After Being Certified by the Immortal Lord on the Path of Ruthlessness - Chapter 56

Jiang Mianhao was jolted by a sudden fright.

 

She spun around abruptly, but there was nothing behind her.

 

“Lu Jiu?” Jiang Mianhao tentatively called out softly, reaching her hand forward. “Lu Jiu, are you in the room?”

 

The room was pitch-black, and Jiang Mianhao couldn’t see a thing.

 

As she spoke, she cautiously moved forward, stretching out her hand to feel her way around.

 

Just as she turned around, a faint glint of cold light flashed in the long night, and a swift blade was unsheathed.

 

The red python that had been closely following Jiang Mianhao didn’t even have time to react before it was mercilessly slain by the sword.

 

Jiang Mianhao, who was still cautiously moving forward, was so terrified that her breath hitched. She stood frozen in place, eyes wide with shock.

 

She heard the sound of a sword behind her, but her legs felt as heavy as lead, unable to move an inch.

Her vision remained completely dark, and the surroundings were eerily silent.

 

The blade that had just been unsheathed seemed like nothing more than a hallucination.

 

Yet, the faint scent of blood lingering in the air served as a stark reminder that it wasn’t.

 

Jiang Mianhao had no idea what to do. She stood rooted to the spot, as if paralyzed by fear.

 

She didn’t know who was standing in the room and didn’t dare make another move.

 

A faint rustling sound brushed past her feet, and before Jiang Mianhao could pull her foot back,

 

something incredibly swift flew toward her.

 

It grazed past her cheek and ear, embedding itself firmly into the wall behind her.

 

Was that hidden weapon aimed at her?

 

Jiang Mianhao swallowed hard, her intuition telling her that someone was in the room.

“Lu Jiu, is that you?” Jiang Mianhao asked hoarsely, her voice barely a whisper. “Are you standing opposite me?”

 

Jiang Mianhao desperately hoped for an affirmative answer. Her heart felt as though it were being squeezed by an invisible hand, so tight she could hardly breathe.

 

But her question seemed to vanish into the void, unanswered.

 

An overwhelming fear slowly crept into the depths of her heart.

 

Unbeknownst to her, she was already surrounded by snakes. All she could hear was the rapid rustling sound and the scent of blood emanating from beside her.

 

Ye Qingge stood behind the door, coldly observing the red snakes slithering around the room.

 

The appearance of these snakes was suspicious, and the snowfall that morning had been equally unusual.

 

The continuous snow had piled up thickly.

 

The heavy snowfall had sealed off the mountain, yet it showed no signs of stopping.

 

Typically, Qingnü, the deity in charge of snowfall, would allocate it according to the region. Plains like Mount Hua were not prone to excessive snowfall.

 

So, when Jiang Mianhao opened the door to play in the snow that morning, Ye Qingge sensed her delight but immediately grew wary.

 

No matter how heavily it snowed, the snow on Mount Hua would never be as heavy as on Mount Tai.

 

Sure enough, after using a decoy spell, Ye Qingge detected not only Jiang Mianhao’s curiosity but also the snakes hidden beneath the snow.

 

As the sky gradually darkened, the room had become filled with snakes.

 

Ye Qingge remained invisible, sipping tea and reviewing scrolls in the room, waiting for the snakes to make their move.

 

During this time, the soaring bird had come to check numerous times. Just as Jiang Mianhao pushed the door open,

 

the soaring bird, which had been perched on the desk, suddenly transformed into a wisp of black smoke and vanished into the night.

 

This time, it was clear that both the snakes and the bird were targeting Jiang Mianhao.

 

Could it be that Jiang Mianhao’s identity as her love tribulation had been exposed? Were they trying to strike at her weakness?

 

The thought crossed Ye Qingge’s mind, but she quickly dismissed it.

 

Sealing off Mount Hua with heavy snow and sending both snakes and birds indicated that they were after something.

 

It seemed the snakes and birds hadn’t obtained what they wanted the last time.

