"The path must be walked despite the price. But what if someone else pays the price?" Li Qiye sighed and murmured to himself while gazing at the hills ahead.
"Fe-fellow... Fellow..." Li Xian turned red, unable to address Li Qiye.
"Call me Young n.o.ble then." Li Qiye smiled.
Li Xian heaved a sigh of relief and said: "Young n.o.ble, what price do you speak of?"
"When igniting someone else’s desire, one’s own is also ignited. Desire is like a beautiful gemstone, the more clarity, the more you want to take a closer look."
"Desire matters that much?" Li Xian asked.
"Normal people’s desires don’t, but they can be exploited." Li Qiye answered.
"That makes sense." Li Xian said.
"When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes back at you." Li Qiye patted Li Xian’s shoulder.
"Then it’s best to not have any?" Li Xian asked.
"Who doesn’t have desires?" Li Qiye chuckled.
"Like a monk or Buddha." Li Xian responded.
Li Qiye shook his head and said: "When a mortal wants to become a monk, that’s desire. Wanting to become an enlightened monk, that’s desire, the same for seeking Buddhahood."
"Right." Li Xian understood the logic.
"Then what should we do if desires are ever-present?" He asked.
"Desire, in and of itself, is not a good or bad thing. It exists regardless of its moral nature." Li Qiye said.
"And people aren’t made of rocks and stones." Li Xian murmured.
"As long as there is life, there will be desire. The key is to not be enslaved by them, you must regulate it instead. With enough control, desires will become your good friends and teachers, driving you forward and propelling your growth." Li Qiye said.
"Regulation." Li Xian appreciated the lesson.
"It’s getting dark, let’s go back." Li Qiye glanced upward and said.
Li Xian stopped thinking and gave chase.
***
When they were back in Li Qiye’s courtyard, Li Xian was visibly hesitating.
"What’s the matter?" Li Qiye asked.
"Young n.o.ble, our clan... isn’t quite peaceful at night." He smiled wryly.
"How so?" Li Qiye asked.
"I would say that it’s haunted." Li Xian answered.
"Is that so?" Li Qiye smiled.
"I don’t know for sure since I can’t find anything. Don’t worry though, you just need to close the door and let it be, it doesn’t harm anyone." Li Xian said.
"Since how long ago?" Li Qiye seemed interested.
"Not too long." Li Xian pondered before answering: "A few years or so, certainly not during my childhood. It started at night but wasn’t malicious, more like a ghost playing around."
"What kind of ghost is it?" Li Qiye stared at him.
Li Qiye’s stare was scarier than a ghost to Li Xian right now.
"Perhaps an ancestor who misses the mortal world, that’s all." Li Xian smiled wryly.
"It seems rather plausible considering how many of us died since the start of Immortals Slaughtered. Those who still had corpses were buried in the ancestral cemetery so there was a lot of yin energy there. Since I’m the only survivor, my yang energy cannot overcome the yin energy, so having some haunting matters is normal, don’t you think, Young n.o.ble?" He continued.
"And that’s why you became used to it, thinking that it might be some ancestors who couldn’t bear to let you be alone in this world." Li Qiye patted the youth’s shoulder again.
"That’s exactly it... do you think I’m naive?" Li Xian turned red.
"Not quite because you are all alone, it’s normal for you to miss your seniors and ancestors. Given your circ.u.mstances, having ghosts as friends isn’t a bad thing." Li Qiye smiled.
"When you’re alone, Young n.o.ble, you wouldn’t mind having ghosts as companions?" Li Xian couldn’t help but ask.
"You are a cultivator, do you think ghosts are real?" Li Qiye laughed after hearing this.
"Well..." Li Xian took his time before conceding: "Perhaps, perhaps not."
"If ghosts are real, then there will be more ghosts than people. How many ghosts have you heard of or successfully cultivated? If living people can cultivate, so can them." Li Qiye said.
"I have heard something special about Primal Yin Immortal Ghost. He’s different." Li Xian said.
"Remember, there are no true ghosts in this world. If there are, they are lies." Li Qiye said.
"Lies." Li Xian thought about it and shook his head: "Young n.o.ble, it’s only me and the servants here, they are mortals and cannot joke around."
"Could still be something else other than ghosts." Li Qiye glanced at the ancestral cemetery over yonder."
"Hmm, even if this is some trickery, we have nothing valuable any longer, what’s the point?" Li Xian said.
"If that’s the case, then let’s just go with your theory, the clan being haunted." Li Qiye smiled.
"Don’t scare me like that." Li Xian staggered backward.
"Don’t you want to be right?" Li Qiye smirked.
When it came from Li Qiye, it sounded ominous and not just the ancestors coming to play with him.