Chapter 179 I Miss You

“Although I am your mother’s disciple, I am not wise enough. It wasn’t until everything settled down that I figured out what your mother was doing all those years.” Wu Yang raised her head slightly, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “My teacher is truly amazing.”

Using a formation to forcibly communicate with the underworld, he separated the bloodlines of the two children, exchanging his life for theirs, so that they could live another life.

All the taboos in this world have been violated.

"Why?" Achan's lips trembled slightly, her expression confused and helpless.

She accepted the fact that her mother didn't like her a long time ago, but it didn't matter. Liking someone doesn't have to be mutual; it was enough that she liked her father and mother.

She's an easy little fox to coax; even if she sometimes feels sad thinking about them, she can always comfort herself.

She never imagined that her parents would pay the price with their lives so that she and Amian could live, disappearing from the world silently.

Why?

"Because you are their daughter."

"But now I have absolutely no blood relation with them."

They risked their lives to regain themselves, becoming someone else's child, with no ties to them anymore.

"Your father and mother don't care about these things; they just hope you can live a good life."

Ah Chan remained silent; she couldn't get over this hurdle in her heart.

Wu Yang couldn't console A Chan; she had to figure this out herself.

She used to wonder, was it really worth it for the teacher to do this?

Those two children were sent away from birth; they only had such a short time together and never truly spent time together.

Emotions in this world need to be reciprocated.

But seeing Achan here today, she thought, her teacher and Lord Xijing probably never considered whether it was worth it or not.

Everything they did stemmed from instinct—the instinctive love for their children.

Sooner or later, Achan will understand.

“Your father and mother used to live in the house next door. Do you want to go and see them?” Wu Yang suddenly spoke up, not wanting A Chan to continue wallowing in grief.

Achan hesitated for a moment and then nodded: "Okay."

Wu Yang got up and led her to the wooden house next door.

The door to the wooden house was not locked. The moment Wu Yang opened the door, A Chan stood at the doorway, and a memory suddenly flashed through her mind.

She remembers this place.

She stepped into the house and, without any guidance, opened the door on the left.

The door opened, revealing a study with a few scattered books on the desk and bookshelves along the entire back wall, piled high with books, bamboo slips, and cloth.

This study doesn't look very big now, but it used to be very big for Achan.

She had tried to hide here to avoid being caught and taken away.

But she was caught quickly, only managing to grab a book from the table and hold it tightly to her chest. Later, that book became her treasure.

Achan walked to the desk, her fingers tracing the surface where the book had once sat.

She turned to Wu Yang and said, "I once took a book from my mother."

Wu Yang, who was following behind, thought for a moment and smiled, "I remember it was a book about incense making. It was compiled by your mother based on the records of the clan. She added some of the content herself. The recipes in it are very interesting."

"That book was destroyed later. Is there a copy here?" Achan asked.

At that time, she was fighting with other fox cubs on Qingyu Mountain. After winning, the fox cub gathered a bunch of companions to seek revenge.

While she was away, they bullied A-Mian, snatched her book from her hand, tore it to pieces, and when she returned, they burned the pile of rubble to ashes in front of her.

Fortunately, she had read it many, many times and had memorized the entire contents of the book.

That was the first time Achan had ever killed someone of her own kind. If the elders on the mountain hadn't discovered and stopped her, she and A-Mian might have been expelled from Qingyu Mountain.

But she was still punished. The injuries from the fight, combined with the injuries from the punishment, left her in a daze for several days. She remembered that A-Mian kept crying in her ear, especially loudly when she was sleeping.

It seems that from that day on, A-Mian never mentioned her parents again.

"No." Wu Yang's voice brought A Chan back to her senses.

Seeing the surprised expression on her face, Wu Yang smiled and said, "That book was originally meant for Wu Ying, but when the teacher heard that you had taken it, she didn't copy it again."

"Why?" Achan asked, puzzled.

"It's not a precious gift, but I think the teacher would want it to be unique."

That book was the only communication between the mother and daughter.

Achan froze, then slowly turned around, her back to Wu Yang. After a long while, she whispered, "Grandma Yang, could you let me stay here alone for a while?"

“Of course you can.” Wu Yang nodded. “You can take a nap in the room for a while. When you wake up, Hui Xue will be back with Wu Feng. Grandma will make you some soup then.”

"Okay, thank you, Grandma Yang."

As Wu Yang walked out of the wooden house and turned to close the door, he saw through the two doors that A Chan was still standing there all alone.

She had stayed here for many years. Even though she knew that those who left could never come back, in certain hazy moments, she always felt that she could see her teacher and Lord Xijing as soon as she opened the door.

The child's current appearance bears no resemblance whatsoever to her teacher or Lord Xijing, yet she seems to see Lord Xijing from bygone days.

No matter how the physical appearance changes, some things will never change.

The sound of the door closing rang out. Ah Chan stood quietly for a long time before walking around the desk and sitting down in the chair behind it.

She thought that her mother must have often sat here in the past. Perhaps, her father would also sit here with her.

Which position would Daddy like?

Achan's gaze swept across the study, finally settling on the slightly worn cushion under the back window. Father should be there.

If I transform into a fox and lie there, I can see my mother's profile perfectly. If my mother gets tired, she can turn her head and see my father.

Achan chuckled silently, fueled by her own imagination.

After sitting for a while, she got up again to look at the bookshelf behind her.

In the bottom corner of the bookshelf, hidden by a wooden shelf that holds vases, there seemed to be a box on it.

Achan took the vase away, moved the wooden shelf aside, and pulled out the wooden box from inside.

The box had no lid, and the contents were covered with a thick layer of dust. Grandma Yang must have forgotten about it when she was cleaning the room.

