Chapter 76 The Last Fragment of Memory: Eight-Year-Old Mingjian and His Teenage Years...

"Master has ordered that since the demon is dead, before Madam and Young Master wake up, we should quickly throw this unlucky thing into the mass grave to avoid defiling the property."

"I don't know what was going on last night, but in the middle of the night I thought I heard fighting sounds coming from his yard... When I went to check this morning, there was absolutely no sound. Even the white cat that he always huddled in his room was dead."

"Bah! I told you long ago, anything that gets involved with that demon is bound to end badly! Look, even a beast lost its life because of it!"

"..."

Mingjian opened his eyes. Unlike the previous two times, this time he was not attached to the white cat's body, but transformed into an invisible and intangible wandering soul, quietly drifting behind the two servants who were complaining in hushed tones.

"What the worst luck ever..." one of the servants, dressed in coarse linen clothes, spat, his voice full of disgust.

"Stop gossiping!" The other man seemed even more impatient, giving him a playful kick. "Hurry up! It's getting dark, if we don't get rid of this thing quickly, who knows what kind of unclean things it might attract!"

"You, you're scaring me..." The servant's voice trembled, and his hand trembled involuntarily, causing the rope that was pulling the cart to loosen its grip.

The wooden wheel suddenly rolled over a sharp pebble, causing the vehicle to lurch violently and nearly throwing Xiao Bumian off.

"Look at you, so pathetic!" the other man scolded irritably, though he was also feeling uneasy. He could only bolster his courage by raising his voice, "Hurry up! Tighten the rope and throw this menace up the mountain, then we'll be done!"

The man dared not say another word, and the two fell silent. Only the dull sound of the wooden wheel rolling echoed along the increasingly dim forest path.

Mingjian followed along absently, and it took him a while to connect the scene before him with the scene when he left last time.

Last time... last time, Xiao Yun had just extracted Xiao Bumian's soul fire, and the white cat died along with it, so he no longer has a physical body and can only be transformed into a wisp of soul.

So are they planning to throw Xiao Bumian into a mass grave now?

Mingjian remembered leaving Xiao Bumian before Xiao Bumian last time, so he didn't see the scene of his master returning later, and he didn't know why it suddenly turned into this scene.

Did Ji Sui and Gu Weishen not know that Xiao Bumian was still alive?

Thinking this, Mingjian lightly landed on the simple cart and "lay down" next to Xiao Bumian.

The two men pulling the cart suddenly felt their hands sink.

"Hey... don't you think the carriage suddenly feels much heavier?" The timid servant's voice even changed.

"Shut up! It's your own fault for being cowardly and hesitant! Get out of here!" The other man forced himself to remain calm and shouted sternly, but his pace unconsciously quickened.

"Okay, okay."

Mingjian silently pursed his lips. If he could reveal himself right now, he would definitely give those two snobs a good scare.

The cart struggled to move through the snow-covered forest. It was the dead of winter, and the branches were laden with thick snow. The higher they went up the mountain, the more biting the wind became, whistling like knives.

Xiao Bumian was dressed in thin clothes, and without his soul fire, his condition was worse than Ming Jian had ever seen him in. His breathing was so weak that it was almost imperceptible, and his heartbeat was barely perceptible.

His plain white clothes were now mostly soaked with congealed dark red blood, and his face had several new abrasions, likely caused by the servants when they dragged him into the carriage.

Mingjian stared at Xiao Bumian's pale profile, a sense of powerlessness welling up in his heart.

The soul has no physical form, cannot be touched or felt, and it is unknown whether it can shield Xiao Bumian from the wind.

The thought arose, and he involuntarily turned around, vaguely pressing himself against Xiao Bumian's cold body, trying to convey some warmth in this futile way.

Xiao Bumian's breathing remained so weak as to be almost stopped, and his chest rose and fell only very slightly.

If it weren't for the fact that Xiao Bumian not only lived a good life but also became a powerful figure, Mingjian would have started to worry about whether Xiao Bumian could survive.

