The stone was brought by Song Rui and the frog extracted naturally belonged to him. The staff reluctantly handed the glass box over, their eyes filled with reverence for life. They had thought that this round of testing was just a curiosity, but it had turned into a discussion and enlightenment about life, as well as an examination and judgment of human nature, all because of the addition of Fan Garo.
Perhaps in the eyes of different people, the world is also different, just as this stone is just a stone in the eyes of ordinary people, but in the eyes of Fan Garo, it has become life and a miracle.
Song Rui aimed the box at the light, carefully inspecting the life that had been dormant for over a hundred years. It was very small, about as long as half of an adult's thumb, its eyes tightly closed, its body covered with a layer of dry yellow film. Perhaps it was because of this protective and isolating layer, that it had survived in that dark, narrow, and sealed space for over thirty thousand nights and days. If it hadn't been for today's encounter, it would have continued to sleep for even longer, until it merged with the rocks, becoming a lifeless fossil.
Song Rui stared at it for a long time, unable to understand the joy and excitement felt by Song Wunuan and Dr. Qian. His dark heart seemed to only catch a glimpse of light under the guidance of Fan Garo.
Song Wunuan had long been eyeing the frog, but was afraid to grab it too forcefully and hurt the frog, so she had to restrain herself. Today, she had experienced too many bad things, and it could even be said that nearly all of her half-life of happiness and joy had been destroyed. She thought she would need at least three to five years to adjust, but when Fan Garo began sensing those tiny yet great lives, and ultimately saved the soul that had been imprisoned for a hundred years, the darkness in her heart miraculously dissipated a lot.
She thought, her petty and ridiculous troubles, what were they in the face of the greatness of life and the vastness of the world? When you return to the masses or the boundless universe, you will find that you are just a tiny speck of dust, and the so-called pain, sadness, and care are just fleeting clouds. After enduring this, everything will be fine.
With tears in her eyes, she looked at the still sleeping frog and asked, "Brother, how did you know it was inside the stone? You are not a medium."
Song Rui placed the glass box inside a wooden box lined with cloth and said slowly, "Seven years ago, I participated in a rescue operation during an earthquake. In that operation, our rescue team used the most advanced life detector in the world, and the vital signs emitted by this stone were captured by our instrument, but disappeared in an instant. They all thought it was a problem with the sensitivity of the instrument, but I, with one in a million hope, preserved it, and cherished it for many years."
Song Rui closed the lid and smiled lightly at Dr. Qian and the others who were listening attentively. His rich life experience, gentle and affectionate tone, as if carrying a sense of cherish and joy in his description, made him appear more emotional and handsome. Compared to the man-beast things of Yu Yuntian, he was simply a model of the times.
Dr. Qian and Yaya were fascinated by him, and even Song Wunuan, who knew his true nature well, changed her view of him. Father must have misunderstood his nephew. He was not heartless, just not good at expressing himself. Who would bring home a stone as if it were a treasure just because there might be a life inside, and keep it hidden for seven years?
Can stones have life? Most people's reaction to this statement would be mockery and denial, right? But his nephew wouldn't think so, and he always believed, and persisted, only for a faint signal that could possibly be wrong. This showed how romantic and kind-hearted his thoughts were. He was not a ruthless person.
Song Wunuan completely added her own touch of emotion and watched the gentle smile on her cousin's face. She stared at the back of Fan Garo for a long time, and then, with her hands, gently lifted the corners of her own lips.
--- Fan Garo walked along the long corridor holding the box, and a human-shaped mist emerged from nowhere and followed him step by step. He stopped and looked back, expressing a struggling and hesitant look in his eyes, while the human-shaped mist began to behave restlessly. After hesitating for about thirty seconds, Fan Garo finally squatted down, made eye contact with the mist, and whispered in an inaudible voice, "Come here."
The human-shaped mist quickly ran up to him, standing half a meter away, facing each other. Suddenly, Fan Garo reached out and hugged the mist, gently pressing the back of its head so that it could nestle comfortably on his shoulder. This sudden embrace came as a complete surprise to the mist, which started to boil, twist, and transform into various shapes, but eventually solidified, turning into a slender, delicate-faced child. He turned his head, glanced at his big brother quietly, closed his eyes wet with tears, and smiled.
The cruel abuse and dreadful memories were quietly smoothed over in this embrace.
Suddenly, a rapid panting interrupted this warm and tranquil moment. Fan Garo let go of the child, turned to look, and saw Chong Ming hiding in the dark corner with a pair of blood-red eyes. He had witnessed the whole process of the transformation of the spirit from intangible to tangible, and thus questioned, "You can also command spirits. Did you steal my little ghost?"
