Chapter 89

Chapter 89: Unfathomable, Part 3

The Spirit-Sealing Institute building, third floor, Yin-Yang Sequence Studies Laboratory.

The floating machine before her was using an operational program that Ming Yue had never seen before to examine two manifestation talismans. Waves of red light pressed down onto the traces of Yin energy, peeling away layer by layer, while the side interface transmitted paper strips displaying the compositional analysis.

Zhou Jingren sat in front of the microscope, frowning as he checked the results, while Lü Xingru stood next to the machine, recording the data.

The room was silent, with only the sound of the paper strip constantly printing.

"..."

Ming Yue didn't dare to speak and sat obediently on the bench, waiting eagerly for the two seniors' results.

She had been here for an hour.

Ming Yue knew that Senior Zhou Jingren, a second-year student, was Professor Wang Yangming's disciple, and his research focus was on Yin-Yang Sequence Studies. She was certain he would be able to help her analyze and determine whether the two traces of Yin energy came from the same source, which was why she made the phone call for help an hour ago.

However, when she arrived at the laboratory, Lü Xingru, the fourth-year class president, was also there.

For a moment, Ming Yue had the urge to turn back.

Senior Zhou Jingren was lively and cheerful, with a friendly "older brother" personality. Confiding in him about her troubles didn't make Ming Yue feel embarrassed, especially since they had once shared life-threatening experiences together during the ghost tide at Baoshan Hospital.

But Lü Xingru—

When Ming Yue thought of his name, her first instinct was to recall that one hour of grueling interrogation at the café.

He was sharp, indifferent to human emotions (or perhaps he simply didn't care), cold, and loved to mock others.

Lü Xingru: "......"

Lü Xingru: "Did you forget the bond of life and death we shared just recently during the exam?"

Ming Yue: "Ugh."

However, in the end, Ming Yue changed her mind.

It was fine if Lü Xingru was here too.

He was skilled in the basic principles of Yin-Yang studies and had likely already taken an interest in investigating Ming Yue's background. Having him around would definitely make communication and problem-solving much more efficient.

Ming Yue felt that there was nothing that couldn't be said.Even though the matters concerning her brother and father were highly confidential and precarious, even if Lü Xingru knew, he wouldn't dare spread it around.

Ordinary secrets, when understood deeply, can offer comfort.

Core secrets, once known, only bring fear.

Zhou Jingren, who was looking through the microscope, furrowed his brow even tighter. Ming Yue couldn't help but grip the edge of the stool tightly and whispered, "Senior Jingren, is something wrong?"

Zhou Jingren: "......"

Of course, something was wrong.

This wasn't just a simple issue.

Zhou Jingren grumbled inwardly, then moved away from the stool, giving Lü Xingru room to take over: "Xingru, come and take a look. Tell me if you see anything."

Lü Xingru humbly responded: "Senior, I'm still only half-knowledgeable, I can barely hold my own."

"I can't see anything."

Zhou Jingren insisted, "I don't really trust my own eyes."

"Don't worry, just look. Whatever you see, that's it."

Lü Xingru followed the instruction and sat in front of the microscope, while Zhou Jingren kept observing Ming Yue, looking more and more incredulous.

Under his gaze, Ming Yue instinctively hunched her shoulders.

Strange.

Setting aside the fact that one of the manifestation talismans had Yin energy of extraordinary quality, the comparison of the results between the two talismans — why was there an overlap in the Yin energy sequences?

How could there be an overlap?

Zhou Jingren couldn't understand it no matter how he thought about it.

A living person cannot produce such a coincidence.

Although the overlapping sequence was not large, less than 30%, it was enough to be startling.

A human head could only produce one type of Yin energy; it would be unique in the world, and there would be no such thing as Yin energy from the same source.What kind of reincarnation mechanism would cause the Yin energy of two people to have an overlapping part?

Identical twins?

But—

Zhou Jingren could tell which of the manifestation talismans held Ming Yue's external Yin energy, yet in the other trace of Yin energy, only one-third was Ming Yue's source Yin energy, while the majority was not.

If this were truly a mysterious case of identical twins or a genetic miracle, the Yin energy sequences should be 100% identical.

Zhou Jingren reviewed it over and over again, silently repeating the principles of sequence analysis in his mind.

What was going on?

Why was there this "you within me" and "I within you" situation?

Zhou Jingren tilted his chin toward the junior: "Ming Yue."

Ming Yue: "Yes?"

Zhou Jingren: "Do you... perhaps have some unknown twin siblings?"

Ming Yue shook her head: "No."

"My parents have both passed away. Where would I get any siblings from?"

Zhou Jingren paused. That was true.

