To Raise a Soul 30.2

In the dream, he arrived at the village under the mountain where he’d asked for seeds, and he became the seed that he’d buried at the old woman’s gate. Every night, he entered the old woman’s dream.

The old mother’s dream was full of warmth. In it, she was still young and newly married. Her husband was very hardworking and loved her very much. They had quite a good life.

Later, they had their first child. He was a big, fat boy and cried a lot when he was born. When he grew up, he was very healthy and hardy. Two years later, their second child, a daughter, was born. She was also fat, with two dimples when she smiled.

Then there was the third, the fourth, and the fifth child. The family became more and more lively, and their days became more and more prosperous.

The children slowly grew each day. The eldest child became a carpenter and married his childhood sweetheart next door. The second child married into the next village. While her husband looked fierce, he was very good to her. The third child was the thinnest, but the cleverest, and he was admitted to a school in the city. The fourth one became a soldier and retired safely, then went back to his hometown to open a shop. The fifth child was the most beautiful, and she became a teacher, married into the city, and lived out her days happily.

The old grandmother gradually turned as old as her current age. Her old partner was the first to leave. She lay on the bed and looked at the sad children crying around her. Her eyes were filled with tears, but the corners of her lips lifted into a smile before she closed her eyes forever.

The warm dream disappeared and the old woman stood before Yu Zhen, who was still a seed. She squatted down and touched the land he was contained within. She smiled and said, “Sweet child, thank you.”

As she spoke, her figure slowly became young, her face full of happiness. “I’m going to find my children and my husband. Thank you for letting me have such a beautiful dream at the end of my life.”

“God will bless and protect you.”

The translucent figure dissipated. A few threads of golden light emerged, slowly converged, and enveloped him.

Pop.

The seed broke through the earth.

Yu Zhen opened his eyes and glanced around. In the dark room, an ancient book was suspended in front of him. The book opened up and the brush-written characters on the first page slowly faded. In the end, there was only one word left: “Pistil“.

As if he had been bewitched, he unconsciously reached for the page and touched it. At the moment when his fingertip touched the handwriting, a golden glow erupted. The word “Pistil” turned into a seed and floated to him.

The vision faded away and the room returned to darkness.

Stupefied, Yu Zhen suddenly looked down at his abdomen. Lifting the blanket, he left the bed and ran to Yin Yan’s room next door.

“Yin Yan! I just – “

The door to Yin Yan’s room was suddenly thrown open, leaving Yu Zhen’s attempt at knocking to fall on empty air. His body tilted forward and he fell into Yin Yan’s arms.

“What’s the matter?” Yin Yan asked in a low voice as he took the opportunity to hold Yu Zhen.

Yin Yan’s movement is too natural. Yu Zhen sensed Yin Yan’s aura and his stirred up emotions settled in an instant. He looked up at Yin Yan and touched his own dantian’s position in a daze. “H-here… it’s warm. “

In his previous cultivation practice, he had not felt the existence of the dantian and Yin Yan had only mentioned the “dantian deep breathing technique” when Yu Zhen was first digesting the power of the lotus seeds.

He knew cultivators needed their dantian, but because he had been accumulating merits instead of using a dantian, he didn’t care too much about it. He thought it might be because his method of cultivation was a bit special, so he didn’t need one.

But, he finally felt the existence of his dantian for the first time. It was the root of the cultivator. He didn’t feel it when he practiced. He didn’t feel it when he entered the Tao. Now, he finally felt it.

It was like the strength cultivated within his body finally had a home. It converged in one place like a small stove, making his whole body feel warm.

He could even feel clearly that there was a golden seed lying there. Merits drifted around the seed, forming a ’special soil’ for the seed to grow within.

It’s amazing. It’s like I suddenly have roots.

Yin Yan’s calm expression dropped the moment Yu Zhen finished speaking. He forgot his self-control and rested his hand near Yu Zhen’s dantian, strength surging through his palm.

“Don’t, it’s hot.”

Yu Zhen couldn’t stand it and began to struggle, but after some struggling, he blankly stood still.

He had felt Yin Yan’s power before, like when he saw Xu Wu for the first time, but his perception was slightly fuzzy during those times. However, in that moment, he clearly sensed Yin Yan’s power as it moved within him and surrounded his dantian. He even vaguely sensed the excitement and impatience in that power.

He raised his eyes and looked at Yin Yan’s serious face, which showed a rare frown. His heartbeat suddenly sped up a little.

He’s very anxious for me. Very, very anxious. Far more anxious than I am about myself.

“It has formed.”

Yin Yan retracted his power, and his frown eased up. Looking up at Yu Zhen, he swallowed, causing his Adam’s apple to move. He said, “Congratulations, you’ve taken the first step.”

Yu Zhen was born with an incomplete soul and negative attributes. He was born with extremely poor conditions, leaving Yin Yan to think that using merits to resist the negative attributes and enter the Way was already the limit. He had thought that a plan would need to be slowly worked out for the next steps in his cultivation but, unexpectedly, Yu Zhen was able to take that next step without a hitch. 

A foundational part of the Way, his damaged dantian, has returned. It returned after his reincarnation.

As expected, this man… He never lets me down.

