The sudden attack caught the man almost entirely off guard, yet Liu Rumeng suddenly felt a sense of unease.
"Hmph." A trace of fond indulgence crossed the man's lips. With a barely perceptible movement of his right hand, his slender fingers caught the long thread. A flash of white light flickered between his fingertips, and the incomparably tough cord shattered into powder, drifting away in the wind.
Refusing to give up, Liu Rumeng spun around and struck again at the man's waist. Her blade had just touched his clothes when a hard barrier repelled it, sending her staggering back more than a dozen steps before she managed to stop.
The man stood up, his white robes fluttering in the wind like a celestial being.
Liu Rumeng retreated two steps until her back was pressed against the edge of a bottomless abyss, leaving her nowhere left to go.
She simply raised her head and stared fearlessly straight into the man's eyes.
The man glanced down at the ground. Yang Yiwan was almost entirely buried in snow, save for the glaringly bright blood at the corner of her mouth.
"She is the Second Miss of the Yang Estate. Kill her, and you'll have a mountain of trouble," the man said. The smile on his face bore no resemblance to advice; it looked much more like he was watching a good show.
"So what? Do I have any shortage of trouble?" Liu Rumeng raised her eyes, her gaze calm and fearless.
It was as though nothing in this world could catch her eye. Though her figure was frail and her complexion haggard, she could not conceal her peerless grace and charm.
The man's phoenix eyes narrowed, a flash of strange emotion passing through their depths, and his thin lips slowly curved upward. "Who on earth are you?"
"The Fourth Miss of the Yang family, Yang An!"
Things had reached this point, and she coulders no longer be bothered to conceal the truth; she might as well reveal it all.
"The Fourth Miss?"
He had always known only of the three daughters of the Yang Estate, never realizing there was such an interesting Fourth Miss as well.
And he wondered just what reason had led to this Fourth Miss being banished to such a desolate place.
Roar!
The cry of Golden Phoenix suddenly resounded across the snowy plains.
Liu Rumeng hurriedly covered her ears, yet her body still felt a wave of discomfort.
A flash of white appeared before her eyes as the man pulled her into his arms with both hands, his broad palms shielding her ears to spare her from further injury.
Golden Phoenix gave three long and two short cries, transmitting a message to its master.
The man knew it was time for him to leave.
Only, he felt a lingering reluctance to part with this little creature. When would they meet again? And what would she look like by then?
Watching the little creature struggling against him within his embrace, the man raised his hand, pressed his palm against the crown of her head, and sent a beam of purple light from his palm straight into her body, where it instantly vanished.
Liu Rumeng felt only a cool sensation on the top of her head, as if something had burrowed into her body.
She hurriedly broke free from his hold, raised a hand to touch the top of her head, and demanded, "What did you do?"
The man placed his hands behind his back, his white robes fluttering proudly in the wind and snow, and a playful yet profound look swept across her face. "Little thing, from today onward, you are mine, and you must obey my commands in all things. If you resist, I need only twitch a finger, and you will bleed to death!"
Liu Rumeng gnashed her teeth, aching to leap forward and bite this man to death!
He had gone and slapped a binding curse on her—how was this any different from the Monkey King?
She had no desire to become anyone's prisoner!
Golden Phoenix circled in the sky, its wings blotting out the sun.
The man spread his arms, leaped onto Golden Phoenix, and looked down at her from on high.
"Hate me? Then stay alive. Come and exact your revenge yourself!"
With those words, a beam of white light shot from his fingertips, scooping up Yang Yiwan. With a casual wave of his right hand, Chen Bi was struck by the white light and vanished, leaving not even a skeleton behind.
Mystic Tiger, which had been cowering in terror off to the side the whole time, now wanted to flee as well.
Yet the man used his spiritual power to seal its path until it flattened itself against the ground, utterly docile.
The man looked at Liu Rumeng, who was gnashing her teeth in resentment at the edge of the cliff, a trace of doting fondness flashing in his eyes. "She's yours."
Then, riding Golden Phoenix, he vanished into the boundless sky.
Everything returned to peace once more.