"Clang—!"

The cart slammed into a pebble again, the violent jolt shaking Mingjian off Xiao Bumian.

The repeated setbacks made Mingjian angry. In a fit of rage, he floated to the front and sat down in the empty seat between two servants.

The car body lurched forward noticeably.

Now, even the other servant, who was trying to remain calm, noticed something was wrong, and the two exchanged a frightened glance.

"Damn it... this time, this time it's really shaking!" The timid servant's Adam's apple bobbed violently, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

The other man's face turned deathly pale, his forced composure completely crumbling. He cursed, "Damn it! This monster's spirit is still lingering even after it's dead; it must have attracted some evil spirits! There's a mass grave just ahead; let's just throw him down there!"

"But...but Master ordered that we need to double-check if he's still breathing..."

"What the hell are you confirming!" another person interrupted him angrily, his voice shrill with fear. "Even at a time like this, you're still thinking about the master's orders? Do you only feel satisfied when we both lose our lives here? In this awful weather, and there's a cliff in front of us, if we push him off, even if he still has a breath left, do you think he'll survive?!"

Just then, a faint wolf howl echoed from the depths of the distant mountains and forests, long and mournful, reverberating in the twilight.

The timid servant trembled with fear, and without further hesitation, hurriedly said, "You're right! You're right! There are no taboos! Esteemed mountain spirits, every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor. If you want revenge, go after this demon! He's the one who disturbed your peace!"

He was already rambling incoherently.

The two frantically threw away the rope, hastily wrapped Xiao Bumian in a tattered straw mat, carried him to the edge of the cliff, and threw him down with all their might.

Mingjian's mind went blank, and his anger surged instantly, but he was powerless to do anything about the two of them.

Before, he was a cat. Although whatever he did would eventually be corrected by Xiao Bumian's memories, at least he could vent his anger. But now he's just a ghost. Let alone venting his anger, he can't even speak.

Seeing Xiao Bumian being thrown off the cliff, Mingjian didn't think twice and rushed over, trying to catch his falling body.

But his transparent arms could only pass through Xiao Bumian's body in vain, watching helplessly as the figure wrapped in straw mat plummeted straight down to the bottomless abyss like a puppet with broken strings.

Without hesitation, Mingjian jumped down, chasing after the falling figure.

He looked back at the rapidly receding cliff top, where the two servants were cautiously peering out.

"Did it go down?"

"Go down! Go down! This place is really eerie, hurry up and get out of here..."

The noisy voices quickly dissipated as the distance increased.

Mingjian gritted his teeth, ignoring the two men, and held Xiao Bumian tightly. What would he do if he couldn't find her?

Finally, with a dull thud, the fall stopped.

As a spirit, Mingjian had no physical sensations, but beneath him, Xiao Bumian suddenly turned his head amidst the violent tremors, vomiting a mouthful of dark red blood that splattered onto the pale snow and tattered straw mat, a shocking sight.

Perhaps in Mingjian's memory, Xiao Bumian had always seemed very powerful, so seeing him like this made Mingjian's heart clench.

"Xie Hanwei..." he called out, his voice trembling without him even realizing it.

Xiao Bumian remained unresponsive; only the frost on his eyelashes trembled slightly with his faint breaths.

Mingjian stayed by his side all night. As dawn broke, Xiao Bumian's body temperature continued to drop, his lips turned a horrifying bluish-purple, and even his fingertips lost their last trace of color.

If this continues, he really will die.

Mingjian suddenly stood up and floated out of the woods. He had to figure out where he was and find someone who could save Xiao Bumian.

He drifted past piles of corpses, through howling wolves, and the further he went, the stronger the eerie sense of familiarity became.

He must have seen this wasteland covered in blood and snow somewhere before. But he no longer had the mind to think about it.

As darkness fell again, all that could be seen were endless withered trees, and not a single person could be found.

Ming felt an unprecedented sense of anxiety welling up inside him.

