Ao Yiyi didn't think much of it at first. However, as she listened, she realized the situation was far more heinous than she had imagined. Even she couldn't help but feel a surge of fury.
"They truly are monsters!" Ao Yiyi said, gritting her teeth. "Big Green Sister, where are those people? I'll go deliver them to their next life myself."
Ao Yiyi was so incensed that she didn't even care about the precept against killing anymore. Or rather, this couldn't be called killing; it should be called deliverance.
Su Qing smiled and shook her head. "Rest assured. Since I brought these children back, I have naturally dealt with those who deserved to die."
Hearing this, the expression on Ao Yiyi's face softened slightly. She nodded and said, "True. You can stand these things even less than I can, Big Green Sister. It's only natural you'd settle the trouble first."
Su Qing smiled. "If you're not afraid, come help me treat these children. Although some were beyond saving, those I brought back can still be restored to their human forms."
Su Qing saw no reason to hide this from her. Hearing her words, Ao Yiyi nodded. "In that case, I'll help as well."
Su Qing smiled. Once Hu Lin'er had prepared everything, she began the process of healing the children.
The treatment was naturally accompanied by immense pain. Yet, these children acted as if they couldn't feel it at all. Not a single cry of agony was heard throughout the entire process; they even remained remarkably lucid. When asked why, several of the children simply said they had long since grown accustomed to such pain. Therefore, enduring this was no great matter—as long as they could return to being human, no amount of pain mattered.
Hearing this, Su Qing felt that the troupe leader had died far too easily. She even felt a sudden impulse to pull him back and torture him further. Unfortunately, that fellow's soul had already been scattered. Even if she wanted to seize his soul for torment, it was no longer possible. Thus, the only thing she could do now was her utmost to help these children recover their human bodies.
Time trickled by. Soon, a full day had passed. Because Su Qing held herself to extremely high standards for this task, by the end of the first day, she had only completely restored the first child—the big yellow dog.
Since Su Qing intended to turn these children back into humans, she naturally wouldn't allow any lingering side effects. If they were to be changed back, they had to be as close to normal humans as possible. Consequently, the process was slow. However, the results were excellent.
After the big yellow dog was treated by Su Qing, she had completely regained her human form, becoming an exquisitely carved little girl. Su Qing stretched her wrists and looked at the girl sitting on the chair, who still seemed unaccustomed to this body.
"By the way, what is your name?" Su Qing asked.
Hearing this, the girl opened her mouth and said somewhat clumsily, "I... my name is... I forgot."
She had been a dog for so long that she had forgotten her own name. Now that Su Qing asked, a look of disappointment crossed her face as she admitted she had forgotten.
Su Qing tapped her chin and said, "Then you shall be called Huang Chuyu."
The name was given on a whim. The surname 'Huang' was chosen because she had been a yellow dog. However, even a name like this was far better than having no name at all.
Hearing this, Huang Chuyu's face lit up with joy. She nodded quickly and said happily, "Thank you... thank you for giving me a name. From now on, I am Huang Chuyu."
Seeing her happy expression, Su Qing nodded with satisfaction. "Good. As long as you like it."
Huang Chuyu looked at Su Qing with a smile and asked, "Um... may I ask, Benefactor... are you an immortal?"
In her worldview, a being capable of turning her back into a human could be nothing other than an immortal. Thus, she asked out of curiosity.
"That is a self-evident question," Su Qing replied calmly with a nod. "I am indeed an immortal. However, you must not speak of this to others."
"I... I won't tell anyone. You saved me and turned me back into a human; I could never speak of this carelessly."
Upon hearing Su Qing admit to being an immortal, Huang Chuyu wasn't surprised at all. She simply hurried to guarantee she would keep the secret and not mention it to anyone.
Seeing this, Su Qing nodded in satisfaction. "Good. It is best if you remember that."
After chatting with Huang Chuyu for a while, Su Qing began to busy herself again. After all, besides Huang Chuyu, there were many other children who had been turned into strange animals. Su Qing would be busy for the next few days!
And so, time slowly passed. Before they knew it, seven or eight days had gone by. Through Su Qing's efforts, the children she had saved had all returned to their human forms. However, they did not look exactly as they had before being turned into animals—especially those who had been deeply altered by the vile spells.
Once everyone was human again, Su Qing spoke to the children.
"Regarding your future path... I have already made arrangements for you. If you wish to return to your families, I can arrange for someone to send you back. Naturally, you will lose all memories of this ordeal. You will simply wake up after a good sleep and forget everything; there will be no side effects."
"If you are unwilling to return to your families, I have also arranged another path for you. In a few days, I will build a temple in the city. When the time comes, I will teach you a few things and have you go there to be Daoist nuns. Regardless of what you choose, I will not interfere and will support you. However... I hope you can give me your answers soon."
After Su Qing finished speaking, she sat quietly to the side, waiting for the children to make their choice. Should they forget everything and return to their parents, or remember this tragic experience and become Daoist nuns? It was hard to say which was better or worse, so the children were quite conflicted.
However, while everyone was still hesitating, someone already made a choice. It was Huang Chuyu. She said, "I... I want to follow the Immortal Sister. Is that possible?"
Huang Chuyu gave an answer outside the provided options. This caught Su Qing slightly off guard. She smiled and shook her head. "No. You can only choose between the two. If you must say it, becoming a nun in the temple is a way of staying by my side, as the statue enshrined there will be of me."
