The little ghost dragging Du Ruo became anxious, gripping her hand tightly and forcefully pulling her down towards the bottom of the water. Du Ruo's soul was instantly dragged down a great distance by this pull.
She cried out loudly to the person pushing through the bushes towards her: "Grandma, Grandma, Ruo'er is here—"
The icy pond water rose past her chin, drowning out her voice.
This mountain pool was on the shaded side, surrounded by lush trees that blocked out the sky. Above it grew a huge slanting rock, almost completely blocking out any daylight, making the pool extremely dark.
These waters that never saw sunlight were connected to the netherworld. The yin energy rose from the bottom of the pool, transforming into countless pale hands pulling Du Ruo down. In the blink of an eye, her soul was covered by the ghostly hands of yin energy climbing up, dragging her to the bottom.
"Ruo'er!" Du's Mother rushed to the edge of the pool, reaching out to grab into the water, but Yu Yi quickly stopped her. With such yin-filled water, they might not only fail to rescue Du Ruo, but her own soul might get pulled in as well.
After stopping Du's Mother, when Yu Yi looked back at the pool, she only saw a dark red robe embroidered with gold patterns being thrown towards her, and behind the red garment, a swift figure dove into the water.
Yu Yi caught the water-splashed outer robe, stepped two paces toward the pool's edge, and called out: "A Qiu."
Xue Chenjing surfaced with his dripping wet head, shook off the water droplets from his hair, and looking up, said to her: "The path to the netherworld has opened below. Don't come down; I'll bring her back."
Yu Yi paused for a moment, then nodded: "Alright, be careful."
Xue Chenjing's face, half-submerged in water, suddenly emerged again as he honestly blurted out the thought that had just occurred to him, asking in amazement: "Are you actually worried about me? You're worried about me? Me, Xue Chenjing, not anyone else?"
Yu Yi hadn't expected her casual "be careful" to elicit such an astonished response. She was somewhat bewildered and frowned, saying: "Do I look like someone who doesn't know how to be grateful?"
Xue Chenjing wanted to say "no," but his mouth honestly replied: "A little bit."
Otherwise, how could her goodwill towards him be so minimal! And even that included some portion meant for Xue Mingyuan.
Seeing Yu Yi's surprised expression, Xue Chenjing pressed his lips together in frustration and forcefully dove into the water, furiously shouting in his heart: "System! Wasn't the truth-telling mode turned off? What the hell did you turn off? Do you want to die?"
The system hurriedly climbed onto the task tree to check, explaining: "Master, the condition for turning off truth-telling requires the female lead to willingly say 'I trust you.' The answer you got through coercion wasn't approved by the system."
Xue Chenjing burned with anger, "You piece of garbage, I'll kill you someday."
System: "..."
Yu Yi stood stunned at the water's edge, so those were his true feelings just now.
Though the pool wasn't large in area, it was extremely deep. With no light penetrating it, the water was as black as a deep cave. When Xue Chenjing's figure sank into the water, it was as if he had been swallowed by this deep pool, quickly disappearing from sight.
The ripples on the pool's surface grew smaller and smaller, finally settling completely, as quiet as if nothing had ever happened.
Yu Yi used her spiritual power to dry his clothes, bundled them up in her arms, and frowned as she stared at the bottom of the pool, listening to Du's Mother beside her calling Du Ruo's name between sobs.
Two hours passed, and the pool water remained motionless.
"Could the bottom really be that deep? Surely Xue Chenjing hasn't actually chased all the way into the underworld?" Yu Yi thought messily, moving from standing to crouching, reaching out to tentatively touch the pool water.
A wave of cold energy instantly shot up through her fingertips into her meridians, making her shudder involuntarily.
By now, Du's Mother had cried herself out of tears in self-reproach, her voice hoarse from shouting, as she sat collapsed five steps away from the pool's edge among the bushes.
She no longer believed Du Ruo's soul could be retrieved, with only a last trace of hope remaining in her eyes as she asked: "Miss, Ruo'er has only been crying more fiercely lately, and becoming a bit dull, if... if these souls are truly lost, surely she won't..."
