Chapter 55
Chapter 55: Hua Wu Sheng
At dusk, Cloudmist Marsh was swallowed by a vast sea of white fog.
Qiu Yi Nong left the sect gates, light as a swallow, skimming over the water with her robes and ribbons fluttering. Disciples who caught sight of her couldn’t help sighing.
“Martial Uncle Qiu is truly otherworldly—clean of dust and free of the world.”
“If only I could learn even a little of that.”
As she flew, Qiu Yi Nong seemed to melt into mist and vanish.
A young disciple blurted, startled, “Where did Martial Uncle Qiu go? She didn’t fall into the water, did she?”
The senior sister beside him smacked the back of his head. “What nonsense are you spouting? Martial Uncle Qiu has gone to see Great Martial Uncle Ancestor Hua. Of course you can’t see her.”
That tongue-twisting title nearly made the young disciple’s brain seize.
He blinked blankly. “What Hua great… what martial uncle… ancestor? Senior Sister, who are you talking about?”
“You said it wrong.” The senior sister sighed, as if his stupidity pained her. “It’s Hua, Great Martial Uncle Ancestor. Great Martial Uncle Ancestor’s surname is Hua. She’s one generation above even the sect master. Of course we call her Great Martial Uncle Ancestor.”
“Oh…” The young disciple finally understood, then asked the next stupid question with complete sincerity. “So Great Martial Uncle Ancestor lives in the water?”
“On the island,” the senior sister corrected. “Great Martial Uncle Ancestor Hua’s cave abode is called Mirror Flower Water Moon. It’s inside that fog. Only people with a pass token can see it.”
The young disciple’s eyes turned green with envy. “That’s amazing. When will I have a cave abode like that—so I can hide whenever I want and Senior Sister can’t catch me and drag me to morning lessons?”
The senior sister snorted and tapped his forehead. “Small ambitions. If you could create a cave abode like that, do you really think you’d still be afraid of morning lessons?”
Their chatter drifted away as they went back to hunting demon beasts.
Qiu Yi Nong had already entered Mirror Flower Water Moon.
Layer after layer of fog peeled away, and a riot of color crashed into her eyes—red peonies, white camellias, yellow osmanthus, purple wisteria. Season and soil meant nothing here. Every kind of flower bloomed wildly for no reason at all. The vitality was so fierce it carried a chilling cold.
Qiu Yi Nong’s heart sank.
Mirror, flower, water, moon—those words were meant to be read separately. They stood for four different formations. Each time someone entered the cave abode, one triggered at random.
This time, she had met flower.
In the Flower Formation, every blossom carried killing intent.
In other words: she would have to force her way through.
Qiu Yi Nong poured true essence into her meridians and snapped the silk scarf from her shoulder forward.
A peony blocking the path shattered under one strike. Wisteria vines immediately whipped up to bind her waist and wrists.
She flung them aside—and rosebushes took their place, thorns slicing the air like blades.
Petals rained down like a storm, piling into a thick layer underfoot, yet the flowers ahead never thinned. She cut them down and they returned. She scattered them and they gathered again.
Qiu Yi Nong’s impatience rose, hot and sharp.
No—last time she’d moved like this. Why was it wrong now?
Where was the life gate?
She turned back—and realized too late the formation core had shifted. The flowers she’d already destroyed had piled together in a tangled mess, and she couldn’t even make out the original pattern anymore.
…
When someone finally grabbed her and hauled her out, Qiu Yi Nong was soaked in sweat. Her robe clung to her, and there wasn’t a trace left of that wind-riding, immortal grace.
The hand that had dragged her free belonged to a daoist nun in her thirties or forties, her brows straight, her eyes cold, her whole presence stern and righteous.
The nun tossed Qiu Yi Nong to the ground and frowned. “How many times have you come? You can’t even break a Flower Formation. People say your talent is outstanding. I don’t see anything special.”
Qiu Yi Nong steadied herself and pushed up without wiping the sweat from her face. She bowed. “Greetings, Martial Uncle Ancestor.”
“Get up.” With a casual wave, the nun swept away Qiu Yi Nong’s dishevelment. In an instant, Qiu Yi Nong looked airy and immaculate again.
The daoist nun’s voice stayed impatient. “If you have something to say, say it. Then get lost.”
