Wanxi Rebirth - Chapter 60

Ever since learning about the subtle connection between Qin Yingguang and the World Consciousness, even though Qin Yingguang was now just an ordinary little girl, Yue Tingxi still paid close attention to her every word and action.

After listening carefully to the girl’s description, her expression immediately changed.

The three of them and the baby Bifang had just returned to the Qin Residence. Just in case, when Qin Suoliu was speaking with her mother earlier, the usual barrier near the bedchamber had not been lifted. Qin Yingguang could not possibly have eavesdropped and then deliberately fabricated a dream with such a precise direction.

…That meant it might involve the power of the World Consciousness.

Had the World Consciousness inadvertently influenced Qin Yingguang? Or had it deliberately presented the solution to the path of Ruthlessness in the form of a dream, conveying it through its human incarnation to them?

Thinking of this, Yue Tingxi asked, “Can you remember any other details from the dream?”

“I can only remember this much,” Qin Yingguang shook her head. “I wrote it down as soon as I woke up, and now I can’t remember anything else from the dream…”

“That’s fine, I’ve already remembered it for you!” Seeing the little girl looking disappointed, Yue Tingxi quickly reassured her. “By the way… why did you want to come find me? Was it because you saw my demon form in the dream?”

Qin Yingguang was one of the few who knew her demonic identity.

“Sort of? Actually, I wanted to talk to you while my sister was also around,” Qin Yingguang explained. “But when I came, I saw Mother taking Sister away. When I greeted her, her state really scared me.”

“Just like in the dream?” Yue Tingxi asked cautiously. “Cold and distant, like she was covered in ice and snow.”

Qin Yingguang didn’t respond, instead urgently asking, “Sister Tingxi, do you know something?”

“I do, but I’m not your close relative, just an outsider demon,” Yue Tingxi sighed lightly. “This matter is extremely important. If you truly want to know, wait for your sister to return and hear it from her directly.”

The little girl, though upset, was usually obedient and didn’t ask further. She said, “Sorry for disturbing you, I’ll come back later,” and returned to her bedchamber.

Yue Tingxi took out her beloved white fox fur cushion, sat cross-legged, watching the koi in the wooden barrel swim energetically and leisurely, and pondered the dream Qin Yingguang had described.

Even the people of the Qin Residence couldn’t capture the eldest miss, and she had been caught up by her?

“What does ‘disappear together’ mean? Did they die for each other? Or did the World Consciousness transport them to some special place?”

If this dream was indeed a guidance from the World Consciousness, she could be certain of two things: she could still walk alongside the eldest miss who had become a practitioner of the path of Ruthlessness; and someday, they might go together to a place different from the human world.

Otherwise, how could the human Qin Yingguang see their disappearance in a dream?

The former was a relief, but the latter reminded her of a secret Qin Suoliu had always concealed—the cost of gaining the World Consciousness’s help. What had the eldest miss promised the World Consciousness?

There were still too few clues. Yue Tingxi thought it over and over but couldn’t understand. She had originally planned to consult Qing Yushan and Xie Zhi in the Mustard Seed Ice Wheel, but then recalled Xie Zhi had said, “For now, this is all we can tell you.” So, she decided not to ask further and took the barrel to find a new home for the koi.

When Qin Suoliu returned after saying goodbye to her mother and the mixture of anxious and joyful elders, she saw Yue Tingxi infusing water spiritual energy into a newly dug pond beside the bedchamber.

…What was this place originally for? She didn’t quite remember, but it probably didn’t matter.

Seeing the koi’s new home unfinished, Qin Suoliu summoned Gray Moth to show her a scanned pond layout from their short stay in Xishan. After checking it, she instructed the servants to fetch stone materials from the warehouse and used fire spiritual energy to carve them into stones for the pond’s edge.

Her emotions were unreadable, but this was something she had wanted to do even before removing Shuo Hanhua.

Qin Suoliu’s blade technique improved with her cultivation level. Now at mid-Out-of-Body stage, she could use techniques corresponding to this stage. She carved the stones and passed them to Yue Tingxi for cleaning and placement along the pond’s edge.

The two worked in perfect coordination, and the pond visibly took shape.

“How did your people react?”

Once the pond was completed and the koi released, Yue Tingxi asked.

“Nothing much,” Qin Suoliu said. “Mother and the elders can only be glad that, for now, I feel no emotion.”

At her current cultivation, she was among the top in the Qin Residence. Other than reminders like “Next time you encounter danger, do not act on your own,” even her mother had no power over her.

“Still no way to revert to your original state?” Yue Tingxi asked.

“The eldest elder said this is the World Tao’s protection,” Qin Suoliu replied. “To restore my original state would be to defy the World Tao, an extremely risky act. Only a practitioner like those in the Star Plucking Pavilion could possibly interfere, and without sufficient cultivation, it would be a death sentence.”

“Qing Yushan warned similarly,” Yue Tingxi said, putting away the wooden barrel. “Although Miss Lan obtained the token from the Star Plucking Pavilion, if the backlash is too severe, even they might not help lightly.”

Qin Suoliu glanced at her, then at the koi swimming happily in the pond.

