Shi Tuqin curled up even more, as if what she had just requested them to do was a trifling matter. Her eyes signaled that she no longer had anything to live for in this life and she shook the unending sorrow in her heart.
Everyone looked at her with compassion in their eyes without saying anything, only letting out a deep and long sigh.
Qin Manyun’s lips were pressed together. She did not know what to say. What Shi Tuqin said was true-once one had become a hybrid from the Ministry’s experiment, one would slowly become a wild beast with no more human consciousness, a wild beast that would consume everything in its path. There was no way to reverse the experiment, but this did not mean Qin Manyun could find the heart to accept her death.
That happened to be the spell’s biggest disadvantage which the Ministry was trying to circumvent.
Currently, only the sound of Shi Tuqin’s sobbing could be heard.
Suddenly, a voice calmly asked, “Would you be satisfied if you were to die now?”
The question caused Shi Tuqin to shake violently and raise her eyes to look at Li Nianfan. Her tear-streaked face was as beautiful as a flower covered with raindrops. She was like the little flower struggling against a thunderstorm-hopeless and at its last breath, about to fall and whither at any time.
She did not know who Li Nianfan was and was not interested in all the stories, but she had heard the rumors about his extraordinary powers and the respect he commanded. She averted her gaze and kept silent, not daring to keep eye contact with him.
Satisfied or not, it was not for her to choose. She had no other path to take.
“Your bonded demon sacrificed himself to save you. Don’t you think you owe it to him to keep on living?” asked Li Nianfan.
Shi Tuqin started sobbing again at the mention of her bonded demon. “I should be the one in his place, not him!”
Li Nianfan’s heart softened at the sight of her sobbing, but it was because of true compassion he continued to counsel her. She was already miserable enough, he could not just watch her die.
“All of us, at one point in our lives, would feel like death is the only way out, but all this shall pass. You need to forget the past because it doesn’t matter anymore. You always have the power to choose, which is what you should be doing now,” said Li Nianfan.
“I… I have the power to choose?” asked Shi Tuqin hopelessly. “Of course,” replied Li Nianfan with a smile. “Just like your bonded demon. He chose to regain his consciousness to save you in the end. You can do the same! If you give up now, it would be the same as letting his sacrifice go to waste. The reason he sacrificed himself was that he wanted you to live out his share of his life, too!”
Li Nianfan’s words were like thunder striking heavily on Shi Tuqin’s mind. Her pupils shrank to a line and goosebumps peppered her entire body.
‘He’s right! If my bonded demon was able to resist the spell, then I should, too! If I give up now, it’ll mean my bonded demon has lost, too! No, he’s the winner! I can’t let his sacrifice go to waste!’ she thought.
Then her eyes started to regain their shine. “Don’t worry, Little White. I’ll make sure I live enough for the both of us!” she said determinedly.
Li Nianfan’s face broke into a smile at the sight of her recovery. In the past, he must have been a motivational speaker. Although words were not tangible things, they were able to point someone to salvation if used in the right way. There had been many situations where the gift of gab had gotten him out of tricky situations.
The rest of the group saw how Li Nianfan raised Shi Tuqin’s spirit anew with a few words and was shocked. However, the shock did not last long before they thought it was natural for the expert-as only people at his level would be able to get straight to the heart of the matter and solve it. They had no doubt he would be able to make the deaf hear again.
The previous ominous atmosphere lightened considerably, but it was not long before the muffled cries of Shi Tuqin transformed the atmosphere again. A blood-red spell started to overflow from her body, making her seem cold and ruthless-as if she would go berserk at the drop of the pin.
0
The aura caused the group to be concerned and disgusted. The demons who were closer to her all took a step back. Their expressions all belied the caution and panic they were feeling.
The crowd started to whisper amongst themselves.
“Oh, no! Oh, no! The Ministry’s spell has been activated!”
“There’s no turning back to the way it was before once you’ve become an experimental subject of the Ministry. The only instinct she’ll have is consuming and fusing. How would she be able to control it? It’s a fate worse than death.”
