Night Without End
Chapter 102 - 66: From Now On, Live Only for Oneself

Chapter 102: Chapter 66: From Now On, Live Only for Oneself

Qin Ming’s head throbbed with such excruciating pain that it felt like a blunt axe repeatedly hacking at his skull, darkening his vision as he teetered on the verge of losing consciousness.

He took deep breaths, but still couldn’t control himself, stumbling, his emotions violently fluctuating as if a flame was burning within.

"Why are you doing this to me?" he whispered through the intense pain. He had many speculations before, but he never expected that it would be his parents’ will for Cui Hong to treat him this way.

This feeling was like his soul being torn apart bit by bit, his body trembling lightly, even more agonizing than when the Feather Robed Youth struck his arm with a purple bamboo stick, fracturing his bones and skull.

Qin Ming staggered back; fragmented memories surfaced in his mind. No wonder after his third rebirth, with his fingers dipped in thick tea, he wrote a single character on the table: Abandon.

Now he recalled more. Before the Feather Robed Youth found him, when he was living in that tranquil village, he once silently wrote the character ’abandon’ on one quiet night.

Even when the village was suddenly engulfed in flames, stormed by a horde of powerful fighters, amidst the thunderous cries of battle, he remained silent, observing the life-and-death calamity with calmness, without uttering a word.

"Back then, did I no longer wish to speak? It seems I had a premonition of what was to come; was that extreme disappointment? Perhaps there was also a sense of sorrow and loss," Qin Ming mused, standing in the wilderness, enduring the searing pain in his head, feeling like he was reopening an old wound, suffering once more.

He clearly saw himself, face expressionless as he was nearly engulfed by the great fire. In the end, he even looked relieved, gazing towards the horizon, looking into the pitch-dark night as if he had completely let everything go.

"At the final moment, did I feel a sense of relief? I had imagined it, but when it truly happened, I was able to face it calmly."

Standing in the wasteland, Qin Ming’s eyes were bloodshot as he watched his former self, resentful, rebellious, and indignant for the person he was two years ago. It was an upheaval of emotions bubbling up from deep within.

"Young master, Chong He, what’s wrong with you?" Cui Hong, seeing him like this, felt compassion and wanted to approach.

"Don’t come over yet!" Qin Ming said with a low voice.

Before his eyes was an endless inferno, and the memory of nearly being crushed by burning beams; back then, he didn’t care about life or death at all.

Two years ago, he didn’t know why he let out a final sigh in silence, as if he had laid everything to rest.

But now, he truly couldn’t reconcile himself to it!

"Because the Feather Robed Youth’s beating left me nearly dead, losing a great deal of memory, have I now become unable to let go of the past? Unable to understand why, at that final moment two years ago, I felt relieved."

Qin Ming stood in the wilderness, the severe pain making him reflect.

Shattered images surged once more, like dense forests of long spears or rows of cold long blades mercilessly assaulting his mind, threatening to tear him apart.

It was another night; he saw many people.

These must be memories from an even earlier period, before he met the Feather Robed Youth. Surrounded by a crowd, he was parting ways with the Cui Family.

Opposite were a middle-aged couple watching him board a bronze carriage engraved with cloud patterns.

The middle-aged man, imposing, spoke no words. His eyes, as if they could see through hearts, calmly watched Qin Ming depart.

The woman, in her early thirties, was dressed in lavish palace attire, her hair elegantly updone with a feather pin that shimmered with a golden light. Her delicate features betrayed no emotion as she watched Qin Ming recede into the distance.

Many vibrant, spirited elders nearby seemed oppressed by the couple’s aura, keeping a distance, else feeling uneasy.

At that moment, Qin Ming could not help but turn and look back, only to see their retreating figures. The middle-aged couple had already departed with their entourage. He opened his mouth, but said nothing.

Though the images were fragmented and vague, Qin Ming could keenly feel the emotional turmoil he had experienced back then—facing a farewell as if confronting death, filled with reluctance, endless loss, and a hint of resentment.

"Chong He, are you alright?" Cui Hong voiced his concern.

Qin Ming looked at him and said: "I’m actually living well now. It would have been even better if you hadn’t reappeared!"

His headache lessened. He touched his face and surprisingly found tear stains—he didn’t know when they had fallen. Annoyed, he wiped his face clean.

This cheap liquid is not what the current me should possess; those days of the past have long gone, ought to be discarded. What is there to cry about?

Qin Ming’s face showed no expression as he spoke, "I have always thought that I must have done something wrong, until now I am certain, I shouldn’t have let you down, right? I have never wronged the Cui Family, yet you seek me out again. What more do you want?"

