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036 - The Girl From a Foreign Land
🕑 Added 2024-07-18 21:04:20 +0000 UTC“You want to bring a young, unknown, demonic beast into our home?” Yun Jingfei said, clearly displeased.
Qin Yun knew her doubts, as the conflict between cultivators and demonic beasts had been rampant for as long as this continent existed. For one, demonic beast was only a derogatory term cultivators used out of ignorance or pure malice. Anything they disagreed with would be deemed demonic.
However, these creatures preferred to refer to themselves as Spirits, as what they cultivated was unlike what human cultivators did. While most humans cultivated the soul as they grew their spiritual roots through the use of the world's Spiritual Qi, Spirits cultivated spirituality within their core. Unlike humans, who must actively do so, most spirits cultivated simply by living.
Generally, the longer a spirit had been alive, the stronger it would be. Of course, there were always exceptions to these rules. The same applied to humans, such as Yun Jingfei who cultivated the mind. Some spirits were much more powerful than others, relying on their ancient bloodlines.
In fact, spirits could be divided into two categories: awakened spirits and ancestral spirits. Awakened spirits were once normal mortal creatures. In time, they began absorbing spiritual Qi and transcended the limits of their species. They formed a core and embarked on the road toward divinity.
On the other hand, ancestral spirits were those whose ancestry could be linked back to mythical creatures that rose at the beginning of time: think dragons and phoenixes. Since they possessed such long lives, one would think that their numbers would be staggering, yet it couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, they were close to extinction.
The reason for this was simple: the world had once been devastated by the conflicts and wars they waged. As such, the heavens couldn't tolerate their hubris and restricted their ability to procreate. They had lost the world's favour and chose to retreat away from the limelight and fade away.
As for their current state, most cultivators weren't privy to such information. Seeing an ancestral spirit could be likened to a stroke of luck. Yet, Qin Yun wondered what was up with his own luck.
In front of him was such a creature. Birds of Paradise were ancestral spirits, without a doubt. In fact, they were some of the oldest creatures the world has ever birthed. They came into existence around the same time as phoenixes; their species could be deemed cousins. Still, since they were so old, not many records remained. In fact, up until now, Qin Yun thought them extinct.
“I see,” Qin Yun said as he approached the wounded bird on the ground. “So you have chosen death for it. A shame, really.”
Qin Yun reeled his hand back, making it clear that he was about to strike as he closed his hand into a fist. Space crackled slightly as his hand closed, and his muscles bulged as he prepared them for the blow.
Yun Jingfei’s eyes opened wide once she noticed Qin Yun’s intention. She couldn’t help but step in front of the bird, arms wide to her side. Qin Yun’s motions stopped abruptly, which discharged some of the power he had accumulated into his surroundings, creating a slight wind.
“What are you doing?” she asked, clearly flustered. “There’s no need to go that far. We can just make her leave.”
Qin Yun eyed his wife for a moment. Seeing as she wouldn’t budge, Qin Yun relented and lowered his fist.
“If she is going to die either way, I’d rather make it quick and painless,” Qin Yun said as he shrugged.
Yun Jingfei’s eyes narrowed. She knew Qin Yun possessed information she wasn't privy to. She felt slightly angered, knowing that this was only his ploy to guilt her into accepting this bird as her servant. Still, she kept calm and simply asked him to clarify his intentions.
Things were as she expected. Qin Yun had long known that if this bird was to leave their courtyard, she wouldn’t be able to last long in the outside world. As for the reasons, there were many. Firstly, Birds of Paradise required an environment dense with pure spiritual Qi to thrive in. If they were to lack such a thing, they would shrivel and die as a fish would out of water or a tree in a desert. Spiritual Qi, to them, was akin to water for mortals.
Yun Jingfei did notice that this courtyard had a much higher concentration of Spiritual Qi than the rest of what could be found within Jin City. In fact, it seemed even higher than her master's courtyard within the Immortal Phoenix Sect. She could see the countless spiritual herbs thriving in every corner of their residence. This would indeed be the perfect place to raise a spirit.
Secondly, Birds of Paradise were highly sought after as they were rumoured to be able to lead the way to a place called Paradise. While Yun Jingfei had no idea if such a place truly existed or even what it was, the name alone inspired many to dream of reaching it. The bird's injuries exposed the dangers she had faced in reaching here.
Lastly was the manner in which she reached their courtyard. Their new residence was surrounded by a powerful formation that prevented any intruders from entering. Yet, she was still found inside while the formation was intact. Qin Yun explained the spatial fluctuations he had noticed a while back and his conjectures that the two might be related. Qin Yun figured that the one who injured this bird had also reached this place somehow. Conflict was inevitable.
All in all, forcing this bird to leave would only lead to its demise. Still, Yun Jingfei was reluctant to restrict its freedom. How would that make her any different from those who had chased her this far? As for that place called Paradise, her husband seemed to have no interest in it and the same applied to her.
Would treasures help her cultivate her mind? She didn’t think so. Only painstaking effort and insights could do so. While she could understand why others would drool at the prospect, even though she would have once thought so, it wasn't her path anymore.
With this slight incident over, the couple chose to wait and hear their guests' opinions first. The bird was moved inside the side building, where they would wait for her to wake up. This would take much longer than Qin Yun anticipated.
