Chapter 105 Even without reincarnation, you are my moon.
"Baked flatbread—baked flatbread for sale—"
It was midday, and although autumn had arrived, the sun in Yingzhou still retained its heat, with waves of heat surging all around. A peddler pulled a cart and called out, with food boxes on it covered with white cloth.
She found a shady spot under the trees, untied the stool from her back, sat down, and slowly began to drink water. Just then, the school closed for the day, and several boys ran over, offering her coins to buy baked flatbread.
The woman cheerfully unveiled the white cloth and handed them the cakes from the food box.
When the last person arrived, what appeared before them was no longer copper coins, but broken silver; and their hands were no longer the childish hands of a young man, but large hands covered with thick calluses and scars.
The man was dressed in white, with broad shoulders and a tall stature. He wore a white jade mask, revealing only a pair of serene eyes. The woman looked at him and couldn't help but utter "Immortal Master," then, remembering that immortals didn't need to eat, she instinctively pushed away the outstretched hand.
“I can make a living on my own, please don’t treat me like a pitiful person and give me alms.”
The white-robed youth with the appearance of an immortal was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said, "Auntie, I've come to buy some cakes."
As she spoke, she carefully examined the food box. "One of each: sesame seeds, white sugar, and red beans."
Perhaps he was a refined and aloof wanderer? The woman didn't ask any more questions, quickly wrapped the cake and handed it to him. The young man, carrying the oiled paper, slowly walked towards a clinic.
As soon as she stepped through the door, two children tugged at her sleeves. Just as she was about to hand them the cakes, one of them suddenly asked, "Master, which cake is the most delicious?"
Si Liuhua lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, and then replied, "I think it's red bean paste."
Because the person I remember loved red bean paste pastries the most, like cakes shaped like little animals, shortbread, or glutinous rice cakes. They would always choose the ones filled with red bean paste and leave the sesame-filled ones aside. They were especially picky during their growth spurt, so I had to put a lot of effort into preparing their meals.
Long ago, that person was just as tall as these children before her. Skipping over the vague numbers, she possessed a photographic memory, able to list every smile and frown of the boy in her mind as if they were precious treasures—or perhaps, the boy himself was her only and most cherished existence.
There cannot be two moons in the sky, and her name is merely the light cast by the moon. Therefore, the boy named "Changxi" is the only unparalleled bright moon in the world.
So the steaming hot cakes were divided up, and the two children ran to the inner room with the red bean filling cakes, wanting to give the best ones to their mother.
Si Liuhua found a chair, sat down, folded her hands on her knees, and closed her eyes. She had arrived in the morning, but unfortunately, it was a busy time. The doctors at the clinic had just finished work and were resting, so she would have to wait until the afternoon.
The golden light, though softer as it passed through the window, gently fell and covered the young man's white clothes.
Long ago, on afternoons like this, she wasn't alone. A child would come up to her, observe her for a while with his bright, golden eyes, and then gently call out "Sister." When Si Liuhua didn't respond, he would confirm that she was really asleep and then sneak up behind her to braid her long hair.
Due to her special bloodline, the boy retained some animalistic habits, and couldn't help biting things when she was losing her baby teeth. Si Liuhua would therefore dry some chewable, tasteless herbs and make snacks for her.
After her hair was braided, Si Liuhua wouldn't wake up for a while, which made the boy secretly smile. Those were truly good days; if she could really sleep peacefully, she would probably smile helplessly from the bottom of her heart.
But ever since she emerged from that blood-soaked night, she has never been able to fall asleep again.
Turning his thoughts away, the young man sighed softly, opened his eyes, and brushed aside the tangled memories.
Thinking about the past lately is not a good thing. Si Changxi no longer calls her "elder sister," and Si Liuhua will no longer get close to her.
As long as she is safe and sound, that's all that matters. As for my own fate, it's the same as the fate of those dead cultivators—just an insignificant link in an inevitable goal.
