TRYMBPIETM 63: Mirror, Night, Snow Peak (26)

Xing Shuangzhan said, “I have some impression. If I’m not mistaken, his name should be Bei Shen, and his father was one of the participants in the ritual 45 years ago, named Bei Qi.”

Chi Qingzhou hummed softly and slowly repeated, “Bei Shen.”

Bei was not a very common surname.

Ironically, in the Xuanxu Sect, there had once been a school directly named after the Bei family’s legacy.

The practitioners of this school specialized in using Gu to control corpses, with techniques that were somewhere between Gu magic and corpse manipulation, not particularly difficult but still capable of strong power. This made it very popular among mid- and lower-level cultivators at the time.

This school had once held a place in the Xuanxu Sect, but unfortunately got entangled in the ritual 45 years ago, gradually fading afterward.

From what Chi Qingzhou knew, over thirty years ago, there had only been two disciples still alive from that school.

These two disciples almost never appeared in front of outsiders, and Chi Qingzhou had never seen them.

However, he had heard that these two disciples were quite weak, unable to deal with trouble independently, and thus had lived under the protection of the Xuanxu Sect.

Though they didn’t appear in public, they were quite active within the Sect.

At least talents of the younger generation, like Shen Wenxu, would frequently be summoned by them to help resolve issues.

Chi Qingzhou recalled the shape-shifting spell that Bei Shen had just used. He was certain that the other’s strength was not weak.

He spoke softly, “He’s very good at disguising himself.”

Xing Shuangzhan replied, “I never suspected him.”

Upon hearing their voices, Bei Shen, standing on the altar, turned his head, nervously laughing a “hehe” from his throat.

Chi Qingzhou met his gaze.

His heterochromatic eyes were shockingly bright, filled with intense impatience, even carrying a chaotic madness.

When he saw Chi Qingzhou looking at him, his mouth stretched into a larger grin, his facial muscles trembling uncontrollably, his expression twisted with sickness.

But he didn’t interrupt their conversation.

He just laughed, performing several complex incantations with his hands, then averted his gaze, staring at the broken shell of the system with a fanatical expression.

Chi Qingzhou wasn’t in a hurry and calmly observed his profile. “He looks quite young.”

Xing Shuangzhan was unsurprised. “He should be fifty this year.”

Chi Qingzhou raised his eyebrows. “He looks at most thirty.”

Xing Shuangzhan explained, “It’s probably due to excessive ghost qi causing his growth to slow.”

Chi Qingzhou nodded. “So, he really didn’t lie to Sheng Yihang back then.”

Bei Shen was the one who absorbed Xing Shuangzhan’s ghost qi.

At this moment, standing on the altar, his half-human, half-ghost aura was activated, and not just Chi Qingzhou and Xing Shuangzhan, even the Miao woman could clearly feel it.

The Miao woman glanced around at the three of them, wisely choosing not to speak.

She only stood up straight, curiously observing Bei Shen.

Chi Qingzhou looked at Bei Shen a few more times, shaking his head. “His bone age looks only about thirty, he really doesn’t look like someone who’s fifty.”

“He really is fifty this year.” Xing Shuangzhan said. “Back then, he was only five. The ritual had already begun, and I could sense everything happening at the altar. Bei Qi walked in holding him, and someone beside him spoke to Bei Qi.”

He tapped his fingertip on Chi Qingzhou’s forehead, sharing the memory with him.

Actually, the words Bei Qi had said weren’t anything particularly special, but Xing Shuangzhan remembered them clearly.

The person who spoke to Bei Qi was one of the subordinates who had betrayed him.

At first, the subordinate didn’t pay attention to Bei Qi, but when they noticed Bei Shen had rare heterochromatic eyes, they started talking to Bei Qi.

The subordinate said, “What are you bringing such a young child into the altar for? Aren’t you afraid he’ll cause trouble?”

Bei Qi laughed and answered, “My son has decent talent. I’m bringing him here to see the world.”

The subordinate replied, “Heterochromatic eyes, no wonder you value him. But a child’s soul is weak, if he really causes trouble, don’t blame me for not warning you.”

Bei Qi hurriedly said, “I dare not, I know your good intentions.”

The two were shot a glare by one of the chief priests and stopped talking.

However, Xing Shuangzhan noticed the child and took a few extra glances at him.

The five-year-old Bei Shen didn’t understand anything. He was just leaning against Bei Qi’s chest, enviously watching the young cultivators chosen for the ritual on the altar.

He tugged at Bei Qi’s sleeve and said, “Dad, I also want to go up there and have everyone praise me.”