Previously, doing something she wanted with Sister Tingxi would have made her happy. But now, her heartbeat remained unchanged. There was no joy, nor sadness from the lack of perception of joy.

“Then let’s leave it for now,” Yue Tingxi said from above. “I’ll help you. If you feel happiness, I’ll tell you why and what changes occur in your body, and the same with other emotions.”

She wanted to continue entangling with this person to see if they could one day find a solution together.

In the heart-devouring tribulation illusion, the eldest miss said she was Yue Tingxi’s eyes; naturally, Yue Tingxi could be the eldest miss’s heart.

“All right.” Qin Suoliu nodded.

“I’m unhappy now,” Yue Tingxi continued, voice muffled. “I feel upset, sour, and bitter. It’s all your fault.”

Qin Suoliu was silent for a few moments, feeling she had no right to speak at that moment.

“This reminds me of a noodle shop I liked long ago, now closed,” Yue Tingxi rambled, not needing a reply. “When it was open, I often visited different shops depending on my mood, without much thought. But one day, I went to buy things in town and found it closed… I couldn’t eat the noodles, and afterwards, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”

“I won’t close,” Qin Suoliu said.

“I know, but now it’s no longer in your hands,” Yue Tingxi whispered in her ear. “Qin Yingguang probably hasn’t told you, but she had a dream about us—that means the World Consciousness is giving guidance again.”

“Indeed, its guidance has helped us greatly. But after paying the price, can we truly return to our current forms? Besides the intruder who possessed Lan Chaoyao, who else does it want us to face? Even at the Out-of-Body stage, we’re not qualified to know; at worst, they would be early Tribulation stage,” Qin Suoliu said.

Qin Suoliu noticed that Yue Tingxi emphasized “we” instead of “you.”

“What was in the dream?” she asked.

Yue Tingxi played coy, slowly tracing from her chin to her throat in the most delicate way she could.

Qin Suoliu understood Yue Tingxi was annoyed and let her continue, unaware that her snake body was slowly coiling around the room.

“Qin Suoliu, don’t you like it when I hold you in my mouth?” Yue Tingxi said, moving her onto herself. “Want to try a different way?”

Before Qin Suoliu could refuse, Yue Tingxi placed her into a completely new channel.

She sank halfway in, immediately enveloped in warmth.

It felt like being in warm water, yet everything beside her was alive, moving with Yue Tingxi’s breathing. Lowering her gaze, she could see her lower body aligning with the snake form.

The comfort made her close her eyes, as if the ice and snow clinging to her body were slowly melting.

…Sister Tingxi had exhausted every method to restore her perception.

Still, it had little effect.

Eventually, she climbed out voluntarily, and the water spiritual energy followed, this time merely cleansing her.

Faintly, she heard Yue Tingxi sigh.

Qin Yingguang came at a not-too-late hour.

She knocked on the door, waited a while, and saw her sister open it. Upon entering, she saw the giant black-tailed snake from her dream coiled on the ground.

She quietly relaxed, realizing Sister Tingxi truly considered her one of her own; otherwise, she wouldn’t reveal her demon form so freely.

“Sister Tingxi said you had a strange dream?” Qin Yingguang asked, bringing her attention back.

She quickly nodded and recounted the dream word for word.

“…When you woke, was Gray Moth with you?” Qin Suoliu asked.

“Yes!” Qin Yingguang spread her hands, and Gray Moth appeared in her palm. “And I noticed Gray Moth has become… more agile? Whenever I want to see it, it appears near me just by thinking!”

“Have you remembered anything you’ve never experienced but feel familiar?” Qin Suoliu asked again.

Yue Tingxi looked up, surprised. The World Consciousness probably didn’t want Qin Yingguang to know too much. Was this provocative?

Qin Yingguang tilted her head, thinking, and after a long pause, shook her head firmly. “Not yet, at least not now.”

“Tell me immediately if it happens,” Qin Suoliu instructed.

The little girl immediately became alert. “Sister, is something dangerous about to happen?”

“I can’t say,” Qin Suoliu shook her head. “But you must have heard about the ‘Ghost Sword Cultivator’ bounty. Since the sects consider him an evil entity, you should be vigilant.”

“Don’t scare the little girl!” Yue Tingxi couldn’t help but interject.

“No, no problem, Sister Tingxi!” Qin Yingguang trembled but defended her sister. “You’re right, I’ll be careful!”

She didn’t forget her purpose. “By the way, Sister, what happened to you? You seem changed—not smiling, no light in your eyes…”

“When I accompanied Sister Tingxi through the tribulation, I gained the favor of the Way,” Qin Suoliu explained. “But as you might know, the closer one is to the Way’s principles, the more one’s emotions are stripped away.”

Qin Yingguang paused, then ground her teeth. “How can that be called ‘favor’? You’re human, yet the Way took your emotions. It doesn’t want you to continue as a normal human cultivator!?”

Yue Tingxi almost misheard and turned toward her in astonishment.

The sisters really were alike—both provoking the Way!

Qin Suoliu lightly laughed, emotionless, impossible to tell if it was relief, helplessness, or sarcasm.

