Want to Go and See

Chapter 7: A Desire to See

Ye Qin watched himself become this form, his beast pupils calm, without any panic, letting everything take its natural course.

A serpent's pupils appeared somewhat cold, or more precisely, they held a detachment that transcended the mundane world.

He blinked slightly, and all the images vanished instantly—what had just happened was nothing but an illusion within his contemplation.

What met his eyes was still the scales scorched black by lightning.

There were no scales or flesh on the ground, as if everything just now had been a hallucination.

Yet what he had experienced was far too real, to the point that Ye Qin didn't snap out of it for a long moment.

Peering into the regeneration of flesh through the White Bone Contemplation seemed to have affected even his skin and muscles, making him relive the process of turning into bone once more.

Everything felt like reincarnation.

It was a long while before Ye Qin recovered, fully extricating himself from the contemplation.

He had heard that if the White Bone Contemplation was cultivated to its peak, everything the practitioner saw would appear as white bones.

But he wasn't at that level yet; after breaking free from the contemplation, what he saw were still the ordinary sights around him.

"Maybe I really did succeed in my contemplation."

Ye Qin curled the tip of his tail, remembering that an eagle had clawed it there. The part near the end couldn't straighten before, but now it was taut and rigid, like a bowstring ready to spring.

Beyond that, he could clearly feel his injuries slowly improving. Though they hadn't healed all at once, at least his life was no longer in danger.

With injuries like those from before, he probably wouldn't have lasted more than a few days.

Ye Qin tried twisting his body. Whether it was his imagination or not, he felt that this body and his soul had become more attuned to each other.

He had been human before, suddenly crammed into this snake form—like stuffing a massive, irregular polygon into a small rectangular container; the two simply didn't match.

Ye Qin had been very uncomfortable with it. Every time he twisted and crawled, he felt as if his body was about to twist into a pretzel.

Moreover, his muscles seemed to have a mind of their own. When he wanted to go east, they would unconsciously veer off course.

If not for his earlier luck and the immense potential unleashed in life-or-death situations, he might have already become the eagle's meal.

But now it was different. As he moved, every inch of bone and skin felt more aligned than before.

All these signs indicated that his choice and direction were correct.

He wondered if cultivating like this would eventually allow him to ride clouds and mist, or even transform from a snake into a dragon and take human form, like in mythological tales.

Ye Qin let out a faint sigh. "If only I could really cultivate to that level."

It was still far too early to talk about such things, so the thought only flashed through his mind.

For now, Ye Qin was just a little black snake that had barely escaped from King Yama's doorstep, having scraped by with his life. His top priority was to fully recover from his injuries.

"No matter what, this counts as a small step forward. As long as I keep my feet on the ground and work hard at cultivation, there's no need to worry about future opportunities."

After the excitement and joy, Ye Qin quickly regained his composure, not letting a small achievement go to his head.

He had only just touched the threshold; there was still a long road ahead.

A glint of determination flashed in Ye Qin's eyes.

Since heaven had let him be reborn and transmigrate into a snake, and had let him stumble onto the path of cultivation, it proved that his fate wasn't sealed—the road ahead would be anything but ordinary.

The future was completely unknown, and all he could rely on was himself.

Ye Qin didn't expect to suddenly master some divine power; that wasn't realistic. Besides, there might not be any other cultivators in this world—he could be the only one—so everything depended on his own exploration.

He didn't chase speed, only steady progress. Rushing things might lead to problems in his practice, and the loss would outweigh the gain.

Ye Qin's gaze fell on the skeleton beside him, and he offered a heartfelt thanks. "Thank you."

At that moment, he felt a bit curious about the skeleton's identity. Was it really a scholar on his way to take the imperial exams? He couldn't help but grumble inwardly:

If it were an ordinary scholar, how could he have owned such a book? It was completely outside the scope of the exams.

"What kind of scholar reads the Yellow Emperor's Classic of the Inner Elixir? No wonder he never passed."

In modern terms, it would be like reading leisure books just days before an exam.

Unfortunately, the skeleton couldn't answer him. All of this would be buried in the passage of time. Regardless, Ye Qin owed the skeleton a debt of gratitude.

Still, ever since learning the skeleton's gender, he had grown curious. In ancient times, women were supposed to stay within the inner quarters, never stepping outside.

Why was this one different, buried in a cave? He wondered what the reason was—there must have been an untold story behind it.

But the skeleton couldn't speak.

"No matter what, I still have to thank you. If not for you, I probably wouldn't have set foot on the path of cultivation and would still be a little black snake waiting to die."

The skeleton could be called Ye Qin's guide.

From the earlier "Yellow Emperor's Classic of the Inner Elixir" to the later White Bone Contemplation, everything was intricately connected to the skeleton before him.

Both Buddhism and Daoism emphasized fate and affinity.

Ye Qin moved around the cave. He had noticed earlier that the soil here was very soft and the ground quite damp. He jabbed the tip of his tail downward with force, and it poked a small hole.

Staring at the small hole, a bold idea sprang into his mind.

Ye Qin used his tail and head to steadily widen the small hole, and soon a two-finger-wide cavity appeared on the ground, with some loose soil scattered beside it that he nudged away with his skull.

During the early stages of recovery from a major illness, one should not overexert. When Ye Qin felt aches in his body, he stopped to rest and continued his visualization.

Flesh regrew from bone, various tissues slowly forming. This time, he still couldn't make out the woman's features clearly, but his heart remained calm and undisturbed.

No matter how the face looked, it was merely a vessel of skin. Only by seeing through the surface of things, without being deceived by the eyes, could one grasp the true essence.

After Ye Qin finished his visualization and recovered his strength, he resumed digging the hole, cycling through this process repeatedly.

Inside the cave, there was no concept of time passing. Ye Qin had no idea how long had gone by—perhaps a day, perhaps two—until a burning hunger in his abdomen reminded him that he needed to eat.

Ye Qin had been so absorbed in cultivation that he had forgotten to eat anything during this time.

There was no food inside the cave, so he had no choice but to go out and search.

This secluded corner was like a paradise untouched by the world.

Outside, however, danger lurked everywhere. For instance, when Ye Qin had first crossed over, he had encountered a hawk. One misstep could have cost him his life.

The law of nature was this cruel: the strong prey on the weak, survival of the fittest.

Ye Qin knew he couldn't hide in the cave cultivating forever. If that were the case, it would be far too dull, and working in isolation without outside input was unrealistic.

Since the situation had been urgent back then, he hadn't had time to survey the surroundings. So Ye Qin still didn't know where he was—whether among the Famous Mountains and Rivers or some wild hill.

He also had no idea how far it was to a city, or which province or city he was near.

"Once I'm healed, I need to find a way to look up some ancient texts. Otherwise, relying entirely on 'the power of my own reasoning' will make progress difficult."

Ye Qin pondered this, but all of it could only be addressed after he recovered from his injuries, to be gradually pursued later.

End of this chapter