Discipleship
"If I'm not mistaken, you are the master of this dream."
After these words were spoken, everyone around fell silent.
Mingruo suddenly looked up and stared straight at Wenya: "How did you find out?" As soon as he finished speaking, his facial features changed.
One moment he was a baby, the next he was a bright-eyed, white-toothed young man, and finally his face was that of a young man, even older than the Ming Ruo that Wen Ya and the others had seen when they were about to kill the muntjac to nourish Shi Ling's body.
His long hair was held up with a wooden hairpin, and he wore a moon-white robe. He was tall and elegant, with a face as beautiful as jade and a refined and aloof demeanor.
Wen Ya still had the mood to think, "No wonder they're master and disciple, they're quite alike."
She slightly raised her chin and answered his question: "The entire dream is filled with the memories of the dream's owner, and the time span of those memories is quite large. However, your master in the dream hardly changes at all. Even if Mr. Shi Ling takes good care of himself and doesn't look his age, he still has changed quite a bit. But you keep growing up, and the dream almost covers your appearance before adulthood. This shows that in the dream's owner's mind, she has a very clear understanding of herself, but her impression of Mr. Shi Ling will always remain the same."
Mingruo's expression shifted slightly, revealing a hint of nostalgia. He chuckled softly, "I never expected that someone as cold and aloof as you could be so meticulous. The Celestial Master profession has a worthy successor."
Wen Ya didn't care about his praise. She simply voiced her question: "You are a celestial master and a magic artifact maker, so why did you become an evil spirit and hide in the Resurrection Lamp?"
Upon hearing this, Mingruo's eyes became unfocused, as if he were lost in memories. He said softly, "I used to think that as a Celestial Master, I should be able to see things more clearly and not have any obsessions. But I never expected that I would end up becoming an evil spirit."
Mingruo was born during a time of war.
In times of national turmoil, it is the common people who suffer the most. They live in constant fear of their homes being destroyed, while also enduring famine. Mingruo was fed by his mother with the blood from her own fingertips until he was one year old. Later, enemy troops invaded the border, the village was destroyed, and almost everyone in the village perished. Mingruo survived, sheltered in his mother's arms.
Shi Ling found him in a pile of dead bodies.
Just as Shi Ling said in the dream, it is really difficult for a young single man to raise a child.
Shi Ling was the youngest in his sect, and his fellow disciples all vied to take care of him. He had never washed a single piece of clothing since childhood. After completing his apprenticeship, he descended the mountain and entered the world, behaving like a reclusive master. He was highly skilled and arrogant, and no evil spirit could escape his grasp. However, no one expected that he would ultimately be defeated by a little child.
The Celestial Master deals with the dead and evil spirits every day. Although Shi Ling appears to be a gentle and refined gentleman, he is never soft-hearted and is ruthless when dealing with evil spirits. But he never imagined that a baby in swaddling clothes could be so vulnerable.
But since they've already taken him in, they have to treat him well. Shi Ling truly raised Ming Ruo single-handedly; the two of them depended on each other for survival in this chaotic world.
“My master was so good to me… When I was little, he would try his best to satisfy my every whim. Even though I was greedy and clingy, and every time I saw other children eating something, I would clamor for it. My master would smile helplessly and pat my head, saying, ‘What am I going to do with you?’ But as soon as he turned around, he would buy it for me. Such a noble and upright person like him, it was all because of me who dragged him down.”
The young Celestial Master, the pride of his sect, willingly retreated to the deep mountains to raise his child. When Mingruo grew a little older, Shiling began to pass on all his knowledge to him.
Just as Wen Ya and Si Mucheng saw in their dream, those things really happened; they were Ming Ruo's memories of living with Shi Ling. Warm and beautiful.
Mingruo once thought that if she could continue living like this with her master, it wouldn't be so boring.
Even this small request was not granted by fate.
"Just like the last day you saw, Master did not eat the muntjac, but he fell ill. At first, it was thought to be a cold, but later he became seriously ill and could not get out of bed."
For a period of time, Mingruo often went down the mountain to inquire where there were doctors. He visited many famous doctors, but every doctor gave the same answer—his days were numbered.
Mingruo couldn't understand how a perfectly healthy person could suddenly have so little time left.
He took Shi Lingqiu to his master's sect, but the Celestial Master sect had plenty of magical artifacts and talismans, but no elixirs or miraculous medicines. They only had the ability to catch ghosts, but no skilled doctors.
Even Shi Ling's master and fellow disciples were extremely anxious about her serious illness, but they were all helpless and could only watch as Shi Ling grew weaker.
Shi Ling, however, seemed to see things more clearly. He leaned against the headboard, the window of the room facing his bed, a mountain breeze blowing in and gently ruffling his hair. This was the room he had lived in since childhood. He smiled and said, "At least I've returned here in my lifetime, at least my master is in good health, at least I haven't lived in vain." He looked at Ming Ruo, his smile widening, "Ming Ruo, the thing I'm most proud of is raising you."
His face was pale, and he had become skin and bones. He laughed for a moment, then choked and coughed violently, as if he were about to cough up his lungs.
Upon hearing his words, Mingruo's eyes instantly welled up with tears. He said, "Master, I will definitely find a way."
