Chapter 6: Brother, will I die?

[The girl's physical condition is far more serious than you imagine.]

[This is no ordinary Mortal illness, nor is it damage from the outside world; it is a kind of internal atrophy and collapse. The girl's body is gradually reaching its end.]

[You cannot understand it, nor do you comprehend why.]

[You can only do your best to search for a cure, but unfortunately, even the Spirit Pills and miraculous medicines of Cultivators cannot eradicate the girl's symptoms; they can only delay the decay of her body.]

[You strive, you try, like a bird desperately flapping its wings, flying wildly through a thorn-filled jungle, searching for an infinitely tiny sliver of hope.]

[But no matter how hard you try, even if you are covered in wounds and plead with everyone, including your Master, you still cannot find the true cause of the girl's illness.]

[You can only watch her suffer more each day.]

[You can only watch her waste away day by day.]

[You are powerless; you can do nothing.]

[Reality never changes according to one's will. You cannot be like the male lead of a hot-blooded anime, rewriting the tragedy and suffering before you with nothing but an unreasonable roar.]

[In the face of true tragedy, human effort always seems so insignificant, so small that it leads to despair.]

[Every morning greeting, every goodnight farewell, is a signal drawing closer to death. You have run around under such pressure for four years, and in the end, you have gained nothing.]

[Four years have passed. You are 20 years old, and the girl is 14.]

[The cute child who used to follow behind you, calling you "Brother" at every turn, has grown into a beautiful young girl. However, she can only lie on her sickbed all day, like a fragile object covered in cracks that will shatter with the slightest carelessness.]

[In some people's eyes, this sickly pallor is the ultimate aesthetic, but in your eyes, it is the most desperate, helpless, and hateful appearance.]

[Your four seasons seem to consist only of a biting winter, making it difficult to ever feel joy or warmth again.]

[The young girl sees all of this, her eyes often filled with self-blame and guilt.]

[More than her own pain, she seems to care about your increasingly exhausted body, frequently apologizing to you.]

"I'm sorry, Brother…"

Senjian Peak Immortal Cave.

Several years have passed.

There isn't much change inside the Immortal Cave. It's still those few tables and chairs, along with the flowers and plants the girl once personally transplanted. Within the faint fragrance, a wordless deathly silence permeates.

The girl lies quietly on the bed.

Her hair is black, long, and straight.

Her beautiful eyes are lifeless.

Her lips are pale.

There is a sense of fragility, as if she would break at a touch.

"It's alright, there's no need for apologies between us," Xu Xi shook his head, placing a Medicinal Pill into the girl's mouth. "This is today's Nine-Leaf Pill. After taking it, have a good sleep."

The girl nodded obediently and swallowed the Medicinal Pill.

After taking it, the severely ill girl smiled at Xu Xi, like the morning sunlight, like a beautiful dream, like a flawless sky, asking for a reward just as she did when she was a child.

"Brother, Mo Li was a good girl and finished her medicine~~"

With a smile in her eyes, the girl seemed to have never grown up as she acted coquettishly toward Xu Xi.

At this very moment.

At this very time.

Xu Moli's sickly body and lively voice formed an incredibly sharp contrast, giving onlookers a deep sense of suffocation.

It made one fall into silence; it made one feel sorrow.

"Yes, Mo Li is a good girl."

Xu Xi forced a smile, suppressing the sourness in his nose, and took out a candy he had prepared long ago. The girl took it into her mouth, savoring it as if she were tasting some extremely precious treasure.

Is candy really that delicious?

Xu Xi reminisced.

Every time he gave Mo Li candy, she would show an expression of immense happiness.

After finishing the candy, the girl did not fall asleep as usual. Instead, she made a request to Xu Xi, saying she wanted to go outside and look around. Xu Xi agreed.

Sword Flight was naturally out of the question; excessive speed would ravage her already fragile body.

Therefore.

Xu Xi supported the girl.

They walked out of the Immortal Cave and took a few simple laps around Senjian Peak, which was already in autumn.

They walked very slowly, much slower than the turning wheels of life; they walked very carefully, more so than the small details of daily life.

Strolling on the ground covered with autumn leaves, a bit of color returned to the girl's face.

But.

Even with such a slow walk, and even for such a short distance, 14-year-old Xu Moli still felt a heavy burden. Her steps suddenly stopped, and she clutched the fabric of her clothes at her chest, her face exceptionally pale.

"If you can't walk anymore, don't force yourself."

Just like when they were children.

Xu Xi carried the girl on his back, letting her lean against him to rest.

The girl replied softly, "I understand, Brother."

Leaning on that familiar back, feeling that sense of security and steadiness, the girl's eyes gradually narrowed, feeling the surge of sleepiness becoming more intense.

Before falling asleep, she asked:

"Brother, will Mo Li die?"

"No, Brother will save you."

"Mhm, Mo Li believes Brother. Brother won't lie to Mo Li…"

Xu Moli's voice grew increasingly faint, and fresh blood flowed from the corner of her mouth. She leaned against Xu Xi, burying her head in his shoulder, trying her best to stay conscious.

But the blood in her mouth continued to spill out, draining the girl's strength bit by bit.

By the time Xu Xi noticed something was wrong.

The girl had already fallen into a coma.

[You successfully joined the Heavenly Sword Sect, becoming a Heavenly Spiritual Root True Disciple envied by all. Your future is promising, your life is exciting, and you are a well-deserved Prodigy of the Cultivation World.]

[But in contrast to you, your younger sister contracted a serious illness, which further worsened in the autumn of her 14th year.]

[You have no way to save her, so you can only continuously complete Sect missions and self-study Alchemy and pharmacology, using Medicinal Pills that even Cultivators find incredibly precious to delay her death and save her.]

[In the 15th year of Transmigration, you are 21, and Xu Moli is 15.]

[You successfully Breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage. Your strength has improved further, and you do not fear ordinary Golden Core Immortal Masters at all. You collect Medicinal Pills for your sister even faster.]

[But at the same time, Xu Moli's condition has also worsened; she has lost the ability to walk and can only lie in bed all day.]

[In the 16th year of Transmigration, you are 22, and Xu Moli is 16.]

[Your pressure has reached its limit. You are as if in a state of Qi Deviation, searching everywhere for a way to save your sister.]

[Finally, before your sister's life reaches its end, you find a description related to her symptoms in an ancient book from overseas.]

[calamity of heaven]

[The ancient book records that having a Spiritual Root is a prerequisite for cultivation, a well-known fact in the Cultivation World. However, among the countless Mortals, there are always one or two special cases who can absorb Spiritual Qi without needing a Spiritual Root.]

[But the Spiritual Root is the Foundation of cultivation. Without a Spiritual Root to assist in practice, a Mortal's Physical Body is instead harmed after absorbing a large amount of Spiritual Qi.]

[Therefore, this condition is called the calamity of heaven, meaning a disaster descended from the heavens.]

[Your sister, Xu Moli, is in exactly this situation.]

[The abundant Spiritual Qi of the Heavenly Sword Sect caused her calamity of heaven to arrive early. Upon learning this, your heart went numb for a long time.]