Chapter 19 Xia Wei - Lone Star
At night, Xia Wei returned to Aunt Wang's house and rested in the guest room.
Next to her, there were huge crab claws that had not been eaten. In a corner of the room not far away, there was a pile of crab leg bones that had been disassembled and eaten.
Leaning back against the warm mattress, Xia Wei recalled today's adventure with a serene smile, her face brimming with life. Not only had she intimidated those who looked down on her with her strength, but she had also saved Aunt Wang's husband, Qi Feng, from a powerful monster, repaying Aunt Wang's kindness by saving her a meal.
Furthermore, the second-level peak-level hairy crab she had slain was the Monster Hunting Team's greatest haul in recent years. All members received enough crab meat for a full meal, and every member of Qingshi Town was eagerly preparing for the Hengshan Bandit's attack.
As the greatest contributor to the monster's slaying, Xia Wei was warmly welcomed by the townspeople. Upon learning of Xia Wei's story, the stern commander Zhang Yong offered a sincere apology. Qi Feng, whose life she had saved, joined Aunt Wang in thanking her profusely.
Xia Wei turned her head and looked at Ye Jie beside her with gratitude. She was able to do all this thanks to Ye Jie's guidance, which helped her embark on the path of immortality and defeat powerful enemies. That deep gratitude also turned into an unshakable dependence, taking root in her heart.
"Master, I saved someone. Do you have anything to say?" Xia Wei sat up straight, looking at Ye Jie with bright eyes, with a hint of expectation in her eyes.
Ye Jie spoke slowly at this moment: "Xiao Wei, you possess extraordinary innate magical powers, but sometimes, that is not an opportunity or a gift, but more like a curse. While enjoying the power, you must also pay special attention to the people around you."
Xia Wei was stunned: "Master, what does that mean?"
Ye Jie raised his hand and concentrated, and a thin soul-breaking arrow appeared in his hand. He looked at Xia Wei and motioned her to do the same.
Xia Wei was puzzled, and she stretched out her hand like Ye Jie, and the thick black light turned into a vortex. The surging wind and waves swept through the house, and an extremely solid black arrow appeared in her hand.
Looking at the extremely exaggerated soul-breaking arrow in Xia Wei's hand, Ye Jie coughed dryly:
"Gong techniques are divided into five stages based on the level of mastery: entry level, mastery, minor success, major success, and ultimate perfection. In just a few days, your Soul-Breaking Arrow has already reached the mastery level, significantly increasing its power compared to the entry level. Due to the limitations of the technique itself, a Soul-Breaking Arrow at the mastery level, no matter how powerful, should not be comparable to a Soul-Breaking Arrow at the minor success level. However, this is not the case right now. The Soul-Breaking Arrow in your hand at the mastery level is far more powerful than Master's Soul-Breaking Arrow at the minor success level, not to mention Master possessing the added bonus of the Way of Music. Do you understand why this is so?"
Xia Wei glanced at the large evil arrow she had condensed, then at the thin little arrow in Ye Jie's palm, and asked with puzzled eyes, "Could it be the power of innate magical powers?"
Ye Jie said sternly, "You possess an extremely rare first-grade talent: a solitary star enters your destiny. All martial arts techniques can be exerted with double their power in your hands, but the price is that you will bring upon yourself terrible misfortune. A single carelessness will implicate those around you. The arrival of misfortune is extremely overbearing and fierce. Perhaps you are lucky enough to survive it, but the same cannot be said for others around you."
"How could this be..." Xia Wei murmured, and the spiritual power in her body became unstable, and the soul-breaking arrow that had just been condensed dissipated.
There was a hint of grievance between her brows, and she choked with sobs: "Could it be that my father and brother were killed by Xiaowei because of this?"
Ye Jie didn't answer, but saw Xia Wei stand up and subconsciously take a few steps away from him: "What about Master... If Xiao Wei continues to stay with Master, will Master be in danger?"
"Don't worry." Seeing Xia Wei immediately showing concern for him, Ye Jie felt a little warm in his heart. "Master's life was not strong enough. He died sixty years ago. No matter how terrible the misfortune you bring, it can't affect me."
Hearing this, Xia Wei patted her chest, feeling relieved, and sat down next to Ye Jie again, a worried look still hanging between her brows: "Since Xiao Wei has such a fierce innate magical power, should I leave here... What if I get Aunt Wang's family into trouble?"
When she thought of this, Xia Wei's body couldn't stop shaking.
Just when she was most helpless, Ye Jie reached out and patted her on the back, bringing the greatest comfort to her uneasy heart:
"As the old saying goes, success depends on human effort. If you hadn't intervened today, Qi Feng would have perished at the hands of the monster. Not only did you not bring misfortune upon Aunt Wang, but you actually saved her husband. This proves that misfortune isn't absolute. You can change this with your own strength. There's no need to worry about things that haven't happened yet."
