt.
"Little Jie," Yun Che frowned: "You said just now... 'deceased mother'?"
Ling Jie closed his eyes and said slowly: "Back then... after the Tian Wei Sword Domain was destroyed, mother's personality changed drastically. She was plagued by nightmares every night... Two years ago, on a certain night, she returned to the old site of the Tian Wei Sword Domain, to the place where she and my father met... and took her own life..."
Ling Jie spoke these words with exceptional difficulty.
"..." Yun Che's chest heaved, and he let out a sigh.
"Although mother is gone, her sins remain. As her son, I must atone for them."
His words fell on Yun Che's ears, making him sense something amiss. He urgently shouted: "Little Jie, you..."
But how could he possibly stop Ling Jie now... The Tian Yang Sword at his feet flew up, and a rainbow light flashed by in an instant.
Under the sword's glow, Ling Jie's left middle finger and ring finger were cut off together, flying far away.
"Ah!" Feng Xian'er and Yun Wuxin both cried out in alarm.
Chu Yuechan turned her snow-white face away and sighed softly: "The fault does not lie with you. Why must you do this?"
"Little Jie, this is..." Looking at the severed fingers carried away by the sword's wind, Yun Che shook his head.
For a profound practitioner whose entire life's cultivation was in the way of the sword, what did it mean to lose two fingers... It went without saying.
With both fingers severed, what appeared on Ling Jie's face was not pain, but a relieved calm. He had cut off not just his fingers, but the mental shackles that had bound him all these years.
Ling Jie was undoubtedly someone who placed great importance on bonds of friendship and loyalty.
Thinking back to his first meeting with Yun Che back then, he was the second young master of the Tian Jian Villa, while Yun Che was just an unknown disciple of a Profound Palace. But during the three-sword bet in the Cangfeng Imperial Palace, he lost to Yun Che, and even though it was due to the latter's scheming, he still accepted defeat gracefully, willingly calling himself a younger brother in front of Yun Che as the second young master of the Tian Jian Villa.
All the way to this day, no matter how many storms had passed, it had never changed.
Although Xuanyuan Yufeng was a vicious woman, in Ling Jie's world, she was his birth mother, the one who gave birth to him, raised him, and showered him with infinite care and love. He had to protect her with his life and atone for her sins at all costs.
"Yue Chan," Yun Che said: "Regarding Xuanyuan Yufeng, you..."
"I no longer hate her," Chu Yuechan said softly before Yun Che could finish. "I have long since even forgotten what she looks like."
Her simple words made Ling Jie, who had been holding back his tears, tremble all over, and his eyes glistened with tears again.
"Alright, then I forgive her too." Yun Che smiled, looking at Ling Jie sincerely: "Although she almost made me lose my Little Fairy, in the end... they are safe and sound. Also, if it weren't for your mother, I would be missing a good brother in this life. So let's call it even."
The words of the two, especially Chu Yuechan's personal statement, were undoubtedly the warmest redemption for Ling Jie's soul. His heart was filled with emotion, and for a moment he could not speak. He was about to kowtow again...
"Alright, alright, get up quickly!" Yun Che stepped forward and pulled him up forcefully: "My little fairy is now your sister-in-law, not your senior! Why do you keep kowtowing!"
Ling Jie: "Uh..."
"Mom, what is 'sister-in-law'?" Yun Wuxin asked softly.
Chu Yuechan: "..."
"Also!" Yun Che said indignantly: "It felt good to cut off your fingers, but next time can you give some warning? You scared my daughter, you know? Get up now!"
"...Huh?" Ling Jie was instantly dumbfounded: "You... daughter?"
"Ahem, Wuxin." Yun Che put on a stern face, assuming a dignified fatherly demeanor: "This is your Uncle Ling Jie. His behavior of cutting off his fingers just now was extremely wrong. You must never imitate it!"
"..." Yun Wuxin parted her lips, half of her body still hiding behind Chu Yuechan, and whispered softly: "Uncle... Ling Jie?"
Looking at Yun Wuxin, Ling Jie's mouth fell open: "She... sh-she-she-she-she... she is your daughter?"
"That's right." Yun Che nodded.
Stuttering, he hastily stood up, while quickly sealing the blood flow from his severed fingers with profound energy... Back then, the fact that Chu Yuechan was pregnant was known to everyone in Cang Feng Kingdom, but more than ten years had passed... Ling Jie had seen Yun Wuxin long ago, but never thought that this girl, already over ten years old, would be Yun Che's daughter.
He fumbled around on his body and in his space ring in a fluster, but could not find anything decent. Finally, with a resolute heart, he took off a piece of jade that had been hanging on his chest, bent down to Yun Wuxin and said: "I never thought the boss would have a daughter, and already this old. You're called... Wuxin, right? What a nice name. Your uncle didn't bring anything decent, so... take this as a meeting gift."
Looking at the jade in Ling Jie's hand, the corner of Yun Che's mouth twitched slightly.
That was clearly the token of the young master of the Tian Jian Villa!
With this token, Yun Wuxin could swagger around the Tian Jian Villa without any restraint... Even without this token, she could still swagger around.
