“Ahh!”
As soon as part of the Yin Holy Spirit and Yang Holy Spirit entered his dantian, Shui Miao suddenly felt an intense pain there and couldn’t help but cry out in agony!
But the pain vanished just as suddenly…
Shui Miao was astonished to discover that the original single, fist-sized ball of immortal energy within his dantian had split into two—one white and one black—rotating slowly within.
“How could this happen!?”
Shui Miao quickly opened his eyes, utterly baffled. This wasn’t supposed to be part of his cultivation breakthrough at all!
※※※
“What’s wrong with you?”
At that moment, the young girl from the lower bunk stood up and looked at Shui Miao.
Holding his lower abdomen, Shui Miao shook his head and softly replied, “Nothing, just a bit of mild stomach pain.”
“You… you did this on purpose, didn’t you?”
Upon hearing this, the girl frowned immediately.
Her stomach had been aching faintly the whole time, and now Shui Miao was also complaining of stomach pain—she immediately suspected he was trying to flirt with her.
“What do you mean?” Shui Miao asked, puzzled.
“You’re crazy!” the girl muttered, giving him a glare before lying back down.
Shui Miao blinked, and with a sweep of his spiritual sense, detected a trace of yin energy near her dantian. He then realized what she had meant. Without hesitation, Shui Miao dispelled the yin energy for her. Then, he cautiously resumed guiding the Yin and Yang Holy Spirits into his dantian, but this time, there was no pain at all.
Just then, the girl stood up again, giving him a strange look as she asked, “Was that you again?”
“What?”
Shui Miao felt conflicted—was helping her actually making things worse?
The girl paused, then asked again, “How did you do that?”
“Are you out of your mind? What are you even talking about? I can’t understand a word you’re saying!” Shui Miao was starting to get annoyed—this girl was really stretching the conversation.
The girl sneered coldly, “Don’t want to talk, huh? Fine. We’ll continue this when we arrive in Zhonghai City.”
With that, she returned to her bunk, took out her phone, and made a call. “Brother Bao, I’ve met a weirdo on the train—he almost killed me with his weird tricks. Hurry up and bring some people to the station to help me take revenge.”
“Yes, he hurt my stomach for quite a while…”
“Okay, call me when you’re near the station.”
After finishing her call, the girl muttered again, “Dare to mess with me? Do you think I’m someone easy to play with?”
※※※
What the heck was all that?
The more Shui Miao listened, the more upset he became. What was this girl talking about? What did she mean by “messing with her,” and making her stomach hurt for so long? This must be White Phoenix’s doing—now he was taking the blame for it. He couldn’t even begin to explain himself, like trying to wash away stains in the Yellow River!
Faced with such a situation and such a girl, Shui Miao really wished she would reap what she sowed, otherwise he’d feel too wronged.
By accident, Shui Miao suddenly noticed that his hands seemed to have turned one white and one black!
He quickly unbuttoned his shirt to check his stomach and found, to his shock, a clear black-and-white dividing line running down his body—one half resembling a Caucasian, the other a black person!
“Hey, pretty girl, do you have a mirror?”
Wanting to check his face, Shui Miao leaned down to ask the girl for a mirror. However, she was in the middle of adjusting her miniskirt. Seeing his half-white, half-black face, she huffed and said, “Little brat, don’t think making a funny face will cheer me up. It’s too late now—the call’s already been made. Just wait for your doom.”
“I’m really not in the mood for nonsense!”
Shui Miao extended his hand, and the mirror inside the girl’s bag flew directly into his palm.
Seeing this, the girl was shocked. She quickly stood up, pointed at Shui Miao, and whispered in a low, suspicious tone, “I knew you were a weirdo. Now you’ve finally revealed your true face. Are you trying to attract me and make me interested in you so I’ll spare you? Hmph! I’m not that kind of easy girl.”
“Here, take your mirror back.”
After checking his black-and-white face in the mirror, Shui Miao returned it to the girl, then lay down on his side, turning his back to her while pondering in his mind. This wouldn’t do—he had become a yin-yang split person! How could he face others like this? If he returned home in this condition, who would even recognize him?
“Wow! How did you do that? Why can your hair also turn black and white? Are you a magician?” The girl was suddenly excited when she noticed Shui Miao’s hair gradually dividing into two distinct colors.
※※※
Shui Miao quickly turned around, grabbed the mirror, and took a look. Sure enough, even his hair was now half white and half black.
