Baili Chao definitely wasn’t far off. Xi Ju Hai had indeed studied these things for Mu Qing. She hadn’t wanted to verify whether the soul lamp could be trusted though. No, at that time, she had still been sure of that. It was the one hope she held onto: That Mu Qing was definitely still alive and there was simply something preventing him from returning home.
She had come up with many theories at the time. Maybe he had entered a secret realm he found but had gotten trapped inside when it closed before he could make it back to the entrance. Maybe he had triggered an elusive formation somewhere and was desperately trying to escape. Or maybe a group of demonic practitioners had ambushed him along the way and taken him captive and he hadn’t yet found an opportunity to free himself from their evil clutches.
She had no idea what the truth was and the only thing she could do was to go and check his soul lamp regularly to ensure that he could still return to her. Each time she saw that light still shining brightly, she heaved a sigh of relief. But every time she did, there was also a small voice at the back of her mind questioning what had happened then. Finally, she couldn’t take the uncertainty any longer.
A soul lamp was originally a regular lantern but by making use of a small array and transferring someone’s spiritual energy or maybe a piece of their soul into it, it would become a tool to show a cultivator’s life or death. This was possible because the cultivator themselves and the piece of them contained in the lantern were connected.
Looking at the flickering flame, Xi Ju Hai started to wonder if this connection couldn’t be used in another. Anyway, connected was connected. Surely, it couldn’t only have such a simple use. She didn’t want to believe that.
The spiritual arts had made many things possible and she didn’t think that it should be impossible to use them to find a person. Even if she couldn’t find Mu Qing’s exact location, just knowing the general area would be good. She could go out and search for him then.
Having made up her mind, she went through the collection of books and scrolls that the Teng Yong Sect kept, looking for every information she could find about the practice of the soul lamp. She also included any spells that could help locate somebody while she was at it. Anyway, no matter how she did it, she had to find Mu Qing. She wouldn’t accept anything else.
The library turned up some things but there wasn’t much. It definitely wasn’t enough for her to do what she had set out to do. By that time, she roughly knew how the soul lamp worked and she had the array that was used to connect the cultivator and the piece of them guarded in the lamp but … she couldn’t use this to track Mu Qing’s location.
The other spells she had found were useless as well. She tried every single one of them, gathering the necessary ingredients and making sure to follow each of the steps without the slightest deviation but … nothing. His location simply couldn’t be found.
At that time, she felt so angry. She had done everything she knew how to do but there were no results to show for. It made her feel powerless and that powerlessness filled her with rage. If only there had been a place to vent her frustrations. If she knew where he was, she could go there and do whatever it took to get him back. But like this … like this … she really had nothing left to do.
For some time, she simply went through the motions, not sure how to continue her life without Mu Qing at her side. It was even worse because there was always the hope that one day, he would simply walk through the door, pull her into his arms, and apologize profusely for his long absence. Then, he could tell her all about what had happened and they could still have the future they had once dreamed of.
It was just that … with each passing day, this scenario seemed less and less likely. The longer a disciple stayed gone, the clearer everyone in their sect was what that likely meant: Even if they weren’t dead yet, they had met with trouble and would soon be if nobody could help them. And without receiving a distress message or knowing where they had gone before … it was impossible to send that help.
Xi Ju Hai finally pulled herself together and continued her search, this time going to the Li Ren Sect since they were most familiar with formations. She had the silent hope that maybe they would have more notes on the soul lamp and that there would be something in there that could help her find Mu Qing after all.
To her dismay, things weren’t that easy. As she wasn’t a disciple of the Li Ren Sect, she didn’t have access to everything. If not for the relationship between the four great righteous sects, she wouldn’t even have been allowed to see the volumes she had. She didn’t like it but there was nothing she could do without causing strife between the two sects and even though she loved Mu Qing with all her heart … she also knew that that would be going too far. He wouldn’t want her to do it.
In hindsight, she had felt grateful that she hadn’t insisted more because as Xi Ju Hai was finishing up her research at the Li Ren Sect and was considering whether she should ask to see whatever the Jian Chu Sect and Zhen Yan Sect were willing to show her to maybe put something together from all the smaller clues she had found, she received news of Feng Bai Xiao’s treason. At the same time, she had the terrible thought that … maybe her fiance wasn’t lost but hadn’t intended to return to the sect from the very beginning and that last farewell that had seemed much too normal had been supposed to be the last time they stood on the same side.
