Chapter 1987: Past Sorrows

“...You?” Mo Cangying raised an eyebrow.

Helian Lingzhu also looked up in surprise. Under their astonished gazes, Yun Che slowly stood up and walked to the boy's side.

“Your injuries...” Helian Lingzhu instinctively reached out.

“It's fine,” Yun Che said with a faint smile. “It looks severe, but it's mainly superficial. The air here is rich with medicinal energy, and I've recovered a lot in the past few hours.”

Without waiting for Helian Lingzhu to question further, he placed his palm on the boy's right arm, and a very faint profound energy slowly flowed in. “Qichuan, let me see the extent of the erosion.”

His profound energy quickly spread over the boy's entire right arm, sensing the presence of the erosion. Abyssal dust is not a poison, nor does it possess life. Its essence is an uncontrollable high-dimensional power. Therefore, its "erosion" is far more terrifying than any poison known in the Abyss.

In a moment, Yun Che understood.

“What are you doing?” Mo Cangying stared at him. “Are you suggesting you have a way to purge him of the abyssal dust's erosion? Take care of yourself first.”

“Purging the erosion? Of course, I don't have that ability,” Yun Che said calmly, withdrawing his hand from the boy. “However, the erosion he's suffering isn't severe, and amputating his arm directly would be too great a loss. If the eroded parts of his flesh, bones, blood, and meridians are removed, the remaining parts will be enough to support his full recovery.”

Mo Cangying laughed, his smile tinged with undisguised mockery. “Do you know what you're saying?”

Yun Che's expression remained unchanged; he offered no explanation. “Let me try, and you'll see. At the very least, it won't be worse than amputating his arm.”

With that, he didn't wait for Mo Cangying's response. He looked at the boy and asked, “Are you afraid of pain?”

The boy, a little bewildered, shook his head. “No.”

“Good. Then hold on.”

As his words fell, his five fingers landed on the boy's upper arm. Profound energy released, instantly transforming into countless fine streams that spread throughout his right arm.

*Pop, pop, bang, bang, bang...*

One after another, blood holes erupted on the boy's arm, accompanied by spurting blood and scattering fragments of bone and sinew. In mere moments, the boy's entire right arm was riddled with holes. This torture left the boy's face ashen. His mouth was wide open, but no sound escaped him.

“You!” Mo Cangying roared. Just as he was about to intervene, Helian Lingzhu held him back. “Don't! Maybe... maybe...”

Her eyes were fixed on Yun Che's movements, believing him almost without reason.

“How is such a thing possible?” Mo Cangying frowned deeply, his arms tensed. “This is clearly...”

Before he could finish, another large spray of blood erupted from the boy's arm, and at that moment, Yun Che suddenly withdrew his hand. The boy collapsed to the ground, sweating profusely from the pain, his body convulsing, and hoarse cries escaping his lips.

“It's done,” Yun Che said calmly, closing his fingers.

“Qichuan!” Helian Lingzhu quickly bent down to support the boy. His still-tender arm was covered in nearly a hundred blood holes of various sizes, a truly gruesome sight.

She released her profound energy to quickly seal his gushing wounds. But immediately, her anxiety turned to astonishment, and then to profound shock.

“Yun Che!” Mo Cangying's face was cold, his eyes filled with anger. “He's just a child, already pitiful enough. We've shown you kindness, not enmity, and yet you...”

“Ninth Senior Brother,” Helian Lingzhu interrupted him, her voice trembling with barely suppressed excitement. “He wasn't deliberately torturing him. All of Qichuan's eroded parts are gone, and... his right arm isn't crippled.”

“...!?” Mo Cangying spun around, his face incredulous. He started to speak, then stopped, and quickly reached out towards the boy's right arm. Instantly, his stern face showed an expression of shock several times more intense than Helian Lingzhu's.

The boy's entire right arm showed no traces of abyssal dust erosion. His flesh, bones, and meridians were riddled with countless wounds, as if he had been subjected to a thousand cuts. But... setting aside the flesh, despite such severe damage, his entire arm bone remained completely connected, and the most crucial meridians, though damaged, were not severed.

