Wanxi Rebirth - Chapter 51

The young lady’s words, “Try harder so she can get used to me”, were, of course, sincere. Ever since returning to Xishan, she had put this into practice.

It was a rare opportunity—not only did she want to perform well on Qingyu Mountain, but she also intended to mend relations with the various mountain spirits again, so as not to lose face in front of Yue Tingxi.

Yue Tingxi had no idea what plans Qin Suoliu was scheming. All she knew was that since returning to the mountain, the young lady had become unusually active, confidently helping out everywhere.

Twenty years is not a short time for long-lived spirits, yet life in the mountain had been peaceful and uneventful. Despite the years, many of the mountain spirits still remembered the little girl from back then.

“Now you’re called ‘Ni Wangshu,’ right?”

While helping fetch water, Qin Suoliu heard the recently human-transformed mountain cat spirit curiously ask.

“Ah… maybe you don’t remember me much. I heard human children are slow to remember things and forget easily… Twenty years ago, you were called ‘Azi,’ and you always used to feed me the little fish you caught.”

At this, Qin Suoliu vaguely recalled a little. But as a proud and high-spirited child, she probably fed the fish to the little cat only because she considered the fish too small or thin to be worth eating herself.

After recalling the old incident calmly, she smiled gently at the little mountain cat: “Do you still like eating fish?”

Since returning to the mountain, Yue Tingxi had saved some Jiji fish before sending the rest away from the Qin residence, planning to dig a pond on the mountain to raise them.

To apologize to the unaware little cat, Qin Suoliu decided to buy a fish from Yue Tingxi as a gift.

“Of course!” the mountain cat’s tail flicked in delight. “I love eating raw fish!”

By afternoon, a jade box filled with glistening slices of Jiji fish, paired with specially prepared sauce, was delivered to the little cat’s residence.

Since Jiji fish are high-priced secret-realm creatures, Qin Suoliu, worried the little one might encounter trouble, handled it herself.

The fish slices had to be prepared meticulously; only those who had tasted Jiji fish before could discern the authentic flavor.

As the saying goes, “When you eat someone’s gift, your mouth is bound to speak favorably,” and the taste of Jiji fish was rare and exquisite, especially with the carefully crafted sauce. Even just for this gift, the little cat’s impression of Qin Suoliu immediately rose several levels.

In the business world, winning hearts is one thing; doing so among mountain spirits, whose natures are purer, is far more challenging.

When the Old Savior of Qingyu Mountain emerged from three days of enforced seclusion, she found all the major and minor spirits praising the grown-up “Azi” for her beauty, kindness, and generosity—and immediately fumed with amusement.

“What can you do now?” she teased. “Your soul may be dirty, but it doesn’t show on your face. Only old folks like us know. Small Suoliu’s superficial skills are indeed impressive.”

Unwilling to argue further, the Old Savior went straight to the mountain spring to see Yue Tingxi.

This spring was a gift she had prepared for Yue Tingxi upon returning as a human, with purification and energy-gathering formations installed beneath it. It could absorb the mountain’s natural spiritual energy and turn it into liquid. The only drawback was its extreme cold—though for a water-element snake spirit, it was perfectly fine.

Upon approaching the spring, she saw through the soundproof barrier two figures seated cross-legged in the water: Yue Tingxi and Qin Suoliu.

Originally, Yue Tingxi wanted to invite Luo Yansha to join her in cultivation at the spring, but Yansha insisted on remaining alone, claiming she was “a salted fish” and satisfied with a quiet spot. So only Qin Suoliu accompanied her.

The cold water helped calm the mind and prevented the Shuohan flower from misbehaving. Even the fire-element young lady felt unusually comfortable and secure in it.

Seeing this peaceful scene, the Old Savior didn’t truly get angry, though she disapproved of this mischievous girl currying favor with the spirits.

She tapped lightly on the barrier with her spiritual power. Soon, Yue Tingxi and Qin Suoliu emerged and greeted her politely.

“I told you before, I’ll take you to see the tribulation site,” the Old Savior said, turning to walk along the path.

During tribulation, thunder strikes from the heavens, more powerful for higher realms. Open spaces alone are insufficient; ground talismans are needed for protection.

Some body-cultivating spirits use thunder to temper their bodies, but most are of fire, earth, or metal elements, or special spirits like wood that has been struck by lightning. Yue Tingxi had no intention of doing this for now.

“The mountain spirits usually perform tribulations in fixed areas to avoid harming too many spiritual plants,” Yue Tingxi explained to Qin Suoliu on the way. “Whether successful or not, the residual thunder energy nourishes the surroundings. If one knows the proper method, it can even be used to repair the tribulation site for cultivation.”

“Can I try repairing it?” Qin Suoliu asked.

Before Yue Tingxi could answer, the Old Savior let out a snort. No need to guess—she probably thought, “Thinking of currying favor before anything even happens.”

“Of course you can. I heard the insights gained from sensing thunder energy are enormous. My water element isn’t suitable for it, but you should be fine,” Yue Tingxi replied, ignoring the implied reprimand. “Chanying often does this; I’ll introduce you to her when you have time.”

Soon, they climbed the stone steps to a lush open area. Summer plants had grown knee-high. Beyond them was a barren circular site, covered in thick earth energy to cushion thunder strikes.

With the gray moth accompanying her, Qin Suoliu could sense the number of talismans hidden around, all of exceptional quality, clearly preserved by the Old Savior for Yue Tingxi’s tribulation.

“This is the teleportation talisman, for your use only. Keep it safe,” the Old Savior said, handing Yue Tingxi a stone engraved with a green rune.