Back then... who exactly saved Xiao Bumian?

Whoever that person is, please let him appear soon.

Mingjian wanted to continue forward, but found himself unable to stray too far from Xiao Bumian. Moments later, he was pulled back to the dying figure by an invisible force.

Seeing Xiao Bumian's silhouette gradually covered by ice and snow, Mingjian almost burst into tears.

This was the first time he had ever felt such utter despair.

These are clearly Xiao Bumian's memories, aren't they?

He was living a perfectly good life afterward, wasn't he?

But why didn't anyone come to save him?

Xiao Bumian is about to die...

Please, someone, save him!

But his voice was not heard. Seeing that there was nothing he could do, he could only lie on Xiao Bumian's chest and listen to Xiao Bumian's heartbeat getting weaker and weaker.

And so another day passed.

It was clear that all hope had been lost.

He lost his sense of time; he didn't know how much time had passed.

It might have been just one night, or it might have been a very long time.

Until one snowy night, Mingjian suddenly saw a small, warm yellow lantern swaying in the swirling snow in the far, far distance.

He quickly stood up and floated towards the direction of the lantern.

The snow fell heavier and heavier.

The cold wind howled.

Mingjian stopped, staring at the figure carrying the lantern in front of him, speechless for a long time.

That was a very, very small person.

I'd guess he was only seven or eight years old.

The clothes he wore were clearly ill-fitting, so large they looked like they'd been ripped from a corpse. Though they appeared thick and warm, they only accentuated his thin frame. His small face was blue from the cold, his lips were purplish-black, and his hands, holding the lantern, trembled uncontrollably.

Mingjian suddenly remembered.

So he had been here before.

And the child in front of me, shivering from the cold—

It was him.

Xiao Ming tried to warm his hands by covering them with the lamp, but it didn't seem enough, so he breathed on his palms.

"Master... Master, where are you?" Xiao Ming asked, tears streaming down his face. His childish voice sounded especially fragile in the wind and snow.

He cried so hard he could barely breathe, his small chest heaving violently, yet he remained stubborn, taking one step at a time through the thick snow.

Mingjian floated behind him, watching this familiar yet distant scene, his thoughts completely in turmoil.

Perhaps it was because this day was so important to him that just a slight touch of his memories brought back a flood of details, so clear as if it had happened just yesterday.

He remembered that this was the day after he met his master, Yun Guiyuan.

At that moment, Yun Guiyuan bent down, a gentle smile on her face, and handed him a steaming hot meat bun. "Eat it."

Xiao Ming, though starving and timid, carefully took the bun and tucked it into his pocket, reluctant to eat it right away.

Seeing this, Yun Guiyuan sighed softly, her eyes filled with pity, and then turned around to buy him a bowl of warm porridge.

Seeing this, Xiao Ming sat down close to Yun Guiyuan and drank the bowl of porridge clean in small sips.

The steamed bun and the bowl of porridge made young Mingjian vaguely realize that the ethereal cultivator in front of him was a kind-hearted person.

He didn't want to go hungry or cold anymore, and he didn't want to die alone, so he followed closely behind Yun Guiyuan, his little face upturned, his eyes sparkling with hope.

Tiny snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

Yun Guiyuan opened an oil-paper umbrella, turned around, looked at the little tail behind him, and asked gently, "Why are you following me?"

Xiao Ming hugged his waist, buried his head in his chest, and whispered, "I... I can do so many things for you!"

Yun Guiyuan chuckled and asked, "Oh? Really? What can you do?"

Xiao Ming nodded vigorously, trying his best to sell himself: "Yes! I can help you with laundry, cooking, and sweeping!"

Actually, he was an orphan who was used to wandering and didn't know anything, but he felt that what he said must be true, because adults all liked hardworking and capable children.

Yun Guiyuan remained silent for a moment, looking at the pure longing and barely perceptible fear in the child's eyes, and finally said gently, "But I don't have many years left to live. If you come with me, you will still be alone in the future."