Bei Qi immediately covered his mouth, stopping his “childish words,” but it was too late.

The surrounding cultivators and evil spirits had already heard his words and turned to look at Bei Qi with meaningful expressions.

Bei Qi subconsciously took a step back, smiling awkwardly, trying to explain but was stopped by the chief priest with a glare.

He could only awkwardly lower his head, holding the nearly crying Bei Shen.

He didn’t notice that after this action, all the gazes from the cultivators and evil spirits turned to Bei Shen, who was trembling, about to cry, staring at the young cultivators on the altar, shrinking away from their disgusted looks.

The five-year-old Bei Shen clearly didn’t understand anything.

He didn’t realize that the young cultivators wanted to become something beyond human or ghost, wary of his heterochromatic eyes, nor did he understand the mutual wariness between all the people and evil spirits in the altar.

…

Those who died were dead, the ghosts that were captured were captured, and the altar was left in disarray, so naturally, there was no longer any defense to speak of.

Chi Qingzhou spent two seconds scanning this memory, also deeply impressed by Bei Shen’s eyes.

He sincerely said, “With such eyes, it seems like he hasn’t fully unleashed their potential.”

Bei Shen didn’t even notice that Xing Shuangzhan was observing him.

This wasn’t just slowness; it was almost a waste of those eyes.

While chanting the incantation, Bei Shen paused for a moment, then turned his head and stared fiercely at Chi Qingzhou with a vicious look in his eyes.

Chi Qingzhou, seeing this, couldn’t help but become curious.

He asked genuinely, “With such a rare pair of eyes, but unable to unleash their power, do people often ask you if you’ve suffered some injury, making your talent so poor?”

Bei Shen’s breath faltered for a moment, almost causing him to misspeak the incantation.

Chi Qingzhou suddenly realized, “It seems that’s really the case.”

Bei Shen’s pale face turned red with anger.

The Miao woman, seeing this, could no longer hold back.

She let out a soft laugh, her body shaking with mirth.

Xing Shuangzhan also chuckled, his fingers brushing the ends of Chi Qingzhou’s hair, his brows slightly raised.

Sincerity, indeed, was the greatest tool in human interaction.

Bei Shen quickly turned around and sped up his incantation, no longer intending to pay attention to Chi Qingzhou.

Chi Qingzhou sighed in slight regret.

He still had many more questions to ask.

Unable to get a response from the person involved, Chi Qingzhou tugged at Xing Shuangzhan’s sleeve and asked seriously, “Su-Ge, did you never suspect there was your ghost qi in him before?”

Xing Shuangzhan paused for a moment, then replied, “At first, I suspected everyone.”

At the time, Xing Shuangzhan had tricked the Xuanxu Sect’s people and dispersed his ghost qi, but he couldn’t be sure if it had been successfully dispersed.

Afterward, he focused on those responsible and also kept an eye on all the surviving participants of the ritual, which naturally included Bei Shen.

However, Bei Shen’s condition was entirely normal.

That year, the chief priest had originally planned to take the lives of many ordinary residents to fill the gap, but in the end, it was Xing Shuangzhan who absorbed their magical and life forces.

Without magical support, they were immediately backfired upon, and none of the participants survived.

When the backfire happened, Bei Qi’s first instinct was not to save himself but to protect Bei Shen at all costs. Thus, although he wasn’t the chief priest, he was severely injured.

Later, he was brought back to the Xuanxu Sect’s headquarters, and despite their efforts to save him, he ultimately couldn’t pull through, lasting only for a little over three months before passing away.

Bei Shen wasn’t severely injured, but being so young and with a weaker soul, he was still affected.

The disciples of the Bei family, seeing him alone, became covetous of the inheritance Bei Qi had left behind, so they took him into their home to raise him.

Xing Shuangzhan sneered softly, “The Xuanxu Sect is a bunch of stubborn old fools, but sometimes they’re quite equal.”

For instance, they had equally suspected every person who had participated in the ritual, regardless of their age.

“They probably noticed that so much ghost qi had really disappeared, and they were unwilling to let go. They were determined to dig up the truth, no matter how deep they had to search, to find who had secretly hidden the ghost qi.”

The Xuanxu Sect had risked everything to extract Xing Shuangzhan’s ghost qi, intending to create a world-destroying ghost under their control.

They could accept failure, even accept being retaliated against by Xing Shuangzhan, but they couldn’t accept that, after expending so much effort, the ghost qi had clearly been extracted, but ultimately vanished.