“Great! I’m ruined!”
Shui Miao took a deep breath and glanced around. Everyone was looking at him curiously—it seemed they all thought he was a magician.
Suddenly, the girl smiled at Shui Miao. “Okay, don’t worry. I was just kidding earlier—I didn’t really make that call. Since you went to so much trouble to perform for me, I won’t hold it against you. They say a fight leads to friendship, so we can consider ourselves acquainted now. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself—I’m Xiao Hong, a performer with the acrobatics troupe. I was dressed like this because I had just finished a performance and didn’t have time to change clothes before boarding. So… what’s your name? Your magic tricks are amazing. I can recommend you to our troupe leader for a performance if you’d like?”
“My name is Shui Miao…”
Shui Miao originally had no intention of engaging with this Xiao Hong, but after hearing her explanation, he felt she wasn’t so bad after all—better than he had imagined. He also felt it would be too harsh to completely ignore her, especially since he was still holding her mirror.
“Wow, what a unique name! Haha, and your appearance is really special too. If you walk out like this, you’d look absolutely cool!” Suddenly, Xiao Hong became very kind, warm, and pure, completely different from the impolite girl she had seemed to be moments ago.
“Ah!”
Just as he had controlled a portion of the Yin Saint Spirit and Yang Saint Spirit and guided them into his dantian, Shui Miao suddenly felt a sharp pain in his dantian. He couldn’t help but let out a cry of agony!
But the intense pain vanished as quickly as it had come…
To his astonishment, Shui Miao discovered that the single fist-sized sphere of immortal power in his dantian had now split into two—one white and one black—slowly revolving within his dantian!
“How did this happen!?”
Shui Miao quickly opened his eyes, utterly bewildered. This was nothing like the changes described in the teachings!
※※※
“What’s wrong with you?”
At that moment, the young woman from the lower bunk stood up and looked at Shui Miao.
Clutching his lower abdomen where his dantian was, Shui Miao shook his head and softly replied, “It’s nothing. I just have a slight stomachache.”
“Are… are you doing this on purpose?”
Hearing this, the young woman immediately frowned.
Her stomach had been aching faintly all along, and now Shui Miao was claiming he had a stomachache too. She directly suspected he was teasing her.
“What do you mean?” Shui Miao asked, puzzled.
The young woman muttered “weirdo,” rolled her eyes at him, and lay back down.
Shui Miao blinked, then extended his divine sense and detected a trace of Yin energy around the young woman’s dantian. Only then did he understand what she had meant. With a thought, he dispersed the Yin energy for her. Then, he tried once more to guide the Yin Saint Spirit and Yang Saint Spirit into his dantian, but this time, he felt no pain.
Just then, the young woman stood up again. She looked at Shui Miao with a strange expression and asked, “Was it you who did something?”
“What?”
Shui Miao was conflicted. Had helping her been a mistake?
After a pause, the young woman pressed, “How did you do it?”
“Are you crazy? What are you talking about? I don’t understand you,” Shui Miao retorted, growing irritated. This girl really knew how to stir up trouble.
The young woman smirked coldly. “Won’t say, huh? Fine. We’ll talk when we get to Zhonghai City.”
With that, she returned to her bunk, took out her phone, and made a call. “Brother Bao, I met a creep on the train. He almost killed me. Hurry up and bring some people to the station to help me get revenge.”
“Yes, he made my stomach hurt for ages…”
“Okay, I’ll call you when we’re almost there.”
After hanging up, she added, “Dare to mess with me? Do I look easy to bully?”
※※※
What in the world is all this?
The more Shui Miao listened, the more frustrated he felt. This girl had no filter! What did she mean by “messing with her” and “making her stomach hurt for ages”? This had to be Bai Feng’s doing—making him take the blame for something he didn’t do. There was no way to clear his name now!
Faced with such a situation and such a girl, Shui Miao almost wished she would suffer the consequences of her own actions. Otherwise, he’d be getting the short end of the stick.
Suddenly, Shui Miao noticed that his hands seemed to have turned—one white and one black!
He hurriedly unbuttoned his clothes to check his abdomen. Sure enough, a distinct black-and-white line divided his body in half—one side had turned Caucasian, the other African!
“Hey, miss, do you have a mirror?”
Wanting to see his face, Shui Miao leaned down and asked to borrow her mirror. Unexpectedly, the girl was adjusting her miniskirt at that moment. When she saw Shui Miao’s half-white, half-black face, she snorted coldly and said, “You jerk, don’t think making a funny face will win me over. It’s too late for that now—I’ve already made the call. You’re done for.”
