Master of Nine Stars

”I’ll be back for the New Year, Mom.”

”Yes, don’t worry. I’ll bring him back with me...”

On the hospital bed, Rong Taotao opened his drowsy eyes and turned his head toward the voice on his right. He saw a tall figure looking out the window, speaking quietly on the phone.

”I know, I know.” Gao Lingwei hung up the phone. She rested a hand on the windowsill, gazing at the vast, swirling snow outside, and couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh. ”Sigh...”

Rong Taotao asked softly, ”What’s wrong?”

Gao Lingwei said lightly, ”She’s bored staying in Songbai Town. I can tell from her voice. And it’s all because of me...”

As she spoke, Gao Lingwei stopped mid-sentence and whipped her head around. Seeing that Rong Taotao was awake, she shot him a glare. ”When did you wake up?”

Rong Taotao glanced at the sky outside. ”Just now. What time is it?”

Gao Lingwei leaned back against the windowsill, her arms crossed in front of her. ”December 18th, two in the afternoon.”

”Oh... So I haven’t been asleep for that long.” Rong Taotao struggled to sit up, shifting his weight to lean against the headboard. ”I feel really good.”

Gao Lingwei raised an eyebrow slightly. ”Hmm?”

Rong Taotao said, ”My head is really clear.”

Surprised, Gao Lingwei asked with a hint of doubt, ”’Your head is clear’?”

Rong Taotao held out his palm. In an instant, a three-petaled Lotus appeared in it. The bases of the petals were connected, and though there were only three, they already resembled a budding flower.

”Just as you said, this Lotus Petal is really gentle.” A smile touched Rong Taotao’s lips as he watched the bud in his hand slowly bloom. ”It seems to have neutralized the ’sinfulness’ of the Sinful Lotus.”

Gao Lingwei’s heart stirred. Rong Taotao had just woken up and wasn’t in the best condition, but his relaxed posture and warm smile made the scene look so beautiful.

’Has... his demeanor changed a bit?’

Gao Lingwei was silent for a moment, quietly studying Rong Taotao before asking softly, ”And?”

Rong Taotao shrugged, the relaxed smile on his face instantly vanished as his true colors showed. He pursed his lips. ”Calling it ’gentle’ doesn’t seem quite right, does it?”

Gao Lingwei prompted, ”Hmm?”

Rong Taotao gathered his thoughts. ”To give people peace and joy is kindness. To relieve people of their suffering is compassion.”

”Kindness and compassion?” Gao Lingwei was taken aback. She thought for a moment, as if recalling her own past experience with it. ”It does seem to... hold a certain sympathy and pity for the world.”

Rong Taotao suddenly said, ”What if we call it Huilian? As in, ’hui’ for radiance?”

Gao Lingwei wasn’t concerned with its name; she was more worried about its effect on Rong Taotao. She asked, ”You just said the new Lotus Petal neutralized the hostility in your heart. Is that a good or a bad thing? Could it change some of your thoughts and actions during a fight?”

What were they up against?

Ferocious Snow Realm Soul Beasts, and even more so, utterly vicious poachers.

In a life-or-death battle like that, if Rong Taotao was influenced by the Lotus Petal and decided to ”show mercy,” it would be a disaster.

”I don’t think so?” Rong Taotao said with a strange expression. ”When I only had the Sinful Lotus, it didn’t turn me into some domineering, reckless tyrant, did it?”

Gao Lingwei replied, ”That’s good.”

Soul Martial Artists may seem noble and grand, but without a doubt, every one who makes it has blood on their hands.

Take Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei, for example. They fought their way through the Corpse Tide at the bottom of the Qianshan Pass canyon time and time again. The number of Snow Corpses and Snow Ghosts that died by their hands was countless.

If Rong Taotao turned into some great paragon of mercy, he might as well give up on training and just sit at the bottom of the canyon, feeding the zombies with his own flesh.

Rong Taotao scratched his hair. ”Seriously, if I ever reach a state where I can sympathize with and pity poachers, my life will have truly ascended.

”I don’t want to cause trouble for the Snow Realm, so if that happens, don’t hesitate. Just chop me to pieces. After all, the mortal world won’t be able to contain me anymore. I’ll have to joyfully achieve enlightenment on the spot.”

”Haha.” Gao Lingwei shot him a smiling glare. ”Sympathy and pity are good things, as long as you direct them at the right people. Just like when you use the Sinful Lotus—all that arrogance and tyranny is reserved for your enemies, not your friends and family.”

”True.” Rong Taotao nodded in agreement.

Setting aside the Sinful Lotus and Huilian, let’s just talk about the Prison Lotus.

Is Rong Taotao greedy? Of course he is!

He’s constantly thinking about that Lotus Petal of Si Huan Nian’s. Even now, he could smell the scent of her Lotus Petal and pinpoint her exact location.

The Prison Lotus was constantly reminding Rong Taotao where his prey was. But how could he possibly make a move against Si Huan Nian?

A few days ago, when he and his brother, Rong Yang, were taking Da Wei to the hospital, the two of them were in the hallway outside the ward, and Rong Taotao actually said something like, ”Let’s pull a job on him.”

It would be unrealistic to say the Prison Lotus inside him didn’t affect Rong Taotao.

But emotions are one thing; decisions and actions are another.

When Rong Taotao faced the Red-clothed Merchant, it was completely different from how he was with Si Huan Nian. He was utterly decisive and ruthless, without a hint of hesitation.

Rong Taotao spoke up. ”Right now, it seems we only know Huilian’s passive effect. We don’t know what its ultimate ability is.”

Gao Lingwei asked, ”You don’t know the Prison Lotus’s either, do you?”