Chapter 56 Hibiscus: "I bet you won't."
Hibiscus embroidery pattern...
Fu Yunyao pondered deeply.
Spirits or monsters?
No, that phantom looked exceptionally weak, as if it would be blown away by the wind at any moment. It didn't seem like a transformed spirit, but rather like—
A fragmented soul.
...
Inside the house, the petals of the hibiscus in the potted plants on the windowsill were bathed in moonlight.
The petals are delicate and beautiful, and dew still lingers among the flowers.
A hand gently caresses the flower.
A phantom slowly appeared in the moonlight.
He had arched eyebrows, and was obedient and docile.
"Mu Jin." Granny Qiu looked at the young man in front of her and sighed softly.
The boy called Mu Jin responded, and said with some grievance, "You haven't let me show up for the past few days, so I couldn't help but sneak out during the day."
He lowered his head and pressed his forehead against Granny Qiu's hand in a fawning manner.
Although I can't feel her temperature, that's enough.
Grandma Qiu sighed, her fingertips twitching slightly as she gently stroked the emptiness beneath her hand through the air.
"You don't have to stay with me all the time. I... don't have much time left."
Before she could finish speaking, the boy immediately retorted, "I don't care, I just want to stay by your side forever, don't even think about getting rid of me!"
Grandma Qiu said helplessly, "What are you doing following an old woman like me who's seventy or eighty years old?"
"In my eyes, you'll always be that beautiful and lively Qiu Tingshui at twenty. I followed you as soon as I took human form, and I'll always be with you from now on." The boy's voice lowered, sounding both aggrieved and nostalgic.
Granny Qiu, also known as Qiu Tingshui, paused for a moment, looked at the bright moon hanging high in the window, and spoke in a very soft voice.
"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be..."
"Ting Shui," the boy interrupted her, "is what I wanted to do."
"I'm willing to give everything for you."
I want to see you safe and happy.
"I hope that you will always have the power to choose."
"As long as you're safe and sound, that's enough, and..."
He chuckled softly. "Am I still here with you?"
Seeing his smiling face, Qiu Tingshui couldn't help but laugh. "Soon, you'll be free."
After she dies, he will no longer be bound to this place.
Mu Jin shook her head. "I am truly free when I am by your side."
He was enjoying the rare time he spent with her when he suddenly thought of the unexpected eye contact they had during the day.
He asked hesitantly, "Isn't the person you brought back a little strange?"
"What's so strange about a little girl?" Qiu Tingshui retorted.
"She seems to be able to see me."
Qiu Tingshui paused in her work of tidying up the wound medicine. She slowly raised her head and met Mu Jin's gaze.
"..."
"Knock, knock."
A sound came from outside the window.
Fu Yunyao looked up, and the red-clad phantom in front of her vanished, leaving only starlight falling on the hem of her dress.
A boy sat on the windowsill, and when he saw her gaze, he raised his eyebrows.
In a flash, Fu Yunyao withdrew her gaze. She leaned against the wall, tilting her head slightly upward, as if the boy was not even in the room.
Mu Jin: ...
"Hey! Give me a response!"
He was no longer as docile as he was in front of Qiu Tingshui; his eyes were filled with dissatisfaction and resentment at being ignored.
He didn't think the other person could see him.
Fu Yunyao sighed softly, finally turning her gaze back to him and speaking.
"A spirit or..."
She paused, reached out, and tapped the Rangchen sword at her waist. The sword swayed, and frost flowers fell, hovering beside her.
"A remnant soul?"
Upon receiving a response, Mu Jin gave a light snort, "That's none of your concern. I'm here to tell you not to do anything that could harm Ting Shui. I'll be keeping an eye on you!"
“Tingshui?” Fu Yunyao repeated, “It’s a very beautiful name.”
“Right!” Upon hearing the praise, Mu Jin immediately perked up. “I also think the name Tingshui is very nice. Qiu Tingshui means hills and green oasis, with Tingshui flowing around it.”
Fu Yunyao looked at him with a smile, but he suddenly realized something was wrong and coughed lightly, "Anyway, don't even think about hurting her."
But she praised Tingshui, so she can't be a bad person, right?
"I have no reason to harm her," Fu Yunyao replied helplessly, letting the Dust Restriction lurk within her body, restless and making her feel weary.
"That's hard to say," Mu Jin muttered. "That's what they're saying among themselves too."
Listening to his mutterings, Fu Yunyao added, "Don't say I have no grudge against her. Even if I did, she's nearing the end of her life, so why should I shed blood for her?"
As for the "them" he mentioned, she didn't care much.
Upon hearing her words, Mu Jin instantly bristled, "Who said she's nearing the end of her life? She'll definitely live to be a hundred!"
Fu Yunyao asked, "How can you ensure her long life? Relying on this wisp of remnant soul that could dissipate at any moment?"
He choked, unable to speak, and could only repeat himself.
"She will surely live to be a hundred years old..."
Fu Yunyao stroked the Rangchen Sword with her fingertips and spoke once more.
"If I'm not mistaken, she wouldn't have lived to this day. Now, her lifespan was bought with all of your cultivation, wasn't it?"
Mu Jin snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her warily. "How did you know? Are you also a member of the Qiu family?"
"The Qiu family?"
Fu Yunyao repeated, "She carries your aura. She is a spirit born from flowers and plants, gentle and kind in nature, and the only one who can use her own cultivation to help mortals and change their lifespan."