At first, Qin Yun thought that her exhaustion was due to her overuse of that strange coloured light. As such, he slightly tweaked the guardian formation so that it would funnel the surrounding spiritual Qi toward the detached house where the bird was resting.
While it provided some improvements, the bird remained unconscious for another three days. Qin Yun couldn’t help but wonder what she had experienced for her to be so drained.
During those three days, Yun Jingfei spent the majority of her time taking care of the injured bird and tending to its wounds. While they had battled to the death, she didn't feel any resentment, as both only fought for survival. There was no need to foster a grudge on the edge of life and death.
While Yun Jingfei was by the bird's side, Qin Yun had things to deal with. Now that Lian Huiling had made it clear to her staff that they weren't to stop him in any way, Qin Yun could come and go as he pleased. He went to see her as he had many questions concerning the strange spatial events he had sensed weeks prior.
Still, his search was unfruitful. He failed to uncover any new information, yet Lian Huiling promised to investigate it and keep him appraised. Qin Yun had no choice but to rely on the Lian Clan for this, as he was now barred from the Qin Clan. Still, it wasn't as if they would help him if he asked.
As for why Qin Yun sought information, he couldn't help but think there was something between the arrival of the City Lord's son-in-law and their new pet. It was too much of a coincidence that these two spatial fluctuations occurred near the same time. As for what Qin Yun would do if they were related, he hadn't thought this far. As long as he was left alone to do his own thing, he had no intentions of creating waves. Still, the tides never seemed to leave him alone.
As expected, once the bird woke up, she elucidated some of his doubts. While she remained vague when talking about her past and the events that led to her arrival in the Western Region, she called herself Feng Xia, which didn't surprise Qin Yun in the slightest. How could a relative of the Phoenix family not be called Feng? Qin Yun couldn't help but feel that the universe was playing a joke on him.
While Feng Xia was initially reluctant to confide in them, she slowly grew attached to Yun Jingfei as she could see the care she gave her, even if her expression left a lot to be desired. In fact, once Feng Xia saw Yun Jingfei's cold demeanour, it reminded her of some of the humans who had chased her all this time. This was the reason that she attacked Yun Jingfei upon sight.
She had no wish to be someone's trophy. Her parents had long explained to her what humans would do to her were they to find out about her origins. She had been shocked to see that the couple had no interest in such a thing. It took Feng Xia quite a few days to come to terms with it. She remained withdrawn for a long time before opening slightly to Yun Jingfei.
According to Feng Xia, she came from the Central Region of the continent. Some time ago, she had been separated from her mother and had no choice but to rely on someone she met just a few days later. Unfortunately, at the time, her judgment was clouded by the gentle smile this man gave her.
They travelled together for weeks as Feng Xia sought to reunite with her family. As this was her first foray away from the safety of her family's lands, Feng Xia had no choice but to rely on this man for the information required to live in such a foreign land. She trusted him implicitly to have her best intentions in his heart.
Yet, Feng Xia refused to say much more on this subject as the pain of recalling those events seemed much too harsh for her to bear. Yun Jingfei didn’t push her either, as she saw facets of herself in this young spirit. She, too, had been much too naive at one time, unaware of the ugliness of the human heart. She, too, had suffered at the hands of others.
Empathizing with her current situation, Yun Jingfei decided to allow Feng Xia to remain with them for the time being. While Feng Xia still had reservations about trusting these humans so soon, she felt that her fight with Yun Jingfei had shown her just how straightforward that woman was. She knew she could trust Yun Jingfei to keep her word.
No, the problem was her husband. No matter how hard she tried, Feng Xia could never come to trust him. There was something in his eyes, something she couldn't quite place. Something that couldn't help but make her heart shudder. Still, as Yun Jingfei trusted him, she would try to do the same. In fact, she had no choice but to do so. She was much too aware of how harsh the outside world was to her. She would soon perish if she were to leave this place for too long. She couldn’t help but think it was fate that she landed here and that she met Yun Jingfei.
Qin Yun thought the same, yet didn’t voice his doubts. This scenario seemed much too perfect not to have been orchestrated by a higher power. Still, there was nothing he could do at present as his wife had already made her choices. He would respect them, even if they were found to be the wrong ones in hindsight.
Following that, Qin Yun left Feng Xia to his wife to accommodate her new lifestyle, and he returned to what he had waited a long time to do. While he needed a house for the both of them, the reason he chose this place was for his workshop, more precisely, the forge located within. Finally, he could finish what he had started back in his makeshift forge in the Qin Clan.
Comments
lenkite
Hope Qin Yun has the sense to make a disguise artifact for Feng Xia and also warn her not to go out. He says he wants to be "left alone to do his own thing, he had no intentions of creating waves" - but by taking her in and not making the means to fully conceal her presence and disguise her, he is definitely churning the ocean - ie doing the exact opposite of what he stated. A hot potato makes a lot of waves.
lenkite
The difference between humans and awakened spirit beasts is not clear and is confusing. It first says that the beasts cultivate spirituality within their core. But it then also says later that they "began absorbing spiritual Qi and transcended the limits of their species". This is also what humans do - How is it different from humans then ? Don't humans also form cores in the Void Core -> Golden Core stages ?
