northernbook Chapter 510 Returning
Chapter 510 Returning
After the monster died, the junior sister ran over, took out a dagger, carefully gouged out its two eyes, mixed them with other medicinal herbs to make a medicinal broth, and fed it to a family's unconscious baby. Only then did Qingzhi fully understand why the junior sister had gone to such lengths to trap the monster in the formation and strangle it to death.
It was for these eyes, eyes that could cure the poison that the baby had been contaminated by the succubus's saliva.
"Thank you." The woman at the door held her junior sister's hand tightly with tears in her eyes. Her eyes were misty with a mixture of joy and sorrow as she looked at her. "I was just trying to send a message, and you really came... More than ten years have passed, but you haven't changed at all."
There were also tears welling up in the junior sister's eyes. She squeezed her hands tightly back and still managed to force a familiar smile: "I'm glad you're doing well. I'll come to see you again."
"well……"
The junior sister gave the woman with her hair in a bun many things, carrying them out of her storage ring one by one, until the courtyard where the woman lived was soon filled with them.
When it was time to leave, the woman was very reluctant to part. Her junior sister turned back to wave to her, and when she turned back again, she couldn't help but tear up.
Qingzhi understood, yet was also filled with curiosity.
Was it because of her that Junior Sister was urging him to come to the Mortal Realm in such a hurry?
"I came for her, but I would have come even if it weren't for her." The junior sister seemed to see through his thoughts, rubbed her eyes, and said with a smile.
"Even if you really just came to catch a little succubus?"
The junior sister stopped and turned to look at him earnestly: "Junior brother, do you still remember what the tenet of our Tianqian Sect is?"
Qingzhi lowered his head, his voice resounding: "Slay demons and monsters, protect all living beings, uphold the original heart, and follow the Great Dao Immortal Sect."
"If you think a wicked demon is too weak and not worth your time, or if you think catching a minor demon is a waste of time and unnecessary, your arrogance will eventually devour your Dao heart, and you will be destined to have no way to become an immortal and suffer a complete defeat."
The junior sister spoke, saying to him word by word, "Junior Brother Qingzhi, have you ever thought about what would have happened if we hadn't come to capture the demon as you said? Would everyone within a hundred miles of this place have been eaten by that monster? Including the waiter and owner of Taoyuanzhai, whom you met, and the old lady who always stuffed food into your mouth—they would all have died."
Qingzhi froze, her neck turning bright red with shame.
He said in a hoarse voice, "Junior Sister, I was too arrogant and my Dao heart was clouded. I am willing to change."
Upon hearing his words, the girl's serious expression vanished, replaced by her usual lazy demeanor. She hooked the wine gourd in her hand, leaned close to his ear, and said, "Qingzhi, how about we steal some wine?"
Qingzhi nodded silently, as if possessed.
However, remembering how close and reluctant her junior sister and that woman were to part, she couldn't help but ask, "Junior sister, who are you...?"
"In the past, she and I entered the Tianqian Sect together. I had poor aptitude and was assigned to the miscellaneous servant peak, while she had good aptitude and entered the inner sect. But we had a very good relationship. She would always give me the resources she had saved and try her best to improve the grade of my spiritual root. I thought that she and I would support each other and walk together to pursue the Great Dao, but I never expected that later..."
The junior sister sighed, her eyes filled with a melancholy and sadness he couldn't understand.
"She met a young disciple from another sect, and the two developed feelings for each other and intended to become Daoist partners. However, during a trip to a secret realm, he lost both legs and his spiritual roots were destroyed while saving her, making it impossible for him to cultivate immortality again. The two of them were already deeply in love, and she was willing to give up the path of immortality to live in seclusion with him in the mortal realm, slowly exhausting their remaining lifespans and growing old together."
At this point, the junior sister smiled through her tears: "Actually, she went to find the Marrow Cleansing Stone for me without telling me. Her Daoist partner was just worried and went with her... On the day she decided to leave, I knelt down and begged her, but she told me that there are three thousand Great Daos, and her Dao is not in the Heavenly Qian Sect or the Immortal Sect. She knows what she wants and what path she is willing to take. She said that one should not force things. She is content to be with him."
"Qingzhi, tell me, what kind of 'contentment' could make her give up becoming an immortal, give up all those years of hard work in cultivation, and willingly sink into the mortal world with someone?"
Qingzhi didn't know how to answer this question.
Because he was also puzzled and confused. He had never been asked such a question before, nor had he ever thought about the answer.
Seeking immortality and ascending to heaven in broad daylight is the greatest dream of every cultivator. What could be more important than this dream?
If it really exists, what is it?
His junior sister took him to stay in the mortal realm for three hundred years.
Over three hundred years, the world has changed, dynasties have risen and fallen. He followed behind his junior sister, watching kings and generals ride by, watching peddlers turn to dust, watching mountains, rivers, lakes, seas, deserts, and Gobi, watching peach trees bloom and fall, spring come and autumn go, and the wine of Peach Blossom Pavilion being sold year after year at the alley entrance.
Often, the junior sister preferred to take him to do small things, such as catching chickens that had escaped from the coop for Aunt Wang, calling a midwife for the new bride in the Li family who was about to give birth, or taking down notices in front of the yamen to catch notorious bandits, or imitating the heroes in the storybooks and having a grand "Robin Hood" to help the poor.
What's most unforgettable is when his junior sister took him to the Prince's mansion to steal the imperial wine that was a reward. He and his junior sister were running around in a panic, stumbling and falling, while dozens of wolfhounds with green eyes were chasing after them and biting their butts.
Because they were delayed in returning to the sect for a long time, their master punished them by making them copy the sect rules three hundred times.
Under the peach tree, he set up a table and laid out paper. She lay drunk on the blossoms. A breeze blew, and the wine gourd he had hooked fell down again. He immediately reached out to catch it and carefully placed it in the center of the table.
Looking up, the girl's sleeping face was serene, her black hair cascading down, her red dress hidden among the blossoms, making her the most beautiful and vibrant flower on the peach tree.
"Little senior sister..."
But if you fall asleep, who will write the clan rules that you're punished to copy?
After a day of sword practice, Qingzhi should have been meditating, but for some reason he went to look for his junior sister in the peach tree. When he couldn't find her, he felt a strange emptiness in his heart and started asking everyone he met where she was, asking more than a dozen people in a row.
He didn't care at all about the teasing from others; all he wanted to do was find his junior sister.
As he hurriedly ran towards Tinghe Pavilion with his sword in his arms, he heard his junior sister's voice from afar.
"Elder Tingfeng, are you really going to put this exquisite heart into this puppet? Can this puppet really grow up slowly like a person?"
“Naturally, he will grow to be one year old in nearly thirty years. This exquisite heart is what I sought in my dream of immortals. The immortals guided me to put this heart into a puppet, which may avert a great calamity.”
“Immortal… I’ve heard that there have been signs of divine intervention in the waters off the Three Seas City, but I wonder…”
The voice paused, and the girl sitting in the pavilion seemed to sense something, looking at him through the layers of fallen flowers.
Qingzhi's heart suddenly went blank, and then began to beat violently.
My breath caught in my throat for a moment.
Looking into the girl's eyes, which were filled with the mist and smoke of falling petals, he seemed to suddenly understand the answer to that question.
Why would someone willingly succumb to such a state?
It's liking, it's youthful infatuation, it's longing in my heart.
Also.
Trying to find something by climbing a tree will only lead to failure.