Chapter 377: Chapter 368: For 20 Years, Loving Oneself_1
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Bai Qi looked at the sobbing Liu Qianqian, his heart suddenly becoming a complex array of emotions.
What kind of tenacity could make her willing to cast her longing onto an empty shell of a body?
Even after twenty years without a meeting, her heart seemed just like her face, not having changed one bit.
Bai Qi questioned himself, even if he liked someone that much, could he still remember them after twenty years had passed?
He felt that he definitely would not.
Time is the most terrifying amnesia.
Even the deepest of emotions can be whisked away by it.
The heart determined to marry only that first love, the feelings in love that want to hold hands to the ends of the Earth, the resolve after marriage to grow old together...
How many people have forgotten the emotions they were once so certain of, just because time has passed?
But Liu Qianqian seemed to have never forgotten from beginning to end; it's just that she had transferred all her emotions to a body that had no thought.
Now, Fang Ren's mood was just like he had made a big mistake as a child, panicked. The first thought that popped up in his mind was to evade the problem, to let it pass.
But this problem hadn't passed even after twenty years, and Liu Qianqian's lifespan was probably even longer than his now—was he supposed to leave this problem for a hundred years?
"Come back with me," said Fang Ren.
Liu Qianqian shook her head, "Impossible, just leave him with me and go yourself."
"Come back with me."
"I said it's impossible!"
"Then I will destroy this body!"
"What do you want me to go back for? To continue wanting to be a philandering stray cat like before? Sorry! I don't want to now! I am not now either! I tell you, maybe after I go back, some day when I get provoked and my emotions burst out, I won't be able to help but ruin your family!"
"If you really had that idea, you would've gone back long ago."
"Why do you want to see me living in pain?! Do you enjoy watching me be depressed every day?!"
"Aren't you even more depressed here? Living every day with just a carcass!"
"As long as I have feelings, he's not just a carcass!"
Hearing these words, Fang Ren suddenly felt a surge of anger. How could his physical body be of more importance to her than his real self?
"Then go find any soul to inhabit this fleshly body! Wouldn't your life be even better with him!"
Having said this, Fang Ren immediately transferred his soul back into his original body, stood up from the ground, and crushed the Teleportation Talisman without hesitation.
The next moment, a flash of golden light twinkled, and Fang Ren vanished from this planet.
Bai Qi, seeing Fang Ren's resolute action, laughed and walked towards Liu Qianqian, who was holding onto Fang Ren's other body inside the shop.
Liu Qianqian's gaze was now somewhat vacant, her aura already withdrawn.
The way she just displayed her strength, like a hedgehog curled up into a ball, appeared threatening to others, but in reality, it was just to protect herself.
"Hey, Leader, do you have any extra of this stuff?" said Bai Qi as he patted the body of Fang Ren, squinting and smiling, "Good things should be shared, right?"
Liu Qianqian immediately knocked Bai Qi's hand away from the body and said, "Sister Zhu Yuan said she has hundreds of millions of them; you go and ask her."
Upon hearing this, Bai Qi was enraged, to the point of swearing outright, "Fuck! That woman still told me immortals don't harbor the seven emotions and six desires! I've had suspicions that she had designs on Old Fang all along! Never did I imagine that she was hoarding so many Old Fangs!"
Liu Qianqian wiped her tears, her voice low, "You should go too. Don't come back and bother me again."
Bai Qi let go of his anger, looked at her like this and then consoled her again, "It's not going to work if you keep going like this. Look, he left so quickly, almost like a child throwing a tantrum; don't you want to find him again?"
"You're thinking too much. This person just wants to remedy a bit of the guilt in his heart," said Liu Qianqian with a bitter smile.
Bai Qi laughed, "I beg to differ; don't you think he's more likely jealous?"
"Nonsense."
"I'm really not talking nonsense; after all, the bystander sees the clearest. He's always felt that he had a high place in your heart, but you threatened to stab his neck just for his body. It's like a pet that's always been close to its owner, but then one day, the pet starts liking to run to other people's houses."
Liu Qianqian frowned, "I dislike this metaphor."
"Didn't you often say you were like a pet sold by your family?"
"That was in the past."
"So that means you no longer wish to be a pet now, and you need him to treat you as an equal?"
Liu Qianqian furrowed her brows even deeper, "Must you belittle me like this?"
Bai Qi waved his hand dismissively, "I didn't mean it like that; maybe one day, you could interpret my use of 'pet' as 'lickspittle'."
Hum—
Liu Qianqian's True Qi erupted, looking as though she was about to start a fight.
"Hey, hey, hey, stop!"
Bai Qi actually got a bit panicky seeing her like this. Although she felt invincible on Earth, she lacked confidence in Liu Qianqian's presence.
"Being called a lickspittle isn't an insult; it just describes someone who's too devoted in love and doesn't get reciprocation. Back in our school days, I thought Old Fang was my lickspittle," said Bai Qi.
"I don't want to hear this! Just leave already!"
"Alright, alright, but if you don't go back, there might really be no hope at all. It's rare for him to be jealous because of you; you've been persistent for twenty years, what's one more time?"
"Not even once!"
Liu Qianqian's stance was very firm.
Bai Qi said no more. Perhaps it was a good thing that Liu Qianqian had a bit of a temper, otherwise that Mr. Fang might really start to take Liu Qianqian for a lickspittle who would come and go at his bidding.
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Crushing the Teleportation Talisman, Bai Qi also vanished from this place.
Only after the departure of the two did Liu Qianqian slowly bend down, picked up a piece of talisman paper, and affixed it to the temple of Fang Ren's body.
