Chapter 124: My Guardian Spirit is Dead (10)
“Then just a little bit,” Jiang Zhiyan said.
“Okay.” Xie Yunzhi nodded, but as soon as her palm felt the slightest touch, it disappeared. “Really just a little bit.”
“It’s harmful to you, even if I restrain myself from harming you, it’s in a vengeful spirit’s nature,” Jiang Zhiyan explained.
“So we can’t hold hands or hug in this world?” Xie Yunzhi asked, frowning and sighing deeply.
“There will be plenty of time for that later,” Jiang Zhiyan reassured her.
Xie Yunzhi looked at Jiang Zhiyan, desperately wanting to remember, wanting to understand the emotions in Jiang Zhiyan’s eyes when she looked at her.
The more missions she took on, the more proficient Xie Yunzhi became. In just a few months, she seemed like a seasoned veteran of thirty years, she no longer swung her sword randomly, and at first glance, she even had a somewhat immortal-like air.
Her reputation in City A was established, and now, without needing introductions from the Xie family, people came to her directly.
Xie Yunzhi had wanted to keep a low profile, so she hadn’t advertised her services, pretending to be someone who wasn’t good at socializing and just focused on her work, but now people thought her reticence made her seem even more like an expert.
Rushing between school and work every day, the jade house Xie Yunzhi was preparing for Jiang Zhiyan could be even bigger now.
“At Xie Yunzhi’s current growth rate, she might be able to single-handedly eliminate you one day, even without the male lead,” the System said, looking at Xie Yunzhi with emotion.
“She won’t,” Jiang Zhiyan said, looking at Xie Yunzhi, who had just cleaved a ghost in two with a single sword strike. “And she should be waking up soon.”
“How can you tell?” The System didn’t understand, looking at Xie Yunzhi, it only felt that she had indeed accepted Jiang Zhiyan’s presence, but there weren’t any other noticeable changes.
“A fragment has already ascended, her realm has increased considerably recently, when she senses the rules of this world, she should be able to directly perceive the information left by that fragment,” Jiang Zhiyan paused. “And she’s already started to question the nature of this world, doubt is the first step towards awakening.”
The System didn’t quite understand, looking at Xie Yunzhi’s sharp swordsmanship, its heart tightened: “She does seem like she’s about to awaken, she’s the only one in this world who can wield a sword like a Sword Cultivator.”
Xie Yunzhi hurried towards Jiang Zhiyan, jumping and skipping, looking exceptionally excited.
“Jiang Zhiyan,” Xie Yunzhi called, jumping down from a platform, startling Jiang Zhiyan, thankfully, she landed safely.
“What is it?”
“I remembered a little bit,” Xie Yunzhi said. “Just now.”
“Remembered what?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.
“I’m not telling you, I’ll tell you when I remember everything,” Xie Yunzhi said, putting away her things and winking at Jiang Zhiyan.
Jiang Zhiyan followed Xie Yunzhi: “You’ve learned to be coy.”
“Learned it from you,” Xie Yunzhi said, glancing at her smugly.
Xie Yunzhi’s classmates could clearly sense that she had become much more cheerful recently, no longer seeming lifeless, and she often had a smile on her face. However, she was also more distant than before, with an aura that kept others at bay, out of sync with her surroundings, as if she would leave this world any day.
Xie Yunzhi glanced at the message on her phone, swiftly deleted it and blocked the sender, then put her phone away. Jiang Zhiyan didn’t see the message, but noticed the change in her expression, even though the displeasure was fleeting.
“What happened?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.
“Nothing,” Xie Yunzhi shook her head.
“You seem distant,” Jiang Zhiyan sighed softly.
Xie Yunzhi said with some exasperation: “The Xie family asked me to be wary of you, saying that if I’m capable enough, I should find a way to save myself, don’t delay, the longer I wait, the more troublesome it will become, they said they would provide appropriate assistance.”
“And what did you say?” Jiang Zhiyan asked.
“I blocked them,” Xie Yunzhi said, spreading her hands. “There’s nothing they can do to me now.”
There was indeed nothing they could do.
The person who messaged Xie Yunzhi, realizing they had been blocked, slammed the table angrily: “She blocked me, what do we do now?”
“Those who don’t listen to their elders will suffer the consequences, she’ll regret using such methods later,” another person said sarcastically, their tone filled with dissatisfaction.
“What methods?”
“What else? Despicable methods of colluding with a vengeful spirit, hmph.”
“Colluding with a vengeful spirit? I knew it, how could anyone master those things so quickly? I bet she subdued those vengeful spirits last time because of her collusion with another vengeful spirit.”
“That’s really strange, that vengeful spirit has always been unyielding, what methods did she use?”
“How about this, we expel her from the Xie family, so she can’t work in this field anymore! Everyone in City A wants to consult Xie Yunzhi now, it’s affecting our business too.”
“Do you think she cares? Her mother only has her as a daughter, she probably won’t stay in this field anyway, she’ll inherit the family business,” the old man said, stroking his beard. “Forget it, leave her alone, her mother gave us a donation, let it be, we’ve already warned her, as long as she doesn’t cause us any trouble later, it’s fine.”