Shi Ling shook her head: "Mingruo, the most taboo thing for a Celestial Master is attachment. Life and death are predestined; this is the last lesson I can teach you."
Ke Mingruo refused to accept his fate.
Later, Mingruo saw the concept of "resurrection through a corpse" in a handwritten note written by an elder in his sect.
The article discusses using formations to aid in sacrificing a body to summon a soul, and using spirit-binding talismans to seal the ghost into a corpse. However, corpses cannot survive in the world for long; these are all short-term resurrections. Some misguided individuals, in their pursuit of resurrection, continue killing to obtain fresh corpses. Therefore, this is an evil practice.
But Mingruo thought that if he could use an array to summon a spirit, separate it from its physical body, and then use a magical artifact as a medium to bring the ghost back to life, he wouldn't need a corpse. How could that not be considered a resurrection?
They couldn't find a way to keep Shi Huo alive. If fate had destined him to die young, then Mingruo would defy destiny and bring his soul back to life.
So, Mingruo began to make the Soul-Returning Lamp.
He secluded himself for forty-nine days. During that time, his junior uncle, who brought him meals, would occasionally bring him news of the spirit.
Junior Uncle said that Shi Ling looked for Ming Ruo and asked the others where he had gone. When she learned that he was in seclusion, she was a little disappointed and said, "Why is he in seclusion at this time..."
Mingruo knew that Shiling wanted him to spend more time with him.
But he had to hurry. He thought that if he could make the Soul-Returning Lamp, he could stay with his master for another lifetime.
Junior Uncle added that as the weather turned colder, Shi Ling's illness had worsened; she had a persistent high fever and, in her delirium, kept calling out Ming Ruo's name. Junior Uncle asked Ming Ruo, "When will you emerge from seclusion? I'm afraid..."
Mingruo understood what his junior uncle was afraid of: he was afraid that Shiling would not be able to wait for him.
When Mingruo encountered a bottleneck period, he almost went crazy, refusing to eat, drink, or sleep.
Junior Uncle knew best about his changes, but no one knew what Mingruo was doing. Junior Uncle asked in confusion, "What exactly are you doing? Are you trying to extend Shiling's life?"
Ming Ruo's eyes were bloodshot, and he remained silent.
What is the regret? It's that Mingruo really made the Soul-Returning Lamp, but on the very day the Soul-Returning Lamp was unveiled, Shiling finally couldn't hold on and died of illness.
"So you successfully resurrected Ancestor Shi Ling?" Wen Tianyan suddenly asked, his tone somewhat urgent.
Everyone was engrossed in Mingruo's story when they were suddenly interrupted, leaving them somewhat bewildered. Si Mucheng, Wen Ya, and Wen Yongjie all looked at Wen Tianyan, and of course, so did Mingruo. However, his gaze held a hint of inquiry. He said thoughtfully, "You're very interested in the Soul-Returning Lamp? So, it was you who activated the Soul-Returning Lamp and released me? You have someone you want to bring back to life." Finally, Mingruo spoke with certainty and laughed.
"Indeed, everyone in the world has things they 'have to do,' and resurrecting the dead to prolong life is nothing more than human nature. Master, you are wrong."
Wen Ya was slightly taken aback. Was her grandfather doing all this to bring someone back to life? Who? Her parents? But they had been dead for a long time, and her grandfather had never revealed that he missed them.
However, she didn't have time to think it through, because Mingruo's laughter made her instinctively feel danger.
As his laughter grew louder, a wind began to blow around him.
"Master! You're wrong!"
What started as a gentle breeze quickly morphed into a whirlwind. The gale was fierce, and the group nearly lost their footing. Si Mucheng struggled to move closer to Wen Ya. He heard a sound of something being blown by and, with a forced glance forward, saw a round object hurtling towards them. Si Mucheng caught it with lightning speed, realizing it was Wen Xiaofeng, who had been blown away by the wind. He held Wen Xiaofeng protectively in his arms, then took two more steps against the wind and grabbed Wen Ya's hand.
On the other side, Wen Tianyan and Wen Yongjie also came over, supporting each other, and the four people and the chicken finally reunited.
"What do we do now?!" Si Mucheng asked loudly.
Wen Tianyan pursed his lips, took out a ring-shaped object from his pocket, made a hand seal, and activated the ring. The ring suddenly flew into the air, enlarged, and surrounded them. Si Mucheng suddenly felt the wind stop. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the ring had separated them from the outside. The strong wind was still there, but the ring had created a relatively safe space for them.
Seeing Si Mucheng curiously examining the ring, Wen Tianyan took the initiative to introduce it: "This is a defensive ring, used for defense, but..." He didn't finish his sentence. In this world where spiritual energy is depleted, the magical artifacts that have been passed down can only do this much; they are practically just lucky charms now.
The wind howled outside. Si Mucheng looked at Mingruo, who seemed to be going crazy in the wind, and asked in confusion, "What... what's wrong with him? He was fine just now."
Wen Ya frowned: "He is an evil spirit. No matter how upright and capable he was in life, he has now become a demon because of his obsession. He is very dangerous..." Before she could finish speaking, Ming Ruo suddenly jumped up.
"No one can stop me!"
Thick, dark resentment emanated from him. His long hair was disheveled. He stared at the four people. Suddenly, the resentment formed a misty sword and rushed straight at them!
"Go to hell!"
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