Chapter 115: Reality: A Delicate Child

Chapter 115: Reality: A Delicate Child

It was as if red lotus petals were rising gently from the depths of hell.

They intertwined with the skeleton.

A moss-covered stone lion held a flower ball inscribed with "longevity and prosperity" in its mouth, exuding an endearing charm.

The trails of moss left by time seemed to brush past, yet they still thrived amidst the faint glow of blood red radiating from the lotus.

The jade-white skeleton sat there silently.

Upon noticing someone's presence, it remained still.

Chi Zihe composed himself, pulling out the purple-gold talisman from his bosom. After chanting the incantation, he swiftly hurled it at the skeleton!

In that instant, countless red threads burst forth from the bone structure as if spurting blood, instantly entwining around his neck and limbs, leaving him no time to react.

For a moment, he thought he would be strangled to death.

In fact, he almost suffocated.

If not for the core of Man Du suddenly falling out.

When the White Bone saw... or rather sensed Man Du's core, it unexpectedly spared him with an unbelievable act of mercy.

The black fog parted like the Red Sea for Moses, and the White Bone was actually escorting him to safety.

As he hesitantly turned around, Chi Zihe heard the shattered cry of the White Bone, echoing like a whisper of wind and rain:

"...Jiaorou."

This inexplicable cry was the only clue Chi Zihe had.

Could there be a turning point in this situation?

Chi Zihe didn't dare to let his guard down. He endured the pain of Yin energy entering his body and the hallucinations, gripping Wang Bafang tightly as they quickly left that eerie place. They eventually collapsed by the waterside in She Village.

The moment he woke up and saw She Lingshuang, Chi Zihe suddenly realized how childish and absurd his previous evasion had been.

Want it means want it, don't want it means don't want it.

Hesitation in choosing will eventually hurt both parties.

He suddenly spoke up:

"Lingshuang, shall we get married?"

She Lingshuang was briefly surprised but didn't show any additional reaction.

Chi Zihe also realized his impromptu gesture:

"Sorry, that was sudden. It doesn't count. I should have prepared better before proposing to you. Just pretend you didn't hear that."

She Lingshuang didn't press the matter and instead asked:

"What happened in the village?"

Chi Zihe recounted everything in detail. She Lingshuang frowned in deep thought, particularly pondering over the words "Jiaor" and "Er".

"Speaking of which, do you still remember Great Grandmother's name?"

It was somewhat embarrassing, but Chi Zihe indeed had never heard anyone address She Grandmother by her given name.

Most likely, due to her long life, many who had known her in the past had already passed away, and those who still recognized her were mostly younger generations who wouldn't dare call her by her name.

Gradually, her name became unknown to others.

Before he could respond, She Lingshuang said, "Great Grandmother's name is She Jiaer. But I'm not sure how this is related to her. Besides, she has been helping out in the community recently… With the danger in She Village now, I don't wish for her to return to the mountain."

Wang Bafang fell into deep thought. "I think we should at least ask Uncle Master to come down from seclusion. Otherwise, with the current situation, we can't afford to wait for others."

As they were discussing, none expected She Grandmother to enter, holding the hand of a community staff member.

Somewhere along the line, news of Chi Zihe's injury had leaked and eventually reached She Grandmother through the community members.

Thinking about visiting her granddaughter's husband, Grandma Shé happened to overhear their entire conversation.

After listening to Chi Zihe's recount, the elderly lady clicked her dentures and said,

"Oh... I see. Take me there. Within three days, the village will return to normal, and those people will come back... Ah, Young Master Yan is indeed kind-hearted, unwilling to harm anyone."

Chi Zihe was skeptical about the description of "kindness."

He also dared not assume that the "darling" the other party mentioned was Grandma Shé.

However, Grandma Shé was insistent, claiming that the entity occupying the ancestral hall was not a demon but an old friend she knew.

Thus, Chi Zihe, despite his illness, accompanied Wang Bafang in protecting Grandma Shé as they climbed the mountain.

Strangely, the red mist parted when it encountered Grandma Shé.

