"No."
Wang Qi flatly rejected Zhen Chanzi's suggestion.
"I knew it. You definitely wouldn't let anyone familiar with you see what you were doing that night." Zhen Chanzi chuckled, unbothered. "Which is why you won't seal this ring. In this world, only I know what an embarrassing sight you made of yourself that night."
Wang Qi rubbed his nose. "That's why I insist on taking this damned ring off and burying it every New Year's Eve."
The old man sounded cheerful, much like an ordinary elder talking to a junior. "My foundation is at the Mahayana Stage. Even with only a wisp of my remnant soul left, my divine sense can naturally pass through the soil."
"I buried it outside the village..."
"Not far enough." Zhen Chanzi said, "Of course, you've gotten capable this year. When the time comes, you can toss me onto Xinyue Mountain and run down the mountain by yourself."
Seeing Wang Qi fall silent, Zhen Chanzi said nothing more. One old, one young—they simply watched in silence as the setting sun sank below the horizon.
When the horizon greedily swallowed the last ray of sunlight, Wang Qi finally spoke. "Old man, do you know what it feels like to make a mistake?"
"I've lived for over ten thousand years. The mistakes I've made are too numerous to count."
Wang Qi pressed, "Have you ever made one that was especially serious? One that couldn't be remedied?"
"If I hadn't, why would I be stuck in this ring?"
"What if... it was a mistake that never should have been made in the first place?"
Zhen Chanzi said, "No mistake should ever be made."
Wang Qi murmured, "When you reflect on that mistake, would you want anyone to see you?"
Zhen Chanzi wanted to say something, but in the