Xia Lianqiao was curious about how Ling Chongxiao and Li Langhuan ended up at the point they did in the original story.
Setting aside the "killing of a woman" aspect, Ling Chongxiao in the original story was quite unlucky. Because of Li Langhuan's death, he was even targeted by a group of male readers who clamored for his demise.
The young man had a cold personality, raised high in the heavens. His mother was the youngest daughter of the Heavenly Emperor, and his father was a Yinglong (a winged dragon). From the moment of his birth, Ling Chongxiao was separated from his parents, growing up absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, with the sky as his foster father and the earth as his foster mother.
Although he took Li Langhuan as his "adopted daughter," given their ages, it was more like a brother and sister relying on each other for survival.
The lifespan in *Asking the Dao* hadn't inflated to the point of being measured in hundreds of thousands of years. Ling Chongxiao's true form was only around eighteen or nineteen years old. Even for immortals, whose cultivation speed far surpassed that of ordinary humans, this age was enough to be considered a prodigy with a jade-like spirit and extraordinary talent.
When Xia Lianqiao used to read novels, she always thought that an immortal sect where nothing happened for tens of thousands or even millions of years would be like a stagnant pool of water—utterly terrifying.
So, thinking about it this way, Ling Chongxiao was practically an ancient version of a high school boy!
Ling Chongxiao began his cultivation at sixteen. For sixteen years, he lived alone in solitude. Upon entering the path of cultivation, he was bestowed with a full set of immortal treasures: the Heavenly Sword, the Immortal-Binding Rope, the Rule-Setting Ruler, and more, officially starting his career as the Sword Bearer of the Immortal Sect (or so it seemed).
His daily work mostly involved battles and killings, witnessing the love, hatred, and fickleness of the immortals. From the moment he was born, no one taught Ling Chongxiao how to interact with others, let alone what "love" was. Starting from adolescence, he had been killing, surrounded by darkness, with no one to talk to. How could he not become psychologically twisted?
Li Langhuan was the only light in Ling Chongxiao's cold and inhuman life, and her death became his lifelong, and only, regret.
When he exited the story, he held an abnormal, utterly indifferent attitude toward life and death.
The young man, with his black hair disheveled and his appearance disheveled yet still dignified, sat calmly on a cloud and said:
"I am the Supreme True Being, the Eternal Dao Lord.
"For twenty-eight years, I have wielded the divine blade, upheld the righteous path, commanded the divine soldiers, supervised the immortals, controlled the demons, vanquished the evil immortals, subdued the demonic spirits, and intimidated the heavens.
"Throughout this life, I have no regrets.
"My only regret is that I sought to benefit all living beings, yet abandoned one individual; I sought to forget emotions, yet betrayed one person's feelings.
"Now, as my body perishes and my soul dissipates, it is merely a return to the heavens and earth, a reunion with the Great Dao."
Looking back at his life, the only goal and motivation for Ling Chongxiao's existence was the elusive Great Dao. Yet, in the end, he perished for the sake of "love," which was undeniably poignant.
Shortly after Li Langhuan's departure, Ling Chongxiao calmly faced his own death.
Regarding Ling Chongxiao's feelings for Li Langhuan, the original text of *Asking the Dao* did not explicitly state anything, leaving it open to interpretation.
Although her rival, Ling Baibai, always firmly believed that Ling Chongxiao's feelings for Li Langhuan were paternal or fraternal, as a staunch supporter of heterosexual romance, Xia Lianqiao deeply despised this tendency to reduce everything to "paternal or fraternal affection"!
Her daughter was so wonderful. Xia Lianqiao always thought that Ling Chongxiao might have harbored some faint, forbidden, unspoken feelings of admiration for Li Langhuan.
Xia Lianqiao: "...Damn it, she hit the jackpot again."
What is this? Ling and Li? I'll take a bite.
Unfortunately, Li Langhuan would never know Ling Chongxiao's true feelings for her. In the original story, when Ling Chongxiao's true form descended to capture Li Langhuan, the author took great care to describe how Li Langhuan "trembled with fear" upon seeing him.
Speaking of this, Li Langhuan did not hide her feelings and nodded frankly, "I both respected and feared him."
"Oh," Xia Lianqiao hesitated for a moment. She had initially wanted to play the role of a spiritual guide and offer some insights into their relationship, but she and her daughter weren't that close yet. Speaking too deeply without a proper foundation felt inappropriate.
Earlier, while they were cultivating, the maids of the Chen household dared not disturb them. Now that they were sitting under the corridor chatting, the maids finally gathered the courage to bring over some fruits to help them cool off.
Li Langhuan, however, barely touched the fruits. She was preoccupied with the chaos caused by the evil dragon and had been so busy these past few days that she barely had time to rest. Today, she had specifically taken time out to guide Xia Lianqiao. After a few more words of advice, the young girl promptly took her leave.
In the end, Xia Lianqiao was left sitting alone under the corridor, swinging her legs and leisurely munching on watermelon.
