After hearing Chen Qianfan's conclusion, Shi Jingzhi felt a little embarrassed.
Not to mention that he was not strong enough, Yin Ci was definitely unwilling to use his full strength. The origin of his disciple was a mystery. When he was in danger in the forbidden land and was entangled by greedy butterflies, the situation was extremely critical, and this person was willing to show his true strength.
Although the secret book in front of them was strange, the attack was not very active. In other words, the Mishan Sect had a death condition of "no rough and violent attack", which forced them to fight so hard.
Shi Zhongyu lost a fingertip, but the rest of the group was unharmed. He and Chen Qianfan didn't even participate in the battle. No matter how you look at it, this situation has nothing to do with "the end of the road".
Whatever, Yin Ci was investigating something related to the statue, and this trip was just for the forbidden matter. He was willing to help with this matter, which was already a favor.
When Jingzhi was thinking about it, he saw Yin Ci pondering for a moment and then walking up to Shi Zhongyu.
"Miss Shi, I have something to discuss with you."
Wait, "Senior Shi" has now become "Miss Shi"? It's rare that Shi Zhongyu didn't ask about the origin of this "Aci". What happened to the promise of misleading his identity
Shi Zhongyu heard Yin Ci holding back, and showed a hint of hesitation. Now that Yin Ci took the initiative to talk, her response also had a hint of inquiry: "Please go ahead."
Yin Ci: "Don't be in a hurry to talk. Let me take a look at the girl's wound first. The secret book is extremely strange, and the magic may have some effect."
Shi Zhongyu was stunned for a moment, and raised his hand half-doubtfully: "Hey... uh, you also study magic?"
“I know a little bit.”
Yin Ci shook his sleeves and lifted up Shi Zhongyu's injured hand through his sleeves. Shi Zhongyu's broken finger was broken, and he cut off the fingertip in time. However, the magic was not easy to deal with. The wound was bleeding and there was no sign of healing. The blood was abnormally bright red, which was frightening to see.
Shi Jingzhi: “…”
I am the doctor, right? No matter how bad it is, I can ask Chen Qianfan to see me. Did my disciple take too much initiative today
... No, maybe Aci is just investigating the attack method of the secret book.
Shi Jingzhi, with a head full of question marks, explained to himself seriously.
Yin Ci didn't notice the questions in his master's mind. He still looked calm and proper. "Miss Shi, you have good vision and handled it in time. However, this technique is dangerous and blood-based, and the wound is not easy to heal. It's better for you to ask Senior Chen to handle it."
His words were gentle and polite, with a hint of the casualness of a superior, which was very different from his previous respectful and distant tone.
Shi Zhongyu held a high position in Taiheng, and although she was stubborn, her mind was not made of wood. Yin Ci's few words made her understand the subtle change, and she also vaguely guessed the subtext of "I have something to discuss with you".
"It's a minor injury, nothing serious. If you have something to say, please tell me. Let's talk about business first."
She stared at Yin Ci with her eyes.
Yin Ci took a half step back and simply saluted.
"My name is Yin Ci. I met the girl at the ghost tomb..."
Before Shi Jingzhi could interrupt, Yin Ci brought up the previous "descendant of the Su family" story again. Unlike Shi Jingzhi at that time, before Shi Zhongyu could get suspicious, he confessed his identity as the "man in white in the ghost tomb".
Shi Zhongyu's face was as gloomy as water, and Shi Jingzhi was stunned.
The headmaster Shi really didn't know how to join the conversation - Yin Ci didn't leave him any room to play, and he completely ignored the Kushan Sect in his words. In the mouth of his apprentice, he was just a poor man who was "used by him" and "knew nothing".
Yin Ci's explanation was simple and clear, and Shi Zhongyu did not remain silent for too long.
"I see."
Shi Zhongyu sighed.
"My sect has also looked for clues about the man in white, but in the end, we found nothing. Brother Yin, don't worry. Although my sect has had conflicts with Chi Gou, we are not unreasonable and would not vent our anger on the Su family who broke away from Chi Gou."
"The girl is generous."
"But if you are the man in white, your skills are worthy of my title of 'senior'. The man in white did not harm the righteous under the ghost tomb, and Wuxue Po was present. Senior, you don't want to expose the identity of the Su family, and I can understand that."
Shi Zhongyu lowered his head slightly, and there was more respect in his words.
"Whether it was visiting Mishan Sect or dealing with the secret book, it was the junior who was taken care of. On the contrary, the junior is grateful for the senior's frankness."
"I still have some private matters to investigate, and I will follow the Kushan Sect from now on. Miss, please consider this trip and do not disclose my identity."
