Yan Xiao'er did not stand on ceremony; she sat down and began to eat. As she ate, she curiously scanned the stone table.
"It has—always—been there."
Yu Changmian seemed to have read her mind. That made sense. If he had carved it in such a short time, he wouldn't be a soul-tamer, but a master craftsman. He must have just ordered Biyu to move it out from somewhere.
She tilted her head back, drained the bowl of vegetable porridge, and scraped the bottom clean. With her belly full and her mind at ease, the sight of the green leaves reminded her of the bones she had seen in the vegetable garden. Just as she was about to ask, her expression shifted from surprise to panic, her face turned toward the creek bank.
"Ugh... ugh..." Yan Xiao'er sounded as if she were being strangled, her right hand pointing forward.
Yu Changmian frowned slightly. He followed her gaze, and his expression instantly turned grim.
The Soul-Refining Bag was floating out from the crevice in the rock. That wasn't the issue; the issue was that the bag’s mouth was wide open, and it was completely empty inside. It seemed to realize it had made a grave mistake, cowering at the exit of the crevice, drifting between the light and the shadows. It was as if it were saying, "I’ve messed up, you’d better come and take a look."
Yu Changmian’s multicolored wings instantly materialized from his back, and he darted across the stream.
The soul was not only stubborn but cunning; it had slipped away the moment they weren't looking. In the daylight, Yu Changmian’s usually innocent eyes held a hint of panic—a situation like this had never happened before. The mouth of the Soul-Refining Bag was sealed with talismanic power; how could the soul have escaped?
Yan Xiao'er was even more anxious. She leaped to the opposite bank to see what was happening. She had been counting on the soul to provide clues about her great-grandfather, but it seemed she had been deceived by it.
Yu Changmian caught the Soul-Refining Bag. Seeing it curled up in a miserable shape, he found he couldn't bring himself to punish it further. He reached into the bottom of the bag and pinched out a tiny, almost invisible green thread. At least Biyu had left a tracking thread, just in case.
Just as Yu Changmian was about to step into the crevice, he stopped dead in his tracks and retreated several steps.
"We have to go after it," Yan Xiao'er urged. "It can't have gone far."
But Yu Changmian’s expression was bizarre.
"In the day—cannot—enter."
"Who says? If we don't chase it now, we'll never catch up!"
Yan Xiao'er tugged at his sleeve. She knew her own limitations and didn't dare enter alone.
"Master."
Having said that, Yu Changmian turned and walked back to the other side of the bank. Yan Xiao'er looked anxiously from the dark crevice to Yu Changmian, at a loss for what to do.
Just then, Ling’er’s pale yellow glow appeared and landed gently on the green thread.
Yan Xiao'er gritted her teeth. "Good Ling'er, let’s—let’s go in and take a look."
The pale yellow light clung to the tracking thread, swaying slightly.
"Are you really not coming in?" Yan Xiao'er asked one last time.
Yu Changmian stood with his back to her, motionless.
"Coward."
Yan Xiao'er stomped her foot and squeezed sideways into the crevice. Having walked through it once last night, it didn't feel as unfamiliar the second time. In the pitch-black mountain, the yellow and green lights guided her, making the path ahead seem quite bright.
When she reached the spot where Yu Changmian had told her to stop last time, Yan Xiao'er even dared to glance upward. There was no sign of the dense, terrifying red glow, and she let out a sigh of relief.
*I have to be careful up ahead,* she reminded herself, *don't fall into the Blue Abyss.* She shuffled forward inch by inch.
When the star-like clearing of the Blue Abyss appeared, she was struck with awe once again, despite having seen it before. She had been too nervous yesterday to remember which opening Yu Changmian had jumped down from while holding her. She leaned against the rock wall, squinting, trying to see which hole the tracking thread had descended through. The yellow and green lights were faint now, and she had to strain to see any trace of them; they seemed to be extending deep into the space.
Even if she found the path, how she would get down there herself was another question. Luckily, as her hands felt along the rock wall, she touched a section of rough hemp rope. *Great, Yu Changmian must have tied this up.*
*Hmph. You don't have to come; I can do it myself.*
She pressed herself against the wall and began pulling the rope. It was longer than she imagined; it took a while before it pulled completely out from one of the openings. She memorized the position of that hole. If she couldn't find the "stubborn soul" anywhere else, at least she knew where they had first discovered it.
Yan Xiao'er tugged on the rope's anchor—it was firm. After all, it had held the weight of both of them yesterday; it should be able to support her alone. She hoped the length would be enough to reach the tracking thread.
As she wound the rope around her waist, she thought of how Yu Changmian had deliberately bullied her, and her anger flared anew. He was the one who had sent Ling'er to communicate with the soul, and he was the one who had asked about its obsessions, yet he backed down at the critical moment. Most people were afraid of caves at night, but he was so terrified in broad daylight that his face had drained of color.
But on second thought, Yu Changmian had never promised to bring her along. Soul-refining and deliverance were his path of cultivation; he could perform them whenever he liked. Finding clues about her great-grandfather was more of Yan Xiao'er's obsession.
*Fine,* she admitted to herself. *The real coward is me. I'm too scared to go anywhere without protection.* She wasn't that pampered "family pet" anymore.
Somehow, the image of Yu Changqing’s fake, smiling face surfaced in her mind. She finally understood why she had felt that "Brother Changqing" was kind—it was because his displays of concern and affection were exactly like those of her parents. In his eyes, the real Yan Xiao'er didn't exist; he was merely playing a role, using those around him as a reference to mimic behavior.
Yan Xiao'er shook her head, mentally shattering that hypocrite into pieces. *If one day I have the chance to take revenge, I will strip away all his hypocrisy and cold-bloodedness for the world to see.*
The further Yan Xiao'er walked into the platform, the colder it became. She hugged her arms tightly, her teeth chattering. She pulled on the rope anxiously, and the solid resistance at the end reassured her slightly.
As she carefully avoided the caves, she noticed that some were no longer emitting blue mist. When she looked closely, she saw they were actually deep, blue ice caves. Occasionally, cold frost seeped out of the openings; if she weren't extremely careful, she would slip and fall at any moment.
Yan Xiao'er walked and walked, losing track of how much time had passed. The rope coiled around her waist grew shorter and shorter.
"Ling... Ling'er."
By now, the freezing air of the Blue Abyss had fully invaded the space above the platform. Her face was numb, and her voice trembled when she spoke.
"Ying..."
It seemed Ling'er couldn't hold on much longer either.
"Help me... help me see how much further it is. I’m running out of rope."
The yellow light hesitated for a moment, then, as if making a final decision, it darted forward along the green thread. A long time passed, and Ling'er did not return. If it weren't for the green thread still visible ahead, she would have feared she had frozen to death.
To warm her body, she chose a smooth spot, a little distance away from the blue ice caves, and began to jump and stomp her feet. Her mother had taught her this when she was little, saying she looked like a little bunny spirit hopping in the snow. Her father had once seen her doing this after returning from court and had been so inspired he painted a poem about it.
Thinking of her parents, Yan Xiao'er felt a pang of sorrow. Her nearly frozen body was difficult to control; she lost her footing, stumbled, and without any way to brace herself, slid straight into the nearest icy chasm.