Shu He's expression twisted slightly like he'd eaten a sour plum that was lodged in his throat, he had already revealed a secret of his, he'd rather not say any more.
Yet, he had to, this problem wasn't one he will be able to solve alone as he is now.
But what exactly should he say?
'The soul retains imprints of the memories, so if the mind fully loses those memories while retaining connection to the soul, the memories will be restored', that was what he had concluded from what he had just been told.
'But for me, they seem to just be disappearing' He may have realised that he was missing his memories when he fell in a deep sleep and had a dream, but it was likely they began disappearing slowly before that if the trigger was his fight with Jin Bao.
These events contradict the conclusion made in that experiment; Though there may be variables they're unaware of leading to this result, they don't know that.
'Something about me is different, and that difference is causing this change'.
And he knew what that was, or rather there were two things, he observed his core flame that resembled a golden seed surrounded by azure petals, and a single pale green petal.
'The golden Qi is abnormal, and it may be part of the reason this is happening, but there's something much more obvious' He thought to himself.
Something he hadn't dared ask anyone out of fear of becoming a subject for research.
Although he had never asked anyone, through experience, listening to others speak and reading whatever he could get his hands on, he knew it was abnormal.
And it was highly likely that it was to do with his problem.
Jing Yaling silently watched the young man just a few meters from her contemplate without a word said, his golden eyes fluttering left and right as they followed his thoughts, and then he lifted his head and watched his eyes with hers, she felt a slight shiver.
'He's going to say something insane' she instinctively felt as she saw the resolve in his golden irises.
"I have two core flames". The words passed Shu He's lips, and the room plunged into pure silence as if stuck in stasis, Shu He had frozen up waiting for the response.
And Jing Yaling had froze out of pure shock, her pupils barely visible with how small they were, her jaw hung half open as she forgot to breathe for a full minute.
"Impossible!" She flat out yelled after collecting her mind together as she walked up to Shu He and grabbed his shoulders "Do you even know what you're saying?!"
Shu He's eyes were calm and cold as he looked up at her "No, no I don't actually".
The doctor's expression was mixed with disbelief and confusion.
"I looked through so many documents, spoke to a lot of different disciples and elders, and yet not a single time did have more than one core flame pop up" He calmly spoke.
"It's almost like it was common knowledge, that one can only have a single core flame, and that no one would ever think of trying to obtain a second one".
"Almost like it was knowledge akin to breathing".
"Why?" He asked.
"What am I missing?" He demanded, his tone of voice turning frustrated.
It was a question that had been In the back of his head since the day he obtained his second flame, before it was only a passing interest, but now it was a question that was of utmost importance to him, it had to do with his 'other' memories!
Ever since he woke up in this world, he was always 'himself', the name Shu He wasn't the start of a new person for him, it was his chance to continue his life with his personality intact, he has been that way from the start, and wants to be that way until the end.
Yet now he had just lost part of 'himself' forever.
And in the future, if he lost more, if it lost it all-.
WHO WOULD HE BE?!
Would he even be Shu He anymore?!
Would he even be himself?!
Just as he felt his very soul boiling he felt a cold touch on his cheeks.
He jumped slightly as his mind returned to the present, a sensation of cold skin cupping his face calmed him down as he stared into the eyes of the doctor.
"Calm yourself" Her low voice reached into the depths of his mind, dousing the flames that had begun to burn hot.
Shu He let out a long breath as he walked backwards, breaking away from the cold hands and falling against the wall, sliding to the floor.
"Sorry…" He apologised.
"It's alright, I'm sure you're feeling scared having this begin to happen all of a sudden" Jing Yaling spoke smoothly, not a hint of iciness that could be heard before was present.
She then shook her head "I lost myself there for a second, my apologies; I didn't think you'd say something so shocking".
Shu He looked up at her "Just why is it so shocking?".
She sighed as she leaned on to a desk "What you said is true, it's basic knowledge that we can only have one core flame- at least for those educated from a young age for cultivation" she looked over at him, a slight hint of sadness in her gaze "It's rare for a common person to become a cultivator, but when it happens, they very often have problems because of their lack of education" she sighed once more "This is a completely different beast though…".
"We spoke about it before, the three centres of power, remember?"
Shu He nodded.
