True strength lies in the power of the soul. Upon realizing this, Youxiang turned the question inward: Was her own soul strong enough?

No one else could answer that question for her; her heart belonged solely to her, and only she could truly know. However... Youxiang clenched her fists tightly, her face set with an expression of absolute confidence.

There was no need for an answer; believing in oneself was the ultimate power!

"Master, I finally understand. Thank you for taking the time to guide me." With that realization, Youxiang immediately called out to Lin Luo, the shadow of doubt completely gone from her face.

Lin Luo nodded. "Since you've cleared your mind, do you have any idea what comes next?"

"Uh... I hadn't thought that far ahead," Youxiang admitted, scratching her head sheepishly.

Lin Luo didn't mind. Considering how recently this breakthrough occurred, overcoming the mental block was already a significant achievement. Expecting her to devise a cultivation method immediately would be asking the impossible. He said, "Since we're this far, let me give you one more hint."

"A hint?"

Lin Luo reached out and tapped her forehead, then pointed to himself. "Neither you nor I are prodigies. But we possess something that geniuses lack. More importantly... we are both battle-hardened veterans. Do you understand?"

"Battle-hardened veterans..." The three words stunned Youxiang. She couldn't help but recall her past experiences—a history steeped in blood and tears, yet simultaneously filled with thrilling, heart-pounding memories. One life-or-death struggle after another, always returning bearing scars, sometimes pushed to the very edge of oblivion, believing she couldn't possibly survive. Those agonizing experiences were things she desperately didn't want to revisit. But... it was precisely because of those trials that she had managed to grow, inch by painful inch.

She—unquestionably—had been forged in combat!

Because of battle, she grew stronger; because she grew stronger, she craved battle.

Ah, so that was it.

At that moment, Youxiang finally grasped that the strongest thing had always been within her grasp. The path to ultimate strength lay directly beneath her feet. So, when had she forgotten all of this?

No, it wasn't forgetting; it was because she had found something more vital.

The thing she thought she could never attain~~ShuShu Web.

And the reliance she never dreamed possible. Since meeting Lin Luo, they had learned what it meant to depend on someone for the first time, possessed a warm home for the first time, and enjoyed carefree rest and play for the first time, free from pain—every day was blissfully happy.

But precisely because everything was so beautiful, she had unconsciously forgotten.

If this happiness could last forever, she wouldn't even mind being an ordinary person. But that was impossible. The world kept turning; the chaotic era had not ended. Without sufficient power to protect it, this happiness would one day vanish.

No, no, no. She could not lose this under any circumstances.

Therefore, it was time to bid farewell to all of this.

To ensure this happiness surrounds her forever in the future, I... must renounce the happiness of the present!

In that instant, Youxiang awoke completely, finally understanding the path she needed to tread from this point forward. It might be arduous, even filled with pain and solitude, but thinking of the happiness she could grasp in the future made any suffering worthwhile.

Thus, Youxiang lifted her head, her gaze fixed intently on Lin Luo, and stated solemnly, "Master, I have decided..."

Before she could finish, Lin Luo raised his hand, stopping her mid-sentence. He then turned and began walking toward the small cabin, saying as he went, "You don't need to tell me what you've decided, nor do you need my approval for what you plan to do. Although I am your master, I have no intention of restricting your life. As long as you believe it is what you must do, then go and do it. Your path can only be walked by you alone."

"Master..." Watching Lin Luo's retreating back, Youxiang understood the weight of his words. Moved, she opened her mouth, but the words she intended to speak failed to emerge. Only tears slid down her cheeks, finally forming two quiet words: "Thank you."

...

Half an hour later, Youxiang returned to their house, but she didn't go to sleep. Instead, she stood before her room, peering through the crack in the door at the girl inside.

A moment later, Youxiang opened the main door and stepped out into the courtyard. In her hands, she held an umbrella and a bundled pack.

Turning back, Youxiang set the items on the ground, then knelt, pressing her forehead to the floor in three deep kowtows toward the house. Lifting her head, she spoke with profound sincerity: "Master, thank you for caring for me during this time. Without you, I would certainly be dead. I should remain by your side to repay your kindness, but being weak, I can do nothing. So... thank you for understanding my willfulness."