A white figure flashed by, and Xia Lianqiao was startled, instinctively calling out, "Fellow Daoist Ling!"
Who else could it be but Ling Chongxiao, with his high crown of black hair and cold, jade-like complexion?
Although Xia Lianqiao had initially felt a chill upon meeting Ling Chongxiao, this brief interaction made her realize that he wasn't as terrifying as he seemed. After all, he was part of the main cast.
From his grand entrance to his eventual awakening after Li Langhuan's death, he turned over a new leaf and became Bai Ji'an's lackey, sacrificing himself for Bai Ji'an.
The young man slowed his pace and calmly raised his eyes.
The sunlight falling into his pale eyes was slightly blinding. Ling Chongxiao's complexion was extremely pale, a sickly, bloodless white. Standing at a distance, he seemed like ice or frost, both real and illusory.
The girl under the corridor smiled, her eyes curving into crescents. "Fellow Daoist Ling, what are you doing here?"
Because of the heat, she had rolled up her pants and sleeves. As she waved her hand, her light green cloud-patterned shoes swayed like newly sprouted willow branches in spring.
Ling Chongxiao remained expressionless, silently looking back.
Still thinking about her earlier conversation with Li Langhuan, Xia Lianqiao carefully ventured, "Fellow Daoist, are you always this aloof?"
Ling Chongxiao: "..."
Though she knew it wasn't her place to bring this up, Xia Lianqiao couldn't help but add, "Being too cold might push away those who want to get close to you."
"Do you want to get close to me?" The young man finally spoke, his voice cold and sharp, like shattering ice and jade.
...Do you even know what you're saying?
Xia Lianqiao choked, honestly replying, "...Not really."
"Then what does it have to do with you?"
Xia Lianqiao hesitated, then put down the watermelon. "I just realized I was foolish before and wanted to apologize for last night."
Unlike Li Langhuan, the young man before her remained unmoved by her words, still cold and distant.
The wind rustled the tree shadows.
Dappled shadows fell on Xia Lianqiao's exposed calves, which were as tender and white as fresh lotus roots.
The young man's eyelashes flickered slightly, his icy gaze briefly sweeping over the girl's fair ankles before quickly looking away.
Due to his role as the enforcer of the immortal sect's laws, Ling Chongxiao was usually very disciplined. Seeing Xia Lianqiao's casual behavior and exposed skin, he frowned slightly, feeling a faint sense of displeasure.
Though she was being improper, he could not act as recklessly as she did.
Closing his eyes slightly, Ling Chongxiao almost immediately shifted his gaze, focusing only on the lotus-filled pond before him.
Wait, Xia Lianqiao paused. Ling Chongxiao's reaction... made her realize something was off.
She swung her foot, and Ling Chongxiao averted his gaze.
Xia Lianqiao: "..." Maybe it wasn't her imagination?
Thinking this, she tentatively hopped off the corridor and took a few steps toward Ling Chongxiao.
The young man subtly took half a step back, his expression frosty and stiff.
It felt like she had flipped some strange switch.
Emboldened, Xia Lianqiao took another step forward, unable to resist testing the limits of Ling Chongxiao's patience.
The young man could bear it no longer and coldly closed his eyes.
Xia Lianqiao was inwardly delighted, almost laughing out loud. Teasing an ice-cold character was, after all, a timeless and universally enjoyable pastime.
But was Ling Chongxiao really this sensitive? She wasn't barefoot, just rolling up her pants into a trendy pair of capris because of the heat. It wasn't like she was crossing any boundaries.
Having seen plenty of online perverts, this was the first time she had encountered such a rigid and upright young man.
"..." It was all Ling Chongxiao's fault for overreacting, making Xia Lianqiao feel a bit awkward despite her mischief.
A faint sense of embarrassment lingered between the two.
Understanding the principle of knowing when to stop, Xia Lianqiao decided not to tease him any further. She turned around and returned to the corridor, smoothing out her pant legs as she went. She began chattering casually, "Fellow cultivator, look at the sky. Tomorrow seems like it will be a good day for slaying demons and vanquishing evil."
However, when she looked back at Ling Chongxiao, he was already gone. He had vanished without a trace, leaving only a faint aura of icy sword energy where he had stood.
Xia Lianqiao was stunned for a long moment before she finally snapped out of it. If it weren’t for the lingering sword energy, she might have thought she had imagined the whole encounter.
He had fled after just a little teasing! In the eyes of Li Langhuan’s daughter, what kind of terrifying existence was this pure and reserved iceberg?
For now, though, she couldn’t help but see him as nothing more than an ancient high school boy. Once she realized this, her initial fear dissipated in an instant.
Returning to the corridor, she picked up the half-eaten watermelon and devoured it in one go. Letting out a long exhale, she felt her energy fully restored.
It didn’t matter. There was still plenty of time. As long as she worked hard, befriended the daughter first, and then became friends with Ling Chongxiao, she would surely find a way to avoid this regret.
After all, fixing the regrets of the original story was the very reason she, as a fanfiction enthusiast, had traveled through time!
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