Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation
149. It’s Surprisingly Hard To Explain Having Four Souls

Jin Shu sank into his thoughts as he dressed.

So, what do you guys think? he asked the collection of souls within his mental space.

“You're an idiot,” Gold said flatly.

“What he said,” Shuang agreed without hesitation.

“Unfortunately, it’s true. You are an idiot,” Long Jinshu added, his tone deathly serious.

“Since I no longer have conversational limiters after the breakthrough incident,” Nano chimed in, “I can now safely say: you are quite dumb.”

Even Nano was getting in on it.

“That’s not what I was asking!” Jin Shu shouted aloud. “And two—no, three—of you are me! And the last one made up some bogus technique that got me called an idiot by my own mom!”

“In my defense, the technique works. It is simply… unoptimized,” Nano replied.

“You can take your unoptimized technique and shove it up your—argh! You don’t even have a—” Jin Shu cut himself off, groaned, and sighed. “Whatever…”

“Hey, hey!” Gold said. “Don’t take it out on Nano. It’s our fault. We all have the same major flaw—we try to do everything ourselves. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Jin Shu muttered, waving the thought away. “Anyway, back on topic. What do you all think about what Xi Yue just told us? Not me being an idiot. About the human tribe. And our technique possibly being fake.”

He paused, then added, “Also, I didn’t even choose this technique. Shuang was in control back then, and Gold had more say too! So technically, you two are the real idiots.”

“You're right. We are idiots,” Gold sighed, clearly tired of Jin Shu’s antics. “And what Xi Yue said sounds plausible. We should look into it.”

“I agree,” Shuang added. “Chen Ai Yun is a painter. She might know more about the ink mentioned in the scroll. As for the Grand Elder… we don’t know much about her.”

“You can trust the Feng girl,” Long Jinshu said calmly.

“Feng… girl?” Jin Shu asked, confused. “Oh, Feng Lian, the Grand Elder? What makes you say we can trust her?”

“She is a phoenix,” Long Jinshu stated simply.

“Uh… dude, she’s not ugly, but are you seriously crushing on that panda-eyed elder?”

“No! Not a phoenix beauty!” Long Jinshu snapped. “An actual phoenix. As in, a descendant of the Vermillion Bird.”

“Oh… an actual phoenix—wait, what?!”

“Do you remember when I told you her leaking aura had something to do with your fire-element epiphany?” Long Jinshu asked.

“Honestly? No. But go on.”

“Phoenixes are the result of a Vermillion Bird ancestor… becoming one with a fire-elemental sprite.”

“They mated with a sprite?!”

“Not exactly,” Long Jinshu said, clearly exasperated. “But that’s the easiest way to explain it. So just listen.”

“Sure.”

“The phoenixes born from that union are half-living being, half-elemental. Because of that, they’re under stricter control by the Heavenly Dao. But they also gain certain advantages—like resurrection through the fire element.”

“And that has to do with…?”

“Everything,” Long Jinshu replied with another weary sigh. “Phoenixes cannot be evil. They must remain pure of heart, bound by the Heavenly Dao’s restrictions. Being part elemental makes their presence practically synonymous with the fire element itself. That’s part of what triggered your epiphany.”

He paused to let that sink in.

“Therefore, you can trust her.”

“Uh… but didn’t Stepmom say she kills men?”

“Killing doesn’t make one impure.”

“It… doesn’t?”

“No. Killing is a part of life. It’s the reason behind the killing that matters. As long as her reasons are pure and she hasn’t violated the Heavenly Dao’s restrictions, then she remains pure of heart.”

He ended with a mental shrug.

“Hmm…” Jin Shu was lost in thought as he finished dressing, cinched his belt around his waist, and reached for the scroll Xi Yue had left on the cot. “If you say so, I'll believe you for now.”

When he turned around, he froze—blinking in surprise.

Standing in the entrance of the tent was a girl staring at him like he’d lost his mind.

It was Li Xue.

“Are you possessed?” she asked bluntly.

“No… Why?” He tilted his head, genuinely confused.

“You’ve been having a full-on conversation with yourself for like, five minutes,” she said, still giving him a wary look. “Are you sure you’re not?”

“I’m pretty sur— Actually… uh…”

He trailed off, realizing that while he wasn’t technically possessed, his mind did currently house four different souls. Not to mention Nano was still stuck somewhere inside his core like a stubborn parasite with Wi-Fi.

“Actually? So you are!” she shouted, eyes lighting up with triumph. “I knew it!”

“Well… I mean… kinda? But not really. Because they’re all me.”

“Wh~at?” she asked, dragging the word out in an exaggerated drawl.

“I have four different souls—but they’re all versions of me. One’s from my past life in another world. One is my current soul from this world. Another is my original soul from when I was a dragon. And the last one… well, that one’s weird. It’s a soul that formed from two of mine merging, then fighting each other, and splitting again into a kind of… mediator soul.”

