Chapter 70: The Witch’s Tears, The Witch’s Smile

Parting is so heavy.

Like a boulder.

Like a mountain.

Pressing down on one's heart, making it hard to breathe.

Only when truly facing parting do people realize that all the rehearsals prepared in advance are as light as a feather, not even one-tenth enough.

Klisa was prepared to be scolded.

As an object, she had openly defied her master's decision.

This was something absolutely unforgivable.

The moment the words left her mouth, the witch's heart fell into self-reproach and regret, but even so, she still had to refuse Xu Xi's entrustment.

As if by refusing these requests, she could also refuse the parting.

To prevent Xu Xi from leaving.

To allow the warm sun to remain.

"Please…" her delicate face, caressed by a withered hand, spoke tremblingly, "Don't say any more, I will not accept it."

The witch's refusal made Xu Xi freeze for a moment.

The expression on his face changed repeatedly—first surprise, then confusion, and finally gentle relief; there was no scolding as the witch had imagined.

"Hahaha… Ahahaha…"

"Ha-cough… Cough, cough!"

Xu Xi was laughing.

He seemed to be in a good mood, but his weak body caused him to cough violently as soon as he laughed, the coughs coming sharp and intense.

His aged face showed a look of pain.

"Mentor!"

Klisa hurriedly cast Life Magic to help Xu Xi recover.

Every weak breath, every expression of pain, turned into an invisible blade that pierced deep into the witch's heart, making her whole body tremble.

What should she do? How could she save him?

Klisa didn't know; she could only desperately use the highest-level Life Magic over and over again to make Xu Xi's body feel a bit better.

Soon, Xu Xi's coughing subsided.

"I'm fine, Klisa, I'm just… so happy."

Xu Xi's eyelids became heavier.

He half-opened his weary eyes.

He gently took the witch's hand, shook his head to signal her to stop casting magic, and met her hollow, soulless gaze: "The first time, this is the first time you've expressed opposition to me."

"Klisa, it's truly wonderful; you have your own thoughts now…"

Objects have no self-will, let alone express opposition. When the witch learned to oppose, it meant she had regained her sense of self.

The witch had, in a true sense, become—

[Human]

Xu Xi's eyes were cloudy and blurred; he could no longer see the world before him clearly. Drowsiness surged over him, nearly stealing the last bit of clarity from his eyes.

"Klisa…"

On the bed, the dying old man softly announced: "You have completed your apprenticeship."

The world fell into silence at this moment.

A silence so profound the witch could not understand it.

So silent that her heart felt terror, fearing the approaching cruelty.

"But, compared to you, I'm still far from it…" Klisa spoke with a trembling voice. She remained expressionless, but her suppressed grief seemed to break through her shell and echo in the air.

"I still have many, many things to ask you for guidance on."

"Without you, I can do nothing."

Klisa's voice gradually grew hoarse; a great sorrow, like a raging fire, burned her throat.

She didn't understand.

She didn't comprehend.

She was an object belonging solely to Xu Xi, a witch loathed by the world, a useless thing that could be discarded at will—humble, ugly, and lowly—a shadow that would lose its meaning of existence once away from the light.

Therefore, the witch could not accept being affirmed by Xu Xi and "completing her apprenticeship."

It meant she would leave Xu Xi's side.

She clumsily counted and repeatedly listed, magnifying her own flaws and shortcomings to prove she had not yet reached the level of completing her apprenticeship.

"…"

Xu Xi did not interrupt Klisa; he just looked at her gently and once again reached out his skeletal, withered hand.

He placed it gently on top of Klisa's head.

Giving her a final bit of warmth.

Gradually.

The witch stopped on her own, no longer telling those lies to deceive herself.

The room was quiet, and it was bright outside.

But the witch's heart was tearing apart.

True despair is never a sudden disaster, but knowing a disaster is coming and being powerless to prevent the tragedy from unfolding.

This torment of helplessness, this despair of watching the end, made Klisa's black-and-gold eyes lose their former mystery and brilliance, leaving only a hollow sense of sorrow.

"Please… don't leave me."

"Or, allow me to leave with you."

Klisa sobbed, finally speaking the words hidden deep in her heart; her voice carried no wailing, yet it was filled with desolation and grief.

Like a candle about to go out forever.

Like a bird with broken wings.

Helplessly pleading with Xu Xi.

The witch was already prepared to die with Xu Xi.

It didn't matter; nothing mattered. Whether it was the world or becoming a god, in the witch's lonely heart, their weight didn't even equal one-ten-thousandth of Xu Xi's.

Just as Xu Xi had saved the witch and brought her everything.

The witch was also willing to give up everything to accompany Xu Xi in dying silently.

No reason needed.

No hesitation needed.

The witch was perfectly willing.

Responding to Klisa was a hand on her head that grew increasingly weak, and Xu Xi's voice, thin as a thread.

"Klisa, you know I won't agree to such a thing."

On the bed.

Xu Xi's breathing gradually weakened; every breath seemed like a final struggle. In pain and suffocation, he felt his body slowly lose sensation.

He showed the witch one last smile.

His aged, ugly face, under the sunlight, faintly reflected some shadows of his youth.

"Please live well, Klisa."

"This is my request."

"There is no need to be sad about my departure; this is not a final farewell, but just a long separation."

"One day, we will meet again."

The weak, withered hand could no longer stroke the witch's hair; losing all strength, it came to rest on top of her head.

The spark of life was about to be extinguished.

The shadow of death was closing in.

Xu Xi spoke his final words to the witch: "It's a bit of a regret… even until now, I haven't seen you truly smile once."

Suddenly.

Xu Xi froze for a moment, his pupils dilating slightly. The sudden shock even delayed the arrival of death for a few moments.

"Mentor…"

"Please look…"

"This is… my smile…"

In the golden midday sun, her gray hair falling like a waterfall, Klisa sat by the bed and tremblingly reached out both hands.

Her other four fingers were all curled, leaving only her index fingers extended.

Two index fingers.

Hooked onto the corners of her mouth on each side.

Gently pulling upward, creating a curve, she artificially fashioned a smile.

The smile was so stiff, and tears kept emerging, falling from her already brimming eyes and silently wetting her hands.

Rather than a smile, it was more like a wail of grief.

"It's a beautiful smile…"

Xu Xi whispered softly.

In the quiet sound of the wind, his breathing quietly stopped, and he wearily closed his eyes.

This time, he would never wake up again.

[You have died]

[Simulation ended]