“But I can still walk with you for the next few years.” Xiao Ming looked up and said matter-of-factly, his eyes clear, not understanding what life and death were, only knowing the warmth and reliance he had at this moment.

Upon hearing this, Yun Guiyuan was stunned, then chuckled, a hint of relief in his smile. "Alright then. From now on, you will be my disciple."

Xiao Ming was overjoyed and followed his master closely like a little tail returning to the clouds. He was afraid that this hard-won warmth would disappear in the blink of an eye.

That night, the master built a small fire with dry branches. Xiao Ming saw him curled up beside the fire, covered with the master's outer robe, sleeping soundly and deeply. It was the first night in his memory that he was not hungry or cold.

When he woke up again, he found himself alone; the fire had long since died down, leaving only cold ashes.

My master has disappeared.

He was left all alone again.

Xiao Ming stood there, stunned.

He came out of the inn where he was staying and looked around blankly. Someone told him that they saw his master going up the mountain.

“Little brat, don’t go up there,” an elderly man with a pipe in his mouth advised. “With such heavy snow today, you’re too young to come back alive. You’d be better off staying at the foot of the mountain.”

Another person chimed in, “That’s right, this mountain is notoriously strange. Many people who died there had nowhere to be buried, so they were all left there. It’s very unlucky.”

Xiao Ming pursed his pale lips, said nothing, and silently walked towards the path leading up the mountain.

He wondered if he wasn't obedient enough, which was why his master didn't want him.

It's okay, it's okay.

Xiao Ming told himself that at worst, once he found his master, he could tell him that besides washing clothes, sweeping, and cooking, he could also catch rabbits and pheasants, so they wouldn't go hungry when they were out there.

If he were just a little more obedient and a little more useful, his master would definitely not abandon him.

Xiao Ming walked and walked, his small figure moving with difficulty in the vast snow.

The wind and snow grew stronger and stronger, almost swallowing him up, but he still couldn't see his master.

Occasionally, one or two ethereal blue butterflies would flutter around him, a truly beautiful sight.

Xiao Ming felt it was so cold that his hands and feet were numb.

He stumbled and trudged to the foot of a cliff, where indeed many corpses were piled up, just as the people below had said.

Fortunately, it was winter and the temperature was extremely low, so there was almost no smell of decay.

He hesitated for a long time in front of those stiff corpses, but finally chose one that looked relatively intact.

He knelt in the snow and respectfully kowtowed twice to the nameless corpse, whispering, "Senior, I'm sorry, I'm so cold... I'd like to borrow your clothes. When I have spirit stones in the future, I will definitely burn lots and lots of paper money for you to repay you."

Xiao Ming painstakingly stripped the relatively thick clothes off the cultivator's corpse and put them on himself. The large clothes almost covered his entire body, but they did make him much warmer.

He seemed to be lucky that day, as he even found a cool storage ring in the cultivator's arms.

There were very warm clothes and several bottles of pills in the storage ring.

After bowing twice more to the cultivator, Xiao Ming carefully placed the storage ring in his bosom.

He thought that once he found his master, he would give this to him as a gift before becoming his disciple. His master would surely be happy.

He also found a small lantern.

With the lantern and the spirit butterfly, Xiaoming felt no longer afraid, even when walking through a mass grave.

He searched for a very long time, but he couldn't find his master.

However, in a sheltered rocky hollow, he found a boy who was covered in dirt and almost half-buried in ice and snow.

The boy was still breathing, very weakly, his lips were frozen purple, and his face was as pale as snow.

Xiao Ming blinked, squatted down beside him, and was torn between two conflicting thoughts: should he save him or not? He was barely able to save himself; saving someone else would be too much trouble.

Da Mingjian is now a ghost. He squats on the ground, rests his chin on his hand, and looks at Xiao Mingjian and Xiao Bumian lying on the ground.

Seeing this, Da Ming was no longer worried that Xiao Bumian would die.

