7. Murdering one's wife (Part 4)
◎"Why haven't you gone to find my husband yet?"◎
Ran Qinghe hadn't yet recovered from that life-or-death role-playing game when Lingyu's face suddenly loomed large in front of her.
Her original disciple's robes had been changed into a wedding robe at some point, a wedding robe exactly the same as the one worn by the vengeful spirit just now.
Ran Qinghe tentatively asked, "Lingyu?"
Lingyu asked in confusion, "Who is Lingyu? Miss, you must have mistaken me for someone else. I am Anian."
Yuan Yao asked anxiously, "Fellow Daoist Lingyu, don't you recognize us?"
Lingyu asked curiously, "My husband and I live in seclusion in this Tianhai Valley and have never seen any outsiders. Could this fellow Daoist have mistaken me for someone else?"
Just as Yuan Yao was about to argue further, Ran Qinghe suddenly seemed to grasp something and said knowingly:
“Your husband is out practicing swordsmanship and can’t find his way, right? We’ll go help you find it.”
Lingyu exclaimed with delight, "Young lady, you are so incredibly insightful! My husband is indeed practicing his sword in a bamboo grove in the valley. Please help me find him."
After the three of them had walked a little further away from the bamboo hut, Ran Qinghe said, "I have a guess. The husband that Lingyu mentioned might be Xi Qi."
"Fellow Daoist Yuan, have you ever seen the Daoist couple who went missing from the Xuan Shui Sect before?"
Yuan Yao shook his head in denial: "I was not in charge of the trials for newly recruited sect disciples."
Therefore, none of them had seen what the first two missing disciples looked like. Ran Qinghe became even more certain of her guess and continued to deduce: "So, the Anian and Bu Si we met for the first time were very likely the missing disciples of the Xuan Shui Sect."
"The vengeful spirit cannot take human form, so it can only move by controlling the bodies of those two people. However, this kind of possession-like act will be rejected by the original body owner. The two new disciples of the Xuan Shui Sect are only at the Foundation Establishment stage and have weak spiritual power. Therefore, after the vengeful spirit put on a show in front of us about a wife willing to die for love, it could not hold on any longer."
"It can only manipulate Lingyu and Xiqi's bodies again and repeat the same show."
Yuan Yao asked in confusion, "But why would it put on such a show?"
"In order to mislead us, it wants to hide its grievances so that we have no way to resolve them."
If the source of the grudge cannot be found, then there's no point in talking about exorcising the vengeful spirit. Meanwhile, in the bamboo hut, a tragic drama unfolds between two people in love, yet no one can discern the origin of the resentment.
Yuan Yao suddenly realized: "Indeed, what does Fellow Daoist Ran mean?"
Ran Qinghe frowned and continued her analysis: "Don't you find it strange?" "Since A-Nian was willing to die, why would she harbor resentment and become a vengeful spirit?"
Yuan Yao said, "Therefore, it is very likely that A Nian was killed by Bu Si, which is why she turned into a vengeful spirit."
A vengeful spirit is not human; its memory is limited, and it can only repeat some of the memories from before its death. What it presents is merely the original facts. But what if it wants to confuse the public?
Perhaps what the three of them saw was the truth, but it was very likely that the order of events had been reversed by the vengeful spirit.
For example, the original sequence might have been that Bu Si hoped to achieve enlightenment and smoothly enter the Azure Heaven, but he couldn't find the right method. He took a risky approach, tricking Anian into marrying him, thus killing his wife to achieve enlightenment. Anian died unwillingly, and her resentment after death transformed her into a vengeful spirit that haunted the world.
Ran Qinghe shifted her gaze to Lou Tinglan again: "Fellow Daoist Lou, do you know that once Lingyu and Xiqi finish their act, it will be our turn next?"
Lou Tinglan calmly replied, "Whatever Fellow Daoist Ran wants to do, I will do my best to cooperate."
Is anything acceptable? Then she will definitely do her best to put on a good show with him.
Therefore, the next crucial task is to find the flaws in the drama that Lingyu and Xiqi are staging again, deduce the correct sequence of how the vengeful spirits arose, and thus find the root of the grudge and eliminate the vengeful spirits.
Sure enough, when the three returned to the bamboo grove, Xi Qi was wielding his spirit sword, practicing the Azure Sky Sword Technique. Seeing that the three had been watching for quite some time, he wiped the fine sweat from his brow and cupped his hands, saying, "Fellow Daoists, what brings you here…?"
Yuan Yao asked first, "Don't you have anything you'd like to ask us?"
Xi Qi was puzzled: "I don't understand what you're saying, fellow Daoist."
Yuan Yao blinked frantically, indicating, "Can't you find your way home?"
Xi Qi laughed and said, "Fellow Daoist, you are joking. I have walked the way home countless times, how could I not know it?"
Yuan Yao turned to look at the two people standing behind her and hurriedly defended herself, "Hey, hey, hey, that's not what Bu Si told me the first time. You heard the conversation in the Spirit Leaf too."
Ran Qinghe pondered, realizing that this whole drama had quietly begun to change from this moment on.
Yuan Yao, undeterred, continued, "To be honest, we were entrusted by Miss Anian to come and find you, fellow Daoist. Do you know what day it is today?"
Xi Qi slapped his forehead, then realized, "Oh dear, oh dear, today is my and A Nian's wedding day! Thanks to you for reminding me, how could I be so forgetful? I actually forgot such an important day."
Having said that, he drew his sword and left.
