Night without Borders

Chapter 269: Find the Truth in Fireworks

The night sky is like an abyss, and the sky and the earth seem to be hanging upside down.

There was something in the air that didn't normally fall.

The red squirrel floated down from east to west as if it was wearing a safety umbrella. The blood kite connected by a thin line glowed in the thick night fog and was particularly eye-catching.

Qin Ming felt a chill all over his body. He threw something bloody casually and it fell from the sky.

He turned his head to look at Old Man Liu. In such a dark night, the latter's face was dim and unclear.

Old man Liu had dark eyes and looked up at the night sky.

Qin Ming wondered if the Inspirational Mouse had died. There was no sound at all.

After a moment, it floated down, wrapping its face with its fluffy tail, a typical escapist mentality.

"It's okay." Qin Ming picked it up.

However, the red squirrel had its eyes closed and had fainted from fright. What had it experienced?

Old Man Liu stared at the blood kite, his face turned pale, and he opened his mouth to say something.

"What's wrong?" Qin Ming asked in a low voice.

He responded: "It looks very similar to the kite I flew when I was very young, but it's probably not the same one."

Qin Ming used the black and white skylight to protect his body. He quickly untied the thin line wrapped around one of the red squirrel's paws, shook it, and said, "Wake up."

The Inspirational Mouse opened his eyes and saw the blood kite slowly falling down. It was not far in front of it. It squeaked, immediately rolled its eyes, and fainted again.

Isn't this too timid?

Qin Ming picked it up, slapped its little face twice, and then shook it hard to wake it up again.

However, this time he did not let the timid mouse face the kite.

"Squeak... Turtle!" It screamed, and finally uttered indistinct human language.

Qin Ming and Old Man Liu understood that it must be trying to call a ghost.

The kite fell to the ground, with some damage on it. The blood-stained parts glowed slightly, and a few lines of words were vaguely visible.

Qin Ming didn't dare to touch it. In his eyes, this thing was quite - evil!

Old man Liu was also frightened. The bloody kite was a shadow of his childhood, and he never expected to see it again when he was old.

Qin Ming looked at the red squirrel and said, "You don't have to be afraid. Just stand next to me. Tell me, what did you see in the night sky?"

The Inspirational Rat jumped onto Qin Ming's shoulder with a whoosh, away from the ground, as if it was still frightened by the broken kite.

It used its little paws to write in the air, describing what it saw.

"In the pitch-black night fog, I saw a bloody man rushing towards me. It was so terrifying..."

It had a look of fear on its face and its little paws were trembling.

However, it is understandable why it is so frightened. After all, if it is thrown alone into the deep night fog and suddenly sees such a scene, even an adult man would be scared.

And then... it was gone, it fainted.

Qin Ming looked down at the kite that looked quite old. Even though he was quite wary, he had to face it and carefully study the words on it.

"How many of the past are left? When I return, I am still a young man."

This line of words is consistent with the one seen in the thatched cottage in Kunlingshadi, using the same font, a very complicated Fengzhuan script.

Qin Ming could only discern the meaning of these words by relying on the imprints attached to them.

He was so shocked that he could not calm down.

He looked at the person next to him with a complicated expression. Could it really be this old man?

Old man Liu immediately shook his head and said, "Don't look at me. It says that I am still a young man after returning. Do you think I look like one?"

Qin Ming said: "Youth also refers to a pure heart and a vigorous and energetic state of mind."

Then he was startled and asked, "You also know this kind of ancient characters?"

Old Man Liu said, "What's the big deal? These characters were still in use thousands of years ago. I can probably recognize them all by guessing."

He looked unnatural because this style of kite was so similar to the one he flew back then, which he had naturally lost long ago.

"Are you flying the kite from your previous life in this life?" Qin Ming said.

"I left my name on it. It says Liu Mo." Old Man Liu shook his head.
"There are words on the back." Qin Ming used the Yin-Yang diagram to protect himself, released the light from the sky, and turned the kite over.

On the other side, there was more writing.

"I have spent half my life wandering in absurd dreams, I have never seen the gods or immortals. Why go to Yujing to seek the truth? I can find the true meaning among the fireworks."

Qin Ming was sure that this was what the owner of the hut left behind.

In fact, after careful observation, he thought that even the material was the same as that of the human-shaped lantern.

It looked thin and light, like paper, but Qin Ming and Xiao Wu both seriously suspected that it was made of human skin.

The high-level gods escaped from Yujing and tortured themselves by peeling off their skin and removing their bones in order to return to the past and walk the path of the human world again.

"Is this a blood kite from five hundred years ago? It's really ancient!" Old Man Liu sighed after knowing this.

Qin Ming really wanted to say, you two may be the same age.

