"I never thought... I could... I could see you again!"
The aged Gu Yu sobbed so hard he could not speak.
Standing before Teacher Red Carp and his elder brother Gu Yang, he seemed to have suddenly shed some heavy suit of armor. He was no longer the Gu Yu who had charged fearlessly toward the Blood Ancestor's true body, but the little tagalong from Red Carp Academy who had followed behind his teacher, Red Carp Fish, and his elder brother, Gu Yang.
Dongfang Yuejian, who had already come to stand beside Xu Taiping, asked him quietly:
"Should we go over and ask those two ghosts to leave?"
Master Xuanzhi, standing on Xu Taiping's other side, immediately said:
"I can help the two of them pass on right now."
Xu Taiping looked toward Gu Yu and shook his head, then said meaningfully:
"When dustbound ties are severed, the path to immortality opens. If they cannot be severed, there is no need to force it."
The scene before him reminded Xu Taiping of the pouch of metal essence his Senior Sister Zhao Linglong and Senior Brother Dugu Qingxiao had used to buy his freedom, helping him sever his dustbound ties before taking him up the mountain.
Beside him, Dongfang Yuejian froze for a moment at his words, then nodded solemnly.
"You're right to remind us, Eldest Brother Taiping."
Master Xuanzhi smiled and pressed his palms together.
"Amitabha. Immortal or mortal-the difference lies in a single thought."
Then all three watched Gu Yu ahead without moving, as though they had forgotten the Blood Ancestor's remnant body.
Just then, the ghost of Gu Yu's elder brother Gu Yang seemed displeased with his tearful appearance and spoke in a stern tone:
"Gu Yu, you're no child anymore. You can't keep acting like one, sniveling