"Mind, Body and Soul, these three things need to exist in harmony for a being to exist, but it's not just that… there is also the Core of Cultivation".
Shu He listened, but frowned slightly "Core of Cultivation, not Core Flame?".
"They are similar, but the Core of Cultivation is the culmination of everything, it's where the Core Flame exists".
'So that's what that space is called…' Shu He was happy to finally have a name for it, oddly it wasn't explained in any of the stuff he had read so far.
"Have you heard what they call the Core Flame?" She asked all of a sudden.
"Call it? Um… I think I've heard it called the 'Will of Cultivation' before" Shu He answered, not entirely sure.
She nodded "The core flame is just that, it is the connection and support between the three centres of power that allows one to cultivate" she then paused and repeated – "It's the connection and support between the three centres of power".
Shu He's brows furrowed, then looked at her in realisation "Then… the reason it's impossible to have a second core flame is…" he began shaking slightly.
"You only have one body, one mind and one soul, so you can only have one core flame" She stated it plain and simple.
Shu He's eyes turned dull as he looked towards the ground.
"Then… what am I?" For the first time since he rebirthed, a sense of loss, fear, hopelessness washed over him.
"Don't look so down, what I just said is common theory, there's plenty that can be learned" She tried to console him.
He looked up as his eyes glazed over before he closed his eyes and reopened them, regaining focus "Right" he replied, standing up.
"I exist after all, so it can't be completely right" He spoke, reassuring himself.
"Exactly" She adjusted her glasses while agreeing "You're the first example of a cultivator with two core flames, we just need to deduce what's causing your memory problem taking that in to account".
"…" Shu He suddenly went quiet.
Jing Yaling looked at him and gently spoke "You have an idea, don't you?".
He looked at her "Based on what you told me, yeah… but… it sounds wrong".
"Go ahead and say it, I'd like to hear your deduction".
Shu He frowned slightly, not happy with what he was about to say but he began speaking anyway "Like you just said, one Core Flame to one Mind, Body and Soul; however I have two Core Flames, yet I only have one body, I'm fairly sure I only have one mind…"
He glanced at Jing Yaling, and she nodded, telling him to go on.
"Is it possible that… I have two souls?" His expression was twisted as he spoke, filled with disbelief at his own words.
"…You seem to find that hard to believe despite saying it yourself, but there's another reason you're saying that, right?" The doctors eyes gleamed.
"The reason I came here was because of my memories disappearing and you explained that even if memories disappear from the mind, they are restored from the soul; But if it was the soul that was affected I shouldn't be losing only memories of my past life, but the current one too".
"Yet… if I had two souls that problem would be easily explained, if my soul that contained memories of my old life was the one affected, but the one of my current life not, then it's clear what my problem is".
*Clap* *Clap *Clap*
Shu He looked over at the doctor that was clapping lightly with a frown.
"Oh- ah, sorry, it's been a while since I've taught anyone, old habit" She cleared her throat and the awkward air she just created "That's what I've concluded too, it does sound very wrong however based on our current knowledge it's the only conclusion we can make".
"So… what should I do? If the problem is my soul… one of them, what can I do?" He asked, he personally had no idea what to do, he knew next to nothing about souls.
Rather, the idea of casually talking about souls was already walking on thin ice for him, he was peering into a realm that was far above his skills.
Jing Yaling crossed her arms in thought "First thing is to make sure to never use whatever it was that strained you in that fight before, it may not be the cause for this memory problem but it's highly likely that it will make it progress even faster".
Shu He nodded in agreement, he had thought that as well.
'It will be a problem not having such a trump card… but I'll just act as if I never had it in the first place'.
"And then… just wait".
"… Huh?" He stared wide eyed at the doctor "Just… wait?".
She flashed a self-pitying smile at Shu He "I'm sorry, souls are something I couldn't even dream of touching before this, my research has mostly lied in biology".
"So you can't do anything?!" His heart skipped a beat.
Did he reveal his secret for nothing?!
"I can't right now, but since you came to me for help I'll do everything I can to find something" She stared deep into his eyes, her gaze not wavering for a second.
"…I've already told you my secrets, so I'll just have to trust you". Shu He sighed.
"Thank you Shu He, I won't betray your trust, I'll find something no matter what".
Jing Yaling's pupils danced with determination, and an odd sense of joy as she watched him leave.