ATAVID CH44

A wave of goosebumps erupted all over Jiang Qunyu’s skin.

He recalled those beings at Cui Mingjin’s manor—creatures that looked as if they had been stitched together, faces patched up from fragments, living corpses with fractured memories. Connecting that to what was just said, a faint suspicion floated into his mind.

Those things in Cui Mingjin’s manor… couldn’t they have been refined and created in the exact same way?

Cui Mingjin smiled and asked, “Is it very terrifying?”

Without waiting for Wei Xun’s reply, he continued to talk to himself, “That was what I originally thought. I had prepared everything, but the only thing I failed to anticipate was…”

He paused, a flicker of agony surfacing in his eyes.

He seemed to be remembering twenty-seven years ago.

Back then, his heart was brimming with joy. He had dressed his wife in new clothes, placed their infant child—still in swaddling clothes—by her side, and then lay down beside her himself. Holding her ice-cold hand, he looked around the room. The entire space was carved with the intricate and complex lines of a ritual array. Turning on his side, he kissed his wife’s forehead, thinking that the next time he opened his eyes, their family of three would be able to stay together forever.

However, even though everything was prepared, he discovered that Yun Shuangjian possessed not a single shred of obsession.

She harbored no hatred toward the injustice of heaven for taking her life when she was merely twenty years old.

She held no resentment against him for failing to return in time, which meant she never got to see him one last time.

She had no lingering attachments to the mortal realm, nor did she stubbornly insist on watching her infant child grow up.

She had simply departed, light as a feather.

He held her freezing body, watching day turn to night, and night turn back to day. Stubble grew around his lips, his eyes became bloodshot, and he looked as though his very soul had been sucked out of him.

Unable to bear the hunger, the infant Cui Nian wailed and cried out from his swaddling clothes. The crying sounded exceptionally piercing in the deathly silent room, wave after wave, as if trying to drag him back from his nightmare.

A loud pounding suddenly echoed from the bedroom door.

Yun’s father’s voice, thick with fury, carried through the wooden panels: “Open the door! Cui Mingjin! Stop this madness! Shuangjian is already gone, just let her go in peace! If you can’t bear to look at Niannian and truly cannot raise him, then hand him over to me!”

Cui Mingjin remained silent. After a long while, he stood up and opened the door for his father-in-law.

The moment the door opened, Yun’s father slapped him across the face. “What exactly do you want?! Three days have passed, it is time for Shuangjian to be laid to rest!”

He originally intended to say more, but upon seeing the bloodshot veins in Cui Mingjin’s eyes and the dark circles beneath them, he ultimately said nothing else, flicked his sleeves, and stormed off.

Cui Mingjin picked up Cui Nian.

The child was so small and soft, crying in his arms until he was out of breath. He fed him some food, his movements clumsy and unpracticed.

As he fed the baby, he suddenly held Cui Nian tightly and burst into loud, bitter tears.

“Nianer, Nianer, how about we go and keep your mother company?” Cui Mingjin murmured.

He carried Cui Nian to the edge of Mirror Lake. He stared despairingly into the clear, transparent depths of the water, and just as he was about to leap in, Cui Nian let out a cry. Suddenly, regret struck him.

“Forget it.” Dazed, he carried the child back, his voice hoarse, “Father shouldn’t force you to accompany your mother.”

Yet, as he passed by a certain household, he stopped in his tracks upon seeing the wide-open vermilion gates.

He remembered that a young woman lived here.

The woman was very beautiful, but unfortunately, her parents had passed away early, making her survival quite difficult.

Five years ago, she had rescued a man by the lakeside. The man was handsome, and it wasn’t long before the two of them married. Their life after marriage was incredibly blissful.

Although his own wife had been bedridden with illness year-round, she loved gossip and would always whisper local neighborhood rumors into his ear. Over time, Cui Mingjin had come to remember many of these stories.

He merely cast a glance inside and was about to withdraw his gaze and walk away.

