He Yungeng immediately walked over and reached out to examine Du Ruo's soul. With a troubled expression, he asked, "Her soul hasn't returned. What happened?"
His sharp question was directed at the earthworm in the demon-catching banner, frightening the worm so much that it trembled within the black flag surface, twisting anxiously as it replied, "The-the clay vessel melted away, losing its human form. Without anyone to guide the three parts of her soul back to her body, they must have gotten lost."
A child's soul is naturally fragile; sometimes just being frightened can cause them to lose parts of their soul, let alone in a situation like this. If Du Ruo's lost soul parts were still within the Du family home that would be manageable, but if they had wandered outside, it would be much more difficult to resolve.
He Yungeng immediately took charge of Qu Chan, asking Granny Li and Du Qian to bring Du Ruo's favorite things and call out loudly for her soul, attempting to summon back her lost soul parts.
Outside the Du residence, Yu Yi withdrew her gaze from the bubble and turned to look at Xue Chenjing. Before she could speak, he seemed to guess her thoughts and stepped back two paces, spiritual threads flowing from his fingertips to form a familiar magical array.
Xue Chenjing took the opportunity to ask, "Master, do you trust me?"
Yu Yi was puzzled by the question. "Do you still need Du Ruo's spiritual essence?"
Xue Chenjing shook his head, the spiritual threads pausing at his fingertips as he stared at her intently. "No, I just need you to say 'I trust you.'"
The System was exasperated. Was the host really being this blunt? Couldn't he learn from Xue Mingyuan's subtle approach to completing tasks? It really couldn't understand what he was being so confident about.
It sighed helplessly, "...Master, how is this coaxing? Saying something like this at such a crucial moment, the female protagonist will definitely think you're threatening her! Coercing her! Using a little girl's soul to force her hand!"
Xue Chenjing didn't care what happened to the little girl; he had no spare sympathy for other people or matters. He irritably retorted in his mind, "I'm not doing that at all. I just thought this was an opportunity, and I would help her even if she didn't say it."
When Yu Yi heard the System's voice, she guessed he was probably trying to complete another system task.
The System was right - when she heard Xue Chenjing demand such an irrelevant statement at this critical moment before he would continue, she did feel somewhat uncomfortable at being coerced.
But finding Du Ruo's soul was more important right now. The other two cultivators had already left the Du residence, clearly having failed to find the little girl's lost soul parts in the courtyard. Away from Du Ruo's familiar environment, the wandering soul would become more confused and more vulnerable to harm.
Yu Yi didn't want to engage in this back-and-forth testing at such a time, so she gave in to his wishes and said, "I trust you."
Xue Chenjing's eyes immediately lit up, happiness causing the corners of his eyes to crinkle as the trembling spiritual threads consolidated into an array.
Some of Du Ruo's spiritual essence that had been absorbed earlier still remained in the array. The array quickly activated, with spiritual threads weaving inward. Just as the outline of a large mosquito began to take shape, Xue Chenjing suddenly reached out to pull one of the spiritual threads, his fingers moving rapidly.
Before Yu Yi could clearly see what he had done, the nearly-formed mosquito outline suddenly transformed into a palm-sized bird.
"Do you like this form?" Xue Chenjing asked eagerly.
This spiritual thread bird was even smaller than the miniaturized Crane Senior, about the size of a hummingbird. Glowing spiritual threads formed its delicate wings, with beautiful long feathered streamers adorning its tail. When it fluttered, its wing afterimages formed two golden fans.
It was truly beautiful.
Crane Senior had just woken up from a nap and poked its head out of the pouch, only to see such a flashy little bird.
It absolutely couldn't allow a bird more beautiful than itself to appear near the Green Bamboo Sword. Unhappily chirping once, it was immediately provoked into battle mode and charged forward to peck at it.
Yu Yi reached out to block it, "Crane Senior, that's not a real bird!"
Xue Chenjing blinked in surprise and quickly extended his hand in front of Yu Yi's palm, getting pecked in the palm by Crane Senior's sharp beak, making him hiss in pain.
At that moment, the golden hummingbird formed by the array detected traces of Du Ruo's soul and flew off with beating wings.
"Are you alright?" Yu Yi grabbed Crane Senior back and stuffed it into the pouch, then took his hand and hurriedly massaged his palm a couple of times before turning to run after the hummingbird.
Xue Chenjing touched his palm - the pain from the peck had completely vanished with her two gentle massages. "I'm fine."
The System said, "...Hurry up, Master, the female protagonist has run far ahead."
