"But, but…"
Otto opened his mouth. There were a thousand things that he wanted to say, but he couldn't even utter a single word.
All he could do was sit there with his gaze fixed on the ground.
"Is there really no chance?"
Fu Hua, who had started to walk toward her rebellious disciples, stopped when she heard Otto's pleading.
"…Do you believe in reincarnation?"
"Reincarnation…?"
Otto looked up at Fu Hua, confused. But Fu Hua didn't turn around.
She simply said, "Even if the body dies, the soul will be reborn. It might take ten years, or it might take millions of years, but as long as you live long enough, you will one day be able to see the person you want to see again-- That's what people in the Previous Era believed."
"Is that… true?"
"I don't know." Fu Hua replied honestly. "But believing it would make things easier, right? They all had such thoughts back then, to avoid the fear of separation and death—though there was one person who didn't believe in it at all."
"The past and future are nothing but illusions. She only believed in the present. So she didn't care about those who clung to the future… Ah, what's the point of talking to you about that?"
"If you believe in the existence of the soul and hope to meet that person again, then live well, and wait for the day of your reunion. If you don't believe in reincarnation, then continue her dream and let her name live on in history and the hearts of everyone."
"...Thank you, immortal."
Otto stood up silently and bowed deeply to Fu Hua, who had her back to him. Then, he silently turned around and walked down the mountain.
He didn't believe in souls, but if that was the only chance to save Lihua, then he would believe in it without hesitation.
Otto had to live on. He would fight Honkai like Lihua had wanted, and become the savior of the world.
Then, Lihua would be reborn into a better world.
...
After Otto left, Fu Hua let out a soft sigh.
The disciples who were hanging near her were able to hear her sigh. Their senses were more enhanced than a normal human.
"Oh, the emotionless immortal is sighing at other people's misfortune?"
The red-haired girl who had been hung the highest was Su Mei, Fu Hua's second disciple. Even with her swollen face, she had a mocking smile for Fu Hua.
But even in her smile, there was an unnameable sadness.
"Even if she met a stranger in trouble, the immortal will feel it. But if we lose our way or are corrupted by Honkai, even if we are the disciples that she sees every day, the immortal will kill us without any hesitation."
Fu Hua didn't refute her disciple's words. Instead, she simply walked to a disciple who had been hung in the middle.
The girl had her head lowered and was silent. Her long purple hair had strands of eerie white.
It was a sign that she had been infected by Honkai energy, and was on the verge of turning into a zombie. If nothing unexpected happened, she would soon turn into a mindless Honkai-controlled monster.
And that person was Jiang Wanru, the fourth disciple of Taixu Mountain who believed that those who lost their way should be punished.
"Master..." When Fu Hua stood in front of her, the girl slowly raised her head, but she didn't dare to look her in the eyes. "Everyone acted because of me. Please punish me alone since they all did it because they cared about me…"
"A bond between fellow disciples."
Fu Hua repeated those words and shook her head with an amused expression. "Your friendship is very strong, but you don't care about the reputation of the school."
Hearing Fu Hua's words, Jiang Wanru couldn't say anything.
"Enough, it's no use saying more."
Fu Hua didn't seem to want to say anything more to her disciples. She raised her hand toward Jiang Wanru calmly.
The other disciple, Jiang Wanxi, whose sister was about to be killed by Fu Hua, widened her eyes and shouted, "No!! Master, you can't—please, I beg you!"
Unlike her sister, Jiang Wanru seemed much calmer. "It's alright, Wanxi. It's all fate... It was wrong for us to do that to you."
"Master, Wanru has been with us for so long. You know what kind of good person she is!" The eldest disciple, Lin Zhaoyu, who had been hanging on the side, pleaded. "Please forgive her. If you don't want her here, then just let Wanxi take her somewhere far away. Please spare her life!"
Other than the fifth disciple Cheng Ling, and the second disciple Su Mei, everyone was begging Fu Hua to spare their fellow disciple.
But Su Mei simply sneered. "Do you not know this person's personality? This immortal's blood is cold! If you want her to forgive someone who has lost their way, you might as well pray for the sun to rise in the west… A mere disciple that was tainted by Honkai is no different from a beast in her eyes!"
When she said that, the others fell silent. As those closest to Fu Hua, they knew how ruthless she was when dealing with someone who had been corrupted. Even though Su Mei's words were disrespectful to their master, they agreed with her.
"...I see."
For a moment, Fu Hua's eyes flickered with confusion. But they quickly turned calm again.
"I thought that since we've been together for so long, we wouldn't have to explain ourselves to each other. It seems that I was just deluding myself."
Fu Hua flicked her sleeve. A pill shot into Jiang Wanru's mouth.
Her hand wasn't raised to kill her. She simply gave her disciple the Honkai-resistant medicine that she had obtained from her friend.
She had never thought that her disciples would hold such hatred and misunderstanding for her.
"In your eyes, I'm a cold, heartless person?"
Fu Hua closed her eyes, took a breath to calm herself, and turned away.
"Wanru's body was tainted with Honkai, but it's not too late to save her. This medicine will purify the Honkai, but it will also deplete her strength. Take care of her."
"You are all guilty of betraying your master. You will hang there for ten days as punishment. After that, you and I will never be together."
Fu Hua left Taixu Mountain, where she had lived for thousands of years, without looking back.
She decided to find her friends and talk about her feelings.
Fu Hua was now grateful that she wasn't the only remnant of the old world.
If not, she would have been so alone and heartbroken after all of this betrayal.
Long after Fu Hua had disappeared from Taixu Mountain, her disciples were still frozen in place. They couldn't believe what had just happened.
Fu Hua's actions were completely different from what they had imagined.
They didn't know what was going on, but one thing was certain. They no longer had a master.