“Yes, a fate worse than death! I would’ve lost my mind way sooner if it was me.”
“Maybe the kindest thing we could do for her is to kill her.”
They were feeling unsafe, pitiful, and terrified. They activated their mana, ready to activate their defense anytime. After all, Shi Tuqin had become a ticking time bomb-she could pounce on them any time and consume them.
Shi Tuqin’s whole body started trembling. Her eyes became bloodshot. “No, I cannot bow down to defeat. Just you watch, Little White, I too can keep my consciousness,” she muttered to herself.
She raised her hand to her mouth and bit on it without hesitation. Two trails of blood trickled down and dripped to the ground. It was truly a frightening sight.
Qin Manyun started to play her zither again. The music was like a babbling brook, surrounding Shi Tuqin, grounding her. Li Nianfan raised his eyebrow and looked at the struggling Shi Tuqin with his lips pressed into a thin line. He felt burning shame on his face.
“This is like a slap to my face. I was so sure my counseling was able to counter the effect until she exploded with the backlash. Is this the Ministry’s way of provoking me?’ he thought.
Chomp!
Shi Tuqin bit off the flesh on her hand. She did not spit it out but kept on chewing on it. There were still a few strands of tiger hair near her lips. The white tiger fur on her hand was dyed blood red. It was a truly terrible sight.
‘Is she eating her own flesh or the tiger’s flesh?’ thought Li Nianfan with curiosity. He quickly shook the inappropriate thought away.
By then, Shi Tuqin was already slowly getting up. Her eyes overflowed with the struggle she was going through. The manic aura caused her hair to dance wildly and her muscles to bulge. This was a stance of getting ready to attack. Qin Manyun’s playing became more and more rushed, sweat dripping from her forehead. It was futile.
Li Nianfan wanted to roast her playing. If she had played correctly, it would only be natural that Shi Tuqin would be soothed by the music. However, it was obvious Qin Manyun was not skilled in this area and the zither was of subpar quality. In the end, the music sounded very messy.
Maybe the music was only a means to an end. Qin Manyun could be using magic to suppress Shi Tuqin.
ess
Daji, who was standing by Li Nianfan, raised her brows expressionlessly. A surge of frost instantly rose from where Shi Tuqin was standing and spiraled up until her leg was completely covered in frost. Daji only had eyes for Li Nianfan-anyone who posed a threat to Li Nianfan would be eliminated.
The fact that she only limited Shi Tuqin’s movement at the sign of her going berserk was already an act of mercy. If Shi Tuqin showed any signs of attacking Li Nianfan, she would undoubtedly be turned into an ice sculpture. “Please, kill me while I’m still conscious and let me die a respectful death.” Shi Tuqin’s face contorted with pain and she roared like a wild beast. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to turn into a monster. I wish to die…” “Master.” Daji looked at Li Nianfan, awaiting his orders.
All of this would be over with a nod of his head.
Li Nianfan let out a soft sigh. “Why don’t you try fighting it since you’re still conscious? Anything’s possible as long as you have hope!” he said with melancholy. To him, Shi Tuqin was acting like a drug addict going through withdrawal symptoms. She had a high chance of beating this as long as she could keep her consciousness. The most important thing for her was faith. He believed he could help her in that department. He would need to use some psychological tricks.
Shi Tuqin was at her limit. She raised her hand and bit off a chunk of flesh again. “I can’t control myself anymore. I don’t ever want to experience that sense of evil again!” she said hysterically.
“You shouldn’t use death as an escape.” Li Nianfan shook his head and said, “Little Daji, please, bring me some calligraphy pen and ink.”
Daji was stunned by the request. “Yes, Master.”
Both Qin Manyun and Yao Mengji shook with anticipation. Their eyes shone brightly and their hearts were beating wildly. They nearly cried out with excitement.
‘Is the expert finally going to do something out of mercy?’ they wondered. Once again, they would be able to see the expert’s display of power. It would surely be a grand sight. They had no doubt the young lady would be saved!