Later, when they reached the eye of the storm again, Chi Zihe shielded Grandma Shé as they ventured towards where the black fog was coming from.

Throughout, Chi Zihe remained worried that the skeleton might harm Grandma Shé.

The moment the figure appeared, he instinctively shielded Old Lady Shu in front of him.

However, Old Lady Shu brushed him aside and walked unhindered to stand before the skeleton. Not only that, all the Yin energy-containing auras avoided her body.

Old Lady Shu lifted her drooping eyelids and asked with a trembling voice,

"Master Yan?"

The skull of the skeleton clicked open its mouth.

Old Lady Shu seemed somewhat agitated. In the faint light emitted by the white jade, one could vaguely see tears shimmering in the corners of her deeply wrinkled eyes.

She caressed the bony cheeks of the skeleton, then reached into its open mouth and touched a short scroll.

After examining the scroll, Old Lady Shu said,

"If it is your wish, this old servant will surely fulfill it for you."

Closing the jaw of the skeleton, she continued,

"Yet the children who enter are innocent. If it's convenient for you, Master Yan, could you spare them when the array is complete in three days?"

As Old Lady She finished her sentence, the thick miasma and the skeletal remains instantly turned to dust and dispersed.

The missing Taoist priests were sprawled on the ground, though fortunately, they all still breathed.

This ghost was rather straightforward, not using the hostages as leverage. It had fulfilled Old Lady She's request even before she could fulfill her promise.

Initially, when Chi Zihe and the others returned safely, he suggested abandoning She Village and starting anew in the city.

But Old Lady She refused.

She said,

"Master Yan's return must signify an important event. We must not disappoint."

After that, Old Lady She set up the Begging Lotus Array according to the scroll.

The Begging Lotus Array opened a passage between the world of the living and the underworld. Yan Qiling received his new body prepared by the underworld. Stepping over mountains of corpses and seas of blood, he emerged into the world with a smile, draped in the skin of a beauty.

He had personally witnessed this person's resurrection.

This only further confirmed that this individual was the heartless and gutless master of chaos.

Chi Zihe finished speaking and couldn't help but gulp down half a bottle of water in one go.

As night deepened, Ming Yiyang suddenly said,

"You've never mentioned something as significant as this."

"Exactly because it's such a big deal, I didn't bring it up."

Chi Zihe sighed,

"It just so happened that you weren't in the country during that time... If only I had told you earlier, things might have been different."

The young man placed his hands on the covers, pausing for a moment before he suddenly laughed in a cryptic manner.

Would telling him beforehand have prevented it?

He recalled his initial encounter with that person and his actions at the time.

Amidst the haze of smoke, they shared the same space, clearly repelled yet inexplicably drawn to each other.

The snow-like warmth of their body, the entwining gaze, and the unforeseen actions.

What was once blurred had never been so vivid; every moment spent with this person seemed to be magnified under a microscope, revealing layer upon layer of detail.

Yes, it was inevitable.

Regardless of when he met that person, he seemed powerless to resist their allure.

It was as if it were a predestined fate, already scripted long ago.

After settling the elderly and the young at home, She Lingshuang embarked on a journey by train to Guang City. Upon arriving, he headed straight for the hospital without delay.

-

Chi Zihe had just brought Ming Yiyang his breakfast and was waiting at the door for the doctor to come for a follow-up examination when he suddenly saw She Lingshuang appear. His heart softened, and he quickly strode over to embrace her tightly in the bustling corridor.

She Lingshuang was baffled as she pushed him away, "What are you doing? I need to see Xiao Ming; don't hold me, it's getting in the way... Hey, there are so many people watching."

"I won't, I just like hugging my wife."

"Who's your wife? We haven't even gotten a marriage certificate."

She Lingshuang rolled her eyes and pushed him away, heading straight for the patient room, "How is the situation? Will he be able to see today?"

Chi Zihe followed behind her, speaking softly, "Not so soon, it's said that it'll still take a few more days before he can see. We'll have to wait for the doctor to examine him to know for sure."