This was like giving hope and then crushing it, which drove them to the brink of collapse.

Xing Shuangzhan carelessly remarked, “Those old guys almost went mad back then, turning the whole Sect upside down just for that little bit of ghost qi I spread out.”

No matter what, they refused to believe that the ghost qi had truly dissipated.

Xing Shuangzhan’s power had been reduced by nearly half, so the ghost qi had definitely been extracted.

Rather than say it dissipated, it was more accurate to say someone had intercepted it midway, which was more believable.

Xing Shuangzhan: “Those old fools were so sure their suspicions were correct, that they examined every participant over and over, including Bei Shen.”

Bei Shen had been examined with countless methods, but in the end, nothing was found.

The disciples of the Bei family, seeing this, repeatedly threatened the Elder Council, and they had no choice but to compensate Bei Shen.

However, the Xuanxu Sect invested a lot of resources, and Bei Shen’s talent showed no improvement at all. Seeing this, the Bei family disciples simply took the compensation for themselves.

Xing Shuangzhan cast a cold glance at Bei Shen, ignoring his trembling back, and his tone became even more mocking.

“There are always people who are lenient with themselves and harsh with others. Those old fools are especially so. They can repeatedly disturb others, yet they won’t allow anyone to reach out to them time and time again.”

The Bei family disciples repeatedly demanded benefits, which finally angered those old fools.

They had a fierce confrontation with the Bei family disciples, using all kinds of methods. The Bei family even released a long-hidden unmelting bone from a secret room, and in the end, both sides suffered.

Most of the Elder Council members were exhausted, and the Xuanxu Sect underwent a major purge. The Bei family completely fell from grace, leaving only Bei Shen and another young man.

In this situation, Bei Shen still hadn’t shown any strong abilities, which didn’t raise any suspicions.

First, because he was young, his soul was weak, and his root had been damaged.

Second, the Elder Council’s actions inadvertently confirmed the rumors about his lack of talent.

Third, almost all the Bei family disciples had died, and with no one to teach him, his slow progress was completely normal.

Chi Qingzhou understood.

“But in reality, his talent isn’t as bad as the rumors say. He’s been dragged down by the ghost qi, unable to find a suitable cultivation path, which also affected his physical development.”

Finally finishing the incantation, Bei Shen suddenly spun around, enraged, shouting, “Shut up! What nonsense are you talking about! I am that one-of-a-kind person, my talent is a once-in-a-thousand-years phenomenon!”

“This is all just a false appearance I created to hide the ghost qi on me!”

“How could someone as foolish as you understand my intricate planning!”

Chi Qingzhou blinked at being yelled at. After a few seconds, he suddenly thumped his right fist into his left palm.

“Oh, so this is what Sheng Yihang meant by jealousy.”

He stared curiously at Bei Shen’s furious eyes and asked, “The technique you just used, the one that moved me off the altar, should have been guided by jealousy, right?”

Bei Shen’s face twitched, his eyes trembling slightly.

Chi Qingzhou nodded thoughtfully, “It seems so. Then, earlier, when the altar suddenly activated, it was also you who triggered the formation. This formation must also have been led by jealousy, right? No wonder you had to steal Sheng Yihang; jealousy must be the power he naturally controls after his resurrection.”

“Shut up! Shut your mouth!” Bei Shen could no longer hold back, shouting fiercely, “Sheng Yihang, why aren’t you making a move!”

The Miao woman shook her head and sneered, “Are you looking for that living corpse? He ran away a long time ago.”

Bei Shen frowned, “Nonsense!”

He made a hand sign, and his expression changed abruptly.

Sheng Yihang had really disappeared.

Chi Qingzhou tilted his head, looking at Bei Shen, “The incantation you just chanted, was it to try and transfer the curse that had been removed from me onto yourself?”

He pondered for a moment before slowly asking, “You don’t actually believe that I can maintain my current state and live well because I’m cursed, do you? Anyone with normal sense would know that’s impossible, right?”

Bei Shen froze, his expression stiffened: “What did you say?”

Chi Qingzhou looked at him strangely and repeated his previous words exactly.

Bei Shen’s lips trembled, his gaze becoming unfocused, “What did you say? What are you talking about? What exactly do you mean?”

Chi Qingzhou thought Bei Shen was truly acting strangely—was it that his brain wasn’t working properly?

But he was a kind person, and since Bei Shen was so concerned, he would, of course, satisfy his request.

So, the kind-hearted Chi Qingzhou repeated his words once again.

“It’s impossible. You’re deliberately making things up.”

