21 Because it's you

Jie Fu Lian sighed as he sat down on the floor in front of Hua Tianshu and asked, "Hua Tianshu, just how have I offended you? Why is it that you just won't get off my back even after death?"

"Jie Ming, it's not that I don't want to," Hua Tianshu beamed, looking to be a bit too happy with this weird unexpected situation, "Meeting you again is probably fate."

"Fate?" Jie Fu Lian scoffed as he spat out, "It's surely an ill-fated relationship!"

Hua Tianshu didn't seem to mind such words and simply kept staring at Jie Fu Lian's face like a little child that was looking at its favourite candy.

"Are you really going to keep staring at me like this?" Jie Fu Lian asked with a frown as he pointed out, "It's quite uncomfortable and makes me want to punch you again."

"You can punch me as many times as you want," Hua Tianshu replied without missing a beat.

'Hua Tianshu is into such stuff...?' Jie Fu Lian couldn't help but feel his eyes twitch as he saw this new side of Hua Tianshu.

"Just for your information, I am not into that kind of stuff so don't let your imagination go wild," Hua Tianshu laughed as he spoke, guessing what Jie Fu Lian was thinking, "But if you want to punch me then I'll let you punch me."

"Why?"

"Because it's you," Hua Tianshu slightly tilted his head and beamed.

Jie Fu Lian gulped and felt his heart skip a beat as he looked at the man.

'Had Hua Tianshu really gone crazy or am I the one crazy here?'

Jie Fu Lian abruptly coughed as he awkwardly tried to change the conversation, "In any case, it's quite troublesome that I've been found out by you, but I guess this is also good. If it's really fate then there is no point in avoiding it."

Hua Tianshu simply smiled as he heard this and said nothing.

"Thank you," Jie Fu Lian straightened his back and spoke as he looked back at Hua Tianshu without any hesitation.

"About what?"

"Back when I died..." Jie Fu Lian spoke with a sigh as he remembered the day of his unfortunate death, "You were the only one who believed me. You were willing to stand up for me. You had the courage to stand against everyone else just for my sake."

Hua Tianshu's smile fell down as he heard these words and it seemed that he was also reminded of that unfortunate day.

"Back then, your actions and words made me smile. I had always wanted to thank you for that but I never got the chance to say those words to you," Jie Fu Lian added with a small smile that was filled with a hint of sadness.

"You're right," Hua Tianshu spoke with a hint of pain in his voice, "I was willing to stand by your side that day. I was courageous enough to go up against everyone else just for you. I couldn't solve your problems nor could I clear your name but I still did everything I could to support you. Why wasn't that enough for you? Jie Ming, why did you jump?"

Jie Fu Lian gulped as he heard this and his eyebrows creased together as he corrected the man, "I didn't jump. I tripped. There is a difference."

"..." Hua Tianshu didn't seem to believe him.

"I'm being honest. I really did trip," Jie Fu Lian sighed out as he mentally added, 'It might have been a bit intentional but you don't need to know that.'

"Did it hurt?" Hua Tianshu suddenly asked.

"Huh?"

"When you died... Did it hurt?"

"..." Jie Fu Lian was silent for a few minutes as he heard this question. He would be lying if he said that it didn't hurt, but at the same time, he felt that he couldn't say the truth, fearing that the truth might hurt the man sitting in front of him.

The pain he had felt didn't end with just a single day. He had died slowly and painfully.

The sensation of his soul being torn apart and his body being shredded into pieces... It wasn't really a delightful experience.

If he were to go back to that day, he would certainly not choose to die in the same way again.

That was really the worst death one could ever ask for...

"It was bearable," Jie Fu Lian thinly smiled as he spoke, "It's been eight years now so I really don't remember it well."

That was clearly a lie that even Hua Tianshu could see through, but although the man saw through it, he still refrained from asking any further questions about it.

"Compared to my death, coming back and finding the Yan sect gone was a much more painful experience."

"I'm sorry," Hua Tianshu apologized as he looked down at his hands, "I wasn't able to help them."

"It's not your fault," Jie Fu Lian forced himself to chuckle as he spoke, "It wasn't like you were the one who killed them all."

"..." Hua Tianshu said nothing as he heard this.

In reality, he felt responsible for it as well. Although he wasn't the one who had directly killed them off, he was still guilty of not doing anything to help. He stood by the side and watched, not because he was unable to help but because he truly didn't want to help them.

He despised the Yan sect. He blamed them for the death of Jie Fu Lian and hence, when the Yan Sect was destroyed, he silently watched and even celebrated their demise.

Even now, when he heard about how much the incident broke Jie Fu Lian's heart, he still felt no remorse for what had happened.

If he were to go back in time, he would still choose to stand by and rejoice while the Yan sect perished away.

Those people... There was really nothing good about them. They deserved everything they got.

"Hua Tianshu, there is something that I want to ask you."

"Hmm?"

"Seven years ago... Do you know what happened back then?" Jie Fu Lian looked at Hua Tianshu with an expectant gaze.

"The Yan sect was suspected of demonic cultivation and harboring demons," Hua Tianshu sighed as he truthfully revealed, "The situation escalated very quickly and there were even some rumors about your death being a part of their schemes."

Jie Fu Lian immediately shook his head as he defended, "There is no way such a thing can happen. My death was an unexpected accident and the Yan sect has always been filled with righteous cultivators. Nobody would ever connect them with demonic cultivation. Harboring demons? Just who would believe such absurd accusations?"

Hua Tianshu wanted to say 'everyone believed it' but he refrained himself from stating such brutally honest facts.

"The accusations about you were also absurd, weren't they? But even your father believed it. Even with such prior experience, can you really ask that question?"

Jie Fu Lian coughed and fell silent.

"There was some proof and the investigation was officially headed by the Jin Sect. It happened an year after your death so you can guess how bitter the public reaction was."

"The Jin sect?" Jie Fu Lian suddenly frowned as he repeated and questioned, "How can it be them?"

His father had been quite close to the sect master of the Jin Sect. In fact, they had been so close that his father hadn't looked for trouble with the Jin sect even when Jie Fu Lian had been badly injured in the eternal hell tower!

Their friendship was pretty deep and they knew each other since childhood. They were basically sworn brothers for life!

For the Jin sect to investigate the Yan sect and accuse them of such things... It was truly a bit unbelievable.

The only way the situation would make sense would be if the Yan sect was actually guilty of everything it had been accused with, but Jie Fu Lian, who had grown up in the Yan sect, clearly knew that the accusations weren't true.

"When the investigation ended, the Yan sect was officially proclaimed guilty of all the crimes it had been accused with. Many big names were involved in the case and hence nobody dared to doubt the results of the investigation."

"So then... It was the Jin sect...?" Jie Fu Lian asked with a look of disbelief, "They were the reason behind the destruction of the Yan sect?"

Hua Tianshu slightly shook his head as he corrected, "They weren't merely a reason, they were the main cause. The Jin sect directly targeted the Yan sect. Compared to the strength of the two sects, it was already clear since the beginning who would emerge victorious. It didn't really matter if the accusations were true or not, in the end, it was a war and the Jin sect had already won it."

Jie Fu Lian felt a shiver run down his spine as he muttered, "The Jin sect destroyed the Yan sect...?"

In the end, it had been his father's sworn brother who had betrayed him and killed him...

How can he believe such a thing...?