With Ye Jie's comfort, Xia Wei showed a gentle smile, stretched out her hand, and grabbed the corner of Ye Jie's black robe tightly, unwilling to let go for a long time.
Ye Jie pulled out a book from his bosom and said, "This is a top-grade human-level technique: Cloud Covering the Eyes. Let me read it to you. Don't fall asleep again."
Hearing this, Xia Wei stuck out her tongue in embarrassment and quickly changed the subject: "Master, please recite!"
Inside the small room, a startling scene unfolded. A young girl sat quietly, her face in her hands, her eyes closed in deep thought. A tall, gaunt ghost flipped through a book, spouting earnest instructions.
"...To cast Cloud Shading Eyes, one must cover the enemy's eyes with one's hands, then use spiritual energy to completely block their vision, blinding them for up to a cup of tea. At the Transcendental Realm, Cloud Shading Eyes can eliminate the need for contact, allowing it to be cast from a distance."
"Cloud Covering the Eyes is a technique belonging to the Path of Ghost Immortals. It's quite effective for ghosts to use to launch sneak attacks and disrupt enemies, but it won't be as effective for you. After all, you've touched a vital part like the eye. A strong poke could blind the enemy, so why would you need to use a technique?"
"This technique isn't suited to your fighting style, but as the old saying goes, 'A multitude of skills is always a burden.' With your exceptional talent, it wouldn't hurt to learn it. If you could cultivate this technique to perfection, you could blind your enemy with a single thought. The effect would be truly powerful."
Under Ye Jie's patient teaching, Xia Wei gradually mastered the method of using the Cloud Covering Eyes technique. She put her hands together and rubbed them quickly. The moment her palms separated, a thick layer of black cloud covered the surface of both palms. As long as it touched the enemy's eyes, they would be able to block their vision.
Ye Jie put the book down and said, "Now, you have mastered the art of cloud-shading."
Ye Jie, who was reciting scriptures, also remembered the key points of the cloud covering the eyes in his mind. He imitated Xia Wei and quickly rubbed his palms together after closing his eyes. However, no matter how hard he tried, sparks were almost rubbed out of his palms, and no black clouds were formed.
In the end, Ye Jie could only sigh helplessly. The talent of the reincarnated immortal was really something he could not compare to. With the same set of skills, Xia Wei only needed a stick of incense to get started, but he, with his poor talent, had to spend a thousand times more time.
Just as Ye Jie shook his head and sighed, Xia Wei's little head came over and looked at him curiously: "Master, you are wrong! This is not how you perform the Cloud Covering Eyes technique."
"What?" Ye Jie scratched his head, looking unconvinced. "Then tell me where I went wrong?"
"First, circulate your spiritual energy. Don't let too much spiritual energy flow into your palms through your arms. Your palms must remain relaxed when casting the spell. Rubbing them randomly like Master does is useless. Don't have any distracting thoughts in your mind. Don't be impatient. Keep your mind as clear as a mirror..."
The situation in the room suddenly reversed. The young girl who had just been listening to the teachings suddenly turned into a teacher who answered questions and taught tirelessly. The tall ghost with dull qualifications became the apprentice, correcting the mistakes in the performance of the skills bit by bit.
Following Xia Wei's instructions, after a while, black air emerged from Ye Jie's palm, and a hot current was forming in his palm.
Seeing that the technique was running smoothly, Ye Jie was delighted. However, these slight emotional fluctuations made the black energy in his hands less and less. Unwilling to give up, Ye Jie opened his eyes wide and rubbed faster and faster, but it turned out to be the last straw that broke the camel's back. No more black energy came out of his palms.
"No way?" Ye Jie opened his mouth, looking at his palms that were burning from rubbing each other, wanting to cry but no tears, "How can this fail?"
In front of Ye Jie, Xia Wei covered her mouth and chuckled, a hint of tenderness in her eyes. She pretended to be disgusted and said, "Master, you are so stupid."
Ye Jie held his forehead helplessly: "I don't have any natural talents or magical powers, how can I compare with you? You have nine talents, why don't you give me one?"
Xia Wei couldn't help but smile: "Don't worry, Master, Xiao Wei is here. No matter how long it takes, Xiao Wei will definitely teach you."
Ye Jie's head suddenly dropped to his chest. It was said that a master teaches his disciple, so why was it the other way around with him?
"Try again, Master. Empty your mind and focus your attention..."
