1438 The Helpless Truth

"Little Junior Sister." Doya grasped her hands, her voice choked. "I just knew you would be fine."

"Senior Sister Doya, can you tell me what happened to you that day?"

Doya nodded. "That day, after we bid you goodbye and exited Xixia Valley, Aunt-Master instructed me to remain outside Xixia Valley. Aunt-Master had already guessed that you would follow us out. She wanted me to keep you in Xixia Valley by any means necessary and not allow you to return to the sect."

As she recalled what had happened, Doya was distraught. "I was unwilling to do so. I wanted to return to the sect with my master, but in the end, they had me remain there!"

"I waited for you outside Xixia Valley for three days. But when I did not see you come out, I thought that Xixia Valley's Valley Master must have thought of some way to stop you. Hence, I planned to make a trip back to the sect. But…"

"But on my way back, I nearly lost my life to the perils in the Great Swamp when I traversed it alone."

"Senior Sister!" The little stoic couldn't hold it in anymore and threw herself into Doya's arms. The two sisters cried while hugging each other, as if wanting to vent out all their agony, frustration, and resentment from this lifetime.

"Luckily I had your summoning talisman to use, so I finally wasn't fighting alone. With the summoned beast's help, I ultimately escaped the Great Swamp after a dozen days."

"But when I returned to the sect, I only saw thistles enveloping everything, without anyone there!"

"There was nothing left." Doya's eyes reddened as tears trickled down her cheeks.

She beat her chest and wailed, "I did not know how I had hung on. I searched through the ruins on the mountain, searched everywhere! There was not even a single survivor. I could not find a single one of their corpses."

"I am too useless." Doya covered her face with her hands at this point.

After taking out a handkerchief to help her wipe her face, Qiao Mu shook her head. "Senior Sister, do not say that."

Doya heaved a sigh and continued, "I wanted to take revenge on the people from the Six Prefectures, but with my meager strength, I didn't even know where to look for them. My heart was filled with hatred, but I knew that revenge was impossible with just me."

"Hence, I returned to my tribe. I wanted to strengthen my tribe and make it powerful."

"But during these years, we have been fighting continuously with the Akedo Tribe in the Western Wastelands. To preserve our strength, we had no choice but to hide and watch for our chance to rise up." Speaking of this, Doya turned melancholic and hung her head. "But as resources are scarce in the Western Wastelands, my tribesmen's strength is truly lagging too much behind the Akedo Tribe's."

"The truth just makes people that helpless." Doya turned to force a gloomy smile at Qiao Mu. "Even if you do your utmost to reach the peak, if… you don't encounter that opportunity, don't have the resources to back it up, there is no use in saying anything at all."

"During that time, I remembered Master mentioning before that your family resided in Xijiu City. I couldn't set my mind at ease in regards to you, so I thought of going to Xijiu City to try my luck at finding you. Perhaps I really could find you, and then we sisters wouldn't be alone by ourselves. We could even discuss any matters too."

"But unfortunately, I was not able to find you in Xijiu City."

"Afterwards, the Akedo Tribe was bearing down on us, so I was constantly kept on the run, leading our tribesmen to hide here and there. Huh, Little Junior Sister, isn't Senior Sister very useless."