From the end of the world

Chapter 628 Spirit Qilin 1
Under Yuchi's tense gaze, Xiaowan first took two or three steps back to clear space in front of her, then held up the jade pendant with both hands, making a gesture as if she were offering it to something intangible.

Then, as if held by an unseen hand, the jade pendant floated up from the small bowl's hand, slowly flew forward, and then hovered in the air about two meters away from the small bowl.

A ray of light emanated from the jade pendant. It was white, the same color as when Xiao Wan used it to communicate with the dead in the past. Although it was light, it seemed like a flowing, solid substance, not spreading in all directions, but rather converging inwards, gradually forming the shape of a human body.

Before long, the white light wove together the silhouette of a tall, slender woman. Yu Chi stared intently at the gradually forming white light, his fists clenched tightly. Soon, even the facial details of the white light figure became clearly visible, revealing soft, feminine features.

A young female spirit, dressed in a uniform of the Impermanent One, with long flowing hair and a beautiful appearance, appeared before us.

Judging from the expression on Yu Chi's face, this woman is indeed Qilin.

Who could have imagined that I would meet the Great Impermanence Qilin in person by evening, after a life-or-death battle with the Great Demon Qilin at noon?

While feeling deeply saddened, I recalled the story of Qilin's life that I had heard from Yuchi.

Although Qilin had reached the pinnacle of Luoshan, his origins were not noble; he was merely a distant relative of a branch family of demon hunters. Yuchi, on the other hand, came from the main branch of this family. He met and fell in love with Qilin, a descendant of a branch family, by chance, and they became inseparable lovers.

However, this family is an evil force that acquires powerful demon-hunting talents by hybridizing with demons, and has a custom of forcing talented women in the family to breed with demons to improve the family's bloodline. Due to his close relationship with Yuchi, a descendant of the main family, some extra attention was focused on Qilin, a distant relative from the branch family who was not expected by anyone. His outstanding demon-hunting talent was also discovered by chance, and he subsequently became the target of the elders of the main family.

As a child, Yuchi could not have rescued the Qilin from his parents and elders. If his family had not offended the Old Fist God and caused the destruction of the entire clan, the Qilin would probably have remained in the dungeon, spending the rest of its life as a breeding ground for monsters.

Perhaps it was this horrific event that caused Qilin's heart to become severely distorted, turning him into a violent and evil extreme superhuman who viewed weakness as the original sin.

Under our watchful eyes, the white-glowing Qilin slowly opened its eyes, revealing a pair of sharp and menacing eyes as sharp as steel knives.

“Qilin…” Yuchi called out her name in a trembling voice.

Since the jade pendant could summon the Qilin, it was enough to demonstrate the Qilin's feelings in its previous life. Just as Yuchi had a deep love for the Qilin, the Qilin should have had a similar love for Yuchi.

Her gaze first fell on Yu Chi, and the sharpness in her eyes vanished as if by illusion, replaced by a soft and gentle look.

"Yuchi?" she mumbled as if she had just woken up.

Upon hearing the other's voice, tears welled up in Yu Chi's eyes. He involuntarily took two steps forward, calling out the Qilin's name again, and reaching out his hand as if to touch it.

Unfortunately, his hands were unable to touch the Qilin's body. The latter was like a phantom, ethereal and intangible, unable to interact with any real-world figures.

The small bowl's ability to communicate with spirits merely allows Yuchi to interact with the Qilin, who is the deceased. Essentially, it's no different from a dream presentation, except it can occur in the real world. If it could freely interact with the real world at will, it wouldn't be a dialogue with the dead, but rather a temporary resurrection of the dead.

The Qilin first observed its surroundings, then looked at its own hands, and seemed to understand its current state.

“I see… I never thought I’d be able to communicate with spirits. It’s an incredible state. Even without a body, or even a soul, I can think clearly…” She seemed to be savoring her state. “No… not exactly clear-headed, it’s like being in a dream, a dream where I know I’m dreaming…”

She smiled as she spoke, "Although people in the past often compared death to a long sleep, no one ever said that this sleep includes dreams... However, this state probably can't last very long. Once you realize you're dreaming, it means you're not far from waking up. Did you call me out to ask me some questions?"

"Qilin...is that you?" Yuchi murmured.

The Qilin replied softly, "Yes, it's me, the real deal."

Whether it was because she was dreaming or because she simply didn't show her negative emotions directly on her face, the legendary wicked Qilin looked like a pretty and easy-going virtuous woman.