The others exchanged glances, thinking about Xie Yunzhi’s wealthy mother, greed flickering in their eyes: “Only a daughter, not a son after all, why not our Haohao…”
“That branch of the family has always passed down their skills to women, not men, keep that to yourself, don’t make yourself look bad.”
The speaker looked surprised and said indignantly: “That’s really rare.”
“Hmph, keep your son to yourself, he’s useless, he hasn’t even memorized the basic texts after a whole year,” Xie Yunzhi’s aunt said, rolling her eyes. “How dare you covet everything, tsk.”
“How dare you speak to me like that!”
“Heh, I’ll speak nicely after you compensate me for the losses caused by your useless son!”
Hearing that he had to pay, Xie Tong immediately tried to change the subject.
Although they had been warned, many people in the Xie family still had ulterior motives, after all, the Xie family’s business was quite large.
Five days later, Jiang Zhiyan and Xie Yunzhi learned from Xie Yunzhi’s mother that the Xie family wanted them to return to the main family.
Xie Yunzhi’s mother wasn’t very happy, she knew the Xie family was doing this for money, and their branch had worked very hard to separate from the main family, she felt like she would be scolded by her ancestors if she went back.
But thinking about Xie Yunzhi, she was hesitant. She glanced at Jiang Zhiyan, who was floating by the dining table, and frowned.
“No,” Xie Yunzhi refused, frowning.
“But your situation…” Although Jiang Zhiyan hadn’t harmed Xie Yunzhi, and their relationship even seemed quite good, a vengeful spirit was still a vengeful spirit, she could control herself now, but who knew what would happen later? She had recently seen a lot of information from the Xie family, most vengeful spirits eventually lost control.
“They want me to save myself,” Xie Yunzhi looked at her mother. “And…”
Xie Yunzhi recounted how Jiang Zhiyan became a vengeful spirit.
“The reason she’s not harming me now might be because we’re still essentially from two different families. If I return to the main family, it might trigger her to lose control,” Xie Yunzhi said.
Jiang Zhiyan nodded in agreement.
“And I’ve divined it, those people have ulterior motives,” Xie Yunzhi looked at her mother. “Mom, we’re the real family, you have to trust me, those people, we just share the same surname, we were one family hundreds of years ago, there’s no blood relation now, there’s no need to feel guilty towards them, you’ve given them enough money.”
“If I lose control, she’ll deal with me, you don’t have to worry, the Xie family really can’t help at all, if they could, I wouldn’t be following your daughter around now,” Jiang Zhiyan said.
Xie Yunzhi’s mother looked at Jiang Zhiyan, then at Xie Yunzhi, feeling like there was something strange between them: “What… exactly is your relationship now?”
Jiang Zhiyan hugged Xie Yunzhi and winked at her mother.
Her mother’s mouth twitched, her eyes widening slightly, then she picked up the cup beside her and took a sip of water. She considered herself someone who had seen the world, but she was still shocked.
“Are you two crazy?” her mother asked, taking a deep breath. “How can a human and a ghost be together?!”
“It’s very cost-effective. Saves on electricity bills in the summer, no risk of cheating, she doesn’t snore at night and disturb my sleep, and I don’t have to buy tickets when we go out, very economical. I can also provide various mystical consultations, definitely more comprehensive than what the Xie family knows, because I’ve lived longer and dabbled in many areas,” Jiang Zhiyan said with a smile.
Her mother took another sip of water.
“Being with a vengeful spirit shortens your lifespan,” her mother said, putting down her cup and coughing twice. “If you love her, you should stay away from her.”
“She can already live past thirty now, I’ve taught her cultivation methods, she might even live to be one hundred and fifty, it’s a pity there’s not much spiritual energy in this world, otherwise, she might even live to be fifteen hundred and fifty,” Jiang Zhiyan said.
Xie Yunzhi’s mother opened her mouth, took a bite of food, and after thinking for a few seconds, asked: “Can I do it too?”
“Yes, although I don’t usually teach others, you’re her mother after all, but your talent isn’t as good as hers, living healthily to over a hundred should be possible,” Jiang Zhiyan’s tone remained gentle. The System rarely saw Jiang Zhiyan so patient with someone who wasn’t Xie Liaoyi.
Xie Yunzhi’s mother looked at Jiang Zhiyan, wavering between temptation and suspicion.
“Just accept it, you can’t defeat me anyway, acceptance is your only option.”
Xie Yunzhi’s mother: …
Xie Yunzhi took a sip of soup and looked at her mother, who rubbed her temples: “Forget it, do as you please, I can’t control you, as long as you don’t worry me, I’m satisfied.”
“Then when are you going to start cultivating? Have Xie Yunzhi write down the cultivation method for you.”
“Why write it down?” Xie Yunzhi looked at Jiang Zhiyan.
Jiang Zhiyan looked at her, puzzled: “You haven’t memorized it after all this time?”
Leave a Reply