Every single eroded part had been completely excised. And the un-eroded parts were barely touched! At the extreme limit, even a hair's breadth less, the erosion couldn't be eradicated; a hair's breadth more, and the meridians would be destroyed. It was as if it had undergone the most precise measurement and the most accurate cutting, perfectly terrifying.

Mo Cangying turned his gaze to the bloodied bone fragments splattered on the ground, which were entirely gray and lifeless from the erosion, devoid of any vitality. He sharply lifted his eyes, staring fixedly at Yun Che, his mind raging like a sandstorm, unable to find peace.

“You... How did you do that?” Helian Lingzhu blurted out. Her profound energy flowed repeatedly through the boy's arm, her heart still unable to believe it.

Yun Che still wore his gentle, watery smile. “My mind holds very complete medical principles. I suppose I must have been a physician in the past.”

“A physician?” Helian Lingzhu shook her head. “Such profound knowledge of the body and control over profound energy... no physician I know could achieve this, not even the chief imperial physician of our court; it's utterly impossible.”

“...” This time, Mo Cangying did not refute her.

The boy also forgot his groans of pain. He raised his right arm, which, though still in agony, he could勉强 control, and said in disbelief, “My... my arm... it doesn't need to be amputated?”

“No, it doesn't,” Yun Che said with a faint smile. He nodded to Helian Lingzhu. “Heal properly, and in at most a month or two, you'll be fully recovered. Thank you for your kind words, Princess. Having received your life-saving grace, this is but a small repayment.”

He straightened his back and continued, “Since that's the case, I won't stay any longer. I bid you farewell here. Should our paths cross again someday, I will fully repay your life-saving kindness.”

“Ah?” This sudden farewell greatly surprised Helian Lingzhu. “You're leaving? Why so suddenly? Don't you have no memories of your past? And what about your injuries...”

Yun Che said, “Although my injuries haven't fully healed, I can manage to move. My memories haven't returned, but I vaguely recall being hunted. If I stay here too long, I might attract my pursuers. You saved my life, which I can barely repay; how could I bring danger upon you?”

With that, he bowed, then turned and walked away, his steps visibly weak. This resolve and sincerity touched even Mo Cangying.

“Wait!” Helian Lingzhu swiftly moved, directly blocking Yun Che's path. “You're so heavily injured; it's impossible for you to leave here. The sandstorm outside alone could claim your life. Didn't you say you wanted to repay our life-saving kindness?” She, who had already promised Mo Cangying that Yun Che would stay, now found a perfect reason. “You don't have to wait for later; you can do it right now.”

“My imperial father was once... wounded by someone. That person's power entwined his heart meridians. We dared not forcefully remove it, only slowly dissipate it, which has caused Father to suffer greatly over the years and prevented him from freely using his profound energy.”

“Your medical skills are so extraordinary; perhaps you have a solution,” she said eagerly. “If you can save my imperial father, even if only to slightly alleviate his pain, not only will it repay my kindness, but my Helian imperial family will also remember your benevolence.”

Facing Helian Lingzhu's gaze, Yun Che didn't hesitate long, slowly nodding. “Since that's the case... very well, I will do my best to try.”

“That's wonderful!” Unable to suppress the overwhelming joy in her heart, Helian Lingzhu smiled. “You should first rest and recover. My Ninth Senior Brother and I will also stay here for two more days. After that, I'll take you to see my imperial father.”

Mo Cangying frowned, but ultimately said nothing.

Two days later, Yun Che, accompanied by Helian Lingzhu and Mo Cangying, flew towards the Helian imperial family's location.

After just two short days, Yun Che still appeared weak, but his external injuries seemed to have healed for the most part. Especially with the bloodstains gone and scars faded from his face, the true appearance of Emperor Yun, untouched by abyssal dust, made Helian Lingzhu stare blankly for a long time before quickly averting her gaze.

“Princess, may I ask, what kind of power wounded your imperial father?” Yun Che asked, seemingly casually. “As the emperor of a realm, he is naturally a supreme being. How could he be easily wounded by someone? Was it an external enemy?”

This question made a clear look of discomfort flash across Helian Lingzhu's face. She sighed softly and said, “This matter... though somewhat difficult to speak of, there's nothing to hide. Almost everyone in the Linyao Realm knows.”

“The person who wounded my imperial father is named Mo Beichen.”