Qin Suoliu was not surprised. Even disregarding biases, the Old Savior would naturally prevent her from interfering in Yue Tingxi’s tribulation by giving her a talisman.

But with her gray moth, Qin Suoliu could “scan” objects and “analyze” their internal structure. Simple talismans like this could be replicated if suitable materials were found.

Of course, she had to behave while the Old Savior was present. Once she left, Qin Suoliu instructed the gray moth to scan the talisman.

The analysis quickly revealed that the stone itself was ordinary, even easily found in the mountains.

The spiritual energy composing the rune was another matter.

[It is not ordinary five-element energy, but part of high-level Qingyu.]

Xishan’s “high-level Qingyu” belonged solely to the Old Savior. It seemed she was determined to forbid Qin Suoliu from meddling.

That was fine. There was still time before Yue Tingxi’s tribulation, and she would find a way.

“Now that you’re staying at Xishan, how does it feel?”

On the way back, Yue Tingxi asked casually. She was focused on cultivation to break through the Out-of-Body stage and could not leisurely accompany the young lady to meet the mountain spirits or show her favorite spots like twenty years ago.

She knew she wasn’t a perfect host but had little time to relax in cultivation. Still, she asked about her guest’s impressions.

“It’s like twenty years ago, but not exactly,” Qin Suoliu answered honestly. “The difference is probably mindset. I am no longer as pure as ‘Azi.’ Back then, befriending spirits, giving gifts—it was just because I wanted to. Now, everything I do has a purpose.”

No wonder the Old Savior didn’t favor her.

“After all, you’ve grown up and experienced so much—handling Qin family affairs, business dealings—being smooth and efficient is hardly surprising,” Yue Tingxi said.

Qin Suoliu smiled without replying. Indeed, it wasn’t surprising, but that didn’t make it entirely right.

Yue Tingxi asked further about meals, accommodations, the spirits’ attitude, and whether the Shuohan flower had any new developments. Qin Suoliu answered in detail, increasingly admiring Yue Tingxi’s kindness.

It felt as if no past life ever existed between them. Yue Tingxi was simply entertaining “Azi,” who returned after twenty years.

Without Yue Tingxi bringing it up, Qin Suoliu naturally would not mention it.

They tacitly buried the past in their memories, shielding the wounds, and attempted to start anew.

Yue Tingxi originally wanted to return to the spring to continue cultivation, but on the way, she met Luo Yansha tending the orchard. Yansha enthusiastically invited her to the temporary residence.

“Just in time! I was going to bring the egg over.” Luo Yansha carried both herself and the egg. “Sister Yunruan said the little one may hatch soon, so its appetite is huge. Young lady… Miss Ni fed it fire energy the day before yesterday, which seems to have been used up again.”

Qin Suoliu carefully withdrew fire energy and infused it into the Bigang egg.

During this, Luo Yansha quietly said to Yue Tingxi on the rooftop terrace:

“I… recently often spent time with Chanying and Yunruan and realized you are a spirit. I didn’t tell you sooner because I wasn’t sure if I should.”

Another long-time client, originally a mountain spirit, posed no issue. As long as she provided payment and treated them well, she remained their “boss” and “old friend.”

But realizing Yue Tingxi had concealed her snake spirit identity for so many years, even accepting her realgar wine every Dragon Boat Festival, Luo Yansha felt she should clarify.

“After all, you’ve taken care of me for so many years. Now that you are my benefactor, I wouldn’t mind your true identity. When we return to the human realm, whether to the Qin family or outside, I won’t reveal this.”

Seeing Yansha’s sincere expression, Yue Tingxi couldn’t help but feel touched and amused.

“All right, now I know you know I’m a spirit,” she replied, jokingly trying to ease the tension. “From now on, you can make less realgar wine for Dragon Boat Festival. Its taste doesn’t affect my cultivation, but one sip takes ten days or so to digest the medicinal power.”

“Understood! I’ll make fruit wine!” Luo Yansha immediately suggested. “Peach and plum-infused wine is good too. From now on, I’ll send it every Dragon Boat Festival!”

After a brief chat and compliments on the beauty and tranquility of Xishan, Luo Yansha left.

Qin Suoliu continued feeding the Bigang egg with spiritual energy. The egg soon plumped up, motionless in her arms, only swaying lazily when picked up by Luo Yansha.

“This Bigang is going to be a little lazybones even if it hatches!” Luo Yansha half-joked.

After bidding farewell, the two returned to the spring for lunch.

Following the Old Savior’s repeated advice to “balance work and rest,” Yue Tingxi did not continue cultivation. She picked wild vegetables near the spring, washed them with water-element energy, and returned to the cave to stir-fry them with meat brought from the Qin residence. Together with spiritual rice steamed with the young lady’s fire energy, they had a simple meal of three dishes and a soup.

After lunch, they returned to the couch for a nap—but neither actually slept.

Yue Tingxi had not forgotten that when trapped in the Iris Whale’s illusion, she had planned to settle accounts with the young lady. After leaving, one event followed another, and she had put it aside. Now, with a free moment, she felt reluctant to spend energy on it.

After all, they had confessed to each other, and she held the initiative. Being at peace like this seemed acceptable.

Qin Suoliu, however, pondered that Out-of-Body tribulations tested the soul, which is linked to memory. Since Yue Tingxi had lived a second life, she couldn’t know if the thunder would strike only her body or also her heart.

If so, she would need to figure out before the tribulation whether Yue Tingxi’s lingering attachments included a part for her—and if so, how to resolve it.

As Yue Tingxi dozed, she suddenly heard the young lady’s soft voice in her ear:

“Take revenge on me once, Sister Tingxi.”

Support