However, he suddenly heard an aged voice say, “Wei Lan, from the moment you chose to cultivate the Emotionless Dao, you were destined to be devoid of love and emotion before reaching the Transformation Stage.”

“You have only been in the mortal realm for five years. Pulling out your threads of emotion now means these five years will be nothing more than a drop in the ocean to you.”

The elder spoke gloomily, “Or are you truly going to abandon your Dao for the sake of such a woman, forcing us to kill you?”

Cui Mingjin froze.

As if possessed, he turned his head and peered through the wide-open vermilion gates into the room.

Inside the room, a man sat in a daze, cradling a beautiful woman in his arms.

The woman’s belly was prominently rounded with pregnancy, blood leaked from the corner of her mouth, and her eyes were closed—she had long ceased breathing.

The green paper lantern she used to carry every night while waiting for her husband to return now lay on the ground, its handle snapped, broken into two halves.

Wei Lan held the woman blankly, his eyes bloodshot and filled with hatred as he glared at the two people in the room. “You killed her. You killed my wife and my child.”

“Obstinate and foolish.” The elder—who was actually the Sect Master of the Lingxiao Sect—frowned and scolded, “Those who practice the Emotionless Dao and kill their wives to prove their Dao are as common as crucian carps crossing a river. Why should it matter if there is one more? Since you couldn’t bring yourself to do it, Huazhen and I had to step in.”

“Wei Lan, that this woman could help you cross your tribulation is already a grand blessing for her. Once she enters the Forgotten River, her next life will surely be better than this one.”

“A blessing?” As if he had heard the most ridiculous joke, Wei Lan let out a low laugh. He raised his eyes, the depths of his pupils completely crimson. “Then what about me? What am I supposed to do?”

The moment his words fell, Wei Lan attacked.

The Sect Master was greatly alarmed. Fortunately, at that moment, the ‘Cloud Dream Intoxication’ poison they had slipped into Wei Lan’s tea earlier finally took effect.

Wei Lan felt the strength drain from his body, and the surging demonic energy seemed to be suppressed by something, gradually settling down. He tried to struggle and resist, but found he couldn’t even move a finger. He fell into despair.

If only he had noticed the aura of the Lingxiao Sect disciples earlier; if only he hadn’t gone out today; if only he had returned sooner—would his wife have avoided this suffering?

Sect Master Jiang lowered his eyes and sighed, “This Cloud Dream Intoxication is something even a cultivator at the Transformation Stage cannot withstand, let alone someone at the Void Refining Stage; they wouldn’t last more than a few moments.”

“Huazhen,” Sect Master Jiang ordered, “Since Wei Lan cannot bring himself to do it, extract his emotional threads. He will understand my good intentions in due time.”

Huazhen nodded and stepped forward. A massive ritual array opened, descending upon Wei Lan.

Wei Lan’s face turned deathly pale. “Get away! Get away! Don’t touch me!”

He gripped Lin Qing’s hand so tightly that his knuckles turned white and veins bulged on his skin. He desperately tried to use this method to engrave his feelings for the person before him deep into his heart.

But he had ultimately overestimated himself. After a long while, the sorrow in his eyes vanished, replaced by a newly restored coldness that kept people thousands of miles away.

He let go of her hand.

“Sword Venerable, you have returned.” A flash of satisfaction gleamed in Sect Master Jiang’s eyes as he stroked his beard.

“Sect Master.” Wei Lan looked at the scene before him with a calm expression, his heart no longer stirred by any ripples.

Sect Master Jiang asked, “Does the Sword Venerable harbor hatred toward me in his heart?”

Hatred?

Wei Lan did not.

Thus, he shook his head, frowned slightly, and turned to leave.

Behind him, Huazhen asked, “How does the Sword Venerable intend to dispose of this woman?”

Wei Lan paused. He turned back and looked at the woman.

Her brow was gentle, and a trace of blood still stained the corner of her mouth. Her body was already cold, and those eyes that used to gaze at him so tenderly would never open again.

After a brief thought, Wei Lan said indifferently, “Bury her.”

