What if I don't want to ascend to immortality?

Chapter 11 Obsession
The food had gotten cold by the end.

It wasn't just because Sister Lin needed time to bring the little dodder back from the underground shelter, but also because the rules of this era were far more complicated than Han Jie had guessed.

Demons are not like mountain spirits or wild monsters; when they die, they vanish into nothingness, leaving behind no treasures like skin, bones, or demon cores. Therefore, in Han Jie's world of slaying demons and monsters, most cultivators are not as enthusiastic as he is. Furthermore, no organization or force would step in to manage this mess, and any sect willing to summon its disciples for training to descend the mountain and wipe out any passing demons would be enough to make the local people thank their lucky stars.

That's why Han Jie is still used to killing and leaving without delaying the pursuit of the next wave of demons.

Unexpectedly, here, after the beating, I still have to give a statement.

He had no patience for this pointless process and quickly stepped aside to watch Meng Qingtong demonstrate her proficiency.

The writing filled several pages, and by the time it was finally signed and sealed, it took longer than killing that monstrous beast.

Sensing his displeasure, Meng Qingtong came over with a forced smile as soon as the investigator from the Ling'an Bureau left, saying, "Actually, it wouldn't normally be this complicated. It's my fault; I didn't expect you to be so capable, so I applied for the Ling'an Bureau's cleanup support just in case. They came with their help, only to find it was over, so they had to ask about the situation before they could go back and explain."

Han Jie looked at the battlefield. Municipal workers had already come to deal with the damaged ground. Judging from the skill of the machine operators, this level of attack was probably commonplace for them.

Ordinary people strive to live their lives well and offer help to spiritualists when needed. There is no huge gap or barrier between them, just like soldiers protecting a city and people cultivating crops... What he sees before him may be the world he once dreamed of but never knew how to achieve.

If troublesome rules are the cornerstone of such a world, then he is willing to endure them.

"You still haven't told me why the Two-Headed Flying Leopard is so much stronger than before." On the way back, Han Jie picked up the question that had been on his mind before the battle.

"Huh?" Meng Qingtong turned to look at him, her eyes filled with undisguised admiration. "What's so great about you? You still managed to kill me in a second. If I'd known you were so fast that the security cameras couldn't even capture it clearly, I would have saved the money and treated you to something nice."

"Can the claim of being related to spirit artifacts cover up the truth?"

She hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Once or twice isn't a big problem. This place is far from the city center, and the psychics stationed here aren't that concerned about details. I'll take this opportunity to contact my senior sister nearby and get you a formal psychic identity. She still owes me a favor..."

Han Jie did not give up his previous doubts. After taking a few steps, he asked again, "Tell me about the Jingbei."

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but… the memory fragments I obtained that time were very few, and they’ve all faded away with time. I’m afraid you won’t believe me if I just make things up. I’m someone who values ​​credibility a lot.”

“You say it. I believe you,” he replied calmly.

He could roughly sense what kind of person Meng Qingtong was. Otherwise, he would have left long ago and found his own way to settle down in this world.

The girl might use some rhetoric to get him to cooperate, but she shouldn't hide or fabricate the information contained within it.

"When I learned the true name of the 'Jingbei,' I saw... many parents and children." Meng Qingtong's speech slowed down considerably, as if she was suppressing some emotion. "They cooked delicious food for the children, let them play with fun things, and no matter how wrong the children were, they tolerated them without any limits, even indulging them..."

“I have no memory of my parents at all. I’ve lived in an orphanage since I was old enough to understand things. I had no experience, so at first I didn’t think there was anything unusual about those fragments. I was even… well… a little envious.” She rubbed her nose with her thumb to hide the embarrassment that flashed across her face. “Later, I realized that kind of behavior is called spoiling.”

"spoil?"

“Yes. The boundless love that parents, grandparents, and maternal grandparents have for their children, under special circumstances and the convergence of spiritual energy, has turned into a monstrous creature.” Meng Qingtong’s eyes were somewhat melancholy. “The monstrous creature’s high level of danger is not because of its physical strength, but because… it is always born in small families where there is an environment of excessive pampering, and its first target is everyone except the children. Perhaps that is why it is called a patricide in official records.”

Han Jie sighed.

No wonder the two-headed flying leopard was a level weaker in his era. In today's world, both the population size and the proportion of spoiled children are far greater than in his time.

