Xiao Yan saw Li Nanzhu’s worried expression and smiled. "For now, it appears to be a beneficial symbiosis."
A green light flickered from his fingertips as he checked Suisui’s skull once more. "The pearl provides vitality, while Suisui’s soul fire nourishes it with spiritual energy. They are a perfect match. If not for the combination of these two, Suisui might never have been born."
Suisui spun in a joyful circle, its bones clacking together with a crisp sound.
"However..." Xiao Yan’s tone suddenly turned serious. "Do not let a word of this spread to the outside world."
He lowered his voice. "Although I do not know exactly what this pearl is, any treasure that can grant sentience to a spiritual plant or even create life..."
Li Nanzhu nodded solemnly. She knew better than anyone what would happen if outsiders learned of the secret inside Suisui...
The major sects would be the first to pounce and fight over it.
Therefore, she had to keep this a secret—she couldn’t even tell her senior brothers or senior sister.
It wasn't that she didn't trust them not to let it slip, but the fewer people who knew, the better. Only then could Suisui’s safety be guaranteed to the greatest extent.
Suisui protected her, and she wanted to protect Suisui.
It was as simple as that.
Xiao Yan suddenly flicked his finger against her forehead, but the sensation was as light as a snowflake.
"My disciple’s expression looks as if..." He cut himself off abruptly and changed the subject as if nothing had happened. "Watch closely. This is one of my most prized skills."
A faint green light shimmered at his fingertips as he traced profound runes in the air. Those runes swam like living creatures before finally condensing into a small green orb of light.
"This is..." Li Nanzhu looked at the orb in surprise.
"Just a little trick," Xiao Yan said with a smile, though his face turned visibly paler. "It can mask the aura of the Life-Giving Creation Pearl."
With a gentle push, the orb drifted toward Suisui’s head and began to merge with it.
As Li Nanzhu watched Xiao Yan’s form grow increasingly transparent, her chest suddenly felt as if an invisible hand were squeezing it.
She should have realized it sooner. She should have known, shouldn't she? It was only because he acted so much like a normal person that she had ignored the signs.
"Master..." her voice trembled slightly, and her fingers unconsciously gripped the hem of her robe.
Xiao Yan was focused on controlling the green orb. He didn't look back as he replied, "Hmm? Don't be in such a hurry, disciple. It'll be done in a moment."
Li Nanzhu’s gaze fell on the shadow her master cast—or rather, the lack of one. It was so faint it was almost invisible. The terrifying suspicion had already taken shape in her heart, but she didn't dare speak it aloud.
She had never imagined that a stranger she had met only once would do so much for her... Was the mere title of master and disciple worth all this?
Suisui also seemed to sense something was wrong. Its bony claws tugged gently at Li Nanzhu’s sleeve, its soul fire flickering uneasily.
"Done!" Xiao Yan clapped his hands, but he stumbled as he turned around.
His figure was noticeably thinner than before, and even his signature stubborn lock of hair drooped listlessly. "Now, the little skeleton's secret is..."
Before he could finish, a jade slip slid out of his sleeve.
Li Nanzhu bent down to pick it up, but she froze the moment she touched it. The words 'Inheritance Trial: Contingency Plan' were clearly engraved on the slip.
The jade was icy cold in her palm, and her fingertips began to shake.
The details she had deliberately ignored came rushing back like a tide—the sleeves that were too transparent in the sunlight, the stubborn lock of hair that never stayed down, and his fighting style of only dodging without counterattacking... Every inconsistency pointed toward a cruel truth.
She finally understood why, in the original story, the trial Cang Dongqing faced was suspiciously easy. All of her master’s seemingly casual but deliberate arrangements were because his strength was failing. In the original story, he would have already dissipated by this time...
"So, that’s how it is..." Li Nanzhu murmured, her thumb tracing the engravings on the jade slip. Why? Why was it always like this? Why did everyone who was kind to her share such a fate?
Xiao Yan’s movements paused.