Yun Che looked surprised. “That name... the Abyssal Knight Qichuan mentioned earlier? Wasn't he from your Linyao Realm? And wasn't he considered your supreme glory and pride? Why would he attack your imperial father?”

Mo Cangying's brows furrowed.

Helian Lingzhu smiled bitterly. “He was indeed from here. Though born into a small clan, he was a genius rarely seen in the entire history of the Linyao Realm, perhaps once in ten thousand years. His talent was exceptionally high, and he feared no death. To seek breakthroughs, he once ventured alone deep into the Sea of Mist. His aspirations were even loftier; he yearned for the 'Pure Land' where the Abyssal Emperor resided. After having a daughter, he swore to bring his wife and child to the Pure Land.”

“And he indeed put his words into action, following an Abyssal Knight who recommended him, traveling to the Pure Land to participate in the cruel trials to become an Abyssal Knight. For several years thereafter, there was no news of him. Later, news arrived that he had died during the Pure Land trials.”

Helian Lingzhu let out a long, slow breath and continued, “Both his daughters had mediocre aptitudes and were considered 'useless' people who should be abandoned. But given his exceptionally outstanding strength and status, his clan naturally dared not treat his family poorly. When he left for the Pure Land, both our imperial family and his clan gave him countless assurances that they would do everything to protect his wife and daughter, so he would have no worries.”

“But, when the news of his death arrived...” Helian Lingzhu paused, saying with extreme difficulty, “His two daughters also lost their protection.”

What she meant by "lost protection" was that both the imperial family and his clan, who had made promises, cruelly abandoned their protection of his daughters. Extremely limited resources and extremely harsh rules for survival laid bare nothing but the most brutal reality.

“Without protection, it wasn't long before both his daughters successively died from abyssal dust erosion. His wife, after the agonizing loss of her husband and two daughters, lost all will to live and took her own life.”

All of this aligned with what Chi Wu had told Yun Che.

“Less than a month after his wife's death, he returned... as an Abyssal Knight, wearing the armor bestowed by a Pure Land divine official.”

What happened next was predictable. The name "Beichen" (meaning sorrowful dust) was adopted from this. His willingness to become a "pioneer" also stemmed from a death wish born of immense grief.

“So Mo Beichen, out of anger, injured your imperial father?” Yun Che asked.

Helian Lingzhu nodded, then immediately shook her head, saying bitterly, “Given his exalted status as an Abyssal Knight, even if he had struck a fatal blow, my Helian lineage would have had no right to complain.”

The tragedy was long since cast, and even now, speaking of it, Helian Lingzhu's heart ached profoundly. How supreme are Abyssal Knights? The Helian Dynasty had never even dared to dream of touching those four words. That should have been a divine blessing bestowed upon Helian, an opportunity for the Helian Dynasty's destiny to turn. Yet they themselves destroyed it, turning a star of heaven into a beacon of nightmare.

Yun Che looked at Mo Cangying, who had remained silent. “Brother Mo also bears the surname Mo. Could it be... there's a connection?”

“From the same clan,” Mo Cangying's voice was devoid of emotion. “But the clan has already fallen apart. Let's not speak of it!”

Yun Che smiled faintly. “‘If you wish to be a soaring eagle, do not concern yourself with the chirping of birds.’ Since Brother Mo's name implies a soaring eagle, he naturally won't be content to remain among chirping birds. Since you are of the same clan, if one Mo Beichen could emerge, there's no reason there wouldn't be a second.”

Mo Cangying's pupils contracted slightly, and he gave Yun Che a deep look. His name, indeed, came from the saying, and his ambition also lay in the Pure Land.

These words immediately dispelled the gloom from Helian Lingzhu's brows. She smiled. “With those words, Ninth Senior Brother will probably consider you a true friend.”

“Hmph!” Mo Cangying snorted.

“I also believe that Ninth Senior Brother will definitely become a second Mo Beichen in the future... no, he will be even more powerful than Mo Beichen.”

There was no sandstorm within the Helian Imperial City, but it was still a vast expanse of gray. Every space here was filled not only with abyssal dust but also with sand. The imperial city's buildings were all cast from hard rock, and their dull yellow profound light reflected the dynasty's majesty. However, this majesty carried with it a certain weakness, a lack of confidence.