Chapter 66 From now on, I will only live for myself.

Qin Ming had a splitting headache, as if a not-so-sharp axe was chopping at his head again and again, making him feel like his head was being smashed, his vision was going black, and he was in so much pain that he was about to faint.

He took a deep breath, but still couldn’t control himself. He staggered, his emotions surging violently, like a fire burning within him.

“Why did you do this to me?” he whispered amidst the excruciating pain. He had had all sorts of guesses, but he never expected that it was his parents who had asked Cui Hong to treat him this way.

This feeling was like having his soul being torn apart bit by bit, making his body tremble slightly. It was even more painful than when the boy in the feathered robe broke his arm and cracked his skull with a purple bamboo stick.

Qin Ming staggered backward, fragmented images flashing through his mind. No wonder during his third rebirth, he dipped his finger in coarse tea and wrote a single word on the table: Abandon.

Now he recalled more: before the boy in the feathered robe found him, when he lived in that peaceful village, he had silently written the word “abandon” on that night.

He remained silent until the village was engulfed by a sudden fire and breached by a large number of experts, amidst the deafening shouts of battle. Facing this life-or-death ordeal, he watched calmly without uttering a single word.

“Back then, did I no longer want to speak? It seemed like I had a premonition of what was going to happen. Was it extreme disappointment? Perhaps also heartache and loss?” Qin Ming stood in the desert, enduring the sharp pain in his head, feeling as if he were tearing open a wound from the past again, going through another round of torment.

He clearly saw that even when he was about to be engulfed by the fire, his expression did not change at all. In the end, he even looked at the horizon with a sense of relief, gazing at the dark night sky, as if he had completely let go of everything.

“Did I feel a sense of relief at the last moment? I had anticipated that when it actually happened, I would be able to face it calmly.”

Qin Ming stood in the desert, his eyes red, looking at his past self. He felt resentful, unwilling, and indignant towards his past self from two years ago—an emotion that surged from the depths of his heart.

“Young Master, Chonghe, what’s wrong?” Cui Hong felt sorry for him and wanted to go forward.

“Don’t come any closer!” Qin Ming said in a low voice.

Before him was an endless raging fire, and he was nearly crushed by the burning roof beams. At that moment, he didn’t care about life or death.

Two years ago, for some reason, he let out a final sigh in silence, as if he had let go of everything.

But he’s really not reconciled now!

“Because I was almost completely killed by that boy in feathered robes, I lost a lot of my memories. So why can’t I let go of that past now? I can’t understand why I felt relieved at the last moment on that night two years ago.”

Qin Ming stood in the desert, enduring the excruciating pain as he recalled the events.

Fragmented images surged forth again, like a dense jungle of spears or a square array of cold swords, relentlessly assaulting his mind and trying to tear him apart.

It was another night, and he saw many people.

This must be an earlier scene, before he encountered the boy in feathered robes. He was being separated from the Cui family, surrounded by a large group of people.

Across from him stood a middle-aged couple, watching him board a bronze chariot engraved with cloud patterns.

The middle-aged man remained silent, exuding authority, his eyes seemingly piercing through to the heart, calmly watching him leave.

The woman appeared to be in her early thirties, dressed in a magnificent palace gown, her hair styled in a high bun, adorned with a flowing golden feather as a hairpin. Her delicate face remained expressionless as she watched Qin Ming depart.

Many elderly people in the vigorous neighborhood seemed to be intimidated by the aura of these two and kept a certain distance from them, otherwise they would feel quite uncomfortable.

Qin Ming couldn’t help but turn around and look behind him, but he only saw their backs. The middle-aged couple had already left with their people. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Although the image was fragmented and blurry, Qin Ming could clearly sense that he was experiencing strong emotional fluctuations at that time, as if he were facing a life-or-death separation, feeling reluctant to part, endless loss, and a bit of resentment.

“Chonghe, are you alright?” Cui Hong asked with concern.

Qin Ming looked at him and said, “I’m actually doing very well now. It would be even better if you guys didn’t show up again!”

His headache subsided somewhat. He touched his face and found tear stains, which he didn’t know when they had fallen. He was a little annoyed and wiped them clean.

This cheap liquid is not what he should have now. The past is long gone and should be discarded. What is there to shed tears over?

Qin Ming remained expressionless and said, “I always thought I had done something wrong, but only now am I sure I haven’t wronged you, haven’t let the Cui family down. And yet you’ve come to me again, what more do you want?”

Cui Hongdao said, “I came here for two reasons: first, to seek the Yin-Yang Elixir, and second, for your sake. I’ve arranged a residence for you, and there will be people to protect you. There’s no need for you to travel far and risk your life in the outside world.”

