"Do I have to be happy all the time, Brother Xu Xi?"
"Yes, you must always be happy."
The marriage proposal had begun.
Niu carried bags of gifts in both hands.
Some were homemade pastries, while others were fruits purchased from Yanshan City.
With steady arms, he demonstrated his martial prowess, lifting the heavy gifts as he walked toward the house at the other end of the outskirts.
Niu and his elderly mother led the way, with Xu Xi and Wu Yingxue following behind.
"Master, do we count as matchmakers now?"
As they walked, the young lady asked curiously, her hands clasped behind her back, bending forward to peer at Xu Xi's face.
Her eyes sparkled, reflecting Xu Xi's outline.
"I think..."
"We both do and don't count?"
"Rather than matchmakers, we're more like witnesses to the marriage."
Xu Xi pondered for a moment before offering a vague answer.
The most important part of a marriage proposal was the intermediary process, but Niu had already taken care of that himself.
All that remained was the final confirmation of the marriage.
"In a way, Niu is quite efficient," Xu Xi said with a smile.
...
Soon, the group arrived at the bride's home.
A marriage proposal wasn't a formal wedding, so it should have been a quiet affair. However, since it was Niu who was proposing, the scene was quite lively.
"Niu, be happy!"
Someone shouted.
"May you have a hundred and eight children!"
Others joined in with playful banter.
Xu Xi stood by Niu, witnessing the confirmation of the marriage. He also gave the girl some pills as a blessing, to her flustered surprise.
This was a blessing from Xu Xi.
A blessing from Master Xu Xi.
"I hope you will always live in harmony and happiness."
Xu Xi smiled, staying until the sky darkened before finally bidding farewell amidst the crowd's pleas for him to stay.
But he didn't leave immediately.
Instead, he stood in a quiet high place, overlooking the rising fireworks below and the radiant smiles of Niu and the others.
"Master, what are you thinking about?"
Light footsteps approached, stopping beside Xu Xi.
The girl crouched down.
Sometimes she looked at the people of the Survival Army below, and other times she gazed at Xu Xi's familiar face.
"Nothing," Xu Xi smiled. "I'm just happy for Niu."
Xu Xi also crouched down, his hand gently resting on the young lady's head, rubbing it softly. His warm voice felt like a touch from the past.
"Yingxue, you remember how things were for the Survival Army before, don't you?"
"Of course I do. Back then, everyone struggled to even get enough to eat."
Wu Yingxue recounted the hardships the Survival Army had endured.
Life had been incredibly difficult.
No one wanted to experience that again.
"Yes, back then, whether it was the Great Qian's army or the demons of the Ten Thousand Mountains, they were all insurmountable obstacles for us."
"Everyone suffered greatly, especially Niu..."
"But now, everyone has enough to eat, and Niu is starting a family..."
"Before we knew it."
"They no longer need my guidance."
Xu Xi crouched, his voice drifting away in the cold air, distorted slightly by the breeze.
The hardships experienced in the simulation.
Were now being replaced by fulfillment in the real world.
Not long ago.
His master, Li Wanshou, had rebuilt the Heavenly Sword Sect in the capital, finally having a home again.
And now, the people of the Survival Army, including Niu, had truly settled down, starting their own new lives.
In a daze.
It seemed as though a voice rang out.
Telling Xu Xi that the third simulation had officially ended.
The people who had fought for survival had successfully crossed the mountains and were now living in a bright world, no longer needing Xu Xi to worry about them.
"Master..." Hearing Xu Xi's words, Wu Yingxue wanted to say something.
But as she looked at the happy and contented people below.
Her words dissipated on their own.
The people of Qingniu Town.
The people of the Survival Army.
Added more flames to the laughter and joy.
Tiny sparks of dust ignited an unquenchable fire, building a future of happiness.
The scene was so moving that Xu Xi smiled, deciding not to dismantle a certain sacrificial simulator.
"A good life should be like this."
"Let's go back, Yingxue."
Xu Xi stood up, no longer watching the people of the Survival Army.
He glanced up at the night sky, where the stars shone brightly, indicating that it was already very late. It was time to return to the courtyard.
Just like when they had come.
Xu Xi took out the Jianmu Sword Staff.
Preparing to use a spatial teleportation spell to return to the courtyard in the city center.
But at that moment, his sleeve was tugged by slender fingers.
"What is it, Yingxue?"
"Master, carry me back on your back."
The young lady stood up, suddenly suggesting with a playful smile, "I'm a bit tired now and want to rest on your back. Please walk slowly, Master, and don't leave me behind."
So.
Wouldn't it be better to just teleport back?
Xu Xi hesitated, unsure whether to speak or not.
But when he met her blinking eyes, he finally agreed.
"Alright then."
"Hold on tight and don't move around."
"I know~~~ Oh, no, I'm so tired~~"
In Wu Yingxue's exaggerated tone of exhaustion, Xu Xi bent over and carried the "extremely tired" girl on his back.
Step by step.
He walked slowly along the nighttime path.
Crushing the silver moonlight beneath his feet.
Heading toward the quiet city.
Perhaps because it was winter, the night sky was exceptionally clear, with stars twinkling brightly like countless tiny crystals, making the night seem dreamlike.
"One, two, three, four..."
As Xu Xi walked, the young lady's voice came from his back.
Her arms were wrapped around his neck, holding on tightly as she rested her entire weight on him.
She looked up at the sky.
Her eyes half-closed as she gazed at the tranquil flow of the Milky Way and the endless tiny stars, counting them like a child.
In truth.
With her current strength, she could have counted them all in an instant.
But she didn't want to.
She just wanted to rest on Xu Xi's back, using her fingers and eyes to count slowly, one by one.
And after counting for a while, she would exclaim that it was too difficult and give up.
"I'm so tired~~"
"Master~~"
She giggled, the starry sky illuminating her fair skin and restless hands.
Her hands, after circling Xu Xi's neck, began to gesture and make shapes.
She was becoming more and more like a child.
"Can't you just stay still?" Xu Xi's voice carried a hint of helplessness.
"Yes, Master~~" The young lady obediently stopped moving, quietly resting on Xu Xi's back, feeling his steps carry them further and further away.
So far away, into the silence beyond the stars.
"Master."
In the thick of the night.
The girl on his back suddenly spoke again.
"Even if everyone no longer needs you, I will always need your guidance."
"Forever, always, it will be this way."