Wanxi Rebirth - Chapter 46

After helping her drunken old friend onto the bed, Yue Tingxi went to check on the Bifang egg. Seeing it quietly nestled in its little nest, she closed the door, picked up her empty bowl of ice jelly, and left.

After returning the empty bowl and giving some of the A-Fish to the kitchen cultivator, she paused at the entrance of the kitchen hall, suddenly unsure of where to go next.

After all, the Qin Residence was not her home, merely a temporary place to stay.

She had never quarreled with anyone over feelings before. In stories, such matters were often glossed over with “ignoring each other for several days,” but she couldn’t ignore Qin Suoliu. First, they were still allies; second, she was concerned that the spirit plant might break its seal and go out of control, causing distress for the young lady.

After pondering, she decided to go to the Qin family library to quietly think and also search for records on secret realm spirit plants and divine artifacts.

As soon as she entered the library, she heard Qin Suoliu talking to her younger sister.

The topic wasn’t unusual—accounts of the secret realm, discoveries of rare materials and treasures. Qin Suoliu spoke for a while; Qin Yingguang asked a few questions.

Yue Tingxi didn’t interrupt them and was about to sneak upstairs to find some records when Qin Yingguang called out.

The little girl seemed to want to tell her something important and even erected a barrier that enclosed the three of them.

“Actually… I saw you explore the secret realm through the Gray Moth,” Qin Yingguang explained apologetically, “but I still need to teach Gūyún to practice the zither and do my own cultivation, so I can’t watch all the time.”

Noticing Qin Suoliu’s gaze, she lowered her head timidly. “I had intended to wait until you returned to tell my sister everything, and I didn’t want to interrupt her sharing… but there’s something I’ve always been concerned about, and now that Tingxi-girl is here, I…”

“You saw us leave the ruins layer?” Yue Tingxi asked. Perhaps due to recent surprising events and her suspicions about Qin Yingguang’s connection to the Gray Moth, she wasn’t too surprised.

The little girl hesitated and nodded. Yue Tingxi straightforwardly admitted, “I am a black-tailed snake demon from Xishan. I saved your sister twenty years ago and spent some time with her. I am both benefactor and old acquaintance.”

“Ah! I remember hearing about you from my sister when I was little!” Qin Yingguang instinctively covered her mouth, nearly exclaiming.

“It was just some old stories,” Qin Suoliu added softly, then reminded, “This matter must not be spread.”

“Understood!” Qin Yingguang nodded quickly, her gaze scanning their faces. She asked in surprise, “But if Tingxi-girl is the benefactor… why are you two so unfamiliar now?”

This question made both slightly awkward.

They shouldn’t be estranged, but neither should they be too close.

“After twenty years apart, a child and an adult are very different. If you haven’t seen an old friend for ten years, you wouldn’t be much better off,” Qin Suoliu explained, “Think of yourself at six or seven years old; I was that small then.”

Qin Yingguang seemed to understand, shivering slightly, “Then I completely get it…”

“Why don’t you tell us what you saw?” Qin Suoliu quickly diverted the topic.

Feeling guilty for not immediately telling her sister the truth, the little girl shrank back, sending a pleading glance to Yue Tingxi.

Yue Tingxi, worried that Qin Yingguang might see things she shouldn’t, averted her gaze.

“Well… the Gray Moth often blocked my view,” Qin Yingguang admitted softly. “When you fought other cultivators, there should have been injuries and screams, but I couldn’t see or hear them clearly.”

“And besides that?” Qin Suoliu asked.

Afraid of her sister, the little girl immediately became obedient, spilling everything she had seen in a torrent.

Yue Tingxi listened carefully all afternoon. She finally breathed a sigh of relief.

All interactions between her and Qin Suoliu, aside from fighting side by side, were mostly blocked from the little girl by the Gray Moth.

Even the part where they met the “Savior Scale” was deliberately hidden, as if the world consciousness didn’t want Qin Yingguang to know.

As for the Iris Whale’s illusion, they hadn’t even seen the Gray Moth, so naturally Qin Yingguang hadn’t either.

After listening, Qin Suoliu fell into thought.

“Sister?” Qin Yingguang timidly called.