Aside from the gouge marks on the ground, it was as though nothing had happened at all.
Liu Rumeng gritted her teeth.
She had intended to teach Yang Yiwan a lesson, but in the end, she had suffered a huge loss herself.
Sooner or later, she would make him kneel at her feet!
Liu Rumeng was just about to step inside to check on Mother Yang when a low tiger growl sounded from behind her—it was none other than Yang Yiwan's mount.
She had originally wanted nothing to do with that man's belongings, but upon second thought, why refuse a free gift? Moreover, with her body not yet fully recovered, she truly needed a "flyer." At worst, once she recovered, she could hunt a higher-grade spirit beast and return it to him!
Mystic Tiger flattened itself submissively on the ground. When Liu Rumeng walked over, it immediately wagged its tail to show obedience and even reached out its tongue to lick her hand.
Liu Rumeng found herself growing rather fond of this big cat. As it happened, cats had been her favorite in her past life, and this life had delivered a giant cat straight to her, fulfilling her wish.
Mystic Tiger knew how to submit to the strong; it had long since forgotten its previous master and recognized Liu Rumeng as its true owner, showering her with every form of spoiled affection and flattery. After being licked all over her face until it was dripping wet, Liu Rumeng finally pushed its head away and climbed onto its back, steadying herself.
The long tiger fur was both warm and comfortable, and the softness was extreme. Suddenly overcome with a playful impulse, Liu Rumeng pressed her face against Mystic Tiger's back and rubbed hard against it.
Mystic Tiger let out a comfortable grunt, its fierce eyes narrowing, and its tail wagged with even greater delight.
"You still need a name." Liu Rumeng pondered for a moment, the corners of her lips curling upward. "Let's call you Baoma!"
A sweat-blood steed had always been the hallmark of a famous general, even if this particular steed was a bit oversized.
Mystic Tiger seemed to love its name; it lifted its front paws high into the air and let out a deafening tiger roar!
Liu Rumeng had originally wanted to ride Mystic Tiger out for a flight to test the waters, but then she remembered that Mother Yang was still asleep under her slumber-inducing acupressure technique. She hurried back inside the house to release Mother Yang's acupoints, fed her some soup, and then slipped back outside with an excuse.
Mystic Tiger obediently hid behind the house, only coming out when it heard Liu Rumeng call its name.
Liu Rumeng mounted Mystic Tiger and issued her command.
Mystic Tiger immediately sprinted across the snowfield, its massive body slowly lifting off the ground to soar into mid-air, leaving the scenery below far behind.
Liu Rumeng quickly mastered the essentials of riding. In addition, she discovered several little tricks—for instance, Mystic Tiger loved having its ears scratched and could tell when she was praising it.
Whenever Liu Rumeng praised it for flying smoothly, it would invariably bounce up and down with excitement, only quieting down when she scolded it a little.
In this manner, the two of them flew for the better part of the day, until Liu Rumeng suddenly spotted a tiny green dot on the snowy ground below, which appeared to be the shape of a person.
"Down!"
At the command, Mystic Tiger executed a steep dive, plunging straight toward the ground.
Landing on the snowy earth, Mystic Tiger lowered its body, and Liu Rumeng jumped off its back to walk over to the figure.
It really was a person. She was dressed in a green gown and stood only a fraction taller than Liu Rumeng, but now she lay sprawled face-down in the snow, seemingly devoid of breath.
Liu Rumeng could not bring herself to stand by and watch someone die, so she lifted the woman onto Mystic Tiger and flew back home.
Once inside, she fed the girl a bit of Black Spirit Ointment, warmed her body with hot wine, and changed her into a cleaner set of clothes.
Before long, the girl finally stirred from unconsciousness.
Liu Rumeng brought a bowl of hot broth to her lips. "Drink some soup."
The girl looked at Liu Rumeng and suddenly struggled to sit up.
"What are you doing?"
"F-Fourth Miss!"
Liu Rumeng set the bowl down and tested the waters. "Are you from the Yang Estate?"
"...Miss, does the Miss not recognize your maid? I am Xiaoqing."
