Liu Buli felt as though he had experienced a very, very long dream.
In the dream, he saw Lu Wuming grow up, saw him take the male lead's place, full of spirit and ambition, receiving the admiration of the world.
He did all sorts of things, eliminating evils for the people and upholding justice, always living in the sunlight, with no one speaking ill of him.
He himself had become a wisp of a soul, accompanying Lu Wuming, watching him succeed, watching him become great, watching him gain everything Liu Buli had wanted to give him, except…
Lu Wuming had no companion.
No matter how much he did, no matter where he went, he was always alone, solitary. His face was devoid of expression, his eyes lacked light. It was as if his world had long since died, and all his actions were merely fulfilling a script he was meant to follow.
Without joy.
Liu Buli watched him like this, unable to comprehend where things had gone wrong.
Logically, Lu Wuming should have been happy.
The sun he loved had always shone upon him, and the humans he had once feared and disliked had completely accepted him, treating him as one of their own.
Then why was he still unable to smile?
Not only could he not smile, but Liu Buli felt he saw only deep sorrow in his eyes.
What was he sad about? Why had he never sought his own happiness from beginning to end? Was it that Lu Wuming didn't search, or that in his heart, he could never conceive of anyone worthy of standing beside him?
Liu Buli gazed ahead, bewildered.
He reached out, wanting to pat Lu Wuming's shoulder and ask him what he truly felt. But his fingers passed through the other's body. This sight startled him, and he suddenly opened his eyes, which had been closed for too long.
The sunlight hit his eyes, and the sensation was unpleasant.
Liu Buli instinctively raised a hand to shield them. Before he could see clearly, he felt a familiar figure rush directly into his embrace.
He recognized the boy's newly developed muscular lines and his favorite way of moving. So, before his mind could even process it, Liu Buli's arms had already wrapped around the boy. He chuckled and said, "Wuming, don't hug so tightly. Your master is being squeezed to death."
At his words, the boy immediately loosened his grip. He looked up at Liu Buli's face pitifully, sniffled, and struggled to hold back the tears welling in his eyes. He managed to force out a brilliant smile and softly called out, "Master."
"Good boy," Liu Buli stroked Lu Wuming's head.
Seeing the boy's smile, the nightmare that had been tormenting him vanished.
His Wuming, with his clearly cheerful, playful, and clingy personality, how could he have become so cold and distant?
It was indeed a nightmare.
Liu Buli shook his head, banishing the dream from his mind.
As his senses gradually returned, Liu Buli turned to survey his surroundings. He found himself lying in a room he had never been in before.
The unfamiliar environment made him instantly wary. Frowning, he finally began to recall the events that had transpired before this dream.
He remembered that he had gone to fight Duan Liuyun to the death.
Then, unable to defeat him, he had consumed his sect's secret medicine. That substance could exponentially increase one's cultivation for a short period, at the cost of depleting one's life force, leading to a tragic death afterward.
Liu Buli was certain he had taken the medicine.
Therefore, logically, he should be dead by now. And his right eye, he clearly remembered it being shattered by Duan Liuyun, yet now it seemed to be completely unharmed?
Liu Buli couldn't understand it.
After a moment of silence, he posed the question to the person most likely to know: "Wuming, didn't I tell you to wait properly in the sect? Why are you here? And I remember I shouldn't be in this state. Did something happen? Do you know?"
Lu Wuming sniffled.
He didn't want to answer any of Liu Buli's questions.
Because he had indeed disobeyed his master and secretly followed him from the sect. And the act of saving his master had been done by others; he wasn't the protagonist. Instead, he had implanted a bunch of his own dirty internal organs into his master. If he told the truth, his master would surely be angry.
Thinking this, Lu Wuming dared not offer any reply.
Instead, he hugged Liu Buli's waist tighter, nestling into his embrace twice. Finally, pouting, he murmured, "Master lied. Master said if Wuming waited at home, Master would return. But you didn't. If I hadn't come looking for you, you might never have come back."
Hearing this, Liu Buli also recalled the words he had spoken before leaving.
His expression became somewhat awkward. He cleared his throat and explained, "The plan did encounter changes. I apologize for that. But Wuming, how did I recover, and where is this place? Can you tell me?"
Lu Wuming did not answer.
Unfortunately, this time he didn't need to answer. The door to the room was pushed open from the outside, and Shen Muzhi entered, carrying a basin of warm water.
Seeing Liu Buli's eyes open, he was momentarily surprised, then smiled. He said, "You're actually awake. It's truly a miracle. You might not know who I am, so let me introduce myself, I am..."
"Shen Muzhi, why are you here!?"
Liu Buli's eyes widened. Disregarding his current physical condition, he flipped out of bed and, with the fastest speed possible, pulled Lu Wuming behind him to shield him.
He still remembered the contents of the novel.
The person who killed Lu Wuming was the male lead of that novel, Shen Muzhi.
He had originally planned to resolve Shen Muzhi after killing Duan Liuyun to prevent future trouble. He hadn't expected the other party to come to him directly. Did he intend to harm his disciple in front of him?
Liu Buli glared, gritting his teeth. His long sword was already drawn from his Qiankun bag. He said coldly, "I don't care why you're here, but if you dare to lay a finger on my disciple, I will fight you to the death."