Yu Chi opened his mouth, as if he had countless things to say, yet for a moment he couldn't utter a word. It was as if too many words were stuck in his throat, preventing him from speaking. "This is truly outrageous; have you even forgotten how to speak?"

Qilin first offered a criticism, then gave a helpless smile, before looking at us and saying, "Then, I'll trouble you to speak for him. Is there anything you want to ask me?"

"Ms. Qilin, you were killed by the Old Fist God, right?" Xiaowan asked.

“Yes, that’s right.” Qilin nodded directly. “You are my summoner, aren’t you… Is this a secret? When I fought my master, there was such a big commotion, surely no one wouldn’t be unaware of it.”

“This is common knowledge. What we really want to know is whether you hate Old Fist God,” Xiao Wan said. “Mr. Number Five… your husband, Yu Chi, still remembers that Old Fist God killed you, and he wants to kill Old Fist God with his own hands to avenge you.”

"Huh? Kill my master to avenge me?" Qilin was stunned.

As if he had finally regained his ability to speak, Yu Chi looked at Qilin's reaction and said, "...Don't you believe I can avenge you? Don't worry, I've already mastered the method to kill the Old Fist God. Although it requires many fragments of divine seals, but..."

"Stop, stop, stop..." Qilin waved his hands repeatedly, "Although I don't know what you mean by the fragments of the divine seal, didn't Master explain the whole story of my death to you?"

Her attitude suggests that she didn't seem to have much negative emotion about her own death, and she harbored no hatred or hostility towards the old Fist God who killed her. This is clearly the opposite of what Yuchi claimed, that "Qilin must have died with his eyes open in disgrace," and it's easy to observe.

Yu Chi seemed to be caught up in his emotions, and said furiously, "That bastard Old Fist God didn't show the slightest remorse after killing you. He thought you were a morbid martial arts fanatic like him, and even said that he was just careless and that you died a worthy death at his hands... I will never forgive him!"

"That does sound like something Master would say," Qilin commented casually.

Seeing her nonchalant reaction, I asked, "Qilin, don't you hate the Old Fist God?"

Upon hearing this, the Qilin first carefully observed and sized me up, then showed an admiring expression and said, "Are you the Great Impermanence who was born after me? You look very young, but your power is quite strong. If I have the chance, I would really like to have a match with you."

"We've already clashed, though it was with another version of you..." I thought to myself, but didn't boast about it. The Great Impermanent Qilin's fighting power is likely even greater than the Great Demon Qilin's, and even if I defeated the latter, it wouldn't be a reason for me to surpass the former.

Then, Qilin answered my question: "I don't hate Master. As for Master saying that I 'died in a worthy way'... well, I guess that's half an acknowledgment."

"—What?" Yu Chi was stunned.

Qilin looked at Yuchi again and continued, "So, Yuchi, you really don't need to avenge me, because I never had that kind of hatred in the first place."

Yu Chi said urgently, "This... how could such a thing be? Do you think I'm no match for the Old Fist God, and that I'll surely die if I clash with him, so you're trying to deceive me again?"

“I do believe you are no match for Master… but you are a master of formations, and formations exist to manipulate immense power that one’s own physical strength cannot reach. You are so confident that you can kill Master, so there might actually be something going on?” Qilin said. “In any case, I am not lying to you. Besides, I cannot lie in my current state.”

"What do you mean by 'you can't lie'?" Yuchi pressed.

“The deceased who communicates through the small bowl will answer questions unconditionally. They will not lie or conceal anything,” I said.

The two deceased individuals Xiaowan communicated with in the afterlife last time were clearly not fully conscious, forcing a dialogue regardless of their positions. The current Qilin, however, is much more lucid, almost indistinguishable from a normal person. It's unclear whether this is due to Xiaowan's improved ability after correctly understanding her psychic powers, or because of Qilin's unique status as a Great Impermanence. Qilin herself has stated that her current state is similar to a dream, indicating she is indeed in a special mental state.

Yu Chi seemed to have suffered a heavy blow, so much so that his expression was momentarily dazed. Then he gritted his teeth and forced himself to speak: "Then... could it be that what the old Fist God said was true? You really are a martial arts fanatic like him, and you really feel lucky and joyful because you died in a battle with a strong person... No, that's absolutely impossible!"

His voice suddenly rose towards the end, while Qilin said noncommittally, "Leaving aside whether I am a martial arts fanatic like Master, Yuchi, why do you think I am definitely not?"

(End of this chapter)