Behind the shabby hut where the cursed mother, Qing Lian, and her baby, Qing Yuan, lived, there was a little garden. This garden was filled with various plants, from medicinal herbs to trees that bore colorful fruits. The garden looked well-tended, which was something Liu Xing hadn't expected from Qing Lian. However, after an inquiry to the baby in his arms, the infant confirmed that he was the one who tended this garden every day, with help from the rats, birds, and other small creatures.

In this garden, Liu Xing was currently sitting on a patch of grass so green and beautiful it looked like a carpet. A small table stood in front of him, where two mugs of green tea sat, steam swirling from their surfaces. Across the table sat the owner of the shabby hut. Qing Lian had awoken a few moments ago, and she was a different person from the frantic beggar he had seen trying to kill her baby. She had cleaned her face, body, and hair, and wore the best clothes she had—a blue dress with floral patterns. She had tied her hair back, wore a light, flower-scented perfume, and moved with an unexpected grace. As she prepared the tea, her expression was so calm that Liu Xing almost thought she was a different woman. She held the baby in her arms with so much tenderness that the thought of her trying to kill him seemed bizarre.

The baby, Qing Yuan, had changed his clothes too. He wore pure white garments that shone under the bright sun, and his expression was placid as he looked at his mother. However, even Liu Xing could see his eyes soften when he saw his mother dressed and behaving so differently.

As they sat in the silent garden, Liu Xing could not help but think that perhaps the news about her husband had lifted the madness that had blanketed her. This made him feel a surge of sympathy for her. What would happen after this? Would she revert to her former state, where she had no hesitation about killing her baby?

Liu Xing grabbed the tea and sipped it. Qing Lian and her baby looked at him with cool, calm expressions. He knew, though, that beneath her composure was a deep yearning for the information he had. Even as she schooled her expression, her eyes darted from time to time toward the necklace on his neck.

He put down the tea, reached for the necklace, and then took it from his neck. Then, he placed it on his palm and extended his arm toward Qing Lian.

Qing Lian lifted one of her arms, trying to reach the necklace. Her hand hovered for a moment over Liu Xing's palm before she finally inhaled deeply and grabbed it. She balled her hand, pressed it to her chest, and closed her eyes as if a sea of emotions and memories rushed into her mind, and she was trying to relive them.

As she closed her eyes, Liu Xing wondered about her history. They said this woman had betrayed her clan to marry her husband, which meant that once, she must have loved him so deeply that she dared to leave behind the family that had raised her. He glanced at the baby, wondering what he truly was, and if his oddity was tied to his parents.

After a while, she exhaled deeply and opened her eyes. Her black eyes were like deep pools. Then, with a voice so soft, she said, "Esteemed cultivator, please, tell me about my husband," her voice cracked a little at the end. "I am ready."

At that moment, a soft wind blew through the garden, making the grass, trees, and flowers sway. Her tied hair swayed too, and he suspected this was Qing Yuan's doing. That baby was truly magical.

"Let's begin with introductions. My name is Liu Xing, and I am a disciple of the Purple Moon Sect. There was an event happening in my sect, and one thing led to another until I arrived at a certain mountain where I met a bound spirit. Her name is Moon Flower."

From there, he told Qing Lian his conversation with Moon Flower about a certain cultivator who came to her mountain trying to find a flower. As she listened to his story, her eyes became glassy, as if tears threatened to fall. She smiled a little when she heard that her husband had cried for three days straight because he was relieved he could save his wife and son. But then, fresh tears fell when Liu Xing said that her husband had suddenly passed away.

"The spirit bound to that mountain, Moon Flower, felt pity for him. So, she preserved two things from him. The first is that necklace," he pointed toward her, "and the second is the flower he sought. She held those things for almost a year, until I met her, and she asked me to deliver them to you and your son."

Tears began to flow freely, and she tried to wipe them away. But no matter how many times she wiped her eyes, the tears wouldn't stop. She wiped them again and again and again. Her eyes grew redder, and her frantic wiping created red lines on her cheeks. Little sobs escaped her mouth, and her nose became stuffed. Liu Xing knew she was trying her hardest not to cry, and he wanted to tell her it was okay to let it out. However, he decided to sit calmly. He felt pity for her, but he thought it was best for her to process her emotions on her own. Moreover, the baby in her arms began to clutch her chest and snuggle into her, as if trying to hug his mother.

