-Five years ago-
The despicable, cunning, and wildly laughing group of nobles came again. They were still riding tall horses, wearing magnificent clothes they had never seen before in their lives, ruthlessly capturing all the young adults in the village. They searched every household for beautiful women, and none of them knew when it would be their turn.
She could only hide in the cellar, trembling with fear, staring at the entrance where not even a ray of light could penetrate, feeling as if invisible hands were about to grab her. Unable to breathe for a moment, tears had long filled her face, but she dared not make a sound. Even when the cockroaches she used to hate came close, crawling up to her toes and then crawling away, she still dared not move.
Listening to the occasional cries for help and the shameless laughter outside. And the constant sound of horse hooves. All of this made the six-year-old girl, who had not yet awakened her spirit power, feel a sense of despair.
The only thing she remembered from her parents' final words was, "Hide inside, and only come out if there's no sound outside."
So the little girl waited, and waited! After who knew how long, the screams and cries for help outside changed, and the sound of horse hooves stopped. All that was left were pleas for mercy.
Until all the sounds disappeared, the little girl noticed a glimmer of light above her head, the long-lost light. A drop of liquid fell into the cellar. The little girl still didn't know what it was, but it didn't stop her from being afraid.
Trembling, but unable to make a sound.
Dressed in blood-stained clothes, and holding a blood-dripping longsword, Gu Yi looked at the trembling little girl in the cellar, feeling moved in his heart. He turned and left the entrance of the cellar.
The little girl hesitated, glanced at the light at the entrance, but immediately withdrew. Afraid of attracting the attention of that person.
Not long after, the little girl felt a large patch of light being obscured, and this change made her tremble uncontrollably.
Gu Yi, appeared again, this time he had changed into a clean white robe, he put down the blood-dripping longsword and suppressed his overwhelming bloodlust. Adjusting his emotions to the gentlest side, he slowly climbed down the ladder, at the same time using the softest voice he had ever used in his life, and said, "It's okay, it's okay. The bad guys have all been defeated by big brother." Gu Yi's gentle voice seemed to open up her young mind, and she slowly lifted her head. Her eyes, free from any impurities, seemed to be able to reflect all the evil in the world.
"Come, big brother will take you out of here." Gu Yi reached out his hands, but did not actively hug her. At this moment, the little girl's heart was fragile, and any unnecessary movements would cause her to develop more severe psychological shadows.
The little girl looked at Gu Yi, hesitated, and then reached out her hands to hug the big brother's neck. As if finding a pillar. She held on tightly! Very tightly!
"Big brother's name is Gu Yi, what's yours?" Gu Yi tried to communicate with her as much as possible, letting her forget this memory and time.
"Lin... Qing..." The childish voice came from her mouth.
When they walked out of the cellar, Gu Yi considerately covered Lin Qing's eyes. At her age, she shouldn't experienced these things. Walking out of the house where a corpse lay, they arrived in the village. With the disappearance of the commotion outside, people gradually began to cautiously step outside.
There were old and young people, but adults were very rare. Most of them were women. But these people in the village were all pale and thin, with no trace of color on their faces. Even commoners shouldn't suffer like this.
On the village road, there were dozens of corpses, including noble young masters in fine clothes, soldiers in armor, and ordinary civilians in coarse cloth. Blood flowed all over the ground, staining the earth red, a glaring red.
Gu Yi, dressed in white, with fair and delicate skin, seemed completely out of place here. But the little girl he held seemed to be the bond that drew him here.
Lin Qing recalled the past, the day her fate changed, and also the most sorrowful day. The figure of the heavenly god descending to earth could never be forgotten by her.
Back to the present.
"Get up, everyone, get up." Slowly, everyone in the Lin family village stood up.
"Qing'er, you all come here." Gu Yi called a group of children to him, while the others, understanding that Gu Yi had something to discuss, left without worrying that he would ignore their children. There were seven children around Gu Yi.
"How's your recent cultivation progress?" Gu Yi looked at them. These were his true disciples, not because he was a teacher at their academy, but because of a lifelong teacher-student relationship.
"Master, I'm almost level nineteen." Lin Qing was the first to speak, her eyes filled with admiration and longing for Gu Yi.
"Well, very good, keep it up." Gu Yi rubbed Lin Qing's head and encouraged her. The other six also chattered to Gu Yi about their progress. Among them, Lin Qing had the highest cultivation level. To progress from zero to level nineteen in five years was quite fast.
In fact, Gu Yi had never worried about the cultivation of these seven children. They were all survivors of the massacre, experiencing that disaster made them particularly value strength.
"Go play." The six bid farewell to Gu Yi and left. They had to help with farming in the village. Although Gu Yi had not spent much time in the Lin family village over the years, he never relaxed in educating these children. Not only did he teach them some classic knowledge from his previous life, but he also guided them to understand that while strength was important, it was not the only measure of things. Strength was just a fundamental means to prevent others from being unreasonable and wanting to harm you.
The remaining person was naturally Lin Qing, whom Gu Yi had personally saved.
"Qing'er, is there anything else?" Gu Yi squatted in front of Lin Qing, looking at her with some pity. He had arrived a little late that day and hadn't been able to save her parents.
"Master, I want to become stronger!" Lin Qing was not satisfied with her current cultivation speed. To seek revenge, she needed stronger strength. Gu Yi was not unwilling, but at the moment, Lin Qing was still laying her foundation, and overly fast progress would not be conducive to her future cultivation.
"You're progressing fast enough. Compared to Lin Bao and the others, you're more than a level above them. What else are you unsatisfied with? Besides, I've said it before, your martial spirit is inherently too weak. If it's not improved, there will be significant limitations in the future." Lin Qing looked unwillingly at Gu Yi, her big eyes looking at him just like five years ago.
"Fine, when you reach level twenty in cultivation, I'll take you to enhance your martial spirit." Gu Yi couldn't stand Lin Qing's gaze the most, every time it would stir up a palpitation in his heart. As if through time, he could see that pitiful and helpless little girl in the cellar.
(End of this chapter)