“Understood,” Huazhen replied. Remembering something, he asked further, “What about the child in her womb?”

Sect Master Jiang’s expression shifted drastically. He snapped his head toward Huazhen, his gaze carrying a sharp warning.

Huazhen, however, was not afraid. He chuckled and said, “I just checked with my spiritual energy. The fetus in this woman’s womb possesses an exceptional skeletal structure—it’s a supreme Ice Spiritual Root. If nurtured properly, who is to say the Lingxiao Sect won’t be able to rank among the top three great sects in the future?”

“Is that true?” Sect Master Jiang inquired.

Huazhen spoke no further. He wasn’t stupid. Knowing that Sect Master Jiang intended for Wei Lan to change his cultivation path after the Transformation Stage and enter a marital alliance with his daughter, he wouldn’t dare spout nonsense. He didn’t want to keep the child either, but the utility value of this infant was indeed far greater than letting it go unmentioned.

Wei Lan spoke, “Then take the child along as well.”

As he spoke, he cast a glance at Lin Qing, his fingertips resting at his side curling slightly. Even though he could still clearly remember their time together, he truly felt absolutely nothing in his heart anymore. This matter was his fault after all; upon returning to the Lingxiao Sect, he would light a soul lamp for her.

Wei Lan retracted his gaze and walked away without looking back.

For a moment, only Huazhen and Sect Master Jiang remained in the room.

Huazhen walked over to the corpse and squatted down. Raising his hand, he used a spell to extract the eight-month-old child from the woman’s womb.

After examining it closely for a moment, he said with some regret, “Though this child has an Ice Spiritual Root, because the woman died and it remained in her womb for too long, something seems amiss.”

Although Sect Master Jiang felt somewhat displeased in his heart, the prospect of becoming the head of the three great sects that Huazhen mentioned was highly alluring.

Hearing this, he knit his brows and asked, “Why do you say that?”

Huazhen pointed at the child’s eyes—specifically its right eye, which was covered in a faint, dark film.

“This kind of eye,” he said, his tone tinged with pity, “I’ve seen it once before on another child who died prematurely. The Yin-Yang Eye. Born with the ability to see things that we cannot.”

“Died prematurely?” Sect Master Jiang completely ignored the dark film Huazhen spoke of. “Could it be that this child is also fated to die young?”

Huazhen pondered for a moment before saying, “Fifteen years from now, the grand sect tournament of the cultivation world will take place. If he can survive until then, that will be his greatest value to us.”

Hearing this, Sect Master Jiang nodded in agreement.

The grand sect tournament fifteen years later—if this child could truly live until then, given his skeletal structure and natural talent, he would definitely bring glory to the Lingxiao Sect. As for what came after—that would be a matter for the future.

Suddenly, Huazhen narrowed his eyes. He snapped his head around, his gaze shooting toward the door like a sharp blade. “Who is there?”

Murderous intent flared within him.

Sect Master Jiang cast a cold glance outside and said casually, “Just an insignificant ant. Let’s go.”

Huazhen had no choice but to sheathe his sword.

Sect Master Jiang instructed, “Find a way to destroy Wei Lan’s emotional threads.”

Huazhen promised confidently, “Rest assured, Sect Master.”

Once they had all departed, Cui Mingjin, who was standing outside the door, finally let out a massive sigh of relief. He was drenched in cold sweat, his hands and feet still trembling.

Cui Nian, who was being held too tightly in his arms, burst into loud cries.

Suddenly, a succession of startled cries echoed throughout the city.

Cui Mingjin looked up.

He saw the waters of Mirror Lake surging wildly, connecting directly to the horizon until the water and sky merged into a single, vast expanse of blinding white. Layers of auspicious clouds churned across the sky, laced with faint golden light and steaming with celestial aura.

Someone lost their voice and cried out first, “An immortal is crossing their tribulation to ascend! It’s an omen of grand fortune!”

The remaining citizens fell to their knees one after another, prostrating themselves on the ground and chanting prayers for blessings.

Cui Mingjin’s heart was still pounding violently. After a long time, he turned around and looked back into the room inside the courtyard.