 

But why Jiang Mianhao?

 

Ye Qingge couldn’t understand. She had examined Jiang Mianhao’s true form. Just an utterly ordinary little blade of grass.

 

Tracing back three generations, they were all common, unremarkable Sleepwell Grass.

 

In fact, after investigating three generations of Jiang Mianhao’s family, she discovered Jiang Mianhao was the only one who had taken human form and awakened spiritual consciousness.

 

Sleepwell Grass inherently possessed low cultivation and stubbornly poor foundations.

 

The reason Jiang Mianhao could take human form was entirely due to growing on Mount Taibai and absorbing the essence of the sun and moon.

 

What could possibly be worth scheming for in a low-grade blade of grass like this?

 

Watching the snake pinned by ice blades still refusing to give up, stubbornly struggling.

 

Ye Qingge remained silent, continuing to maintain her invisible state.

 

After all, with her here, Jiang Mianhao wouldn’t get hurt.

 

The snake that had died miserably under the ice blades didn’t even let out a wail, let alone send any signals.

 

Ye Qingge glanced at Jiang Mianhao and realized she had long been frightened into a daze, standing frozen in place.

 

She didn’t even notice the snake slithering past her side.

 

Ye Qingge watched as the red snake crawled to Jiang Mianhao’s side, tentatively climbing up her pant leg and continuing upward.

 

The previously terrified girl finally moved, screaming and jumping up and down to shake off the creature on her.

“Lu Jiu! Lu Jiu, are you there? Be careful, there’s something in the room!”

 

Jiang Mianhao’s voice trembled with tears, everything before her eyes filling her with terror and fear.

 

The slimy sensation made Jiang Mianhao break out in goosebumps. She screamed, “It’s a snake! Lu Jiu, there are snakes in your room!”

 

Getting no response, Jiang Mianhao grew both anxious and scared, but she suppressed the fear in her heart and groped her way forward.

 

Low-level grass spirits with weak cultivation and spiritual power all shared one flaw:

 

night blindness.

 

This flaw was magnified in Jiang Mianhao. She had severe night blindness.

 

Right now, everything before her eyes was pitch black.

 

In her overly tense state, she could only hear her own heartbeat and ragged breathing.

 

“Lu Jiu, are you even in the room?” Jiang Mianhao was terrified. She initially wanted to feel her way back out the way she came.

But she feared Lu Jiu might still be asleep in bed and could get hurt by the snakes in the room.

 

Almost without hesitation, Jiang Mianhao resolutely groped her way forward.

 

Her vision was completely dark; she could only rely on memory to move ahead.

 

Her knee bumped into a stool, emitting a dull thud.

 

Jiang Mianhao winced in pain, letting out a soft grunt before biting her lip to endure it.

 

If she couldn’t wake Lu Jiu, it meant she was sleeping too deeply.

 

Although there was also the possibility that Lu Jiu wasn’t in the room at all, Jiang Mianhao didn’t dare take that chance.

 

As she felt her way forward, she kept praying in her heart that the snakes wouldn’t crawl near Lu Jiu.

 

At the same time, she prayed to the goddess for protection, hoping Lu Jiu wasn’t in the room at all.

 

Jiang Mianhao groped ahead, stopping where she thought was the right spot based on memory and reaching forward.

But she had stopped a few steps too early. Her hand swept through empty air, and she tumbled straight down.

 

Her head hit the bedpost with a heavy, muffled thud.

 

The impact was severe. Jiang Mianhao clutched her head, tears streaming down instantly.

 

She bit her lip hard and softly comforted herself, “It doesn’t hurt, Jiang Mianhao, it doesn’t hurt at all. It doesn’t hurt one bit.”

 

Tears fell like broken strings of pearls, ceaselessly.

 

Yet despite this, she kept her lips tightly sealed, not uttering a single sound of pain.

 

She was afraid that Lu Jiu might still be in the room and would worry if she heard her cries of pain.

