Jiang Yizheng leaned against the railing, feeling the morning breeze while examining a small butterfly in her hand.
She had found this in Yan Jinzhou’s tomb earlier, and it had seemed familiar at the time. Later, she realized that this butterfly looked very similar to the one from Jiang Ling’s tomb.
Jiang Ling had died 480 years ago, appearing to be only seven or eight years old, and looking exactly like her when she was young…
She was very curious about Jiang Ling’s story, but unfortunately, her father had been interrupted just as he started telling it, and she hadn’t had a chance to ask again.
“Xiao Jiang, why are you up so early? The sun hasn’t risen yet.” Feng Zizhang walked out of the cabin yawning, shivering as the cold wind hit him.
Jiang Yizheng straightened up and pinched the butterfly in her hand. “Zizhang, do you think reincarnation really exists in this world?”
Feng Zizhang sat cross-legged beside her and scratched his head at her question. “When I was at the Yunzhong Sect before, I heard the elders talk about reincarnation. There were even forbidden techniques about preserving memories during rebirth… It probably exists, but I’ve never seen it myself.”
“Besides, even if someone does reincarnate, without memories they become a different person anyway.” Feng Zizhang wiped his eyes. “I had a senior brother who became obsessed with this topic but couldn’t figure it out. He drove himself mad until our master finally saved him.”
Jiang Yizheng pursed her lips. “That’s scary.”
“Yeah.” Feng Zizhang nodded. “My master said being too obsessed with past lives becomes an attachment, and being fixated on future lives leads to delusions. Both can lead to being possessed and affect one’s Dao heart… I personally don’t really understand it.”
Yet even though his master Wen He understood this principle, he had never been able to move past his own history.
This showed that understanding and doing were two completely different things.
“I don’t really understand it either.” Jiang Yizheng felt dizzy from Feng Zizhang’s words. Unable to keep her thoughts to herself, she told him, “When I first entered the Floating Sky Realm, I fell into a tomb. The tomb’s owner was a little girl who looked exactly like me…”
Feng Zizhang vigorously rubbed the goosebumps on his arms, his voice trembling, “Xiao Jiang, don’t tell me ghost stories in the middle of the night – I’ve never even memorized the complete exorcism spell.”
Jiang Yizheng’s face fell. “I’m scared too. Father only started telling me about it and never finished. I haven’t been able to sleep well for several nights now.”
Every time she dreamed, she saw herself lying in a coffin shoulder to shoulder, holding hands with that little girl called Jiang Ling – it was pure torture.
Jiang Yizheng was on the verge of tears. “Today when I heard Lingzhu and Huan Huan say there was something wrong with that little wooden doll, I suddenly remembered this wooden butterfly I picked up from the tomb. They’re both made of wood – could it be something sinister?”
“Don’t–don’t think like that.” Feng Zizhang nervously swallowed. “It’s just a wooden butterfly, surely there couldn’t be any evil spirit hidden in–”
Jiang Yizheng quickly covered his mouth as the wooden butterfly began emitting black smoke. She desperately threw it away, but it hit the boat’s railing and bounced right back.
“Damn it!!” Jiang Yizheng grabbed Feng Zizhang and they scrambled backward.
Feng Zizhang stumbled through an exorcism spell but after two lines couldn’t remember what came next. He grabbed his hair in despair. “Next time when Father punishes me to copy texts, I’ll never slack off again–Ahhh don’t come near us!”
A foul smell and murky black mist filled the entire deck.
In his panic, Feng Zizhang suddenly felt something trying to burrow into the center of his brow, but it was blocked by an invisible barrier. The evil spirit howled and turned its attention to Jiang Yizheng instead.
“Xiao Jiang!” Feng Zizhang somehow remembered the exorcism spell, his palm suddenly blazing with golden light as he lunged forward and grabbed the humanoid figure in the mist.
“Hah, how presumptuous!” The thing he grabbed laughed coldly.
Feng Zizhang recognized the voice as the monster from the Union-Separation Formation before. “It’s you!?”
Yan Liuguang showed no fear at being recognized, cackling, “If I couldn’t deal with that monk, I can still handle two little pests like you!”
Jiang Yizheng snapped out of her fear, took a deep breath, and shouted, “Father! Help!”
“Heh, calling for daddy when you can’t win?” Yan Liuguang kicked Feng Zizhang away and approached Jiang Yizheng step by step, sneering, “Who’s your father?”
“I am her father.” A long whip wreathed in black mist even denser and purer than Yan Liuguang bound him tightly, followed by a kick that sent him to the stern.
Yan Liuguang looked toward the voice and saw a cold-faced man in black robes standing on the deck looking down at him. When he recognized who it was, his expression twisted. “Ning Buwei!?”
“Father!” Feng Zizhang and Jiang Yizheng ran behind him.
Ning Buwei’s face was black as the bottom of a pot, extremely displeased.
He had finally found a chance to have a “deep” conversation with the person surnamed Chu, and had just fallen asleep holding Chu Jun in his sea of consciousness when some fool came to spoil things.
Warm colors appeared on the horizon, the morning breeze was cool, and sounds of people starting to wake up came from the cabin.
Ning Buwei looked at the bound evil spirit. “Where did you come from?”
Jiang Yizheng pointed guiltily at the butterfly broken in two on the ground. “I- I picked it up from the tomb earlier. I had no idea he was hiding inside…”
Feng Zizhang nodded, “Father, he’s the monster who tried to take my life in the Union-Separation Formation!”
