Listening to Feng Qishi's words, the little girl dared not say anything more, so she replied, "My name is Shi Jia."
"Shi Jia..." Feng Qishi repeated the little girl's name a few times before frowning and asking, "Why did your parents give you a boy's name?"
"I don't have any brothers at home. My parents named me this because I'm like a tomboy. The most important reason is that they thought this name would help them have a son, so... that's why I'm called this." xxs1
"Isn't your father a man?" Yuan Yan interjected.
As soon as Feng Qishi heard this, he immediately fixed his gaze on Yuan Yan.
Yuan Yan gave an awkward smile.
Shi Jia said, "Of course my father is a man, but he's not a boy." She was extremely serious.
Feng Qishi thought Shi Jia would avoid answering, but she was surprisingly straightforward. Listening to her, Feng Qishi was speechless for a moment.
Yuan Yan cautiously glanced at Feng Qishi, then at Shi Jia, and said, "What you said also makes sense. Did your father eventually have a younger brother for you?"
"Not my father, it was my mother," Shi Jia corrected, lowering her eyelids. "It was my father who told me to come out and cultivate immortality."
"Your father?" Yuan Yan was surprised. He glanced at Feng Qishi and then said, "Isn't this your... dream?"
"It's my dream, but..." Shi Jia said, "it's also my father's dream."
"Your dream, and your father's dream," Feng Qishi said, narrowing his eyes. "Do you actually have this dream?"
"Yes..." Shi Jia nodded.
"Yes, but as it turns out, you don't meet the requirements for becoming an immortal," Feng Qishi said, shaking his head slightly. He just wanted Shi Jia to face reality. Whether he would help her or not was another matter, still to be decided.
Shi Jia: "I know, you've already said it. I just want you to help now." She glanced at the people lying on the ground. "Test them too."
Immediately, Feng Qishi, following Shi Jia's words, looked at the people and said, "In total, how many servants like you are there in this courtyard?"
"Including me, twenty-seven."
"So that makes twenty-six," Feng Qishi said in a low voice.
Shi Jia's eyes sank, and she reluctantly nodded.
"Alright, let's go take a look," Feng Qishi said, looking up at the unchanged sky and then walking towards the corridor.
Shi Jia followed.
Yuan Yan looked down at the people, then thought about Feng Qishi's seemingly reluctant but actually helpful actions, smiled, and followed them.
The corridor was filled with people lying down.
When Feng Qishi and Yuan Yan were escaping, they didn't have time to look back, so they didn't think much of it!
Now, seeing it at a glance, it was indeed a bit scary.
"So many people," Yuan Yan said, looking at Feng Qishi, who had stopped in front of him.
Feng Qishi swallowed and looked down at the knives, clubs, brooms, and hoes clutched in their hands. He said, "If I wake them up directly, won't they continue to capture me?" After speaking, he looked at Shi Jia.
Shi Jia stood to Feng Qishi's left, gazing at the 'weapons' in their hands. Then, echoing Feng Qishi's words, she thought about their usual character and said, "Why don't you just test them like this, without waking them up?"
"Then they have to be tested while awake," Feng Qishi retracted his gaze. He recalled their swarm-like movements towards him not long ago, as well as their fierce expressions, and he felt like giving up.
Shi Jia also understood them quite well. She thought that if Feng Qishi woke them up now, given her 'useless' image in their minds, they would definitely not listen to her immediately.
However, if she didn't do this and left, and Zhao Mei'er and the others returned, she would surely be in trouble.
With this worry, she fell silent.
Feng Qishi looked down at the suddenly silent Shi Jia and then, after a moment of thought, asked, "Are you hesitating?"
"Actually..." Shi Jia said, "they don't trust me."
"What do you mean?" Feng Qishi asked, confused.
"My money was all given to me by my father. If I were wandering in the world now, that money would have been spent long ago," Shi Jia said to herself.
Feng Qishi was bewildered. "No, why are you telling me this?"
"What I want to say is, actually..." Shi Jia's heart sank as she looked at the situation and began to tell the truth. "I don't really like them."
"..." Feng Qishi frowned.
Yuan Yan couldn't help but ask, "You don't like them, so why are you helping them?"
"If they wake up and I leave, do you think they won't report me?" Shi Jia looked at Yuan Yan.
Yuan Yan couldn't understand Shi Jia anymore.
Shi Jia lowered her head.