"And Sister Shenqi, I don't know what a witch is, nor why the people of this world hate them so much. I only know that you are the best sister who cares for me, protects me gently, and cleans my soiled clothes for me. Please forgive my unannounced departure."

"Finally, my best friend, Xiaozǐ. We promised to stay together forever, but I am sorry, I must leave now. I know if I told you, you would certainly stop me, so please forgive me for breaking that promise... Didn't you say you wanted to build a Gensokyo where humans and youkai, the strong and the weak, could all live happily? Even now, I think your ideal is absurd, but supporting such an ideal is what a friend like me should do, isn't it?"

"So, I will work hard. Even if we are in different places, I will strive for your ideal. I... I will personally put an end to this chaotic era, even if only a little, perhaps it can bring you closer to that ideal."

"Trust me, I can do it. This is precisely when I need your trust. And when that Gensokyo finally descends, all of us... will surely be able to smile."

The farewell complete, the girl's face was now streaked with tears.

Yet, even so, she felt no regret for the decision she had made. Standing up, she wiped the tears away, gathered her pack, and turned toward the darkness in the distance... without looking back, without hesitation, without stopping her stride. From this moment on, this unending road of battle was her destiny.

Lin Luo leaned against the window ledge, gently pulling back the curtain to watch the night below through the glass. In the moonlight, a small figure cast a long shadow, receding further and further away.

Lin Luo watched her leave without uttering a word. Only when the figure had completely vanished from sight did he slowly raise his head to gaze at the starry sky, softly murmuring, "It's about to begin over here, too..."

...

The next morning, Xiaozǐ rushed frantically to Lin Luo’s room. Before Lin Luo could even rise, she slammed the door open and hauled him out of bed, exclaiming in alarm, "Master, it's bad! Youxiang is gone!"

Lin Luo, likely still groggy, rubbed his eyes and mumbled sleepily, "Oh, Youxiang is gone. What does that mean?"

"It means exactly what it sounds like!" Xiaozǐ burst out, her voice laced with anxiety. "Youxiang is always the first one up, waking me up next, but when I woke up today, she wasn't here. At first, I thought she forgot to wake me or maybe went to the washroom, but when I got up and searched everywhere, I couldn't find her. She... she's really vanished!"

"Perhaps she went off to practice alone."

Xiaozǐ shook her head vehemently. "Impossible. I searched every place she usually goes to cultivate. I even checked the back hills, but I still couldn't find her."

Hearing this, Lin Luo's heart stirred, because the back hills were exactly where Youxiang secretly went to practice. If Xiaozǐ had searched even there, could it mean...

"And most importantly, Master, Youxiang's umbrella is missing! She treasures that umbrella so much; she usually keeps it where she can see it easily and always said she'd keep it as a treasure forever. But her umbrella is gone now... Master, Youxiang... did Youxiang leave us?" As she finished, Xiaozǐ's eyes reddened, looking on the verge of tears.

Lin Luo sighed internally and said, "Last night, I talked with Youxiang about cultivation. Afterward, she mentioned needing to do something. I didn't ask her what, but if she truly left us, it must be related to that... You two are so close; you must understand her better than I do. Have you noticed anything unusual about her recently? Perhaps there are clues."

"Unusual things?" Xiaozǐ paused, startled. She wasn't ignorant of Youxiang's recent strange behavior, but she had held back out of respect for Youxiang’s pride. But if this was connected...

"Ah!"

Suddenly, Xiaozǐ remembered something from not long ago, and her face went pale.

"Did you remember something?" Lin Luo couldn't help but ask.

But Xiaozǐ didn't answer. Instead, she bolted out of the room, burst through the front door, and sprinted toward the distance.

Xiaozǐ knew what Youxiang intended to do, but there was no excitement in her heart—only terror.

No! She cannot go do that!

She will die, she is definitely going to die!

At that moment, Xiaozǐ’s mind held only one thought: to stop Youxiang.