At the entrance of the bamboo hut, Lingyu and Xiqi, the two lovers, met effortlessly. They embraced and poured out their hearts to each other, while the three onlookers stood closely behind them like vengeful spirits, afraid of missing a single detail.
Xi Qi said, "A Nian, we have lived in this deep valley for a long time, but my enlightenment has not progressed. I think that instead of searching for that ethereal path of cultivation, it would be better for the two of us to live in seclusion here, burn withered leaves with wine, sit among fallen flowers with books, and live a simple and peaceful life. Would that be alright?"
Lingyu suddenly broke free from Xi Qi's embrace and said angrily, "Fourth brother, I won't allow you to say that. Your lifelong pursuit is enlightenment. What's wrong with you today? Why are you saying such discouraging things?"
Xi Qi's face was deathly pale, as if he was trying his best to hide something. He changed the subject, saying, "Oh, right, Anian, I suddenly remembered that I haven't seen the wedding robe you embroidered yet. You've been acting all mysterious these past few days, saying you wouldn't let me wear it until it was finished..."
Lingyu seemed to have been truly distracted, and happily ran into the inner room: "Fourth brother, come and change into this. How is it? My skills haven't gotten rusty yet, have they? I spent almost seven days embroidering the mandarin duck pattern on this. Isn't it lifelike?"
Xi Qi said gently, "A-Nian's work is always the best."
The two were deeply in love, while the three people beside them were more resentful than vengeful spirits.
Yuan Yao said, "Fellow Daoist Ran, could it be that our deduction was wrong? Although some minor details have changed, the general trend has not changed."
Ran Qinghe: "That means that the events that happened before were not the source of the grudge."
As a pivotal point influencing the entire course of events, the grudge is essentially the cause of death of the vengeful spirit. Therefore, the grudge should exist before and after Anian's suicide by drawing her sword.
Lou Tinglan remained silent.
The three were forced to become guests at the wedding ceremony once again, watching expressionlessly as Xi Qi and Ling Yu, who played Bu Si and Anian, made vows of eternal love and went through the wedding ceremony.
Ran Qinghe listlessly picked at the longans on the wedding table. The longan flesh was so sweet and cloying that she couldn't help but frown as she ate them. Yuan Yao, however, exclaimed in shock, "Fellow Daoist Ran, weren't you bound by resentment and unable to move?"
Ran Qinghe said flippantly, "Any chain in this world can only bind me for a while, understand?"
But at that very moment, Lingyu suddenly attacked. She drew Xi Qi's spirit sword and inexplicably began to cry, "Fourth brother, I heard everything."
Xi Qi hurriedly stopped him: "A Nian, what are you doing? Put the sword down first."
Lingyu continued, seemingly oblivious to her own words, "I heard that conversation between that immortal and you. Enlightenment is extremely difficult for mortals. He told you a method: to attain enlightenment by killing your wife, is that right?"
Xi Qi's face was ashen: "A Nian, you know I love you, I won't give you up. I'd rather we stay in this bamboo hut and live together, wouldn't that be better?"
Lingyu, however, handed the sword hilt to Xi Qi without saying a word. She used the momentum to stab herself directly into her heart, saying miserably, "Fourth brother, I know that enlightenment is your lifelong wish, and I also love you. Therefore, I want to fulfill your wish."
The sword tip pierced through her back, and Lingyu staggered, her face draining of color instantly. Xi Qi rushed towards her without hesitation, pulling her into his arms before she could fall. His movements were somewhat rough due to fear, but the moment he touched her body, all his strength transformed into an uncontrollable tremor.
At this moment, the drama should have come to an end.
But then a sudden change occurred. The surrounding spiritual energy seemed to come to life, rushing wildly into Xi Qi's body, struggling and tearing, as if trying to break through his original skin and flesh and grow new flesh from it.
Ran Qinghe put down the longan shell in her hand, her expression turning cold. All that she saw before her was something she had experienced before, so how could she not understand?
For mortals to attain enlightenment is not merely a momentary shift in mindset. At the moment of enlightenment, spiritual energy also surges into the body, reshaping the body and meridians of the enlightened individual, and then giving rise to spiritual roots for cultivation.
Xi Qi, or rather Bu Si, actually achieved enlightenment by killing his wife.
That's ridiculous.
If enlightenment were so easy, then anyone in the mortal realm who wanted to attain enlightenment could simply marry someone and then kill them; why would they bother to seek such an opportunity?
At this moment, Lou Tinglan suddenly reminded him through a secret telepathic communication: "Ran Qinghe, the Dao that Bu Si comprehended is not the Dao of the Sword, but the Dao of Weapons."
Ran Qinghe wrinkled her nose in disdain, thinking to herself, "What, does he only start to offer a pitiful reminder now that he knows it's almost his turn? Sure enough, he won't know the pain until the knife is stuck in his own flesh."
She's not stupid. She herself has comprehended the way of the sword, so how could she not know the difference between comprehending the way of the sword and comprehending other ways?
But this is strange. How could someone who is familiar with the Azure Sky Sword Style all day long have his enlightenment turn into a weapon-based path that has nothing to do with the sword path?
Therefore, there is only one possibility: the enlightened one is not Bu Si, but Anian.
She suddenly understood; now everything made sense.
But in the blink of an eye, Lingyu and Xiqi disappeared again, leaving only Ran Qinghe and Yuan Yao staring at each other inside the bamboo hut.
Ran Qinghe, still dressed in a wedding robe that looked all too familiar, stood at the entrance of the bamboo house and coldly commanded Yuan Yao, "Why haven't you gone to find my husband yet?"
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