Xiaoqing?
Liu Rumeng quickly searched her memories, finally managing to unearth a faint trace of the name.
As it turned out, back when Xiaoqing had first been bought into the estate, she had frequently suffered bullying. Seeing that she was young, Mother Yang had secretly given her a hand from time to time, eventually taking her on as a personal assistant.
Later on, after Mother Yang was defiled by Yang Zhengchun and banished to the back courtyard, Xiaoqing took pity on their plight and would occasionally sneak food to them. Unfortunately, Song Sanniang discovered this and secretly reported it, leading to Xiaoqing's punishment and reassignment to serve as a maid in the Second Miss's courtyard.
"Miss! It was useless of me; I couldn't protect you, and I let you both get banished to a place like this. I deserve to die! The Madam was so good to Xiaoqing back then, and I had no way to repay her. I thought that by working in the Second Miss's courtyard I could find evidence to clear your names, but I was too stupid! I'm sorry, Miss!" With that, she buried her face against the edge of the bed and wept bitterly.
A warm sensation washed over Liu Rumeng's heart. She gently helped Xiaoqing up. "You don't need to blame yourself. None of this is your fault."
Xiaoqing was only a year older than Liu Rumeng, but because of the bullying she had endured over the years in the estate, she was only slightly taller than Liu Rumeng—a truly pitiful little girl.
The two had often played together in their childhoods, and Xiaoqing had indeed frequently saved food for Yang An and her mother, proving herself to be loyal and affectionate.
Liu Rumeng guessed that she must have been framed to be cast out to this place.
"Miss, you have no idea what terrible things they say behind your back about you and the Madam. They claim you aren't even the Master's... and they say the Madam frequently met with wild men outside! When I argued with them, First Madam even turned around and punished me instead! Miss, it's such a blessing that you're still alive. Everyone said... everyone said you were already dead!" Xiaoqing's words tumbled out in a jumbled stream, full of genuine emotion.
In her past life, Liu Rumeng had known a few acquaintances, but true confidants were few; she could not help feeling a stir of emotion. "See? I'm doing just fine."
Xiaoqing sniffled as she looked her over, and seeing that though Liu Rumeng's complexion remained poor, her spirit seemed vastly improved, she finally relaxed her guard.
"Why did you collapse out there?" This place was a great distance from the Yang Estate; it was completely impossible for her to have walked here on her own.
Hearing this, Xiaoqing's little face darkened once more as she recounted the events of the day.
Liu Rumeng's gaze turned icy. "It's her again!"
Xiaoqing continued, "They originally intended to throw me out onto the snow to freeze to death. But I kept thinking of the Miss, wanting to lay eyes on the Miss one last time before I died, so I crawled all the way here... I truly never imagined I would see the Miss again!"
Liu Rumeng patted her small cheek. "Since the Yang Estate has cast you aside, you might as well live here with me. At least I'll have some company."
Xiaoqing shook her head hurriedly. "I know the Miss is kind to me, but I don't want to drag the Miss down any further. If they find out I'm living here with the Miss, they'll surely..."
Liu Rumeng cut her off. "Just stay here. Whatever happens, I will handle it."
Xiaoqing stared blankly at Liu Rumeng, feeling that she had changed immensely from before. If it were the old days, Yang An would certainly have watched her leave with hesitation.
A thought occurred to Liu Rumeng. "I have something to ask you. What is the Zen Sect?"
Xiaoqing blinked. "It's no surprise the Fourth Miss doesn't know. No one ever taught you these things. I've only ever heard people mention it. The Zen Sect is a foundation platform that everyone is born with; spiritual power grows and breaks through upon this platform. The larger the Zen Sect, the faster spiritual power grows. Conversely, if the Zen Sect is too small or has been sealed away, a person's spiritual power will vanish."
A sudden realization dawned on Liu Rumeng. The Zen Sect was essentially like soil—the more fertile the soil, the better the fruit that grew upon it. Conversely, if the soil was damaged, plants naturally could not sprout.