Achan pulled out two rattles, a small bamboo ball, a windmill with only its frame remaining, and a white bone whistle.

Finally, she pulled out two small wooden carvings from the very bottom of the box.

A little fox lying on the ground with its tail sticking out, and a chubby baby chewing on its fingers.

Achan took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the two wooden carvings clean before placing them on the desk.

After tidying up the box and putting it back in its original place, Achan sat back down in the chair.

She leaned on the desk, chin resting on her arm, and looked up to see the two wooden carvings. Who made those little trinkets in the box? Did her father or mother carve them?

Achan stopped insisting on the answer.

She closed her eyes, turned her head to the side, rested her head on her arm, and fell asleep in the quiet study.

Achan was awakened by a fragrance. Before she even opened her eyes, her stomach was already rumbling.

I got up groggily, and the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Shen Huixue across from me at the desk. She was holding a small bowl and fanning the rim of the bowl with one hand.

"Hui Xue, you're back." Because she had just woken up, A Chan's voice sounded soft and weak.

Shen Huixue looked at Achan, whose eyes were a little swollen, as if she had cried while sleeping. However, she did not ask, but simply placed the bowl of black phoenix soup on the desk and pushed it next to Achan.

"I caught four black phoenixes. I asked Grandma to take two to make soup, and we'll roast the remaining two tonight. Let's taste the soup first."

Achan did not refuse. She picked up the bowl, blew on it, and took a small sip of soup.

The black phoenix soup was only seasoned with a little salt, yet it was extremely delicious. After drinking a small bowl of the soup, Achan felt hungry instead.

"Is it good?" Huixue asked expectantly.

"It tastes especially good."

Shen Huixue laughed: "Let's go eat, Grandma Yang made a pot of soup."

“Okay.” Achan followed her out of the study.

At noon, they ate flatbread and drank a large pot of black phoenix soup. In the evening, it wasn't until dark that the remaining two black phoenixes were finally roasted.

Long and short vines hang from the eaves of Grandma Yang's wooden house, with fist-sized fruits hanging from them. The fruits emit a cold white light at night, just enough to illuminate the open space in front of them.

By the light, the three of them sat around in the open space in front of the wooden house and ate their dinner.

While chatting over dinner, Achan told them that in a few days, during the sacrificial ceremony, the high priest would ask her to perform the sacrificial dance, and Granny Yang would give her some pointers.

Later, at the urging of her and Huixue, Granny Yang personally demonstrated the sacrificial dance for her. After watching the excitement for a while, Achan was called upon by the earnest Granny Yang to practice together, while Huixue clapped the rhythm for them.

After being corrected a few times and practicing twice more, Achan was able to dance the entire sacrificial dance without any mistakes.

Shen Huixue clapped her hands and said, "Achan, on the day of the sacrifice, I will definitely give you the most beautiful wreath."

It is a custom to give flower garlands to young shamans who dance during sacrificial ceremonies; whoever receives the most garlands is considered the best dancer.

Although she didn't know why the high priest would invite Achan, who wasn't a member of the witch clan, to dance during the sacrificial ceremony, Achan had to have what others had. Huixue decided to make a large wreath; even if she couldn't win in terms of quantity, she couldn't lose in terms of size.

"Then you can't forget." Achan wasn't very confident in her dancing skills. Huixue might be the only one to give her a flower wreath, so she couldn't let that opportunity slip by.

"Alright, it's getting late, time to rest." Granny Yang looked a little tired after dealing with them for most of the day. She waved to Shen Huixue, "Huixue, you sleep here with me, Achan, go sleep in the next room."

The two had no objection to Grandma Yang's arrangement. Achan returned to her mother's wooden house, washed up, and sat on the bed that used to belong to her mother. There were new bedding placed there, prepared by Grandma Yang.

Perhaps because she had just danced, even though it was already quite late, Achan wasn't sleepy at all.

Alone in the dark room, the events of the day flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern.

Achan's mood plummeted again.

She suddenly remembered something. After the possession, chains inexplicably appeared on her soul. The first time was an accident, but it allowed her to figure out the function of the chains. In order to remove the chains, she began to gradually approach humans and understand their love, hatred and desire.

Did Mother know all along that she would become a person?

So those chains were left behind to make her more like a human? And just as her mother had hoped, she became more and more accustomed to human life, made friends, and... had someone she liked.

But she still wanted to be her father and mother's daughter. Even if her lost physical body could not be restored, she could use her father's inner core to transform her body into a demon.

Even though it would be dangerous, and she might become a half-human, half-demon monster without consciousness if she failed to transform into a demon, if she succeeded, she would inherit part of her father's demon power and memories, thus creating an indelible bond between her and her father and mother.

As if sensing her thoughts, the inner core suddenly appeared in front of Achan.

The golden inner core spun around, like a bright pearl that drove away the darkness for her.

Achan reached out her hand, her fingers almost touching it.

Just as she was about to touch him, her fingers curled slightly; she hesitated.

The inner core that was originally there seemed to sense something, flickered, and disappeared into Achan's body.

The room was once again filled with darkness, and Achan slowly withdrew her outstretched hand.

Suddenly, a rhythmic knocking sound broke the silence of the night.

Achan was startled and looked in the direction of the sound. It was too dark in the room, so she couldn't see anything, but she knew it was the direction of the window.

After the knocking stopped, she held her breath and listened for a moment, then the knocking started again.

Who is it?

The tightly closed window silently opened, and the people who had stayed in the village appeared before Achan's eyes.

The wind blew in through the window, lifting a corner of the bed curtains, as if it were also blowing Achan's heart into the air.

She jumped out of bed, ran barefoot to the window, her dark eyes fixed on the person separated from her by the window, her voice filled with a surprise she herself didn't realize: "How did you get here?"

"miss you."