I continued to follow Xie Zhuo, and my success with the little girl further confirmed my earlier thoughts.
Finding someone in a critical moment, helping them resolve their crisis—this way I could temporarily use their body, just for a little while!
But that little while was enough.
In the days that followed, I used this method to repeatedly “encounter” Xie Zhuo in Que Mountain.
When he had been searching for evil spirits for days without a drop of water, I entered the body of a small vendor and gave Xie Zhuo a sugar figurine.
Xie Zhuo ate the sugar figurine, nodded to me, and said: “Thank you, it’s very sweet.”
And I felt sweetness in my mouth as well.
When he found a clue about an evil spirit and got his arm scratched during the capture,
I entered the body of an old doctor and helped bandage his wound.
Afraid of hurting him, I didn’t dare tighten the bandage, and finally had to use trembling hands to tie a loose knot.
Xie Zhuo actually didn’t need bandaging or my cautious care, but he didn’t criticize anything and even escorted “me” home.
There were other times, too, when he was keeping watch in the marketplace, I brought him a small stool;
When he was resting by the roadside, I brought him a sun hat;
When there was nothing else to do, I would find someone among the people passing by to hand him a flower.
If I couldn’t even find a flower, I would find someone to say “thank you for your hard work” as they passed him.
Day after day, Xie Zhuo’s reactions changed from initial surprise and bewilderment to eventually responding and nodding in gratitude.
I saw that Xie Zhuo’s expression had become much gentler and calmer than when he left Mingjing Forest.
Later, almost everyone in Que Mountain knew that this silent man had been invited by Principal God Ji to help Que Mountain.
So, besides me, many other people began to offer their kindness to help Xie Zhuo.
Children would chase after him in the marketplace, asking him to teach them martial arts; elderly people would offer him clothes and shoes they had made; and when he was tracking evil spirits, the soldiers would try their best to cooperate with him.
I saw that the “human quality” in Xie Zhuo gradually increased.
He began to respond to these kindnesses.
Xie Zhuo would teach the children martial arts when he stopped… even though the children couldn’t learn well.
He would also refuse and thank the elderly when they offered clothes and shoes… although he would end up covered in all sorts of garments in the end.
And he would heal injured soldiers as he passed by… even if these soldiers hadn’t helped him before.
It seemed that during this time in Que Mountain, Xie Zhuo’s heart finally ceased to be like his homeland, forever covered in white snow.
The ice and snow in his heart had melted, turning into a gentle stream that nourished a patch of spring soil. The soil was sprouting, full of vitality.
Watching Xie Zhuo like this, I felt indescribably happy and moved.
I thought, although Xie Zhuo had never been one to smile or express himself much, he was truly a gentle person at heart.
Despite experiencing so many sad and dark moments, when faced again with warmth and kindness, he still chose to accept and respond.
How much courage must he have had to open the tightly closed bud in his heart and reveal the softest petals within.
But looking at myself now, I feel a bit anxious.
In the past, when Xiaxia liked Xie Zhuo, she took him to stroll through eight streets and bought countless little trinkets.
Now, after so much time had passed,
I was still me.
I hadn’t taken him through eight streets, but still only knew how to stuff him with different things.
The way I expressed my affection and love was really… impoverished…
Things continued this way for quite some time.
So long that I thought Xie Zhuo’s search for evil spirits in Que Mountain might become a permanent state.
Then suddenly one day… I couldn’t find Xie Zhuo.
My soul form also needed rest. Usually, when Xie Zhuo was resting, I would rest too; when Xie Zhuo awoke, I would awaken as well.
But that day, Xie Zhuo had been searching for evil spirits for several days without closing his eyes, and I had been floating alongside him for all those days.
He finally found an evil spirit, though not Zhu Lian.
But at least he had resolved this evil spirit that had been hidden deep in Que Mountain.
When he rested, I too closed my spiritual awareness to rest.
Perhaps I slept too deeply, but when I reopened my spiritual awareness, Xie Zhuo was gone!
And it seemed he had been gone for a long time; I couldn’t feel his aura or soul energy anywhere in the surrounding environment.
I lamented my oversleeping and began searching for Xie Zhuo.
I searched the marketplace he frequented, looked at Que Mountain’s city gate, and the places where he usually rested… he wasn’t in any of them.
It was as if he had disappeared from Que Mountain.