Yu Yi glanced over, her cold gaze stopping Du's Mother's unfinished words, and said: "When children lose one hun-soul, they easily become prone to convulsions and attract evil spirits and demons. How much worse is it for Du Ruo, who has lost one hun-soul and two po-souls? She was only crying and becoming dull before because these lost souls were in her mother's womb, and the Moon God's power maintained the connection between them."
"Now, if these one hun-soul and two po-souls truly cannot be found, you might as well prepare for her funeral."
The last glimmer of hope in Du's Mother's eyes shattered, and she completely collapsed to the ground.
Time passed slowly by the mountain pool, creating an atmosphere of anxiety.
After another long while, there was finally movement from the bottom of the water. A faint light floated up from below, and upon breaking the surface, it transformed into a bubble about the size of a bowl's mouth.
Golden spiritual threads were wrapped around the outside of the bubble, and inside was Du Ruo's soul curled up in a ball. Her soul had been corroded by yin energy, covered in mottled wounds all over. If not for this bubble containing her, she would likely have scattered long ago.
Du's Mother sat up from the ground, exclaiming joyfully: "Is that Ruo'er? Have you found Ruo'er?"
Yu Yi carefully cradled the bubble in her arms, her gaze returning to the bottom of the pool.
But only this bubble had emerged from the water, which then fell back into silence, with no sign of Xue Chenjing. The soul of Du Ruo in the bubble was already very weak and needed to be returned to her body quickly.
Yu Yi looked back and forth between the little girl in the bubble and the pool, waiting a while longer, but still saw no movement in the water. Under Du's Mother's urging, she finally bit her lip and stepped back from the pool's edge.
She waved her hand to hang the dried robe on a nearby branch, removed the seal from her crane senior, and helped Du's Mother onto the crane.
The crane took off with Du's Mother's startled cries, leaping out of the dense forest's cover and flying towards Fusheng County.
At her crane senior's speed, the round trip from here to Fusheng County would take less than a quarter hour, and adding the time needed to return Du Ruo's soul to her body, she could be back at the pool in just one hour.
At the foot of the mountain, He Yungeng and Wen Li had also tracked to this location. They had used soul-tracking techniques to find this place but had suddenly lost the trail and were searching through the mountains.
Hearing movement overhead, they looked up to the sky and only saw the rapidly flying silhouette of a crane heading toward the county.
The broken soul trail suddenly became effective again, pointing in the direction of the crane.
"Du Ruo's soul is on the crane's back," said He Yungeng.
Du Qian, panting heavily behind them, heard his words and excitedly asked, "Have the two immortal masters found my daughter's soul?"
Wen Li pointed at the crane's silhouette in the sky, "Your daughter is up there." He circled his eyes, using spiritual vision to look, "The female cultivator sitting on the crane that I saw in the virtual realm, could she be the demon keeper that the earthworm mentioned?"
The crane's shadow grew smaller and smaller. Wen Li blinked his sore eyes and turned to ask, "Senior Brother, should we send a message to Elder Yi?"
He Yungeng nodded, but just as Wen Li's communication talisman was sent out, it crashed into a figure emerging from the void. Yi Heng appeared not far away, his joined fingers pinching the communication talisman.
He glanced at the message in the talisman and nodded with a smile: "The message is very timely, I've received it."
He Yungeng and Wen Li: "..."
Yi Heng gestured toward Fusheng County and said, "Go and take a look. If that female cultivator tries to return, find a way to delay her." He paused, then specifically reminded them, "Oh, and be friendly, don't get into any conflicts with her."
Though the two didn't understand completely, they naturally had to comply with the elder's instructions, and immediately set off back to the county with Du Qian.
After they left, Yi Heng turned and walked into the mountains. A compass-like magical device flew out from his palm, with dense spiritual threads shooting out from it like a spider's web, attaching to the surrounding grass, trees, and rocks.
As Yi Heng walked past, the surrounding vegetation and mountain rocks changed their shape and position under the pull of the spiritual threads. Even the terrain became unrecognizable, with layers upon layers of branches concealing all traces in the mountain, making it impossible to discern directions.
The crane flew over Fusheng County, folded its wings, and descended directly into the Du family courtyard.
In the Du family courtyard, Granny Li was arguing with Du's Father. Granny Li had learned the truth from the Carefree Sect cultivators and now knew who was responsible for her daughter's suffering. She stood guard at the main house door, preventing him from seeing Zhao Zhi and Du Ruo.
