Fleeting Dream Across Three Lifetimes - Chapter 6

“Cough… cough…” Caught off guard by those words, Qin Mohan nearly choked, coughing a few times as her face flushed slightly red. She then calmed herself and said, “No.”

Su Zining frowned lightly, then thought about it. The cultivation world did have same-sex Dao partners, but that was usually only for the sake of dual cultivation. She was just a useless person. Would Qin Mohan really need to make such a huge sacrifice for her? That was why her first instinct had been to assume Qin Mohan was a man. But then again, looking at her temperament and name, it was impossible that she was a man. Yet, Su Zining believed it even less that she wasn’t a man. If it had been a man, at least it could be explained as him being attracted to her looks. She and Qin Mohan had met fewer than two times in total. How could she possibly already be taken with her?

Seeing the disbelief on her face, Qin Mohan didn’t press the issue. Though it seemed like teasing, only she knew it wasn’t really teasing. She truly had acted this way because of the person in front of her.

“It’s getting late. If you stay any longer, people will start to get suspicious.” The time here didn’t quite match the place she usually lived. When she had gone to sleep, it was just past seven, while here, it was probably only just the start of Xu hour (7 – 9 p.m.).

Taking the item, Su Zining looked up at her and said seriously, “Thank you.” No matter the reason, right now Qin Mohan had indeed helped her.

Watching her leave, Qin Mohan’s eyes grew a little unfocused. She didn’t know how long she could maintain her current state. Now that Lin Qingchen was dead, could she still return? Qin Mohan laughed at herself. It seemed she truly was born for this world. At this moment, the life or death of someone else hardly stirred her. She only wondered whether she could continue to occupy another’s body.

The night deepened little by little. The vast Su household was very quiet at night. Most people were engrossed in cultivation; the nighttime stillness, when the mind was most at ease, was the best time for it. But Qin Mohan’s mind was in turmoil. She kept combing through the new memories that had appeared in her mind, trying to understand this world.

She felt none of this was coincidence. That day she had dreamed of Zhi Mo, and Zhi Mo had said she would take her away. Then she had seen that inexplicable page and begun traveling back and forth. But had Zhi Mo truly become so powerful she could take her to another world at will? Why use a novel as the medium, instead of telling her directly? Why not bring her to Zhi Mo’s own world, but instead to the time when Su Zining was fifteen? Now that she had changed the course of events, what meaning did that novel still hold?

Sitting on the bed, she pondered for a long while. Unknowingly, she closed her eyes and slipped into meditation. Inside the room, threads of spiritual energy condensed into milky white mist, endlessly flowing into her body and vanishing without a trace.

When she woke again, it was in Jiang Si’s home. Though Qin Mohan felt a little disappointed, she had already prepared herself mentally. This time her spirit was much better. Jiang Si had prepared breakfast early, and seeing her awake, was very happy.

“You look good today. Seems you slept well last night. Hurry and eat breakfast.”

“Mm, thank you.” Qin Mohan was a bit puzzled. She hadn’t really rested through the night, so why was her spirit improving more and more? And she had a strange feeling, as if part of her had been left behind over there. Now everything around her felt increasingly unreal, and her heart was hollowed out. It was indescribable, like her soul had been split in two.

She still hadn’t finished her work here. She pulled herself together to complete the rest of her translation job, polished it, and sent it off. She refused another commission she had been planning to take, then sat in front of her computer, waiting for the strange page to appear at exactly three o’clock.

When the clock struck three, her computer screen flickered and the interface appeared. This chapter was almost entirely about Su Zining’s days after falling into the Burial Grounds. Qin Mohan stared motionlessly at the screen until her eyes turned red. If it were just a novel, a reader might sigh a few times and marvel at the author’s imagination. But when all of it corresponded to the one she cherished most, she felt nothing but heartache and fury.

