The crowd at the funeral let out continuous gasps, all thinking it was an otherworldly phenomenon descending from the sky.
Yu Nian circled around to the back of the woods and saw the Spring Sprite curled up in a ball. It was sobbing so hard that it couldn't even speak.
The Spring Sprite's glass-like eyes were extremely eerie at this moment. Big teardrops slid down and transformed into several dazzling pearls when they hit the ground.
It was the first time the Spring Sprite had experienced the taste of crying.
It felt as if a blunt knife was cutting at its heart bit by bit. The pain was so intense that it couldn't stop the tears no matter what.
Yu Nian stood quietly beside the Spring Sprite. She accompanied it for as long as it cried.
The emotions that Fu Qingxuan had failed to teach the Spring Sprite during his lifetime were actually understood by the Spring Sprite in this way.
It wasn't until the Spring Sprite was exhausted from crying that the heavy rain suddenly stopped, and the crowd that had gathered gradually dispersed.
The Spring Sprite had just taken on a human form, and its walking was not as agile as that of a three - year - old child. Coupled with being too weak from crying, it could only be supported down the mountain by Ming Mingzhong and He Zhiping.
Back at the Qingxin Temple, the Spring Sprite seemed like a soulless being. It leaned listlessly against the doorframe, its eyes vacantly fixed on the distance.
Ming Mingzhong felt a bit sorry and whispered to Yu Nian, "The Spring Sprite has been like this for a whole day. It neither eats nor talks. Nothing bad will happen to it, right?"
Yu Nian shook her head. "It just misses Fu Qingxuan."
At the mention of "Fu Qingxuan", the Spring Sprite suddenly raised its head and looked expectantly towards the door. But the thin and stalwart figure never appeared in its field of vision again.
The Spring Sprite blinked its dry eyes and lowered its head again.
After a while, a shadow suddenly appeared in front of it.
Yu Nian stood beside it, her eyes cold as she asked, "Do you have something you like?"
".... What?"
Yu Nian patiently repeated, "Although a person's physical body has died, their will and spiritual power still remain. I can try to transform them. It can be a plant or an animal. What do you like?"
The Spring Sprite didn't quite understand what Yu Nian meant, but it still answered honestly, "I like tea trees."
Fu Qingxuan loved tea, and there was always a faint tea fragrance on his body.
Yu Nian nodded. "Okay."
As Yu Nian flipped her wrist, glimmers of light gathered from all directions and finally formed a small tea tree.
The tender green leaves of the tea tree swayed gently in the wind, brimming with boundless vitality.
The Spring Sprite's eyes widened in surprise. It was shocked to find that there was actually Fu Qingxuan's aura on the tea tree.
"Is this... Fu Qingxuan?"
Yu Nian said softly, "You can understand it this way. When the tea tree grows up, Fu Qingxuan may come back."
Fu Qingxuan had a great deal of good fortune. After several lifetimes of cultivation, he might very well achieve immortality. Since he had promised the Spring Sprite, he would surely come back.
The Spring Sprite took the tea tree in its arms, and it seemed to come back to life.
It carefully stretched out its finger and poked the tea tree. Then it used its magical power to water the tea tree. Still worried, it asked Yu Nian, "How should I take care of the tea tree?"
Yu Nian replied, "This tea tree is transformed from the remaining spiritual power of Fu Qingxuan. It's not that fragile. Just let it soak in the sun and water it regularly."
Only then did the Spring Sprite feel relieved. It hugged the tea tree and slowly made its way back to the pond.
.......
Since Yu Nian won the championship in the Xuanmen competition, the number of people coming to the Qingxin Temple every day was so large that the threshold was almost worn out. The line of people waiting to offer incense even stretched all the way to the foot of the mountain.
Ming Mingzhong was exhausted. After finally getting a short break, he saw three or four young boys enter the temple.
They were about twenty years old, all looking gentle and scholarly. It was obvious that they were still students.
The boys looked around curiously. It seemed to be their first time in a temple, and they were both fascinated and confused.
Ming Mingzhong rarely saw such young pilgrims, so he stepped forward and asked, "What are you gentlemen here to pray for?"
One of the curly - haired handsome boys replied shyly, "We came here after watching Master Yu's competition. We're her fans."
Ming Mingzhong nodded numbly. He had lost count of how many fans of the temple master he had received today.
Seeing Ming Mingzhong's expression, the boys quickly explained, "We're all students from the Archaeology Department of University A. We came here because... our professor seems to be possessed!"
Hearing this, Ming Mingzhong immediately perked up.
"Possessed? What exactly happened?"
The boy replied, "Although University A is a well - known university, the number of students in the Archaeology Department is extremely small. Including the senior students, there are only about a dozen of us. So we usually get along very well with Professor Sun. He's very approachable and always has a good chat with us. But since he took on an archaeological project a week ago, he's become very strange. He always has a gloomy face and often talks to himself. The things he says are really creepy. At first, we thought something had happened in his family, so we didn't pay much attention. But then we all smelled a stench of corpses coming from him..."
In broad daylight, Ming Mingzhong was scared out of a cold sweat by the curly - haired boy's description. He hurriedly led the group to the backyard and found Yu Nian, who was reading a scripture.
The noisy boys fell silent instantly when they saw Yu Nian. They nudged each other's arms, looking a bit bashful.
The curly - haired boy was a bit excited. He stepped forward and shouted, "Hello, Master Yu. My name is Deng Yang. I'm your fan! You're even more beautiful in person than on the live - stream! Can I take a photo with you?"
Seeing this, the others no longer held back. They took out their phones and notebooks one after another.
"I also want a photo!"
"Can you sign my notebook?"
Ming Mingzhong:..... Do you still remember that you came here to save Professor Sun?
After getting the autographs and photos, the students told Yu Nian the whole story in detail. Yu Nian thoughtfully tossed three coins into the air.
The coins spun a few times and then obediently landed back in Yu Nian's hand. It was an extremely ominous divination.
Without delay, Yu Nian called Feng Chengyuan and then followed the students to University A.
University A was very close to Cuiwei Mountain. In less than twenty minutes, they arrived at the school gate. But before they could go in, Deng Yang was in a dilemma.
Master Yu was too popular!
She would be recognized by the audience who had watched the Xuanxue competition even when walking on the street, not to mention on a university campus where everyone was well - informed.
If Yu Nian swaggered into the school like this, it would not only cause unnecessary crowds and a stir but might also tip off the enemy!
After thinking for a while, he suddenly had an idea. He said a bit embarrassedly, "Master, could you please... disguise yourself as a deliveryman and sneak in?"
..........
The university was filled with the atmosphere of youth and freedom. Yu Nian successfully sneaked in wearing an orange delivery helmet.
Deng Yang and the others had to rush to sign in for a public class, so they asked Yu Nian and Feng Chengyuan to wander around the school first.