As the saying went, accepting gifts tied your hands, and accepting food softened your tongue. After eating three of Yucheng's steamed corn buns, Shenhe's attitude toward him had changed a little. Not by much, but at least she was no longer quite as she had been when they first met.
"I've heard a little about what happened when you were young. What are your thoughts on it now?"
Shenhe froze for a moment at his words and sank into thought. After a long while, she said, "Once, I slipped down the mountain without my master's knowledge and returned to my village, only to find it abandoned. My father had long since died, and the old house where I played as a child had been pawned off and demolished. Only then did I understand that my ties with my blood relatives had been severed completely.
"I don't know whether my father ever regretted handing me over to a monster himself. But I held out in that cave for three whole days, and even by the time my master rescued me, he had never returned to save me.
"Moon Carver once read my fortune. He said I had an extremely inauspicious fate, one that appeared only once in a thousand years and brought harm to both myself and others-solitary star and calamitous bane. The solitary star destined me to be parted from friends and family and live a lifetime of solitude; the calamitous bane destined me for countless disasters and a perilous life.
"I don't know whether I was abandoned because of my solitary, baleful fate, or whether my harsh life gave rise to this baleful energy."
"Tch! Why do these tired old clichés still exist even after I've come here? Does having that fate mean you have to become that kind of person? You're Shenhe, the one and only Shenhe in this world. Why let heaven decide your destiny?
"Speaking of which, I just remembered a story. Its protagonist was in a situation somewhat like yours. Would you like to hear it?"
Shenhe nodded silently.
"It's a bit of a long story. Legend has it that heaven and earth gave birth to a Primordial Chaos Pearl..."
Yucheng told Shenhe a Genshin Impact version of Nezha: Birth of the Demon Child, leaving out Taiyi Zhenren's many comedic scenes from the film. He focused on how Nezha, who should have become a hero born of the Spirit Pearl, became a great demon of chaos through a twist of fate, yet ultimately changed everyone's opinion of him through his own efforts and became a hero after all.
The most important point of this story was that one's destiny belonged to oneself, not heaven. Fate was decreed by heaven, but fortune was written by human hands.
Yucheng's story stirred up towering waves in Shenhe's heart. For as long as she could remember, she had heard the people around her say that she bore the fate of solitary star and calamitous bane, that she should avoid contact with others as much as possible and focus on controlling her emotions.
Even her own master, in order to let her grow up safely without harming innocent people, had asked the adepti to perform the Red Cord Soul-Binding Method on her, sealing her seven emotions and locking away her six desires.
Unfortunately, Shenhe was only mortal in the end, with a lifespan of mere decades. She could not truly spend decades or centuries in seclusion like Cloud Retainer. Though Shenhe practiced adeptal arts, she would still have to interact with human society eventually.
This was also why, despite Shenhe being a disciple of the adepti, her master often sent her into the mortal world to gain experience. Otherwise, if she were kept from seeing outsiders her entire life simply to prevent her from hurting anyone, how would that differ from imprisoning her for life?
Unfortunately, Shenhe's previous excursions into the mortal world had yielded very little. Unversed in worldly affairs, unfamiliar with common sense, unable to tell beans from grain, and lacking a sense of proper limits, she struggled to maintain normal relationships.
Moreover, Shenhe seemed to see only the simplest, most direct approach to everything. For instance, when she disagreed with someone, she would not negotiate at all, yet she was thoroughly practiced at making threats. A beating would settle it-simple and brutal.
Eating someone else's food cost money; taking something without asking was theft.
Thus, Shenhe had also done some things in Liyue that crossed the line. In the end, out of respect for Cloud Retainer, the Liyue Qixing had suppressed the matters and sent her back to Jueyun Karst to continue cultivating her character.
In truth, Shenhe could sense that something was wrong with her personality, but she had always believed that her fate of solitary star and calamitous bane was what had shaped it.
Knowing she was wrong, yet neither correcting her mistakes nor admitting them, was Shenhe's greatest problem at present.
"But my master said..."
"Wait, leave your master out of this for now. Cloud Retainer may be your master in cultivation, but in this matter, you really can't follow her example. Your master is an adeptus with an immense lifespan who lives secluded in the mountains all year round. She has never integrated into human society herself. Isn't it a little unreasonable to expect her to teach you how to deal with people?
"Besides, your master is the proud sort who won't admit her true feelings. She often thinks she's good with words and highly skilled at conversation, not realizing that the other adepti simply see through her without saying anything."
"Then what should I do?" Shenhe felt there was some truth to Yucheng's words. By now, she had completely lowered her guard around him and was earnestly, humbly seeking his advice.
"You said earlier that the adepti used the Red Cord Soul-Binding Method on you, locking away your seven emotions and six desires. Although this protected you as you grew up and reduced the likelihood of accidentally hurting others, in reality, no one can truly cut themselves off from all emotion. Even adepti and gods have feelings, attachments, and desires.
"You should be able to feel it yourself: the red cords' power has limits, too. But rather than fearing the baleful energy you've suppressed within your heart, you need to truly acknowledge its existence and eventually learn to face it calmly, doing everything you can to reduce its influence on you.
"When the day comes that you can restrain and release it at will, even without the red cords binding your soul, your fate of solitary star and calamitous bane will have been broken."
"You mean I should remove the red cords on my body? No, absolutely not. Once I remove them, boundless baleful energy will take over my consciousness, and I might cause others irreparable harm."
"See? That's you being afraid of yourself. I didn't say you should take off all the red cords at once. Do you understand taking things one step at a time? Besides, do you remember the Landscape, Mountains, Rivers, and State Map I mentioned in the story?"
"I remember. If only such a treasure really existed."
"I have a way."
"What? Really?" A trace of surprise appeared on Shenhe's usually unsmiling face. She had some doubts about Yucheng's abilities, because she had seen no Vision on him, nor had she sensed any adeptal power.
"I can construct an illusion for you. Within it, you'll experience what it's like to have the red cords removed as though it were real. You only need to do one thing: keep your inner mind clear through the various situations. The instant you lose control, I'll dispel the illusion.
"Once you can successfully pass through all the illusions, I believe you'll be able to control your emotions even if the red cords on your body are removed in reality."
At these words, the look in Shenhe's eyes changed completely. Though they were filled with panic, fear, worry, and other negative emotions, beyond all those emotions, there was a glimmer of anticipation that could not be hidden.
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