Translator: Moonlit
Editor: kiki
The concept of a curse merging with the soul was unheard of.
Chu Ruochun was so young; how could he achieve such a thing?
After conversing with Chu Ruochun, Feng Jiu and his wife couldn’t sleep the whole night. They talked for hours.
Yang Wenxin asked, “Should we really entrust little Qi to him?”
Feng Jiu replied, “I don’t know. Maybe he does have real abilities.”
Yang Wenxin asked, “Why did he target several major sects at the Metaphysical Conference?”
In fact, the events at the Metaphysical Conference had already proven Chu Ruochun’s abilities, but it was their first time dealing with him personally.
Feng Jiu pondered, “Should I consult the divination again?”
Yang Wenxin replied, “You already did before. I think it’s Chu Ruochun.”
Feng Jiu asked, “Do you feel like the name Chu Ruochun is familiar?”
Yang Wenxin suddenly sat up in bed!
“Yes, I also find it strangely familiar. Wait, let me think.”
She paced around the room.
She was usually the one who thought deeply in the family; Feng Jiu was more straightforward and couldn’t navigate these complicated matters.
Feng Jiu asked, “Is it someone we know?”
Yang Wenxin asked, “He told us without any hesitation that he was responsible for disrupting the Metaphysical Conference. It’s not like he had a powerful backing or extraordinary skills, so why did he do it? Why could he summon malevolent spirits within the formation, including all of you, regardless of your level of cultivation?”
Feng Jiu was also puzzled. “That does suggest that he’s truly capable. But does disrupting the conference imply that he has questionable character? Is there some hidden agenda?”
Yang Wenxin recalled Chu Ruochun’s demeanor during the “live stream.” He didn’t display excitement; he seemed too composed. What did he intend to accomplish? Was he just reveling in everyone’s misfortunes?
Yang Wenxin asked, “I remember that after the illusion at the palace, Gong Liujie kept mentioning someone. Were you awake then? Did you hear it?”
Feng Jiu was under the illusion for only a short time before his son knocked him out.
Feng Jiu asked, “Are you talking about him calling someone ‘Junior Brother’?”
Yang Wenxin said, “Yes. Do you remember the name of his Junior Brother? Years ago, we took little Qi to the Qingyue Sect to meet the former Sect Master and saw his Junior Brother. Do you recall his name?”
Feng Jiu replied, “I remember; it seems like his surname was also Chu.”
Yang Wenxin said, “Chu Ruochun, right?”
Mainly because nearly twenty years had passed, and they had been busy dealing with Feng Qi’s situation ever since. They hadn’t had the time to keep track of other people. Even if the other person had some fame, they only knew he was a disciple of the Qingyue Sect, a young genius. But they had no interactions, so they didn’t know his name.
Feng Jiu suggested, “Let’s ask the elders of the Qingyue Sect tomorrow morning. They couldn’t have forgotten.”
Yang Wenxin pondered, “I’m saying, what if, if he’s that genius Junior Brother from the Qingyue Sect…”
Feng Jiu interjected, “But logically, he should be the same age as little Qi. He looks like he’s not even twenty yet.”
Yang Wenxin continued, “Listen to me, I’m not just guessing randomly. You know that in illusions, people experience their worst fears, and see things they least want to see. The more frightened they are, the more these fears manifest. In the palace illusion, Liujie was afraid of his Junior Brother and mentioned the Ghost Abyss. Among the people who entered yesterday, apart from you, everyone else has been to the Ghost Abyss. Didn’t that genius Junior Brother from the Qingyue Sect go there too back then? I remember that after the incident, there was no more news related to him.”
Feng Jiu agreed, “Your explanation makes sense. I can’t let this slide; I’ll ask around early in the morning. We have no information about this matter at all.”
In fact, they were already assuming that Chu Ruochun was indeed the Junior Disciple of the former Sect Master.
What had really happened when they sealed the Ghost Abyss?
–
The shooting location on the second day was at the farmhouse. The children enjoyed climbing trees, chasing ducks, and having a picnic.