Cui Hong said, "I came here for two reasons, one is to seek the Yin Yang Great Medicine, the other is for your matters, to arrange a Mansion. People will protect you, My Lord. You don’t need to travel far to take risks in the outside world."

"You want to destroy my future with just one sentence?!" Qin Ming’s eyes turned fierce, even reddening somewhat. After everything he’d been through, having been gravely injured, bloodied, and left in the icy wilderness like a beggar, if the people from Shuangshu Village hadn’t brought him back, he would have long been dead.

Now, with just a flippant comment, they wanted to keep him confined to this remote land. By what right? Everything he had now was obtained through risking his life in the great mountains, without using any resources from the Cui Family.

Cui Hong also fell silent, feeling a rising sense of guilt and reluctance, but this was his mission. How could he return without completing it?

After a long time, he spoke earnestly, "Chong He, you must have switched to practicing the local Xinsheng Skill, right? After all, the skills from the silk scripture are no longer viable without the guidance of our ancestors. And the local Xinsheng Skills aren’t considered profound; mastering them won’t lead to significant accomplishments. Even if you work incredibly hard and exhaust your spirit, you’ll at most become a master in such a small place. If you really go out there, it will be bleak; you wouldn’t be regarded as a noteworthy powerhouse. So why not decisively end your Newborn Road now, while you’re just starting out, and lead a life of peace and prosperity here? You’ll be protected and taken care of. What’s so bad about that?"

The fire within Qin Ming surged as he thought, who are you to arrange my path, my life?

He asked, "So as long as I seek rebirth, whether it’s the skills from the silk scripture or any other rebirth skills, you’re ordered to stop me? To raise your hand against me, is that it?"

Cui Hong remained silent.

"The decision of my parents..." Qin Ming looked into the pitch-black wasteland, feeling an overwhelming sense of anger, as well as a deep helplessness.

The tribulations of the past had confronted him with death; he had essentially died once but never feared or wavered. Yet, a single cut of kinship and humanity left him undefended.

The fragmented, incomplete images from before left many gaps, but Qin Ming vaguely guessed something from the discarded character - a thrown-away piece or a chess piece, each interpretation making his breathing heavy, unable to let go of the current him.

He could be sure that he not only hadn’t let down the Cui Family, but he had also given his life, narrowly clung to life, and yet was relegated to this remote place.

Before Qin Ming’s eyes, flames flared, and blurred images flickered. He grew more convinced that many from the Cui Family had been aware of what was to happen that night.

"Did they use me as a scapegoat?"

But he couldn’t understand why, even after he had fallen to such a state, his parents, or rather the Cui Family, still acted this way.

His once perceived illusions were gradually taking shape as reality. How desperate he must have felt back then to believe life was fictitious, pieced together, because the beliefs in his heart had collapsed.

Cui Hong stayed quiet, stepping forward despite feeling regret, ready to act.

"Can you tell me everything I’ve been through?" Qin Ming suddenly spoke, pointing to his head, "You must have seen the events of that night. My skull was shattered in three places by the Feathered Robed Youth, and I’ve forgotten many things. Even if you are going to take action, at least let me be clear on what I’m leaving behind."

"What?" Cui Hong’s expression changed dramatically, surprised, self-blaming, and guilty, he said, "I didn’t know, you’ve even lost your memory. We should have arrived there faster. I’m sorry, My Lord, Chong He."

His emotions fluctuated greatly as he continued, "Chong He, I am not here to kill you, just to dissolve your Newborn Road. After this, no one will target the Lord again. You can marry and have children here, without further strife!"

"What’s the difference between that and killing me? I want to set foot on the Newborn Road. It’s the future I chose for myself. What right do you have to sever it?" Qin Ming said, raising his voice, "I’ve completely forgotten my past, left only with fragmented memories. What more do you need to be reassured?"

"How could this happen?!" From the edge of the desert, along the rugged path, came an exclamation. Li Qingyue in her Feather Robe appeared.

Beside her, along with the Maid and two men in golden armor, was Meng Xinghai, the new city lord of Chixia City.

The desert fell silent.

Cui Hong did not retreat as he looked at the youth in front of him.

Qin Ming realized the man would ultimately make his move, and he said, "A weak family, my neighbors, an ordinary couple can take such good care of their two children, filled with familial warmth and willing to protect them with their lives. A thousand-year-old family? From now on, I shall have no dealings with you; it might as well be abandoned."

At that moment, a voice seemed to sigh softly at the bottom of Qin Ming’s heart, telling him that everything was over, those were his parents, and he should not blame anymore. What he gave was expected, and now it was time to journey afar and leave.

However, he shook his head, unable to feel calmness.

"I have already died once. From now on, I am no longer Cui Chonghe; the one who has come back to life is Qin Ming. From now on, I only want to live for myself!" Qin Ming shouted across the desert.

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