Du's Father grumbled in the courtyard, blaming Zhao Zhi's uncooperative womb.
"Everything we've done was for the children's sake. After giving birth to Du Ruo, she hasn't conceived for all these years. If Du Ruo were a boy, it would be fine - he could take care of them when he grows up," he said, growing more self-righteous as he pointed at the timber piled in the yard. "But Du Ruo is a girl. She can't inherit my and Du Qian's carpentry skills. After she marries and leaves, how will they survive in their old age?"
Granny Li stood unmoved at the doorway, "I only have one daughter myself, and I'm living just fine. If Du Ruo can't learn carpentry, she can learn weaving and sewing from her mother. Are you suggesting everyone who doesn't have a son should just die?"
Their argument was interrupted by an enormous crane landing in the courtyard, startling them both.
When Granny Li saw Yu Yi on the crane's back, her furrowed brows relaxed in disbelief. "Little Yu."
Yu Yi leaped down from the crane, "Granny, I've brought back Du Ruo's soul. Where is she?"
Granny Li glanced at what Yu Yi was carrying, tears of gratitude welling in her eyes. She immediately stepped aside, "Inside. Quick, come in."
Yu Yi entered carrying the soul bubble. Du's Mother also slid down from the crane, but her legs gave way and she collapsed to the ground, unable to walk.
Du's Father, after cautiously eyeing the crane until it moved away, went to help Du's Mother up, asking softly, "Did you really find Ruo'er's soul?"
Du's Mother nodded, "We found it."
Du's Father craned his neck to peer into the main house, sighing, "That's good, that's good."
At least it was better than losing everything.
At the main house entrance, Senior Crane peered inside, its massive wings blocking the doorway.
Inside, Zhao Zhi and Du Ruo lay together, with fresh bedding. The bloody smell had mostly dissipated. After her miscarriage, Zhao Zhi had taken medicine to stop the bleeding and replenish her energy, making her look somewhat better than during her pregnancy.
Du Ruo lay quietly beside her mother, still unconscious.
Yu Yi approached the bed. Before she could reach Du Ruo, the bubble in her arms floated up, hovering above Du Ruo. Spirit threads unwound from the bubble, wrapping around Du Ruo's lost hun and po souls, guiding them back into her body.
As the souls settled, the spirit threads withdrew and formed a magical seal in mid-air, which descended onto Du Ruo's forehead, manifesting as a mung bean-sized cinnabar mark.
"A soul-anchoring seal?" Yu Yi reached into her storage pouch, quickly pulled out a book of talismans, and flipped through it. Only after confirming it was indeed a soul-anchoring seal did she put the book away and tell Granny Li, "Du Ruo's soul is somewhat damaged. It will take three to five years to fully heal. Once her soul stabilizes, this mark on her forehead will fade."
Granny Li wiped her tears with her sleeve, repeatedly expressing her gratitude.
Yu Yi shook her head with a smile, "Du Ruo was saved by the person who once ate your big bowl of fish. This seal is also his."
Granny Li's eyes widened as she looked around, "He came back too? Why didn't he come with you? I'll make fish for you all again."
Xue Chenjing had likely forgotten about Granny Li; he hadn't shown any reaction when they visited the Du house that day. Yu Yi declined politely, saying, "I need to go back to find him, so I can't stay to chat. Please take good care of yourselves."
Unable to persuade Yu Yi to stay, Granny Li could only escort her out.
Just as Yu Yi stepped outside, Senior Crane let out a sharp cry and spread its wings, chasing two people from the Du family courtyard to the outside. The two were pecked repeatedly, crying out in pain, but they couldn't draw their swords against it and could only defend themselves with their sword hilts against the sharp beak.
These two were He Yungeng and Wen Li.
On their way back, they had been discussing how to detain her without causing conflict, and finally decided to kidnap her mount first.
They had rushed back to the Du house and attempted to ambush the crane while Yu Yi was inside returning the soul.
But they never dreamed this wasn't an ordinary crane, but one skilled in swordsmanship.
Senior Crane had practiced diligently even when following Master Qingxuan, striving to be worthy of being a sword spirit. Later, it had spent five years practicing swordsmanship with Yu Yi in the Bamboo Grove Secret Realm. Its beak was as sharp as a sword blade, its neck as flexible as a human wrist, and its swordsmanship was truly masterful, no less skilled than a proper sword cultivator.