Feng Qi’s participation brought a lot of interesting content to the program.
At noon, they cooked using locally sourced ingredients at the farmhouse.
Feng Jiu did, indeed, inquire early in the morning with a Qingyue Sect elder he knew. After their conversation, they were certain that the former Sect Master’s Junior Disciple was named Chu Ruochun.
As a result, they kept a close eye on Chu Ruochun the entire day, but every time they were about to broach the topic, they hesitated.
Feng Qi and Ming Yuxian had been focused on playing with the two children for the past few days. At this moment, the four of them, along with the cook, were choosing ingredients, and Chu Ruochun had taken on the task of starting the fire.
“Come on, let Auntie handle the fire,” Yang Wenxin squeezed next to Chu Ruochun. “Young people like you probably don’t know how to do this.”
“Sure,” Chu Ruochun wasn’t being formal with Yang Wenxin. He gave up his spot for making the fire and handed her dry grass and firewood.
Yang Wenxin lit a talisman and created a barrier between them. Other people would only see them starting the fire but wouldn’t hear what they were saying, and even microphones wouldn’t pick up their conversation.
Chu Ruochun noticed her actions and knew what she was about to do. “I thought Sister Yang might wait one more day.”
“How did you know?” Yang Wenxin looked at him helplessly.
Chu Ruochun, still smiling, said, “I’m not omniscient, but after revealing so much information to you, if there were no response, I probably would have to clarify my identity.”
Yang Wenxin found it incredible, “Are you really Gong Liujie’s Junior Brother?”
Chu Ruochun replied, “Absolutely.”
Yang Wenxin asked, “Resurrection?”
Chu Ruochun said, “To put it in more modern terms, you could call it reincarnation.” A reincarnation within reincarnation.
Yang Wenxin inquired, “How did you do it?”
“If someone mastered the art of Borrowing a Corpse to Return to Life, the idea of achieving immortality might indeed become possible.”
Chu Ruochun naturally wouldn’t answer this question directly. “Sister Yang wouldn’t waste a talisman just to ask me that question.”
People in the mystical arts wouldn’t be unaware of how difficult and sinister the art of Borrowing a Corpse to Return to Life was. From ancient times to the present, they had never seen a revival art that blended body and soul exceptionally well. This was different from ghost possession, which was just attachment, but the body’s condition would deteriorate as it lacked the soul of a living person until the body’s functions decayed completely, becoming a true corpse.
“Alright,” Yang Wenxin understood that he didn’t want to discuss it further. “You need some time to adjust as well. Technically, you and I are peers, and Yun Tian Shi is of the same generation as my Master.”
“You can call me Ruochun,” Chu Ruochun didn’t mind such details.
Yang Wenxin and Feng Jiu contemplated for an entire night. They initially thought Chu Ruochun had come back for revenge, but upon further consideration, it wasn’t a significant event. It was more of a lesson for the disciples of the major sects and the sect leaders, a very profound lesson. Even Master Huai Ci of Jingkong Si was forced into seclusion and dared not show himself.
Was the Righteous Avenger trying to expose the dark side of the mystical arts world?
“Ruochun, getting back to the point, is there really no other way for Little Qi?” Yang Wenxin wanted to hear a different answer from him.
Unfortunately, Chu Ruochun didn’t give her a chance. “Sister Yang, over the centuries, how many methods have the Feng family tried? Have any of them worked?”
“The methods we tried might not have worked, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a more suitable way,” Yang Wenxin’s smile slowly faded.
“The curse is intertwined with the birth of the child; it has long merged with the Feng family. Do you know what the Feng family’s curse is? Do you know where it came from and its origin?”
Yang Wenxin was momentarily stunned by his question. “It’s written in our ancestors’ records.”
“Why couldn’t it be resolved all this time? Is it because the person who cast the curse had too much resentment? If it’s resentment, we can recite scriptures to dissipate it. Moreover, there’s a lesser-known method, transferring the curse, but you’ve also tried that, whether it’s transferred to a scarecrow, a living person, or an animal, it didn’t work.”