The golden hummingbird flew through several streets before diving into the back courtyard of a medical clinic. The clinic's front door was tightly shut, not yet open for business. Yu Yi invisibly snuck in and saw the doctor lying in the back courtyard - it was the same doctor who had taken Zhao Zhi's pulse the night before.
The doctor, still shocked from the clay vessel incident, seemed to haven't recovered yet and was resting in the courtyard. It appeared that when he fled in panic, he had inadvertently taken Du Ruo's soul parts with him.
However, after the little hummingbird circled the doctor several times, it couldn't find Du Ruo's soul. After hovering around for a while, it flew out of the clinic and headed toward the city gates along the street.
Xue Chenjing picked up a round spirit money with square holes from a corner of the street, which was dampened by morning dew. He frowned and said, "This is troublesome. Someone held a funeral procession this morning, and her soul might have followed the funeral procession."
The two followed the hummingbird out of the city, seeing scattered spirit money along the entire way.
While they were heading out of the city, He Yungeng and Wen Li had also found the medical clinic, but naturally failed to find Du Ruo's soul there as well.
As the two emerged from the clinic's main entrance, they saw a white-robed cultivator standing by the street. They both froze for a moment before hurriedly running forward and bowing respectfully, nervously asking, "Elder Yi, why are you here? We haven't broken any rules, have we?"
During the autumn examination period, the elders of the four sects would closely observe the disciples' conduct for evaluation. Seeing an elder appear before them at this time, both thought their opportunistic behavior in the Human Trial Realm had violated the rules.
Yi Heng smiled and said, "No, not at all. I'm here because of the demon that the little earthworm spirit you captured mentioned."
Both of them breathed huge sighs of relief. From last night's battle, they clearly were no match for that demon, and after capturing Qu Chan, they had planned to bring it back to the sect after resolving Du Ruo's lost soul situation.
They immediately took out the demon-catching banner and handed it to Elder Yi.
Yi Heng reached out to take it, waved his sleeve to release the small demon from the flag surface, and then cast it into a round mirror.
Qu Chan's consciousness scattered into the mirror without resistance, displaying its memory images.
The mirror clearly showed a figure in the temple - a young woman in water-green gauze dress, with a long sword suspended in mid-air. A white streak crossed the middle of the blade, making it as bright and reflective as a mirror, revealing the evil presence on the Moon Goddess statue.
Yi Heng's smiling eyes widened slightly as he exclaimed happily, "The fifth sword form, it really is the Spring-Pursuing Heart Sword. Not many people can master the fifth form."
When he saw another figure appear in the great hall later, he suddenly pulled the mirror surface closer, his eyes almost falling into the mirror.
After a long while, he withdrew the round mirror and said, "I'll take this earthworm with me. Don't worry about the demon - just help the Du family's daughter find her lost soul, and your task here will be complete."
Without waiting for their response, Yi Heng's figure vanished from the street.
Yi Heng didn't return to the Suspended Moon Tower where the four sects' autumn examination was being held, but went straight to the inner section of the Carefree Sect, crossing numerous treacherous peaks to reach the Floating Water Pavilion where the sect's Supreme Elder lived in seclusion.
The Floating Water Pavilion was built above rippling waters, like a nine-layered lotus with crystal-clear petals protecting an exquisite tower in the center. In the pavilion's gallery, a beautiful woman wearing lotus-white palace robes with flowing sleeves was brewing tea.
Before Yi Heng's figure could land in the pavilion, he heard her ask, "Why aren't you at the Suspended Moon Tower overseeing the four sects' autumn examination? What brings you back?"
"Because this son has found the person Mother has always wanted to find but kept missing by chance."
Hearing this, Lady Lotus's hands paused, and the teacup fell onto the tray with a clear ding.
Yi Heng quickly presented the round mirror to his mother, raised his sleeve to release the images within, and said, "I hear that both Mount Li and Zhaohua Palace have issued bounties for capturing him. Mother, if you want to get to him first, you'll need to act quickly."
Lady Lotus stared at the mirror's surface, immediately recognizing the sword technique used by the woman in the reflection. "The Spring-Pursuing Heart Sword." She watched a bit longer, her delicately painted eyebrows furrowing in disappointment, "How pathetic, in this life he was completely defeated by his inner demons."
No wonder the soul lamp's connection to him was always so brief, extinguishing before she could locate him.
Yi Heng, noticing the disappointment in Lady Lotus's expression, was reminded of his own mother's daily disapproval. He rubbed his nose and asked, "Will mother still go look for him?"
Lady Lotus rose and went inside, retrieving a brocade box from a cabinet. "Let's go."