Shi Zhongyu clasped his fists and said, "Of course."
After the two of them finished talking, Shi Jingzhi was still a little confused, and the cold wind around him became a little colder.
He originally thought that the other party's identity and strength were a secret after they had gone through hardships together, a kind of unique connection - he wandered between life and death twice, and Yin Ci took off a little disguise. In the end, Shi Zhongyu only lost a fingertip, and the apprentice packed up and confessed.
Shi Jingzhi understood the reasoning. As cautious as Yin Ci was, he must have had a good reason to reveal his identity, perhaps there was some plan that affected the overall situation. But he still couldn't suppress the emotions that surged up.
Now Shi Zhongyu is the same as him.
Yin Ci did not lie to Shi Zhongyu. No one knew better than Shi Jingzhi that Yin Ci did have some private affairs to investigate and needed to form a small sect to cover up. After all, their friendship was based on this joking "master-disciple relationship".
Shi Jingzhi was very familiar with Yin Ci's attitude towards Shi Zhongyu. He had also felt the ease and kindness when they first met.
So when Yin Ci needs a "master", he will switch to Zhang Jingzhi or Li Jingzhi. After spending a long time together, will Yin Ci also be so devoted
If you think about it carefully, although their friendship has gradually become deeper and deeper, it is still close to the care and affection of the "seniors" for the "juniors".
It wasn't as special as he thought.
Shi Jingzhi suddenly felt a cloud of grievance.
His stomach was like being stuffed into a teapot, boiling over low heat. He could only hear the gurgling sound of bubbles, and each bubble exploded with a tiny "This is not fair."
Shi Jingzhi lifted his shirt hem and sat cross-legged on the snow, trying to calm down his "unreasonable behavior" with the help of the snow. In his inexplicable sadness, he suddenly understood the reason why Chen Qianfan deleted his memory.
There is no other reason, it’s just that the ties of worldly life are really hard to handle.
If he had not decided to enter the world on Huilian Mountain, he would have been content to cling to the existing "worldly ties" and would not care how Yin Ci treated others - since he had the ties, he would not care even if Yin Ci married a dozen wives and concubines with great fanfare and displayed his true identity on his head.
Now it was different. The head of the sect was filled with a lot of frustration, and he didn't know where it came from, nor where to vent it, and his whole mood was not good.
Shi Jingzhi was blocking the way here like a beautiful dull teapot, and Yin Ci knew nothing about it.
Seeing that the time had come, Yin Ci lowered his voice and said, "There is one more private matter. I will ask you for a favor in private."
"What is it?"
"I have a friend who once had a crush on Tai Heng Shi Chongyu. Twenty years have passed since this happened, and I haven't been able to find any clues about Shi Chongyu. I would like to ask you, young lady, to give my friend an explanation... Have you heard of 'Jade-Breaking Spear' Shi Chongyu?"
Shi Zhongyu raised his eyebrows and immediately had an association: "Master Shi...?"
"No, Shi Jingzhi has nothing to do with this matter. I had the same guess before, but it turned out to be a misunderstanding." Yin Ci once again completely dismissed Shi Jingzhi. "If the young lady helps me this time, I owe Taiheng a favor."
Shi Chongyu was not a very important person, so Shi Zhongyu said straightforwardly: "I have heard of this person, but it has been so long since the incident, so I have to check the list of disciples in the sect. I do have the authority to do so, and I am willing to help you check it after this matter is settled."
"Thank you, girl."
This conversation lasted only a cup of tea. Shi Zhongyu went to ask old man Chen to bandage the wound, while Yin Ci walked back to Shi Jingzhi's side. It was terrible, the cheap master's face turned green. If it was framed, it could be used directly as an illustration for a book of spirits and monsters.
Shi Jingzhi looked unhappy, and the direction of his unhappiness was different from when he arrived in Yuanxian Village.
At that time, Jingzhi's anger surged outward, but this time, he was suppressing it slowly and densely, and his yang fire was about to burst out of his seven orifices.
what happened
Was it because he was anxious after seeing that the secret book was difficult to deal with? Or was it because he didn't know what to do after seeing Chen Qianfan delete his own memories, and he was angry about the unfairness of fate
Never mind, just try them one by one.
"Master, don't worry about the secret book. I have already explained my identity to Miss Shi, and I will be able to deal with it with all my strength soon."
Shi Jingzhi glanced at him dimly and said, "We don't ask for the talisman, and the secret book is useless. Ah Ci, you don't have to work so hard."
