Cui Yuanbai cried for a long time before finally stopping with sobs.
He still looked like the frail figure he was when he became the knife spirit. His entire small soul was clean and pure. He stood up from the true fire and formally bowed to Ning Buwei and Chu Jun. His voice was childish, but he tried his best to sound steady, “Th-thank you…”
He looked up at Ning Buwei and Chu Jun with a somewhat confused expression on his small face, not knowing how to address them. He floated blankly in the true fire for quite a while before asking with some distress. “Two fathers?”
He had been too young when he was refined into a knife spirit to distinguish between a master and a father. When he was a knife spirit, his master was his father, so he always thought that a master was a father. A knife spirit’s instinct was to recognize its master. These two people in front of him had together fulfilled his wish, so both were qualified to use the Purple Flame Knife.
But there was only one knife, how could it be divided?
Fortunately, the two people opposite him didn’t let him worry for too long. Ning Buwei said, “You don’t need to recognize a master. You’ve been trapped in the knife for ten thousand years. Would you like to regain your freedom?”
Cui Yuanbai was stunned upon hearing this. He floated to the edge of the fire pit and asked, “How many years is ten thousand years?”
Ning Buwei: “…Ten thousand years.”
“How many years is ten thousand years?” The little knife spirit hadn’t learned such large numbers before he died. Even after becoming a knife spirit living in the fire, he was in pain every day, and his father never allowed him to come out. He was almost completely isolated from the outside world and knew nothing.
Ning Buwei looked down at his innocent eyes, and unusually, without impatience, said, “It’s many, many years. You could celebrate countless Lantern Festivals.”
“I see.” Cui Yuanbai lowered his head sadly and said softly, “Then Huanhuan… couldn’t celebrate many Lantern Festivals.”
Ning Buwei said very coldly, “If you want to recognize a master, you won’t be able to celebrate any future Lantern Festivals either. While other children are outside eating candied hawthorns, you’ll just be stuck in the fire pit being burned.”
Cui Yuanbai looked up anxiously, wanting to say something but not knowing how. He looked like he was about to cry, extremely pitiful.
Fortunately, while Ning Buwei was being awful, there was still someone reliable. Chu Jun walked to the fire pit, squatted down, and said to Cui Yuanbai. “Do you want to come out of the knife?”
Cui Yuanbai stared at him blankly.
“You can eat candied hawthorns, little snacks, and other delicious things,” Chu Jun explained.
“R-really?” Light burst forth in Cui Yuanbai’s eyes, but it soon dimmed. “But father said I-I could only stay here forever, that I would die if I went out.”
He still didn’t know he was already dead.
“You won’t die,” Chu Jun said gently.
After all, he was just a five-year-old child. Ning Buwei and Chu Jun had helped him fulfill his “wish”, so in his heart, they were now two very good people. He clung to the edge of the fire pit and said softly, “That’s great… this fire burns so much it hurts.”
“It will hurt even more in a moment,” Ning Buwei reached out to poke his face, but his finger passed through Cui Yuanbai’s face and was singed by the true fire, causing a sudden, piercing pain.
“Huanhuan is not afraid.” Cui Yuanbai gave him an obedient smile.
“It won’t hurt for too long,” Chu Jun said to him.
Ning Buwei frowned as he stared at the fire.
As the two were preparing to leave, Cui Yuanbai anxiously spoke up. “Will… will you come back?”
Chu Jun nodded, and Cui Yuanbai then looked at Ning Buwei with full of expectation.
Ning Buwei said, “Stay put and don’t move.”
Cui Yuanbai immediately sat still and didn’t move.
A moment later, the two emerged from the water, returning to the front of the waterfall. The Purple Flame Knife, which had been several dozen zhang tall, had shrunk to the size of a normal knife and was now gripped in Ning Buwei’s hand.
Chu Jun said, “Have you decided?”
Ning Buwei looked at the Purple Flame Knife in his hand and said disdainfully, “This knife looks uglier the more I look at it. At least the Suzaku knife is presentable.”
