As the saying goes, 'take a short hand from others, eat a soft mouth from others.' After eating three steamed buns from Yuto, Shenhe's attitude towards Yuto changed slightly. Although not much, it was at least not the same as when they first met.
"Regarding your childhood, I once heard a little about it. What are your thoughts now?"
Shenhe was stunned by the question, falling into deep thought. After a long while, he said, "Once, I secretly snuck down the mountain to my village, hiding it from my master, only to find that the original village was abandoned, my father had long since passed away, and the old house where I played as a child had been pawned off and demolished.
It was then that I realized my connection with my blood relatives was completely severed.
I don't know if my father ever regretted his decision after personally giving me to the monster, but I endured in the cave for three whole days until my master rescued me. He never returned to save me.
Moon Carver once divined for me, saying that I possess a rare and inauspicious fate, one that harms both myself and others—the 'Solitary Star and Calamity Sha'. The fate of the Solitary Star destines one to be separated from family and friends, living a solitary life; the fate of Calamity Sha destines one to face many disasters and a perilous path.
I don't know if it's because of my inauspicious fate that I was abandoned, or if my difficult path caused this malevolent energy to emerge within me?"
"Tch! Why, even here, do we still have such a clichéd trope? Does a certain fate necessarily mean one will become that kind of person? You are Shenhe, the unique Shenhe in this world.
Why should you let heaven decide your destiny?
Speaking of which, I suddenly remembered a story. Its protagonist's situation is somewhat similar to yours. Would you like to hear it?"
Shenhe nodded silently.
"This story is a bit long. Legend has it that a Primal Orb was conceived between heaven and earth..."
Yuto told Shenhe an allogene version of the story of Nezha: The Devil Child Comes into the World, omitting many of the comedic scenes of Taiyi Zhenren from the movie. He focused on how Nezha, who was supposed to be the hero of the Spirit Orb, mistakenly became a chaotic demon king, but ultimately, through his own efforts, changed everyone's perception of him and eventually became a hero.
The most important point of this story is, 'My destiny is mine, not heaven's; fate is determined by heaven, but fortune is written by man.'
Yuto's story stirred up a storm in Shenhe's heart. Ever since he could remember, he had always heard people around him say, 'You are a person of Solitary Star and Calamity Sha; you should try to avoid contact with others and focus on controlling your emotions.'
Even his master, to ensure his safe growth while not harming innocent people, even asked the Adeptus to apply the Red Rope Soul-Binding technique on him, sealing his seven emotions and locking his six desires.
It's just a pity that Shenhe is, after all, only a mortal, with a lifespan of only a few decades. He cannot truly be like Cloud Retainer, who can enter seclusion for decades or even centuries.
Although Shenhe practices Adeptus arts, he must ultimately interact with human society.
This is also why, even though Shenhe is an Adeptus disciple, his master often sends him to experience the mortal world. Otherwise, if it were merely to prevent Shenhe from harming others, to keep him from seeing outsiders his entire life, how would that be different from imprisoning Shenhe for life?
Unfortunately, Shenhe's previous few experiences in the mortal world had little effect. Due to Shenhe's inexperience, lack of common sense, inability to distinguish between good and bad, and ignorance of proper etiquette, he found it difficult to maintain normal interpersonal relationships.
Furthermore, in Shenhe's eyes, all matters seemed to have only the simplest and most direct solution. For example, when his opinions differed from others, he would not negotiate at all. Instead, he was adept at threats, finding that a good beating would solve things—simple and crude.
Paying for what one eats from others; taking without permission is stealing.
Therefore, Shenhe had also done some outrageous things in Liyue. In the end, the Liyue Qixing, out of respect for Cloud Retainer, suppressed the incidents and sent him back to Jueyun Karst to continue cultivating his character.
In fact, Shenhe could also sense that there was a problem with his personality, but he always believed that this was due to the influence of his Solitary Star and Calamity Sha fate.
Knowing the mistake but not correcting it, not admitting the mistake, is Shenhe's biggest problem at present.
"But, Master said..."
"Wait, don't mention your master yet. While Cloud Retainer is your master in cultivation, on this matter, you really can't learn from her. Your master is an Adeptus with a long lifespan, and she has lived in seclusion in the mountains for years.
She has never truly integrated into human society. Isn't it a bit unreasonable to expect her to teach you the principles of human interaction?
Moreover, your master also has an arrogant personality, often thinking she is eloquent and skilled in rhetoric, unaware that the other Adeptus merely see through her without saying anything."
"Then what should I do?" Shenhe felt that Yuto's words made some sense. Now, he had completely lowered his guard against Yuto and was earnestly seeking his guidance.
"You mentioned earlier that the Adeptus applied the Red Rope Soul-Binding technique to you, locking your seven emotions and six desires. While this method protected you as you grew up safely and reduced the probability of accidentally harming others, in reality, no one can truly cut off all emotions.
Even Adeptus and gods have emotions, righteousness, and desires.
In fact, you should also be able to feel that the power of the red ropes has its limits. But you should not fear the malevolent energy you suppress within your heart. Instead, you must truly recognize its existence and eventually learn to deal with it calmly, striving to minimize the influence of that malevolent energy on you.
Until one day, even without the Red Rope Soul-Binding, you can control it at will, then your Solitary Star and Calamity Sha fate will be broken."
"You mean, you want me to remove the red ropes on my body? No, absolutely not. Once the red ropes are removed, an endless surge of malevolent energy will take over my consciousness, potentially causing irreversible consequences for others."
"You see, this is you fearing yourself. I didn't say to remove all the red ropes at once. Progress gradually, understand? Besides, do you remember the Map of Mountains and Rivers mentioned in my earlier story?"
"I remember. If such a treasure truly existed, it would be wonderful."
"I have a way."
"What? Is that true?" A hint of surprise appeared on Shenhe's usually stern face. He was somewhat skeptical of Yuto's abilities because he did not see a Vision on Yuto's body, nor did he sense the presence of Adeptus power.
"I can create an illusion for you. In the illusion, you will genuinely experience the removal of the red ropes. All you have to do is one thing: in various scenarios, maintain the clarity of your original heart. If you lose control, I will immediately dispel the illusion.
Once you can successfully pass all the illusions, then I believe that even if you remove the red ropes on your body in reality, you will be able to control your emotions."
Upon hearing this, Shenhe's gaze completely changed. Although his eyes were filled with negative emotions like fear, dread, and worry, beyond these negative emotions, a trace of anticipation could not be hidden.