Chapter 32 Xia Wei - Family
"It's not me...it's not me, don't look for me..."
Facing the wronged souls crawling out from the river of blood, Xia Wei's face turned pale and she covered her ears tightly with her hands, but it was no use. The accusations and disgust of the people penetrated all obstacles and went straight into the depths of her mind.
"Xia Wei, it's all your fault. You're the one who killed us."
"You are destined to be alone in this life. No one who gets involved with you will have a good ending. Why do you want to harm us?"
"Disaster star, disaster star, disaster star..."
Behind Xia Wei, Ye Jie stood quietly. The mournful accusations of the wronged souls were actually what Xia Wei was thinking in her heart. The more she feared something, the more her inner demon would manifest itself.
Seeing Xia Wei huddled on the ground, looking helpless and depressed, Ye Jie tried to comfort her, "Don't be afraid. The deaths of those wronged souls were their own destiny. You just happened to be here. Even without you, they would still die, and perhaps even faster. Their accusations against you are pure nonsense."
"Master..." Ye Jie's counseling voice came to her ears, and Xia Wei's expression improved. When she looked back at Ye Jie, the number of wronged souls had been reduced by half.
Before Xia Wei could say anything, a familiar voice behind her made her eyes shrink and her expression panicked:
"Xia Wei, don't even think about evading this responsibility. You're the one who caused our deaths! If I hadn't gone back to find you, how could I have died?"
"I adopted you with good intentions, but you brought disaster upon me. If I had known this would happen, I would have let you perish on your own!"
Looking back, Xia Wei couldn't help but take two steps back, almost bumping into Ye Jie. She said in horror: "Daddy, brother, Xiaowei didn't hurt you..."
Walking towards her were two figures she was most familiar with: her father, Xia Xianshou, and her brother, Xia Lin. They both looked incredibly terrifying, tears and blood streaming from their sunken eye sockets. Their faces were distorted and hideous, like those of vengeful ghosts.
After learning about her gifted ability of having a lone star in her life, Xia Wei could not let go of the deaths of her father and brother, which eventually became her worst nightmare. If she could not overcome her inner demons, her future practice would be greatly affected.
Xia Wei turned around and tried to flee, but Ye Jie stopped her at this moment: "Running away won't solve the problem. You should stay here."
Xia Wei was at a loss, looking at Ye Jie with helpless eyes: "Master, what should I do?"
Ye Jie stared into her eyes. "Think carefully back to that day. The spirits of your father and brother said goodbye to you in person. Did they ever blame you in the slightest? On the contrary, when they learned you were planning to seek revenge against the bandit Hengshan, they urged you to forget the past, let go of your hatred, and not sacrifice your life in vain. Didn't you feel their concern for you?"
"But……"
Xia Wei's defense was immediately interrupted by Ye Jie: "There's no buts. Even if people become ghosts, their feelings won't change. Those who hate you will still hate you after death, and those who care about you will still care about you after death. Even if your father and brother are only spirits left, their concern for you won't change in the slightest."
Ye Jie stretched out his hand and pointed at Xia Xianshou and Xia Lin who were approaching. His calm voice was also engraved in the deepest part of Xia Wei's memory:
"Family members have such an unbreakable bond, like an unbreakable bond connecting their hearts. For their family, people can give everything. The timid will become brave, and the fierce will become gentle. They are not here to blame you, on the contrary, they are here to care for you."
Xia Wei stood there in a daze. With Ye Jie's comfort, she finally looked at her father and brother who were approaching. She saw that their expressions changed and became as amiable as usual.
"Xiao Wei, you must take good care of yourself."
Memories of the past kept flashing back in Xia Wei's mind. Recalling the little moments she had spent with her father and brother, the two people in front of her gradually overlapped with the father and brother in her memory. The uneasiness and chaos in her heart had all gone away, and the only thing left was relaxation, peace and tranquility.
Xia Wei finally understood the meaning of Ye Jie's words.
The inner demon gradually faded away, and the whole world became calm. Whether it was the blood lake under her feet or the broken shells, they all disappeared like bubbles. The whole world was empty, and there was only her sitting in the center of pure white. Her skin was also reflected as white as snow. Her holy and solemn face also exuded a noble and sacred temperament that made people unable to look directly at her.
“Hmm…”
After an unknown amount of time, Xia Wei opened her eyes, sat up from the cold ground, rubbed her swollen eyes, and heard continuous thunder in her ears.
Beside her, Ye Jie was flipping through the book in his hand. Seeing Xia Wei wake up, he put the book away and said with a smile, "You awake?"
"Master, Xiaowei seems to have dreamed of you."
Xia Wei smiled with her teeth showing, her white teeth were like the bright moon, emitting a light more dazzling than pearls. There was also a lingering attachment in her eyes when she looked at Ye Jie.