“When we were entering the ruins layer, we encountered a suddenly appearing small teleportation vortex,” Qin Suoliu said abruptly. “I was prepared to enter it, but Yun Zhou passed through it—was this related to you?”

“Eh? Me?!” Qin Yingguang was stunned, recalling vaguely. “I think… yes? That day I had exhausted all my spiritual power and went to sleep. Before sleeping, I heard a voice asking if I wanted to help. I hoped you could skip that vortex and enter the ruins smoothly, so I agreed…”

Qin Suoliu immediately grabbed her wrist and connected to her pulse.

The sisters both had fire spiritual roots and shared bloodline; their similar spiritual energy flowed freely through the meridians. Soon, Qin Suoliu had finished her examination.

“Don’t agree to help so easily in the future,” Qin Suoliu scolded. “At our level, we can handle many things ourselves. If you don’t understand the cost of assisting, you could be used. Small matters for us, but big matters for you!”

Qin Yingguang stared blankly. Qin Suoliu, frustrated and concerned, hugged her, patting her back repeatedly, “Sorry, I scared you.”

Aside from exhausted spiritual power, Qin Yingguang was fine, but thoughts of the Iris Whale illusion and the mysterious “7364 System” left her anxious.

Yue Tingxi quietly stood by, watching the sisters soothe each other before speaking, “Qin Suoliu, I have something important to discuss with you alone.”

Concerned about Qin Yingguang, Qin Suoliu followed her back to her heavily protected chamber.

Originally walking side by side, Yue Tingxi intentionally kept some distance. Qin Suoliu, focused on thinking, didn’t notice.

Once in the chamber, Yue Tingxi asked directly, “During the consecutive teleportations, what exactly happened?”

They had been waiting for the spiritual energy turbulence to stabilize before teleporting, but Qin Suoliu had suddenly acted, confirming points on the map, and they passed directly through.

It happened too smoothly—suspicious.

Qin Suoliu remained silent. She remembered the grudges between Yue Tingxi and the intruder, but the 7364 system had been the intruder’s artifact.

Even if the 7364 system had acted out of necessity, once cut off from the intruder’s organization, it would lean toward them—but Yue Tingxi wasn’t sure.

The lady’s silence was expected.

Yue Tingxi sat down and said, “Then let me guess.”

“If the Gray Moth isn’t connected to Qin Yingguang, it could have sought help from your mother or the Qin elders. Everyone would likely help us reach the ruins faster, yet it chose young Qin Yingguang. This choice isn’t random.”

“The Gray Moth could intervene in secret realm emergencies through Qin Yingguang, and only cost her exhausted spiritual power. It’s obvious, even without further explanation. You remember how we used Ling and Yang-Yin Fish Plates to skip the random vortex? It was you who exhausted your power then, despite being stronger than your sister.”

Seeing Qin Suoliu sit and stare at her, Yue Tingxi continued, “Moreover, the ‘Qin Yingguang’ in the Iris Whale illusion said: ‘I only want to live a human life and enjoy it.’ I asked the Green Jade Master whether this was literal or just a sigh.”

“‘World consciousness incarnates part of itself as a human to experience life,’” she repeated the master’s words. “So I believe Qin Yingguang is a reincarnation of world consciousness, able to observe and influence the secret realm through the Gray Moth.”

“World consciousness wants her to live peacefully, so it hides information about its source.”

Qin Suoliu didn’t know how to respond.

Their speculations aligned.

Except Qin Suoliu also had the mystery: “Is the 7364 system Qin Yingguang?” She hadn’t found a way to verify it yet.

She shared all she knew with Yue Tingxi.

She trusted that Tingxi could judge right from wrong.

Like when she entered the illusion, thinking Tingxi knew everything and would kill her, instead she was advised to live well.

Yue Tingxi’s helplessness returned, realizing why the “Savior Scale” waited until they were strong enough to capture the intruder before revealing the truth.

“…Honestly, this exceeds my comprehension,” she said. “You mentioned another intruder organization beyond this world. They have knowledge unknown here. So, aside from the 7364 system, the intruder who cast the puppet spell, and cultivating to a higher level, we have no other options.”

