"What are you doing?" Xuan Tian's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. His back was still to her.
"That should be my question. Followed by, 'How long have you been standing there like an idiot?'" Ling Yu shot back without missing a beat.
Xuan Tian's shoulders visibly rose and fell as he sighed. He turned around to face her, his expression unreadable with a trace of exasperation.
"I've been mentally reviewing the case from beginning to end," he said. "Trying to see if there's anything I would've done differently."
Ling Yu's face lit up with excitement. "And if there is, you can go back and redo it? Cultivators can travel back in time?"
Xuan Tian frowned. "Of course not. No one can travel back in time." If they could, Celestials would do it all the time.
"Then why?"
"So that I won't make the same mistake twice."
Ling Yu tilted her head, confused. "Will the same events happen again in the future?"
"What are you thinking? No, of course not. But similar events might."
Now it was Ling Yu's turn to frown. "Then what's the point of doing that? It already happened. You can't go back and redo it. Those who died... already died. You can't change that with mental review."
Xuan Tian was stunned speechless. He had never thought of it like that.
"Those who died... already died?" Xuan Tian echoed.
"Yes. It's just an expression—one that my father taught me." Ling Yu paused, then added gently, "But he's right, don't you think? Whatever happened, already happened. We can't change it. Instead of spinning our minds in circles and going crazy, it's better to focus on how to live better."
Xuan Tian absorbed her words in silence. There was logic to them—clear, simple, human logic—but he didn't agree. At least, not entirely.
"But how can we live better," he countered, "if we don't understand what mistakes we made? We must first recognize the mistake, understand how it happened, and then correct it."
Ling Yu blinked at him, thoughtful. "But if we keep staring at past mistakes, how can we move forward?"
Once again, Xuan Tian was stunned speechless. He was used to reviewing missions with his commanders—dissecting every move, analyzing every possible solution. Sometimes those reviews took days, even weeks.
"But—" Xuan Tian began.
"Aiya, stop thinking and frowning. You look like an old man. You want me to call you Old Man instead of Iron Wall? Honestly, I like Iron Wall better." Ling Yu waved her hand impatiently. Talking like this made her head hurt.
Xuan Tian rolled his eyes inwardly. "Don't call me Old Man. And stop calling me Iron Wall. I'm not."
Ling Yu tilted her head. "Why don't you like Iron Wall? I told you why I called you that. Now it's your turn—why don't you like it?"
Xuan Tian looked her in the eye. "Because I'm not an iron wall. An iron wall is supposed to be flawless. Indestructible. But I'm not. I'm strong, but not indestructible."
Ling Yu rolled her eyes fast. "Have you ever seen a real iron wall? Who said they're flawless or indestructible? Iron walls can get dented if you hit them hard enough. They can even have holes in them. But you know what? They still stand. They don't waver. They keep standing tall, protecting everything and everyone behind them."
Xuan Tian stared at her, without blinking. "That's how you see me? Dented and riddled with holes?"
Ling Yu's jaw dropped. Her eyes narrowed, and she pouted. "I knew it! I was right! You are slow and dumb! Seeing you so serious, I was trying to cheer you up! Yet you can't understand me! That's not what I meant!"
She smacked his upper arm. "I meant you are strong, unwavering, relentless, and always protecting others. It's a compliment!"
She huffed. "But fine! You don't like Iron Wall? I'll call you Tian-Tian!"
Xuan Tian's eyes flashed with a mix of amusement and annoyance. "I'm not dumb. And that's not how you compliment someone. And Tian-Tian? What kind of name is that? Doesn't suit me!"
Watching Ling Yu animatedly talking the entire time, Xuan Tian felt something stir in his chest. Something warm and bubbling, threatening to surface. It rose to his face, to his mouth—
—and burst free before he could stop it.
Ling Yu, mid-rant, caught a glimpse of his face. She froze.
Her eyes widened, and she pointed straight at him. "You—you—SMILED?!"
She hit his upper arm again, "You can smile?! Why you didn't do it earlier?! You actually smiled! Wait!" Her face turned serious. "It's really you, right? You're possessed, aren't you?"
Xuan Tian realized it a little too late. And now he was suffering the consequences. Even he couldn't believe it. When was the last time I truly smiled?
Ling Yu continued swatting at his arm, muttering, "Get out! Whoever you are, get out!"
Xuan Tian snapped out of it. His smile vanished, like it had never been there.
"Stop hitting me."
He caught Ling Yu's wrists in one hand and stared straight into her eyes. "Stop hitting me. You're only going to hurt yourself. I'm Iron Wall, remember?"
Ling Yu stared right back, studying his mouth. "The smile is gone. He's back. He's really back."
She smiled. "Welcome back, Iron Wall. See? You're already used to it. Good."
Xuan Tian, still holding her wrists, gestured to her pendant with his free hand. "Your Shizun made that?"
Ling Yu looked down at the pendant. "Yes, he did. Beautiful, isn't it? He concealed the core's brightness, but it's still beautiful."
"It is, but you need to keep checking it every now and then. Make sure the core's stable all the time."
Ling Yu nodded, "Shizun said the same thing."
Xuan Tian released her wrists. "Good, Gu Zhenren is a good Shizun. Study well under him. Pay attention to everything he's teaching you. He's an excellent cultivator. Ziyu Sect is a big sect with a lot of resources. It's a perfect place for you, a cultivator without a core, to study."
Ling Yu looked at Xuan Tian, then nodded, "I know. Shizun is already planning to go back to Ziyu, as soon as the awakened people are strong enough to travel that far."
Xuan Tian nodded, "How long before you leave?"
"Zhao Ge said about three more days. I'm going to use this three days to return home and tell my parents that I'm going to cultivate at Ziyu."
Xuan Tian frowned, "Alone? Where's your home?"
Ling Yu shook her head, "No, not alone. Shizun and Li Ran Shixiong are coming with me."