"Really..." Ye Jie maintained a calm demeanor and said nonchalantly, "Then what did you dream about?"
Xia Wei touched her nose and said, "Hmm... Xiao Wei doesn't seem to remember."
Ye Jie smiled and said, "Wild geese leave their voices behind, and the wind leaves its traces behind, but dreams leave no traces behind. This is what the saying "a dream is like a yellow millet" means. Whether the things in the dream are true or false, it is better not to take them to heart."
Xia Wei pursed her lips and looked away, not knowing whether she had heard what Ye Jie said or not.
"Now that you're awake, complete the homework your master has prepared for you. Follow me." Ye Jie said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Xia Wei's eyes lit up. She wondered what kind of lesson her master had prepared for her. The two of them left Lei Ze together and stepped back onto the Bone Burial Beach, only to see someone waiting for them not far away.
"Brother Jie, I'm here!"
From a distance, Nan Linghe waved to Ye Jie after seeing him. Beside her, a wandering soul with white hair and red eyes and a strange look on its face was squatting on the sand, poking the sand with a wooden stick.
When they met, Nan Linghe opened his eyes wide with curiosity, walked around Xia Wei twice, and asked, "Brother Jie, who is she?"
"She is Xia Wei, my apprentice in the human world." Ye Jie introduced.
Hearing this, Nan Linghe also revealed a somewhat surprised expression: "Can a ghost messenger still accept disciples? I thought we couldn't get too involved with living people..."
Ye Jie corrected him, "You don't understand this, do you? Many powerful ghost messengers will choose their own contacts in the human world, and will hand over matters that are inconvenient for them to handle to their contacts."
Nan Linghe didn't understand: "For example, what?"
"For example, ghost messengers have to take care of living relatives and family members. Not everyone is free from worries. Some wandering souls even have grandchildren. After becoming ghost messengers, they will naturally want to take care of their families who are still in the human world. In such cases, they need the help of liaisons."
Nan Linghe nodded, seemingly understanding, and continued Ye Jie's words, "So, every powerful ghost messenger has a very powerful apprentice in the human world."
Ye Jie smiled and said, "It's not necessary to take in disciples. Taking in disciples will only bring results too slowly, and it also tests the disciple's character. There are even cases where a disciple starves the master to death. Some ghost messengers will directly join the local powerful in the human world, or be loyal to aristocratic families and be willing to be their lackeys. During the heyday, whenever the children of those noble families went out, they would be accompanied by dozens of ghost messengers to escort them. No matter what they did, they were as if assisted by gods."
Ye Jie's words were not only spoken to Nan Linghe, but even Xia Wei frowned secretly.
Nan Linghe exclaimed, "Don't mortals see the ghost messengers?"
"Of course, mortals can't see the ghost messengers, but the same can't be said for cultivators. Practitioners of the Ghost Immortal Path, as long as they advance to the second level, can see traces of souls. The paths of Heavenly Immortals and Godly Immortals require the third level, while the paths of Earthly Immortals and Human Immortals require the fourth level. No matter which path a cultivator takes, as long as they have achieved success in their cultivation, they can see the ghost messengers."
Nan Linghe walked around Xia Wei again, and seeing that Xia Wei's eyes were fixed on him, he asked curiously, "But she's clearly only at the first level, how could she see me... I understand now, she must be hiding her strength!"
"...Why don't you give her the remaining pages of the Book of Life and Death and take a look at her file." Ye Jie said helplessly.
Nan Linghe did as he was told, took out the torn page and handed it to Xia Wei, and soon saw all kinds of information appearing on it.
【Life and Death Book Files:】
【Name: Xia Wei】
【Level: Peak of the First Level Qi Training Realm】
Skills Learned: Soul-Breaking Arrow (Minor), Soul-Binding Rope (Mastery), Cloud-Blocking Eyes (Mastery), Turtle Hand (Beginner)
【Innate magical powers: Yin-Yang Eyes, Ice-like Skin and Bones, Sword Heart, Lofty Ambition, Lone Star in Life, Meridians Connected, Invulnerability to All Poisons, Turn Misfortune into Fortune, Rebirth from the Ashes】
【Yin De: The life span has not yet ended, and cannot be explored】
"Um?"
Ye Jie took the fragment and took a look at it. He was stunned. "How did you break through to the peak of the first level? I remember you just entered the late stage of the first level last night. Also, when did you reach the mastery stage of your Soul Binding Rope and Cloud Covering Eyes? I haven't even reached that level yet..."
Sensing the surprise and praise in Ye Jie's words, Xia Wei proudly raised her neck, narrowed her eyes, and revealed a very pleased expression: "Xiao Wei woke up and felt her mind as clear as a mirror. All the complicated thoughts in the past were discarded, and the breakthroughs in both skills and realms came naturally."