"After your abilities weakened, you couldn't control it, so it ran away. What's it got to do with me?" Fan Garo patiently explained.
"Why did my abilities weaken? Is it because of what you did? Did you absorb my energy, you thief!" Chong Ming was almost losing his composure and if not for that, he would surely have known that when facing Fan Garo, he should be fleeing, not going forward to question insistently.
Fan Garo smiled and muttered, "Between you and me, who is the real thief? I heard that you were sent to the Yun Du Monastery for training at the age of five. I see that the little ghost is also five or six years old, wearing the robes of the Yun Du Monastery. Judging from the strong ghostly aura, he should have been dead for fifteen or sixteen years. In other words, he is your fellow disciple and died in the year you started your practice. So, can you tell me who killed him, and why he was under your control?"
Chong Ming kept retreating, but was blocked by a cold wall, and could only tremble as he said, "I don't understand what you're talking about."
"Don't understand? Isn't your ability to extract and control spirits? Just a gentle pull outside, and any creature's soul will become your plaything; just a slight tap, and you can turn a person into a dog, or a dog into a person. Do you, who possess this ability, at some point in time, arrogantly consider yourself as a superior existence, a deity ruling over all living creatures?"
Chongming never expected that his deepest secret would be revealed by a stranger he had only met a few times. He had thought that even the most powerful spiritual mediums would not be able to see through his abilities, as in his eyes, these people were just insignificant weaklings. He wanted them to die whenever he wished, and they had to die, without even an opportunity for resistance!
But now, looking at his disheveled appearance, who was the one powerless to resist in the end?
"Don't come near me, my ability is invincible, don't get close to me!" Chongming felt a huge crisis, but could only cower in a corner like a trapped animal, trembling. All his paths were blocked by Fangaro, even the pale-faced little ghost threw himself at Chongming's legs and held him firmly, making it impossible for him to move.
"Have you read any books?" Fangaro suddenly asked out of the blue.
Trembling Chongming: ...
Fangaro continued to ask, "Do you know the law of conservation of energy?"
Chongming, feeling increasingly bewildered: ...
Fangaro sighed, "If you read more books, instead of specializing in these esoteric practices, you would understand that there is no power in the world that is invincible. In other words, every ability, no matter how powerful, will be restrained, this is an immutable law."
Cynically smiling, Chongming said, "Restrained? How are you going to restrain me? Kill me? Well, you'd better look up at those monitors, they are recording your crimes!"
Fangaro held his palm suspended in front of Chongming's face, and slowly said, "Unfortunately, this ability was never yours to begin with, so now I'm going to take it back." Monitoring or not, it was completely outside of his consideration.
Not restrained, but taken back! Realizing this, Chongming began to struggle frantically, but the skinny little ghost had unimaginable strength, and firmly pinned him in place. With nowhere to retreat, he could only desperately use the back of his head to hit the wall, hoping that the impact would accidentally attract a staff member and rescue him.
But this time, it seemed his luck had run out, the corridor lights flickered frantically and made crackling sounds, yet not a single person was attracted. Fangaro's consciousness calmly invaded his body, rummaging through every drop of his blood and every inch of his meridians, then pulling out an object from his brain, slowly and forcefully.
A dark gray light emitted from Chongming's brow, trying to wriggle away, but Fangaro quickly and deftly captured it.
After losing this light, Chongming instantly collapsed to the ground, his body emitting wisps of white steam due to the steaming sweat. He looked as though he had just been pulled out of a stinking ditch, yet he persistently and shakily raised his hand, shouting, "Give it back to me!"
The day before he began his spiritual cultivation, his grandfather personally handed this thing to him and solemnly warned him, "Even if you lose your life, you cannot lose it! When your cultivation is successful, you must pass it on to the next generation, understand?"
The still young Chongming asked in confusion, "Grandpa, what is it?"
The old man, with a youthful appearance despite being nearly ninety, sighed softly, "I don't know exactly what it is, but I know it can make your desires come true."
So, after beginning his cultivation, seeing his fellow disciples praised and favored by the master due to their outstanding talents, he held the thought that "Only if you die will I be seen" and extracted the soul of the other. At that moment, his desires came true, and he finally understood how precious the thing his grandfather had given him was.
And now, the treasure he had thought had merged into his body and was firmly bound to his soul, something that nobody could take away, was easily snatched away by Fangaro!