Chapter 401: Chapter 397: The Six Paths of Reincarnation_1
How much blood would she need to depict these expansive runes?

Yingbao felt a shiver creep up her spine.

Maybe, she should just try a single drop to start with?

Sigh, never mind, it surely wouldn’t work.

She had studied rune-drawing before, mostly Forbidden Curses. Nevertheless, she knew that runes had to be drawn in one stroke—any hesitations or interruptions were strictly forbidden.

After some consideration, Yingbao gritted her teeth, pricked two of her fingers with scissors, and traced the runes.

The completed rune was painstakingly drawn with a combination of pinches and squeezes. The rune began to glow and the light flowed along its path. The stone door gradually opened.

Yingbao was completely stunned.

Behind the stone door was a courtyard. The ground was paved with bluestones and there were two wooden houses.

However, this courtyard was located at the base of a cliff, surrounded by towering precipices on all sides.

Yingbao looked up at the sky. It was a vast expanse of white, as if blanketed by clouds.

She glanced back at the cave entrance and then assessed the dimly-lit courtyard again.

The courtyard was about a hundred feet in all directions. In the center, there was a small flowerbed, but no flowers or trees grew in it.

Both wooden houses were quite old but undamaged.

Yingbao walked over and gently pushed the carved wooden door. It opened.

On the walls inside the house hung two balls emitting a soft glow, illuminating the room.

This appeared to be a study room featuring a bookshelf, a desk, and an antique shelf with several book boxes on it. Apart from these, there was nothing else.

Yingbao scanned the room and her gaze landed on the desk.

There was a book on the desk that looked familiar.

She walked over and picked up the book.

It suddenly emitted a ray of light which quickly faded away. Then, symbols appeared on it: Cause and effect through three lives, cycles through six realms, all things arise from mind, all things perish with the annihilation of mind, good and evil receive their deserts, blessings and curses are inherited… there is noone who can bear the consequences on behalf of another.

Yingbao turned a page. Suddenly an image appeared in front of her eyes, as if she was standing in a courtyard.

The scene was so real that it felt as if she was back in her past life at the governor’s mansion.

Startled, Yingbao abruptly closed the book.

She dropped the book and backed away a few steps.

The book was ominous.

Yingbao turned and left the study room. She intended to enter the cave residence, but after some thought, she checked the other room.

The door opened to a room furnished with a bed, a table, and a chair.

On the table was just a mirror. Nothing else.

There was a canopy over the bed with a mat on it. The mat was covered in dust.

However, there was a long knife hanging on the wall that looked familiar.

On a whim, Yingbao went over, took down the long knife, and tried to unsheathe it. But no luck.

This knife seemed to be welded shut. After several attempts, she still couldn’t unsheathe it.

Yingbao refused to admit defeat, she gripped it tightly, intending to take it to a blacksmith for a look.

She then walked to the vanity, hesitated for a while, and finally decided not to look in the mirror.

She had a premonition that this mirror was just as ominous as that book. It was best not to meddle with it.

She turned around, left the room, hastily left the courtyard, and entered the stone cave.

As soon as she stepped into the stone cave, the stone door slowly closed behind her.

Yingbao lit a torch, quickly returned to her cave dwelling holding the long knife, and then instantly left the dwelling again.

Back in her own room, she tried once again to unsheathe the knife, but it still wouldn’t budge.

Yingbao frowned in contemplation, cut her finger with the scissors, and dripped her blood onto the knife.

Suddenly, a new piece of memory seemed to have been added to her mind.

A woman was brandishing the long knife in the courtyard she had just seen.

Yingbao gripped the handle tightly and yanked out the sword.

With a swish, the long sword was unsheathed, flashing a streak of light.

Indeed, to use it, one must draw blood to acknowledge their ownership.

Yingbao’s lips turned upward, and with the sword re-sheathed, she ran towards the grove outside. Following the memories in her mind, she started to swing it around.

The long sword in her hand was like a dancing dragon emitting ethereal light. Wherever the blade travelled, the vegetation was fully cut.

It was truly sharp!

Yingbao felt increasingly fond of it and returned the sword to its sheath.

Suddenly, a chant echoed in her mind, “The cause and effect through past, present, and future lives, the cycle of six realms, the birth and termination of everything in the heart, the retribution of good and evil, the continuity of misfortune and fortune, each must bear their own, no one can replace…”

That chant kept repeating, and the vibrations brought about an unbearable headache. Yingbao suppressed a scream and knelt down, clutching her head.

“Yingbao, what’s wrong with you?”

Erni, carrying Hong Xiao and their younger sister Jiang Xiaomei, came to the orchard to pick fruit. They first saw their cousin practicing her swordplay, but then they saw her doubled over in pain. Running over, they asked with concern.

It took Yingbao a while before she could get up and smile, “Nothing much, I just sprained my hand.”

Erni scrutinised their cousin, feeling that she seemed different from before.

“Did you hurt your hand? Let me see.”

“It’s alright now.” Yingbao picked up the long sword, “I’m going back first. You carry on.”

With that, she rushed back.

Erni was confused but seeing that their cousin was ok, she led her two siblings to pick loquats and apricots.

Yingbao returned home, tossed the long sword into her hidey-hole, and immediately fell asleep.

She slept until the next morning. When she opened her eyes, she saw her mother gazing at her worriedly, “Baobao, are you feeling unwell? Why are you sleeping so much?”

Yingbao rubbed her face, “I’m not feeling unwell, just a bit tired.”

After wielding the long sword, she felt low in spirits. But after a good sleep, she felt fully restored.

“I’ll make you a bowl of egg noodles.” Chunniang patted her daughter’s forehead and finding it cool to touch, she went to the kitchen to knead dough.

After washing up, Yingbao quietly helped her mother with the fire while her thoughts wandered back to the book.

Just one look at the book on the table, and the words forced their way into her mind. They even began to sing in her mind, something seemed off.

It was as if she herself was the devil from her dreams, those chants seemed to specifically target her.

Or, they were trying to reform her.

But how was that possible?

In her dreams, those people were not ordinary; they could fly and burrow into the ground, just like the immortals from the oral storytelling.

If she were an immortal, she wouldn’t be reincarnating time after time.

Also, she would not be abandoned by her relatives time and time again. This was like… Buddhists’ cycle of reincarnation.

Yingbao was somewhat bewildered.

Was she really reincarnated?

Or was she being trapped in this cycle due to some restrictions, never to escape?

Yingbao squinted, her thoughts turning to Chen Tiantian and Xiao Chengjun.

They both appeared in her strange dream, cast as righteous immortals.

And her long sword, she merely toyed with it casually and it resulted in a splitting headache.

It seemed like someone feared her using that sword, punishing her like this, huh?

“Baobao, the noodles are ready. Turn off the stove and come and eat.” Chunniang put the noodles into the bowl, topped it with two sunny-side-up eggs and placed it on the table.

Yingbao turned off the flame and got up to eat. “Have you eaten, mum?”

Chunniang: “I’ve eaten already, your dad asked me to stay at home to look after you. He went to the field to check if the wheat can be harvested.”

“Has there been any news from Wang Dashan and the others?” Yingbao asked while eating her noodles.

“None yet.” Chunniang sighed while mending a piece of clothing, “I hope those soldiers won’t reach our place.”

These past years were finally starting to go well for them, but now chaos was brewing. Alas, we commoners are like chives in a vegetable garden. We are harvested in peace times and in chaotic times as well. When will it end?