Hái Líng found herself too weary to do anything; she simply wanted to serve the young master one st time, and then she would leave. During the Song Dynasty, she lost both her dignity and her sense of self. The remnants of what once was, a half-broken shell, returned to the Sword Valley—a person who no longer knew their purpose. Master—he could forgive her, right? Or, perhaps, killing her wouldn't matter; what difference would it make?

  Young master, you don't know, if Hai Ling were truly such a simple girl, how much better it would be. If I were such a girl, even if my tongue were cut off, my hands were cut off, and my legs were cut off, I would still tell you that I really like you, really like you; I believe you wouldn’t despise Hai Ling if you truly loved her. But I'm not that kind of girl. I will ultimately return to the Liao Dynasty, where, although it is not my home, it is my homend, my final resting pce.

  I don′t regret coming to the Central Pins for four years, I don′t regret meeting you here, meeting Pei Tian, meeting Young Master Rong, and meeting Young Master Shang Xuan. You are all good people. I don′t regret it.

  While changing, Hai Ling silently thought to herself.

  Suddenly, she felt her fingers touch something that shocked her, causing her to quickly pull her hand back and jump a step back. If she weren't unable to speak, she might have screamed.

  She took a step back, and the clothes slid off Ze Ning's body, revealing his shoulder.

  A scar, shaped like a cross, etched across his flesh!

  A scar, shaped like a cross, etched across his flesh! It’s him—exactly like the person from st night!

  In an instant, Hai Ling's whole body froze. Last night—st night's person—could it have been Ze Ning? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! She thought to herself, "It's impossible," but in truth, the fear was impossible to hide. The person from st night couldn't have known which part of his clothing she would tear and then preemptively faked the scar on his body. That was impossible! Absolutely impossible!

  She closed her eyes and tremblingly reached out to touch the scar, wanting to confirm if it was real!

  The cold sensation was exactly the same as st night! She should have woken up to it yesterday—how many people in this world have such low body temperature, with such a cold touch? Has she been deceiving herself all along? Was she convincing herself that Zé Níng wasn’t the one? And now, this same scar... Was her dream something she should have woken up from a long time ago? In her mind, she understood Zé Níng, or so she thought, but now she wasn't so sure. She now saw how utterly naive she had been—too naive by far.

  Ze Ning felt Hai Ling suddenly step back, stopping her actions. The exposed skin of his shoulder felt even colder in the air, and he couldn't help but feel a little surprised—what was she thinking? He wanted to turn around, but suddenly Hai Ling pointed and struck his pressure point!

  What did she want to do? Ze Ning was completely unprepared for Hai Ling. Despite knowing that her martial skills were strong, there was a quiet doubt in his mind; he never connected her martial abilities with his safety. In his mind, these were completely unreted things! But Hai Ling's strike hit his “Xinshu” pressure point on his back, freezing him in pce!

  Hai Ling lowered her head and carefully looked at the scar. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes and hadn't touched it with her own hands, she wouldn't have believed it. Ze Ning—he actually raped her! Why? Was it because she suddenly became beautiful? Is he that kind of person? Could he be such a person? How could he be this kind of person!

  Ze Ning felt warm liquid dripping onto his exposed shoulder. Was she crying? Why was she crying? He loathed the fact that he was unable to ask and couldn't comfort her with words. The silence demanded his attention, and all he could do was listen. Her tears fall against his shoulder, a quiet sob escaping her, and though he feels her anguish, he is powerless to comfort her.

  Hai Ling cried on his shoulder, but she didn't make a sound. After crying for a while, she wiped away the tears on his shoulder with her sleeve. She wiped so hard that he even felt pain.

  But the real pain came afterward—suddenly, Ze Ning felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder. Hai Ling actually bit him! She bit into his right shoulder, near the back of his arm! There was nothing gentle about her bite—only the fierce, unrelenting force of her anger, with such pain that in that instant, he even felt that her pain far surpassed his. The bite was more than a mark—it was the embodiment of her heartache, resentment, and love, permanently etched into him, marking him forever, leaving behind a hatred, a bitter hatred that cursed the world!

  Her face turned toward him, and Ze Ning stared at her with wide eyes, completely unaware of what had happened. Had she really regained her memory? Even if she had, where did this hatred come from?

  She opened her mouth; she was speaking, but Ze Ning didn't hear any sound—he saw the wound in her mouth, saw the determination she had at that moment to die, and he gasped. Then he saw her lips form the words—Zhao Ze Ning, I hate you.

  No! Ze Ning had never felt such intense emotion—he didn't even know if he was shocked, heartbroken, angry, or fearful. His mind was in a chaotic mess, and for the past twenty-something years, he had never lost his composure, but now, he had lost it!

  No, no, no! Hai Ling, something must be wrong; let me expin. Listen to me, okay? It's not like that! Something went wrong! Why did you twist your tongue? Who forced you? Who wronged you? Tell me, and I'll make sure to deal with them! Ze Ning had never felt despair in over twenty years; he had never felt different from normal people—but now, he almost hated himself for being mute! Why couldn't he speak? Why? Other mutes could still make sounds, but he couldn’t even make a single noise!

  Despair! A despair unlike anything he had known before gripped him, and with it came the painful realization that she might be leaving him.

  Biting down on that scar, she couldn't bring herself to kill him! She had never killed anyone, and besides, she still remembered the look in Ze Ning's eyes when he handed her a snail—she couldn't kill him, so she would hurt him deeply instead. The deeper she hurt him, the harder she would bite! Hai Ling saw the shock and pain in his eyes, and she smiled lightly. Did he still need to deceive her with his gaze? There was no need—she would never trust him again, never, ever!

  Turning her head, she gnced at the sword hanging on the wall, reached up indifferently, and took it down. She came from a family of swordsmiths, so of course, she recognized the famous swords of the world. In her grip, the sword seemed to hum with untold power, a masterpiece in steel—and she decided to take it.

  Seeing her take the sword with such pride, Ze Ning knew she had regained her memory—had the original Hai Ling really been like this? The obedient and kind Hai Ling would never have taken a sword like this. She wasn't Hai Ling! She was known as the Zhu Jian! But if she was just the Zhu Jian, then why had she cried?

  Hai Ling didn't look at him again. She took the sword, pced one foot on the desk, stepping on the list that Ze Ning had been looking at, and leapt out the window.

  Her steps were light, almost weightless! Ze Ning stood frozen in the study, watching her soar over the mansion, flying toward her original destination, like a swallow, but more like an eagle!

  (T/N: 心俞穴; xīn yú xué or xinshu Point, a pressure point located on the back, specifically near the area of the "heart" acupoint in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It is found on the back, about 1.5 inches (approximately 4 cm) to the left or right of the spine, at the level of the 5th thoracic vertebra (T5). Many believe this point holds a connection to the heart, a link that runs deep, both in a physiological sense and within the context of TCM, where it is believed to influence emotional well-being and the flow of Qi (vital energy). In terms of acupuncture and acupressure, Shuxin is often used to treat heart-reted issues and emotional stress, but it is also a vulnerable point on the body when it comes to pressure point fighting, where striking it can immobilize or weaken someone. In the context of martial arts, especially in stories or wuxia (martial arts fiction), hitting this point can render the person paralyzed or incapacitated.)