She Lingshuang nodded.

Upon entering the hospital room and seeing Ming Yiyang staring blankly out the window, the calmness she had maintained was finally disturbed, her nose tingling with emotion.

Before she could express her concern, Ming Yiyang, ever perceptive, turned his head and asked,

"Sister-in-law?"

She Lingshuang covered her mouth and nodded. Remembering that Ming Yiyang couldn't see her, she quickly responded with an "ai" sound.

Then, the young man lifted his left hand and said,

"My pinky ring is broken."

She Lingshuang froze, tears streaming down her face.

Confused and at a loss, Chi Zihe frantically tore at tissues and handed them to She Lingshuang. Lowering his head, he asked her,

"What pinky ring? Why are you crying? What happened?"

She Lingshuang let out a deep sigh, grabbed a tissue to quickly wipe her face, and suppressing the quiver in her voice, she spoke as calmly as possible:

"I... gave you that promise ring back then so that your first love wouldn't be met with opposition. So no matter what Old Chi's attitude was, I still wanted to support you."

Chi Zihe stared at her in disbelief.

Looking at the young man's empty left hand, She Lingshuang said,

"That promise ring couldn't be taken off because it wasn't bound to your physical body, but to your spirit."

"At the time, I thought that if you could see through the Master of the Endless Realm with its help, it would be beneficial for you... But I didn't expect that Uncle Yan would... take away your eyes."

"He didn't take my eyes away," Ming Yiyang said with a calm expression, emphasizing once more.

"What he took was the ability of the Yin-Yang Pupil."

"It makes no difference, Xiao Ming. In the end, Uncle Yan hurt you."

She Lingshuang was overwhelmed with guilt, and fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. She continued to dab at her eyes with tissues, striving not to let her choked voice betray any emotion:

"Although he didn't pluck out your eyes, the Yin-Yang Pupils are the source of your livelihood. Without them, you... If you're summoned back into the Prison Train in the future, the dangers you'll face will be significantly greater."

The woman took a deep breath, desperately maintaining her composure:

"Our immediate priority, apart from finding a way to heal your eyes, is dealing with your future entries into the Prison Train."

"Rest assured, Lingshuang, Old Chi and I won't stand idly by. If possible, I'll ask Grandmother to intervene and communicate with Uncle Yan, trying to persuade him to return the Yin-Yang Pupils to you."

"Not necessary."

Ming Yiyang's tone was tepid.

This indifference of his was no longer the sheer coldness he had displayed in the initial days after his blindness. Back then, his indifference carried anger and an intense wariness, as if he felt isolated by the entire world, on the verge of vanishing into eternal stillness at any moment.

But now, there was an indescribable oddity to his detachment.

It was as if this incident hadn't left any mark on his heart—despite the severe trauma he had endured.

She Lingshuang was oblivious to this, but Chi Zihe, who had always been by Ming Yiyang's side, keenly sensed the difference.

He stretched out his left hand, revealing broad knuckles that held a vitality distinct from Yan Qiling's. The various scars on the back of his hand were visible yet didn't mar its appearance; instead, they lent it a rugged charm, as if it had weathered many storms.

From the wrist emerged a silvery, snake-like object that coiled gently around his fingertips, trembling slightly.

It was the Spirit Binding Rope that Yan Qiling had given him!

Chi Zihe hadn't expected Ming Yiyang to still carry this item with him despite everything.

Considering this person's usual obsession with cleanliness, any valuable gift would have been long discarded or thrown away if the giver, Ming Yiyang, didn't like them. It was inconceivable that he would continue wearing it.

A subtle sense of unease crept over him, though he couldn't quite pinpoint the reason.

The young man opened his lifeless eyes, his silver eyelashes shimmering in the scattered light.

He said, "Sister Lingshuang, I need your help."

Unaware of any underlying issue, She Lingshuang promptly replied:

"You may speak."

The young man's words were crisp and resolute:

"Erase the imprint belonging to Yan Qiling from this object."

"Make it completely obedient to me."