In any case, although Ye Zhenji was still feeling awkward, he was gradually getting over it.
He was no longer a child; he understood some things himself, he just needed time to accept them.
So, from initially deliberately avoiding his master when visiting his aunt, he could now go with his master quite calmly.
Thinking about it carefully, perhaps it was because he had never imagined his aunt would form a dual cultivation partnership with anyone, which was why he felt so upset? Actually, thinking about it calmly, if that person was his master, it wasn't so bad. The two people he was closest to being together meant he wouldn't have any regrets.
Additionally, he thought to himself that perhaps he should find time to go out and travel. He remembered back then, his aunt wasn't much older than he was now, yet she was much more experienced in handling affairs and wouldn't have such pointless thoughts as he did. Perhaps he was still too lacking in experience, so even though his age wasn't young, his thinking was still so immature.
"Master." Seeing Qin Xi come in from outside, Ye Zhenji snapped out of his thoughts.
Qin Xi nodded, looking at Mo Tiange lying quietly on the bed. "How is she today?"
"Same as usual, neither good nor bad," Ye Zhenji said.
Qin Xi walked over and, as usual, used his Spiritual Qi to examine her body, then slowly infused his own Spiritual Qi, refined through a secret method, into her, tempering her body once to prevent the reduction of Spiritual Qi and physical atrophy.
It had been half a month, and Mo Tiange still showed no signs of waking, but during each tempering process, Qin Xi had discovered something.
The main cultivation techniques he practiced were two. One was the Three Primal Cycle technique, which he obtained along with the Yang Spirit Pearl after reaching Foundation Establishment. This technique was said to be greatly related to ancient times, cultivating based on the three primal energies considered by ancient cultivators as the origin of heaven and earth: the Great Yang, Great Yin, and Neutralizing energies. If these three energies could become one, the Great Dao could be attained. This technique was suitable for advancing in rank, but its cultivation was demanding. He had now obtained the Great Yang and Neutralizing energies, lacking only the Great Yin.
The other was the Pure Yang Artifact given to him by Yuan Bao. Because he possessed the Yang Spirit Pearl, Yang Spiritual Qi was inexhaustible, and the Pure Yang Artifact had now achieved minor success. The originally very weak Yin Spiritual Qi in his body had long since disappeared, leaving only pure Yang energy.
Every time he infused this pure Yang energy into Mo Tiange's body, he would discover that this energy and Mo Tiange's Yin Spiritual Qi were mutually attracted, almost inseparable. She was currently unconscious and naturally couldn't control her own Spiritual Qi, so the attraction between these two energies was purely instinctual.
Even more miraculous was that each time he finished tempering her body, he would find he hadn't expended any Spiritual Qi at all; there was even a slight increase compared to before.
Logically, this situation shouldn't exist. Spiritual Qi didn't increase out of thin air; using Spiritual Qi to heal others always resulted in expenditure, never an increase. But this situation had indeed occurred. He had thought about it for several days but still couldn't figure it out.
Frowning, he glanced out of the corner of his eye at Zhenji sitting listlessly to the side and asked, "What's wrong?"
Ye Zhenji looked up, glanced at him dully, then lowered his head again. "Nothing."
Qin Xi thought for a moment and asked, "You haven't been very happy lately. It's not just because of your aunt, is it?"
Hearing this, Ye Zhenji hung his head even lower. "Master already knows?"
Seeing his appearance, Qin Xi couldn't help but smile. He walked over and sat beside him, reaching out to pat his head, causing Ye Zhenji to exclaim, "Master, I'm not a child anymore."
Qin Xi smiled even more. "Your age may not be that of a child, but your temperament still is."
Hearing this, Ye Zhenji lowered his head and remained silent.
Qin Xi sighed. "Master knows you're uncomfortable inside, but there's no principle of a master explaining himself to a disciple. If you want to know, you can come ask your master. Why haven't you asked?"
Ye Zhenji's head drooped even lower. Of course he knew he was in the wrong. The master-disciple relationship was like that of father and son. His master usually treated him well enough, but a master was still a master; one couldn't disregard hierarchy.
"Still not asking now? If you don't ask, I'm leaving."
"Master!" Ye Zhenji looked up and saw Qin Xi's smiling face, realizing he was being teased. Feeling annoyed, he said, "Master, you're deliberately teasing me."
Qin Xi laughed even more happily, patting his shoulder. "You kid, what can't you say? Afraid your master will blame you? Or are you blaming your master?"
Ye Zhenji scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed. "I think... there doesn't seem to be much to say. Hua Ling said I was just jealous and would get over it after a while."
"Hmm. It seems you've already thought about resolving it yourself." Qin Xi was pleased. "But, there are some things you won't be satisfied unless you ask clearly, right?"
Ye Zhenji nodded honestly. "I... I actually mind a lot inside, but then I think about it and feel that Master isn't wrong, I'm just being petty."
"This isn't pettiness, it's emotion." Qin Xi smiled. "You feel awkward, which shows you have genuine feelings for both your aunt and your master. However, there are some things Master can't explain clearly to you right now. Wait until you've figured it out yourself, then come ask, alright?"
How could Ye Zhenji say it wasn't alright? Matters like this had no principle of a master explaining to a disciple. His master speaking to him so kindly, worried he was depressed, was already good enough.
"I understand, Master."
"Good. You continue watching your aunt here. When you leave, have Xiu Qin and the others come guard."
"Oh." Ye Zhenji responded, then asked, "Master, are you leaving now?"