“How do you know everything?” Yang Wenxin was taken aback.
Back in the day, she was also a prodigy in the mystical arts world. People advised her not to marry into the Feng family, warning that it would bring her misfortune, but she didn’t believe it. She thought she could handle it. Later, after going through so much, she realized she couldn’t solve it herself, and she became self-conscious.
Chu Ruochun said, “Have you ever considered that your ancestors’ records might be false from the beginning? The information you received at the very start was incorrect, and one wrong step led to another, naturally resulting in no solution.”
“But this family heirloom has been passed down for many years; it can’t be fake,” Yang Wenxin expressed her doubts.
“No one can verify its origin,” Chu Ruochun calculated with a snap of his fingers.
“Is that even possible?” Yang Wenxin began to doubt herself. “So what is the truth then? The Feng family couldn’t have overlooked it.”
“Of course, they couldn’t have found it.”
“You’re right, but how do we blend the soul and the curse?” Yang Wenxin asked.
“It’s a gradual process,” Chu Ruochun explained. “He needs to adapt slowly to the changes in his body, and so do you.”
Yang Wenxin understood and asked, “So what are your conditions?”
“The Ghost Abyss,” Chu Ruochun said, but he didn’t go into detail about what exactly needed to be done.
Yang Wenxin moved her lips but didn’t say much.
The Ghost Abyss… It sounded extremely challenging.
She dispelled the barrier between them and turned to discuss Feng Qi’s situation with Feng Jiu.
As Yang Wenxin left, Feng Qi approached.
“My parents have been looking for you these past few days. Is there something going on?” he asked.
“Yes, it’s about you,” Chu Ruochun stated directly.
“Me?” Feng Qi was about to say that he didn’t seem to have any issues, but facing Chu Ruochun, he didn’t dare to be too confident. “So, what have you and my parents discussed?”
Chu Ruochun smiled. “They’ll tell you.”
Without getting any answers, Feng Qi didn’t give up and decided to make dinner with Chu Ruochun. It turned out to be quite interesting.
—
Considering that Chu Ruolin had classes the next day, he headed straight to the airport in the afternoon to return to Jingzhou.
Feng Jiu and Yang Wenxin specifically accompanied Feng Qi back to Jingzhou.
As soon as they entered their home, Feng Jiu couldn’t help but ask Feng Qi for his opinion. “Feng Qi, we discussed it with Ruochun, and he believes he can cure the curse on you.”
“What curse do I have?” Feng Qi asked. This all sounded too surreal—something invisible and intangible.
Feng Qi wasn’t very inclined to believe his parents’ words.
“Our family’s generational curse,” they explained it carefully to Feng Qi.
Feng Qi, driven by his own considerations and his parents’ persistence, agreed directly. “Alright, when do we start?”
Yang Wenxin replied, “We can start anytime.”
—
The next day, Feng Jiu and Yang Wenxin packed up and brought Feng Qi to Chu Ruochun’s place. They coincidentally met Bai Yichen, who was wearing a mask and preparing to return to Chu Ruochun’s house.
Feng Jiu and Yang Wenxin had known Bai Yichen’s true nature for a while. Chu Ruochun had a strong spiritual power, something that attracted spirits.
The four of them arrived at Chu Ruochun’s house simultaneously. When they entered, there were four freshly poured cups of tea on the coffee table.
Feng Jiu and Yang Wenxin became even more certain that Chu Ruochun could cure Feng Qi.
No, they should say that he could save Feng Qi.
Feng Qi, upon seeing Bai Yichen casually entering Chu Ruochun’s house, asked, “Bai Yichen, why are you here?”
Bai Yichen giggled, and in the next moment, he transformed into a fluffy white fox in front of Feng Qi.
The white fox spoke like a human, saying, “I live in Chu Ruochun’s house, buddy.”
Feng Qi, who had been quite skeptical about the surreal situation just a couple of days ago, couldn’t believe his eyes.