Although he was still puzzled as to why he met Xiao Bumian, who looked like a teenager, when he was eight years old, he remembered very clearly that he had indeed saved a bad-tempered boy in the snow when he was a child.

“You will save him,” Da Ming said confidently.

Sure enough, Xiao Ming carefully poked the unconscious Xiao Bumian on the ground with the dry twig he had picked up. Finally, as if he had made up his mind, he muttered to himself, "Alright, seeing how pitiful you are, I'll save you. You must repay me when you wake up!"

He had already begun to fantasize about Xiao Bumian being grateful to him after waking up, and it would be best if Xiao Bumian could do his laundry and cook for him. If he could also earn a lot of spirit stones for him to spend, that would be the best thing in the world.

Xiao Ming took out the pills from his storage ring, fumbled around and poured out a few pills that looked like healing and qi-replenishing pills, and clumsily stuffed them into Xiao Bumian's cold mouth.

Forget it, Master can just hunt a few more rabbits as a gift for becoming an apprentice.

Then, with all his might, he hoisted Xiao Bumian, who was much taller than him, onto his back. The weight almost crushed him, but he gritted his teeth and, step by step, laboriously moved down the mountain along the path he remembered from before.

The sky was dark, and the snow was still falling heavily, while pale blue butterflies danced in the air.

After taking the elixir, Xiao Bumian's body gradually regained a sense of warmth and vitality.

He lay on Xiaoming's thin, frail back, his consciousness fading as he weakly threatened, "When I get better... I will definitely... kill you..."

Seeing that it was just a ghost, Da Ming still couldn't help but pinch Xiao Bumian's cheek. "Little yandere, you really have a hard way with your words."

Xiao Ming, having overheard this ungrateful remark, was panting heavily. He pursed his lips and retorted irritably, "Why would you kill me? I saved you, so you have to earn spirit stones for me in the future! This is my way of repaying you!"

Xiao Bumian seemed to have heard a joke. He suddenly chuckled softly, then said viciously, "You saved me, so I'll kill you. It's fair."

His logic is simple yet twisted.

At this time, Xiao Bumian's temper was not so good, and he had a ruthless nature that disregarded the lives of others.

He lost his soul fire and was abandoned by his mother, thinking that dying quietly in the snow wouldn't be so bad. But then Yun Guiyuan inexplicably spared his life, and now this strange little brat fed him a pill, pulling him back from the brink of death.

Da Mingjian looked at Xiao Bumian on Xiao Mingjian's back, thought about Xiao Bumian in the previous two memory fragments, and felt that there seemed to be some differences.

If I had to say, the Xiao Bumian in the first two memory fragments was very much like Xiao Bumian, but the Xiao Bumian now is a bit different.

He floated behind the two of them, and then suddenly stopped.

It seems that Xiao Bumian in the first two memory fragments carried memories from the future!

In particular, his speaking habits were exactly the same as those of Xiao Bumian, whom he later met.

But the boy Xiao Bumian in the snow is clearly different. He is more direct, more violent, and more primal!

Da Ming almost tripped and fell in the snow.

So Xiao Bumian remembered the first two times; that useless system made a mistake again.

Mingjian was speechless for a moment.

He could only be thankful that he was just a cat back then; otherwise, it would have been quite frightening if he had entered Xiao Bumian's memories.

Therefore, the Xiao Bumian we see now is the real Xiao Bumian, the young man.

This realization inexplicably excited Mingjian. He circled around the young Xiao Bumian twice before finally drawing a conclusion.

Young Xiao Bumian is not yet very good at perfectly hiding his emotions.

For example, right now, with his long eyelashes drooping and his lips tightly pressed together, he exudes a low-pressure aura of "I'm not happy" and "Don't mess with me," clearly showing his extreme displeasure with his current situation and this meddlesome child.

Xiao Ming ignored him.

The two fell into an inexplicable silence, and Xiaoming saw that he had been carrying him for a long time.

Finally, before it got completely dark, they found a dilapidated mountain temple that could provide shelter from the wind and snow.