Feng Qishi also lowered his head and stared at Shi Jia's profile. Then he thought of Shi Jia's pleading look not long ago and her reaction upon learning she had no immortal destiny. He said, "You have no immortal destiny, what do you plan to do in the future?"
"If you take them in, can you also take me in? I'll work," Shi Jia said, looking up at Feng Qishi.
As expected, Shi Jia had an agenda. Feng Qishi wondered why there would be such a 'selfless' person here. So, her plan was all for her own gain.
Thus, he asked, "Since you have no immortal destiny, why not go home?"
"My father told me not to return."
"What do you mean?" Feng Qishi feigned ignorance.
Shi Jia explained, "I am the third child in my family. Although my family is not wealthy, we are a respectable family in the village. My mother was already upset about not giving birth to a boy. If I were to return without any achievements, my father would surely be furious. At that time," she said, touching her arm, "I would definitely be beaten."
"You've got this little plan all figured out," Feng Qishi said lightly.
Shi Jia lowered her head.
Then, Feng Qishi turned to look at the people lying on the ground, took a deep breath, and said, "In a moment, I'll trouble you to..."
"You're going to wake them up?" Shi Jia interrupted.
Hearing this, Feng Qishi frowned, turned to look at Shi Jia, who was trying to stop him, and asked, "What's wrong now?"
"If any of them have immortal destiny, what will you do?"
"I'm just testing them for you and thinking about a way out. Beyond that, it's none of my business." Feng Qishi hadn't decided to open a sect; he just wanted to use this method to dissuade them and then rescue them.
Conversely, Shi Jia had always thought Feng Qishi had agreed, but it turned out she was thinking too much.
"Then you'd better not do it," she said.
Feng Qishi frowned. "Why?"
"The disappointment that follows hope is the most painful. I thought you had agreed, which is why I helped you. It turns out..." Shi Jia sighed, "I was thinking too much."
Hearing this, Yuan Yan also said, "Exactly. I also thought you had agreed. It turns out it was all just wishful thinking."
"When did I say I agreed? I just said I'd help test them," Feng Qishi said, looking up and down at Yuan Yan. "Can you stop interrupting?"
"..." Yuan Yan's eyes flickered for a moment, and then he shut up.
Then, Feng Qishi glared at Yuan Yan, and then looked at the dejected Shi Jia, saying, "What are you thinking now?"
"What am I thinking?" Shi Jia didn't understand Feng Qishi's meaning for a moment.
Feng Qishi: "Since you've said all that, I don't need to test them anymore. Now I'll give you two choices: one, come with us; two, stay."
"If I go with you, I die if I'm caught again. If I stay, I also die." Shi Jia hesitated. "Since that's the case, just kill me." She closed her eyes.
Feng Qishi: "...." He frowned.
Yuan Yan shook his head and sighed, "Too pitiful."
"Shut up," Feng Qishi said without looking at Yuan Yan. He looked down and roughly considered his abilities, then said, "I'll test them for you first. You stand back."
Shi Jia opened her eyes and said, "They won't appreciate it."
"What do you mean?" Feng Qishi retorted.
"You see them, they may have fallen into this situation, but they are actually very narcissistic. If you test them and they have no immortal destiny, they will definitely turn against you."
"Why didn't you say this earlier?"
"I just thought of it," Shi Jia said in a low voice.
Feng Qishi was speechless for a moment. He said in a low voice, "Then tell me, what do you want me to do now? I can't just not leave, can I?" He tilted his chin up.
"If you don't leave, none of us will be in trouble. Then, when she returns, I won't say anything either," Shi Jia started to bargain with Feng Qishi.
After all this back and forth, Feng Qishi's escape plan was disrupted by a little girl. Looking at Shi Jia, and then at the mortals she had described so unfavorably, he asked, "How well do you know them?"
"Why are you asking this?"
"Just answer."
"You've agreed?" Yuan Yan was even more excited than Shi Jia.
This time, Feng Qishi ignored Yuan Yan and continued to stare at Shi Jia, "..."
Shi Jia thought for a moment and said, "They spend my money and don't trust me. I hate them."
Feng Qishi asked, "Since you hate them, why are you still helping them?"
"Because," Shi Jia swallowed, "for my own sake. I'll help you build a sect, and you can take me in as a servant there. That way, I won't have to go home. With my help, they will also become cultivators. This way, they will always be beneath me."