The soft sound of the door being pushed open reached her ears. Si Liuhua looked up and saw that it was the doctor who came out, so she got up to talk to her.
-
While taking inventory, they discovered that the magical artifacts had already been delivered. One was a completely black banner, seemingly capable of creating a maze. The other was a jade bracelet, unremarkable on the surface, but actually used to purify the mind and suppress demonic energy.
Qiao Yan knew perfectly well that the latter must have been chosen for her by Yan Xueya. Besides stabilizing her Dao heart, it might also suppress the process of her already begun demonic fall. However, she felt that this process was also very peculiar, seemingly entirely controlled by her mind, and did not cause much impact. She was not like the demons of the rumored race who would develop a desire to eat people and drink blood, or take pleasure in the misfortune of others.
This special reason must be related to Luo Yang. After all, if Luo Chuan is the source of all demons, then as the lord of Luo Chuan, she must also have a place among the demons.
But for some reason, it has been completely forgotten by the world. Something must have happened in Luochuan.
She touched the jade bracelet, thinking that she probably understood now, and her mind calmed down.
If his junior sister were a bird, then what he loved most was not her bound wings, but her original free and unrestrained nature. At the same time, Qiao Yanshen would not lose his right to fly in the sky by trying to restrain her.
She no longer needed to protect herself, but they didn't separate because of this; instead, they became even closer. Thinking this way, whatever she faced in the future, as long as she was with Shen Lixia and her friends and teachers in the sect, she wouldn't feel the intense, almost fearful unease.
—Let's wait for the flowers to bloom.
The wreath has been carefully preserved in the mustard seed space, where spiritual energy flows to maintain its color and prevent it from fading.
Feeling sleepy, Shen Lixia naturally couldn't see through her senior sister's thoughts. After packing her things, she seemed to remember something and glanced at the small sparrow wood carving that was still wearing a flower wreath.
"When we meet again, I'm going to give this person a piece of my mind and then give the prayer beads back to her," she muttered. "I hate people who play the self-sacrifice card... I hate them the most."
Qiao Yanshen touched his still slightly messy hair, pressing down the stray hairs, and laughed, "Alright, you really were thinking about what to say about her in your dreams last night."
Although they no longer sleep together, she happened to wake up last night and heard noises coming from Shen Lixia's room. Thinking she was having a nightmare, she went in worriedly and found her junior sister sleeping soundly, muttering through gritted teeth—
"Senior Sister, look at her..."
This "she" can only be Simmons.
The boy blushed, realizing he had been talking in his sleep, and awkwardly packed his belongings into his storage bag. As soon as they stepped out of the house, they saw a dazzling beam of light, like an arrow, pierce the sky, seemingly heading towards the library. A deep, resonant dragon's roar faintly echoed, vibrating not their eardrums, but their very sea of consciousness.
But the other creatures seemed not to hear the dragon's roar at all; all around remained completely silent, even the birds were asleep.
"What are they doing?" Shen Lixia stood on tiptoe, squinting her eyes, but still couldn't see anything clearly.
Qiao Yanshen shook his head. "If it's at the very top, I remember it's a forbidden area called 'Sixingtai,' which is protected by a barrier and can only be entered with the sect leader's permission."
Even possessing a token is not enough; Si Changxi himself must be present to activate it.
"So someone's using it? Wow, has something big happened in the sect lately...?" Shen Lixia blinked. "Never mind, it's not something we junior disciples can concern ourselves with."
She summoned the Blazing Fire and leaped onto the sword. "Let's go, Senior Sister!"
They were well-prepared this time, especially in terms of communication—Si Changxi specially assigned two messengers to accompany them, who could be summoned with just a specific voice, no matter where they were. Tang Huairou, Lin Yuxian, and the others left a location for receiving letters, instructing the two to mention any interesting things that happened in their letters.
