Before leaving Baishan Sanatorium, Pingping sat beside her friends for a long time.
No one urged her to hurry.
Only when dawn broke, the early sunlight softly illuminating the faces of each child, did Pingping finally stand up.
She walked over to Shen Huanhuan and quietly said a few words, then helped her remove the bandage over the plaster cast.
Jiang Yan came up to steady her, and soon Shen Huanhuan regained the ability to move, rising to her feet with the help.
“Let’s go.”
Pingping spoke quietly, head lowered.
Everyone nodded. Pingping did not wait to be led; she walked at the front, and as she passed the translucent baby elephant, she embraced both the calf and its mother.
Jiang Yan asked, “What’s the story with these two elephants?”
“They were animals from the Jiang He Circus,” Pingping replied. “They were burned to death in that wildfire.”
“They were very gentle, extremely docile. Le Yi really liked them. But I can’t summon their spirits—my ability doesn’t work in that regard.”
Shen Xiaoxiao observed, “So they’re more like programmed projections.”
Pingping nodded.
Before leaving the sub-basement, Pingping looked back one last time. The elephants’ forms gradually faded, and the sea of blossoms withered away as well. She hugged her half-meter-long silver needle tightly and bent down to crawl into the tunnel.
When they returned to the lobby, the patients’ bodies were already gone.
In truth, they could not be called corpses—more accurately, they were puppets Pingping had created, replicating the appearances of the deceased to be controlled at will.
Just then, Jiang Yuqing came in.
She wore an apologetic expression—after all, her statements had misled all the psychics. But there was nothing to blame here; who could have foreseen that a psychic with such an advanced gift would appear?
“There’s never an absolute,” Jiang Yuqing reflected. “I won’t make this mistake again. At least, I won’t speak so absolutely when giving my theories.”
Shen Xiaoxiao waved it off, and no one pursued the matter further.
They left Baishan Sanatorium with Jiang Yuqing. A coach bus waited outside; several unfamiliar psychics stood nearby.
Jiang Yuqing explained, “We thought it was a semi-conscious energy field, so the Bureau sent psychics to receive everyone outside.”
“And here’s Abbot He. He arrived from Jiangcheng half an hour ago.”
He Qingyuan stepped down from the bus wearing Taoist robes. His body was slightly stooped, hair snowy white, his expression tired—much older and more worn than when Jiang Yan first saw him.
Everyone was visibly flattered.
What kind of mission warranted a deputy director’s personal escort?
Only Jiang Yan and Pingping showed no reaction.
Pingping simply didn’t know who He Qingyuan was.
Jiang Yan had already guessed what He Qingyuan was up to.
—He was here to snatch her away.
Sure enough, as soon as she thought so, He Qingyuan approached Pingping. After sizing her up, he couldn’t resist squeezing her arm, then bent to feel her shoulder blades.
Pingping: “……”
Jiang Yan stood by with folded arms. Shen Xiaoxiao looked baffled; Shen Huanhuan wanted to speak but stopped herself.
“What’s he doing…”
Jiang Yan: “Snatching disciples.”
Just as Pingping’s expression was turning impatient, a jeep roared into the sanatorium, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The car barely stopped when a short, elderly man with pigtails sprang out: “Who’s Pingping?”
Pingping, momentarily unable to move, lifted her face with effort.
“It’s me.”
The little old man bounded over to Pingping in a flash. “Aiyo, my precious disciple!”
Pingping, who had picked up Le Yi’s habits, had also mastered her core principles.
Hearing someone casually call her “disciple” without so much as a greeting, she promptly frowned and retorted, “Is it polite to just claim a disciple out of the blue?”
The old man rubbed his hands together, beaming. “Even her temper is good.”
Everyone: “……”
Pingping turned her small face aside and tugged her arm free from He Qingyuan’s grip.
At this, the old man finally noticed He Qingyuan and glared. “Hey! You shameless old fox! Didn’t you say you’d sworn off taking disciples?!”
He Qingyuan replied politely, “As I recall, Abbot Xu said the same.”
Xu Yaotian responded, “How could I possibly be the same as you?”
He Qingyuan: “Why not?”
Xu Yaotian: “Because I’d never sneak around hiding a disciple!”
He then pointed at Jiang Yan, “Don’t think I didn’t figure you out! Trying to beat everyone else to the punch again—if I hadn’t arrived so quickly, you’d have snuck the girl away! Stingy old goat! Don’t you know a good disciple should be shared? Miser!”
“And to think you’re past sixty—still using the same old lines,” He Qingyuan frowned. “All these years, and you haven’t changed at all.”
Xu Yaotian snapped his horsetail whisk, angrily flinging dust at He Qingyuan’s face.
Even elementary school playground fights are classier than this.
Not wanting to get caught in the crossfire, Jiang Yan took two steps back. Shen Huanhuan whispered, “Abbot He and Abbot Xu studied together for three years, I think more than forty years ago.”
Jiang Yan nodded.
As their argument escalated, Xu Yaotian began to gnash his teeth. He Qingyuan’s own expression started to shift—and soon they both produced ritual implements and erupted into a magical duel.
Jiang Yan turned to Shen Xiaoxiao, “Got any sunflower seeds?”
Shen Xiaoxiao rummaged in her pocket, “I think I do!”
[Sunflower seeds for sale, front row seat (not really)]
[Laughing so hard—the relationship between Jiang Yan and Abbot He is so perfunctory]
[It really is! Has anyone seen Jiang Yan greet Abbot He at all?]
[Apparently not (?]