Suzaku Narrow Knife: …
After saying this, he glanced at Chu Jun, “Are you really sure?”
Chu Jun nodded and explained to him. “When this child’s soul became a knife spirit, his soul was complete, and his flesh and bones were refined into this Purple Flame Knife. Although we can’t turn this child back into a human, using the Purple Flame Knife as his flesh and bones, we can certainly help him take form again. As long as the cultivation method is appropriate, he can grow like an ordinary young child, and he will be immortal, existing in the world forever.”
Ning Buwei smiled and said, “You really did research on this.”
“Yes.” Chu Jun’s gaze swept over the fingertips that had been singed by the true fire, and he covered them with a thin layer of spiritual power. The piercing pain immediately subsided by more than half.
Ning Buwei rubbed the wound, “How do we deal with this true fire?”
“Refine and reshape the Purple Flame Knife.”
In the misty water, a wide, completely black knife with bone spikes hovered above the water surface. As incantations fell and formations arose, the true fire born from the knife body was slowly drawn out. The Taiji Seal hung above the Purple Flame Knife, firmly protecting the small knife spirit curled up inside, completely isolating him from the true fire.
Ning Buwei manipulated the Suzaku Narrow Knife, forcibly tearing away the parts of the Purple Flame Knife that didn’t belong to Cui Yuanbai’s flesh and bones. Seeing the small knife spirit rolling in pain, he frowned.
In the dazzling knife light, Chu Jun’s gaze fell on Ning Buwei, and he remembered the question he had asked him many years ago.
—
That day, it had snowed heavily in Louzhou. Hao Zheng, fearing that the cold would harm the precious young masters in the courtyard, had asked him to change the sword practice class to a lecture.
After briefly and concisely explaining to the group of children about several ancestors who used knives and their famous knives, he scanned the students below. He saw that Ning Chengfeng, sitting in the corner, was actually listening attentively, focusing intently on him.
Chu Jun couldn’t help but say a few more words.
Soon, the long sound of the end-of-class bell came, and he put away the bamboo scroll and stood up to leave.
Then he was suddenly blocked by Ning Chengfeng on his way out.
The youth was wearing the standard vermilion outer robe of the Wanxuan Academy, with his hair tied in a high ponytail. Snow fell on his smiling brows and melted instantly. “Head Teacher Chu, please wait.”
This kid looked clean and obedient, but he was actually quite mischievous and bold. He cultivated the Way of Bloodshed, and although his dao heart was already destroyed, ordinary people still didn’t like to get close to him. Those children would run away faster than rabbits when they saw him, but Ning Chengfeng always came up to provoke him.
“What is it?” He wore a mask on his face, and his voice sounded quite different through it, somewhat rough.
“This student has a question to ask.” Ning Chengfeng looked at him with a smile, like a small leopard showing off. He circled around him once, even pretending to help brush off the snow on his shoulders.
Chu Jun stiffened all over, and his tone became harsh, “Ask.”
“You just said that Cui Chenghong used his son to offer as a sacrifice to the knife and create a knife spirit. Is there a way to turn the knife spirit back into a human?” Ning Chengfeng folded his arms and tilted his head. The jade ribbon tied to his ponytail was a bit dazzling in the snow.
No one had ever asked him such a question, and Chu Jun himself had never thought about it. He was silent for a moment, then told the truth, “I don’t know.”
The youth immediately became proud and said with a smile. “So there are things that Head Teacher Chu doesn’t know.”
Chu Jun didn’t understand. “Why would you want to turn a knife spirit back into a human?”
Once it had become a spirit tool, it was no longer human, but a tool.
Ning Chengfeng said righteously, “An artificially created knife spirit was once human. Isn’t it boring to stay in one place for thousands of years? Knife spirits neither live nor die and have no physical form. What if he wants to eat something? What if he wants to start a family and have children? What if he really dislikes his master and wants to change to another one?”