The Burial Grounds had once been the site of a war when the devil race invaded the cultivation world. The Devil Emperor had moved the Devil Realm here, and the two sides fought a devastating battle. The Five Great Sects and the Three Great Clans of the cultivation world all joined forces, slaying the Devil Emperor and four of the Devil Realm’s Six Envoys here. At the same time, four leaders who had already reached the Tribulation Crossing stage also perished, while countless cultivators and devils fell.

That battle ruined the Burial Grounds. To this day, its ferocious aura mingled with overwhelming diabolic energy, blotting out the sky and sun, leaving it steeped in death. The war had gravely damaged the cultivation world’s vitality. Even after over ten thousand years, among the families and sects that had taken part, aside from the younger brother of the Qin family’s head, no one else had ever surpassed the Tribulation Crossing stage.

Su Zining had fallen into the Burial Grounds and spent ten years there, eroded daily by diabolic energy. Even cultivators struggled to withstand such corruption, let alone one whose dantian had been crippled. She then stumbled into a formation where the souls of those who had died in that war still gathered, forced again and again to relive the bloody scenes of battle, nearly dying there. By a twist of fate, she entered the dwelling left behind by a Great Ascension-stage cultivator who had ascended ten thousand years earlier, enduring long enough to escape. But the suffering she endured was unimaginable. Though she survived, she carried diabolic energy within her, leaving a mark on her body. In a world that loathed devils to the extreme, Qin Mohan could already guess what fate awaited her.

No wonder in that dream Zhi Mo had told her that she disliked the darkness. That hideous mark on her arm was surely left by devilish corruption.

Rage welled up inside her. She was such a real, living person, so why had someone made her into nothing more than a character in a story, dictating her life? Where had this novel come from? But aside from grief, she knew nothing and could do nothing. Still, she had a gut feeling she wouldn’t stay like this forever. She might very well remain there permanently. And perhaps, she belonged there more than here.

Qin Mohan thought of Jiang Si, her only friend. In the end, she might still trouble her. Rising, she picked up a pen and wrote a letter, leaving it in the drawer beside her bed along with all her savings and bank cards. If she guessed correctly, it would be difficult for her to ever come back.

That evening, she prepared a sumptuous dinner and, rare for her, even drank wine with Jiang Si. Though Jiang Si felt something was wrong, Qin Mohan remained calm, betraying no strangeness. When she was tipsy, Jiang Si wobbled back to her room, mumbling at the door, “We’re friends, Mohan. If something’s wrong, you must tell me.”

There was some guilt in Qin Mohan’s eyes. She pressed her lips together and said softly, “Mm, thank you, Jiang Si.”

That dream that had lasted more than ten years had always been the brightest color in her otherwise empty and monotonous life. She had guarded it alone for over a decade, reluctant to share it with anyone. But Jiang Si was her only friend from university, so in that letter, she explained everything in detail. Whether she would believe it or not, Qin Mohan couldn’t know. At least it was some kind of comfort.

As expected, this time when she woke, it was only You hour (5 –  7 p.m.) here; the time was becoming earlier and earlier. By sheer coincidence, because there had always been fluctuations of spiritual energy in her room, no one dared disturb her, and she happened to avoid disaster. This confirmed her suspicion: after she returned, Lin Qingchen’s body had not completely lost its vitality, and could even absorb spiritual energy on its own.

She rose and looked at the somewhat familiar yet unfamiliar woman in the bronze mirror, her expression complicated. “I don’t understand why I entered your body, but I have no choice but to occupy it. If there is truly retribution, let it all fall on me.”

After tidying her clothes, she prepared to seek out Lin Xiao. Originally, she too should have entered Wuji Sect, but had put it off to search for the Soul-Gathering Lamp. Now, what mattered most to her was naturally finding Su Zining. As for the Soul-Gathering Lamp, Lin Qingchen’s desire for it had never been only for his mother, but that was something Qin Mohan could only set aside for now.

When Lin Xiao heard she wanted to join Wuji Sect, he frowned. “Back then, no matter how your father tried to persuade you, you refused to go. Why have you suddenly changed your mind?”