The young woman’s corpse still lay there, completely abandoned and ignored. Beside her lay that green paper lantern.

For reasons unknown even to himself, Cui Mingjin brought the young woman’s corpse back with him.

Perhaps he did know. Looking down at her, he thought to himself: How could a person like this not harbor resentment?

Resentment, oh, resentment… this is the absolute best ingredient for refinement.

And so, Cui Mingjin refined Yun Shuangjian and the young woman together.

Initially, he didn’t expect to succeed. He had already failed time and time again; failing one more time wouldn’t make a difference.

However, this time, it worked.

Despite the young woman having long ceased breathing, whether it was because she once possessed immortal destiny or because her resentment was too deep, many days later, his wife opened her eyes. She looked at him with a misty, vacant gaze, speaking not a single word.

Cui Mingjin suddenly dropped to his knees, resting his head on his wife’s lap, and wept aloud, “Shuangjian, Shuangjian, I knew you wouldn’t leave me.”

The revived Yun Shuangjian was, after all, different in some ways.

Her eyes had turned into the young woman’s eyes. She couldn’t speak, nor did she recognize Cui Mingjin.

But none of that mattered, as long as Yun Shuangjian was still by his side.

Life seemed no different from before. Cui Nian gradually learned to babble, softly calling out “Daddy,” and would blink his round, large eyes to unclearly mutter “Mommy.”

The newly planted plum trees outside blossomed against the chilling wind. A heavy snow fell upon the city, swirling through the air and blanketing everything in pure white.

Just when Cui Mingjin believed that everything would continue this way forever, a sudden change caught him completely off guard.

Upon the white snow of the city, bloodstains resembling fallen plum blossoms appeared.

A piercing shriek pierced the silence—

Someone had discovered a corpse at the entrance of a narrow alley.

The corpse had died in a bizarre and gruesome manner. It was completely skinless, its bright red flesh exposed to the elements, its veins and meridians clearly visible, casting a horrifying color against the white snow. It had long lost any trace of life, leaving behind only a mangled, bloody mass lying there.

Holding his umbrella, Cui Mingjin stood on the spot, fine snow piling on the rim of his umbrella as he knit his brows. Initially, he merely treated it as an ordinary murder case.

When he returned home that evening, he saw his wife standing in the snow from afar, holding a lantern as if waiting for him. The twilight was heavy, and the glow from the lantern cast a small pool of light on the ground.

Cui Mingjin closed his umbrella and walked over with a smile. Reaching out, he gathered Yun Shuangjian’s hands into his palms and gently blew warm air onto them. Her hands were freezing. Feeling a pang of pity, he said, “Why did you come outside?”

Yun Shuangjian merely blinked, saying nothing.

He could only sigh and reach out to take the lantern from her. But the moment he was about to touch it, his heart skipped a beat.

He instinctively looked down, only to discover that the outer layer of the lantern was not paper at all—it was a sheet of human skin.

Cui Mingjin’s hand froze instantly mid-air.

This must be a lie, Cui Mingjin thought.

But soon after, standing at the doorway and looking at the blood covering the floor, his face turned deathly pale as utter despair consumed him. This was the first time he clearly realized that the wife he had brought back was a murderous monster.

Cui Mingjin did not sleep a wink that night.

Ultimately, he made a painful decision. He was going to personally put an end to this disaster that he had initiated.

Yet, the very moment he intended to kill Yun Shuangjian, something shifted in her eyes.

Yun Shuangjian looked up at him, her voice slightly raspy from not speaking for a very long time: “Mingjin.”

Cui Mingjin froze.

The knife slipped from his hand. He covered his face with his hands and began to weep softly. He fled the scene in panic, unable to bring himself to strike. He also finally accepted a reality: after killing her very first victim, Yun Shuangjian had recognized him.

Humans are greedy creatures.

Cui Mingjin began to desire more; he wanted Yun Shuangjian to remember their past. And so, he began to turn a blind eye to her actions.