The rest of the onlookers felt the same way. They had only heard about the expert’s true power and through speculation. They never expected to see his powers so soon.
The Flying Whale was especially eager with anticipation, his eyes wide as saucers. He had heard from the people from the Heavenly Palace that the reason he was captured was that the expert had drawn a ‘quickly come to the bowl’ picture to draw him in. Finally, he had the chance to witness the same treasure that was used to capture him. Daji quickly prepared the calligraphy brush and ink and laid them out in front of Li Nianfan. Then, she proceeded to grind the ink.
Li Nianfan held the brush and looked at the blank paper in front of him. He was not in a hurry to put brush to paper.
At that moment, a weird aura started to flow out of his body. The aura was as calm as the big blue sea. Infinite and still, as if it was a harbor where one could lay down all their worries.
The aura affected everyone on the scene and their anxiety was replaced by calmness. They patiently waited for Li Nianfan to start
Shi Tuqin, who was on the brink of madness, regained her consciousness. She looked toward Li Nianfan in a daze and felt the irresistible pull of laws, as if even the sky and earth would need to quiet themselves down to avoid foiling Li Nianfan’s drawing.
One needed to suppress all the negative feelings in their heart.
“What is good, what is evil?” asked Li Nianfan slowly. Although his voice was not loud, it rang in their ears, shocking them to the core of their souls.
If this had been any other time, they would scoff at the question. In these unusual circumstances, they started to consider the question and kept asking themselves, as if…it was an Interrogation of Insights!
“Little Daji, do you think there’s a person who possesses absolute kindness in the world?” asked Li Nianfan.
“I don’t think so. It’s only natural for one to think about oneself and succumb to one’s desires,” she replied after much consideration.
“That’s right. It’s not hard to differentiate between what’s good and what’s evil, and each of us possesses both. The hard thing to do is to choose which side to take. This is what it means to be human!” He nodded before continuing. “There’s a fine line between good and evil. Miss Shi Tuqin, you always have the power to choose. Ask yourself, would you take the path of goodness or the path of evil?”
Li Nianfan proceeded to draw a line in the middle of the blank paper, splitting it in half. The crowd felt their world and soul splitting in half when he did that.
One half being light and one half being dark.
He continued to draw on the paper, writing the words ‘good’ on the left side and ‘evil’ on the right side. The crowd’s mind momentarily became blank when they saw the paper. They felt a black and white current intertwining until it became a Yin Yang symbol, with the black and white switching places and jumping all over the paper.
Mantras of Wisdom flowed out of the paper and everyone became like a child trapped by this power. Their lives flashed before their eyes—all the choices they had made, all their thoughts that had surfaced. All of them-good or evil-came up. They started to question their own conscience. Had they faithfully followed the path of their own choosing? No one! No one would be able to hold the title for absolute kindness for everyone possessed evil inside of them, too. The most important thing was which side one chose, over and over again.
Shi Tuqin had entered a state of shock. She felt trapped in infinite darkness, no lights could be seen, as if she was about to suffocate and be consumed by it.
Just as she was at the depth of despair and was about to give up all hope, a circle of light appeared near her-it was a phantom of a white tiger with his wings fully spread out.
“Little White!” Shi Tuqin started chasing the white tiger. “Wait for me, Little White!”
She had no idea how long she had been running. She could not catch her breath but she saw a tunnel of light in front of her, getting brighter and brighter, almost blinding her.
She vaguely saw her young self. She was still a little girl at that time and it was her first time meeting Little White.
She held up the little white tiger in excitement and said loudly, “Little White, you’re my partner in crime from now on. Let’s eliminate evil together!”
Somewhere in front of her, the phantom of the white tiger stopped and turned around to look at the distracted Shi Tuqin.
“Master, I believe you’ll be able to keep your ID and be faithful to your true self.As I did in the beginning, choosing to protect you by overcoming all evils.”
With that, he flapped his wings, transformed into a bright light, and fused with Shi Tuqin’s body.