While the duel raged, three more cars arrived at the sanatorium. Three psychics of various styles disembarked, each identifying Pingping at a glance: their faces showed excitement, poise, or restraint.
“What excellent bone structure—such potential for a young age.”
“Alright, enough about bone structure. With that level of talent, there’s no need for such showy talk. Little girl, come study with Granny—choose any treasure or medicinal pill from Tianmu Mountain’s trove!”
“Don’t listen to them, little one. Come with Auntie instead—their ages are far too great, you’d have a generation gap with them.”
Pingping glanced up at the “Auntie” who quite obviously had a generational gap herself, then looked away.
Unaccustomed to so many people crowding her, Pingping seemed ill at ease.
Jiang Yan asked, “Want some sunflower seeds?”
Pingping shook her head, and Jiang Yan sighed in disappointment.
The two dueling elders paused when they saw the newcomers. After a round of heated but fruitless debate, the five senior masters decided they would settle this later.
To prevent anyone from breaking the rules, they all escorted Pingping onto the bus. Pingping glanced around. The elders’ gazes were predatory; the twins had taken up a whole double seat; Yu Renwan was curled up tightly; Lin Xinjiu looked as sour as ever.
In the end, Pingping slowly took a seat beside Jiang Yan.
A chorus of disappointed sighs rippled through the bus.
Pingping, unperturbed, lowered her head and quickly disassembled her sharp silver needle, hiding the pieces in her pockets.
Jiang Yan propped her chin on her hand. “You’re awfully popular.”
Pingping fell silent for a few seconds. “Did it happen to you, too?”
Since Pingping couldn’t use her power on Jiang Yan, Jiang Yan must surely be even more powerful.
“My situation was more complicated,” Jiang Yan answered. “It was settled in two sentences and a decisive blow.”
Pingping nodded.
After a while, she asked, “Who is your master?”
Given her current situation, sooner or later she would have to pledge herself to a master—her ability wasn’t omnipotent, and aside from some major limitations, there were plenty of subtle ones besides.
Her power was, after all, only a facsimile of magical command; true magical command is not something humans can possess, it belongs only to the immortals. Since her power is so limited, she must learn how to use it properly.
But more than that, she was still so young; it made her uncomfortable to have strangers handle her identity or other affairs. If it were a master, it would be much easier to ask for help.
Jiang Yan glanced over. “He Qingyuan—the one who first checked your bones.”
Pingping considered for a moment. “Then I’ll go with him too.”
“You probably know how to pick the best.”
Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow, “So straightforward? Not going to consider further?”
Pingping shook her head. “No—I get more annoyed the longer I think.”
After a moment’s thought, Jiang Yan suddenly smirked, “Then tell him later.”
Pingping agreed, puzzled, “Alright.”
Once Pingping agreed, Jiang Yan immediately pulled out her phone, opened He Qingyuan’s chat window: “You want Pingping as your disciple?”
He Qingyuan replied at once: “My system suits her best.”
Jiang Yan: “If I help you persuade her, what do I get in return?”
He Qingyuan countered, “What do you want?”
Jiang Yan: “You know very well.”
This message took a few seconds longer, but his reply came: “Agreed.”
Jiang Yan: “Excellent. She’s agreed.”
This time, it was a long few minutes before He Qingyuan sent back a string of ellipses.
Jiang Yan had answered too quickly and so bluntly; he could easily guess she’d played him.
He Qingyuan coughed a few times dryly and turned to look out the window.
The bus arrived at the Supernatural Administration Bureau. He Qingyuan got up, took Pingping by the hand, and led her off the bus. The other psychics realized what was going on. Xu Yaotian plucked his horsetail whisk bald with frustration, yet no matter what pills or talismans he offered Pingping, she shook her head at them all.
The bus drove away, leaving only He Qingyuan and Pingping standing at the bureau gates.
He Qingyuan asked Pingping, “Their promises were tempting. Why didn’t you agree?”
Pingping: “Because I didn’t understand them.”
He Qingyuan felt he’d been forced to sigh too many times today, but looking at Pingping’s clear eyes, he smiled and shook his head, leading her inside.
Now that she was his disciple, he’d have to give her some kind of gift.
And as everyone knew, the gift Pingping wanted most was obvious.
He Qingyuan brought Pingping into a special room, first letting her witness the punishment awaiting Jiang He, the wretched fate of the medical staff, the destruction of the underground performance hall, and the arrest of Sun Xinzhi.
Finally, he personally guided her in the rite of viewing the underworld.
This time, Pingping wasn’t meeting the other children as Le Yi acted out their roles; she exited her body as a living soul to speak to them directly in the underworld.
He Qingyuan’s spirit stood at her side, protecting a space for the children.
Pingping spoke with her friends for a long, long time, embracing them for just as long.
They even went to see the river of the underworld together.
Petals and paper boats drifted on the Wangchuan, and flowers of every color dazzled Pingping’s eyes, bringing tears to her eyes.
“Look, a river of colors,” Le Jia said.
Le Yi, lips working nonstop, laughed, “Now Pingping can’t pretend to be a drifting bottle anymore.”
Gentle laughter rippled among them.
All partings come in the end.
A living soul cannot linger long outside its body; before leaving, the children gathered around Pingping, curious about her face.
Xiao Jia poked her cheek.
Xiao Tian asked how long she wanted to be twins with Le Yi.
Pingping thought for a long time before answering:
“Until time begins to move.”
Until she’s no longer trapped in the past, until she no longer aches with loss, until she has more new friends, until she has a life truly worth remembering.
Only then will she truly have herself.