Su Qing's words left Huang Chuyu slightly disappointed. What she wanted wasn't to be a nun, but to stay by her benefactor's side to help her more and perhaps learn some magic... to save others who suffered as she had. But it seemed she didn't have many choices; only two paths lay before her. She sighed and finally made her decision.
"In that case, I wish to become a Daoist nun," Huang Chuyu answered.
Even though she knew the outcome, she decided to stay near her benefactor. Being a nun was fine; at least she would be close, and perhaps there would be a chance to learn immortal arts in the future.
Su Qing nodded in satisfaction, then turned to look at the other children. Soon, everyone had made their decision. Some chose to return to their parents. Su Qing divined the locations of their homes and had Ao Yiyi deliver them. Simultaneously, using a combination of medicine and spells, she made those children forget all their traumatic memories, leaving only the knowledge of who they were.
As for those who didn't want to go back, they were the ones who wished to stay. Su Qing followed through on her word and arranged for Hu Lin'er to teach them. She had them learn to read and write, as well as divination and fortune-telling, before eventually entering the temple as nuns.
Time passed day by day. In the blink of an eye, half a year had gone by since she saved the children. During those six months, Hu Lin'er taught them many things—reading, writing, music, strategy, calligraphy, painting, and divination. She taught them whatever she could, and the girls learned well, proving themselves very diligent.
In addition, Su Qing's temple was finally completed. The children moved in. Besides the children, Su Qing naturally brought over several reliable women from the Changbai Mountains to help her guard the temple. After all, a temple couldn't function solely on a group of children; reliable adults were essential.
Everything regarding the temple went smoothly. Her next task was to spread her reputation. As for Su Qing's method for gaining fame, she relied on her standard set of methods. Though old-fashioned, they were undeniably effective. It was truly a tried-and-true way to develop Incense Power in a short time. Just over a month after the temple was built, Su Qing had already established a foundation. For the time being, she would simply continue to develop it. In a year or two at most, she would be able to set off for the next city.
Several more months passed. One day, Su Qing arrived at the temple. The Incense Power at the temple was average; compared to the long-established, famous temples in the city, it was naturally lacking. However, the flow of people wasn't small either. Most came to pray for marriage or children, while some came to fulfill their vows.
Su Qing bypassed the crowd of mortals and soon reached the backyard of the temple. In the backyard, Huang Chuyu, dressed in a simple and elegant Daoist robe, was busy watering the vegetables. Hearing footsteps, Huang Chuyu looked up. Seeing it was Su Qing, she immediately broke into a smile.
"Benefactor, why have you come?" Huang Chuyu asked in surprise.
"It's nothing. I just came to see how the Incense Power is faring and to see if the children I saved are accustomed to living here." Su Qing was quite invested in these children. After all, she had saved them with her own hands; naturally, she hoped they were doing well.
Huang Chuyu nodded with a beaming smile. "We are certainly accustomed to it. And the sisters in the temple treat us very well... it's just that it's hard to see you, Benefactor, which makes me miss you."
Su Qing reached out and patted her head. "There is no need to miss me. I am in the city; if you wish to see me, just come find me. Until I leave, you will always be able to find me..."
Hearing this, Huang Chuyu froze for a moment. She couldn't help but ask, "Are you leaving later, Benefactor?"
Su Qing nodded. "Naturally. Once everything is on the right track, it will be time for me to depart."
Huang Chuyu was startled and quickly asked again, "Then when do you plan to go?"
"Hahaha, it's still early! I told you, everything has to be on the right track first," Su Qing laughed and shook her head. This answer was no different from no answer at all. To put it plainly, it entirely depended on Su Qing's personal feeling; when she felt it was enough, she would leave.
Seeing this, Huang Chuyu sighed helplessly. "I see... I... I understand."
Su Qing nodded, then chatted with Huang Chuyu for a few more moments. Once she felt it was enough, she left without hesitation.
After Su Qing departed, Huang Chuyu let out a long, heavy breath. "It seems it's impossible for me to follow my benefactor to learn immortal arts."
Huang Chuyu could see that Su Qing had no intention of keeping her by her side, let alone teaching her. "What am I thinking... being able to turn back into a human is already something to be incredibly grateful for. I shouldn't be greedy for more..."
Thinking of this, Huang Chuyu quickly patted her cheeks to stop those thoughts. She knew she was being a bit greedy. But after witnessing such powerful magic, it was hard not to want to learn it. She truly wanted to master those arts, then go and punish the villains who had turned her into a dog and save other poor souls like herself. Unfortunately... her benefactor had no intention of teaching her.
On the other side, after Su Qing left the temple, she turned back to look in its direction. How could she not know Huang Chuyu's thoughts? But even if she did, she couldn't teach Huang Chuyu magic. This was because the girl simply lacked the talent for it. Perhaps she had a bit of talent before, but after being a dog for so many years, her body had long since been broken. Even though Su Qing had used magic and medicine to repair it and turn her back into a human, it was no longer possible for her to cultivate magic. And most importantly, her character and nature did not satisfy Su Qing. She might be resilient enough, but cultivation required more than just that.
Shaking her head, Su Qing thought to herself, 'Perhaps I should have let her return to her parents after all... Heh, never mind. Letting her stay in the temple is the same. With the demons from the Changbai Mountains here, no one can harm them, and no one can stir up any trouble.'
Withdrawing her gaze, Su Qing continued down the mountain. Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, another year had gone by.
Rate on N.U.
