Chapter 0: 40. Youngster
Qin Gou’s eyes held no trace of jest, as if he were stating something that was only natural.
The Eternal Night Marquis Ancestral Spirit was utterly stunned, no longer concealing his shock and anger, “You, you young man, are truly unreasonable!”
“No, this is a very simple principle. Between a stranger like yourself and my old friend who has shared life and death with me for many years, who should you trust? Isn’t it obvious?”
Qin Gou said calmly, “Moreover, this time, she has solemnly guaranteed it to me.”
Upon hearing this, the Eternal Night Marquis Ancestral Spirit seemed to find it incredibly amusing, shaking his head and coldly stating, “If that’s the case, I have no intention of continuing this argument. You want me to leave? Then I shall.”
With that said.
The Eternal Night Marquis Ancestral Spirit truly seemed to turn and walk away without a shred of hesitation. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from Qin Gou’s sight.
However, Qin Gou merely paused for a second before stepping forward, immediately allowing his consciousness to appear behind the now-unseen Eternal Night Marquis Ancestral Spirit.
*Snap*
Placing a hand on the Eternal Night Marquis Ancestral Spirit’s shoulder, Qin Gou asked with amusement, “What are you still doing here?”
Qin Gou’s sea of consciousness was now so powerful that it could capture fragments of A Xi’s ‘private life’ to some extent, let alone this newcomer.
The Eternal Night Marquis Ancestral Spirit let out a sigh of despair, grinding his teeth, “It is I who underestimated you. But I was awakened by the enlightenment ritual. When the ritual ends, I will naturally disappear from your sea of consciousness.”
“You should have said so earlier.”
Qin Gou’s expression softened, “Didn’t I just want to ask you this very question from the beginning?”
The Ancestral Spirit let out a wry smile, “Young Eternal Night Marquis, truly a great talent has emerged.”
“Alright, I still have many things I don’t understand about this enlightenment ritual, and now, it should be considered… the real beginning?”
At this moment, as Qin Gou spoke, countless dazzling stars, large and small, suddenly appeared, dispelling the surrounding darkness. The stars stretched across the land, as if it were daytime.
Qin Gou clearly sensed that each ball of starlight gave him a completely different feeling, but he had no idea what each feeling represented, which one was better, or which one was slightly worse. The records in the Reverse Halberds clan’s ancient texts were also scarce.
Beside him, the Eternal Night Marquis Ancestral Spirit, who had taken it all in, muttered to himself, “Truly worthy of being a young man who can perceive my existence. The number of starlights is truly astonishing.”
“Fellow Daoist, look, what does this ball of starlight represent in terms of talent?” Qin Gou suddenly turned and asked the Ancestral Spirit for advice.
The Eternal Night Marquis Ancestral Spirit remained silent, his expression that of a mere spectator.
Qin Gou then casually pointed to another ball of starlight, asking again, “Brother Ancestral Spirit, what about this one?”
The Ancestral Spirit could finally not help but speak, “Young man, this is your own choice!”
“See? You’re already calling me ‘young man’! We’re on the same side, can you give me a hand?” Qin Gou acted as if he had completely forgotten that he had just classified the ‘Ancestral Spirit’ before him as a ‘stranger’.
The corner of the Ancestral Spirit’s mouth twitched, and he said decisively, “Impossible!”
“Is it because of how I treated you earlier?”
The Ancestral Spirit’s tone was undeniable, “I cannot assist with this matter.”
“Can you really not help at all?” Qin Gou mused.
The Ancestral Spirit merely shook his head without speaking, seemingly too lazy to continue.
“Fine!”
“I’ll give you a punch!”
Without any warning, Qin Gou shouted, launching a completely unreasonable, sudden punch straight at the Ancestral Spirit’s face.
“How dare you, scoundrel!”
The Eternal Night Marquis Ancestral Spirit was caught off guard and pushed back, extremely enraged. But as he looked closely, he realized Qin Gou had not pursued and was instead intently examining the sea of stars.
“You…”
“This Eternal Night Marquis enlightenment is indeed a bit peculiar, requiring some kind of choice. And the reason why you appeared in my sea of consciousness during this talent enlightenment ritual must be for your own purpose. Otherwise, are you really just here to observe?”
Turning back again, Qin Gou said in a deep voice, “And after thinking it over, the few things you can do at this moment are nothing more than these…”
“Are you here to guide the junior? To help me choose a powerful talent? You have definitively denied this, and besides, not everyone will completely trust you.”
“Then are you here to maintain the stability of the ritual, or are you yourself an important component of this talent enlightenment? When I suddenly attacked you just now, that sea of stars did not even vibrate in the slightest. Of course, a Reverse Halberd clan member would definitely not dare to truly attack you with such a test.”
“If that’s the case, in a choice where your presence or absence does not affect the entire process, what is the significance of your appearance? In fact, it would be fairer if you didn’t appear at all from the beginning. Why specifically come here and say that you are not here to help? That’s right, under normal circumstances, most previous Eternal Night Marquis clan members couldn’t perceive your existence, right? This leaves only one possibility: you are not here to help me choose something, but to monitor, prevent, or even, when necessary, stop the ‘young man’ from making certain choices! Even now, with the Eternal Night Marquis clan withered to this extent…”
Following that, Qin Gou easily appeared before him again, his gaze sharp, his fierce gaze forcing the Ancestral Spirit to instinctively avoid eye contact… It is worth mentioning that there had never been an Eternal Night Marquis before who had awakened their talent so late after reaching Elder Qin’s powerful cultivation.
“Youngster, are you truly the ‘Eternal Night Marquis Ancestral Spirit’?”
…
After a long wait, the cave dwelling’s main entrance finally began to open.
Gong Wumeng and the others immediately entered, only to see both Qin Gou and Gong Yu with pensive expressions.
“Aunt, Fellow Daoist Qin, I have so many questions now! What’s wrong with you two? Was the talent enlightenment smooth just now?”
“I encountered an Eternal Night Marquis Ancestral Spirit during the previous ritual…” Qin Gou was about to explain, but before he could finish, he was captivated by Gong Wumeng’s overly excited demeanor.
“Fellow Daoist Qin also met the Ancestral Spirit? Wumeng did too back then!”
Gong Wumeng asked with surprise and joy, “Did Fellow Daoist Qin communicate with the Ancestral Spirit? Back then, Wumeng’s biggest regret was not being able to properly consult the Ancestral Spirit. Of course, it wasn’t that Wumeng wasn’t proactive, but the Ancestral Spirit seemed to have no intention of paying much attention to Wumeng! I wonder if I’ll ever have the chance to see the Ancestral Spirit again.”
“What’s so difficult about that? If you really want to see him, you can do so anytime now.” Qin Gou chuckled.
Gong Wumeng’s little face was filled with disbelief, and she quickly asked, “Is that true? Did the Ancestral Spirit tell Fellow Daoist Qin some secret method? Where can Wumeng see the Ancestral Spirit again?”
Qin Gou skillfully took out his Soul Capturing Bottle, revealing the dumbfounded ‘Eternal Night Marquis Ancestral Spirit’ within.
“He’s here.”