Lin Yuqian, in particular, seemed to be especially concerned about missing out on this matter, and even emphasized, "You can write to me even if there's nothing wrong!"
There were no written tasks assigned to the plague-stricken village, so the two accepted a trivial commission located in Yingzhou, intending to do it after the strange plague was resolved. Taihui originally had a barrier to identify demons, but those dead boys were able to return to their sects with this demonic energy, presumably because the demonic energy itself was special and could even evade advanced demon-detection arrays.
After hearing the details she mentioned, Qiao Yanshen paid close attention to the word "master" that the man used.
While riding her sword, she used her divine sense to ask the demon, who was now huddled in her sea of consciousness, "Are you ready? I think it would be better if you transformed into human form and followed me."
Chi said in a muffled voice, "Although I understand that you are afraid that I will not die a miserable death, is it a bit too much to make me show myself in front of the divine fire?"
"Speaking of which, I'm very curious," Qiao Yanshen said, changing the subject when he saw that she was still unwilling to come out, "where do demons go after they truly die?"
Chi said, "I don't remember very clearly, but it's related to Luochuan. Our cycle of life and death is closely connected to Luochuan, but if Luochuan collapses, we will probably disappear into the world, and if we're unlucky, we'll become mindless wandering ghosts. Demons don't have 'souls' like you humans, so everything that happens to us is irreversible."
Qiao Yanshen's heart tightened. "What about the demonic cultivators?"
"Humans who have fallen to demonic possession?" Chi pondered for a moment. "Once a cultivator falls to demonic possession, they cannot be reincarnated. Once they die, they are gone forever, and such a person will never exist in the world again."
She suddenly chuckled, "But that doesn't really matter. Demons have no emotions, and those who fall into demonhood are no different... They are all hollow beings. From the moment they become demon cultivators, only their obsessions keep them moving. Don't you think it's actually lucky for such people to die?"
"...It seems I haven't reached that absurd point yet." Qiao Yanshen sighed, letting the howling wind engulf her. She glanced at Shen Lixia with worry, unconsciously clenching her hands.
The conversation ended in silence. Time was of the essence, and they didn't find an inn to rest until evening. After a day's journey, they should arrive in Yingzhou by tomorrow afternoon, but they didn't know if they could find out any news about the villages and locate their exact positions quickly.
Halfway through, Chi seemed to have a change of heart and said she was willing to come out; a little while later, she cursed herself for being stupid, even though she didn't even have a head in her current form. When Qiao Yanshen calmly asked her in a tone that sounded like "take it or leave it," Chi reluctantly replied with an "okay."
Before knocking on Shen Lixia's door, Qiao Yanshen reassured her, "I won't let her kill you."
“I have done so many evil things and harmed countless people.” Chi was disgusted by her unwarranted kindness, and his voice became sarcastic. “Do you think I will make it up to you? To me, everything in this world deserves to die.”
This was the only thought etched into her dazed mind when she first woke up and opened her eyes.
"Of course you should compensate me, but that's not my most important goal," Qiao Yanshen said softly. "Perhaps you can stay a little longer and talk about death later. If your destiny is Luochuan, then at least wait until we can let Luochuan once again control life and death, and until the demon race can enter the cycle of reincarnation before we talk about it."
These words seemed to touch upon a fragmented memory within Chi, leaving her silent for a long, long time, until Qiao Yanshen asked her again if she was truly ready, at which point she finally spoke with a bitter smile:
"No, we can't go back. Luochuan... or whatever, we can't go back. Never mind, never mind, I'll help you."
Just now, in her hazy consciousness, three inseparable figures flashed by.
But she couldn't remember anything.
-----------------------
Author's note: I've drawn some trivial stories about a master raising kittens on Weibo, you can check them out!
It feels a bit strange to be back to the main storyline, haha (what am I saying?)
I'm slowly revising the wording in the earlier chapters! About 5-10 chapters a day TVT
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com