Mu Jin lowered her guard a little. "Just don't do anything to harm Ting Shui."
Fu Yunyao gazed at the moonlight behind him. The restrictions continued to erode her flesh and blood, but she had already gotten used to it.
But suddenly I feel a little tired.
"Why don't you tell me about the Qiu family? Perhaps one day I'll meet them and be able to avenge you."
Mu Jin gave her a strange look. "Aren't you cultivators most averse to cause and effect and reincarnation?"
Fu Yunyao replied, "I am not a cultivator."
no?
Mu Jin had doubts about this, however, regarding the Qiu family...
"What's there to say about them? They're just bad luck. They just tried to control Tingshui's life, and then Tingshui escaped. I met her later, and she told me all this."
Fu Yunyao asked, puzzled, "Then what about her lifespan?"
Speaking of this, Mu Jin felt angry. "It's all the fault of those Qiu family members. They have a hereditary disease! It caused Ting Shui to die of illness before she was even thirty. I had no choice but to transfer my cultivation to her. But at that time, I was just a little flower fairy who had only been in human form for ten years."
Fortunately, I managed to retain a wisp of my soul so I could stay with her.
"To save someone, you caused your own soul to be scattered? Don't you really regret it?"
"Regret?" Mu Jin was puzzled by her question. "Why would I regret it?"
Fu Yunyao thought for a moment and asked, "What if she forgets you, or what if she ends up with someone else? What will you do then?"
“She will never forget me.” Mu Jin smiled and said, “Besides, if she is happy, it doesn’t matter if she really forgets me. All I wanted was for her to live a peaceful and stable life, and that’s enough.”
What a strange feeling.
Fu Yunyao lowered her eyes, making her own assessment in her heart.
"Don't just talk about me." With the crisis averted, Mu Jin finally had the leisure to express her curiosity. "I just saw that red-clad phantom in front of you. Is he also someone important to you?"
"A very important person?" Fu Yunyao murmured, then chuckled after a moment, "I suppose so."
He asked cautiously, afraid of touching on the other person's painful past, "Is he... still alive?"
Fu Yunyao raised her eyes, the smile still lingering in them.
She said.
"I will kill him with my own hands."
The Dust Sword gently swayed its blade in response to her.
Mu Jin was stunned. Under the moonlight, he suddenly chuckled softly.
Want to make a bet?
"What are we betting on?" she asked.
"Let's bet, will you really kill him?" Mu Jin raised her eyebrows, her voice firm. "I bet you won't."
...
Life in Koike Castle was quiet and peaceful.
As the dust-binding barrier returned to calm, the intricate and terrifying patterns on Fu Yunyao's body gradually faded away.
Mu Jin sat on one side of Qiu Tingshui, looking at the person sitting by the window, and couldn't help but marvel.
"How could such a perfectly healthy girl have contracted such a strange illness?"
He still believes that the strange markings on Fu Yunyao's body are because she is sick.
Upon hearing his words, Fu Yunyao slightly lowered her brows.
The flowers and plants are indeed pure and kind, but also... a bit silly.
Qiu Tingshui reached out and touched his hair from a slight distance, as if gently stroking him.
"Grandma Qiu—"
A sound came from outside the courtyard. Qiu Tingshui looked up and saw a man from Xiaochi City leading a strange young man over.
Mu Jin, taking advantage of the fact that no one else could see him, continued to sit beside Qiu Tingshui. He followed her gaze and paused when his eyes fell on the boy behind him.
He murmured, "He looks just like you."
Qiu Tingshui was also stunned. She slowly stood up and asked, "Who are you?"
The boy looked at her, his eyes reddening.
Mu Jin: ?
He was furious, "What is this kid doing!"
The next moment, the boy knelt down in front of Qiu Tingshui.
This sudden action startled Qiu Tingshui. She tried to help him up, but then she heard the boy's voice, which sounded like he was crying.
"Great-aunt, I've finally found you!"
Qiu Tingshui paused in her support, and asked again, "Who are you?"
"Grandmother Qiu Huaishui".
"Sister? Sister?" she murmured in disbelief. "She's been looking for me?"
The boy reached into his sleeve, pulled out a letter, and handed it to the boy with both hands.
“Grandmother has been looking for you. If you don’t mind, you can come back with your grand-nephew. I will take care of you and ensure your well-being in your old age.”
Qiu Tingshui looked at the letter in his hand. If it were her younger self, she would never have accepted this letter.
However, it turns out that so many years have passed since she left home, so long that she can no longer remember what she looks like.
She reached out and took the letter from the boy's hand, speaking with some complicated feelings.
"Go back, I'm fine here. Also, please tell her for me that she doesn't need to worry."
The boy did not get up; he knelt on the ground, his fine clothes covered in mud.
"My grandmother passed away many years ago, and her only wish was to find you."
"Last wish?" Qiu Tingshui murmured. "So, she's gone too."
All the resentment, hatred, and misunderstanding seemed to disappear with her passing.
"Go back now."
She spoke again, then slowly walked back into the room.
Fu Yunyao gazed at her hunched back, which seemed to have suddenly lost its life, before her gaze returned to the boy kneeling in the courtyard.
She was somewhat puzzled.
Can the news of one person's death really extinguish all of another's spirit in an instant?
-----------------------
Author's Note: Let Liao Liao experience human emotions~
(I really love this kind of setting where someone is willing to give up everything for their lover when I'm writing and reading!)
But in reality, you must love yourself first before loving others!
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