"Yeah……"
Ye Jie suppressed his shock and nodded repeatedly. The reincarnation of an immortal was indeed extraordinary. After overcoming the inner demons, such benefits came along with it. Xia Wei's improved state of mind made her look even more dazzling. She was like a sword unsheathed, emitting a sharp aura.
"With your current strength, even if your realm is not as good as mine, you can still easily beat five of me. Once you are promoted to the second level, I'm afraid you can beat ten of me." Ye Jie sighed. The gap between the two people's talents and magical powers was so huge.
Xia Wei covered her mouth and chuckled: "When the time comes, Xiao Wei will protect Master well."
Ye Jie patted her head, and then listened to Nan Linghe, who had taken the torn page, ask in confusion: "Brother Jie, is there something wrong with this? One, two, three... She actually has eight talents! How can someone have eight talents? A first-grade reincarnation has nine talents, a second-grade reincarnation has seven talents, and eight talents is what grade of reincarnation?"
Ye Jie put his hand on his forehead and asked, "Do you want to count again?"
"Hmm?" Nan Linghe obediently counted again, and this time he got it right. "Oh, so there are nine talents. It seems that she is a first-level reincarnation who entered the reincarnation cycle. Wait..."
Until this moment, the slow-witted Nan Linghe finally reacted and couldn't help but open his mouth wide: "First-level reincarnation? How much Yinde would that require?"
Ye Jie was not surprised by Nan Linghe's reaction. Even he himself was shocked when he first discovered Xia Wei's talent. He reminded her:
"Don't tell anyone about this. Also, don't hand over the remaining pages of the Book of Life and Death to anyone else. Losing them would be a serious crime. If you need to find out someone else's intelligence, just use Yin De to find out."
Nan Linghe nodded repeatedly. Since it was Ye Jie's order, she would definitely not say anything nonsense. She opened her eyes wide and looked at Xia Wei with amazement in her eyes.
Ye Jie introduced her to Xia Wei, "She's Nan Linghe, my companion in the underworld. You can call her Uncle He. That other one is Lu Xi, a mysterious wandering soul whose origins are unknown. She's not even recorded in the Book of Life and Death. We're currently investigating her identity."
Xia Wei bowed and clasped her fists, greeting respectfully: "Uncle He."
Nan Linghe refused to listen: "What, what uncle? I'm a girl... Speaking of which, I was able to become a ghost messenger thanks to Brother Jie's help. So, I should be Brother Jie's apprentice. You should just call me Senior Sister."
Xia Wei glanced at Ye Jie and saw that he was frowning and speechless, so she changed her tone and said, "Senior Sister He."
Nan Linghe then smiled, took Xia Wei's hand, and said softly, "Junior Sister Xia Wei, it's nice to meet you. I have a gift for you."
When she withdrew her hand, Xia Wei looked down and saw a small and exquisite sachet in her palm. The sachet was exquisitely crafted, and the embroidery outlined a gorgeous scene of blooming flowers. When she held it, it was as if she was in a sea of flowers. What was even more magical was that only the owner of the sachet could smell the sweet fragrance. Others, even if they were close by, could not smell it at all.
"That's... the Yichen sachet?" Ye Jie was stunned and quickly reminded Nan Linghe, "That's a gift from Aunt Meng, worth two hundred thousand Yin De. How can you give someone else a gift?"
Nan Linghe put her hands on her hips and snorted, "Aunt Meng gave it to me, so it's mine, right? This is a gift from me as a senior sister to my junior sister. What's the problem?"
Ye Jie was about to be defeated by her: "The greatest effect of the Yichen sachet is to block the detection of your innate magical powers by the Book of Life and Death. As long as you carry it with you, the other ghost messengers will not be able to use the power of the Book of Life and Death to query your innate magical powers. Aunt Meng gave the sachet to you specifically to protect you..."
As he spoke, Ye Jie took out the torn page from his arms and handed it to Xia Wei, only to see that the column of her talents and supernatural powers had changed from the originally dazzling nine talents to a single word "none".
"But...it wouldn't be a bad thing if Xia Wei took the sachet." Ye Jie thought.
From Ye Jie's narration, Xia Wei also realized the value of the sachet and hurriedly declined, "Senior Sister He, this gift is too valuable. Xiao Wei cannot accept it."
Nan Linghe tilted his head. "You're Brother Jie's apprentice, and you call me Senior Sister. So aren't we family? Between family members, what's the point of talking about what's precious and what's not?"
Xia Wei was stunned. She stood there in a daze, her eyes moist and her lips trembling slightly: "Xiao Wei's... family."
She no longer refused. After accepting the sachet, she seemed like a different person, with a burning fighting spirit in her eyes, as if all the difficulties ahead could not stop her.
Even Ye Jie couldn't help but secretly click his tongue after feeling the change in Xia Wei's aura. Could it be that he said something strange in his dream, which caused this?