Sunlight passed through his body, casting a faint, ghostly shadow on the ground.
"Cough, cough..." He coughed awkwardly. "That jade slip is..."
Li Nanzhu gripped the slip tightly, her knuckles turning white. When she looked up, her eyes were already red. "Master..." Her voice caught in her throat for a long time before she managed to squeeze out the words. "Are you... already gone?"
Suisui’s bony claws froze in mid-air, its soul fire trembling violently. The bamboo forest fell silent, and even the wind seemed to stop.
Sunlight passed right through Xiao Yan’s body.
After a long silence, he suddenly let out a light laugh. "It seems... I haven't been doing a very good job of being a ghost." His voice carried a forced cheerfulness, but he couldn't hide the gloom flashing in his eyes.
Li Nanzhu felt a dull ache in her chest. This answer confirmed her worst fears.
"Don't make that face." Xiao Yan reached out, wanting to pat her shoulder, but his palm passed straight through her body. "See? Isn't your master doing just fine?"
Li Nanzhu suddenly recalled the records from the Five Elements Dao Sect. One was a spiritual body, which only those with heaven-defying cultivation could condense after death, though it would gradually fade over time. The other was a divine soul, which could be split off while alive, but if the main body died, the divine soul would eventually dissipate like a spiritual body.
Whichever it was, it made one thing clear: this impromptu master she had known for less than a day was likely long dead. After all, how could a cultivator from a thousand years ago still be alive today?
"How long has it been?" she asked softly.
Xiao Yan scratched his head. "I can't really remember... I've probably been here for over a thousand years?" Seeing Li Nanzhu’s expression darken further, he quickly added, "Hey, the fact that I'm still here proves I'm perfectly fine!"
Li Nanzhu was taken aback. He was right. According to her deduction, the Xiao Yan in the original story should have dissipated by now. He shouldn't be standing here, so full of life.
Not to mention he had the extra strength to help Suisui mask the Life-Giving Creation Pearl’s aura.
And the cause of this change...
It was Suisui! It was the Life-Giving Creation Pearl!
In the original story, the Life-Giving Creation Pearl was lost, so the life force that could have sustained him was gone. But through a stroke of luck, she had brought the pearl back here!
Li Nanzhu’s gaze fell on Suisui, and a bold hypothesis formed in her mind.
The little skeleton tilted its head, its soul fire flickering as if it suddenly understood the meaning in her gaze. It hopped up with a clack and carefully touched Xiao Yan’s sleeve with its bony claw—and this time, it actually made contact.
"Huh?" Xiao Yan looked at his hands in surprise. "What’s going on?"
Suisui’s joints emitted rapid clacking sounds, and its soul fire suddenly burst into a star-like shape.
It clumsily opened its claws, every finger bone trembling violently. An emerald glow seeped out from the depths of its skull, condensing into a ball of emerald light in its palm. The light was warm and gentle, identical to the aura of the Life-Giving Creation Pearl.
Xiao Yan stared blankly at his hands—his once semi-transparent fingertips were becoming solid at a visible rate.
He subconsciously touched his face, then looked down at his shadow on the ground. It was much clearer than before.
"This is..." Xiao Yan’s voice trembled slightly.
Li Nanzhu’s fingers lightly brushed against the green light, and she immediately felt a surge of vibrant life force. "Suisui is sharing the pearl’s power with you."
The little skeleton nodded vigorously. It seemed to know that Xiao Yan had used up a lot of strength to protect it, and it pushed its palm forward again, gesturing for Xiao Yan to take the light.
However, Xiao Yan took half a step back, showing a rare moment of hesitation. He eventually shook his head. "No. Even if I dissipate, I won't take what belongs to your companion. This power is very important to the little skeleton..."
"Master," Li Nanzhu interrupted softly. "Didn't you also help Suisui just now without a second thought?"
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the bamboo leaves, casting mottled shadows between the three of them. The shadow beneath Xiao Yan’s feet seemed fragmented, unable to form a complete human shape.
Standing at the intersection of light and shadow, the face that usually wore a cynical smile now looked exceptionally serious.
"Besides, Suisui wants to help you."
As if responding to her words, Suisui stubbornly held out its hand, the soul fire flickering faster and faster as if urging him.
Finally, Xiao Yan took a deep breath and carefully received the emerald light.
The moment the light merged into his palm, his entire figure took on a lustrous glow. Even the scorched holes in his robes began to repair themselves.
Unfortunately, that stubborn lock of hair that had been singed by a spark also vanished in the process.
Suisui suddenly collapsed into a sitting position on the ground, its soul fire flickering for a long time before finally stabilizing.
"Thank you for your hard work, little skeleton." Xiao Yan gently patted Suisui’s skull.
Watching Xiao Yan’s now-stable state, Li Nanzhu suddenly spoke up. "Master... what exactly is your current state?"
She still wanted to know whether he was a spiritual body or a divine soul. If he was a divine soul, there might still be a possibility of resurrection.
Xiao Yan paused while straightening his sleeves.
Suisui also got up quickly, tilting its skull to look at the two of them.
"Aiyaya, my disciple has stumped me." Xiao Yan shook his head. "Actually..."
He sat down on the grass and patted the spot beside him. Li Nanzhu took the hint and sat down, while Suisui crouched obediently at her feet.
"My current state," Xiao Yan said, condensing a wisp of green light on his fingertip, "is a sliver of a divine soul left behind by my original body."
The green light transformed into a tiny figure in his palm, which then split into two, one of which was significantly dimmer.
"Before the original body left, he placed his inheritance in the core of the cave dwelling." The dim figure pointed into the distance. "And this sliver of a divine soul was responsible for selecting a successor."
Li Nanzhu noticed a peculiar detail in his words.
Left, not died.
This implied that Xiao Yan’s original body had intentionally left these things behind. But... why didn't he choose a successor himself instead of using this method?
However, Li Nanzhu didn't intend to interrupt. Following Xiao Yan’s lead, she looked at the green light. "So the inheritance is actually..."
"It’s a transfer of divine soul power." Xiao Yan nodded, and the tiny figure made a gesture of passing something on. "Generally, once the inheritance is complete, this sliver of soul would..." The tiny figure made a gesture of dissipating.
Suisui’s soul fire jumped, and its bony claws tightly gripped Li Nanzhu’s hem.
"It was supposed to be like that." Xiao Yan suddenly laughed, and the tiny figure became brighter. "But now that we have the Life-Giving Creation Pearl that the little skeleton brought..."
Li Nanzhu suddenly realized. "So that’s why you kept talking to me about all those random things earlier..."
"Cough, cough!" Xiao Yan’s face turned red. "I just thought I should say a few more words while I could..."
The sunlight filtering through the bamboo cast mottled shadows on his face. Only then did Li Nanzhu notice an indescribable exhaustion hidden in his eyes.
"And now?" she asked softly.
Xiao Yan withdrew the green light and winked mysteriously. "Now, your master has decided to change things up."
He stood up, his robes fluttering in the breeze. "Since I have the life force from the Life-Giving Creation Pearl, there's no need for me to rush and shove the inheritance into your head all at once." He suddenly leaned in close to Li Nanzhu. "We can take our time. I’ll teach you personally!"
Li Nanzhu’s eyes grew warm.
She understood exactly what this meant—her master didn't have to dissipate in a hurry. He could watch her grow with his own eyes...
Since coming to this world, she seemed to always receive kindness from the people around her. It was something she had never experienced before. She was truly happy.
Suisui suddenly hopped up and down, its bony claws gesturing excitedly.
"The little skeleton agrees too!" Xiao Yan laughed loudly. "Then it’s settled!"
He turned to leave, but Li Nanzhu caught his sleeve. "Master..."
"Hmm?"
"Is the memory of your original body... complete?"
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