Yet, he was also terrified that if his wife killed too many people, she would accumulate too much negative karma. Therefore, he turned Yun Shuangjian into a deity. Her statue was enshrined within the Wish-Fulfillment Shrine, receiving incense offerings day after day. As time passed, she truly became a pseudo-god.

Once he had quietly erased all traces of her deeds, he began to live in constant anxiety again. What if outsiders stumbled into the city and discovered its anomalies?

Consequently, under the guise of mortals cultivating immortality, Cui Mingjin personally hid the entire Mirror Lake City away from the mortal realm. He spread the method of refinement throughout the city.

At first, the citizens only used livestock for refinement to obtain what they desired, and everyone was overjoyed. A pig could be exchanged for a year’s harvest, and a sheep could buy the safety of one’s wife and children—what a wonderful trade.

But as time went on, their ambition and desires swelled. There were even plenty of people who refined their own wives and children for the sake of gold and silver.

From some unknown day onward, the number of living people in the city grew scarcer and scarcer. Eventually, those who remained alive became the sole beneficiaries of this system. Cui Mingjin no longer seemed strange among them.

Look, aren’t they all inherently the same? He only wanted his wife to survive, what wrong did he commit?

When Cui Nian turned six years old, his body was ultimately too weak to pull through, and he died.

Cui Mingjin held his hand, a smile touching his lips. “Don’t be afraid, Niannian. Father will take you home soon.”

Cui Nian was Cui Mingjin’s most successful refinement.

He possessed memories. He remembered that he was Cui Nian, remembered that he had a father and a mother, and remembered every little detail of those years.

But when he opened his eyes, he saw the crimson souls of the dead wandering through the city.

Cui Nian asked, “Daddy, why can I see those things?”

This was the first time Cui Mingjin realized that those who vanished after being refined actually continued to exist in another form.

Looking into the child’s eyes filled with adoration, Cui Mingjin concealed the truth. After a long silence, he suddenly recalled the words that the cultivator had spoken many years ago.

He gazed at Cui Nian and said softly, “Because Niannian has the Yin-Yang Eye, that is why you can see these things.”

In the blink of an eye, twenty years passed.

Mirror Lake City had become a city of the dead. There were no more living people left in the city to feed to his wife.

Therefore, Cui Mingjin opened the city gates, welcoming in those travelers who had journeyed from afar. Those fools who had run out of options and sought to cultivate immortality, those ignorant ants who knew nothing of the world—they arrived carrying hope, entirely unaware that they were to become food for his wife.

A few more years went by, and cultivators began to appear in the city.

Worried that Yun Shuangjian might get hurt, Cui Mingjin locked her away in the basement. Only after he had individually verified that the newcomers were not powerful cultivators would he feed them to Yun Shuangjian.

Another four years passed.

During this year, Cui Mingjin’s health deteriorated day by day. He could clearly perceive that he was dying. From the moment he defied heaven to change fate and brought Yun Shuangjian back from the dead, the karmic consequences had latched onto him. He carried the hatred and resentment of those deceased souls; that malice acted like maggots in his bones, eating away at his life night and day. And so, he too was about to die.

Cui Mingjin didn’t feel much about his impending demise. He was only… only worried about what would happen to his wife if he died.

Would his wife eventually be possessed and overtaken by the young woman whose essence had been fused into her body? Or would she ultimately die at the hands of those cultivators?

Before his death, he had to secure a safe path forward for Yun Shuangjian.

“Shuangjian, I will send you into the cycle of reincarnation,” Cui Mingjin said on the twenty-sixth year since he had forcibly kept her by his side.

He had found a secret method which stated: Born from synthesized resentment, life is granted when the resentment is resolved.

Resentment—Yun Shuangjian possessed no resentment.

The one who harbored resentment from the very beginning was that young woman.

And the young woman’s resentment was something Cui Mingjin could not resolve.

Yet, on a certain day twenty-seven years later, a youth clad entirely in white walked through the night, stepping into Mirror Lake City with a lantern in hand.

Cui Mingjin opened his eyes.