Yi Heng glanced at the box curiously. "What's that?"
"The Xue couple's wishing tablet."
...
In Fengsheng County.
Without Qu Chan's guidance, He Yungeng and Wen Li had no choice but to return to the Du residence to collect some of Du Ruo's hair and skin for soul-tracking.
A child's soul was naturally weak, and the longer Du Ruo's soul remained lost, the greater the chance it would dissipate.
Yu Yi and Xue Chenjing followed the hummingbird to the outskirts of the city. By this point, the bird's flight had slowed considerably, hovering uncertainly several times, unable to locate Du Ruo's soul.
The city gates of Fengsheng County stood wide open as people streamed back from the Moon Goddess Temple, some in groups, others alone.
These people, once Qu Chan's most devout followers and those who had placed their deepest wishes with the Moon Goddess, now faced the collapse of their faith. Having nearly died at the hands of the deity they worshipped, even destroying the temple couldn't quell their resentment.
Some were angry, some bitter, while others had lost all hope, their faces blank with numbness.
The weather was poor that day, with only a sliver of morning sun. The sky was gloomy, as were the people. Morning mist floated between the mountains and fields as Yu Yi and Xue Chenjing moved against the flow of people, like swimming through a suffocating current.
In the crowd, they spotted Du Ruo's grandparents, looking disheveled. They had aged considerably overnight, presumably realizing that the grandson promised by the Moon Goddess would never come. In their eyes, the Du family line would end.
The elderly couple supported each other, numbly following the crowd back to the city when suddenly someone blocked their path. It took them a moment to raise their heads.
Before them stood two beautiful young people. The young woman looked somewhat familiar to Du's Mother, but she couldn't summon the energy to care, and the couple tried to walk around them.
Yu Yi spoke, "You asked the Moon Goddess to extract Du Ruo's soul and return it to the womb, trying to defy fate by turning your granddaughter into a grandson. Now you've lost both the grandson and are about to lose your granddaughter as well."
The elderly couple suddenly stopped, turning to stare at her in shock and fear. "How... how do you know about that?"
Their actions had been known only to themselves, kept secret even from Du Qian and Zhao Zhi, let alone these strange young people.
Yu Yi ignored their question and continued, "Zhao Zhi has miscarried, and Du Ruo's soul is lost. If you still want your granddaughter, come with us to find her soul."
"Who are you? Why are you interfering in our family matters?" Du's Father asked suspiciously, hesitating, while Du's Mother was already nodding frantically, "Yes, yes, I'll search. How do we search? Where should we look?"
Having lost her grandson, she couldn't bear to lose her granddaughter as well, who she had raised since infancy. She had only been fooled by the temple priest in her confusion.
Yu Yi said, "Follow us and call Du Ruo's name. You're her grandmother, connected by blood. You'll have better luck calling back her scattered soul than we would."
Du's Mother nodded and moved to follow them, but Du's Father held her back. "You foolish woman! You don't even know who these people are, and you're just going to follow them!"
"I've seen this young lady before, she came with my in-law. She won't harm Ruo'er."
Du's Father, extremely wary, remained hostile toward these mysterious strangers and insisted on pulling his wife back.
Xue Chenjing, irritated by their back-and-forth, clicked his tongue and swept his sleeve, breaking their joined hands. He grabbed Du's Mother's arm and with a flash, moved dozens of paces away, leaving Du's Father behind.
Yu Yi, startled by his sudden action, quickly followed. When Xue Chenjing looked at her, she nodded in approval of his actions.
Xue Chenjing's expression immediately softened, his lips curving into an involuntary smile.
Yu Yi pointed to the spirit money by the roadside and told Du's Mother, "Hurry and call out, as loud as you can. Her soul has been wandering too long and is nearly scattered. Du Ruo can't find her way home, and if she follows the dead souls into the netherworld, we won't be able to call her back."
Du's Mother, who had been trembling from Xue Chenjing's actions, quickly wiped her tears upon hearing these words and began calling out shakily.
Her desperate cries echoed through the morning mist. The hovering hummingbird flapped its wings, gradually finding direction again, and flew toward a hillside outside the city.
The mist was thicker in the mountains, the sky even darker. They passed a newly built grave on the autumn-withered hillside and walked deeper into the woods until the hummingbird finally stopped at a pond.
In the pond, Du Ruo, with only one hun and two po souls remaining, appeared as a hazy outline in the morning mist. Someone was holding her right hand, pulling her down into the water.
Du Ruo's young face showed confusion. As if hearing something, she tilted her head and said, "I think Grandmother is calling me."