Xiao Ming, almost completely exhausted, put Xiao Bumian down and collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.

Xiao Bumian leaned against the cold wall, his face gloomy, staring intently at Xiao Mingjian with his beautiful but cold eyes.

He wondered if this child, like the others, had ulterior motives for saving him, and if his ultimate goal was to kill him.

But Xiaoming saw that he was just squatting in front of him, resting his chin on his hands, carefully examining him for a long time, and then suddenly blurted out: "You look just as good-looking as me."

Xiao Bumian: "..."

He seemed to have heard something utterly absurd, and with a sneer tugging at his injured lip, he declared ruthlessly, "You're incredibly stupid. Even an idiot deserves to be killed."

Da Ming was laughing uncontrollably.

He thought that when he woke up and returned to reality, he would definitely bite Xiao Bumian a few more times to get revenge and teach him a lesson for his sharp tongue!

Seeing that he had selectively blocked out the unfriendly comments, Xiaoming recalled what his master Yun Guiyuan had done the night before and began to collect dry branches and thatch in the dilapidated temple, clumsily trying to build a bonfire.

After fiddling around for a while, he finally managed to start a small but warm fire. Completely exhausted, he snuggled up to the warm fire and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Xiao Bumian originally planned to kill the child after he fell asleep. But looking at Xiao Mingjian's face, he ultimately turned his head away and refused to look at him again.

never mind.

Perhaps it was the weakness from excessive blood loss, or perhaps it was the long-lost warmth that was too hypnotic, but Xiao Bumian's tense nerves gradually relaxed, and he leaned against the wall and fell into a deep sleep.

Inside the dilapidated temple, a battered teenage boy and an exhausted eight-year-old child stood at a distance, bathed together in the flickering firelight.

The temple was quiet, with only the occasional crackling of firewood and the even breathing of the two people.

When Xiaoming woke up again, he found himself in a warm and familiar embrace.

The master smiled and said, "Why did you run so far?"

The moment Xiaoming saw his master, all the grievances, fears, and hardships he had endured during his search surged up. He pouted, and tears fell like beads from a broken string.

Like a puppy seeking comfort, she buried her face in her master's neck, sobbing, "Master... I thought you didn't want me anymore..."

The master gently patted his back, "It's alright, Master has found you."

After crying for a while, Xiao Ming finally remembered to introduce the boy he had saved the day before to his master. But when he turned around, he found that there was no one around him.

He blinked gently, and said to his master with some confusion, "It's gone."

The master patted his head and said, "If he's gone, he's gone."

Xiao Ming asked, "Master, do you know what I mean by 'disappeared'?"

The scenes from the two time periods began to gradually separate and blur.

Mingjian saw his master holding his eight-year-old self, turning around and walking step by step out of the dilapidated temple, his figure growing farther and farther away in the dim morning light.

A sudden, indescribable anxiety welled up inside him. He couldn't understand why his master couldn't see him floating to the side, nor could he see the young boy Xiao Bumian who was still lying in the corner and hadn't left.

He wanted to hold onto his master and tell him that he missed him terribly after he left.

He listened to his advice and lived a good life. He has now reached the Golden Core stage.

I want to ask my master if he is really not a good person, and if he has some kind of hardship.

But he couldn't even grab his master's sleeve.

He only heard his master's voice.

"I know," Master smiled, carrying Xiaoming out. He said, "This is Master's last karmic debt."

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Author's Note: There are still tens of thousands of words left to finish, it won't be over in just one or two chapters, there's still a lot to go! There's also a major plot point I haven't covered yet!

This "little black room" is just to add some spice to couples' lives. It's not about being super romantic, but we're already in the "little black room" phase right now (feeling guilty).

Then, since they all have bone chains, tentacle play and such are definitely included, so don't worry.

I've noticed that many readers misunderstood and thought I was going to finish the story soon, which scared me so much that I quickly deleted the author's note from the previous chapter (but it got locked, ugh, my sensitive skin is terrible).