To Raise a Soul 57.1

Of course, Yu Zhen’s butt did not receive the spanking. Instead, he was pressed down and thoroughly kissed by Yin Yan, whose imposing aura had been activated. Yu Zhen was kissed until his eyes were filled with glistening tears and his body was excited. His legs restlessly moved against Yin Yan as he prepared to take advantage of the night to do some harmonious activities together. Unexpectedly, Yin Yan wrapped him up in the blankets and stuffed a pill in his mouth.

Completely caught off guard, the pill immediately calmed his mind and body. From under the blankets, he looked up at Yin Yan with a dull expression. 

“Steady your Taoist heart.”

Yin Yan reached for Yu Zhen, positioning him in a half-upright position. He waved his hand slightly and a bronze mirror floated, midair, in front of them.

Yu Zhen immediately recognized it. It was the bronze mirror that Xu Wu had let him use when he had entered Yin Yan’s mustard space, and its ability was to allow someone to peer into a different space. 

“Zou Chengjing just tried to use the seed you had used on him to affect you. Xu Wu has already gone ahead to scout out the situation,” Yin Yan explained. Seeing the dumb look on Yu Zhen’s face, he rapped Yu Zhen’s forehead and said, “Next time, you must not use a seed which is linked to your dantian for casting a technique. There’s a risk of backlash.”

After processing his words for a moment, Yu Zhen finally understood what had happened. Recalling the events that had transpired earlier that day, guilt struck him.

He had been too angry and had simply wanted to teach Zou Chengjing a lesson and to stop him from saying ridiculous and outrageous things. It had been convenient at the time, so he’d grabbed the seed that he was going to use on San’er.

The seeds he usually used would only have merits and spiritual energy on them, making them mildly powerful. He could use them casually and there would still be some left. There was also no need to worry about any future consequences. However, the ones used on Xin Xiaoxiao and San’er were different. They were all prepared in advance so that they had a connection to his dantian, making them very powerful. They were effective for his ghostly attendants’ evil energy but carried a risk of backlash. 

In the past, he had only used those seeds on his ghost attendants, and since they wouldn’t rebel against their master, he had practically forgotten about the risk of a backlash.

In short, he had been careless. 

“So when you spanked me…”

Yin Yan returned his gaze and cleared up the misunderstanding. “You made such a low-level mistake. Did you not deserve a spank?”

“…I did.”

Yu Zhen pulled up the quilt, covering the lower half of his face. He was guilty and ashamed. I want to dig a hole and bury myself in it.

So Yin Yan doesn’t have any strange kinks. He was only worried for me. He woke me up in the middle of the night to block Zou Chengjing’s harassment. Then he got frustrated at my carelessness and taught me a small lesson. 

And then I misunderstood, and the direction of my misunderstanding was very much not harmonious.  

Poof.

Face and neck turning red, Yu Zhen bowed his head and felt it fuming from his shame.

Afraid that he would suffocate himself with the blankets, Yin Yan pulled the blankets away from Yu Zhen’s lower face and rapped his forehead again. Yin Yan didn’t want to continue chastising Yu Zhen about the same subject, so he stuffed Yu Zhen with another pill and changed the topic. “There can’t be a next time. Look at the bronze mirror. Xu Wu has arrived.”

For the first time, Yu Zhen was grateful for the existence of those pills.

Once the pill took effect, his shame and distress were cast aside and he obediently looked at the bronze mirror.

The mirror showed a view of Xu Wu’s surroundings and his body was semi-transparent. It ran swiftly in the night and stopped near a large, lakeside villa. Then it took a step back and rushed forward, running up the wall surrounding the villa and nimbly dashing over it.

“There are formations inside the villa.” As Yin Yan spoke, Xu Wu suddenly stopped and, like a real kitten, sniffed here and there. Then it squatted and peed.

Yu Zhen: “……”

Yin Yan explained, “Xu Wu is a spirit and has no need for excretion. What it just passed is crystal water from the dimensional space which is used to raise spirit animals. It can be used to get rid of evil obstructions.” At some point, Yin Yan had taken Yu Zhen into his arms and leaned against the headboard. He had a relaxed attitude, as if he was watching a movie.

“…” Was there a need to “pee” it out? Wouldn’t spitting have worked? As Yu Zhen pondered the issue, he suddenly wanted some popcorn.

Yin Yan flicked a hand and a box appeared in midair. He moved it in front of Yu Zhen and said, “Don’t eat too much, it’ll affect your rest.”

… Now it really feels like we’re watching a movie. 

Yu Zhen reached for the snack and watched Xu Wu continue its performance of peeing. Without a sense of pressure, he picked out a snack and nibbled at it. 