Before he was six years old, the only thing he could recall that was close to being spoiled was that his mother secretly hid half a sugar cake for him.

For more than a hundred years afterward, it seemed that nothing was sweeter than that half-eaten sugar pancake...

Han Jie looked towards the entrance of the apartment building. Sister Lin was standing there, clearly having just left the shelter. She had her arms wrapped around the little rabbit standing in front of her, and for a moment, Han Jie was somewhat dazed, unable to tell who the real parasitic ghost was.

A thought flashed through his mind, and he said softly, "Did the jackal turn around earlier because it noticed the brat's presence?"

Meng Qingtong thought for a moment and said, "It's more likely that they discovered Sister Lin."

"Ok?"

“Killing one’s parents, killing one’s parents, the instinct of the jackal should be to actively attack the source of pampering.” She sighed softly. “Looking at it this way, I guessed right. The trigger point for this jackal to take shape was Sister Lin. There are fewer residents and even fewer children in the suburbs, so the source of pampering for the jackal is insufficient, which is why its strength is below average.”

Han Jie gave a cold snort, and said with a hint of sarcasm, "And she has no blood relatives, yet she spoils them to the point of giving birth to a demon, all for the sake of another demon."

"So, it's not that correct emotions don't necessarily mean they're wrong." Meng Qingtong lowered her voice so the unusual mother and daughter who had approached couldn't hear. "The question is, how do we correct such mistakes?"

"You really don't mind the trouble." Let him choose; this illusory dependence should be severed with a single stroke.

Sensing his intention, Meng Qingtong smiled and said, "Aren't you curious why Little Rabbit is different from ordinary demons?"

Han Jie tightened his lips and didn't answer. He did hate trouble, but he was also genuinely curious.

She raised her eyebrows smugly, "Besides, people who help others solve problems shouldn't be too afraid of trouble."

"I'm afraid."

"It's okay, I'll handle the troublesome stuff." She puffed out her chest, walked towards Sister Lin, and waved her hand with a smile. "Alright, alright, it's all done, we can eat in peace now."

During the meal, Meng Qingtong was the one who talked the most. Han Jie was a quiet person, and he was hungry, so he didn't want to use his mouth for anything else. Moreover, he could tell that the girl was trying to subtly probe for information.

Unfortunately, the target she was trying to find out was also rather introverted and taciturn, and in extremely poor mental condition. By the time she finished her deliberately delayed lunch, the silly little rabbit had revealed more useful information.

Han Jie didn't want to take it to heart, after all, there was still boundless information in his sea of ​​consciousness waiting for him to slowly sort through and integrate, so as to liberate his divine sense and restore his strength. Unfortunately, for a cultivation genius, photographic memory is the most basic of the basics; if he heard something, he would naturally remember it.

The woman who voluntarily became a registered single mother is named Lin Sisi. Her hometown is not in this small town, but in Suiyin City, a satellite city in the southern part of the Dongding District.

She worked hard and was admitted to a university in Dongding City, where she met Qiao Mu, the man in the photo. Shortly after graduating, she became Qiao Mu's girlfriend. Then, for reasons unknown, she left her boyfriend and came to this remote suburb, not even going home to see her parents, and lived a lonely life.

Until, the little rabbit appeared beside her.

The words didn't reveal much information, but once combined with the memory fragments carried by Tu Ba's real name, a lot could be deduced.

While browsing clothes at a nearby small supermarket, Meng Qingtong compared the price difference between online shopping and in-store shopping, and muttered to herself, "I don't quite understand. Sister Lin clearly still loves that man, she even fantasizes about having a child with him, so why doesn't she go back to him?"

Han Jie watched as she held up her clothes to her chest, pondered for a moment, and said, "Perhaps she's the one who was dumped?"

"Be a little more careful with your wording. Words like 'abandon' are outdated, they've been around for over a hundred years," she whispered a reminder, then added, "It probably isn't a normal breakup. Tsk, this is a bit troublesome. I've never been in a relationship before, so I don't have much experience in this area."

"Lin Sisi's commission fee has been settled. You also said that the little rabbit not only poses no threat to her, but also nourishes and protects her. So, what's the point of continuing?" Han Jie said calmly. "You took 200,000 yuan to open my sect, and then didn't care about anything afterward. This time, you only took 500 yuan plus a meal. Why are you offering after-sales service?"