Bei Shen trembled all over, but his tone weirdly became calm.

“I saw it with my own eyes. You and a friend were discussing how, to prevent the ghost qi from further tearing your soul, you would make your mother curse you.”

At first, he didn’t believe such an absurd method, but after hearing Chi Qingzhou’s words on the fifth day, he realized Chi Qingzhou had indeed acquired a curse, and it was a bloodline-based one.

Chi Qingzhou, originally unstable in soul, had actually stabilized after that.

This is what he saw with his own eyes, how could it be false?

How could it be?

Chi Qingzhou understood what Bei Shen meant and looked at him with some surprise.

So it was he, the one who made Bei Shen believe that his mother was a shaman.

It wasn’t too unexpected though.

It was something he could have done three years ago.

But how could Bei Shen believe it so easily?

Chi Qingzhou paused, a hint of frustration in his expression as he thought, “This person really doesn’t seem to be very smart.”

He kindly tried to clarify, “Is it possible that when I said those things back then, I was just talking out of anger? Or maybe I misunderstood too?”

Bei Shen was stunned.

Impossible.

Three years ago, Chi Qingzhou had only stabilized his soul after the curse was placed on him.

It was because his soul stabilized that he was able to break into Jingming Mountain’s Great Tomb and bring out Xing Su, wasn’t it?

What curse could stabilize the soul? He didn’t believe it.

He had studied for three years and concluded that it was fighting fire with fire.

Chi Qingzhou was lying to him!

Lied to him!

Bei Shen kept telling himself that he was right, that Chi Qingzhou was lying, but the curse that remained after he finished chanting seemed to be confirming Chi Qingzhou’s words.

If his conclusion was correct, then why hadn’t the curse transferred directly to him?

So all his efforts over the past three years had been just a joke from Chi Qingzhou?

Bei Shen clenched his fists, standing in the gathering moonlight, his pale face filled with despair.

“Are you doing this just to play me?!”

Chi Qingzhou looked at him confusedly. “I’m not that bored.”

Seeing Bei Shen glaring at him, obviously not believing a word, he scratched his head with some frustration and explained sincerely, “What I did, I should have just wanted you to help me remove the curse after three years.”

Being a priest was exhausting, after all.

Moreover, using the altar to remove the curse would definitely drain a lot of spiritual power.

With Xing Shuangzhan’s personality, if he had known that this method would work, he would have done it himself rather than let others handle it.

But Xing Shuangzhan was also injured.

It wouldn’t do him any good to waste his strength activating the altar.

So Bei Shen’s willingness to help was truly appreciated.

Chi Qingzhou thought about this and sincerely thanked him, “Bei Shen, thank you. Although you stole Xing Shuangzhan’s ghost qi before, you’re actually a good person. Good people will be rewarded.”

After Xing Shuangzhan reclaims the ghost qi, he would definitely preserve Bei Shen’s life.

“…You!!” Bei Shen was almost spitting blood from this heartfelt thanks.

He glared at Chi Qingzhou, and the moment he saw Chi Qingzhou’s expression, he instinctively stopped.

In the blink of an eye, he understood what Chi Qingzhou meant.

Chi Qingzhou was going to reclaim the ghost qi from him.

Bei Shen’s face changed drastically. In panic, he took a step back, no longer caring about anything else. With a hand sign, he tried to escape like last time.

Chi Qingzhou widened his eyes. “Hey, don’t go! I still have many questions left to ask!”

He grabbed Xing Shuangzhan’s hand, and Xing Shuangzhan understood, stepping forward with a leap, landing right in front of Bei Shen.

Without hesitation, Bei Shen activated his life-saving technique. Just before his flesh could dissolve, four massive banyan trees suddenly began to shake.

Countless roots shot towards him, binding him tightly in the center, rendering him immobile.

Bei Shen was both shocked and enraged. He looked up and saw Chi Qingzhou right in front of him. Determined, he bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of decayed blood onto his right arm.

The next moment, the formation on his arm was activated.

Chi Qingzhou’s heart sank. He only had time to grab him with one hand while grabbing Xing Shuangzhan with the other, and his entire vision was immediately filled with strange, vibrant colors.

The colors were so saturated, like a distorted kaleidoscope, making him dizzy.

Chi Qingzhou felt a little light-headed.

He wasn’t sure how long it took, but when he came to, his back was pressed against a firm chest.

He instinctively turned around, his gaze lingering on Xing Shuangzhan’s face for a moment before his attention was drawn to the tomb behind him.

Uncertainly, he whispered, “This place looks so familiar… which tomb is this?”