Under Xia Wei's tireless teaching, Ye Jie became more and more proficient in the use of the Cloud Covering Eyes. In the end, he clearly felt that the spiritual power in his body was flowing very smoothly, and the rubbing of his palms was just right. The moment his hands separated, thick black clouds emerged in his palms.
After the martial arts were dispersed, Ye Jie, who had some feelings, took out a torn piece of paper, and saw that the words "Cloud Covers the Eyes (Entry)" slowly appeared in the column of martial arts he had learned.
"Success..." Ye Jie smiled with emotion. Even if his talent was dull, with the caring guidance of the reincarnated immortal, why would he worry about not being able to learn the martial arts?
Xia Wei was also happy for Ye Jie. Her face was filled with joy as she clapped her hands softly: "Master, you are so amazing!"
Ye Jie coughed dryly. "Alright, alright, don't frustrate me. If I were truly formidable, I wouldn't have taken so long to learn... Now that you've only just begun your cultivation journey, I can still offer you some guidance. As your realm improves, your strength and vision will far surpass mine. You'll venture into unknown realms beyond my reach and face terrifying enemies beyond my imagination. By then, I'm afraid I won't be able to help you much."
Xia Wei was stunned. She stared at Ye Jie's skinny figure and said seriously, "If that day ever comes, Xiaowei will find the best elixir and the most powerful martial arts in the world for Master. Xiaowei will never forget Master's kindness. After Xiaowei has avenged the Hengshan bandit and resolved the hatred in her heart, she will spend the rest of her life repaying Master."
Ye Jie waved his hand and smiled: "You still have a long life ahead of you. Who knows what path you will take? Maybe by then, you will find something else you want to do more."
"Master!" Upon hearing this, Xia Wei became relentless. She grabbed Ye Jie's robe and frowned, "Since Xiaowei said it, she will definitely do it!"
"Really..." Ye Jie smiled and didn't take her words to heart.
Seeing that it was getting late, Ye Jie reminded: "It's getting late, you should go to bed early, because you still have to continue slaying demons tomorrow."
After Xia Wei lay down and covered herself with the quilt, she turned her head to look at Ye Jie, her eyes full of expectation: "Master, can you sit next to me? Wait until Xiao Wei falls asleep before leaving..."
Ye Jie was puzzled: "Won't that wake you up?"
Xia Wei shook her head, pursed her lips and choked with sobs, "As long as Master is by my side, Xiaowei feels incredibly at ease. All of Xiaowei's family members have passed away, and the only person she cares about in this life is Master. If even Master leaves, Xiaowei is afraid she'll have nightmares..."
Hearing this, Ye Jie had no way of refusing, so he sat down beside her.
“Master…”
Xia Wei closed her eyes, her long eyelashes slightly curved, and spoke softly.
"What's wrong?" Ye Jie asked.
"Can you tell Xiaowei your story?"
"My story..." Ye Jie took a deep breath, his memory seeming to go back to the distant past. "I died sixty years ago. Sixty years ago, the world was in chaos, the people were living in misery, the land was full of grief, and the streets were full of starvation. Hunger drove people crazy, and they ate up everything they could, even tree bark and grass roots. In the end, only a large group of starving people were left."
"At that time, I was about your age. I didn't want to kill people for food, so I starved to death. After I died, my body was quickly eaten by other hungry people, but it did earn me a lot of merit, more than 2,000. Thanks to this merit, I eventually became a ghost messenger."
"Did you know? If you were reborn as a pig in samsara and were eaten by humans or other wild animals, you would gain a lot of Yin De. Being eaten by others would also increase your Yin De. If a person kills someone, their soul will be cast into the Soul Devouring Abyss after death. This is also true for killing animals indiscriminately. However, if you kill to satisfy your hunger, it is not considered a sin of killing, nor will your Yin De be deducted. Instead, it is permitted by the laws of nature."
"Whether they're human cultivators or demonic beasts, they all possess immense spiritual energy. Humans can accelerate their cultivation by eating demonic beasts, and the same is true for demonic beasts eating humans. Sometimes, demonic beasts eat demonic beasts, and sometimes humans eat humans. Practitioners who eat humans to speed up their cultivation are generally referred to as demonic cultivators. I've heard that in the vast Northern Julu Continent, where immortal gates are widely opened, demonic cultivators can walk in broad daylight, backed by massive demonic sects and even demonic immortals."
"If you can return to the immortal throne someday, don't forget to travel around the continent. This will broaden your horizons and increase your knowledge..."
At the end of his words, Ye Jie heard a slight snoring sound in his ear. He looked down and saw that Xia Wei had fallen into a deep sleep, still clutching her robe tightly in her hands. There was a faint blush on her cheeks, as if she was in a carefree dream.
Ye Jie said nothing more and waited quietly all night until dawn.