"Let's talk after I've negotiated the price." Meng Qingtong finally selected the two outfits and one pair of shoes that offered the best value for money, and then she mustered her energy to engage in a lively negotiation with the shop assistant.

He was wearing one outfit, carrying the other one, and looked at the dressing mirror next to him. The reflection in it was no longer a shadow that was out of place in this world.

He was certain that the outfit suited him well. Although the main color was black, and Meng Qingtong had complained that he looked gloomy when he asked for it, now that he was wearing it, all the girls passing by would stare at him. One of the bolder ones even took a couple of pictures of him from the side, thinking he wouldn't notice.

A faint sense of pleasure welled up in his heart.

But it wasn't out of boredom or vanity at the attention of women; rather, it was because since leaving his sect and those senior sisters who were willing to occasionally take care of his daily life, no one had ever taken such good care of him.

He knew Meng Qingtong's ambitions, but observing her way of dealing with people, he didn't think it was anything worth caring about.

At least, when the jackal swooped down menacingly, the girl was genuinely worried that this veteran, who couldn't even handle "Flying," would be caught off guard and suffer a humiliating defeat. Otherwise, given her cautious nature—setting up a golden light shield array even to catch a small jackal—would she have hastily rushed in for a head-on confrontation?

What's even more interesting is that after witnessing his stunning performance of instantly killing the monstrous beast, this girl still managed to compare prices and haggle over prices when she brought him to buy clothes, believing that saving money is the most important thing.

"Alright, let's go." Meng Qingtong turned back with a big smile, stuffed the shopping receipt into her backpack, and said triumphantly, "I saved another twenty yuan, which is about the same as two cups of milk tea."

Han Jie was not someone who could be easily fooled. After taking only a few steps, he said in a deep voice, "You've already recorded the real name 'Tu Ba,' so why are you still wasting your time on the two of them?"

"Don't you think the little rabbit is actually a very worthwhile subject of study?" Meng Qingtong slowed her pace and asked softly, "What if, hypothetically speaking, more and more dodders like the little rabbit appear in the future?"

"You want to find out what makes this dodder so special?"

“Yes.” Her tone was unusually firm. “Besides, Sister Lin is a good person. Only when good people live better and better lives will the world become a better place. Something’s wrong with her right now, don’t tell me you didn’t notice.”

“She has a knot in her heart.” Han Jie paused for a moment, then said, “But in this world, there are probably countless people with knots in their hearts.”

"If it involves evil spirits, we'll help them if we see one," she said nonchalantly. "We can't just shrug and do nothing because we have limited manpower, can we?"

"So, what are you planning to do next?"

Meng Qingtong took out her phone, habitually glanced at her account balance, and muttered, "I'm just waiting for you to say something. If you agree to cooperate with me, I'll definitely not do anything else but focus on settling you in first."

Han Jie stepped out of the mall, gazing at the clear blue sky without a single cloud, and remained silent in thought.

He had seen too many landscapes, but had never stopped to take a closer look even once.

He has met too many people, but he has never truly gotten to know any of them.

He tried to fill the bottomless pit of hatred in his heart by ending hordes of demons, but those ashes only made his soul emptier.

Seeing that he didn't answer and was lost in thought, Meng Qingtong glanced at him every now and then. After a few glances, she couldn't help but say, "Han Jie, I'm not planning to tie you down completely. Just think of it as a job interview, give me a trial period, and work with me for a while. If I perform well, I'll make it a permanent position, okay? I'll take care of all your needs, and I'll handle your identity issue. If you like killing demons, I'll find a place to break the formation and help you catch them. Once you catch one, I'll lead the charge, and if you can't beat it, you can step in. See? It saves you a lot of trouble."

"Why me?"

“First, it’s a matter of fate; second, it saves money; third, it looks good; and…” She lowered her head slightly, looking somewhat sad, “Geniuses are all very busy, they don’t trust me, so why would they be willing to play along with my ‘fooling around’?”

Han Jie said slowly, "You have an easier path to take. Don't forget, you are also a genius. Spiritual practitioners should cultivate their minds; being too attached is not necessarily a good thing."

“I don’t have parents,” Meng Qingtong said earnestly. “It was the kindness of this world that raised me. People should be grateful. As long as I can make this world a better place, I’m not afraid of any difficult path.”

Han Jie turned to look into her eyes, his gaze softening.

"Then help me find a place to stay today."

(End of this chapter)