52. Nagatomo (the tenth one)
◎ "I wouldn't like it"? That's absurd.
Upon hearing this, Shui Rong'er's playful expression vanished, and she frowned slightly: "That's something that damages one's very foundation. At best, it will damage one's cultivation; at worst... it will leave cracks in one's soul, making one prone to developing inner demons in the future."
“Severing the soul is not like cutting vegetables; it cannot be severed so easily.”
Her eyes widened suddenly. "Could it be you..."
Ran Qinghe didn't answer, but his heart inexplicably grew heavier. Just to eliminate a potential "grudge," he was willing to harm himself.
She really didn't want to get too involved with him, but for some reason, the further she went, the deeper their bond became.
Seeing her silence, Shui Rong'er seemed to have figured something out and said, "What he does is his business, what does it have to do with you?"
"Whether he wants to sacrifice himself or disregard everything, it's just his own wishful thinking. Why should you feel guilty about it?"
Her words seemed to be addressed to Ran Qinghe, but also to herself.
"What I hate most is other people's wishful thinking."
"I understand," she replied softly, her gaze drifting through the carved wooden window to the distant tower, which was faintly visible in the twilight.
She was indeed different from Shui Rong'er; she could never accept others' kindness or help with a clear conscience.
If someone is kind to her, she will repay them tenfold, drawing clear and clean lines between them.
"I'm going out for a walk, you go to sleep first." She left these words behind and turned to go out the door.
"Where are you going so late?"
"I was just feeling down, so I took a walk," Ran Qinghe said without making it clear. With a flash, she quietly disappeared into the deepening night.
She wandered aimlessly, her steps unconsciously leading her in the same direction as Lou Tinglan's residence. She knew she shouldn't investigate further, but curiosity clung to her like vines, suffocating her.
The sect was much quieter under the cover of night than during the day, with only the occasional footsteps of patrolling disciples and the faint chirping of insects in the distance.
She concealed her presence, not because she wanted to see Lou Tinglan, but simply... to check if he was alright.
The thought popped into her head and startled her. When did she start caring about him so much?
Just as she was slightly distracted, a white figure suddenly darted out from the shadows, poised to pounce on her. Ran Qinghe was about to strike with her whip when she caught a fluffy little ball in her arms.
Upon closer inspection, she recognized it as Hua Jin's contracted spirit beast, Meow Meow. It was drawn to her spiritual energy, and could track her down from anywhere within a mile, as if it had placed a tracking talisman on her.
A figure then appeared behind her; it was Hua Jin.
Ran Qinghe turned around, but before she could speak, he had already walked up to her. His fingertips brushed naturally through her hair, plucking a green leaf.
"Qinghe, where are you going?" Hua Jin smiled, twirling a leaf between his fingers. "The night is deep and the dew is heavy; even fallen leaves are falling on people."
His movements were so quick and so natural that Ran Qinghe didn't even have time to turn her head away. The distance was a bit too close; she could even smell the faint scent of grass and trees on him, mixed with the warm, fluffy smell of the fur ball.
She was about to take a step back when she suddenly sensed something and looked up sharply. Not far away, under the moon gate, Lou Tinglan was standing there.
The night was hazy, and his face was not clearly visible. Only his figure stood like a lone bamboo, his gaze fixed between her and Hua Jin. Hua Jin's hand, which had not yet fully withdrawn, happened to fall on her face, which was slightly upturned due to being caught off guard.
Lou Tinglan said nothing, only stared at her silently for a moment, his eyes as deep as an icy pool. Ran Qinghe subconsciously wanted to call out to him, but in the end, she only watched his figure disappear into the doorway in silence.
Hua Jin seemed oblivious, still smiling as he teased the kitten in her arms: "Qing He seems so restless, where do you want to go to clear your mind? Why don't I accompany you?"
"No need." She shoved the cat back into his arms, her tone still indifferent. "I'll just walk around by myself."
She stopped looking at Hua Jin and turned to walk in the opposite direction from Lou Tinglan's residence, her steps much faster than when she came. She couldn't understand herself; she clearly wanted to see if he was alright, but when she actually saw him, she treated him coldly.
She knew Lou Tinglan might have misunderstood something, but this misunderstanding was exactly what she wanted; she was just very troubled.
Driven by this turmoil, she found herself unconsciously standing before the Tower of Babel, the prison. Amidst the swirling night mist, the pale moonlight illuminated the tower, making it appear even more solemn and majestic than during the day.
Lou Tinglan's hesitation, Shui Rong'er's words, and so on all intertwined, forming an inexplicable impulse.
She wanted to know what was hidden in the place that Lou Tinglan was willing to visit time and time again, even at the cost of being haunted by resentment.
The Tower of Babel was practically untouched to her. She concealed her aura, avoided the outer restrictions, and slipped silently into the tower like a ghost.
The inside and outside of the tower seemed like two different worlds. The inside of the tower was perpetually shrouded in a chilling, bone-chilling air and a resentment so thick it was almost tangible.