En. It’s salty. I like it.

After the “peeing”, the image in the mirror distorted for a moment before returning to normal. Xu Wu swished its tail and continued to move towards the villa. After it looked in all directions, it followed the villa’s outer wall. With a swish, it then climbed to a second-floor window which had tightly drawn curtains and scratched at it.

The scratched window pane and the curtain gradually turned transparent until a fist sized hole appeared. 

Xu Wu retracted its claws and agilely hopped inside. The hole immediately disappeared, returning the window and curtains back to normal. 

Zou Chengjing asked, “Father*, how is it?” Yu Zhen sat up straighter at his voice.

^{*义父 = Foster Father. But we’re using “Father” as “Foster Father” is awkward in English}

“There’s a powerful person helping him. The connection has been cut.” A gentle and relaxed voice replied, full of a magnetic aura, sounding like an elder with a good temperament. 

The scene in the room became clear. The spacious room was mostly empty, with only a rug and some cushions decorating its center. Two middle-aged men sat cross-legged, facing each other. One was his own refined-looking parent, and the other was a gentle-looking, portly man. If one were to not pay attention to their discussion, they could easily be mistaken for two good friends just having a casual conversation.

Zou Chengjing’s face was still slightly pale, and his brows were furrowed. His voice carried a tone of unwillingness as he replied, “This young man is so arrogant, is there really no way for us to catch him? That jade pendant was a treasure that you’d only managed to refine after many painstaking years. And now it’s been destroyed by him… I- I’m not willing to accept this!” 

“So what if you’re not willing to accept it? You acted unscrupulously and without fear. This time, you escaped the repercussions of picking on someone who only seemed to be a pushover, but you won’t be able to escape it next time. I’ve told you this before, B City’s world of cultivators isn’t what it looks like on the surface. Before you do anything, you have to deliberate it, then deliberate it again. Think twice before acting.”

Even though the portly man’s words were full of rebuke, his way of speaking remained slow. It brought an earnest and well-meaning feel to his words.

However, Zou Chengjing looked frightened by those words. He lowered his head pitifully and explained, “Father, Xiao Wei noticed that peach wood sword early on, and I had investigated the Yin family’s situation in advance. It was only after making sure that nothing would go wrong that I let Xiao Wei make a move. But I didn’t expect that… I definitely heard that Yu Zhen was an orphan who had returned from overseas. When he arrived in B City, he was kept by the Yin family. There wasn’t any spectacular performance from him, but somehow… Father, my apologies. I wasn’t prudent this time.”

The portly man didn’t reply. His finger tapped on his knee as he thought. After some time, he finally said, “That peach wood sword, is it really as good as you say?” 

“Of course! Otherwise I wouldn’t have taken the risk! Xiao Wei’s spiritual tool started vibrating wildly as soon as it touched the peach wood sword. Afterwards, I held it in my own hands. I found that not only did it contain spiritual energy, it also contained merits and carried a lotus scent which clears the mind. It’s definitely something good!”

The portly, middle-aged man fell silent again. He squinted, as if thinking about something. Seeing that, Zou Chengjing restrained the emotions that had subconsciously risen within him and quietly waited. 

A few minutes later, the portly man finally spoke, but the topic had changed. “Have you found the child that you abandoned?”

Yu Zhen suddenly sat upright and his expression became serious. 

Yin Yan also sat upright. He took the snacks from Yu Zhen’s hands and quietly helped Yu Zhen wipe his hands. 

Zou Chengjing frowned and shook his head. “I couldn’t find him. That old man’s temple is already gone. It’s now an empty site. The nearby villagers had their lips sealed. They seemed to know something, but they wouldn’t say anything about it. The people that I sent over weren’t even able to hear the child’s name. Incredibly, that old man’s grave also couldn’t be found even though the villagers said it was in the village cemetery.”

“None of them said anything?”

“None.”

As Zou Chengjing spoke, his mood turned sour and he complained, “That old man was deliberately guarded against me. Before he died, he probably said something to the child. As soon as the old man died, the child moved away. I don’t know where he’s gone to. There’s not even a single clue.” 

“If there was no information from the household register or his place of residence, what about his school? Children have to go to school.”

“Nothing was found. A few years ago, the primary school* in Lianhua Village merged with another town’s primary school because the number of students was gradually becoming insufficient. The students’ information was a mess, so things from over ten years ago couldn’t be recovered. I’d also investigated the middle schools in the area. It seems that that child went to one of them, but coincidentally, there was a fire at that school a few years ago, so a part of the student information disappeared and the trail of clues was broken again.”

