The young girl left behind her sword intent and bid farewell to Odenari and Selina.
That sword intent was the final punctuation mark she placed on her long journey.
It was time to go back.
She went back for a promise made in her childhood.
And for… that crying idiot.
Every long road eventually leads home.
She walked the same path she had taken when she first left, crossing mountains and passing through towns.
When she had left her family, she was all alone, carrying an ordinary sword and leaving deep and shallow footprints in the snow.
Upon her return, she was still a solitary figure.
However, compared to 5 years ago, she had lost her youthful greenness, gaining both vitality and maturity.
Imperial City.
She once again walked through the place where she had participated in the Genius Tournament.
Inside the inns, people were heatedly discussing the sudden emergence of a genius from some ancient family, or how the Sacred Body of a certain clan had undergone a second metamorphosis to become even stronger.
No one talked about that earth-shaking battle of geniuses from years ago anymore.
No one discussed the girl from the mortal realm who had crushed those “beings from the heavens” and even suppressed a God-blood in the end.
In reality, only 2 years had passed since the last Genius Tournament.
Countless people had witnessed with their own eyes how Lu Mo used mortal strength to shatter divine power.
Their blood had boiled.
They had cheered frantically.
They once thought they would never forget such a scene.
But now, those so-called unforgettable images had been tossed into the corners of their memories, left unmentioned by anyone.
The figure of the young girl, Mo, had already faded away in the rain of 2 years ago.
***
She once again passed by those prestigious families she had once challenged.
Most of the people in those great families had forgotten what she used to look like.
As she walked by in her current form, no one blocked her path to demand a rematch.
They simply looked at the exquisitely beautiful girl, their hearts either fluttering or suddenly feeling the urge to approach her and strike up a conversation.
When rejected, some grew suddenly irritated, thinking of calling her back to exert pressure on her.
Yet, the moment they looked into the girl’s eyes, their hair stood on end. A cold shiver ran down their spines, and they froze on the spot.
They only breathed a sigh of relief once the girl had walked far into the distance.
“Who… is she?”
“Could she be the young miss of some hidden family, or even… someone from a God-descendant family?”
Someone spoke up, speculating about Lu Mo’s identity.
At the same time, they felt a lingering fear.
If they had truly provoked that girl, would their own families have faced total destruction because of it?
No one associated her with that frantic and cold girl from 5 years ago.
That girl’s image had been completely erased by the passage of time.
***
She returned to her family on an early summer morning.
When she stood at the family gates, she was stopped by the guards.
She revealed the Kalis Family crest and stated her name.
Even so, the guards fell into deep thought for a long while before finally reacting.
“Miss Lu Mo!”
“It really is Miss Lu Mo!”
“Please do not blame us for failing to recognize you immediately, Miss!”
They moved aside one after another, acting with extreme reverence.
***
She saw her father once again.
Perhaps her changes over the past 5 years were simply too great.
Even the Master of the Kalis Family couldn’t help but freeze when he saw her. Lu Mo could clearly sense the man’s daze.
“Lu Mo…”
The man let out a few awkward coughs before smiling. “It is good that you are back. It is good that you are back…”
As he spoke, he scrutinized Lu Mo, checking her arms for tattoos and her lips or nose for piercings.
In truth, not long after Lu Mo had left the family alone, the man had gradually begun to regret it.
Was it really okay to let a 13-year-old girl leave the family just like that?
Could her safety be guaranteed?
Would she be led astray by the temptations of the outside world?
What if she was tricked by some delinquent or a “spirited young man” out there?
One night, he had even had a nightmare.
In the dream, Lu Mo returned home with her short hair dyed yellow. Her arms, chest, and back were covered in tattoos, she had multiple piercings, and she was wearing heavy, smoky makeup.
“Old man, I’m back. Cough up some gold,” the girl said. “As I thought, the outside world is much more interesting. Staying with those guys is way better than staying with you. Oh, by the way, my friend is still outside. Give me some money first. I’m going to head out on his modified bike later to cruise around.”
The Master of the Kalis Family felt like his head was about to explode.
He woke up in a cold sweat and couldn’t fall back asleep for the rest of the night.
He suffered from insomnia for several days after that.
Later, he had sent people out to find Lu Mo, but they had found nothing.
It wasn’t until 2 years ago that the Master of the Helovit Family brought Kemode to see him.
The boy recounted his experience of meeting the girl, Mo, during the Genius Tournament.
The Master of the Kalis Family was first excited, then shocked, and finally, a hint of terror mingled with that shock.
The girl, Mo, was Lu Mo.
And she… 3 years after leaving the family, had actually crushed a God-descendant in a direct confrontation!
“She… she doesn’t have tattoos, does she?”
“Were there any delinquents or shady characters cheering for her below the stage?”
Immediately after, the Master of the Kalis Family asked a question that made Kemode’s brain stall.
Huh?
Tattoos?
Delinquents?
What on earth?
Only when Kemode replied that there were none did the Master of the Kalis Family finally feel at ease.
It seemed that nothing bad had happened to his daughter during those 3 years.
Moreover, she had become even stronger.