The question was indeed a bit silly.

Lü Xingru lifted his head from the microscope, staring at Ming Yue with an even more incredulous look. He was much more direct than Zhou Jingren in his speech. Holding up the manifestation talisman of Ming Ye's Yin energy, he shook it slightly:

"Where did you get this thing?"

Ming Yue stared at Lü Xingru, not answering but instead asking, "Senior, what do you think of this Yin energy?"

"I haven't started learning sequence analysis yet, so I can't tell the difference, but—"

Lü Xingru paused, speaking in a tone that seemed unconvincing, almost like he couldn't even convince himself:

"In four years, I've been on more than twenty external assignments."

"I've never seen Yin energy this dense or with such high purity."

"Simply... breathtaking," Lü Xingru said. His character was proud, and he rarely used such strong adjectives."Whose external scattered Yin energy is this?"

"Which big ghost is it from? Or some hidden, powerful ghost-slaying expert?"

Ming Yue: "……"

Ming Yue's gaze dimmed for a moment, then she smiled, "You know this person, Senior."

Lü Xingru: "???"

Zhou Jingren, standing beside them, tore the paper strip and tossed it to Ming Yue: "Yin energy and such are small matters, Lü Xingru."

"That's just a breakthrough of one 'level' after all."

"However, your judgment has also confirmed what I saw earlier. Ha, I’m surprised, I've never seen a living person with such dense Yin energy—are they really alive?"

"But what’s most unbelievable to me is," Zhou Jingren wheeled his chair over, staring directly at Ming Yue. Ming Yue's heart skipped a beat, almost breaking through her chest wall:

"—Why is there a shared source of Yin energy in both manifestation talismans?"

"Ming Yue, have you ever been 'possessed' by someone?"

Lü Xingru, surprised, spoke up: "What?"

Hearing "shared source" from the two talismans, Ming Yue felt a pang of bitterness and pain, but Zhou Jingren's comment about "possession" made her laugh:

"Senior, you’ve watched too many cultivation novels, haven’t you?"

"How could that be?" Ming Yue pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Oh," Zhou Jingren took his notebook and said coldly, "You also know it’s impossible."

"Then how do you explain the shared source of Yin energy in these two talismans—though it’s just partial?"

"You've got a lot of tricks up your sleeve. I could tell back at Baoshan Hospital."

"Don’t tell me you ran all the way here in this hot weather just for fun."

Ming Yue pursed her lips and didn’t respond.

Zhou Jingren and Lü Xingru exchanged a glance, then Zhou Jingren tapped his pen: "Speak honestly.""Did you already guess this result?"

"Damn, don't be so unfeeling, such a big discovery that goes against the fundamental principles of Yin and Yang studies, and you're just letting us witness it, without explaining the cause or the consequences—Ming Yue, curiosity killed the cat, huh?"

"How about this, we publish a paper and give you second author?" Lü Xingru teased.

Ming Yue: "……"

Ming Yue was speechless: "Senior, we haven't even started the basics yet, and you're already thinking about writing a paper."

Zhou Jingren chuckled: "Well, it still depends on whether Miss Ming Yue gives us the 'second author' part."

Lü Xingru, who had been quiet, didn’t join in the pressure on Ming Yue. Instead, he was more reserved.

He understood Ming Yue’s background much better than Zhou Jingren, was more curious, and made more guesses.

Ming Yue's mood dropped. She knew that the process of uncovering the truth wasn’t a happy one:

"This is my older brother’s manifestation talisman."

"I… didn’t I ask for leave for a court hearing in the Imperial Capital? I collected it after coming back to Jinling."

Lü Xingru: "……"

Zhou Jingren: "……"

Zhou Jingren, who was straightforward, couldn’t hold back: "What the hell! Ming Yue, how many older brothers do you have?! Isn't your brother blind?"

Ming Yue bit her lip and kicked Zhou Jingren: "Senior! Let’s show some mercy when we can!"

Zhou Jingren quickly apologized: "Sorry, sorry—no, we all know about Ming family's eldest son—I, I didn’t mean it that way—but your brother doesn't have a Yin-Yang eye."

"Where did he get external scattered Yin energy?" Only ghost-slaying masters or ghosts could have that.

"Wait…" Zhou Jingren suddenly remembered the night after they wrapped up at Baoshan Hospital when he ran into Ming Ye and the butler.

No, something’s wrong.

At that time, their conversation centered on the shadowless butler.

Now that he thought about it, Ming Ye was the "mysterious person" who was out at night carrying an umbrella.The shadow formed by the umbrella would cover the body’s shadow.

This way, it was impossible to tell if the person had a shadow under the moonlight!