"...." Yuan Yan froze.
Feng Qishi knew then that Shi Jia couldn't possibly be so kind. As expected, her ambition was not small; she used him and stepped on them.
Thinking about it, he had a new understanding of Shi Jia. "How can you be so sure they have immortal destiny?"
"You used magic."
"Mm," Feng Qishi nodded.
"Your magic didn't work on me, but it worked on them. This means they have destiny, and I don't," Shi Jia said matter-of-factly.
Feng Qishi looked at Shi Jia, who was speaking nonsense with a serious expression, and then at the mortals he had knocked unconscious with his magic. He couldn't help but smile. "You're wrong."
"How am I wrong? Isn't that the logic?" Shi Jia frowned.
"Of course not," Feng Qishi said, thinking about where Shi Jia had fainted, and continued, "Before you were knocked unconscious by my magic, were there two people standing in front of you?"
"..." Shi Jia nodded slightly.
"It's because there were people in front of you that you didn't completely lose consciousness, understand?" Feng Qishi said patiently.
Shi Jia said foolishly, "But I felt pain."
"Pain? How could there be pain? I controlled the force."
The old master had stipulated that if there were unexpected situations in the mortal realm, appropriate magic could be used on mortals, but it could not harm them. Therefore, he always used this昏厥之术 (hūnjue zhi shu - unconsciousness technique) on mortals.
The unconsciousness technique, unlike other spells used against monsters, was different in that when it hit someone, it didn't hurt, and when they woke up, they only felt a sense of dizziness, with no harm to their bodies.
Now that Shi Jia claimed to feel pain, Feng Qishi began to suspect.
"Look," Shi Jia said, suddenly turning and bowing her head towards Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi was bewildered. "What are you doing?" He took half a step back.
"Look, is there a bump on my head?" Shi Jia said, pointing to her head.
Immediately, Feng Qishi followed Shi Jia's finger and looked at her hair. He said, "I don't see anything."
"..." Shi Jia's brow furrowed. She tilted her head up and looked at Feng Qishi, saying, "There is a bump." Then she lowered her head again and forcefully pulled her hair away.
Feng Qishi looked at Shi Jia speechlessly, then followed her hand and looked at the top of her head. Indeed, there was a bump.
"..."
"Did you see it?" Shi Jia asked.
Feng Qishi observed for a moment, withdrew his gaze, and said, "I saw it, but it wasn't caused by my magic."
"Then what was it?" Shi Jia straightened up.
Feng Qishi thought for a moment. Just as he was about to speak, Yuan Yan said, "This bump doesn't look fresh at all."
"Fresh?" Feng Qishi looked at Yuan Yan speechlessly.
Yuan Yan, seeing Feng Qishi's look, repeated, "This injury doesn't look like it happened recently."
"..." Shi Jia was embarrassed.
Feng Qishi looked at Shi Jia's embarrassed expression, then at the group of people, and said lightly, "Don't say anything else. I'll go test them now."
"You're going to wake them up?" Shi Jia came back to her senses and asked.
Feng Qishi took a step forward. "Listening to you talk any longer is just a waste of time. Instead of that, it's better to let them face reality."
"Feng Qishi, what do you mean by that?" Yuan Yan asked, confused.
Feng Qishi didn't look back. As he raised his hand to cast the spell, he said, "Let's make a bet."
"A bet?" Yuan Yan's brow furrowed, and he took a step forward. "Bet on what?"
"I bet they all have no immortal destiny," Feng Qishi said lightly.
Shi Jia: "How is that possible? There must be."
"Just watch. If I win, you go home," Feng Qishi said in a low voice. After saying this, he gently waved his hand towards them, and several blue lights flew towards the people.
Immediately, they all woke up.
Feng Qishi put down his hand and looked at their blurry faces. Then he looked at Shi Jia, who was standing behind him, about to speak. He said, "If you try to capture me again, I'll knock you unconscious again." He turned back to them.
Hearing this, the first young man stood up, swayed, and turned to look at Feng Qishi, asking, "What did you do to us?" He raised his hand to cover his head.
Feng Qishi: "Shi Jia has explained your situation to me."
"What?" The first young man was stunned. He looked at Shi Jia, who was standing behind Feng Qishi, and frowned. "What did you tell him?" He pointed at Shi Jia and then shook his head twice to make sure he was clear.