“And the 7364 system probably isn’t free yet. I’ll assume it is delaying the intruder. Maybe there’s a contract like master-servant blood binding. To contact it, we must wait for it to approach us, likely in the Ghost Domain secret realm two years from now.”

There’s a simpler route: turning the intruder Lin Chao-Yao to their side, but Yue Tingxi refused. She only wanted to capture and punish him later.

“…How is He Shen?” Yue Tingxi asked.

“He is still securely held in the underground prison. Mother erased all his skills and spells. Unless another ghost master attacks, no one can free him.”

Everything else was blocked. They sat silently, drawing the same conclusion.

“We must quickly cultivate to late Out-of-Body stage,” Yue Tingxi said, considering the three-stage gap and worried if it could be done in five years.

“There is a shortcut, but it may be illusory,” Qin Suoliu said.

“Not necessarily. If the soul matches the cultivation, true power can be unleashed,” Yue Tingxi said. “I only heard of shortcuts in stories—drugs, spirit treasures, high-level cultivators’ assisted cultivation.”

Mentioning “assisted cultivation,” Qin Suoliu shivered.

“No need for furnace…” she muttered, not voicing her true thoughts.

In the previous life among demons, Yue Tingxi heard of vicious cultivation methods, including sacrificing one’s own power or stealing others’.

The secret method exists in the memories of the fox demon she devoured.

Her cultivation would soon reach Out-of-Body. If she gave her power, Yue Tingxi could break through faster, closing the gap with the intruder.

…Or perhaps she wouldn’t lose power at all, as the world consciousness guided her to a spirit plant at Out-of-Body stage. She could absorb its fire energy and transmit her own power to Yue Tingxi.

Qin Suoliu’s expression didn’t escape Yue Tingxi’s notice.

“I sometimes want to see what’s going on in your head,” Yue Tingxi said, coiling her snake tail around Qin Suoliu to prevent her escape. “Whatever your scheme, tell me first.”

“I don’t want to,” Qin Suoliu blurted.

Yue Tingxi: ?

“That makes me want to hear even more,” she teased.

Qin Suoliu’s eyes widened; she clenched her sleeves and shook her head.

Seeing her stubborn, Yue Tingxi coiled her tail two more times around her.

Qin Suoliu even closed her eyes, knowing Yue Tingxi was coaxing her.

“…You want an embarrassing answer?” she murmured.

“You won’t say, how would I know if it’s embarrassing?” Yue Tingxi countered.

Realizing she must speak, Qin Suoliu sighed and touched her own abdomen.

“I have a secret method. Through assisted cultivation, I can transfer my power to you without losing my own.”

Yue Tingxi’s ears twitched. She realized what she had heard.

She remained silent, unsure how she felt.

To defeat the intruder and ally with a foe was one thing, but this alliance… was becoming personal.

Even though she had sworn to watch over Qin Suoliu her entire life, a lifetime together wasn’t the same as guarding her forever.

“…How… do we cultivate?”

Her voice was weak.

She hoped to find a loophole to refuse the shortcut.

Qin Suoliu didn’t answer, instead leaning on her tail.

Yue Tingxi instinctively thrashed but lost strength at an exact spot on her scales.

“Qin Suoliu!” she snapped, “I’m only asking! Don’t take advantage!”

Too late.

Pressing her down, Qin Suoliu felt as if she had exhausted two lifetimes of courage.

She knew exactly how to deal with a naive snake demon like Yue Tingxi. Memories of demons long suppressed surfaced.

Opportunities like this were rare.

She saw the fine scales on Yue Tingxi’s cheeks and neck, the crimson slit pupils—anger, but Yue Tingxi didn’t resist.

The air between them had never been this close.

“Sorry,” Qin Suoliu whispered, kissing the scales.

Yue Tingxi quietly let her.

Since twenty years ago, she had never been able to resist this little girl’s antics—spoiling her, loving her, watching her laugh in the flower fields.

Back then, she stored these memories quietly, never imagining their paths would cross again—after all, humans and demons were different.

…but now?

The warmth from the young lady slowly faded, yet she felt comfortable.

Soon, she would be scolded by the Green Jade Master again.

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