This was the last clip—also the last of something that wasn't less painful than his father's death—in the most quietest way possible.
It was all orange and filled with faint smoke around the mountains and valley—afternoon.
The day was ending.
As any normal day, Lìngxiāo was at the same age of nineteen at that time—at the ending of it, since his birthday was on December 7th. His next birthday was one month away.
He was training outside at the afternoon. It was about awakening his hyper-aware spatial exorcism by focusing on any kind of high-ranked curse around him.
Because he wouldn't have his uncle forever who would point out where to throw the sealing needles to catch one.
He wasn't totally satisfied by himself even now because he needed guidance from him to even catch Mō Qīn.
His eyes shut with deep focus, eyeballs moving here and there slowly under the lids. One long needle was steady between two fingers of his left hand while holding the hand up flat, the other hand raised with two fingers holding a talisman which he had recently created for his personal use.
At first he felt strongly and then disconnected—whenever he threw his needles and then talisman, the curses or ghosts would slip away while chuckling, mocking, and being so bold that they roamed around him intentionally, thinking he couldn't catch them anyway.
"Pathetic."
"Drop it already, boy."
"It cannot be done by you."
"You even hold the needles in the wrong way."
"You are making me laugh!"
A series of male and female voices spoke around him. It was insulting. But he kept quiet and focused deeply. His breath was fully being pulled into his lungs and then left more regularly than his usual time of breathing.
'What if you all are the next pieces of my collection?'
This time he succeeded in talking to them through his mind. The words silenced them for a moment. Then they broke into laughter which sounded like chopsticks being scraped over glass.
"Show us then, kid."
"We do not believe in you~"
The curses echoed again.
Lìngxiāo's eyes were still shut. The corner of his mouth lightly lifted. He lifted his hand just lightly as if preparing to point an arrow. The placement was becoming more sure about where or which curse he wanted to hunt.
'All you have to do is trust me..'
He told them. It made them pause with more loud confusion. But he never stopped. His hand moved without any distraction. The needle blew up with golden fire, his arm crossed with the other one holding the talisman. The talisman burned into bluish-gray fire. He spun on thin air before throwing both into two directions, then landed back on the ground.
The curses gasped but when they saw the weapons moved into two directions where they weren't even standing, they exhaled.
"Need more improvement, kid."
"Wrong direction."
They started to annoy again.
But Lìngxiāo was in full confidence that this time he did it just right. He opened his eyes. Today he saw all the curses by his own eyes though they were invisible.
There were at least ten curses playing around him because Lìngxiāo was young, easy to hunt, full of the emotions which he felt deeply yet showed less. This was especially what they fed on—especially in winter time.
Those types were more cunning and lazy, directly targeting young souls and liking to disturb first—neither high rank nor low ranked curse, but middle.
The curses with strange faces, far away from ordinary looks, blinked and looked at each other. They seemed to understand that this boy could now see them.
Not as easy as they might have thought.
"AHH!!" One of the curses cried out, horrified, when something hit from behind. The curse's black eyes wide as ever, her body was like burning. "IT HURTS SO BAD! GET IT OUT OF ME!"
Others panicked, held their mouths like a big mistake had been made.
"Is she okay?"
"The needle is too powerful!"
"This boy really did it?"
"We are attacked at the wrong moment!"
"Impossible! He feels too deliciously depressed to even be this motivated."
"Run!"
"Really big mistake!"
A few of them were trembling, shrinking and returning to their animalistic forms, desperately trying to run away.
The needle and talisman had actually changed directions to confuse and fool them while at this time they were weak with less energy.
Perhaps it would have been harder if they were first rank or fully powerful. But for now, it was a big accomplishment for him.
He did it by himself without help.
A small smile of victory spread to his lips. "I warned you about it.." Then a snap of his finger for something which at first the curses didn't understand either.
While running away, one curse hit an invisible wall. Its pale face was now paper pale as it touched the wall—solid and not much easy to break. "We are trapped horribly, guys!!"
"Indeed." He took out his mirror.
The reflection of it once gone, turned into a portal when it sensed the cursed energy got harmed by Lìngxiāo's attack.
He spun it—a newly learned skill but on the way of improving.
"NO! HAVE SOME MERCY!" All curses cried out—even the one who luckily got saved from the needles.
But not much longer.
Lìngxiāo repeated the moves until there was no curse left inside the shield he had made. The place now felt more silent than ever without their presence ringing into his ears.
He raised and lowered his hand smoothly, almost as if drawing a curtain from a window. The shield shattered gently into soft golden mist, fading into golden leaves before disappearing fully.
'I actually..did it.'
'Have finally awakened my most significant ability as an exorcist.'
He thought while looking at the empty space. His heart was full of happiness and pride that his heart pounded while his face betrayed only a soft smile with the faintest blush.
He couldn't help but rush back home. He needed to share his accomplishment with him. To thank him for bringing him this far.
"Shù fù?" Lìngxiāo opened the door a little louder than usual, eyes gleaming.
"You need to know it." He moved deeper into the house, searching every room.
"Searching for me?" Suddenly his uncle showed up from out of nowhere. A usual smirk yet a little troubled one on his lips.
Lìngxiāo thought he was tired from his restless study. So he didn't question much. Just said with warmth, "I had..made it, shù fù.."
"Excellent, my boy." His uncle said—the excitement was there, but couldn't tell why it felt a little different. The smirk was a little faint, just like this cold afternoon. "You are..no longer safe for any type of cursed being. You are the one and only..Smiling Exorcist."
But he felt something powerful pulsed around him but he was still struggling to pinpoint where. It was heavy with dark emotions and energy.
Felt too ancient and heavy. Sometimes it was there and sometimes not. His thoughtful gaze over his uncle.
'Is something around us?'
'What is it even?'
'I should let him know too.'
He just parted his mouth but he didn't get time to even say this to him.
"Oh, yes. How did I forget it?" His uncle blinked like he remembered something important. Then he took his hood and wore it.
Lìngxiāo watched in untold confusion.
'What did he forget? Is he not..happy by my improvement?'
'Is he going somewhere?'
"But—" Lìngxiāo was cut off again by his uncle who went already close to the door.
"I needed some scrolls to buy. I will be back before midnight, okay?" His uncle said. "I know now you can handle any kind of trouble if it happens while I am not around." He added with a soft smirk which felt tender.
Lìngxiāo stared like a bird told to sing while it was not in the mood at all. But he nodded with gentle confidence, his smile warm as ever. "I would, shù fù. You may not worry for me from now on."
His uncle looked at him silently, almost thoughtful before nodding to himself and covered his head by the hood. "I hope so."
Then he left.
The door shut softly. The simply gorgeous black edges of the hood disappeared from his sight. The last thing he noticed of him was how faintly he turned his face towards here while the hood hid his eyes—only the lips were visible with the few locks of his black hair.
Lìngxiāo felt the dark energy fade too, as if it was drawn more to his uncle than himself.
'Had this thing followed him?'
'Should I follow him or stay?'
But he knew his uncle was strong too. So he took a deep breath and stopped himself from overthinking while his chest never felt any lighter.
'He can handle things by himself.'
He returned to his usual daily routine for his oath towards exorcism: reading more books—both study and just work of stories, trying to create more of his signature talismans, working on his brand again which symbol he and his uncle had chosen—a lantern.
Time passed like that. But his uncle..actually never came back again..
Like he never existed at all.