Baili Chao definitely wasn’t far off. Xi Ju Hai had indeed studied these things for Mu Qing. She hadn’t wanted to verify whether the soul lamp could be trusted though. No, at that time, she had still been sure of that. It was the one hope she held onto: That Mu Qing was definitely still alive and there was simply something preventing him from returning home.
She had come up with many theories at the time. Maybe he had entered a secret realm he found but had gotten trapped inside when it closed before he could make it back to the entrance. Maybe he had triggered an elusive formation somewhere and was desperately trying to escape. Or maybe a group of demonic practitioners had ambushed him along the way and taken him captive and he hadn’t yet found an opportunity to free himself from their evil clutches.
She had no idea what the truth was and the only thing she could do was to go and check his soul lamp regularly to ensure that he could still return to her. Each time she saw that light still shining brightly, she heaved a sigh of relief. But every time she did, there was also a small voice at the back of her mind questioning what had happened then. Finally, she couldn’t take the uncertainty any longer.
A soul lamp was originally a regular lantern but by making use of a small array and transferring someone’s spiritual energy or maybe a piece of their soul into it, it would become a tool to show a cultivator’s life or death. This was possible because the cultivator themselves and the piece of them contained in the lantern were connected.
Looking at the flickering flame, Xi Ju Hai started to wonder if this connection couldn’t be used in another. Anyway, connected was connected. Surely, it couldn’t only have such a simple use. She didn’t want to believe that.
The spiritual arts had made many things possible and she didn’t think that it should be impossible to use them to find a person. Even if she couldn’t find Mu Qing’s exact location, just knowing the general area would be good. She could go out and search for him then.
Having made up her mind, she went through the collection of books and scrolls that the Teng Yong Sect kept, looking for every information she could find about the practice of the soul lamp. She also included any spells that could help locate somebody while she was at it. Anyway, no matter how she did it, she had to find Mu Qing. She wouldn’t accept anything else.
The library turned up some things but there wasn’t much. It definitely wasn’t enough for her to do what she had set out to do. By that time, she roughly knew how the soul lamp worked and she had the array that was used to connect the cultivator and the piece of them guarded in the lamp but … she couldn’t use this to track Mu Qing’s location.
The other spells she had found were useless as well. She tried every single one of them, gathering the necessary ingredients and making sure to follow each of the steps without the slightest deviation but … nothing. His location simply couldn’t be found.
At that time, she felt so angry. She had done everything she knew how to do but there were no results to show for. It made her feel powerless and that powerlessness filled her with rage. If only there had been a place to vent her frustrations. If she knew where he was, she could go there and do whatever it took to get him back. But like this … like this … she really had nothing left to do.
For some time, she simply went through the motions, not sure how to continue her life without Mu Qing at her side. It was even worse because there was always the hope that one day, he would simply walk through the door, pull her into his arms, and apologize profusely for his long absence. Then, he could tell her all about what had happened and they could still have the future they had once dreamed of.
It was just that … with each passing day, this scenario seemed less and less likely. The longer a disciple stayed gone, the clearer everyone in their sect was what that likely meant: Even if they weren’t dead yet, they had met with trouble and would soon be if nobody could help them. And without receiving a distress message or knowing where they had gone before … it was impossible to send that help.
Xi Ju Hai finally pulled herself together and continued her search, this time going to the Li Ren Sect since they were most familiar with formations. She had the silent hope that maybe they would have more notes on the soul lamp and that there would be something in there that could help her find Mu Qing after all.
To her dismay, things weren’t that easy. As she wasn’t a disciple of the Li Ren Sect, she didn’t have access to everything. If not for the relationship between the four great righteous sects, she wouldn’t even have been allowed to see the volumes she had. She didn’t like it but there was nothing she could do without causing strife between the two sects and even though she loved Mu Qing with all her heart … she also knew that that would be going too far. He wouldn’t want her to do it.
In hindsight, she had felt grateful that she hadn’t insisted more because as Xi Ju Hai was finishing up her research at the Li Ren Sect and was considering whether she should ask to see whatever the Jian Chu Sect and Zhen Yan Sect were willing to show her to maybe put something together from all the smaller clues she had found, she received news of Feng Bai Xiao’s treason. At the same time, she had the terrible thought that … maybe her fiance wasn’t lost but hadn’t intended to return to the sect from the very beginning and that last farewell that had seemed much too normal had been supposed to be the last time they stood on the same side.