“I really can’t be bothered with you!”
With a wave of his hand, the mirror from the girl’s bag flew into Shui Miao’s grasp.
Witnessing this, the girl was shocked. She quickly stood up, pointed at Shui Miao, and whispered stealthily, “I knew you were a creep! Now you’ve finally shown your true colors. Are you doing this to seduce me, make me interested in you, and then beg for mercy? Hah! Well, I’m not that kind of girl.”
“Here’s your mirror back.”
After checking his reflection, Shui Miao returned the mirror to the girl. He lay down, turning his back to her, and lost himself in thought. This wouldn’t do—had he become some kind of intersex being? How could he show his face like this in the future? If he returned looking like this, who would even recognize him?
“Wow! How did you do that? How did your hair turn black and white too? Are you a magician?” The girl grew excited as she watched Shui Miao’s hair gradually split into black and white.
※※※
Shui Miao quickly turned around, snatched the mirror, and looked again. Sure enough, even his hair had divided—half white, half black.
“It’s over! My face is ruined!”
Shui Miao took a deep breath and glanced around. Everyone was looking at him with curiosity—apparently, they all thought he was a magician.
The girl suddenly smiled at him. “Alright, don’t worry anymore. I was just teasing you earlier—I didn’t actually make that call. Since you went through all that effort to put on a show for me, I’ll let you off the hook. As they say, no discord, no concord. Consider us acquainted. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself—I’m Xiao Hong, an acrobat. The reason I was dressed like that earlier is because I’d just finished a performance and didn’t have time to change before catching the train. So… anyway, what’s your name? Your magic tricks are so impressive—I could invite you to perform with our troupe. How does that sound?”
“My name is Shui Miao…”
Shui Miao hadn’t planned to engage with Xiao Hong, but after hearing her explanation, he felt she wasn’t as rude as he’d thought. It wouldn’t be right to outright reject her, especially since he was still holding her mirror.
“Wow, that’s such a unique name! Haha, and your look is unique too. If you go out like this, you’d be the coolest person around!” Xiao Hong suddenly became very friendly, enthusiastic, and innocent—a complete contrast to the unfiltered girl from earlier.
That’s right! This image isn’t so bad after all! Shui Miao reconsidered. Perhaps turning out like this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. He was a cultivator, after all—why should he care so much about his appearance? Right now, his immortal spirit was undergoing a transformation, and he believed his cultivation would multiply rapidly. If that was the outcome, what did it matter if he sacrificed his looks? Why not return to Zhonghai City under the guise of a magician and secretly check on what that thousand-year-old female ghost was up to?
As his thoughts churned, Shui Miao found clarity.
“Whoosh!” “Whoosh!”
Shui Miao’s ears twitched as he heard two gusts of wind. Immediately after, he saw Bai Feng and the Black Snake Demon return.
“Master, your… your face! What happened to it?”
The Black Snake Demon was shocked, almost unable to recognize Shui Miao.
“Wait…” Bai Feng stepped forward, scrutinizing Shui Miao’s face carefully several times before stepping back and shaking his head coldly. “You’re definitely not Shui Miao. Shui Miao’s aura isn’t like this. You only have Yin and Yang energy around you. Who are you? Speak quickly! What have you done with Shui Miao?”
Bai Feng assumed a fighting stance, looking fierce and ready to attack.
“Uh!”
Shui Miao was stunned. Even Bai Feng couldn’t recognize him!?
As these thoughts crossed his mind, Shui Miao quickly came to a decision.
“Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Suddenly, Shui Miao’s ears twitched as he heard two gusts of wind. Then he saw White Phoenix and the Black Snake Demoness returning.
“Master, what… what happened to your face?”
The Black Snake Demoness was shocked and almost couldn’t recognize Shui Miao.
“Wait a second…” White Phoenix stepped forward, scrutinizing Shui Miao’s face carefully from several angles before stepping back and shaking her head coldly. “You’re definitely not Shui Miao. Shui Miao doesn’t emanate this kind of aura. You only have Yin and Yang energy about you. Who are you really? Tell me quickly—what have you done with Shui Miao?”
White Phoenix assumed a fighting stance, her demeanor fierce, clearly ready to attack.
“Uh!”
Shui Miao was momentarily stunned. Even White Phoenix couldn’t recognize him anymore!?
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage