The Unruly Immortals

The wide red Taoist robe floated through the forest in Nanping like a red cloud.

It seemed to drift slowly, but in reality, its speed was extremely fast.

Quickly, the robe stopped in front of a cave, above which hung a plaque inscribed with three strong and vigorous characters: Qingfeng Taoist Temple.

Xuan Pin gazed at the words for a moment and then walked straight inside.

At the entrance of the temple stood two Taoists, Changming and Changren, with swords on their backs, but they appeared blind, completely oblivious to Xuan Pin's entry.

Following the steep cave path, Xuan Pin walked deeper inside, suddenly stopping, as countless pupils lit up from the openings of her robe.

With a layered compound eye vision like that of a fly, Xuan Pin saw Master You emerge from the rock wall.

Master You seemed to be monitoring, but as Xuan Pin's body quickly retracted its eyes, he was pulled by an unseen force, sucked into the left sleeve of her robe, and then ejected from the right sleeve. The trembling lines on his body instantly softened considerably.

Having dealt with these trivial matters, Xuan Pin continued walking inward.

Soon, she saw Li Huowang inside the storage room.

"Who does he think he is! He's nothing!" Li Huowang's voice shook everyone in the room as he dared to call Master Danyang a 'fart.'

Seeing that face again, Xuan Pin felt a sense of strangeness mixed with familiarity; after all, it had been over two hundred years since he threw her off White Jade Capital.

The scene changed again, and Li Huowang was now kneeling on the ground. "Why! Why is this illness still haunting me even here!!"

Watching him kneel in despair, Xuan Pin's heart remained unmoved, for she was no longer Li Sui from back then but now the Astronomical Bureau's Xuan Pin.

She wasn't human anymore, not even an Evil Spirit, for she had assimilated too much; her thoughts and external perceptions were no longer a linear line but a chaotic abacus of stars.

Such a way of thinking was naturally chaotic for humans, but she adapted to it skillfully, as Xuan Pin now had three hundred and twelve brains to use.

When Xuan Pin refocused, she found that Li Huowang had reached the An Ci Nunnery of the filthy nuns.

At this moment, he held a heavy string of Golden Buddha Beads in his hand, saying something to Master Jingxin before him. "Mom, take this and exchange it for some money, pay off our family's debt, and if there's any left, buy back our house, I really liked that neighborhood."

He then took the Jade Pendant from his neck and gently tucked it into Master Jingxin's greasy folds of flesh.

"Mom, take this too, it should also fetch some money, even though I know you're an illusion, I can't bear to see you suffer in front of me."

He paused for a moment, as if listening to something, and then smiled as he spoke to Master Jingxin, "Yes, mom, you're real, you're not an illusion, I was just teasing you."

Upon hearing this, Master Jingxin clasped her hands and chanted a long Buddhist mantra.

At this moment, Li Huowang slowly withdrew his hand from the flesh, clutching a button tightly in what was supposed to be an empty hand.

Xuan Pin saw this scene, and so did Master Jingxin.

This seemed to prove something, but Master Jingxin, recalling all the tragic fates of the heartstrings, hesitated slightly before taking the button and hiding this secret within her folds.

Xuan Pin, watching from afar, made no move, as if she were merely a distant onlooker.

As the countless eyes hidden within Xuan Pin's robe closed and then opened again, the surroundings turned into a dense reed marsh.

To her, the reed stalks seemed nonexistent, and two miles away, she found Li Huowang once more, now long past the time at An Ci Nunnery.

She watched as the blood-drenched Li Huowang stood up, tearing off a man's head and gnawing on it like a fruit.

White and red matter squeezed from his mouth, hanging onto his clothes.

Xuan Pin knew what Li Huowang was about to do next; he would set the entire reed marsh ablaze, including the hundreds of Bai Family Members within.

These hundreds were Bai Lingmiao's family, and it was for this reason the two harbored resentment, never resolving it till the end.

As the surroundings began to heat up, Xuan Pin noticed black tentacles extending from her robe, distorting everything around.

Some indescribable emotion resurfaced in Xuan Pin's heart, "Why do I want to hinder this part when it's part of Ji Zai?"

"I can't stop the occurrence of Ji Zai, the Great Dao forms fifty, Heaven evens out forty-nine, and humanity escapes one; without this variable, White Jade Capital stands no chance."

The reed marsh was ultimately set aflame, and against the backdrop of surrounding flames, Xuan Pin's red robe appeared even more vivid.

Seeing all was in order, Xuan Pin turned to leave, but at that moment, a long-lost emotion welled from deep within her, and after thinking for a while, she identified it as sadness.

"Why feel sorrow? Everything I've done is part of my duty in the Astronomical Bureau!" Xuan Pin spoke to herself, yet no matter how she tried, the feeling persisted.

"Why? Could it be... I am still Li Huowang's daughter? Am I grieving for him?" Xuan Pin was somewhat perplexed.

Searching within herself, Xuan Pin found no trace of Li Sui's Ten Emotions and Eight Miseries, no three souls or seven spirits; only memories of Li Sui remained.

When she regained her senses, she found herself once again standing in front of Li Huowang.

This was before Li Huowang knew Xuan Pin, but it didn't matter because Li Huowang was currently lost in an illusion.

