80.2

Lin Haoqing looked at her and smiled.

"Someone I wanted to kill the most in this world."

His answer scared Aji a little, and she stopped talking. Lin Haoqing then continued, "But this person I dream of, all the things he did that I hated were for a reason. No matter what people do in this world, they always have a reason or two. There is no unwarranted good, and there is no unexplained evil..."

"Master... I don't quite understand." The old Ji Yunhe would never say that...

Lin Haoqing gave her a pat on her head. The gods had taken away her memories and past experiences, and returned her to a most genuine self. But he could never go back again, and did not want to either.

"Anyway, no matter how much I used to hate that person, I do not hate him anymore. I even want to collaborate with him and accomplish something together. Aji, everything in the dream will pass. Once you wake up, you should let it go. Time will always move forward, and you shouldn't look back either."

"But how do I control my dreams? How do I stop myself from looking back?"

"Dream what you dream, just don't think about it anymore after you wake up."

Aji tightened her fingers around the fruit. She felt her master was right and she should do as he said. But... but why did the thought of forgetting the man with the long fish tail make her feel so sad again?

Seeing Aji was lost in thoughts once more, Lin Haoqing withdrew his hand and asked her in a pretend seriousness, "You have so much time to indulge in a dream, apparently you have learned all the techniques I've been teaching you?" Aji scratched her head and fell for his distraction.

"Master, most of the spells you taught me were simple. Forming seals, drawing formations, I can do them all no problem! But... that... that face-changing one..." Aji looked at Lin Haoqing with some embarrassment.

"I can manage to change my face, but it's always so awkward and uncomfortable. Any little loss in concentration would make me change back..."

Lin Haoqing was now really serious. "Other techniques are trivial, but the art of transformation, you must know," he said sternly.

"Aji, this is the only way for you to live as you wish in the future. Your real face must not be seen by anyone other than me and Siyu. I told you to remember these rules by heart, have you forgotten them?" His severity made Aji cower a little.

"I remember... Never go to the Northlands, never go to the imperial capital, never show my true face, and never use my spiritual power..."

Lin Haoqing eased his tension a bit. "You are a nine-tailed fox naturally born with nine faces. The art of transformation should be your base skill. Practice well, and you will be able to control it."

Aji nodded. "But master... I am a demon, why do I have the spiritual power of a demon master? Sister Siyu is a sword demon and she doesn't have it. And master, you have spiritual power but no demon power…"

Lin Haoqing did not know how to answer her. Ji Yunhe had been refined by Lin Canglan into a demon, so she had both the power of the double pulse and a demon. And the demonic power inside her formed an inner pearl that all demons carried. As long as it remained intact, her demon side would not die.

Perhaps even Ji Yunhe did not know that she actually had two lives. One was her human body as a demon master, and the other was her inner pearl. He took out her pearl from the frozen lake and nurtured it into a new body for her.

Only this time, she was no longer a human carrying the power of a demon, but a demon carrying the power of a double pulse. And her memories were left behind inside the old frozen body at the bottom of the lake.

Lin Haoqing did not explain this to the current Aji. He felt that since this was a new life, she should get a fresh new start as well. The complicated past was best to remain behind her.

After a long silence, Lin Haoqing said softly, "Aji, do not look back."