A Small Space

Martial Uncle sighed and said to me, "Sigh... Do this. Empty your mind, then imagine your consciousness entering it.

"If it truly contains your divine sense, you'll see a space. Give it a try and see if there is one."

"Oh... oh, I get it."

Then I did as Martial Uncle said. I emptied my mind and thought of nothing for a while.

Then I thought about the inside of the token, and suddenly, I saw countless formations of all sizes within it.

Those formations made clicking, turning sounds, as though someone were winding them up.

The formations were all sorts of colors and varied in size, and they were filled with dense Yin energy.

That Yin energy was icy enough to pierce the bone, several times colder than the Yin well I had seen in the back mountain.

It felt as though even my consciousness was about to freeze solid. I abruptly opened my eyes.

Then, shivering, I told Martial Uncle what I had seen. It was as cold inside as an ice cave, and I was still shaken by the lingering fear.

Nangong Yiyi's eyes lit up, and she said in disbelief,

"How did you do that? And is it true that it's bone-chillingly cold inside?"

Her expression was like someone who had suddenly found a priceless treasure. Excitedly, she asked whether she could go inside and take a look.

I nodded and said she could. "Go on in."

Nangong Yiyi looked at me and said, "There's divine sense inside it. I can't enter unless you agree.

"You need to think of me, then imagine in your consciousness that I'm allowed to enter."

Hearing that, I nodded and told Nangong Yiyi, "All right, I'll try." Then I asked whether she was ready.

Nangong Yiyi smiled and said she was. Then I thought in my heart that she could enter.

A wisp of red light vanished in an instant, and at the same time, I actually sensed that someone was inside.

It was as though I had a psychic connection with the token. After waiting for a long time, Nangong Yiyi still had not come out.

I was getting anxious, so I asked Martial Uncle what was going on. He said he did not know either.

But if I wanted her to come out, it should only take a single thought.

Martial Uncle told me to think of her inside and imagine driving her out. After saying that, he told me to try it.

I closed my eyes and thought for a while. Suddenly, I heard a thud.

A woman wearing white clothes and white boots embroidered with gilded patterns, with a red cape draped over her back, fell to the ground.

She looked utterly at a loss, her little head whipping around everywhere as fast as a high-speed camera.

Then she sprang to her feet angrily, pointed at me, and said, "Was it you who kicked me out?"

I nodded and said, "I just saw that you had been inside for too long.

"I didn't know what had happened, so I brought you out to take a look."

Nangong Yiyi said excitedly, "There was so much! There was so much Yin energy inside.

"If I could live in there the whole time, I could break through in another hundred years or so."

I was startled and asked, "Break through to Ghost Emperor?"

"Yeah. But the Yin energy inside won't always be so plentiful. It needs time to replenish itself," Nangong Yiyi replied.

Martial Uncle said from the side, "That's right. Yin energy takes time to form. There is suddenly so much inside now

"Because nothing has consumed it over the past several decades. That's why there is so much Yin energy."

At that moment, Martial Uncle suddenly frowned and looked at me with a grave expression.

"Carrying so many precious treasures, you will surely invite a fatal disaster once you go out into the world."

Nangong Yiyi's face stiffened. "Even Ghost Kings and Ghost Emperors would be tempted by it, let alone humans.

"This Yin token is incredibly valuable. If others see it, a bloody struggle will be unavoidable."

Qianqian's smile vanished as well.

"So it's a hot potato?" I asked.

Martial Uncle and Nangong Yiyi both nodded solemnly. I immediately panicked and asked them what I should do.

Martial Uncle looked at me worriedly. "Although it contains your divine sense, so others cannot use it even if they take it,

"There will always be people unwilling to accept that. They will want to take it and give it a try."

Before I could say anything, Martial Uncle added in confusion, "But what I'm more curious about now is this: your cultivation is so low.

"Logically speaking, it should be impossible for you to possess divine sense. How did your grandfather manage it?"

Nangong Yiyi's face also turned pale, and she said in unison with Martial Uncle, "Unless his cultivation was extraordinarily powerful."

Nangong Yiyi lightly waved her jade-like hand and said, "Forget it, forget it. Let's not worry about that for now. It's a good thing, anyway."

Then she asked Martial Uncle, "By the way, old man.

"I remember that cultivators all have an inner space. Do you know how to create one?"

"I don't. My master taught me before, but this kind of technique requires talent. I don't have that talent, but his grandfather did," Martial Uncle replied.

I asked Martial Uncle what sort of space it was. He said the human body itself was a space.

That was why Spiritual Energy could circulate within it. Another small space meant opening up a place inside the body.

Once opened up, that place could store some things.

The space would not be very large, though. You could think of it as a parallel world.

Then Martial Uncle said, "Actually, the underworld is also within the Earth. It is simply another parallel world."

I replied to Martial Uncle, "Oh... I understand."

Nangong Yiyi thought for a moment and said, "Why not let the old man help you try?

"It would be great if it succeeds, and it doesn't matter if it fails. There aren't any drawbacks.

"No, there is one drawback. Once the space is opened up, an extra black mark will appear on your arm."

I said I was not afraid. There was already a patch of black skin on my arm.

I did not know how it had happened before. It had turned black for no reason at all.

At those words, Martial Uncle and Nangong Yiyi's pupils suddenly contracted. Then Martial Uncle grabbed my hand and examined it.

Martial Uncle drew in a sharp breath. "Hiss... It's exactly the same as your grandfather's."

Nangong Yiyi looked at the black mark on my arm and said, "Little brother, do what you did just now. Sense the black mark on your hand and see whether there is anything different about it."

Just as before, I closed my eyes and sensed it.

I sensed a place about the size of two drawers.

I told Martial Uncle and Nangong Yiyi what I had sensed. They stared at me in astonishment.

Nangong Yiyi said, "Try putting the wooden token in your hand into it. Just use your thoughts."

I tried as she said. In the blink of an eye, the wooden token in my hand vanished.

But I could still sense it nearby, and I was at a loss.

Martial Uncle's eyes lit up. "It really works. You brat really are... I don't even know what to say about you."

Then he muttered to himself, "Senior Brother, Senior Brother, you truly went to extraordinary lengths.

"Just that small basin of beans took more than ten years, and you even opened up a small space for this kid in advance."

Then Martial Uncle waved at me and said, "All right, put these precious treasures into the small space.

"I saw the corpse-binding rope in your bag. Put that in too, along with that small basin of beans."

After saying that, he handed me a small basin of beans. I did as he said.

Martial Uncle looked at the corpse-binding rope in my hand and said, "Your grandfather once fought someone with his life on the line to obtain that.

"You can control it with your consciousness, making it long or short. In the future, the Yin soldiers in the beans, this Yin token, and the corpse-binding rope—

"Do not take them out unless it is your final moment of life and death. Otherwise, they will only bring disaster upon you.

"All right, all right. Heal your injuries first. Once you have recovered,

"We'll settle this girl's corpse, and then it will be time for us to go our separate ways and tend to our own affairs."

"Martial Uncle, why do you make it sound like a final farewell between the living and the dead?" I asked.

Martial Uncle murmured, "In this line of work, who knows whether we'll live to see tomorrow? Everything depends on fate."

After saying that, Martial Uncle stared blankly at the jars and pots outside as though he had lost his soul, remaining silent for a long time...