Chu Jun: “……”
These questions were so childish and not worth answering. He lifted his foot to leave.
Ning Chengfeng jumped back a couple of steps and stretched out his arm to block him, smiling. “Is Head Teacher Chu angry because he can’t answer? Or is he just upset?”
Chu Jun found him quite noisy. He raised his hand and pointed at his brow, freezing him in place. “When I know, I’ll tell you.”
With that, he left without looking back.
“Release this binding spell first!” Ning Chengfeng shouted behind him: “Head Teacher Chu! Chu Jun! Surname Chu—”
That night, he broke his routine and didn’t practice. Instead, he spent the whole night in the library flipping through books, but still to no avail.
—
The child’s body slowly descended onto the rock.
Chu Jun and Ning Buwei walked over and saw Cui Yuanbai slowly open his eyes. He was stunned for a long time, then pointed at the sky, “…Clouds.”
It had been so long since he had seen white clouds.
Ning Buwei was originally bending over to look at him. Seeing him point at the clouds, he thought there must be something special about them and turned his head to look. The next moment, two soft little arms wrapped around his neck, and he froze on the spot.
A warm wetness spread on his shoulder.
Ning Buwei sighed, reached out to pick up the child, letting him hug his neck. He mouthed to Chu Jun, looking distressed, ‘He’s crying.’
Ning Xiu would only cry loudly, feeling that anything less than making noise didn’t do justice to his tears. Sometimes even thunder without rain. The two little fools, Jiang Yizheng and Feng Zizhang, would only be frightened into howling cries. This was the first time he had seen a child cry without making a sound.
Chu Jun smiled slightly.
Ning Buwei glared at him.
As the two were communicating with their eyes, suddenly a strong pressure spread out. Chu Jun’s expression became solemn, and he pressed down Ning Buwei’s hand that was about to draw his sword.
More than a dozen cultivators in crimson robes arrived on flying swords, surrounding them. One of them said, “Master, it’s these two! I guarded this Purple Flame Knife for nine days and nine nights, waiting for its barrier to weaken. As soon as it did, they came and snatched it!”
It was the Nascent Soul cultivator who had been frightened away by Chu Jun’s pressure earlier. It turned out he had gone to fetch reinforcements.
It was understandable. For a spiritual treasure like the Purple Flame Knife, neither the Canghai Tower nor the Wang family would want to let it go. Who knows what agreement they had reached, but this Purple Flame Knife should have belonged to the Sang family of the Canghai Tower.
However, Ning Buwei didn’t care about these things. This Yumian Mountain secret realm didn’t have the family emblems of the Canghai Tower or the Wang family branded on it. They were just using their power to occupy this secret realm, yet they spoke as if they were righteous.
A young man stepped out from the crowd and said to Ning Buwei and Chu Jun: “Fellow cultivators, this Purple Flame Knife belongs to our Canghai Tower. Please return it.”
Cui Yuanbai, with tears still on his face, turned to look at the group of unfamiliar cultivators. Hearing them ask for the Purple Flame Knife, he was so frightened that he tightly hugged Ning Buwei’s neck. His lips turned pale as he forcibly held back his tears, “F-father, Huanhuan will be good. Don’t throw me away.”
Who knew what other terrible things that scum Cui Chenghong had done, for just the sight of a few strangers to frighten him like this.
Ning Buwei reached out to pat his back, his gaze unfriendly as he stared at the cultivator. Chu Jun, however, pressed the back of Ning Buwei’s hand, signaling him not to act rashly.
Ning Buwei raised an eyebrow and rubbed Chu Jun’s hand with his thumb. He clearly felt the other’s expression stiffen, and he smugly hooked the corner of his mouth.
Just then, more than a dozen streaks of light flew in from the horizon. Someone laughed loudly. “Sang Tian, when did this Purple Flame Knife become your Canghai Tower’s? I’ve been guarding it here for ten days and ten nights!”
