Chapter 327: Chapter 327

"But... will they drag my body away to burn it?"

A horrifying thought popped into Lin Xiao's mind.

On the other side, watching the life essence of their beloved completely extinguish, the four women felt their breath catch and their throats go hoarse. In the end, they had cried so much they couldn't even make a sound.

They gradually realized that the man who was always gentle, attentive, and like a cherished first love illuminating everyone on Divine Phoenix Peak... had completely left this world.

The scene was deathly silent. Even the sounds of crying had completely ceased.

The four women each cradled a part of their beloved's body, tears streaming down their faces, their pain unspoken in the utter stillness.

Breaking the absolute silence, a voice, tinged with innocent naïveté, rang out,

"Is Eldest Senior Brother... is he asleep?" Lu Yingying asked, her eyes rimmed with red.

Hearing their little junior sister's words, Guo Yourong and Chu Youwei exchanged a glance. An unbearable sorrow welled in their hearts, and they didn't know how to respond. They could only turn their gaze to their Master, standing nearby.

At that moment, the Master they revered most had removed her phoenix hairpin. Her waterfall of black hair cascaded down, and her phoenix eyes, moist and red, were fixed unblinkingly on the man in her arms, who looked as if he were sleeping peacefully. Her expression was so focused and tender, it was as if nothing else in the world existed in her eyes.

Seeing her senior sister and Master utterly consumed by silent grief, Lu Yingying finally understood.

Her Eldest Senior Brother, who had doted on her endlessly, cherished her dearly, and helped her grow into an adult... he had completely left her and would never return!

In an instant, the young woman who had just come of age broke down completely. She let out a loud "WAAH!" and burst into tears, wailing like a small child.

THUD! ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ n0velfire.net

She threw herself into her Master's arms.

"Master! Eldest Senior Brother... he's not coming back, is he?"

Tears blurred her pretty, still innocent face as Lu Yingying sobbed, looking up at the stunningly beautiful woman before her. At that moment, she felt as if she had gone back ten years—to when her parents had been murdered, leaving her weak, helpless, and utterly alone. It was Eldest Senior Brother and the woman before her who had given her a home, giving her the will to live!

And now that Eldest Senior Brother had truly left... she only had her Master.

Xiao Hongling took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the pain in her heart. She gently stroked her little disciple's head and said, "Yingying, dear, if you truly believe it, your Eldest Senior Brother... he will, as he once said, become a star in the heavens and continue to watch over you."

After saying this, she turned to look at the two young women beside her.

These two disciples, older and more mature in temperament, were not hysterical like their younger sister. Instead, they clung tightly to Eldest Senior Brother's body, their beautiful eyes dazed, as if lost in reminiscence.

"Yourong, Youwei, it has come to this. Your Eldest Senior Brother's final words... did you take them to heart? As for how you intend to proceed from here, you must carefully consider it for yourselves!" Xiao Hongling's delicate eyebrows knitted slightly, her voice carrying a hint of mournful resentment.

Although her beloved disciple's death was inextricably linked to her own cowardice and avoidance, still! If these girls hadn't been so fiercely at odds, relentlessly pressuring him, he would never have reached this point!

"Master..." Guo Yourong was the first to lift her head, her eyes red. "No matter who Eldest Senior Brother cherished in his heart, at least Yourong was his only lawfully wedded wife. This marriage was personally approved by you and the Elders. Therefore..."

She hugged an arm of her late husband, gritting her teeth as she said, enunciating each word, "Can Eldest Senior Brother's body and funeral arrangements be entrusted to Yourong? Today is our wedding night. I... I want to spend more time alone with him, as his wife!"

She spoke in a tone that was neither servile nor arrogant; though her words formed a request, there was no hint of concession in them.

Without waiting for her Master's reply, she turned her gaze directly to her two junior sisters. Gritting her teeth and holding back tears, she said, "Youwei, Yingying! I promised my husband that from now on, I would look after you as your senior sister, just as before. But now, please, could you leave us? Don't disturb my final moments with my husband, alright?"

"Senior Sister," a smile touched Chu Youwei's lips through her tears as she shook her head and said, "it's as I've always said: Eldest Senior Brother is also *my* Eldest Senior Brother—Weiwei's Eldest Senior Brother. You indeed married him, that's true, but—"

As she spoke, she tightly gripped Eldest Senior Brother's hand. Her eyes, usually as gentle and alluring as tranquil water, suddenly turned incomparably sharp. "That has nothing to do with my feelings for Eldest Senior Brother! You have no idea how important he has been to Weiwei, ever since we were young!

"I will never forget the first day I joined the sect, when Eldest Senior Brother took me to Bright Moon Cliff to fly a kite!

"Nor will I forget the time I accidentally broke a zither string. I was terrified Master would punish me, but it was Eldest Senior Brother who secretly took the broken zither and rushed to the market in Red Wind City, staying up all night to get it repaired!

"And so many more memories...

"These memories are what Weiwei has lived for! They can't be erased just because you, Senior Sister, say you married Eldest Senior Brother!"

As she finished speaking, her beautiful eyes were cold and stern, her long hair whipped around her, and her entire being radiated a palpable killing intent. She bore no resemblance to her usual gentle, water-like demeanor!

"Youwei, what exactly do you mean by that?!" Guo Yourong was also growing incensed. Her beautiful eyes turned cold as she said, "Today, in front of Master, you might as well make yourself perfectly clear!"

"Very well! Since Senior Sister insists, then Weiwei will speak plainly!"