Without facing Qin Fan directly, the blind old man tilted his sightless eyes toward the brightening sky and began to speak, his voice grave.

"And then?" The corner of Qin Fan’s mouth lifted in a playful smirk.

At this point, he felt he had completely figured out the old man’s intentions. To confirm if I’m the Child of Destiny from the Heavenly Dao Reincarnation? Yes, that’s a big part of it, but it’s not the whole story.

"Therefore, the Orochi must not be allowed to live! Absolutely not! If it manages to sneak in again, it will be a catastrophe for our nation’s millions of square kilometers of territory! Furthermore, in the decades it has been dormant, it must have advanced under the guidance of the Japanese Onmyoji! Its power has undoubtedly grown. Facing such a menace, we must eliminate it with all haste!" the blind old man said, gritting his teeth.

Upon hearing this, Qin Fan laughed. Interesting!

"Since it must be eliminated so quickly, then you go and eliminate it," he said. "Aren’t there God Realm experts? They defeated the Orochi back then, so why would they fear it now? And you, what’s the point of telling me all this? Besides, the country itself isn’t worried, so why are you—a blind old man who just sits on a mountaintop watching the sunrise—so concerned?"

Sensing the directness of Qin Fan’s words, the blind old man gave a helpless, self-mocking smile. He lowered his head, sighed, and said, "The Orochi has begun to awaken. As of right now, I am the only one in all of Huaxia who knows. Years ago, I implanted a Gu into its body—that’s right, a Gu from the Miao Clan. When it became clear that killing the Orochi was hopeless, I used the last moment to implant a non-aggressive Gu, purely to monitor its life and death. Now, the main body of that Gu has begun to stir, which means the Orochi is also awakening!"

Without giving Qin Fan much time for questions, the blind old man continued explaining, "Back then, I was the director of the Guardian Institute! At the time, my Martial Arts Cultivation had just reached the entry-level of the God Realm. Those fellows from the north, south, east, and west were all members of the Institute, my right and left hands. It was I who led them to repel the Orochi and ensure many of those Onmyoji never left Huaxia’s soil!

"But thirty years ago, I was blinded, and my Martial Arts Cultivation fell from the entry-level God Realm back to the entry-level Gang Realm as punishment from the Heavenly Dao. Because of this, I abdicated my position in the Guardian Institute, and those men also left it. So, you should understand why I am so concerned about the Orochi’s revival. I still consider myself a member of the Guardian Institute!

"As for why the nation isn’t concerned, it’s because they are unaware. Even if they were, all they could do is worry. There isn’t much they can do! I know you must be wondering why I don’t just ask those old comrades to go to Japan and kill the Orochi. It’s not that I don’t want to tell them it’s reviving, but it would be pointless.

"If they went, it’s not certain they could eliminate the Orochi for good. If they provoked a retaliation from those Onmyoji, our own people would be the ones to suffer in the end!"

"So you sought me out," Qin Fan sneered disdainfully, cutting him off. "Your first thought was that if I were the Child of Destiny, I would be protected by the Heavenly Dao and wouldn’t die easily, so you could send me to Japan to kill the Orochi. Then you found out I wasn’t, so you dropped the idea. But you didn’t expect me to turn out to be some Divine Envoy of the Vast World, which revived your intention of having me deal with the Orochi. Is that your logic? I’m not wrong, am I?"

"Friend Qin! No, Lord Divine Envoy, please listen to me—" Hearing the mockery in Qin Fan’s voice, the blind old man grew frantic.

He’s right. That’s exactly what I was thinking; Qin Fan saw right through me! But I never thought it would provoke such disdain! After all, this isn’t for my own selfish reasons, but for the greater good of the nation! It seems my grand plan has backfired spectacularly.

"Enough," Qin Fan interrupted, holding up a hand. "Stop talking. I’m not interested. Goodbye."

He gave a cold snort, shook his head, and turned to leave. National righteousness? Defending the homeland? I’ll do what needs to be done, but not because someone tells me to. What’s the difference between that and being used as a weapon? Even though he knew the blind old man probably didn’t mean it that way, Qin Fan, who was used to walking his own path on the Cangqiong Continent, couldn’t shake the feeling of being treated like a pawn.

Hearing Qin Fan’s footsteps on the stones as he walked away, the blind old man suddenly dropped to his knees, facing the retreating figure. With a ragged, elderly voice, he cried out, "I, Qilian the Demi Immortal, have lived for one hundred and ninety-eight years, and I have knelt only to the heavens, the earth, and my parents! But today, I kneel to you, Friend Qin! The Orochi must not be spared!"

"That’s a matter for your Guardian Institute," Qin Fan replied coldly, his steps pausing for only a moment. He shook his head, let out another cold snort, and started walking again. He knew the blind old man, Qilian the Demi Immortal, was kneeling to him, but he never once turned back to look.

"The Orochi must not be spared!"

"The Orochi must not be spared!"

"The Orochi must not be spared!"

Despite Qin Fan’s revulsion and refusal, Qilian the Demi Immortal’s voice did not fall silent. Instead, he bellowed the same words three times in a row. That phrase echoed across Kunlun Mountain like a demonic incantation, ringing endlessly in Qin Fan’s ears.

Choosing not to follow, Qilian the Demi Immortal remained kneeling on the ground, his blind eyes fixed on Qin Fan’s fading silhouette. Once a member of the Guardian Institute, always a member. Even though he had been retired for thirty years, he still considered himself part of it, forever dedicated to defending the nation’s security!

By the time Qin Fan reached the foot of the mountain with his hands in his pockets, warm sunlight was bathing the earth. Seeing his expressionless face and recalling his master’s astonishing shouts from a few moments ago, Hua Xiaotian quickly walked over. "Master Qin, what happened?" he asked with a frown.

"It’s nothing," Qin Fan responded indifferently, his face a stone mask.

"Master Qin, then what should we do?" Hua Xiaotian asked tentatively. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Nothing? How could it be nothing? In all his memory, he had never heard his master scream with such desperation! He couldn’t even imagine his master had such a side to him. And the Orochi... back when the Japanese surrendered, wasn’t that monster supposed to have been killed by his master and the others? Now he’s screaming that it must not be spared? What in the world is going on?

Not bothering to engage with Hua Xiaotian, Qin Fan said flatly, "You don’t need to follow me. I’ll go on my own."

With that, he bypassed the helicopter and started walking away from the mountain.

"This—!"

Hua Xiaotian’s brows furrowed into a tight knot. He glanced at Qin Fan’s retreating back, then clenched his jaw and started up the mountain.