The air was thick with old dust and a musty smell. She moved carefully through the dimly lit corridor, her footsteps echoing in the empty tower.
From the shadows, another dark figure lunged at her, but she skillfully dodged it, saying, "Alright, Stone, I didn't come here to play with you guys."
The vengeful spirit that rushed towards them was Stone. Although Ran Qinghe couldn't see its expression clearly, she could roughly sense that it seemed to be aggrieved.
Little Flower, standing nearby, shoved it away with obvious disdain. "Hehe, are you here to see that male cultivator again?"
It said, "But that male cultivator came during the day and then left."
She concealed the anxiety on her face and slowly asked, "Do you know what he did down there, and how he left?"
Xiao Hua recalled earnestly, "As for what we did, we really don't know. After all, we are separated from the vengeful spirits in the Nascent Soul Realm by a restriction, and we have never interacted with each other."
"But when he left, it looked like he had just fought with the vengeful spirits below. The spiritual energy and resentment were mixed together, but we didn't notice anything more."
Stone protested, "That male cultivator is not easy to deal with. Once, I only got a little closer and he almost beat me to a pulp. I dare not look at him again after that."
Ran Qinghe knew that when Shi Tou said he got a little closer, he probably meant not a little, but rather that he pounced on him.
However, the focus of the issue right now is not that, but rather the other time that Stone mentioned.
She immediately realized: "So, he's been to the Nascent Soul Realm Tower Prison many times, right?"
Shi Tou said, "Of course. After that, I avoided him from a distance every time I saw him. I don't know how many times I've done that."
Ran Qinghe's expression grew increasingly solemn. She was utterly perplexed as to what could possibly warrant such repeated risks from him.
She looked at Stone and Little Flower again and said very solemnly, "I need your help this time, is that alright?"
Stone generously replied, "Of course, there's no question of helping or not helping between us. Your business is my business."
Xiaohua, however, looked hesitant and worried, saying, "Hehe, you're not going to risk going to the Nascent Soul Realm Tower Prison again like last time, are you?"
It earnestly advised, "Although you are now at the Nascent Soul stage, you are only at the early stage. What if something happens to you..."
Ran Qinghe interrupted, "No, you know my abilities. At most, I can only digest the resentment. It won't have any effect on me."
"I know that what I'm about to say may be a bit shocking, but please believe me, I have absolutely no other intentions. Although I already know the exact location of the Tower Prison's restrictions, if I forcibly break through the restrictions like last time, it will inevitably cause unnecessary trouble."
She stared intently and said firmly, "Therefore, I would like to ask you to possess me."
Upon hearing this, the two vengeful spirits jumped up and down, refusing, "No, no, no! Do you know how tempting this is for us? What if we cling to your body and refuse to leave? What will you do then?"
As is well known, vengeful spirits have no physical form, but they can temporarily possess a physical form by possessing a cultivator, and can even use this to control the cultivator.
However, the stronger a cultivator's soul is, the less likely they are to be possessed by vengeful spirits. Therefore, it is extremely rare for vengeful spirits to possess cultivators.
Ran Qinghe replied lightly, "It's alright, I trust you."
"I suspect that the restrictions in the Tower Prison can only restrict cultivators, not vengeful spirits, which is why they resorted to this desperate measure."
Xiao Hua looked enlightened: "Hehe, did you do this because you like that cultivator?" The vengeful spirits were also cultivators in their previous lives, so they naturally knew about the seven emotions and six desires of cultivators, such as love, hate, greed, and anger.
If it's for love, no matter what you do, it won't seem strange.
But Ran Qinghe denied it, saying, "No... I don't like it. It's just out of friendship as fellow disciples."
Xiao Hua didn't understand, but she did as she was told.
It used its resentment to completely entangle her mind, and then with a whoosh, it entered her dantian.
"How is it? How is it?" the stone asked excitedly, it hadn't felt like it had a physical form in a long time.
Little Flower was trying its best to adapt to its new body, and Ran Qinghe's emotions were also transmitted to it.
Therefore, it replied, "I don't feel good at all," not only because it can't float around freely like a vengeful spirit, but also because "I feel a dull ache in my chest, as if a weight is pressing on it and a sour orange has been crushed."
Without saying another word, the two found the Tower Prison's restrictions and, as Ran Qinghe had predicted, easily passed through them.
Seeing that the restriction had been broken, Xiao Hua hurriedly emerged from Ran Qinghe's dantian.
"Hehe, I always have a bad feeling." The vengeful spirit is most able to sense the aura of its own kind, and it can vaguely sense the terrifying existence deep within the Nascent Soul Tower Prison.
Then, in the almost stagnant darkness, she suddenly heard a faint sigh.
The voice was intermittent, mournful and plaintive, repeatedly calling out a name: "Yizhi... Yizhi..."
Ran Qinghe's breath suddenly caught in her throat. Yi Zhi was Lou Tinglan's father, Lou Yunya's courtesy name.
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