That man had said her Zen Sect had been sealed since childhood, meaning she wasn't born lacking spiritual power; rather, someone had blocked the channel of her growth! For all these years, Yang An had remained completely oblivious!
Who on earth had done this?
Yang Zhengchun? First Madam?
Liu Rumeng knitted her brows. "Is there any way to break the seal?"
"That... Xiaoqing doesn't know. But I once heard a rumor that if a person's spiritual power reaches its absolute peak, it can shatter the seal of the Zen Sect."
"Spiritual power reaching its peak?" With the Zen Sect sealed, possessing spiritual power was out of the question—how could it possibly reach a peak?
Understanding Liu Rumeng's doubt, Xiaoqing continued, "Aside from natural growth, spiritual power can also be replenished through various methods, such as spirit crystals, or borrowing spiritual power from others, or... or..."
Xiaoqing suddenly began to stutter. Liu Rumeng asked, puzzled, "Or what?"
"Or... engaging in dual cultivation... mingling water and milk with someone of immense spiritual power... that can also promote the growth of spiritual power."
In other words, dual cultivation.
She had assumed such plots only existed in cultivation novels...
Liu Rumeng directly dismissed the final method. She, Liu Rumeng, would never condescend to rely on a man to grow stronger!
Spirit crystals—that sounded promising.
Tomorrow, she would have Erxue go out and look for some.
The hour was late. The two of them leaned against each other on the bed and chatted for a while before quickly drifting off to sleep.
Early the next morning, panting sounds drifted in from outside the window. A light sleeper, Liu Rumeng woke with a start and hurriedly got out of bed to push open the window.
Outside was Daxue, who had been gone for a long time. Its once-snow-white fur was now filthy and gray, the blood around its nose had dried, and an entire left ear was missing, dried blood crusting over and staining the fur around its neck.
The moment it saw Liu Rumeng, Daxue whimpered and rubbed against her affectionately, emitting panting cries from its throat.
"What happened?" For someone to actually be able to injure a Snow Demon...
Daxue tugged at her clothing, pulling her outward. Seeing that Xiaoqing was still fast asleep, Liu Rumeng carefully vaulted out of the window and followed the creature.
Daxue led her all the way to the back courtyard, where she saw Sanxue lying motionless on the snow in the distance. Drawing closer, she saw a vast expanse of startling, glaring crimson.
Daxue paced continuously around Sanxue, uttering anxious cries that sounded much like mourning.
Liu Rumeng squatted beside Sanxue, checked its pulse at the neck, and shook her head helplessly.
Sanxue had stopped breathing long ago.
Daxue seemed to understand the reality of Sanxue's death; it slumped over Sanxue's body, rubbing its small head against it again and again.
Although she had not known these little spirit beasts for long, in this vast, snowy expanse, they were her only companions. Liu Rumeng felt a slight heat prickle behind her eyes as she bent down to pick up Sanxue, carried it to the edge of the waterfall, washed the blood from its body, and carefully buried it.
Several Snow Demons ran in from all directions, gathering around the tiny grave to lower their heads and wail.
Liu Rumeng pulled Daxue toward her, stroking the injury on its ear with a heart full of ache.
"What kind of thing hurt you?"
Daxue panted and cried, but Liu Rumeng could not understand a word. Suddenly, Daxue curled its body into a ball, a soft flash of white light swept past, and in the spot where Daxue had stood, there appeared a doll-like child carved of pink jade.
Liu Rumeng started in surprise, suddenly recalling a sentence written on the final page of an ancient bestiary of spirit beasts: *There are spirit beasts that, after over a millennium, can take human form resembling a child; they can be eaten or tamed, and feeding them blood aids their growth, though they are exceedingly rare, unseen in a hundred years.*
Looking at the wobbly little toddler before her, Liu Rumeng suddenly felt as though all her good luck had been spent today.
The toddler was around a year old, plump and fair, with arms that looked like strings of lotus roots, closely resembling a New Year's picture baby. He wore only a small white tunic and sported a single little tufted topknot on his head, making him utterly adorable.
