Lord Li Wang sighed softly, though Qin Chuan had no idea why he was sighing.
"If only a person could undo their mistakes!" Lord Li Wang said gently.
Qin Chuan knew some things about Lord Li Wang; his junior sister had told him, so Qin Chuan knew some of the things this man had done.
Indeed, regardless of whether it was a rash decision, intentional or unintentional, some mistakes, once made, cannot be forgiven by oneself, even if others can forgive them.
Lord Li Wang was in this situation now; in Qin Chuan's view, he couldn't possibly forgive himself for this mistake.
His actions were far worse than Long Yuanchong's; Long Yuanchong still had a chance to mend things, but Lord Li Wang's was essentially a dead end.
The question wasn't whether others could forgive him, but whether he could forgive himself.
Of course, if he could truly forgive himself, how could others forgive him? It was a dead end, impossible to resolve.
That's why Lord Li Wangcheng was numbing himself, hoping he could pull himself out of it. He was already enduring torment, but at least he could keep moving forward, not knowing how long he could hold on, perhaps until the woman died.
He was hypnotizing himself to forget everything, to forget everything that belonged to her; time could erase everything, as long as time.
But he hadn't expected the woman to live. She knew that as long as she lived, she would be the greatest torment to Lord Li Wangcheng.
Although living was painful, she couldn't die; she still held onto a tiny bit of hope and a memory deep within her heart.
This was her most precious possession. In this desolate underground palace, only the occasional thought of that little life gave her the will to keep going.
But she never thought she would ever see that baby again in this life. Not that she hadn't thought about it, but she dared not think about it, because the chance was extremely low.
Even if she had sealed a little bit of memory in the baby's mind, unlocking it required a certain opportunity.
Of course, she had left some information when she sent the baby away, but these were just fleeting thoughts, because the possibility of them coming true was almost zero.
But decades, or perhaps hundreds of years, had passed, and she never imagined she would actually see her again.
The woman holding her junior sister alternated between crying and laughing, but both times her laughter was suppressed, yet her laughter felt almost manic, and her sorrow was profound.
"Yaya, to see you again, I am content. You are alive, so good, so good..." The woman's heart was still unsettled. She held her junior sister's hand tightly, her gaze never leaving her. She
didn't even want to blink, afraid she would disappear, afraid it was all an illusion, a dream.
And now, even if it was a dream, she hoped it would last a little longer.
"Mother!"
The junior sister had grown up with her master, never knowing what maternal love was until now. She
was conflicted; although Lord Li had killed her mother's family, to her, they were just symbols.
However, she genuinely disliked her father; his cold-bloodedness and ruthlessness disappointed her greatly. She saw nothing in his eyes that could stir her emotions.
Time slowly passed, and the woman finally calmed down, pulling her junior sister to Qin Chuan's side.
"Thank you, Qin Chuan!"
These simple words carried a heavy weight, a profound sense of gratitude. Although great kindness is often expressed without words, these words seemed to go beyond mere thanks.
Qin Chuan quickly replied, "Auntie, you're too kind. Although she's my junior sister, she's no different from my own sister."
"I know. I'm already content to see Ya Ya. Take Ya Ya and leave!" the woman said.
"Auntie, aren't you coming with us?" Qin Chuan asked.
The woman shook her head: "I can't leave, and I don't want to leave."
Her tone was filled with bitterness. She turned to Lord Li Wang and said, "Let them leave, and I can free you."
Qin Chuan naturally understood the meaning of these words. Although he didn't say the exact word, the meaning was clear:
I can die to free you.
Only if the woman dies can Lord Li Wang escape his fate, but now he's crippled. What good is escape anyway? Besides, he's going to die anyway; it's destiny.
Lord Li Wang shook his head: "I'm crippled, and I don't want to live anymore. Let's end our lives here!"
"You're still so vicious! This is our daughter! You killed my whole family, and you won't even spare your own daughter?" the woman shouted fiercely.
"If those two are eliminated, all my children will die, my whole family will die," Lord Li Wang said softly.
"Then you can bear to watch your daughter die?" The woman wanted nothing more than to kill him.
Actually, she could easily kill Lord Li Wang now, but she couldn't, because whether they could leave depended on his willingness.
"This is destiny. Perhaps this is my way of making amends. We can live here, a family, how wonderful!" Lord Li Wang's eyes shone.
It was as if he had discovered some treasure. Living here would at least make amends for his mistakes and ensure peace at home—a win-win situation.
The woman looked at Lord Li Wang as if he were already dead.
But Lord Li Wangcheng felt nothing. He had seen that look countless times over the years, and was numb to it.
"I know, even if I die a thousand times, ten thousand times, I can't be forgiven. I don't even ask for your forgiveness. But what can I do? Even if it's wrong, I can only continue to be wrong. I've already wronged you and your child, and I can never repay you."
Lord Li Wangcheng slumped down, aging instantly. He had nothing left, was a walking corpse, and was on the verge of collapse.
In this situation, no one would know what to do. He was caught in a dilemma, and whatever he did would be wrong.
Qin Chuan was also in a dilemma. He couldn't do anything about it, and he had no right to interfere, nor did he want to.
As a man, Qin Chuan despised Lord Li Wangcheng and disliked his actions. A real man should stand tall and upright; to do something like this was truly deserving of death.
The man sat there, slumped, aged, and even older than before.
His life force was draining away.
Qin Chuan sensed it, but he didn't want to stop him. Perhaps leaving like this was the best end for him.
"He has a quarter of an hour," Qin Chuan said softly.
The woman clenched her fist, then relaxed it.
"Even if you die, what difference does it make? You owe me, you'll always owe me. The biggest mistake of my life was meeting you, meeting you..." the woman cried out.
"If there's a next life, I hope I can make up for all of this."
These were Lord Li Wang's last words; in the end, he stuck to his choice.