“You think you can ruin my future with just a few words?!” Qin Ming’s eyes sharpened, even turning somewhat red. He had been through so much, severely injured, covered in blood, and like a beggar in the freezing snow. If the people of Shuangshun Village hadn’t taken him back, he would have died long ago.

Now, with just a casual remark, they want to completely confine him to this remote place. What gives them the right? Everything he has now is earned through his own efforts, risking his life in the mountains, without relying on even a single resource from the Cui family.

Cui Hong also fell silent, overwhelmed by guilt and reluctance once again. But this was his mission; how could he return without completing it?

After a long while, he finally spoke seriously: “Chonghe, you must have switched to practicing the local new cultivation methods, right? After all, the methods on the silk scroll can no longer be practiced without the guidance of predecessors. And these local new cultivation methods are not particularly advanced, and it’s difficult to achieve much in the end. Even if you work incredibly hard and exhaust your energy, at most you’ll only become a master in this small place. If you really want to go out into the world, you’ll be quite obscure, not a dazzling powerhouse. So, you might as well take advantage of the fact that you’re just starting out and ruthlessly cut off the new cultivation path. You can live a peaceful and prosperous life here, with people protecting and taking care of you. What’s wrong with that?”

Qin Ming felt a surge of anger. Why should others arrange his path and his life?

He asked, “If I am reborn, whether it is the law in the silk scroll or other new laws, you will be ordered to stop it and take action against me, right?”

Cui Hong remained silent.

“My parents’ decision…” Qin Ming stared at the dark desert, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness amidst his endless indignation.

The hardships he had endured in the past had brought him to face death, and he had even died once, but he had never been afraid or terrified. However, the knife of family and human nature had caught him off guard.

Although the various scenes were fragmented, incomplete, and many things were missing, Qin Ming vaguely guessed something from the word “abandoned.” A discarded piece, a chess piece—no matter which one it was, it made him breathe heavily. He couldn’t let it go.

He was certain that he had not only done nothing wrong to the Cui family, but had also risked his life, barely surviving, only to be sent to this remote place.

As flames burned before Qin Ming’s eyes, blurry images flashed by in patches, and he became more and more convinced that many members of the Cui family already knew in advance what would happen that night.

“Are you going to push me out to shield me from the disaster?”

But he couldn’t understand why the Cui family, or more precisely, his parents, would do this when he had already fallen to such a state.

What he once considered an illusion has gradually become real. How desperate he must have been to believe that life was all a lie, a patchwork, because some of his beliefs had collapsed.

Cui Hong didn’t speak, but walked forward. Although he felt regretful, he was still prepared to take action.

“Can you tell me everything I’ve been through?” Qin Ming suddenly spoke up. He pointed to his head and said, “You should have witnessed what happened that night. My skull was shattered in three places by that feathered youth. I’ve forgotten a lot of things. Even if you want to take action, at least let me leave with some clarity.”

“What?” Cui Hong’s expression changed drastically. He was deeply surprised, and also felt guilty and ashamed. He said, “I didn’t know. You’ve even lost your memory. It’s our fault. We should have gotten there faster. I’m sorry, young master, Chonghe.”

His emotions were also fluctuating greatly. He said, “Chonghe, I came here not to kill you, but to eliminate your path to rebirth. No one will target you anymore, and you can marry and have children here, with no more disputes!”

“What’s the difference between this and killing me? I just want to embark on a new path, this is the future I chose myself, why do you want to cut it off?” Qin Ming said, then asked loudly, “I’ve completely forgotten the past, only fragmented memories remain, what else are you worried about?”

“How could this be?!” From the edge of the desert, on the rugged path, came a cry of surprise, and Li Qingyue, dressed in a feathered robe, appeared.

Beside her were the maid, two men in golden armor, and Meng Xinghai, the new city lord of Crimson Cloud City.

In the desert, all was quiet.

Cui Hong did not retreat, but looked at the boy in front of him.

Qin Ming realized that the other party was going to make a move eventually, so he said, “A weak family, my neighbors, an ordinary couple, can take good care of their two children, full of love and warmth, and they would protect them with their lives. A thousand-year-old family? From now on, we will have no more contact, let’s just abandon them.”

At that moment, a voice in Qin Ming’s heart seemed to sigh softly, telling him that everything was in the past, that those were his parents, and that he should not blame them anymore. It was only right that he had made some sacrifices, and that he should simply leave and go on his way.

Right now, he’s shaking his head, unable to remain calm at all.

“I have already died once. From now on, I am no longer Cui Chonghe. I am Qin Ming, who has been reborn. From now on, I only want to live for myself!” Qin Ming shouted loudly in the desert.