Chapter 56: The End and Departure
"Do you still remember that old woman?" After the old woman's figure disappeared around the corner, Xiao Xiaoxiao withdrew his gaze, turned to look at Lingdiao, and asked.
"She met you when she was fourteen, and you spent a whole day together."
"At that time, she even promised to bring you cookies she made herself the next day."
......
Xiao Xiaoxiao offered a brief explanation, and Lingdiao finally wore a look of sudden realization.
Spirits always possessed exceptional memories, especially those with profound cultivation.
Therefore, with Xiao Xiaoxiao's slight description, Lingdiao recalled that young girl.
After all, very few humans could see it, and it had indeed spent an entire day playing with that human girl.
Although it was merely on a whim, it truly was a pleasant day.
To think that the little girl from back then had already become an elderly woman with white hair and a weathered face.
The traces left by time on humans were indeed remarkably distinct.
Recalling the wrinkles on the old woman's face, her full head of white hair, and her slightly hunched back that he had glimpsed earlier, Lingdiao could not help feeling a sense of emotion.
Humans were indeed creatures with fleeting lives. Seeing the girl from back then as an old woman now, Lingdiao sensed a thick aura of death clinging to her.
That girl from years ago was not long for this world.
Yet, such was the nature of ordinary humans: within a brief span of less than a hundred years, they experienced all the cycles of birth, aging, illness, and death, eventually returning dust to dust and earth to earth.
......
Xiao Xiaoxiao stroked the bird pattern on the tin, smiled, and then opened the red tin box, holding it forward. "Here, your cookies."
Since Lingdiao remembered the girl, it naturally understood the origin of these cookies.
Staring silently at the cookies for a moment, Lingdiao seemed somewhat hesitant.
Xiao Xiaoxiao was about to say something when, in the blink of an eye, he looked back at the cookie box in his hand and found it empty, with only a few crumbs left at the bottom.
Lifting his gaze, Xiao Xiaoxiao was speechless: ...
Lingdiao maintained an air of nonchalance, as if nothing had happened, though its expression seemed to carry a hint of disdain.
However, Xiao Xiaoxiao twitched the corner of his mouth—he had clearly seen the cookie crumbs lingering around Lingdiao's beak.
Yet, glancing down at the empty cookie box, a smile involuntarily surfaced on his face again.
Never mind, as long as Lingdiao ate the cookies.
The old woman should be happy, shouldn't she? Unlike the countless times before, this time she finally delivered the cookies she made with her own hands, and she finally let Lingdiao taste the treats she had promised.
......
Xiao Xiaoxiao drifted off into thought for a moment before shaking his head with a smile. He had already done what he could; after all, it was someone else's story, so why should he dwell on it so much?
Attending to his own business was more important.
Xiao Xiaoxiao raised his wrist to check the time and raised his eyebrows in surprise—it was already approaching noon.
Time truly flew.
Xiao Xiaoxiao sat down with his back against a maple tree, pulling his lunch out of his bag—a bag of sliced toast and a carton of milk.
......
An occasional passing tourist might spot a young man sitting on the ground with his back against a maple tree, his left leg propped up and his right leg stretched out, in a casual and relaxed posture, eating bread with one hand and drinking milk with the other.
Yet no tourist could see the strange-looking, fiery-red bird perched among the branches of the maple tree above the man, its long tail draped gracefully beside the man's side.
The man's lips moved intermittently, but anyone who noticed would merely assume he was on a phone call.
No one approached him, for the scenery around the young man was entirely ordinary, mirroring sights found anywhere in Fragrant Hills. There was no reason to disturb another's peace.
The biting wind whistled by, stirring up a flurry of fallen leaves and carrying fragments of conversation.
"...Gudiao... a ferocious creature..."
"...injured... humans... tonic..."
"...fox spirit... possessing a human woman..."
"...feeding on the vital essence of human men... advancing rapidly with almost no bottlenecks... prone to inner demons... surviving by a hair's breadth every time... at best, suffering karmic backlash and loss of cultivation... at worst, utter destruction of body and soul..."
"...the tail is of utmost importance..."
......
Because encounters with Lingdiao were rare, Xiao Xiaoxiao stayed at Fragrant Hills until sunset, posing numerous questions that had lingered in his mind.
By the end, as twilight dimmed the sky, Lingdiao grew impatient, whipped its tail, swept up Xiao Xiaoxiao, and tossed him onto a distant stone stairway.
Fortunately, there were no people nearby at the time.
Xiao Xiaoxiao rose helplessly, dusting off his clothes, only to realize that night had quietly fallen. A pale, hazy full moon hung high in the sky, accompanied by a few faint, cold stars.
Was it already this late? Xiao Xiaoxiao checked the time—it was nearly six o'clock. With winter setting in, darkness fell exceptionally early.
Yet it was time for him to leave, or the park staff would soon come to usher visitors out, as closing time was near.
Xiao Xiaoxiao cast one final glance at Lingdiao, whose flame-like red feathers were exceptionally striking against the night.
"Thank you for clearing my doubts, Lingdiao."
"Goodbye."
......
In the end, Xiao Xiaoxiao never asked Lingdiao anything about the Bodhi Heart.
Because he was uncertain of the true value of the Bodhi Heart.
He did not know whether the Bodhi Heart held such immense allure solely for fox spirits, or if it exerted a similar temptation upon all spirits.
Thus, he dared not take the risk.
He worried that a careless remark of his might invite a fatal disaster upon Su Youjin.
Although his current relationship with Lingdiao was quite harmonious, that was under the premise of no conflict of interests.
Humans die for wealth, and birds die for food.
In this regard, spirits and humans were likely no different; indeed, when faced with their own desires, spirits might be even more honest and greedy.
Even though Xiao Xiaoxiao did not know what the Bodhi Heart was, he knew it was unquestionably a treasure far more precious than worldly wealth.
Before such treasures, many things proved fragile and easily shattered.
Xiao Xiaoxiao neither wished nor dared to gamble on this.
......
Furthermore, Xiao Xiaoxiao believed that the existence of the Bodhi Heart was better kept secret from as many people and spirits as possible.
Even though he was curious, and had even wondered whether the Bodhi Heart might hold immense utility for humans as well, how could he, a human, comfortably prey upon a fellow human—and his classmate at that—Su Youjin? The mere germination of such a thought made him feel cold-blooded and out of his mind.
Therefore, regarding the Bodhi Heart, Xiao Xiaoxiao ultimately chose silence and oblivion.
......
His only lingering concern was how the fox spirit had managed to discover the Bodhi Heart within Su Youjin.
Since that fox spirit could perceive it, could other spirits do the same?
Yet, upon second thought, Su Youjin had lived for so many years before a single fox spirit discovered the Bodhi Heart on her.
Thus, that particular fox spirit must have possessed some unique ability, right?
Xiao Xiaoxiao felt this possibility was the highest, and that thought allowed him some peace of mind.
Now that the fox spirit had lost a tail and was even incapable of possession, it would likely remain docile for a considerable period of time, wouldn't it?