This… this… this…

Realizing this, Zhou Jingren felt a sense of dread.

Ming Yue forced a smile: "He really doesn’t have a Yin-Yang eye."

Lü Xingru, who understood the Ming family affairs much better than Zhou Jingren, immediately asked: "No Yin-Yang eye, but there’s external scattered Yin energy."

"Ming Yue, is your brother dead or alive?"

Ming Yue was furious: "Of course he’s alive!"

Lü Xingru narrowed his eyes: "Are you sure?"

"Not a living corpse, or someone using soul-stealing techniques or something?"

Ming Yue: "……"

Ming Yue suddenly felt an intense itch in her hands.

She realized she was wrong; she shouldn’t have expected Lü Xingru to say anything reassuring.

"Go." Zhou Jingren secretly kicked his junior and changed to a gentle smile.

"Junior, don’t worry, don’t worry."

"Maybe your brother just has a little Yin-Yang issue in a technical sense—after all, even if the Yin-Yang eyes weren’t inherited from the ghost-slaying bloodline, he still shouldn’t be exactly the same as an ordinary person, right?"

"You came to me for testing, which really means you were already suspicious."

"But…" Zhou Jingren saw Ming Yue’s soul-sapped expression and couldn’t hold back, though he bit his tongue before asking: "—But, why does your brother’s Yin energy have a part that’s the same as yours?"

"This doesn’t make sense." And it certainly doesn’t follow Yin-Yang genetics.

Ming Yue instinctively touched her left eye.

She had never felt so lost at this moment.So, so my left eye was still there when I was born.

It really was "taken away" by someone.

Lü Xingru observed Ming Yue’s movements coldly: "Ming Yue, stop beating around the bush."

"Do you remember how you retorted when I hinted during the café interview that the Yin-Yang balance on you was off and that your Yin Eye might not have been naturally defective?"

"Act like it."

"If you dare to say something, be prepared to take responsibility for it."

"It’s not your fault, so why feel guilty?"

Lü Xingru’s words were harsh, but the underlying tone was surprisingly protective of his direct junior.

Ming Yue: "……"

Her heart felt like it was being torn apart.

"What? What do you mean the Yin Eye wasn't naturally flawed?" Zhou Jingren realized he had missed something and grew more confused as he listened. "So are you saying that little Ming Yue’s Yin Eye was fine originally?"

Lü Xingru shrugged: "Senior, I don’t know."

"I only know that the recent analysis results showed the same-source Yin energy is from Ming Yue’s ‘left eye that often doesn’t lay eggs.’"

"The Yin Eye that can't even produce ‘eggs,’ yet there's a large amount of same-source Yin energy detected in someone else—what does this mean?"

Zhou Jingren: "……"

Zhou Jingren was stunned by the reality, blurting out: "Junior, did you transplant your left eye to your brother?"

Ming Yue whispered: "I don’t know either…"

Zhou Jingren was almost furious to the point of exploding, overwhelmed by this abnormal act that severely disrupted the ghost-slaying bloodline’s talent: "What do you mean you don’t know! This is murder! Do you know that? Your Yang Eye talent is amazing!"

"If the natural Yin Eye pairs with the Yang Eye, then the Yin-Yang balance would be unbeatable among peers!"

"To ruin a ghost-slayer’s Yin-Yang Eye is worse than killing him outright!"

"Without a good Yin-Yang Eye, you can’t be a ghost-slayer!"

Ming Yue felt like her heart had been stabbed.Lü Xingru nudged Zhou Jingren, reminding him: "Senior, there’s a ghost-slayer here with a problematic Yin-Yang Eye."

Zhou Jingren: "Uh, sorry, Junior... I was just standing up for you."

Lü Xingru looked at Ming Yue, who was slumped on the bench, her feet swinging, then tossed out another heart-wrenching question:

"If we follow this line of reasoning..."

"There's another, even more terrifying problem."

"Ming Yue, your constitution is pure Yang, so your Yang Eye with its terrifying Yang energy—this is of course not an issue—" otherwise, without a matching constitution after the Yin Eye was removed, you'd be waiting for your life to burn out prematurely.

"But, we all know that Yin-Yang balance is the basic condition for the formation of the Yin-Yang Eye—so, if your Yang Eye is of a certain level, then your Yin Eye should be of an exceptional quality that can suppress your Yang Eye's pure Yang constitution."

"After all, the whole Yin-Yang balance has to be taken into consideration."

Ming Yue felt a chill run through her heart. "Senior, are you asking, if my left eye was transplanted—why is my brother, a normal living person, still alive?"

Lü Xingru clapped his hands, taking off his gloves: "I didn’t say that."

"You were the one who followed this line of thought."