171 Never Too Late

His blank stare lingered over my face, as if I had just said something utterly incomprehensible to him. Then a bitter smile crossed his lips. "You got it backward, Qing-er. I didn't have to save you if I didn't kill you."

"To kill me in a situation like that WAS to save me," I corrected him. "How could I answer otherwise to all those innocent lives that were lost? It was my fault to begin wi—"

"It was not," he cut me off. "None of it was ever your fault. Twin Stars would never have grown so strong if not because of me. You would never have bonded with them if not because of me. There could've been other ways to strengthen your body, and there could've been other ways to stop you without—" he tensed again, a wince of pain knitting his brow, "—without resorting to that kind of approach. I took the wrong step from the very beginning … and it was too late by the time I realized how grave my mistake was."