The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

In the Bodhi Courtyard, fallen leaves covered the steps.

Tangxi Xue and Yunmian stood side by side outside the door, a string of copper bells hanging from the eaves. The wind passed silently, and so did the bells.

Saint Feiming seemed to have been forgotten by this world, not even disturbed by the Bodhi leaf that fell on his shoulder.

He lowered his head slightly, his fingertips twirling a string of old Bodhi prayer beads, one bead at a time, his movements so slow they were almost imperceptible.

The prayer beads were smooth and warm from being rubbed, and had a faint wooden sheen.

His eyes were empty and lifeless, like two stagnant pools of water, reflecting neither the light of the sky nor human figures.

Yunmian stood outside the door.

"Fei Ming has now been separated from this world."

Her words were carried away by the wind, and Sheng Feiming showed no reaction.

His world was as silent as the deep sea, so silent that not even the slightest sound of the wind rustling through his clothes could be heard.

The signs of decay have already seeped into the very marrow of the body.

First, his sense of taste vanished, then his sense of smell disappeared, and then light and sound abandoned him one after another.

Now he is like a withered leaf sealed in amber, clearly still in the world, yet no longer able to touch it at all.

Tang Xixue remained silent.

She lifted her skirt and stepped over the stone threshold, smoothed by the passage of time.

Beneath my feet lay a thick carpet of fallen Bodhi leaves, each step producing a soft, rustling sound, like time whispering in my ear.

She walked step by step to him, her clothes brushing against the fallen leaves.

He still didn't realize it.

Tang Xixue slowly squatted down in front of him, gently placing her hands on her knees and looking directly into his eyes.

His eyelashes were long, casting a small shadow under his eyes when they drooped down. His face was thin and pale, like over-fired porcelain that would shatter at the slightest touch.

"Not clear."

She called his name.

no respond.

Sheng Feiming remained seated quietly, his fingertips twirling a Buddhist rosary, a faint smile playing on his lips, as gentle and serene as ever.

It was as if he was simply immersed in the scriptures, ready to look up at any moment and respond to her with a smile.

But he can't anymore.

He can't hear anymore.

We can't see it anymore.

Tang Xixue reached out her hand, her fingertips hovering just an inch from his cheek, but she hesitated to strike.

Her hands were trembling, a very subtle tremor that Yunmian wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't been standing so close.

"Weaving."

Yunmian's voice came from behind.

"I'll do it."

"No need, Sister Yunmian, I can manage."

Tang Xixue withdrew her hand and took out a jade bottle containing spiritual spring water from her sleeve.

The moment she uncorked the bottle, a wisp of clear, refreshing spiritual energy dissipated.

She held the back of his hand.

Those fingers were icy cold, with distinct knuckles, as if they were holding a piece of cold jade.

Saint Feiming's fingertips trembled suddenly.

He sensed it.

In this boundless darkness, in this unfathomable silence, someone took his hand.

It was warm and soft, carrying a familiar scent that was etched deep into his soul even after he lost his five senses.

He did not dodge.

Tang Xixue brought the bottle opening close to his lips, her movements slow and careful.

The spring water touched his chapped lips, seeping in little by little. Sheng Feiming obediently opened his lips, his Adam's apple bobbing gently.

Then, his lips moved slightly.

No sound.

There wasn't even a whisper; only the lips moved silently.

The air currents brushed against her fingertips, as light as a feather.

But she saw it clearly.

He was saying...

"Sister Zhi."

In that instant, Tang Xixue's eyes suddenly reddened.

He can't hear anything, he can't see anything.

But he remembered the warmth of her palm and the way she touched him.

In this void, he recognized her with his last bit of touch.

"Don't be afraid."

Tang Xixue lowered her head, opened his palm, and placed her fingertips on his cool palm, writing words stroke by stroke.

She wrote slowly and with great effort, each stroke seemingly meant to be etched into his very bones.

Don't be afraid.

Will, be, up, come, of.

Saint Feiming's eyelashes trembled slightly, and the string of Bodhi prayer beads stopped at his fingertips, without being moved again.

Tang Xixue raised her head, her eyes still red, and looked at Yunmian.

"Sister Yunmian, the one you mentioned earlier who tied the bell... is me?"

Yunmian nodded.

"It's you."

She walked over, her gaze falling on Sheng Feiming's pale, paper-like face.

"He interfered with your causal chain, defying fate and thus incurring the backlash of the heavens. The causal chain in this world is like a net; pulling one thread affects the whole thing. He moved one thread for you, and now he has to bear the weight of the entire net collapsing."

She extended her finger and lightly touched the string of Buddhist prayer beads in his palm.

"The reason why the five signs of decay have not severed his sense of touch for so long... is because of this."

Tangxi Xue looked down.

She recognized the string of Buddhist prayer beads.

That was a gift she gave him when she was young.

At that time, she did it casually; to her, it was just a string of ordinary bodhi seeds, not worth mentioning.

Upon closer inspection, however, one can see that a faint, ethereal light flows between the wood grain of the prayer beads, as if moonlight has been shattered and incorporated into the wood grain.

She was all too familiar with that light.

That was... her own scent.

"A wisp of your earthly soul is hidden within this string of Buddhist beads."

"This is both his last connection with the mortal realm and a karmic entanglement. You need to retrieve the Earth Soul for the backlash from Heaven to end."

"So, all these years, it has been Fei Ming who has been protecting it."

Previously, the Buddhist light surrounding Sheng Feiming blocked all detection, and it was only now, when he could no longer hold on, that the existence of the Earth Soul was sensed.

Tang Xixue reached out and approached the Bodhi prayer beads that Sheng Feiming never parted with.

A Bodhi seed lit up.

Another one.

The third one.

The radiance shines like stars, one after another awakening within the prayer beads.

The light was not dazzling, but rather like the shimmering ripples on a spring stream.

They broke free from the prayer beads and floated in mid-air.

First, it gathered above her palm, forming a slowly rotating ball of light.

That was her earth spirit.

This wisp of earth spirit had been hidden in Sheng Feiming's Buddhist beads for too long, becoming mellow and serene from the scent of sandalwood and scriptures.

The Earth Soul merged into the Heart of Azure Snow and returned to the Spirit Sea of ​​Tangxi Snow.

The three souls and seven spirits were finally complete.

The next moment, Sheng Feiming slowly opened his mouth.

"Sister... Sister..."

His voice was so hoarse it was almost broken.

It was the first call he made after traversing a long, silent darkness.