“It’s hard to say,” Bai Ci answered honestly. “I know some things, like the past, who you are, and who I am. But I have no concept of other things, like this tribute ritual before us.”
“You’ve even forgotten about the tribute?” Ming Yici clicked his tongue softly upon hearing this, seemingly finding the situation a bit tricky. After a moment of silence, he spoke to enlighten her.
“The tribute of ordinary people is nothing more than burning incense and paper, praying for blessings, seeking peace of mind, and asking for protection. I receive the incense of the mortal realm, protecting a region and resolving minor disasters as I see fit.”
“But the tribute of the Heavenly Masters is completely different. It is a mutually binding contract of nourishment.”
“They regularly nourish me with their essence blood, spiritual power, and merit. In return, I must step in to help them break through crises and resolve difficulties when they encounter evil spirits.”
Ming Yici found it a bit troublesome.
After explaining everything, he added, “Your situation is indeed quite troublesome. I will write a letter to ask other Ghost Immortals for a solution.”
With that, his fingertips quickly pinched a few hand seals.
A strip of red cloth scattered on the altar suddenly flew into the air. Guided by an invisible force, it rapidly wound and wove itself together, quickly forming a crude object in the shape of a small bird.
The little red cloth bird flapped its wings, but instead of flying away, it dissolved right where it was.
Bai Ci watched in absolute wonder.
“Do you remember this technique?” Ming Yici asked.
Using a tone filled with a touch of helplessness and a plea for help, Bai Ci said, “I don’t. Not just this technique—I’m completely clueless about everything else as well. You can teach me, and I’ll study hard.”
“There is no such thing as teaching and learning when it comes to divine abilities. You can only comprehend them yourself. When the time is right, you will naturally be able to use them,” Ming Yici shook his head.
As he shook his head, Bai Ci’s perspective swayed along with him. Fortunately, she didn’t get 3D motion sickness, otherwise this would have been highly uncomfortable.
“Will the abilities I have also be like yours?” Bai Ci asked tentatively, wondering if she could pass off her items as divine abilities to fool him.
Yes, she was referring to Gluttony.
Weren’t there often tricks like casting curses with straw dolls or turning scattered beans into soldiers in folklore and ghost stories? Rounding it up, a vine doll should be understandable too.
They were both plant-based, making them close relatives.
As for the fact that it came from an instance with a Western-style background, she simply wouldn’t mention it.
“I don’t know. I’ve never nurtured other split souls before; you are the only one. Perhaps they are the same, or perhaps they are different. You will find out when you are finally able to use them.”
“In any case, no matter what kind of bizarre state they’re in, I’m here to back you up. What is there to fear?”
Ming Yici answered with absolute composure.
“Mm, I’m not afraid anymore, Ming—” Bai Ci figured Ming Yici was the type of person who needed to be stroked the right way, so she watched her tone of voice to make sure she didn't sound too stiff.
But she suddenly choked on her words halfway through.
She suddenly realized that, in terms of identity, she was also “Ming Yici.”
Ming Yici had obviously just thought of this issue as well. Clicking his tongue softly, he casually made a decision that directly settled their names.
“I almost forgot about that. Since you exist independently, we cannot share the same name. That would be inappropriate.”
“How about this: from now on, you shall call me Ming Yi, and you will be Ming Ci.”
He split the name into two parts, each carrying the surname. From then on, they shared the same origin but had different names; they shared the same body but had different minds.
“Alright,” Bai Ci replied, calmly accepting her new name.
Right as she agreed to the name, another thought crossed Bai Ci's mind. A trace of testing surfaced in her heart, and she asked casually.
“Do we really have to take turns speaking and communicating out loud like this?”
“Can’t we just communicate directly through our thoughts? You’d immediately know whatever I’m thinking without us having to speak aloud over and over again. It always sounds like we’re mentally unstable, which is incredibly bizarre.”
After all, there were times when she had quite a lot of extra thoughts.
“Absolutely not!” Ming Yi’s voice suddenly carried a clear hint of panic, mixed with a somewhat helpless yet serious reserve.
“Ming Ci, you are a woman. How can you be so casual as to actively invite a man to peer into your mind and share thoughts? This behavior is far too improper.”
Bai Ci was momentarily at a loss for words. Feeling somewhat helpless, she said, “Aren’t you me, and aren’t I you?”
To this, Ming Yi’s attitude was exceptionally firm, refusing to yield even an inch. “No matter what, I am still a man. There is a difference between men and women. You cannot be so careless about the boundaries between genders. It is highly improper.”
Bai Ci fell into complete silence.
What a joke, boundaries between genders. We are literally sharing the same body right now, how do you even expect to maintain those boundaries? How is that even possible?
He was traditional to the point of being strangely adorable.
Just then, a low groan sounded from the floor. The young man who had fainted from excessive blood loss finally woke up slowly.
His movements as he climbed up were slow and clumsy. It was obvious that although his wound had healed, his bodily functions had not immediately returned to normal.
Even so, the very first thing the young man did upon getting up was not to check how his body was doing, but to hurriedly turn his head to look at the altar.
As he looked, his hand also reached to his side, groping for the small knife he had used to slit his wrist earlier.
Once his fingers found it, he subconsciously raised his wrist, aligning the blade with the inner side where the blood vessels were most prominent.
He was preparing to slice his wound open once more to sustain the incense with his essence blood if it was still burning.
But when the young man focused his gaze, he saw that not a single trace of the three incense sticks he had personally lit remained in the burner. They had vanished completely.
Generally speaking, even if incense burned down completely, a small section of the wooden stick would still be left behind.
Consequently, the young man’s face, which had barely regained a hint of color, turned deathly pale once again.
“Fool.”
Ming Yi’s voice carried an undisguised sneer.
“Did that good senior brother of yours never teach you? If the ritual is interrupted before the incense burns down, then it is a failure. Once the dust settles, there is absolutely no room for remedy.”
“Even if you drain every drop of blood from your body, it won't be of any use. You will only throw your life away for nothing.”
It was a failure.
Hearing Ming Yi’s words, the young man thought of nothing else. He simply assumed that because he had fainted before the incense finished burning, the ritual had naturally failed.
Lady Ming was a grand Ghost Immortal. Although his senior brother had described her in terrifying terms, she ultimately possessed a merciful heart.
Though her words were harsh, her actions had genuinely saved him, preventing him from bleeding to death in vain after the ritual failed.
The outcome he had traded half his life for was still a failure.
The sect’s punishment, his master’s expectations, his years of cultivation...
Countless thoughts flooded his mind, weighing down on him so heavily that he could barely breathe.
He stood there dazed, lost in thought for a long time, before slowly withdrawing the small knife in his hand and slipping it into his pocket. His movements were rigid and lonely.
There was no argument, no reluctance, no nagging, and not even a hint of resentment.
The young man simply raised his hands, tidied his collar, and knelt on his knees once more. Facing the statue covered in red cloth, he earnestly kowtowed three times.
Rate on N.U.