Ning Buwei examined him carefully and curved his lips. “Yan Liuguang?”
Yan Liuguang shrieked, “Ning Buwei! You and Yan Jinzhou colluded to commit evil deeds. You’ll eventually become demons that everyone wants dead! Scorned by the world!”
Ning Buwei crossed his arms and smiled. “In fact, I’m already a demon.”
The words Yan Liuguang was about to say got stuck in his throat.
“What’s wrong with being a demon! Even if my father is a demon, he’s the best demon in the world!” Jiang Yizheng protested indignantly.
Ning Buwei’s smile twitched.
Feng Zizhang whispered to her, “Sister, usually the more evil a demon is, the more powerful they are.”
Jiang Yizheng had a moment of realization and quickly changed her words, her tone filled with righteous determination. “My father is the most evil and fierce demon in the world! He’ll now carry out heaven’s justice and deal with you! Heh.”
“That’s right!” Feng Zizhang nodded with a righteous expression. “Low-level evil spirits like you aren’t even worth getting stuck in my father’s teeth! Heh.”
Yang Lingzhu, who had just stepped out the door in time to hear this: “?”
The threatened Yan Liuguang: “…………”
Ning Buwei gritted his teeth and said quietly, “…Shut up.”
It was the first time he felt that trying to sound threatening was so embarrassing.
Feng Zizhang and Jiang Yizheng, standing on either side of him, instantly became docile and harmless.
Yan Liuguang had originally been a soul trapped and tortured in the Union-Separation Formation, barely escaping from Zen Master Mingsang while severely injured. He had then taken advantage of the chaos to hide in a container to recover. The female cultivator had kept him stored in a storage ring, unaware of his identity, until he saw Feng Zizhang again and thought about seizing a body.
However, he never expected Ning Buwei to be here.
He said hatefully, “I never thought Yan Jinzhou had been dead for over 400 years. Ha! She deserved it! Heaven truly punishes the wicked!”
Ning Buwei coldly looked at him. “It was clearly your Yan family who set up a trap to harm her back then.”
“She deserved to be harmed! If she hadn’t harmed me, how could the Yan family have possibly harmed her!” Yan Liuguang laughed maniacally, then his smile twisted. “Ah, no, even if she hadn’t harmed me, she definitely wouldn’t have left Li City alive! That surname Pei had some skills, actually managing to make her leave her life in Li City. Retribution! Hahaha this is retribution!”
Ning Buwei grabbed him and began searching his soul without giving Yan Liuguang time to react.
Yan Liuguang let out a painful howl and tried to attack Ning Buwei. “You madman! You’re even searching along with your own soul! Madman!”
“Father, be careful!” Jiang Yizheng rushed to block him but froze in place before she could get close.
“Xiao Jiang?” Feng Zizhang went to pull her but was stopped. “Venerable?”
Chu Jun held the newly awakened Ning Xiu and said, “They’re sharing the soul-searching memories. If you touch them, you’ll be forcibly drawn in too.”
Feng Zizhang asked worriedly, “Sharing soul-searching memories? Did Father really search along with his own soul?”
Soul-searching could lead to idiocy if not done carefully. Feng Zizhang had never heard of someone including their own soul in the search.
“This Yan Liuguang is not human, and his soul has no vessel to attach to. Your father can only use his own soul as a medium,” Chu Jun said calmly.
“Why use such a costly method?” Feng Zizhang didn’t understand.
Chu Jun said, “He probably… really wants to clarify some things.”
Feng Zizhang was still worried. “Then what about Xiao Jiang-”
“She entered through Chengfeng’s soul, she’ll be fine.” Chu Jun looked at Ning Buwei’s serious expression as he searched souls and Jiang Yizheng’s panicked face. “It’s just taking this chance to resolve some past attachments.”
Jiang Yizheng usually seemed carefree, never holding anything back, with her biggest worries being what to eat today and tomorrow. She and Feng Zizhang were kindred spirits – aside from occasionally being ambitious about cultivation, they mostly lived carefree lives.
So after hearing this, Feng Zizhang was stunned. He asked incredulously, “Xiao Jiang… still has attachments to her past life?”
“Yes.” Chu Jun lowered his eyes to look at the confused Ning Xiu, then glanced at the wooden doll in his arms. “But after all, they’re past matters. Once resolved, one shouldn’t dwell on them too much, or it will harm both oneself and others.”
Feng Zizhang felt the Venerable’s words had another meaning, as if he wasn’t really speaking to him, and his voice had an unusual coldness that sounded more like… some kind of threat.
Threat?
Feng Zizhang figured he must have been scared silly. How could a kind and gentle person like the Venerable Jinghe possibly threaten others?
“Ah?” Ning Xiu tugged at Chu Jun’s clothes, pointing at the motionless Ning Buwei.
Mother, what’s wrong with Father?
“It’s nothing, he’ll be back soon.” Chu Jun wiped the drool from his mouth and looked away.
Only after the cold, threatening gaze with killing intent left did the wooden doll being held by Ning Xiu slowly relax, trying to grab Ning Xiu’s sleeve.
However, in the next moment, it was grabbed by its head and thrown into a storage ring.
“Ah~ya?”
“Let’s have rice porridge first. Your father will be back by the time we finish.”
“Da!”
