Why does QMarkdown inserts <br> at line break?

[wpq]

The follwing text, part of a QMarkdown element

Posse mercede tulit nec: superbus et solebat haut ferens. Quod rictuque enim
parum tento nos tibi quae mihi pede natura, Aiax totum funera metu rapiunt.
Loqui quaeritur tinxit cum confusaque verum, nam veni ipsum et stultos, fallit.

is rendered as

<p>Posse mercede tulit nec: superbus et solebat haut ferens. Quod rictuque enim<br>
parum tento nos tibi quae mihi pede natura, Aiax totum funera metu rapiunt.<br>
Loqui quaeritur tinxit cum confusaque verum, nam veni ipsum et stultos, fallit.</p>

Is this a correct behaviour? Specifically, why are <br> inserted when there is a line return in the source?

The document referenced in QMarkdown states that

To create a line break (<br>), end a line with two or more spaces, and then type return.

It then goes to “best practices” and mentions that some implementations insert a <br> after simply a line return.

Would there be a way to have a block of text display as continuous text (without <br>)?