The matter came to an end here. Qin Ming believed that even if Old Man Liu was not the real culprit, he had some connection with the case, or he might be a "smokescreen" that was pushed out.

Qin Ming asked: "What are you going to do with this kite? Will you take it home and treasure it?"

Old Liu glanced at him and said, "You are too mean. If I take you back, how can I sleep well in the future?"

Qin Ming said: "But, I guess it's probably coming for you."

Uncle Liu almost got angry and said, "Stop talking. The older you get, the less courageous you become. I want to spend my old age in peace!"

Qin Ming pondered and said, "If this has anything to do with you, it would be inappropriate to throw it away."

"It has nothing to do with me!" Old Man Liu looked at the Inspirational Mouse and said, "Why not tie it to this red squirrel and throw it back into the night sky."

"Squeak...squeak..." The red squirrel kept calling out and complaining, thinking that the old man was even more mean.

"You are crossing the river to pick up the rat and using it as a sacrifice to the heaven!" It wrote in the void.

"Why not bury it under the black and white tree? It's bright there and will make people feel more at ease." said Old Man Liu.

He was worried that if he was buried in a dark area and suddenly popped out, it would be really scary to death.

Qin Ming studied the blood on the kite. Although it glowed, its spirituality had long been exhausted and it could not be used as auspicious blood.

"How old are these two trees?" Qin Ming buried the ancient kite under the trees with his own hands.

Old man Liu said, "About the same age as me. Don't look at me like that. I heard that there were two old mulberry trees here before, but they died after a long time. Later, it was probably the seeds brought back by birds from the Black and White Mountain that made the Black and White Trees take root and sprout here."

Qin Ming looked up at the night sky and said, "Is there a possibility that the seeds fell from above?"

"Stop talking!" Old Man Liu quickly stopped him.

Upon hearing this, the Inspirational Mouse felt uncomfortable all over and wondered whether it would come to the tree to practice in the future.

Qin Ming handed a jar of spiritual substance and a copy of "Golden Cicada Sutra" to Old Man Liu. Then he thought about it and left a copy of "Dragon Snake Sutra" for him to pass on to the right person.

Afterwards, he asked Old Man Liu about the evil spirits and which areas in the mountains were suspicious.

"Well, there are a few places like that."

Regarding this aspect, Old Man Liu is considered an authority and knows the Black and White Mountains best. When the two of them went looking for spiritual substances, they relied on him for guidance.

He said, "Go inside and have a rest for the night." Qin Ming shook his head and agreed with him to go into the mountains at dawn.

The Inspirational Mouse jumped onto Old Man Liu's shoulder, staring at the two books of miraculous skills, unable to take his eyes away, and finally went into the yard with him.

That night, Qin Ming did not return to his earlier residence, but sat cross-legged under the black and white tree, meditating on the scriptures and gaining understanding of the Dharma.

He didn't expect that the village where he had lived for two years had so many strange things.

Soon, he calmed his mind, comprehended the scriptures he had practiced, and immersed himself in them.

A black and white yin-yang diagram appeared and rotated, covering him inside, causing him to be born in the clear and empty space beside the fire spring, with an unspeakable Taoist charm.

In the six-foot-square pool, the fire spring was shimmering and emitting red clouds. The black and white trees were swaying and rustling in the breeze.

Not long after, the Yin-Yang diagram outside Qin Ming's body and the black and white trees seemed to be connected, and they seemed to be resonating with each other.

A larger yin-yang pattern appeared, covering the two trees.

That night, Qin Ming's understanding of the "Black and White Sutra" reached a whole new level. It can be said that he understood it completely. The twelve pages of scriptures were densely packed with countless black and white figures, and there were no secrets left in front of him.

He truly understood the scriptures thoroughly.

The black and white light entangled and turned into a yin and yang fish, which no longer rotated at a high speed, but was constant and steady, turning slowly according to a unique rhythm.

However, its Taoist charm is more profound.

At the same time, black and white fish eyes appear in the yin-yang fish.

At this point, the Yin-Yang image comes alive, the real finishing touch, and spirituality, and a completely complete black and white Yin-Yang image appears.

Qin Ming blended into the nature of heaven and earth, as if he was connected with the entire black and white mountains, breathing with the mountains and rivers.

As night fell, Qin Ming stood up, as if wearing a black and white robe. His eyes were deep and his mind was natural.

“Who in the second realm cannot be killed?” he said calmly.

It was still dark when the red squirrel came. It bowed to Qin Ming in a very professional manner, then jumped onto a branch and began to practice martial arts here.

Soon, Old Man Liu walked out of the house and kicked the old yellow dog that followed him back.

An old man and a young boy went into the mountains, and the Inspirational Rat followed them stealthily.

Old man Liu led the way, like a living map.

Except for the high-level fire spring area where the old monsters live, he is familiar with other areas.

