“My consciousness gradually faded, and I became increasingly numb to everything around me. Only three years old, I didn’t even know what despair was. But at that time, everything inside my body was as cold as the outside world. I hated them. I hated my great-grandfather, my father, my mother. I hated everyone. Why, why did they abandon me in such a place?”

Speaking here, Caier was already sobbing uncontrollably. Long Haochen had never imagined that she had such an experience. For a child of only three years old, this was such pain and tragedy. No wonder, no wonder Caier was always so cold now. It turned out that all of this stemmed from that time.

Long Haochen only felt his heart aching, aching badly. He hugged Caier tightly, lifted her onto his lap, and held her close. He wanted to use the warmth of his body to infect her, to melt the ice on her body and in her heart.

Caier also hugged him tightly. The eruption of inner fear made her seem to return to that cold, damp place full of icy darkness. Her fingernails even dug into the muscles of Long Haochen’s back, and her body trembled almost like a sieve. She couldn’t calm down for a long time.

“From that moment on, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, great-grandfather, in my heart, they were just a designation. I hated them. I couldn’t see them as my relatives. I hated them. I hated why they were so selfish, even if everything they did was for the entire Temple Alliance. But did they ever think about me? From that moment on, I was no longer their relative, but a cold weapon, a weapon they wanted to forge as sharp as possible.”

Caier spoke again. Perhaps the warmth of Long Haochen’s body melted some of her coldness, and the trembling of her body gradually calmed down. But her voice was still like weeping, filled with sadness and anger as she spoke.

She had held these words in her heart for more than ten years. Now that she had finally poured them out, she felt a little more comfortable in her heart.

“Seven days, a whole seven days. When I was about to fall into a coma, I saw a black figure. It seemed to be a cloud of mist, and it just drilled into my body. In despair, it plunged me into complete coldness. After that, I didn’t know anything.”

“When I woke up from the cold, my family members were standing around me. What I saw was the surprise on everyone’s face. What I heard was them saying the names of the Samsara Spiritual Furnace and the Samsara Sword. From that moment on, there was also a black mass and a sword in my body. And on that day, I lost my sense of smell. And I later learned that this coma lasted for two whole years. When I woke up, I was already five years old.”

Long Haochen gasped. “Is that the power you released that day?”

Caier nodded lightly. “The Samsara Spiritual Furnace, ranked first among all known spiritual furnaces. An attack type. Before me, it had only been possessed by one person. That person was our ancestor of the Assassin Temple. He was known as the Child of Samsara. The Samsara Sword was his weapon. With the help of the spiritual furnace and the sword, he once attacked the first Demon God of that generation, known as the Demon God Emperor. In the end, the Child of Samsara died in the hands of the Demon God Emperor, and the Demon God Emperor also died soon after, passing the throne to the next Demon God Emperor. At a time when the Alliance was in danger, he bought time for a respite.”

At this time, Caier’s emotions seemed to have gradually stabilized, but she was still holding Long Haochen very tightly. Her delicate little bottom was sitting on Long Haochen’s lap, and the soft, elastic sensation was ignored by Long Haochen because he was also immersed in her sadness.

“The Samsara Spiritual Furnace is extremely powerful, especially when paired with the artifact Samsara Sword, it can burst out with unimaginable lethality. Back then, the Child of Samsara had only entered the ninth rank not long ago, and the total amount of his inner spiritual power was less than 200,000, while the Demon God Emperor was a super powerhouse with nearly one million inner spiritual power. It was with the help of the Samsara Spiritual Furnace and the Samsara Sword that he was able to inflict heavy damage on the Demon God Emperor. He became a legend of our Assassin Temple.”

“However, cultivating the Samsara Spiritual Furnace also requires paying a huge price.” Caier said, her emotions seemed much dimmer here.

“To gain the recognition of the Samsara Spiritual Furnace and the Samsara Sword, you must first have the Samsara Physique, which is an assassin with more than ninety innate inner spiritual power. Under the effect of the Samsara Spiritual Furnace, my innate inner spiritual power was even finally raised to the top, one hundred points. To truly use the power of the Samsara Spiritual Furnace, in addition to continuous cultivation, the body must also endure continuous testing, even torture. My six senses also began to be lost in turn from that time.”

