Chapter 2: Noel [Rewrite]

After Deluk left, the girl remained alone, her hair tousled by the wind.

Deluk didn't really care whether she would jump off the building or not.

Now, his mind was eerily calm, like a stagnant pool, incapable of stirring even the slightest ripple.

Descending from the rooftop, the noisy bustle of the hallway reached his ears.

The students must be frolicking in the corridor.

Deluk's mood lightened slightly.

He was invigorated by the newfound vitality coursing through his body, an experience he had never felt before.

Deluk had been a severe congenital heart disease patient.

At birth, the doctors had diagnosed him, stating bluntly that this child would be lucky to reach adulthood.

Yet, Deluk was already seventeen.

If nothing unexpected happened, he was expected to die quietly in the coming year.

His life was fleeting, always had been.

He was a loner, always alone.

But Deluk wasn't an orphan; he had parents.

However, upon learning their newborn suffered from severe congenital heart disease, they quickly made a choice.

Since the 'main account' was a lost cause, they decided to 'start a new, smaller account.'

But Deluk's family wasn't wealthy. Raising two children was a struggle.

So, on a certain deep night, the unmistakably short-lived child was abandoned without a doubt.

Fortunately, the couple had a shred of humanity left; they didn't abandon him in the wild to be fed to dogs.

Instead, they left him at the doorstep of an unknown rural orphanage.

The orphanage director was a famously good man in the surrounding villages. He couldn't simply ignore the baby at his doorstep.

He first heard the noise outside, then glanced at the pitch-black night through the window, and had an inkling of what was happening.

The director was still relatively healthy at that time.

Groping in the dark, he got up, grabbed a coat from behind the door, and hurried to the orphanage's iron gate under the moonlight.

In the quiet night, the creaking sound of the iron gate echoed.

Behind the door, a bamboo basket woven from bamboo sat alone on the steps.

The director approached, quickly covering the baby in the basket with his coat, then carefully lifted the child. He examined the baby, then broke into a smile.

For the baby's sleeping face was rather adorable.

He reached out his rough, yellowed hand, gently wiping the infant's cheek.

"From now on, you'll be with me."

Suddenly, the director uttered a soft exclamation. He picked up a note from the infant's garment, on which was written the Smith.

Rubbing his chin, the director looked at the still sleeping baby and sighed.

"May you just grow up safe and sound."

"Let's name you... Deluk."

...

...

In the land of Shenzhou.

Noel returned once again to the forest.

This was where she and her master had lived in seclusion for twenty years.

[Do you regret it?]

A long sigh suddenly echoed in her mind, causing Noel to stop in her tracks.

She stood there, her expression neither sad nor happy.

"I have a clear conscience, so what is there to regret?"

She retorted.

There was only satisfaction in avenging the murder of her parents. Why should she regret?

From the day, ten years ago, when her master allowed her to leave the mountain and she coincidentally obtained the Shadow Stone, the gears of fate had already begun to turn slowly.

The so-called master-disciple relationship, the so-called nurturing kindness, was nothing but a facade.

The voice paused for a moment before speaking again.

[The Shadow Stone indeed cannot lie, but if you only hear half a sentence, the answer you get can be completely opposite, right?]

Hearing this, Noel's expression finally changed. Her long, narrow eyes narrowed, emitting a dangerous glimmer.

"What do you mean?"

The voice in her mind had appeared a month before she killed her master.

Initially, Noel thought it was her inner demon, but as she executed her strike and entered the tribulation, the voice still existed.

It was formless and shadowless, even beyond Noel's current realm of perception.

The voice chuckled menacingly.

[Let me take you on a journey once more, from your master's perspective, and experience it all]

Noel looked slightly bewildered but didn't rush to refuse.

"My master's... perspective?"

She was curious to see what trick the other party wanted to play.

...

...

In the southern part of Shenzhou, there is a winding, majestic river.

It runs through north and south, bringing abundant resources to the areas it flows through.

People live off the land and water.

Su Village is located upstream of this river.

The setting sun cast its slanting rays, but the normally bustling village entrance was eerily quiet, devoid of the usual sounds of children playing.

This was abnormal.

Thick, dark red blood slowly trickled from the village entrance.

Blood was everywhere, casting a sinister filter over the entire Su Village.

Alongside the muddy village paths lay the lifeless bodies of villagers: middle-aged men responsible for hunting, housewives doing laundry and cooking, and even a child not taller than a meter.

The thick scent of blood spread throughout, resembling a hell on earth.

Suddenly, from a rice barrel, a small head popped out.

It was a little girl with braided hair.

Her chubby, fair face showed signs of baby fat, and she stared blankly at the world outside the barrel.

Clearly terrified by the bloody and brutal scene before her, her mouth agape and eyes wide open.

Then, her tiny nose twitched, and she burst into tears.

Struggling to climb out of the rice barrel, she crawled towards the lifeless bodies.

Her tender hands got dirty and were scratched by sharp stones, causing heart-wrenching pain.

Blood was everywhere, thick and wet, making it hard for the little girl to discern whether the blood on her hands was hers or from the ground.

"Daddy..."

She cried out, her face showing heartbreaking helplessness and confusion.

Everyone was dead.

Her father, mother, the neighboring Uncle Wang who always played with her, Aunt Huang from the village entrance with the loud voice, Yalo who always followed her around...

'All of them...'

'All dead...'

Although she was just of age to start retaining memories, the little girl couldn't hold back her overwhelming sadness.

Her tears flowed like a broken dam, wetting her entire face.

Suddenly, footsteps approached.

Before the girl could look up, she was lifted by the armpits and held in the air.

Wiping her reddened eyes and still sniffling, she finally saw the man's face clearly.

He was a young man.

Dressed in a blue Daoist robe, his hair casually draped over his shoulders, he exuded a serene and detached air.

"Immortal..."

The little girl was mesmerized, forgetting even to cry.

She had never seen someone so beautiful, instinctively associating him with the immortals her father used to talk about.

The 'immortal' tenderly wiped the tears from her cheeks and sighed.

"I'm still too late..."

He held the girl in his arms, shielding her view with his hand.

"Don't look."

His voice was gentle and soothing, comforting to the heart.

So, the little girl obediently closed her eyes, no longer looking at the carnage.

"What a good girl."

He smiled.

"From now on, you'll be with me."

"Let's call you... Noel."

...

...

"So, what's different from my memory?"

Noel watched all this unfold, her expression stoic.

[Don't rush]

[Keep watching]