Suddenly, there was a touch of emotion and pride in Yu Zhen’s heart. Yu Zhen was a little dazed and his mind was in a mess. Some vague thoughts jostled around and tried to emerge, but the heat released from his dantian jumbled up the words.

“You have just progressed. You’ll need to enter the pagoda tower to settle into a steady state.”

Yin Yan suddenly let go of him, took out a pill for him to eat, and then called up Xu Wu. “Last time you entered the tower, you were totally unconscious. This time you need to be careful and not get lost in the illusions.”

When the pill passed his lips, a cold and clear taste immediately filled his mouth. His mind was suddenly unclouded and all the distracting thoughts were gone. The golden seed was the only thing on his mind.

Yin Yan took Yu Zhen, who was in a semi-settled state, and led him to the emptiest room on the second floor. After Xu Wu turned into its original form, he waved a hand to open the pagoda tower’s doors, and beckoned Yu Zhen to come forward.

“You…”

“I’ll wait for you outside.”

His consciousness had just returned but, very quickly, he entered a state of confusion. Yu Zhen looked at the majestic tower in front of him and felt a sense of familiarity as he stepped forward.

The tower doors with golden runes opened without a sound. It was dark inside, and nothing could be seen clearly. He stood at the door and looked back at Yin Yan, who was standing in place. Hesitation bubbled up and he instinctively didn’t want to leave Yin Yan’s side.

As if reading his thoughts, Yin Yan stepped over and hugged him. Patting his hair, Yin Yan whispered in his ear, “Remember, guard your heart.” Then he released Yu Zhen and gently pushed him into the tower.

Caught by surprise, Yu Zhen staggered inside. When he turned around in a hurry, he only saw the doors quickly shut.

Boom.

At the moment when the tower doors closed, a thunderclap sounded overhead and the darkness around him was torn away, revealing a young man and woman. Neither one could be seen clearly.

They were standing in a dark forest. The woman’s hair was scattered and she held a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes within her arms. The man was fighting with her.

“Xiao Shu, we can’t keep this kid! The doctor said that he has an abnormality in his brain and will grow up to be an idiot! It will only drag us down!”

“No, Jincheng, he is our first child. What if it’s a misdiagnosis? Let’s not abandon him. Even sending him to the orphanage isn’t good. Please don’t abandon him.”

The man called Jincheng seemed to have paced around in a circle and asked, “You really want to keep him?”

The woman wept pitifully, holding tightly onto her child.

The man punched a tree beside him and shouted, “Fine! Keep him if you want to! You’d better not regret your decision!”

Yu Zhen stood outside the scene and listened to their conversation. His heartbeat gradually became faster and faster. His sight fell on the swaddled baby in the woman’s arms.

Intuition told him that the child was himself. If my intuition is right, then these two who are arguing about leaving me behind should be my parents.

But grandpa said that my parents died not long after I was born? Then these two…

The scene suddenly changed into that of a small two bedroom apartment.

The baby, having grown by a few months, lay in a cradle. He could only giggle and drool with a thoroughly silly look.

A thin, pallid woman rocked the cradle. She shouted, “Laugh! Laugh! Laugh! You can only laugh! You fool! Fool! People outside are laughing at me. Jincheng doesn’t like coming home! It’s all your fault! “

Bang!

The cradle was shoved into the wall and, frightened, the baby inside finally stopped laughing and began to cry loudly.

But the woman became even more dispirited. She suddenly stood up and pinched the baby’s arm.

“No…”

Yu Zhen’s heart tightened. I can’t believe that women’s attitude changed so fast.

The scene changed again. The baby had grown some more and the woman’s appearance had changed. She wore a beautiful, long dress and high-heeled shoes while her fingernails were painted bright red. Not caring for the crying baby in the cradle, she left with her handbag.

Before long, the man returned home in a suit while reeking of alcohol. He didn’t even glance at the cradle before landing on the sofa in his intoxicated state. He complained that the crying of the child was disturbing his peaceful sleep.

Yu Zhen stood unmoving. His lips were tightly pressed together as he tried to see the man’s appearance, but he couldn’t see anything clearly.

The scene changed yet again but it was still within the two bedroom apartment. The young man and woman spoke with cold words. The child in the cradle had its eyes closed and seemed to be asleep.

“Yu Jincheng, I was really blind to be with you.”

“I would say the same.”

“I don’t want the baby.”

“Neither do I.”

Their negotiations were stuck at in impass. In the end, the woman came up with an idea and said, “Let’s leave him in an orphanage.”

“I’m not as heartless as you are,” the man suddenly replied. “How about this: when you leave this place, this property will be returned to me and the child will be in my care.”

The woman sneered, “Do you have such kindness?”

“No,” he replied frankly. “My adoptive Taoist father is a good man. When this child is sent over, he will surely take good care of it – better than an orphanage can. But what about you? Wang Shu, is there anyone in your family who can help you take care of the child?”

The woman was silent. She looked at the cradle for a while, then firmly looked back. She replied, “Ok. The house will be returned to you.”

The scene disappeared once more and Yu Zhen stood in the darkness. After staring blankly, he quietly laughed at himself.

Grandpa… Why did you lie to me about my lot in life too?