Yun Wuxin shrank back a little more and asked softly: "Mom, can I accept it?"
Chu Yuechan smiled and nodded: "Since it's a meeting gift from Uncle Ling Jie, then take it."
Only then did Yun Wuxin reach out and take it. The jade in her hand emitted an unusual light she had never seen before, reflecting in her eyes. Her brows curved as she said happily: "It's so pretty... Thank you... Uncle Ling Jie?"
Seeming unsure about the title, she added a questioning tone at the end.
"No need to thank me, no need to thank me, it's only right." Ling Jie quickly waved his hand, then said to Yun Che: "As expected of the boss's daughter, she is really likable."
If he knew that this eleven-year-old girl's profound cultivation was higher than his own, he would probably kneel down in shock again.
Yun Che grabbed Ling Jie's hand and looked at his severed fingers. He sighed softly: "Little Jie, from today onward, not a single word about atonement or anything like that. Don't mention it again."
"Alright!" Ling Jie nodded happily, and the light in his eyes was brighter than at any time in recent years.
"Boss, your profound power is really..." he asked, still unable to believe it.
"Mm." Yun Che smiled and nodded: "But it doesn't matter. At least I'm still alive and well. Besides, even if I've lost my profound power, it's fine. Think about the women around me..."
Suddenly feeling Chu Yuechan's gaze, Yun Che's voice came to an abrupt halt, and he quickly changed course: "The people around me are all the most powerful in this world. Who could possibly harm me!"
With his profound path completely crippled, it was undoubtedly the cruelest thing for a profound practitioner—the stronger one was, the crueler it was. But looking at Yun Che's demeanor, Ling Jie sighed inwardly and said with heartfelt admiration: "As expected of you. Whether it was my grandfather or Xuanyuan Wentian... in this world, nothing can ever knock you down."
Yun Che smiled and shook his head, then asked: "Have you been traveling all these years?"
"Mm," Ling Jie's expression was firm: "Without the Tian Wei Sword Domain as a backing, the Tian Jian Villa can instead gain true freedom. In those years, the Tian Jian Villa made grave mistakes one after another, and its reputation fell to a low point. I will use my sword to rebuild the faith and former glory of the Tian Jian Villa."
Yun Che patted his shoulder: "If it's you, you can definitely do it."
"In the future, I should be living long-term in the Demon Emperor City of the Illusion Demon Realm. If you ever pass by, don't forget to come find me, so I can witness your growth with my own eyes."
"It's a deal!" Ling Jie nodded heavily.
The two parted ways, and Ling Jie went far away.
The Cang Feng Sword Saint, having severed two fingers but also released the heavy burden on his heart, would undoubtedly draw even more attention in his future growth.
Chu Yuechan said: "Ling Yun is a gentleman among swordsmen, graceful and elegant, proud but not arrogant; Ling Jie's talent surpasses his elder brother, and he is so devoted to bonds of friendship. The Tian Jian Villa lost its backing but produced two remarkable descendants."
Yun Che nodded in deep agreement: "Their father, Ling Yuefeng, though selfish and prioritizing the interests of the Tian Jian Villa over the safety of the Cang Feng Kingdom, aside from that, his actions throughout his life were worthy of being called 'righteous' and 'a gentleman.'"
"And their mother, Xuanyuan Yufeng... as the daughter of an elder of the Tian Wei Sword Domain, she gave up her father and sect for love of Ling Yuefeng, following him back to the small Tian Jian Villa. Even knowing that Ling Yuefeng might be using her to climb the high branches of the Tian Wei Sword Domain, she never left him for decades, with no regrets."
"It's not surprising that they would raise such outstanding descendants. It's just..." Yun Che shook his head: "The more obsessed Ling Yuefeng was with you, the more jealous Xuanyuan Yufeng became of you. No matter how good a woman is, once she falls into the abyss of jealousy and hatred, she becomes a terrifying demon."
"..." Chu Yuechan turned her gaze: "Are you saying that I drove Xuanyuan Yufeng to become a villain?"
"Uh..." Yun Che waved his hands at the fastest speed of his life: "No no no no no no no, of course that's not what I mean. I mean... uh... ah... your charm is just too great. Any man... no, that's wrong too... Ah! Right, Wuxin!"
Yun Che grabbed his daughter's hand and pointed ahead: "Up ahead is a rock that your dad personally touched back in the day. Let me take you to see it."
Yun Wuxin: "Huh?"
Watching Yun Che pull his daughter and run away as if fleeing, the corner of Chu Yuechan's mouth moved slightly, and a dreamlike blur appeared in her eyes.
The coldness and desirelessness of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace—she had once thought that would be her entire life.
That half year of day-and-night with Yun Che, when she returned, she found that she no longer had an "ice heart." She had desires, and she tried desperately to suppress them. But the moment she learned of Yun Che's death, she truly realized that the desire in her heart had long been so strong that she was willing to betray her sect for him...
Now, with him by her side, and with her daughter, this was real life, a complete life... no matter where the future took them.
Behind them, Feng Xian'er silently watched the family of three, unwilling to make a single sound to disturb them.