After Being Certified by the Immortal Lord on the Path of Ruthlessness - Chapter 17

Ever since Ye Qingge had nailed the three bully families to the banyan tree that day and made such protective remarks about Jiang Mianhao, people had been speculating about the relationship between the two. Some of the more curious even went so far as to ask Jiang Mianhao directly.

Even Ling Lan had heard quite a few rumors.

For the past few days, Ling Lan had been eagerly getting up before dawn. She practiced with a roughly carved peach wood sword, having seemingly mastered the movements on her own.

After this incident, Ling Lan deeply understood the importance of powerful spiritual energy. If she remained just a lily of the valley for the rest of her life, she would never have the chance to protect Jiang Mianhao. They would forever be orphaned grasses, bullied by others.

But what if she were an immortal like Lu Jiu? With just a few moves, she could take down troublemakers.

Ling Lan headed out to practice, carrying her carefully crafted wooden sword. Her gaze fell upon Jiang Mianhao, who was busy in her little house, and a sense of unease settled in her heart.

Hesitating and pacing back and forth, she finally stopped in front of Jiang Mianhao’s window.

“Mianhao,” Ling Lan scratched her head, unsure how to phrase her thoughts.

Hearing her name, Jiang Mianhao turned around. She had been pondering the exercises Lu Jiu had assigned her the night before.

“What’s up, Lanlan?” Jiang Mianhao put down her brush and turned to face her. “Is something wrong?”

Ling Lan shook her head, still hesitating about how to broach the subject. How should she ask? And what exactly should she ask?

She let out a long sigh, annoyed at her own indecisiveness. There was even a faint sense of loss that she hadn’t noticed herself. A feeling of crisis she felt toward Lu Jiu but not toward Mi Xiu.

In the end, Ling Lan didn’t ask anything. She didn’t want to be too abrupt and hurt the relationship between Jiang Mianhao and Lu Jiu.

“It’s nothing,” Ling Lan said casually. “I just wanted to ask where Lu Jiu is.”

Jiang Mianhao replied, “Oh, Lu Jiu? She went out early this morning. I knocked on her door, but no one answered.”

Ling Lan nodded and said nothing more.

As the atmosphere grew quiet, Jiang Mianhao sensed something was off and took the initiative to ask, “Lanlan, what’s that in your hand?”

Ling Lan was holding the peach wood sword she had meticulously made. Only when Jiang Mianhao asked did she remember she still needed to practice at the mountain peak.

“It’s a sword,” Ling Lan said softly. “Do you want to watch me practice? Let’s go to the mountain peak!”

Jiang Mianhao immediately nodded enthusiastically.

……

……

Meanwhile, Ye Qingge was at the mountain peak, overlooking Mount Taibai.

That morning, as soon as she opened her door, she had caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure darting by. Her intuition told her it was the same aura of the Ao Bird she had sensed in Ling Lan’s basket that day, so she immediately gave chase.

But the shadow was extremely vigilant. By the time Ye Qingge caught up, it had vanished like smoke.

She searched the entire mountaintop but found no trace of the shadow. Strange phenomena had been occurring frequently at Mount Taibai’s peak these past few days, and this shadow was likely an illusion.

Ye Qingge’s intuition told her that the Ao Bird tribe was probably at the foot of the mountain. And below the mountain was the mortal world.

Her eyes darkened, a flicker of suspicion in her heart.

Before she could collect her thoughts, rustling sounds came from behind her.

……

……

At the peak of Mount Taibai, green mountains were veiled in thin mist. The silence of the long night was disrupted by the cheerful laughter of a young girl.

Ling Lan proudly demonstrated the sword techniques she had created herself, then handed the wooden sword to Jiang Mianhao.

The rough wooden handle had already been warmed by the girl’s palm, and when Jiang Mianhao took it, she also received Ling Lan’s body temperature.