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After a while, she finally succeeded in controlling her emotions. She let go of the necklace and gave it to her baby, who grabbed it tenderly and hugged it to his chest. "I'm sorry to show you my sorry state, however, I cannot hold my emotions. My husband, he was so weak, not only physically, but also mentally. After we ran away from our clans, we lived in nothing more than a tent that he made from a blanket. The first time it rained, we were soaked, and he actually cried. At that time, I asked why he was crying. Was he afraid of the rain and lightning? Was he afraid that he would get sick? He answered that he was crying because he thought he was a bad husband. What kind of a husband couldn't afford a roof and let his wife get drenched with water? What kind of a husband let his wife have nothing but several spare sets of clothes? In hindsight, it was kind of pathetic, but I was happy. We were happy. Even though I had nothing, with love, we could overcome anything."

Liu Xing closed his eyes and imagined their situation. It was quite bad. They had run from their homes, and it seemed they had made no preparations. He could imagine how anxious her husband must have felt, and how pathetic he would have felt if he couldn't provide for the woman who had chosen to run away with him.

"But he was so, so kind. Even though we were poor, he always smiled at me. The first time I tried to cook, it was disastrous. The precious ingredients he had procured were burnt. However, he still ate the food I cooked, smiled, and said that it was the best food he had ever eaten." Qing Lian looked up and smiled softly, as if the memory was so vivid she could see it perfectly. "Life gradually settled. He finally managed to build this little hut," she pointed to the side. "You couldn't imagine how happy he was when he successfully made this. It was as if he was a blacksmith who had successfully forged the sharpest sword in the world."

"Wasn't he a cultivator?" Liu Xing asked. A cultivator was practically a superhuman compared to a mortal. And yet, as he observed the little hut, shabby and already rotting, with several holes in its walls, it was not impressive at all.

"Yes, but he was not a normal cultivator. From the day he was born, his physique was weak. So weak that everyone, even his mother, thought that he would die. Yet, he clung to life. In his early life, he was sickly, to the point that even a dying grandma was more lively than him. However, he had a little talent for cultivation. And so, when he achieved the second stage of the Lock Opening realm, he was only a little stronger than me," she sighed. "He was so delicate that sometimes, it was me who did the manual labor, and he would smile wryly as if he thought he was useless."

"He's not useless, though," Liu Xing said. "The distance from here to the mountain where Moon Flower resides is so far, and he successfully arrived there."

"I want to say that he's not useless, but in the end, didn't he die? Instead of him coming back, you came here to deliver the necklace and the flower." Qing Lian pressed her lips together. "Even a generous person would say that in the end, what he did was futile. He won't come back. He won't smile at me again, won't provide for me again, won't hug and kiss me again. Isn't that the definition of a useless husband?"

Liu Xing sipped his tea once again. If a useless husband was defined by his ability to provide, then he was indeed useless. But was that the right definition? After all, didn't he do his best to travel and try to cure his son and his wife? Everything could not be judged merely by its end result. Sometimes, the process also needed to be considered. But in the end, he would not refute her. Between the two of them, one knew the man better, and Liu Xing certainly didn't.

In the end, this was indeed bad news for her. Her husband was dead and would never come back. However, what he did was not futile.

Liu Xing inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. With a little meditation, he arrived in his consciousness. The vast white space that sprawled before him was endless. Not too far from him, two cores circled each other like a pair of dancing stars. The space between them was quite wide. Perhaps next month, they would be close enough that he would need to separate them again. However, this time he hadn't come to observe them. Nor to observe the dark creature polluting his consciousness, nor his gun. No, he needed to find the Spirit Flower.

"It must be around here," he muttered.

Liu Xing looked around, observing his surroundings, when he found a blue spot in the air. It floated like a bubble and emitted a faint light. It was not his gun, which meant it was the flower. He reached his hand toward it and instantly opened his eyes in the real world. At the same time, a shimmering bubble emerged from his chest. The bubble contained a flower with blue petals that shone with an ethereal light, leaving a ripple on his chest as if a pebble had just been dropped into a still lake.

The Spirit Flower flew slowly toward Qing Lian and her son, like a bubble pushed by a gentle wind. When it floated right before them, Qing Yuan, the baby, reached his small hand toward the flower. The ambient qi began to crowd around the Spirit Flower, trying to push it down so his little hand could reach it. However, Liu Xing grabbed the bubble with his own qi and pushed back, making it float back to his side.

The baby looked at him with a calm gaze, and he looked back and flashed a smile.

"That flower is not only for you, but also for your mother."

Liu Xing looked at her. Her gaze was fixed on the flower, and tears again began to flow freely from her eyes. She started to sob, looking at the flower yearningly, as if what floated beside Liu Xing was not merely a flower, but the ghost of her husband.

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