After Being Certified by the Immortal Lord on the Path of Ruthlessness - Chapter 14

After successfully taking human form, Jiang Mianhao’s life became incredibly fulfilling.

At the summit of Mount Taibai lived an elderly fruit tree spirit, whose spiritual power was slightly weaker than Rong Qi’s. Every September, the tree would bear fruit.

Too many fruits would hinder the tree’s transformation, so Rong Qi had always helped pick them each year.

But a few days ago, Rong Qi was ordered to descend the mountain, leaving the task of fruit-picking to the three newly transformed grass spirits.

Thus, Jiang Mianhao found herself busy with new tasks almost every day.

And Ye Qingge was no exception.

She marked out her chosen spot, laid the foundation with ice blades, and with a mere wave of her hand, the house from her blueprint materialized.

After spending several consecutive days picking fruits with Ling Lan and Mi Xiu, Jiang Mianhao finally had a rare day at home.

When she stepped outside after waking up, she was stunned speechless by the sight of Ye Qingge’s new house.

The door to Ye Qingge’s small house was open, so Jiang Mianhao walked straight in.

The moment she entered, she saw the white-robed immortal seated at a writing desk.

“Lujiu!” Jiang Mianhao gasped, her mouth agape. “When did you—”

Hearing the commotion, Ye Qingge looked up and responded with a soft “Hmm,” then asked, “Not picking fruits today?”

Jiang Mianhao shook her head, her eyes sparkling with delight as she took in her surroundings.

The room was bright, with walls as white as jade, and an incense burner filled the air with the familiar, soothing fragrance unique to Ye Qingge.

Seeing the curiosity in the girl’s eyes, Ye Qingge knew her decision to leave the door open had been the right one.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to learn calligraphy?” Ye Qingge gently ground the inkstone, the rice paper already spread out on the table. “Shall we start today?”

Morning light streamed in, casting a glow over Ye Qingge’s shoulders.

Jiang Mianhao stared in awe, her heart swelling with an indescribable warmth.

By the time Ye Qingge finished smoothing the paper, she turned to find Jiang Mianhao already dipping the brush tip into the ink.

“Like this?” Jiang Mianhao lifted the ink-soaked brush, grinning as she asked.

Ye Qingge studied her smile, then frowned slightly.

The girl held the brush, her eyes crinkled with joy.

But unbeknownst to her, a droplet of thick black ink had splashed onto her cheek.

The tiny black speck stood out starkly against her fair skin, making it appear even paler.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Mianhao asked nervously, noticing Ye Qingge’s slight frown. “Did I do it wrong?”

Flustered, she hurriedly tried to set the brush down, but in her haste, another drop of ink splattered onto her cheek. This one much larger.

Feeling the cool wetness, Jiang Mianhao gasped and immediately wiped at it with her hand.

The smudge only worsened, spreading into a long streak that trailed down to the space between her nose and upper lip.

The sensitive spot made her sneeze.

Watching this series of mishaps, Ye Qingge couldn’t help but curve her lips into a smile.

Jiang Mianhao’s face was now a mess, evoking the image of a playful child.

Truly, the pure-hearted grass spirit was as innocent as a hundred-year-old child.

Looking down at the ink staining her fingers, Jiang Mianhao didn’t need to guess. Her face must be even more of a spectacle.

A sudden wave of embarrassment washed over her, and she hastily covered her cheeks, not wanting to be seen.

But before she could react, a clear stream of water coiled around her.

A cool, refreshing sensation of water flowed from her fingertips to her cheeks, washing away the smudged ink completely.

Jiang Mianhao looked at her clean fingertips, then lifted her gaze to the person before her.

The person before her hadn’t yet reined in her smile. Whether it was an illusion or not, Jiang Mianhao felt that Lujiu’s eyes seemed brighter than usual.

Her golden pupils held a soft light, and the frost between her brows seemed to have melted slightly at this moment.

Jiang Mianhao couldn’t help but say, “Lujiu, you’re so beautiful.”

The water column that had just finished cleaning her flew away, splashing onto the ground.

Ye Qingge collected her thoughts and hummed in acknowledgment. “Alright, the paper is ready. Come over.”

“Okay!” Jiang Mianhao held up her brush and skipped over to sit down.

Facing the pristine, snow-white paper, she hesitated, unsure how to begin.

“Nervous?” Ye Qingge saw through her hesitation and asked softly.

Jiang Mianhao swallowed and nodded blankly.

She was sitting very close to Ye Qingge. So close that she could clearly catch the faint fragrance emanating from the person beside her.

“Then let’s start with painting today.” Ye Qingge didn’t push her, replacing the originally prepared calligraphy copybook with something else.

Jiang Mianhao nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Holding the brush, she plopped it down onto the paper with a splat.

The wolf-hair brush tip bloomed across the page, ink splattering and spreading into a large, inky flower.

Ye Qingge clicked her tongue, suppressing the discomfort in her heart.

In all her years in the celestial realm, this was the first time she’d seen someone use a brush like this.

Hearing Ye Qingge’s sound of disapproval, Jiang Mianhao asked softly, “Did I do something wrong?”

She lifted the brush, leaving behind a dense black ink flower blooming vividly on the white paper.

“It’s a flower!” Jiang Mianhao looked delightedly at the mark on the paper, her voice brimming with excitement. “Does it look like one? Later, I want to put a flower lantern by the door of my little house!”

“No—two!” Jiang Mianhao admired her own artwork with satisfaction. “This flower isn’t as pretty as lily of the valley. Later, I’ll change it to two lily-of-the-valley lanterns instead.”

Ye Qingge watched as the girl began talking to herself, finding it utterly novel.

If she had written or painted like this, she would’ve been scolded the moment the ink splattered.

And she certainly wouldn’t use such odd things to make lanterns.

“Lanterns?” Ye Qingge seemed to recall something and asked, “Do you want to put them in your own house?”

Jiang Mianhao nodded, her eyes full of longing. “Yes! I want my little house to have a window that always lets in sunlight! And a roof where I can gaze at the stars all night. Best of all, I want a cool, refreshing water bed. One I can lie on and rock back and forth!”

The more she spoke, the more animated she became, and her brush began moving across the paper again.

Ye Qingge shook her head with a smile but committed every absurd word to memory.

In the depths of her heart, the voice of the Matchmaker sounded once more.

[Divine Maiden, how goes the progress?]

Ye Qingge responded with a hum in her mind.

[It seems you and this little grass are getting along well. Divine Maiden, you may consider increasing physical contact with her appropriately.]

[Do more things that make her happy. Fulfill her wishes, stand up for her.]

Ye Qingge hummed again, puzzled. “What?”

But the Matchmaker said no more, ejected from her consciousness.

Before Ye Qingge could fully process this, another voice came from outside.

“Wow!” Ling Lan stood at the doorway, a small basket strapped to her back, standing on tiptoe. “What a beautiful house!”

Hearing the voice, Jiang Mianhao also peeked out: “Lanlan!”

Ling Lan saw Jiang Mianhao step out, her eyes widening even more: “Mianhao, what is this?”

“This is Lujiu’s house! It transformed in just a little while!” After saying this, Jiang Mianhao sensed something amiss and glanced behind her, asking, “Where’s Xiu Xiu?”

Ling Lan gave an “oh” and replied, “She said she had some business up in the mountains and might stay there for a day before coming back.”

The two stood at the door, holding hands and chatting about the little house.

Meanwhile, Ye Qingge, sitting inside, furrowed her brows.

Whether it was an illusion or not, she had caught a glimpse of a wisp of black mist flickering in Ling Lan’s small woven basket.

And this black mist was unique to the Ao Bird clan.