“First, it was the sense of smell, then hearing, then taste. The most terrible thing was the time when I lost my sense of feeling and touch. When I couldn’t feel or give any feedback, I couldn’t even control my body, and I lay in a cold place for two and a half years before gradually recovering. And the sixth sense I lost was sight. So, I can’t see you now.”

As she spoke, Caier withdrew a hand from behind Long Haochen and gently stroked his face.

Long Haochen’s heart was trembling. He had always known that he not only had talent on the path of cultivation, but also worked very hard. But compared to what Caier had experienced, what was his effort? How much torture had Caier endured to achieve today’s achievements!

“Several times, I really couldn’t hold on. Especially when I was lying there unable to move for two and a half years. I was really going crazy. At that time, I only felt that I had no desire to live. Since there were so many tortures, it was better to die. But whenever this thought appeared, a fool’s figure would appear in my heart. A fool who didn’t have much ability at all, but used his body to shield me and stood up for me in the face of a strong enemy, willing to resist everything for this person he had just met.”

“It was this fool who planted a warm seed in my heart. Relying on the warmth radiated by this seed, I felt that there was something to live for, and I looked forward to one day being able to repay him. It was this support in my heart that kept me going. Whenever I was tormented by the Samsara Spiritual Furnace and couldn’t bear it, I would think of the fool who protected me when I lost my sense of taste and the ability to speak.”

“You, you are that fool. That kind fool. My fool.”

Speaking here, tears flowed from Caier’s eyes again. The difference was that the tears at this time were no longer pain and sadness, but tears of happiness for grasping the only trace of warmth.

Long Haochen said blankly, “You, are you the little girl from back then?”

Caier suddenly laughed through her tears, “You’re really a fool. If it weren’t for knowing you, why would I have asked you to send me back when we met that day?”

Long Haochen said in a daze, “But, we’ve both grown up. I didn’t recognize you! How did you recognize me?”

Caier gently touched the Forget-Me-Not ring on his hand, “That day, you seemed to be putting your weapon back into the ring. I was about to leave, but suddenly I felt the energy fluctuations of the Forget-Me-Not. I’ve been wearing it since I was a child, and I’m too familiar with it. Later, I asked you to hold my hand, just to confirm that it was really it. Then I asked your name. How could I not know that it was you, you fool? You’re still so foolish. Seeing a strange blind girl, you want to help me.”

“So that’s how it is. I was wondering why you suddenly changed your attitude that day.” Long Haochen suddenly realized.

Caier said quietly, “I really didn’t expect to see you so soon. I originally wanted to find you after the final stage of the Samsara Spiritual Furnace was completed. I didn’t know what you would look like, but the warmth you brought me back then, I wanted to repay you. But you just appeared in front of me like this. Perhaps, this is fate.”

“Do you know? That was the happiest time for me. Waiting for you to send me back every day, walking that not-so-long road. Holding your hand. The warm seed in my heart seemed to be taking root and sprouting. When you told me that you would protect me for life that day, I knew that I finally had a relative again and was no longer alone. Only by your side can I feel that I am a person and not a killing machine.”

“Of course you’re not a weapon. You’re a person. You’re my Caier.” Long Haochen hugged her tightly, as if afraid of losing her.

Caier closed her eyes and nestled in Long Haochen’s arms, infected by the warmth of his body. Her breathing gradually became even, and she fell asleep in Long Haochen’s arms.

Curled up in Long Haochen’s arms, she was so quiet. Her long eyelashes still had some crystal tears on them. A touch of pink, seemingly brought by warmth, added to her slightly pale face, and a satisfied smile hung on the corner of her mouth.

She slept very soundly, so that even when Long Haochen gently put her on the bed, she didn’t move at all. Long Haochen wanted to leave, but Caier hugged him very, very tightly. He couldn’t bear to leave just like that. Looking at her peaceful sleeping face, Long Haochen only felt tenderness in his heart.

He carefully pulled Caier’s hand away, then wrapped her delicate body in the quilt. Only then did he lie down, hugging Caier in the quilt, so that her head was still against his chest. This way, the two of them wouldn’t have too much physical contact. He absolutely didn’t want Caier to be hurt in the slightest, not even a little embarrassment when she woke up.

Caier’s desire for warmth in Long Haochen’s heart had already surpassed his obsession with cultivation.

He wanted to give her this warmth.

He gently kissed her forehead, “I will always be your fool.”

(To be continued)