The afternoon.
As Lin Fan emerged from the house, he saw Chu Zi rush into the courtyard in a panic.
Without a word, with a plop, she knelt directly on the ground.
"What is this..."
Lin Fan was stunned. Luo Qiqi and Xia Xue, who were chatting in the courtyard, were also bewildered.
"Chu Zi, why are you kneeling before this scoundrel?" Luo Qiqi asked, confused.
Xia Xue was also perplexed. "Miss Chu Zi, did something happen? If you have something to say, please say it standing up. The ground is dirty."
Chu Zi, however, shook her head, tears streaming down her face.
She tightly gripped Lin Fan's clothes. "You know the Black and White Witch Sects have gone to war, don't you?"
"Alas."
Lin Fan sighed. He had been found out by this girl.
The reason he had kept this matter hidden was not only for his sister-in-law's safety but also to prevent the witch sect war from involving this naive girl.
"Get up first and then we'll talk."
Lin Fan already guessed what Chu Zi wanted to do.
"No!"
Chu Zi said firmly, "My fellow disciples are fighting outside, and I cannot hide here and do nothing!"
"I beg you, please let me go and join the battle, okay?"
Xia Xue listened, utterly confused, and looked at Lin Fan angrily. "Xiao Fan, what's going on?"
Luo Qiqi knew a bit about the Witch Sects and exclaimed, "Chu Zi, you're also from the Witch Sects!"
Chu Zi didn't respond, still clutching Lin Fan's clothes. "Are you worried that if I go out, I'll tell my fellow disciples you're holding me captive, and they'll come looking for trouble? Don't worry, as long as you let me go, I absolutely won't say a word!"
Lin Fan scratched his head. "This is not as simple as you think. Even if you go, you won't be able to change anything."
"I don't care!"
Chu Zi took out a dagger from her embrace and held it to her neck. "If you don't let me go today, I'll die here!"
The sharp dagger cut through her delicate skin, and blood slowly trickled down.
Xia Xue and Luo Qiqi were startled and both reached out to snatch her dagger.
But Chu Zi easily dodged them.
"Alright, alright, come inside with me."
Lin Fan said, then turned and walked into the house.
Chu Zi's face lit up with joy, and she got up and followed him in.
"Sister-in-law, take Qiqi to the river to catch a couple of fish for roasting tonight."
Lin Fan's voice came from inside the house.
Xia Xue understood and pulled the reluctant Luo Qiqi away.
In the living room, Lin Fan sat on the sofa and said, "I'll show you something. You can decide whether to leave or stay after you've seen it."
At this moment, Chu Zi was burning with anxiety.
She had gone to Luofeng Mountain to collect herbs earlier and discovered a secret signal left by Sang Zhu.
Only then did she learn that the Black and White Witch Sects had been at war for a whole month!
"Do you know why the Black and White Witch Sects are at war?" Lin Fan asked.
"The Black and White Witch Sects have always been at odds. The White Witch Sect considers itself a righteous sect and slanders our Black Witch Sect as an evil path. In reality, they have wanted to annex us for thousands of years, so this must be the reason for the war," Chu Zi replied.
"Yes, but not entirely."
Lin Fan had a long conversation with Sang Zhu about the grievances between the Black and White Witch Sects that night.
Combined with his deductions during this period, he had a rough idea of what was going on.
The timing of the Black and White Witch Sects' war coincided with Chu Zi's awakening.
This was definitely not a coincidence!
Lin Fan suspected that in addition to the power of his master's inheritance within Chu Zi, there was some other significant secret about her.
She herself was unaware of this secret, but the higher-ups of the Black and White Witch Sects certainly knew.
Therefore, the White Witch Sect was willing to launch a full-scale war against the Black Witch Sect for this secret.
"This great war was initiated to fight for the power within you, and for a secret that neither you nor I know..."
Lin Fan recounted his deductions.
He then added, "Sang Zhu once hoped to take you away, but her original intention was not to bring you to the battlefield, but to help you escape. Later, she found that I was more capable of protecting you than she was, so she willingly left you here."
"Now, your fellow disciples from the Black Witch Sect are risking their lives to protect you outside. If you go out now, you will only play into the White Witch Sect's hands."
"To be honest, I wish you would leave. I don't want you to implicate our Luofeng Village, but I can't bear it either. If my sister-in-law knew I let you go to your death, she wouldn't forgive me."
"These are just your guesses!" Chu Zi retorted.
"Not entirely guesses. Look."
Lin Fan formed hand seals and chanted incantations.
Purple spiritual energy permeated the air, transforming into a mirror-like illusion that appeared before Chu Zi.
The scene in the mirror was not very clear, but one could roughly tell what it was.
This was a prediction of the war between the Black and White Witch Sects!
The Black Witch Sect was being pushed back, with only three branch sects struggling to survive in the end.
"This is the result if you don't interfere in the war. I'll show you what happens if you go onto the battlefield."
The scene shifted. A battlefield shrouded in smoke and dust, with rivers of blood.
The ground was littered with corpses, all wearing black robes.
Sang Zhu was beheaded, her death extremely tragic.
Chu Zi was captured by the White Witch Sect and subjected to inhuman torture every day.
The Black Witch Sect was annihilated!
"After seeing this, do you still want to go?"
Lin Fan retracted his divine ability.
The "Supreme Balance Law Codex" contained techniques to deduce the past and future, known as: Heavenly Mirror Reversal!
After learning about the war between the Black and White Witch Sects, he had begun to perform multiple deductions, incurring serious internal injuries that had not yet healed.
Lin Fan had also deduced the outcome of his own involvement in the war.
But without exception, the Black Witch Sect's destiny was sealed, and they were beyond salvation.
It wasn't that he couldn't save the White Witch Sect, but when he fought against the Black Witch Sect, due to their superior strength and numbers, he was forced to use the technique of Xuan Nü of the Nine Heavens: Borrowing a Sword from the Heavens!
The sky rumbled, and a giant sword, carrying purple light, descended from the heavens!
With a thunderous roar that shook the heavens and earth, the power was awe-inspiring!
This one sword strike almost cost Lin Fan his life, and the entire Yunqing City was reduced to ruins, with hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians killed or injured, and over a million displaced.
This was an outcome he could never accept!
The best solution now was for him and Chu Zi to do nothing. At least the Black Witch Sect could retain some of its lineage and develop and grow stronger in the future.
"Even if I help you, nothing can be changed," Lin Fan advised.
"Heavenly deduction cannot deduce oneself. How did you know you couldn't change anything? Oh~ you must be lying to me!" Chu Zi shook her head in disbelief.
Lin Fan gave a bitter smile. "Just because your Witch Sect doesn't have a skill doesn't mean others don't. My Heavenly Mirror Reversal, as the name suggests, is not bound by the laws of heaven."
"Pfft~"
As he said this, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
"You..."
Chu Zi's eyes widened, filled with disbelief.
Although her master had never mentioned "Heavenly Mirror Reversal," she had spoken of deducing the past and future, which would cause immense harm to oneself, requiring one to endure unimaginable pain.
That feeling was like having thousands of insects gnawing at one's flesh.
Moreover, any slight mistake could lead to going mad, one's meridians reversing, and exploding to death.
This guy was actually risking his life to deduce for her?!
"Why are you doing this? Wuwuwu..."
Chu Zi rushed forward and supported Lin Fan.
Lin Fan leaned into her embrace, burying his face deep in her chest. "I, I'm dying..."