Qin Xi smiled slightly and said slowly, "Your grandmaster has found a few more pill formulas that might help your aunt wake up sooner. But the spiritual herbs on these formulas are extremely rare. In a few days, Master will go out to try his luck, so I need to go back and prepare."
"Ah! Master, you're going out?" Ye Zhenji looked at him, then at Mo Tiange sleeping on the bed. "What about Auntie?"
Qin Xi said, "With your grandmaster here, what's there to fear?" He then instructed, "When Master is away, take good care of your aunt. Don't think about unnecessary things. If anything happens, go find your grandmaster, understand?"
"Mm." Ye Zhenji thought about it and swallowed the words about wanting to go along. Auntie was in this state; Master was going out to search for medicine. He shouldn't cause trouble. He'd properly go traveling after Auntie recovered.
Watching his master leave, he continued sitting there preoccupied, lost in thought.
Qin Xi walked out of Mingxin Abode and first detoured to Zhili Study.
Even though he had long since grown displeased with Ruan Mingzhu, after all, they were childhood playmates who grew up together and had been very close in their youth.
The four people taking care of Ruan Mingzhu were Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum. None of the four were very happy with this duty, so they were listless. Only when they saw him approach did they perk up and bow to him.
"Uncle-Master Shoujing."
Qin Xi nodded and asked, "How is Mingzhu?"
Momei replied, "Senior Sister Ruan is otherwise fine, but she never responds, doesn't answer any questions, just mutters to herself about who knows what."
"Has she regained her senses?"
"This..." Momei thought before answering, "We can't tell. Grandmaster came to see her and said Senior Sister Ruan is trapped in a demonic nightmare from the Five Bewilderments Entangling Spirits. Perhaps she understands in her heart but is unwilling to face it, or she might still be confused, unable to distinguish people and events."
Qin Xi frowned, glanced at Ruan Mingzhu sitting on a stool to the side. At that moment, she was staring blankly at a corner, as if she hadn't heard them talking at all and hadn't noticed his arrival.
He walked over and called, "Mingzhu?"
Ruan Mingzhu didn't move, seeming not to hear at all, but her mouth was mumbling, saying who knows what.
Momei leaned over, listened for a while, and said, "Uncle-Master Shoujing, Senior Sister Ruan is saying she is not Ruan Mingzhu."
Qin Xi was stunned, silent for a long while. Looking at Ruan Mingzhu again, his heart softened somewhat.
Mingzhu had initially been a very lovely little girl. In his dull childhood, the only joys he had were given by Mingzhu; he wasn't ungrateful to her. It was just later, as Mingzhu became more and more violent, more and more strange, that the distance between them grew.
As for this incident, if one wanted to blame Mingzhu, it couldn't be entirely blamed. The Five Bewilderments Entangling Spirits itself was a test that confused the mind. At that time, she had hallucinations and did such outrageous things. From the perspective of the test, it wasn't wrong; the Five Bewilderments Entangling Spirits was originally meant to make people see things they either longed for or detested. It was just that Mo Tiange happened to be beside her, leading to this result.
Afterwards, Master had also said privately that Mingzhu kept repeating that she didn't want to be Ruan Mingzhu, that she wasn't Ruan Mingzhu. It was probably a weakness in her mental state being triggered.
And what exactly happened in the Myriad Laws of Nature Formation had been gradually found out.
Perhaps it was because she knew she had done many wrong things but lacked the courage to face them, so she wanted a new identity.
She hadn't moved to kill Mo Tiange out of jealousy or hatred either. She just envied Mo Tiange's identity, envied everything she possessed, so she wanted to become her, to let everything start anew, to return to a time before Ruan Mingzhu's mistakes had ever begun.
That Mingzhu had become like this wasn't without Master's regret. He said her developing such a personality today was also his responsibility, yet the consequences had to be borne by Mingzhu alone. He hadn't fostered a strong heart in Mingzhu, yet made her bear all the consequences of her mistakes. And she couldn't bear it anymore, so now she had completely broken down.
If it were someone else, Qin Xi felt he could harden his heart. If you did wrong, you had to take responsibility for your own life, especially since they hadn't given her chances. But this person was Mingzhu, and he felt somewhat unable to bear it.
Over so many years, he had watched step by step as Mingzhu changed from a somewhat mischievous, somewhat spoiled but still kind and lovely little girl into what she was today. Looking at her now, thinking of how she was initially, how could he harden his heart?
If back then, they hadn't left her alone in the branch academy for sixty years without care, but had patiently taught her, would she not have become like this? If when she returned, they could have given her more care, would she not have ended up in such a state?
Unfortunately, the world didn't have so many 'ifs'.
"Senior Brother." Ruan Mingzhu suddenly looked up and smiled at him. "Have you come to see me?" Such a gentle, pleasant voice, not the voice of that violent-tempered Ruan Mingzhu.
Qin Xi stared at her, momentarily unable to tell if she had truly regained her senses.
Ruan Mingzhu smiled again, clapping her hands and pointing at the courtyard gate. "Senior Brother, let's go to the back mountain? Last time you said you'd catch a Blazing Fire Beast for me."
"..." Catching a Blazing Fire Beast for her—that was something they had said and done when they were only thirteen or fourteen. Had she forgotten all these years?
Looking around, Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum gathered around. He then asked, "Mingzhu, do you recognize us?"
Ruan Mingzhu shook her head, confusion appearing in her eyes again. "No, you're not Senior Brother, you're Grandmaster." She smiled again, grabbing Qin Xi's sleeve. "Grandmaster, I want a Blazing Fire Beast. Senior Brother said he'd give me a Blazing Fire Beast."