LONG TIAN: THE DRAGON'S SECOND CHANCE

Ch 6

The night continued to pass in silence.

A small campfire lit by Xuan Mo radiated a warm glow in the middle of the grassland, driving away the chill of the night wind.

Long Tian sat while hugging his knees, staring at the flames swaying gently.

Since waking up until now, his mind had never stopped working. Again and again, he tried to piece together the fragments of memories filling his mind.

He was dead.

That was a fact that could not possibly be wrong.

Long Tian still remembered every second of his final battle against so many people from the martial world. The pools of blood, the collapsing sky, the bodies falling one after another, and the fatal injuries that had ended his life.

Everything felt so real, even more real than the cold night wind now touching his skin.

Then how could he possibly have returned to being a five year old child?

No ancient manual had ever recorded that anyone was capable of turning back time this far.

Throughout the entire night, that question continued to circle in his mind without finding an answer.

Meanwhile, a few steps away, Xuan Mo sat leaning against a large tree.

"Cough... cough..."

Another soft cough could be heard.

The cough was not loud, but it came frequently enough that Long Tian unconsciously glanced at him several times.

In his previous life, he knew that his Master was currently suffering from extremely serious internal injuries. However, he had been too young at the time to understand the situation.

Now, with the memories of his previous life, he knew that every cough was accompanied by unbearable pain.

Even so, Xuan Mo remained on guard throughout the entire night.

He did not close his eyes even once.

His gaze occasionally swept across the surroundings, making sure that neither wild beasts nor enemies approached.

Seeing all of this, Long Tian's heart felt warm.

Slowly, the anxiety that had filled his chest began to fade.

He raised his head and looked at the night sky filled with stars.

"God, or whoever sent me back here, if all of this is truly real, then perhaps this is the opportunity you have given me. An opportunity to fix all the regrets I was never able to resolve.

"I failed to protect so many people. I was even unable to save my Master. But this time, I will not repeat the same mistakes."

His words were nothing more than a soft murmur.

Strangely, after saying them, the weight in his chest felt much lighter.

Long Tian smiled faintly.

"Whether this is reality or merely an illusion before my death, I no longer care. As long as I can still see my Master, as long as I can speak with him one more time, that alone is already the greatest blessing I have ever received."

Another cough sounded.

Xuan Mo, who had been observing the change in the boy's expression, finally spoke.

"It seems you are much calmer than you were a few hours ago. There is no longer any panic in your eyes either. Is there something you have managed to figure out?"

Long Tian turned his head.

His gaze met the pair of eyes hidden behind the iron mask.

For a moment, he fell silent again.

In his previous life, he had never told anyone about his past.

At that time, he had been too deeply immersed in his trauma.

He hated the world.

He hated himself even more.

It had taken him many years before he finally dared to open his heart to Xuan Mo.

But now, he slowly took a deep breath.

"The village where I lived was attacked by a group of extremely cruel people. They burned the houses without mercy and killed everyone who resisted, while I could only hide and watch my parents lose their lives right before my eyes."

Xuan Mo remained silent for quite some time.

His gaze gradually softened.

He could sense that the boy was not lying.

The suffering hidden behind those simple words was far too real to be fabricated.

"I am sorry to hear that. No child deserves to experience something that cruel. No wonder you were so frightened when you woke up earlier. A wound like that is difficult to heal, even with time."

Long Tian merely nodded slowly.

Silence once again enveloped them for several moments.

Then Xuan Mo spoke again.

"There is one thing that has been bothering me. You called me by my full name the moment you first saw me. Yet my face was covered by an iron mask. I even concealed my sword beneath my clothes. An ordinary person could not possibly know my identity just by looking at me once.

"So explain how you knew my surname. And why did you call me your Master?"

The question caused Long Tian's heart to beat faster.

Of course, he could not possibly tell him that he came from decades in the future.

If he told the truth, who would believe him?

He scratched his head even though it did not actually itch, trying to find a reasonable explanation.

After a few moments, he smiled awkwardly.

"To be honest, I do not even know whether Master will believe me or not. Before I met you tonight, I once had a dream that felt incredibly real.

"In that dream, I saw a young man whose face was extremely handsome, but covered by an iron mask. That person told me that one day he would come looking for me, accept me as his disciple, and teach me swordsmanship so that I would become strong enough to protect the people I cared about.

"Before the dream ended, I asked him what his name was.

"He answered that his name was Xuan Mo."

Long Tian paused for a moment before continuing with an innocent-looking smile.

"That is why, when I saw Master standing before me earlier, wearing the exact same iron mask as the one in my dream, I immediately became certain that the person I was seeing was truly Xuan Mo.

"It may sound strange, or even like a lie. But that is the only explanation I can give."

Xuan Mo did not answer immediately.