Yin Ci choked, but couldn't bring up the private request for the talisman, so he had to change the topic: "Senior Chen wants the magic from the secret book. I'll put in a little more effort, which will show the sincerity of the Kushan Sect. When the time comes, he will handle the restrictions for Master, and maybe he can be more detailed."
"Well."
Yin Ci sat down next to Shi Jingzhi and tried to speak softly: "Master, did you see the magic just now? Senior Chen is very skilled in this technique, so I think he erased the memory beautifully."
"Even if I forget to go back to Lianshan, you don't mind?"
Yin Ci was silent for a moment and decided to tell the truth.
"As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood. The risk of breaking the formation is too great. Life is more important."
"If I hadn't returned to Lianshan, I would have returned to the state that even the devil couldn't give birth to, and treated you as an object without knowing it." Shi Jingzhi finally turned his head, his tone revealing some struggle. "Living like that is boring no matter how you think about it."
When he spoke the last part, his voice trembled a little.
This trembling was not out of anger. When he considered the option of "risking his life to break the formation", overwhelming fear rushed into his head and strangled his throat.
It was like a person who was afraid of heights standing on the edge of a deep abyss, or a person who was afraid of water being trapped at the bottom of a lake. Shi Jingzhi's breathing became rapid, his legs felt weak, and he felt as if he had just walked through icy water.
It was just a relatively firm thought, but it made his heart and lungs burst and his ears buzz.
However, he did not fall into madness like before. It seems that his new human heart is still useful, Shi Jingzhi thought.
Yin Ci noticed Shi Jingzhi's abnormality and grabbed his wrist: "Substance addiction?"
“Yeah, material addiction.”
Shi Jingzhi knew he had to be quiet, but he couldn't. That little bit of grievance was like adding fuel to the fire, making him restless.
"I don't want to hesitate, but the memories are precious and hard to let go." Shi Jingzhi stared at Yin Ci, "Ah Ci, I know you don't want anything. If you just want me to live, you'd better treat me badly."
He tried to convince himself to abandon that little part of the past, but the more he recalled it, the more fear grew.
Not counting the sealed memories, those might be the best memories he has ever had.
Just now he was thinking that if he deleted his memory at this point, he would just become like Chen Qianfan - even if someone he once cared about died in front of him, he would still be able to step over the other person's body and continue to pursue his goal.
Shi Jingzhi thought this was great, as he could focus on surviving. But he also felt that this was not what he wanted. He wished that time would stop at the night when they were together not long ago, when he was freed.
He had never felt so painful, but he had also never felt so clearly that he was "alive".
He didn't know what to do.
His body was madly rejecting the idea of "taking risks". Shi Jingzhi's whole body was hot and his vision was gradually stained with blood. In this blurry blood, Yin Ci moved and sat in front of him.
"Treating you worse? What a foolish thing to say."
Yin Ci sighed, then simply stretched out his hands and held his master's ears.
"Since the forbidden matter makes you so embarrassed, I might as well tell you what I think - Shi Jingzhi, I only have one idea. I don't want you to die."
After saying this, Yin Ci's eyes softened a little, as if he had finally let go of a heavy burden.
"Whether you consider me a disciple, a friend, or a senior, I have no right to interfere with your choice. It is really mean to persuade you to give up your memory just to fulfill your promise of 'living a hundred years'."
"If you give up your memories, I will give you another Huilian Mountain and let you find a human heart. If you want to take risks, I will do my best to give you a higher chance of survival."
"Choose, I'll protect you."
This guy is simply terrible, Shi Jingzhi thought.
Regardless of whether Yin Ci's words came from his inner thoughts or not, at this moment, he was reluctant to forget them.
The crazy fear was still there, but Shi Jingzhi's heart was beating more and more steadily. His chaotic thoughts gradually fell into place and turned into a warm current.
"I want to break the ban."
Shi Jingzhi heard himself say this.
"Otherwise, if I forget to return to Lianshan, I will also forget the agreement of 'exposing the past'... wouldn't that be a big loss?"
After saying that, Shi Jingzhi grabbed Yin Ci's hands that were holding him and pushed them down: "I am the only master you have in the world, so don't be disrespectful."
In the midst of despair, there was always a hand holding him, and he seemed to have gradually gotten used to living with that fear.
Yin Ci didn't know what expression to make for a moment. He looked at Shi Jingzhi, whose expression gradually calmed down, and finally revealed a helpless smile.
"Alright, I'll fight the enemy with the Bone Sweeping Sword later. Master, if you have nothing to do, take a closer look at it. Maybe after a couple of days, you can find it useful to you."