Leaving Behind

"So, what's your answer?"

Serana was in a state of indecision. She didn't believe in Guihu Luixing, although she wanted to, and she felt he was telling the truth when he said that if she were to give in to her emotions, she would transform into a being that was slave to them.

Previously, when she was about to give in, her emotions were so unrestrained that she simply didn't care. But now, clarity returning to her mind she wasn't so willing to go through with it anymore.

Her options were basically two. Give in to her emotions or discard her past trauma and look forward. Although it might seem a clear and easy decision to make, if analysed deeper, it wasn't so simple.

Giving in would erase her link to Guihu Luixing, allowing her to roam free without being limited by his orders. However, just the same way she felt like her connection to Guihu Luixing would be cut, she felt that het clarity would go away. She would be a slave to her emotions perpetually, never being able to free herself from her past.

On the other hand, if ahe chose to discarded her past, even though she would get to keep her mind, she would be bound to Guihu Luixing.

He promised her that she would naturally fulfill her dreams by following him, but she didn't really believe him. He sounded arrogant and delusional and even if he wasn't lying, following him would certainly be very dangerous and she would be risking her "life".

'...' Every time she almost reached a decision, fear and indecision assaulted her. The words she finally managed to form got stuck in her throat, and she had no choice but to swallow them.

Guihu Luixing was losing his patience. He was also becoming increasingly tired, soon he wouldn't be able tp restrain the Qi whirlpool much longer.

"You don't have much time. I am containing the emotions, but I can't last much longer. If I let go and you haven't reached a decision yet, you won't be able to."

'...Fine' Guihu Luixing heard in his mind.

He was a bit surprised. She was fine with it? Had he failed to convince her?

Soon clarification arrived.

'I'll be you follower.' She decided to take the risk. If she wqs going to trust him, then she it would be better if she did it wholeheartedly.

"That's great." Guihu Luixing sighed in relief.

'So, what should I do? How can I leave my past behind?' Serana asked him. Even though she decided to leave her past behind, it's not like she could just say that and it was done.

"It might not be easy, but is simple." He explained "In order to leave your past behind, you need to look at your future."

'My future?' she parroted his words in confusion.

"Yes. Think about your dreams. What you want to do. How can you achieve your dreams. What are going to do after achieving them." He instructed "After imagining all these scenarios, compare them to your past, see if it is worth wasting time and energy on it."

Guihu Luixing wasn't anxious anymore. According to the information he got from the encyclopedia, once Serana reache this state, unless her dream wasn't that important to her or her past was completely unforgivable, she should be fine now.

'My dreams...' Following Guihu Luixing's advice, Serana thought back on the time she fantasized about going around the world exploring.

She started to construct a scenario where she followed Guihu Luixing. He guided her and she grew in strength.

These days she spent in his house, she unavoidably heard about how Guihu Luixing was talented and how high everyone's expectations of him was.

So she imagined hia future being brighter and brighter, he becoming increasingly stronger and she accompanying him in his adventures around the world.

They would fight tenebrous cratures. Explore deadly places. Slap the faces of stuck up young masters. Closely escape death at the hands of tyrannous experts. It would be an life full of adventure, just like in the books and in the tavern stories.

Serana got lost deeper and deeper in her fantasies. It seemed the her volatile emotional state did not only increase the potency of her negative emotions, but also of her positive ones. If she still had a body, she would be flushed with excitement right now.

Without realising, her negative emotions kept being suppressed, and her connection with Guihu Luixing kept becoming stronger.

When Serana came back to her senses, her negative emotions had nearly completely faded. She then looked back to her past and compared it to her dreams.

'How silly.' This was her first thought.

'With such a big opportunity in front of me, to finally start living the life I always wanted, and I was blinded by my past, almost dedicating the rest of my life to people that don't deserve it.'

Serana started to view Guihu Luixing's recruitment as an opportunity. An opportunity to escape from her cage. An opportunity to try to achieve her dreams. An opportunity to make a change in her life, to make it the way she always wanted.

In doing so, she managed to cast her past aside and focus on what she believed was the most important.

Outside Serana's mindscape, Guihu Luixing was panting. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to maintain his concentration. The Qi whirlpool slowly started picking up speed again.

*Wooosh*

Suddenly, the maelstrom broke free from Guihu Luixing's control and started spinning incredibly fast. However Guihu Luixing wasn't worried anymore, he felt it was already over.

At the same time, Serana started to emit a bright light.

*Wuuun*

When the lights emited by serana touched the Qi whirlpool, it started absorbing the Qi in very fast pace, seemingly transfering it to Serana. Soon, Serana absorbed all the Qi in the whirlpool and started to slowly floating down from the ceiling, still in a fetal position.

Guihu Luixing couldn't see her clearly because of the lights, but he could tell she was definitely different from before.

When she reached the ground, she slowly stood up and the lights around her started to fade, allowing her to be seen clearly.

Usually, ghosts looked like the appearance they had before they died, but looked blurry and as if someone dyed them in dark gray, dark green or dark red paint.

Serana however was clearly different.

First, her appearance. When Guihu Luixing met her, she looked like someone in her late thirties or early forties. She looked very ragged, but you coud still see sheused to be a beauty.

The current Serana, however looker much younger. She looked in her middle teens. She looked very healthy and anyone who looked at her could only sigh at her beauty.

Next, unlike ghosts that were blurry, her image was clear and easily distinguishable. Although she was a bit transparent, it was a known fact that ghosts could control their opacity freely.

Lastly, she didn't have any "tint" on her. The closest thing to it was a very faint rainbow colored light that surrounded her.

Seeing these characteristics, Guihu Luixing gasped in shock and surprise. She had mutated into a specter!

'How could this be?!' He shouted in his mind.

His sock, however was interrupted by another thing.

*Tan Taranranran Tan Tan Tan*