He brought Qin Ming to a tiankeng, which was pitch black and bottomless. After throwing a stone in, it took some time before the sound of falling into the water was heard.

Standing here will cause a slight tingling sensation, which means that the evil spirit is quite strong.

Qin Ming took out his fishing gear and controlled it with the light from the sky. After fishing for a long time, he felt a little disappointed. It was true that there was a strong evil spirit, but there was no object that could take shape.

For many outer saints, this is enough, and even if they collect it, they may not be able to refine it.

However, for Qin Ming, anything that was not the legendary heterogeneity was unacceptable.

In the second area, there are several bare stone mountains with traces of burning. When you approach here, you can feel a slight burning sensation.

"Thunder evil?" Qin Ming was surprised. This area seemed to be frequently struck by lightning, and some kind of evil spirit was very strong.

However, the evil here is not psychic and can only be said to be mediocre, but there are some skylight substances floating around here.

Qin Ming sat in silence for an hour, refining the heavenly light here and gained something.

Old Man Liu said, "There is one last place. If that doesn't work, then the only place left is the old demon's residence in the deepest part of the mountain."

However, the two of them couldn't get close to that kind of place.

This is a swamp, which looks particularly dark in the night fog.

After Old Man Liu arrived here, he stopped at the edge of the area. The red squirrel that followed him became even more frightened and felt as if it was pricked by a needle, and dared not move forward.

Qin Ming was surprised, thinking that there must be something extraordinary here.

"As expected of Black and White Mountain, it gave birth to something legendary!"

Although he hadn't seen it yet, Qin Ming intuitively felt that there was a terrible evil.

He explored the area and finally identified an area that was neither too big nor too small.

He just risked his life and started digging directly in the swamp.

If he hadn't been protected by the skylight, he would have turned into a mud monkey. In just a moment, he had dug a big hole.

On this day, Qin Ming dug the place full of holes. Some of the holes went hundreds of feet underground, and even the groundwater flowed back up, but he did not find the evil spirit he was looking for.

"Strange." He finished his work after it was very dark and gained nothing.

However, there is clearly a strong evil spirit in this area.

"Could it be that after it transformed, it became very spiritual and has been hiding from me?" Qin Ming frowned. This was the only explanation.

He was worried that the transformed evil would escape if he left, so he stayed and dug all night.

"Xiao Qin, take it easy." Old Man Liu took the Inspirational Mouse back.

When he arrived the next day, he was stunned to see a small abyss appear before his eyes.

"Could it be that the cicada has escaped, leaving only the evil spirit, and the evil spirit that took shape has already run away?" Qin Ming was suspicious and began to search nearby.

He still gained nothing that day.

On the third day, after Qin Ming searched all over the mountains and plains, he suddenly looked up at the night sky.

He thought it was absurd. Even if it was a transformed evil spirit, it wouldn't be able to fly in the air like a blood kite, right? But he still couldn't help but give it a try.

He threw out his fishing gear, and the gleaming fishhook cut through the night fog and disappeared into the dark sky.

The hook and the fishing line disappeared into the night and did not fall down. Instead, the thin line was straightened and stretched high into the sky.

Old man Liu's scalp tingled after seeing this scene.

The Inspirational Mouse was in a daze. How could he fish in the sky?

"Did you guess it right?" Qin Ming felt that it was far from the truth. This black and white mountain was very weird.

Half an hour later, the fishing line was tightened and there was a loud noise, as if a "hot fish" had been caught. Qin Ming's feet were almost lifted off the ground as he pulled upwards with force.

"This... is there really a 'giant' in the night sky?" Old Man Liu quickly ran over to help.

Qin Ming immediately practiced the "Wu Ji Jing". His feet seemed to be rooted in the ground. Earthy yellow energy was steaming. He pulled the fishing line downwards with force.

Old Man Liu said, "Songzai, climb up along the fishing line and see what it is."

The red squirrel bared its teeth at him. Wasn’t it enough to trick it once? Now he wanted to use it to build a nest?

Qin Ming burst out with the power of skylight and continued to exert force, gradually pulling the prey out of the night sky.

Faintly, he heard the sound of a chain breaking.

The night fog was thick and there was a lot of noise in the sky.

"Be sure not to catch one with disheveled hair..." said Old Man Liu.

"Uncle, please don't talk nonsense!" Qin Ming was quite afraid of his identity and worried that he might have spoken nonsense.

Old Liu followed suit and immediately changed his words: "Ah, then let's catch a fairy!"

The red squirrel had been imitating human language. At this moment, it pointed at the night sky excitedly and said incoherently, "Wow..."

Qin Ming stared into the depths of the rolling night fog, and the vague outline of his prey had already appeared.

(End of this chapter)