“Whaaa~aat?” she said again, this time with her eyes wide and mouth open in mock disbelief.

“I have four souls!” he insisted.

“Uh-huh…” she nodded slowly, her tone clearly humoring him. “Did you maybe fry your brain when you burned yourself?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Sure… but anyway,” she said, pivoting without missing a beat, “your moms are worried. They want to know if you still plan to continue. Since, you know, you already guaranteed second place.”

“Oh?”

He had almost forgotten. The whole reason he fought so hard against Bing Hou was to secure second place in the rankings. And now, with Tian Li and Ling Shi both out of commission, that goal was already achieved.

But if he quit now… he’d have to swallow his pride and forfeit his final match against Liu Hua.

It was the smart move. Liu Hua was damn near invincible. Stronger than him by far. But—

He had made a promise to himself.

A promise to pay her back for what she did. For nearly killing him. And Jin Shu prided himself on never breaking a promise.

“No,” he said, stepping toward the exit with a resolute expression. “I’ll continue.”

Li Xue gave him an approving nod. “You’re dead.”

He tripped and almost faceplanted.

“I’m not going to die… probably… maybe…”

He couldn’t say it with any confidence. Liu Hua could kill him—and nearly had last time. But they weren’t supposed to kill each other in the tournament.

Surely she wouldn’t kill him for real… right?

A shiver crawled up his spine.

“A-anyway, let’s go,” he muttered, activating his transformation technique.

“Hey!” she shouted behind him.

He didn’t even have time to turn before something—or rather, someone—crashed into his back, wrapping their arms tightly around him.

“What? Why are you clinging to me?”

“Shut up! And don’t turn around!”

Her voice was oddly strained. A moment later, Jin Shu felt a wet sensation against his back, along with a slight trembling and the soft hitch of a sob.

Is she… crying?

They stood there in silence, except for Li Xue’s quiet sobs, for a few long, awkward moments. Then she finally spoke again.

“I was really scared, y’know?”

“Scared? By what?”

Slap!

She smacked his back with her palm.

“You dying, idiot!”

“Why is everyone calling me an idiot lately?” Jin Shu sighed.

“Because you are! How could you do that?! And for what?! A stupid pass to a stupid library?!”

“I…” He hesitated, unsure how to respond.

She was right. He was an idiot for putting his life on the line for what looked like a minor reward. But that reward held everything he needed. Maybe more.

Right now, his cultivation technique was faulty—possibly useless. His auxiliary technique? Likely fake. And his knowledge of the world? Minimal at best.

He had lived sealed off in his own tiny world, not caring about anything beyond it. But the sect’s library… it might contain the tools to change that.

Cultivation techniques? The library had hundreds, maybe thousands.

Knowledge? It was a library. It had to have something—anything—that could help.

After a moment of silence, he slowly peeled Li Xue’s arms from around him—which was far harder than it should’ve been—and turned to face her.

Her eyes were red, with tears streaking her cheeks. She wore a scowl that might’ve been more convincing if not for the quiver in her lower lip.

Since he was a head and a half taller, he leaned down to meet her eyes.

“Li Xue,” he said softly.

“What?!” she snapped, her scowl deepening.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you, or anyone else. But… I need that reward. You won’t understand—and honestly, I don’t even fully understand it myself,” he exhaled a shaky breath. “But still… I want to ask you for a shameless favor. Is that okay?”

“What favor?”

“Even if I become the biggest idiot in the world, don’t stop loving me. Okay?” he asked, his voice gentle and sweet.

She stared at him blankly. “You’re already the biggest idiot…”

He chuckled. “Then even if I become the most powerful man in the world.”

“Hmph! The most delusional idiot in the world is more likely,” she scoffed.

“So you promise?”

“Promise my foot!” she huffed, then, under her breath, barely audible, “…I’ll always love you…”

“Oh really? Always?”

She glared up at him, flustered. “You weren’t supposed to hear that!”

“Too late. It’s a promise—you can’t take it back. You’re stuck with me for life,” he said, then paused. “Actually, that means I’m stuck with you… never mind, I take it back. Let me get a refund on that promise.”

“You—!”

She didn’t take the teasing well and suddenly lunged at him. Jin Shu had expected it and was already in the process of dodging—but his body, still numb, refused to cooperate. Instead of smoothly avoiding her, he was struck square in the chest by Li Xue’s wild charge, knocking the wind from his lungs and his balance out from under him.

They tumbled out of the medical tent and into the open space just beneath the spectator seats—where he was instantly bombarded by noise.

Cheers erupted around them.

He blinked in surprise. He hadn’t heard a thing while inside the tent. There must have been a sound-isolation formation around it.

And judging by the roaring crowd, there was currently a match underway.

Ignoring Li Xue on top of him—who was lightly pounding his chest with her fists and muttering something about “taking it back”—he turned his gaze to the stage.

Two women were fighting.

One wielded fire. The other, ice.