During this delay, the crane's master came out to the courtyard. Yu Yi flashed into the battle, coordinating perfectly with Senior Crane. With one sword stroke, she forced the two back, eyeing them warily.
Wen Li hurriedly explained, "Miss, don't misunderstand, we mean no harm. We just saw such a beautiful crane and wanted to pet it."
Senior Crane called out repeatedly - they had ambushed it from behind, grabbed its wings, and tried to bind it with a restraining spell. How was that petting?
Yu Yi frowned as the other party continued rambling: "Actually, we were also searching for Du Ruo's soul. When we saw you had found it, we followed to check. We're all fellow cultivators..."
Yu Yi couldn't be bothered to listen to his chatter. She jumped onto the crane's back and said, "Senior Crane, let's go."
The crane spread its wings and soared skyward, with the two men hurriedly pursuing. Wen Li shouted, "Hey, how can you leave before letting someone finish speaking?"
He Yungeng, who had been silent until now, finally snorted, "Seems your silver tongue isn't winning over this lady either."
Wen Li: "..."
Not only was the crane skilled in swordsmanship, but it also flew incredibly fast. The two men couldn't keep up even on their flying swords. He Yungeng watched enviously and mused, "When we return to the Carefree Sect, I'll suggest to the sect leader that we should teach our cranes swordsmanship too."
Wen Li sighed helplessly, "Senior Brother, since we couldn't stop her, you should think about how to explain this to Elder Yi instead."
The hillside wasn't far from Fengsheng County town, and they arrived shortly. The crane flew over the forest, and Yu Yi searched from above, circling the surrounding mountains, but surprisingly couldn't find the forest they had entered earlier.
"What's going on?" Yu Yi urged Senior Crane to circle the surrounding forests again, "How has the terrain changed?"
She retreated to the main road, hoping to use it as a reference point and retrace their previous route, but as soon as she stepped off the road into the forest, the surrounding landscape would change. She tried several times, entering from the same spot off the main road, but each time the scenery was different.
Someone had set up a formation here.
At the deep pool in the mountains, the long-still waters finally stirred again. A figure emerged from underwater, extending a hand turned pale from the water to grip a nearby rock, using it to pull their heavy body ashore.
Xue Chenjing had walked the path of the dead with a living body, and cold yin energy seeped from his very bones. After climbing ashore, ice shells fell from his clothes, and frost covered all his hair.
With his Chaos Constitution and soul that couldn't enter reincarnation, it had been difficult enough for him to return. If it had been her, she probably would have been dragged into the netherworld already.
Fortunately, he hadn't let her jump in.
The poolside was empty; Yu Yi wasn't there. He had guessed that after retrieving the little girl's soul, Yu Yi would first return to restore it to her body. Though he had anticipated this, not seeing her upon emerging from the water still left him feeling somewhat disappointed.
The system chose this moment to offer comfort: "Master, are you alright?"
Xue Chenjing's teeth chattered from cold, his tone harsh: "Are you blind? Do I look alright to you?"
System: "..." Strictly speaking, it didn't have eyes. The system swallowed its pride and said, "Master, you're naturally deficient in fire energy, and now you're covered in yin energy, so of course you're feeling unwell."
Shivering from cold, his breath coming out as frost, Xue Chenjing understood rationally but still felt hurt: "Damn it, why isn't she here? She actually didn't wait for me. She should be waiting by the pool with clothes for me! Is that little girl's soul more important than me?"
He let out a whimper through his nose, his mouth moving uncontrollably as he answered his own question: "Yes, the little girl is more important than me, Senior Crane is more important than me, everyone is more important to her than me."
System: "..." Under the influence of truth-telling, the host's melancholy surprised even the system.
Xue Chenjing stared straight up at the dim branches overhead, frost crystals on his eyelashes casting shadows across his vision.
He counted the slowly passing time, lying on the ground for half a quarter hour. During this time, Yu Yi still hadn't returned.
Did it need to take this long? Did returning to life need to take this long?
Xue Chenjing suddenly seemed to think of something, abruptly sitting up. The ice shell on his body crackled, scattering across the ground as he asked with a trembling voice, "She wouldn't have abandoned me and run away again, would she?"
