Reverence

At that thought, a glimmer of understanding appeared in Qin Yi's eyes.

He began trying to move the body that seemed no longer to belong to him. After barely adapting to the pain that clung to his bones like maggots, he climbed straight up from the ground and raised a hand to brush the dust from his clothes.

[?]

This time, the voice did not punish Qin Yi for the rebellious act of rising without permission. Instead, it simply stared at the scene in stunned silence.

Qin Yi walked over to the cabinet on his own, took out the needle-and-thread box Ruan Su used to mend the siblings' clothes, then called loudly outside:

"Big Sis—come back for a moment—"

"All right—"

Her pleasant voice drifted over from a hundred zhang away in the forest, piercing through the oppressive atmosphere inside the room.

Seeing this, Qin Yi turned and walked to the earthen kang. Before climbing onto it, he did not forget to take off his shoes first. He lay back against the kang's headboard and waited for Ruan Su to return.

[...]

The voice in his skull seemed to have sunk into contemplation beyond his understanding, yet the level of pain it inflicted continued to rise.

Before long,

Ruan Su rushed in, knife in hand. Fragments of dry yellow leaves were caught in her hair and collar. Looking at Qin Yi sprawled on the bed and the needle-and-thread box beside him, she tilted her head and asked strangely:

"What's wrong?"

Qin Yi did not choose to tell her about the presence inside his skull.

Enduring pain intense enough to drive someone insane, he smiled faintly at the girl as though nothing were wrong and raised the hand seal formed by his hands.

"I want to cultivate. Help me bind this hand seal in place with thread."

[You could still put on an act under such pain... I truly underestimated you.]

At last, the voice came again, carrying a trace of contemplation.

Qin Yi did not even raise his eyelids. He ignored it, giving it the cold shoulder.

Ruan Su approached, somewhat puzzled, but she still did as he asked. Using rough hemp cord, she tied Qin Yi's hands together like a rice dumpling.

Qin Yi watched this and nodded in satisfaction, smiling as he said:

"All right. Go practice your blade. I'll call you when it's time to eat."

[Boy, I am asking you a question!]

The ethereal voice lowered itself, a sign that the thing in his skull was desperately suppressing its anger after being ignored.

Watching Ruan Su's back disappear into the bleak forest, Qin Yi slowly closed his calm eyes, immersing all his focus and energy into Inner Vision and completely shutting out the disturbances of the outside world.

The voice finally seemed to have been utterly enraged by this silent contempt. It gave a cold laugh and said:

[It seems I have been far too merciful to you...]

"Uncle, I want to ask you something."

[...]

Qin Yi suddenly spoke, treating the other's earlier warning like toilet paper as his childish voice calmly interrupted its show of force.

"From what you said earlier, you're not human? So are you a Monster Calamity, or something else? Could you clear up my confusion?"

[Ha...]

The voice seemed not to have expected that the boy who had been as humble as an ant just moments ago would suddenly undergo such a reversal in attitude.

[Did you not understand? I just said that I do not like...]

"I don't particularly like having such pointless conversations either, Uncle."

Qin Yi sighed softly, his tone carrying understanding and empathy.

"But this probably isn't your fault. Just as I cannot understand emotions, judging from the way you speak, you must have been born something like imperial nobility, right? Hmm... considering Spirit Resonance cultivation and what you said just now, compared with imperial nobility, I think your confidence should come from yourself.

"So, you should be a species born with great power?"

[Insolent thing! Who gave you the nerve to make such wild speculations about me?]

"Yes, yes."

Qin Yi answered the uncle's words with a smile on his face, estimating that he had guessed correctly.

So,

he truly did not blame the other for oppressing him.

Just as he would not blame himself for being unable to understand other people's emotions.

However...

In the dim little house, Qin Yi moved again, shifting himself until he lay flat on the pillow.

In his Inner Vision state, he had already locked onto the crimson mass in his skull that continuously emitted "pulses." Controlling that strand of deep-blue Spirit Resonance thread, he carefully and precisely guided it through the complex, vast meridian system inside his head, gradually approaching the other like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

Before that, he softly offered the other a suggestion.

After all, the other should be different from him. He was born flawed and could not change, but the other should still be able to become better.

His calm childish voice rang out as he said:

"Uncle, no matter what you are, I think you should know that there is something in this world called reverence. Only by knowing reverence can people achieve a win-win outcome."

The voice thundered inside his skull, still carrying lofty arrogance.

[Reverence? There is no existence in this world worthy of my reverence. You little brat... urgh!!!]

Before it could finish, sudden agony made the presence in his skull release a suppressed, painful growl.

Qin Yi had already controlled the Spirit Resonance thread, driving it like an ice pick into the surface of that crimson mass in his skull. A violent pulse immediately spread outward!

The Spirit Resonance within Qin Yi's body began to fall into disorder. In terms of physical sensation, it became an immense, dam-breaking agony, as though his body were being ground inch by inch into minced flesh.

Under such pain, Qin Yi instantly lost control of his entire body. Fortunately, the hand seal formed by his hands had been firmly bound and restrained at the physical level by hemp cord beforehand.

The little house fell into deathly silence.

The cold autumn wind swept over the boy's body, which trembled faintly beyond his control from the pain.

After an unknown length of time,

once he had adapted slightly, Qin Yi softly let out a breath and chuckled in a childish voice.

"We've only just begun. I haven't even cried out yet, so what are you screaming for?"

[...]

The pain of being pierced and the fury of being humiliated by a creature like an ant nearly drove the lofty presence in his skull completely mad. An intense oppressive feeling gradually spread.

It spoke no more and began gathering strength.

But just then,

the Spirit Resonance thread embedded in that crimson mass suddenly erupted with a "pulse" similar to its own under Qin Yi's control!

It was exceedingly faint,

but to the presence in his skull, it was agony that scraped bone and gnawed marrow!

[Urgh!!!!!!]

The voice's low roar echoed beside his ears, tearing apart all the arrogance and majesty it had built up before.

It worked.

Sensing the agony that had swept through his entire body gradually fading away, Qin Yi sat up from the earthen kang while calculating, feeling the trembling of the crimson mass in his skull.

"Stop howling. You're noisy."

The voice fell silent for several breaths. Suppressing the rage of having its dignity trampled by an inferior being, it asked word by word:

[How is this possible? How did you do it? You lowborn wretch should have only just begun cultivating, why...]

Buzz—

The Spirit Resonance thread erupted with another "pulse." This time, however, the lofty self-respect of the presence in his skull made it endure its painful roar, though it was forced to cut off its words.

Amid the silence, the mountains and waters after the rain were hazy.

In the dim light and shadow, Qin Yi tilted his head slightly and observed the crimson mass through Inner Vision. The expression on his pale cheeks was like a pool of stagnant water.

"If you still do not understand reverence, you may as well start learning now."