The wooden sword that had sliced through wind and clouds in Ling Lan’s hands became nothing more than a block of wood in Jiang Mianhao’s grasp.

The heavy piece of wood poked at the air a few times before drooping heavily downward.

Jiang Mianhao looked at her reddened, chafed palm and sighed.

“It’s okay, Mianhao,” Ling Lan said, lifting her hand and gently blowing on it to soothe her. “You’re already doing great.”

Jiang Mianhao sighed again and said, “Maybe I’m just not suited for the sword.”

“I think so too!” A rustling sound came from the grass, and the next moment, a person emerged from the bushes.

Seeing the sudden appearance, Ling Lan immediately raised her sword in alert.

“What’s this, what’s this!” Mi Xiu cooperatively raised her hands. “Don’t you recognize me?”

“Xiu Xiu?” Jiang Mianhao looked at the person who had suddenly appeared and asked, “Why are you here?”

“I’m just sunbathing!” Mi Xiu laughed heartily, awkwardly changing the subject. “Mian Mian has little strength; why not try a soft weapon?”

“Soft weapon?” Jiang Mianhao tilted her head in confusion. “What’s a soft weapon?”

Mi Xiu was stumped by the question, pondering how to describe it.

Just then, a figure approached slowly from a distance, silver-white hair and robes bathed in sunlight, each step unhurried like an immortal from a painting.

Mi Xiu stared in awe, her gaze falling on Ye Qingge’s hand.

A slender willow branch.

“I think you could try this,” Ye Qingge said as she approached, flicking her wrist to toss the willow branch to Jiang Mianhao.

Watching the willow branch fly straight toward her, Jiang Mianhao leaped lightly and caught it with an uplifted hand.

The slender willow branch fit perfectly in her hand. With a gentle flick, the branch snapped crisply in the air.

Mi Xiu clapped her hands and cheered, “This is a soft weapon!”

The willow branch in her hand, though detached from its source and withered, seemed to come alive again in Jiang Mianhao’s grasp.

Ling Lan, still holding the peachwood stick, couldn’t help but feel happy seeing Jiang Mianhao find a weapon that suited her.

“There are plenty of weapons down the mountain!” Seizing the moment, Mi Xiu abruptly suggested, “Now that Lanlan and Mian Mian have mostly recovered and successfully taken human form, it’s time to journey down the mountain!”

Ling Lan slapped her forehead and said, “Right! You mentioned it last time.”

“Down the mountain!” Jiang Mianhao grew excited. “I want to go too!”

In no time, the three of them were chattering away, completely in agreement.

Standing to the side, Ye Qingge’s eyes darkened, her gaze lingering on Mi Xiu without shifting.

She had been struggling to find a way to bring up the topic of going down the mountain, and now this blade of grass’s suggestion had come just in time.

But perhaps it was a little too timely.

“Lu Jiu!” Jiang Mianhao turned and asked softly, “Will you come with us?”

Looking at the three excited girls, Ye Qingge replied indifferently, “I don’t oppose going down the mountain, but…”

“The path of cultivation is fraught with dangers.”

Ye Qingge didn’t continue, merely fixing her calm gaze on Jiang Mianhao.

Time seemed to stand still, with only the fluttering fireflies and the lingering white mist on the mountain cliffs around them.

The four girls stood scattered, each with a distinct style.

Mi Xiu was still analyzing the meaning behind Ye Qingge’s words, feeling somewhat puzzled.

“Then let’s go!”

A clear, melodious girl’s voice broke the stalemate. The peach wood sword traced elegant arcs in the air before being withdrawn, its wielder’s pale-yellow skirt fluttering slightly with the movement.

“Please come down the mountain with us!”

Ling Lan stood radiant, the wooden sword in her hand pointing directly at Ye Qingge.

Bathed in golden sunlight, the girl standing at the cliff’s edge had her high ponytail dancing in the wind. Her pale yellow dress seemed to merge with the warm sunshine surrounding her.