After the fierce struggle, Jian Xin collapsed into Jian Wei's arms. The couple carefully placed her on the bed, the woman's tears practically flowing without a pause, while the man's eyes were filled with sorrow and anxiety.
Chen Jian looked at Jian Xin lying on the bed and wanted to change her into a clean set of clothes. Just as she picked up a dress, second thoughts crossed her mind. "Forget it, I'll keep watch here. You go brew the medicine," she said with hesitation. Her ill-fated daughter was sometimes obedient and docile, but at other times completely heartless and estranged from everyone. Chen Jian was genuinely afraid that if Jian Xin woke up and found her touching her, she would fly into a rage again. It wasn't that she feared her daughter would hurt her, but rather that she worried the relationship between Jian Xin and her father would only grow worse. It was enough to drive her crazy—thinking back to how things started, sighing.
What the couple did not know was that shortly after they left the room, Jian Xin's body began emitting a cyan aura. This time, the cyan qi was non-aggressive; instead, it exuded a soothing, healing sensation. The wounds on Jian Xin's body caused by the friction of the rubble healed at a visible rate, fading until they vanished completely.
"Ah!" The bowl in Chen Jian's hands shattered on the floor. At the exact sound of the crash, the cyan qi slowly separated into a wisp, forming a cyan phantom of an old man in mid-air.
"Ah, ah!"
"Be qui—"
"Who... who are you? What are you trying to do to my Xiner?!"
The commotion inside drew Jian Wei's attention. When he rushed into the room, he was also startled. "Who are you, sir? What are you trying to do to my daughter?!"
"It's nothing, nothing at all. An old man like me won't do anything to this little child. You two can rest easy—just don't disturb us. Don't worry, I will definitely return a complete daughter to you." The cyan shadow slowly coalesced into the solid figure of an old man, speaking in a genial tone. With that, he drifted back into Jian Xin.
"Hey, hey! You—" Watching the old man gradually dissipate, the two of them stood at a loss.
"Let's hope Xiner gets some kind of opportunity this time..."
"What the hell do you mean?! Do you still think you haven't harmed her enough?! You surnamed Jian..."
...
"Little child, wake up."
Hearing the sound, Jian Xin leaped up agilely. She hadn't been hurt much to begin with; lying down was merely out of boredom. Yet, to her surprise, there was no sign of the old man in cyan. "Where are you? How do I get out? I've been trapped here forever."
"Little child, what are you talking about? Wait! Do you still remember what you just did?"
"Me? I've been right here. You didn't tell me the way out, so I wandered around for ages until I saw a light-shadow in front of me, and I went to chase it off. I tried for so long and still couldn't beat it."
The old man asked incredulously, "And then?! What happened?"
"Then I saw another me appear! She looked exactly like me—is she my younger sister?? Or older sister?? But she was dark, and I was white. Looking at her made me think of ways I'd never considered before. Constantly dissecting the light-shadow's movements, I quickly came up with corresponding actions, and that dark version of me actually followed my thoughts. Still couldn't beat it, though..."
"Twin... twins..." The old man muttered in shock. For all his long years alive, he had only ever seen this technique used by one old acquaintance. That fellow was right here, and had made her name through this very set of skills—yet how could such a thing exist in this backwater Mortal Realm...
"This place is really small, even though it looks huge. I can't go anywhere, it feels like something is blocking me. So boring. And then..."
"Finish speaking and get lost!"
"Don't, don't, I don't want to hear it." The old man shook his head. He had sensed a hint of crisis within the little one's Consciousness Sea. Even one as strong as he could now only perceive that existence—an entity that made even him feel utterly helpless. In the face of that voice, he felt incomparably minuscule, but he quickly understood: this voice was the master of this place, the ruler of this realm. "It really is a twin soul body!" the old man muttered to himself.
"I'll teach you how to enter and exit first, and then I'll tell you about cultivation. It's just that I am only a fragment of a soul, so I might not know very much. Well, let's start with that—tell me your situation so I can figure out what else to say to you."
Jian Xin seemed to hear the term for the first time and asked doubtfully, "Cultivation? What is that?"
"Leave the items behind, and get lost!" That voice rang out once again. The old man had no choice; he had wanted to probe Jian Xin for her secrets, but his little scheme seemed to have been discovered by the "god" of this place. Helplessly, he flicked a speck of light toward Jian Xin. He wanted to say something more, but the moment he opened his mouth, he vanished, leaving behind a bewildered Jian Xin.
"Hey!! What on earth did you flick at me?! Hey!!"