^{*primary school covers the first six years of education.} 

As Zou Chengjing spoke, the expression he wore became gloomier, and his hatred for the old man who had always opposed him continued to grow in spades.  

How can there be so many coincidences in the world? How could a person that has lived for twenty years in one place not leave a single clue behind? 

The teachers didn’t remember the students they taught. They couldn’t remember if the Taoist priest had a grandson. Those who remembered either went to other parts of the country, or were sent to other places by their sons or daughters to live out their retirement. They couldn’t find any of them. The only person they managed to find was the village chief, but it appeared that someone had given him instructions. He would only play dumb and answer “I don’t know” no matter what the question was. 

“Is it possible that the child is already dead? Or maybe he didn’t go to school. After all, he was born a fool. If he’s alive, he would only waste food.” Frustrated, Zou Chengjing didn’t hide his disgust towards his own foolish son.

Yu Zhen’s hands clenched into fists and his lips tightly pressed together. He stared at the Zou Chengjing that was shown in the mirror, as if looking through his skin to see what his heart was made of.

“There are two bloodline strings connected to you. Continue looking. That child isn’t dead. Now that your protective jade pendant has been smashed, if you don’t quickly find that child, even I will have no way of replenishing your life. Go back, I’m tired.”

That said, the portly man closed his eyes and stopped looking at him.

Zou Chengjing’s expression darkened at those words and he looked at his palms, which didn’t have a healthy color. Then he rose from his seat and left the room.

After he left, the portly man opened his eyes. From his pocket, he retrieved a seed attached on a red string. He pinched the seed which had lost its luster and, squinting, he murmured, “Yu Zhen. Also surnamed Yu… Is it a coincidence or …”

Yin Yan gently moved his fingers and Xu Wu, who had remained quiet and still, suddenly burst into action. It rushed towards the middle-aged man and pounced at him. Without showing itself, it scratched his eyes and his neck. Then it snatched away the red string and lightly landed on the ground before finally retreating to a corner again. 

The middle-aged man howled in pain and fell to the ground. Startled by the noise, Zou Chengjing who hadn’t yet moved far from the door turned and ran back inside. 

“Father!”

The middle-aged man was on the ground with his left eye shut tightly and his neck covered in blood. His spiritual energy stirred and pulsed unsteadily. Frightened, Zou Chengjing helped the man sit up and moved to call for doctors. 

“Wait.”

However, the portly man pulled Zou Chengjing’s hand as he breathed hoarsely due to his neck injury. He swallowed a pill, then waved his hands. His figure immediately became stooped and his hair turned a grizzled gray color. In the blink of an eye, his appearance changed to that of an old man. Finally feeling at ease, he said, “Call the family doctor. Don’t alert anyone else.”

As if he was used to the changing of appearances, Zou Chengjing simply nodded and helped the old man lie down. Then, he turned around and ran out of the room to call for the family doctor. 

Shocked by the changes, Yu Zhen was speechless.

“It’s only a simple technique for changing appearances.” Yin Yan waved a hand and the image in the mirror disappeared, then the mirror fell onto the blankets. 

He held Yu Zhen’s face in his palms and stroked his cheeks. Looking into Yu Zhen’s eyes, Yin Yan said, “They’re looking for you. What do you want to do?”

Yin Yan’s question carried the indulgent suggestion of “I will do whatever you ask”, seeming as if he had no bottom line. Yu Zhen’s heart trembled. As if he was testing something, but also as if it was something he wanted from the very depths of his soul, he said, “Kill them. They’ll interrupt Grandpa’s peaceful rest.”

A look crossed Yin Yan’s eyes and he replied, “Alright. I’ll help you kill them.”

They’re people of great evil, killing them is no big deal. There’s nothing standing in the way.

However, Yu Zhen shook his head and hugged Yin Yan. “Don’t. You can’t dirty your hand. You’re a remnant soul. You mustn’t stain yourself with killing evil. This is my karma, I’ll deal with it.”

“How do you want to deal with it?” Yin Yan hugged him and touched his back soothingly.

How do I want to deal with it?

Yu Zhen’s mind was in a state of chaos. There was too much information which he hadn’t finished processing. Feeling Yin Yan’s soothing energy, his intuition led him to reply, “I… want to go back for a look.”

His life with his grandpa hadn’t been completely secluded from others. Although the temple was slightly out of the way and there wasn’t much communication with the village, they would nod at each other in passing. If they’d casually inquired with bystanders, they shouldn’t have gotten nothing from them. 

Zou Chengjing said that there was something strange going on. Yu Zhen wanted to figure out what had happened.