"Pssh," Li Huowang, in front of Xuan Pin, raised the dagger in his hand and stabbed forcefully into the palm of his left hand. "Why does this pain... feel so real?"

Watching Li Huowang circle before her, Xuan Pin wished to rid herself of this emotion but couldn't, and instead, witnessing his self-harm, the emotion grew stronger.

"Could I truly be Li Sui?" Xuan Pin glanced at Li Sui hiding beneath the bed. She found herself unsure.

Xuan Pin walked over to Li Huowang, carefully studying him, and after a moment, hesitantly extended her hands, gently embracing Li Huowang, leaning softly against him.

As she inhaled the bloody smell of Li Huowang's red robe, the feeling within Xuan Pin gradually dissipated.

Xuan Pin was certain she wasn't Li Sui, but this feeling left her at a loss for explanation.

"It's all fake... it's all fake..." Lost in confusion, Li Huowang repeated incessantly.

Listening to his words, Xuan Pin suddenly felt relieved as she realized there was no need to argue with her own body; Xuan Pin's hand patted gently on Li Huowang's back.

"Perhaps this is the fate of heartstrings; those of heartstrings always remain unclear, Li Huowang, since I am like you—also of heartstrings—maybe I don't need to discern so clearly."

It didn't matter what she was; being the Astronomical Bureau, what she must do was the most important.

As a few black tentacles emerged from beneath the bed, Xuan Pin left Li Huowang's embrace, floating upward.

Xuan Pin's body passed through the ceiling, transforming into the form of a young boy, resembling the boy who had fallen from the sky, killing himself.

He stood there, watching from afar as the girl-like Li Sui wielded the iron tree blossoms.

Too many people had died; she wished to light the tree blossoms to bring joy to everyone.

When the tree blossoms were done, and Li Sui stopped there with a forlorn expression, Xuan Pin walked towards her.

"So it doesn't work after all?"

"Of course not, making them happy isn't something lighting fireworks can achieve alone."

Looking despondent, Li Sui squatted by the iron barrel. "Even my father is unhappy."

Recalling Li Huowang, Xuan Pin squatted down beside her, gently picking at the cooled iron in her skin. "I have a way, though, who are you?"

Xuan Pin gently reached out to stroke her, "I know you won't hesitate." Seeing a few black tendrils emerge from under the bed, Xuan Pin left Li Huowang's embrace and watched the father and daughter walk away in the distance.

"The sea," came the response.

As Xuan Pin faded from view, she watched the father and daughter's retreating silhouettes in the distance.

After the tree blossoms were spent and Li Sui's expression turned despondent, standing there, Xuan Ping approached her.

"What can we do? Who are you?" Li Sui asked the boy in front of her, looking confused.

Xuan Ping reached out and gently touched the cooled iron on her back, "I do have a way for you, but I know you won't hesitate."

"Suisui!" came the call from afar, as Li turned and sprinted.

"To the sea," he said.

Xuan Ping watched the backs of the father and daughter from a distance.

Eventually, the reed marsh caught fire, and under the surrounding flames, Xuan Pin's red Taoist robe appeared ever more vivid.

Seeing everything was in order, Xuan Pin turned to depart, but at that moment, an indescribable emotion once again welled up from deep within her. After pondering for a while, Xuan Pin realized this emotion was called sadness.

"Why feel sad? Everything I've done is within the responsibilities of the Astronomical Bureau," Xuan Pin told herself, but no matter what she said, the feeling wouldn't dissipate.

"Why? Could it be..... I'm still Li Huowang's daughter? Am I mourning for him?" Xuan Pin felt a bit confused.

Searching within herself, Xuan Pin found neither Li Sui's Ten Emotions and Eight Miseries nor his three souls and seven spirits; only the memory of Li Sui remained.

When she realized again, she found herself once more standing before Li Huowang.

At this point, it was before Li Huowang had met Xuan Pin, but it didn't matter, for Li Huowang was currently trapped in an illusion.

"Ugh," Li Huowang said, stabbing his neck with full force. "Why does this pain... feel so real?"

Xuan Pin watched him writhe in pain before her, and it only intensified her emotions.

"Could I really be Li Sui?" Xuan Pin turned her head, casting a glance at the boy in front of her.

After a moment of hesitation, Xuan Ping reached out with both hands, gently holding Li Huowang and softly leaning against him, as the feeling in Xuan Pin's heart gradually faded away.

She was sure that she was not Li Sui, but this feeling wouldn't go away.

"Why be upset? Everything I do is within my duty in the Astronomical Bureau!" Xuan Pin told herself, but no matter how much she said it, the feeling never faded away completely.

It was at that moment, while slipping out of sight and watching the silhouette of the father and daughter duo from afar, that Xuan Pin breathed a sigh of relief. There was no need to argue with herself any longer.

Listening to his words, she suddenly understood that she might be like Li Huowang—uncertain and unable to distinguish clearly. Realizing this, Xuan Pin said, "Since I, too, am like you, Li Huowang, a heartstring soul, maybe I don't need to make such a clear distinction."

Her internal struggle ended when she understood that she didn't need to debate anything further with her own consciousness. When she noticed the approach of several black tendrils from under the bed, she released her embrace and watched the disappearing figures of the father and daughter on the horizon.