 

Her head throbbed dizzily from the impact, and the skin on her palms and knees was scraped raw.

 

Jiang Mianhao simply gave up trying to stand and continued forward in that position.

 

She called out softly, “Lu Jiu? Lu Jiu, can you hear me?”

While calling out, she crawled forward on her hands and knees.

 

Standing by the door, Ye Qingge instinctively reached out to help when she saw Jiang Mianhao fall.

 

But afraid that getting too close might disturb the other red snakes, Ye Qingge ultimately withdrew her outstretched hand and remained where she was, unmoving.

 

She watched as Jiang Mianhao rubbed her head and heard her softly comforting herself, saying, “It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t hurt.”

 

She had thought Jiang Mianhao would give up, but instead, she stubbornly crawled forward on her hands and knees.

 

Do you care about yourself that much?

 

Ye Qingge frowned, unable to suppress a surge of pity.

 

With snakes nearby and a throbbing head, Jiang Mianhao had endured her fear and pain, groping her way to the edge of the bed.

 

Unaware of the situation, Jiang Mianhao had already climbed onto the bed.

 

After carefully searching every corner of the bed, Jiang Mianhao finally felt relieved.

Lu Jiu wasn’t in the room.

 

Then, who was the other person in the room?

 

Goosebumps instantly covered Jiang Mianhao’s entire body. She curled up on the bed, not daring to move.

 

Before her was endless darkness, her scraped knees throbbing with a piercing pain, and the impact had disheveled her hair.

 

The disheveled girl could only sit helplessly on the bed, wrapping her arms around her knees.

 

The pain she had deliberately suppressed earlier broke through the final barrier, spreading from her injuries to every part of her body.

 

Jiang Mianhao began to cry helplessly, tears falling in a steady stream.

 

It wasn’t just the physical pain; the greater agony came from the fear of the unknown before her.

 

“I’m not scared, I’m not scared. Lu Jiu will be back soon,” Jiang Mianhao sobbed heavily, her voice thick with tears. “Lu Jiu will be back soon. Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.”

 

Lost in extreme fear, the girl repeated these jumbled, illogical phrases over and over.

 

Though she was comforting herself with each word, her tears only fell more fiercely.

 

Jiang Mianhao didn’t dare cry too loudly, unsure of what might be in the room.

 

She feared her sobs would draw the concern of Jiang Yunjuan, who cared deeply for her.

 

Her cries were suppressed and restrained as she gently patted her own arm, murmuring, “Lu Jiu will be here soon. Be strong… a little… strong… be strong.”

 

Her words were fragmented and disjointed from crying so intensely.

 

The snakes on the floor continued to crawl, still searching for something.

 

They seemed oblivious to the crying girl on the bed, winding around the bedposts instead.

 

Ye Qingge’s patience finally ran out. She raised her hand, opened the door, and closed it again.

 

At the same time, she lifted her hand and pinned all the still-crawling red snakes to the ground with ice blades.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Jiang Mianhao looked up and, through tear-filled eyes, saw a figure.

 

Then came a familiar voice.

 

“Jiang Mianhao, are you there?” Ye Qingge asked, looking at the person sitting on the bed.

 

“Lu Jiu!” Finally hearing the familiar voice, Jiang Mianhao burst into loud sobs. “There are snakes in the room, and something strange, wuwuwu.”

 

Ye Qingge stepped toward the bed, softly comforting her, “I’ve already taken care of them all.”

 

She watched as the curled-up girl lifted her head in confusion, straining to find her.

 

Ye Qingge sighed and lifted her hand to pull the person into her embrace. “Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”

 

Falling into the warm embrace and breathing in the familiar scent, Jiang Mianhao’s emotions, which she had been suppressing to the limit, finally gave way uncontrollably, like a drowning person clutching a floating log.

 

At this moment, the green wine in her heart felt like a warm ray of sunshine, dispelling all the fear deep within her.

 

Jiang Mianhao clung tightly to the person before her. “You’ve finally come, Green Wine.”