Once the talisman paper was in place, Fang Ren's body immediately stood up, his eyes vacant as he gazed at Liu Qianqian.
Liu Qianqian looked at this body, animated by her talisman paper infused with thought, and suddenly felt an intense sorrow; tears began to flow uncontrollably.
"Qian Qian... don't cry..."
The body reached out to wipe away her tears.
This was the thought she had poured into that piece of talisman paper; when she was sad, he would comfort her.
But as she watched the body wipe her tears, it was only then that she fully comprehended a truth.
All along, it was she who had been loving herself.
This body was merely her own obsession.
...
When Fang Ren returned to Sister Zhu Yuan's side, he immediately asked her.
"Why did you give her my body! Didn't you say that you couldn't enter the Divine Space anymore?" Fang Ren was slightly upset.
Seeing this, Sister Zhu Yuan said helplessly, "I just felt too sorry for her, so I gave her a duplicate of your body. Besides, you weren't using it. It would have just turned into a skeleton over there, so it was better to give it to her. Regarding entering the Divine Space, ever since I partially refined the Divine Weapon of the previous Divine, I have been able to come and go as I please."
"Then why didn't you tell me? That's my body, don't I have the right to know?"
"If I had told you, you probably would've taken that body back long ago. Wouldn't that have forced her to die?"
"It's not as severe as you make it seem," Fang Ren didn't quite agree.
"Even if you didn't take the body back, I reckon your wife would have taken care of it," Sister Zhu Yuan said.
Fang Ren said no more; since today he hadn't destroyed that body nor taken it back with him, he felt that even if he had known about it earlier, he wouldn't have taken the body away from Liu Qianqian.
Sister Zhu Yuan glanced at Fang Ren and then teased, "Did you get a cold shoulder? Your ever-loyal pet dog suddenly becomes self-sufficient, and that's hard for you to take?"
"I never thought of her that way!"
As soon as Fang Ren heard Sister Zhu Yuan refer to Liu Qianqian as a pet dog, he immediately felt unhappy.
"Then how would you explain your mood right now?"
"I don't feel like explaining to you."
With that, Fang Ren went back to the house he shared with Mu Huanqing, lying on the sofa and sighing.
At that moment, Bai Qi happened to return to Sister Zhu Yuan's side.
"Why do you look upset as well?" Sister Zhu Yuan asked, seeing the angry expression on Bai Qi's face.
"Give me one too!" Bai Qi demanded.
"One what?"
"One of those custom bodies Old Fang made!"
"No," Sister Zhu Yuan refused decisively.
Bai Qi immediately became displeased, "You have hundreds of millions of them, how can it hurt to give me one! Or are you saying if you're short by one, you won't feel satisfied?"
Sister Zhu Yuan was taken aback, "I don't have the seven emotions and six desires."
"Then why can't you give me one?"
"If I give you one, maybe Mu Huanqing will start a fight with you; wouldn't I be ruining your relationship then? Later, you might even blame me."
"No problem, I'll keep it hidden."
"Still no."
"Please, big sister~ just give me one~"
...
Bai Qi tried every trick in the book, but Sister Zhu Yuan's attitude remained unyielding.
With no other choice, Bai Qi resorted to her last move, "Sister Zhu Yuan, do you know why your Realm hasn't broken through upward in three thousand years?"
"My Taoist heart is unstable, and while the cup is full, it's difficult to merge it into the river; I'm missing some insights," Sister Zhu Yuan explained.
Sure enough, when it came to Cultivation, Sister Zhu Yuan took it very seriously.
Bai Qi immediately contradicted Sister Zhu Yuan, "Sister Zhu Yuan, it's not that your Taoist heart is unstable, you're actually a classic case of your Taoist heart being too stable! When you cultivate to the extreme, it's all about returning to simplicity and truth.
There's an old saying on Earth, from seeing the mountain as a mountain, to seeing the mountain as not a mountain, and finally seeing the mountain as still a mountain. You're now in the phase where you see the mountain as not a mountain, and you need to find a way to return to simplicity and truth."
Sister Zhu Yuan smiled helplessly, "You, who are countless times weaker than me, dare to give me guidance."
"Strength aside, but in terms of Taoism, perhaps I can see more clearly than you?" Bai Qi continued, "I think you, Sister Zhu Yuan, are just lacking in the seven emotions and six desires of living beings. To say Immortals have no desires is just the blindness of those who have yet to see the end. Another saying from Earth is, to seek the Peak of Tao, one must re-enter the world of mortal life.
If you haven't really experienced earthly life, how can you expect to reach the Peak of Taoism? That's nearly impossible."
Moreover, Zhu Yuan was truly vexed about not having made a breakthrough in three thousand years, having tried many methods with scarce results.
Although she didn't believe this young girl could say anything sensible, the fact remains that the earthly desires were indeed the origin of many Taoist principles.
"Are you suggesting I fall in love?" Zhu Yuan chuckled, "I don't wish to follow my mother's path."
"Then hurry up and find an Immortal as powerful as yourself; that way, your lifespans won't differ too much, and there won't be any sorrow from parting by death."
As Bai Qi spoke, she finally got to the point, "However, if you are in a relationship and the other person finds out that you secretly keep a million bodies of a man, they will definitely be furious, so... cough cough, Old Fang's bodies should be managed by me. I'm willing to bear this pain for Sister Zhu Yuan!"
"I knew you were up to no good!"
Sister Zhu Yuan originally thought the girl was seriously discussing Cultivation with her, but it turned out to be another wild goose chase!
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