“Don’t worry. I will still protect my people like a normal cultivator,” Qin Suoliu said. “This is only to be spoken in front of my sister, not others.”

“Of course!” Qin Yingguang responded angrily but obediently. She quietly stared at her sister, then at the black-tailed snake, murmuring, “Then I… I’ll trust Sister Tingxi too.”

The snake coiled around Qin Suoliu’s tail, silently promising her protection.

“The little sister hasn’t been affected by the World Consciousness.”

After sending Qin Yingguang away, Qin Suoliu said to Yue Tingxi, “Every word she said was genuine, not deception or lies.”

“You mean her provocation of the Way?” Yue Tingxi twitched her lips. “But thinking carefully, no matter how much we complain, we’re still following its plan. It probably won’t bother about a few mortals.”

She paused. “But I still want to struggle, contact Lan Fengqing, and see if she’s seen cases like yours.”

“Tomorrow morning. She sleeps early,” Qin Suoliu reminded her, then changed the subject. “As for the unfinished matter…”

“It was interrupted, let’s do it tomorrow,” Yue Tingxi said, pulling her onto the bed, changing back into human form, and hugging her tightly.

“Does Sister Tingxi want to warm me up?” Qin Suoliu asked.

“It would be great if I could,” Yue Tingxi nuzzled her. “Sleep, I remember you haven’t had proper rest these past few days.”

Perhaps due to foreknowledge or clear understanding of their bond, she was pleased.

The next morning, before they contacted Lan Fengqing, she arrived herself.

“Yingguang woke me up last night, told me everything. I was worried, so I came to check.” She casually sat in the bedchamber, scanning the two.

After some time, she noted that the two had grown closer. Even though Qin Suoliu had become a Ruthless Path cultivator, her intuition told her they were fine.

“Would your brother… the possessor suspect?” Yue Tingxi asked.

“He’s preoccupied with himself and not in Qingxu Sect. Since returning, he has been in seclusion,” Lan Fengqing said. “Perhaps it’s to avoid trouble. After all, the ‘Ghost Sword Cultivator’ rumors are widespread.”

For now, the eldest miss was free.

Qin Suoliu had her examined: pulse, blood, soul stability, even letting Gray Moth attach silver-gray spiritual energy to her eyes to watch her.

“What kind of examination is this?” Yue Tingxi asked curiously.

“Internal vision, to see if the Ruthless Path affected her internal cycles, organs, or meridians,” Lan Fengqing explained, and took notes.

“Unfortunately… from a medical perspective, this is truly favor from the Way, not a curse,” she said. “Her internal condition doesn’t match her cultivation stage. By pulse standards, a thin person’s pulse should be weak, but hers is very strong.”

“Without the World Tao limiting it, this uncontrolled power would slowly consume her body. The consequences would be dire!”

Before Yue Tingxi could ask about solutions, Lan Fengqing continued, “I tend to trace the root of such conditions. Could you tell me where this immense power came from? Did you seal a great demon in the mountains with your bodies?”

Yue Tingxi instinctively looked at Qin Suoliu, who returned her gaze.

—“Shall we tell her?”

—“Yes.”

After a brief eye exchange, Qin Suoliu summoned Gray Moth and recounted past events: the World Consciousness, the intruder, and his 7364 system.

After traveling through the Mystic Water Realm, they trusted Lan Fengqing, but were busy and had to return for tribulation. This was the right time to inform an ally who could accept strange occurrences.

“…The ‘intruder’.” Lan Fengqing ground the words through her teeth. “The leader behind them must be Tribulation-stage, able to see through a person’s destiny. How else could they target my brother precisely?”

“What do you mean?” Yue Tingxi asked.

“My brother’s destiny has long been said to be ‘fated with fortune.’ Without the intruder, he would eventually become the head of the sect and purge the world…” Lan Fengqing clenched her fists.

Calming down, she continued: “I have some speculation, though with little evidence. If it has no value, disregard it.”

“No problem. Please, go ahead.” Qin Suoliu nodded.

“Since you’ve already gone through a time reversal once, without active initiation or destiny-altering artifacts, that means the World Consciousness can rewind time. And… perhaps not just once.

“It may have fought the intruder for hundreds of years, not necessarily in sequential time. Suppose it rewinds from your deaths to five years prior. When you die or the intruder succeeds, it rewinds again… maybe dozens or hundreds of times. Even if each cycle lasts a few years, the cumulative time could be centuries.”

“Involving reincarnation means discussing the Buddhist concept of ‘power of cause and effect.’ Everything has cause and effect. If cultivated to the highest level, one can even intervene in causality and gather its power.”

She looked at Qin Suoliu. “Why did it not favor you in the previous life, but this life it assists and guides you, even sending its emissary? You said earlier the World Consciousness only extended a hand after dealing with the intruder. Perhaps it erased the intruder’s schemes through repeated time reversals, gathering cause and effect, and even the resentment of the dead, until this life, using it all for a final ‘counterattack’ to eliminate the intruder and their organization.”

“The so-called ‘counterattack’—the mysterious Savior Scales said when we first met: ‘The time for counterattack has come.’ She must have known the World Consciousness’s true plan.”

Support