Before this Martial Uncle Ancestor, Qiu Yi Nong didn’t dare show the smallest trace of temper. She answered properly. “This disciple comes under my master’s orders to inform Martial Uncle Ancestor that Junior Brother Ling has returned to the mountain.”
“So he’s back.” The nun picked up pruning shears from the side and calmly clipped a branch. “Why make a point of telling me?”
“This time is different.” Qiu Yi Nong’s voice tightened. “Junior Brother Ling didn’t return alone. He brought back a young lady as well—and he says he wants to marry her.”
The daoist nun paused mid-cut. “Oh?” Interest sparked in her eyes. “That brat finally woke up? What kind of young lady?”
Qiu Yi Nong hesitated.
The nun’s gaze snapped sharp. “Speak. Don’t twist and squirm.”
Qiu Yi Nong hurried. “Martial Uncle Ancestor, please forgive me. This young lady’s situation is… special.”
She explained Bai Meng Jin’s circumstances from beginning to end. The nun listened without interrupting, nodding occasionally. When Qiu Yi Nong finished, the nun clicked her tongue.
“Isn’t that perfect?” she said, almost sounding pleased. “It’s like the heavens delivered him a dao companion. That kid was born unlucky. If he’s getting this sort of fortune, it seems the Heavenly Dao hasn’t abandoned him after all.”
Qiu Yi Nong lowered her lashes, as if relieved, then continued carefully. “Martial Uncle Ancestor speaks truly. It’s just… my master has been thinking. With Junior Brother Ling’s temperament, how could he fall head over heels in a day or two and insist it must be her? We can’t help worrying.”
She drew a breath. “Junior Brother Ling has immense cultivation, yet no means to protect himself. If the person beside him can’t be trusted, it will become a disaster.”
The daoist nun considered. “That’s reasonable.”
Qiu Yi Nong’s shoulders loosened by a fraction. “So my master sent this disciple to inform you and ask you to keep an eye on it. This woman’s character, whether she and Junior Brother Ling are suited for dual cultivation, and the matter of her choosing a master… Martial Uncle Ancestor, please take the trouble.”
“So troublesome,” the daoist nun muttered, but she didn’t refuse. “Fine. Let them come see me.”
Qiu Yi Nong bowed. “Thank you, Martial Uncle Ancestor.”
She was only halfway through her salute when the nun flicked her sleeve.
The world blurred.
The next moment, Qiu Yi Nong was floating over the water outside, already expelled from Mirror Flower Water Moon.
Qiu Yi Nong curled her lips faintly and turned back toward the main peak.
Martial Uncle Ancestor Hua always had that temper. Aside from Junior Brother Ling, Qiu Yi Nong had never seen her give anyone a pleasant face.
She had no idea whether that Bai girl could endure it.
*
Night fell.
Bai Meng Jin put away her things piece by piece, then prepared to rest.
After Steward Hall left, Ling Bu Fei said, “I planned to take you to see Martial Uncle Ancestor first, but Uncle interrupted and it got too late. We’ll rest tonight. Tomorrow, we go.”
Only then did Bai Meng Jin finally ask what she’d been holding back. “Which elder is this Martial Uncle Ancestor you keep mentioning?”
Ling Bu Fei didn’t look away when he answered. “Martial Uncle Ancestor’s surname is Hua. Her name is Hua Wu Sheng. She’s my maternal grandfather’s senior sister.”
He paused, then added more quietly, “In the sect, there are only two people I trust most. One is Venerable Ku Mu. The other is Martial Uncle Ancestor Hua. They were my maternal grandfather’s fellow disciples. They watched over me as I grew up. To me, they’re no different from family elders.”
He didn’t mention anyone else in the Ling family.
The closeness and distance were clear enough without words.
Hua Wu Sheng…
Bai Meng Jin nodded slowly.
So it really was her. Someone worth respecting.
In her past life, Bai Meng Jin had heard the stories: Hua Wu Sheng had swept through the mortal world, wiping out Devil Arts with outstanding merit. Later she guarded the Ming River for many years. Only when age and old injuries made it unsuitable to remain there did she return to the sect to retire.
After Ling Bu Fei rose to power, Hua Wu Sheng had lived for a very long time.
So tomorrow…
Tomorrow would be the real test.
Today, Bai Meng Jin had obtained the status she wanted. But whether she could secure the power that status represented would still require Martial Uncle Ancestor Hua’s approval.
She lay back down, intending to sleep well, gather her strength, and fight properly tomorrow.
*