He toddled unsteadily toward Liu Rumeng, flung himself into her arms, and sobbed, "T-they were bad... they bit Sanxue, and they hit Baby too."
Baby... must refer to himself.
It took Liu Rumeng quite a while to accept the reality that a human baby had suddenly appeared in her arms.
Fearing he would catch a chill, she hurriedly wrapped him in fur, leaving only his tender, fair little face exposed. "Who were they?"
"Hmph, Demon Grass! They beat us together. Sanxue protected Baby, so, so it died, wah-wah-wah!"
"There, there, don't cry, don't cry..." Having no experience in raising children, Liu Rumeng found herself growing flustered.
The toddler wept as he wiped away his tears, his long eyelashes fluttering like a pair of tiny folding fans, wringing Liu Rumeng's heart with pity.
"Big sister will take you to get revenge!"
The toddler stopped crying, blinked his black-and-white eyes, and shook his head with a wronged expression. "Master can't beat them."
He could even tell that?
Just how useless was she considered to be, if even a spirit beast pitied her...?
"They have claws with poison, and mouths this long, this long! I don't want Master to get hurt, I don't!"
Such a considerate and adorable spirit beast struck straight at all of Liu Rumeng's soft spots; she truly wished she could gather every good thing in the world and lay it before him to make him happy.
However, her immediate task was to figure out what Demon Grass actually was and whether it posed a danger to them.
Liu Rumeng gently questioned Daxue regarding the Demon Grass.
As it turned out, Daxue had gone out that day to forage for medicinal herbs, and Sanxue, being playful, had tagged along. The two little fellows searched for a long time before spotting the herbs Liu Rumeng needed near a cave atop the eastern cliff. Just as they were about to climb down to harvest them, they were ambushed by the Demon Grass residing within the cave. Sanxue had died protecting Daxue, and Daxue had dragged Sanxue through a wild, frantic escape all the way back home.
The Demon Grass specialized in harming lower-level spirit beasts, surviving by drinking their blood. They grew exclusively in places where medicinal herbs clustered, using them as bait to lure spirit beasts. Had Daxue not fled swiftly, it would likely have ended up as a meal on their plates by now.
Hearing this, Liu Rumeng was both shocked and furious.
Yet she knew her current strength was no match for the Demon Grass, so she could only log this blood debt in her mind and exact her revenge another day.
Having suffered injuries, Daxue soon fell asleep in Liu Rumeng's arms. Liu Rumeng carried it back inside, placed it beside Xiaoqing, and then turned to step outside.
She wanted to tidy up Sanxue's grave, if only to honor the bond they had shared.
Just as she reached the waterfall, a deep, rumbling sound suddenly echoed from the bottom of the lake, and the ground began to tremble, frightening the few small Snow Demons into scattering in all directions.
Liu Rumeng forced herself to stay calm, suddenly realizing that she no longer felt the same agonizing distress as before. Thanks to her recuperation over the past few days, her organs still felt compressed, but not overwhelmingly so.
As she prepared to leave, a wisp of black vapor caught the corner of her eye drifting up from the surface of the lake. The vapor was exceptionally dense, roiling in clumps across the water amidst splashing waves, looking exceedingly eerie.
Driven by curiosity, Liu Rumeng stepped closer, step by step. Along the way, Sixue even ran out to try and pull her away, but she could not overcome Liu Rumeng's intense inquisitiveness.
Finally reaching the lake shore, Liu Rumeng saw that the water was choked with black mist, nearly obscuring the surface. The black vapor churned and boiled, as though something was about to burst out at any second.
Liu Rumeng guessed that something might be happening with the coffin at the bottom of the lake once more, but given her current condition, entering the water was out of the question; all she could do was keep watch from the shore.
After an unknown length of time, the tremors gradually subsided, yet the black vapor lingered persistently, even blanketing the entire lake so that, viewed from afar, it resembled a lake of pure ink.
Liu Rumeng picked up a wooden stick and stirred the water. The stick plunged into the mist and instantly seemed seized by some suction, impossible to pull back out. Exerting some force, Liu Rumeng managed to yank the stick free, and then a miraculous thing happened.