Once the thought surfaced, it became impossible to ignore, and more evidence kept coming to support it.
After reuniting, she only saw Luo Qingci as Chi Qing, but Chi Qing didn't even exist in her previous life, so she had no idea they were connected, thinking that many things were mere coincidences.
She did notice that Chi Qing was a bit strange, but she couldn't connect her to the dragon clan or herself.
After Chi Qing's identity was exposed, they faced danger one after another, and her heart was torn apart by Luo Qingci, leaving her unable to think rationally, submerged in sorrow and heartache. It was only after they reconciled and solidified their bond that she indulged in sweet happiness.
Only now had her reason and clarity returned. There was something she should have realized long ago.
From the dark energy, she had learned about the fate of Ruan Li in that timeline, a fate vastly different from her own.
Initially, she thought that by foreseeing the path, she had changed her own circumstances, but now, looking back, she realized she hadn't avoided any of the crucial moments in that life—only the timing differed.
So, the most important reason wasn't that she had foreseen the future, but that she had met Chi Qing.
In that timeline, her master, Luo Qingci, was also gentle and kind at heart but hid her concern and care for Ruan Li so deeply that Ruan Li never realized, even until her death, that Luo Qingci had been silently protecting her all along.
That master hadn't changed the suffering she endured, but here, her master, in the form of Chi Qing, accompanied her from the beginning, openly showing her warmth and protection. This made a world that should have been dark and hopeless full of light.
Everything—Luo Qingci had been shielding her all along. Looking back now, it seemed like Luo Qingci had been planning everything for her from the start. If Mo Yan hadn't discovered that formula, and she had disguised herself as planned, many later events wouldn't have happened.
That had been her greatest trial on her path of cultivation.
Looking back, every time she encountered danger during her advancement, Luo Qingci had always arrived just in time.
The more she thought about it, the more shocked she felt. Initially, she had suspected Luo Qingci of possessing someone else's body, but she had dismissed the thought herself. Now, considering everything, she arrived at another startling conclusion, which left her mind in turmoil.
"A-Li, what's wrong? You don't look well," Luo Qingci asked, already used to calling her A-Li, the words slipping out naturally.
Ruan Li didn't notice anything wrong at all. Her thoughts were completely focused on the conclusion she had just arrived at. She looked at Luo Qingci, her breathing a bit hurried. "Master, the formula you left me before, it was to help me conceal my dragon aura, wasn't it?"
Luo Qingci's heart tightened, her gaze falling on Ruan Li's face, which was full of urgency, clearly having discovered something.
Luo Qingci hesitated. "System, can I say this?"
"This is already an open fact."
"Yes."
Ruan Li took a deep breath, trying to suppress her anxiety, but her voice still trembled slightly. "Master, did you know from the start that I would become your disciple?"
She remembered that day at the Tianyan Sect, when she had a conflict with Ye Kong and was almost accidentally injured. That sudden deviation of spiritual energy, with the faint scent of plum blossoms—she had suspected then that Luo Qingci had intervened.
YOU ARE READING
The Art of Subduing Dragons
FantasyDISCLAIMER: I do not claim ownership over this story. I only MTLed it. Original novel: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5287959 Although Luo Qingci knew that her name sounded like that of a heroine in a historical novel, she never expected...