‘Since I know my daughter’s current name is Mo, everything will be easier to handle,’ the Master of the Kalis Family thought.
He had dispatched his trusted aides to find Mo and protect her in secret.
However, his aides failed to find her.
After the Genius Tournament ended, Lu Mo seemed to have vanished from the world.
No matter how hard they searched, they could no longer find a trace of her.
The Master of the Kalis Family had been anxious about this for a long time.
‘Maybe she was taken away by a powerful master?’ he comforted himself, yet he remained worried about Lu Mo.
Now, Lu Mo finally stood before him.
But at this moment, he felt a sense of strangeness toward her.
This was because the current Lu Mo looked far too perfect.
The girl’s appearance was enough to topple empires.
Her temperament was no longer as sharp, frantic, and cold as it had been in the past.
Her edge had been tucked away into its sheath.
Standing there, she was so moving that she seemed to dazzle time itself.
Meeting her again, the Master of the Kalis Family seemed at a loss for how to communicate with her.
Even though 5 years ago, there hadn’t been this invisible barrier between him and his daughter.
“My daughter, you must be tired after your return. Go and have a good rest.”
In the end, he could only tell Lu Mo to rest first, while he stayed behind to figure out a proper way to communicate with his grown-up daughter.
As he watched Lu Mo’s retreating figure, he couldn’t help but ask one more thing. “Lu Mo, these past few years, you — “
Lu Mo turned her head at that moment and gave the Master of the Kalis Family a nonchalant smile.
“It was just a bit of wind and frost.”
***
She walked along the paths of the Manor once again.
The boys and girls she had defeated when they were young — the ones who used to secretly call her a “bad child” — had now grown into young men and women.
They saw Lu Mo but did not recognize her.
It seemed her current appearance was far removed from their memories.
“Who is she? A new face…”
“So beautiful…”
“She is absolutely a goddess-level existence!”
They looked at Lu Mo, their breath hitching and their hearts racing.
***
She returned to the corner of the Manor once again.
Hardly anyone had visited this area since she left.
The weeds grew wild.
Ivy had climbed up the wall of her childhood at some point.
Compared to 5 years ago, the wall seemed much shorter in front of her.
She went beneath the tree and leaped up, entering the treehouse.
Now, the door of the treehouse also seemed smaller to her.
She deactivated the arrays and restrictions she had set up, stepping into the small house that had been unvisited for 5 years.
Because of the arrays, everything inside was clean and free of dust.
Cecilia’s precious treasures were quietly piled to one side. Her diary was hidden in the deepest part, and that white dome hat she could no longer wear was placed on top of the pile.
The books she had brought from the library were still in their original positions, their pages still turned to where she had left them 5 years ago.
It seemed as if nothing had changed.
Yet, it felt as if everything had changed.
Or perhaps, the things that changed weren’t these objects, but the people.
The people who had watched the Genius Tournament and claimed they would never forget a mortal slaying a god had changed.
The “heavenly beings” of those prestigious families had changed.
The guards had changed.
Her father had changed.
the young men and women of the family had changed.
Even she herself had changed.
She had become more beautiful, taller, and her temperament had become more ethereal.
She looked like a completely different person compared to her childhood self.
But there were also many things about her that hadn’t changed.
After returning, she would still go to the library to browse the latest books on combat techniques.
She would still come to the corner of the Manor every day.
She would still swing the sword in her hand.
One hundred times, one thousand times.
Then, she would sit under the tree to rest.
She would look at the sky, the clouds, and the vine-covered wall.
Waiting… for someone’s return.
‘Will that idiot come back?’
‘Has she changed as well?’
Lu Mo wondered.
But she didn’t seek the answers.
She simply practiced her sword by the wall just as she had in the past, waiting for a familiar figure to appear.
But on the other side of the wall, there only seemed to be the blowing wind and the empty blue sky.
The days passed one by one.
Soon, early summer ended, and midsummer arrived.
Then, midsummer drew to a close as well.
It was another midsummer afternoon.
The weather was sweltering, and the cicadas chirped incessantly.
Lu Mo finished her sword practice as usual. After staring at the vine-covered wall for a while, she prepared to turn and leave, just as she always did.
But at that moment, she heard a song drifting over from the other side of the wall —
“Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme…”
A young girl was softly singing that song from their childhood.
It carried both longing and playfulness.
In an instant… it pierced through 6 years of time.
Lu Mo turned back and saw a blonde girl standing on top of the wall. She was facing Lu Mo, her smile blooming like a flower.
That expression was even more brilliant than the midsummer sunlight.
“Do you still remember me, Miss Lu Mo?” the blonde girl asked.
“Of course I do — “
Lu Mo smiled as well. She looked at the girl bathed in light and answered softly, “Welcome back… Cecilia.”
The girl suddenly gave a cheer and leaped down from the top of the wall.
Just like when they were little.
She was never afraid to do so.
Because she knew that someone would always catch her firmly.
And would catch her for the rest of her life.
Lu Mo leaped up as well, gently catching the falling girl in her arms.
Just like before.
Life is like a forest.
Those who are lost remain lost.
And those who are destined to meet will meet again.
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