Imitating Lin Qingchen’s expression, Qin Mohan raised her brows and smiled lightly, then said gently, “This injury has given me a warning. Even though I’ve already built my foundation, I’m only slightly stronger than some others. There’s still too much I need to learn. If I miss this chance, I fear I’ll be delayed again.” Lin Xiao nodded. Qin Mohan spoke again. “I’ll have to trouble Third Uncle to inform my father.”

“All right. Once you’re there, you must listen well to Elder Luo Yuan’s teachings. Though Wuji Sect is not what it once was, it is still one of the Five Great Sects. Moreover, to become Elder Luo Yuan’s personal disciple, your future will be limitless. You must seize this opportunity.” Lin Xiao and Lin Qingchen’s father, Lin Zong, were brothers of the same mother. His concern for his niece was utterly genuine.

After his instructions, Qin Mohan took the travel pack he had prepared and went alone to Wuji Sect. Though he was surprised she refused attendants, Lin Xiao was secretly pleased. Since childhood they had all spoiled Lin Qingchen. Though outwardly respectful and courteous, she had always been proud and headstrong. If she was now willing to endure hardship and strive forward, that was something to be glad about.

Lin Qingchen had already mastered sword flight, but Qin Mohan, having only just taken over this body, couldn’t even manage that. She barely understood this world’s framework, let alone sword control. But if she traveled slowly on foot, it would take her ten to fifteen days to reach Wuji Sect.

Standing in a deserted forest, she frowned, then closed her eyes. Bit by bit, she recalled the cultivation incantations from Lin Qingchen’s memory: guard the spiritual platform, unite mind and spirit, sink qi into the dantian… gather the breath of the five elements.

Qin Mohan felt a little helpless. She recognized every word, but strung together, she truly understood nothing. She could only ponder them over and over. Yet unexpectedly, she really could sense faint fluctuations around her. In what had seemed like empty air, she felt different presences, curling and drifting. Some dense, some faint.

Her heart stirred. Tentatively, she imagined drawing them into her body, and indeed they surged toward her, some gathering in her lower abdomen, some scattering again. According to the memories in her mind, these were spiritual energies. Different spiritual roots corresponded to different attributes of energy. The cultivation world classified them into the five elements. Metal, wood, water, fire, earth. Whichever spiritual root one possessed, they would more readily absorb that element’s energy, while being weaker at drawing others.

By theory, the more types of spiritual roots, the higher the talent. But in truth, human ability was limited. Cultivation required balanced progress; the more roots, the more energy required. And mixed roots varied in quality, hindering breakthroughs at critical moments. Thus, single spiritual roots were often more gifted.

Lin Qingchen should have dual roots, water and wood. Complementary, and both tested as high quality, so her talent was considered excellent.

Qin Mohan found that although she only half-understood the cultivation methods, this body seemed to act instinctively. A mere thought could bring them into effect.

When she summoned from her dantian a crystalline sword wreathed in blue light, Qin Mohan’s eyes widened slightly. It was truly wondrous. She pinched a light-body spell, and in an instant, she was standing on the sword. The blade dipped under her weight. She forced herself to merge her spiritual energy with it, controlling the flight. At once, a thought leapt from her heart: she had to hurry and find Su Zining. The next moment, the sword suddenly accelerated, raising a fierce wind. Thrown back by inertia, Qin Mohan tumbled off, flailing as she scrambled to control the sword and catch herself. At last she wobbled and swayed into the clouds.

By the time she arrived somewhat bedraggled at the foot of Wuji Sect’s mountain, her face showed little expression, but was pale, and she felt privately embarrassed. Her pale blue robes were stained with dirt from the many times she had fallen. Luckily, she had once begged Zhi Mo to explain the light-body spell to her out of curiosity; otherwise, she might have been flattened into paste.

Lifting her gaze at the sect’s gate, shrouded in spiritual energy and towering into the clouds, her eyes flickered with light. A faint unease welled up in her heart. 

Su Zining, Zhi Mo, will you be here?