After My Thoughts Were Read, My Master Led Me to Change My Fate - Chapter 11

Ran Fanyin had originally not intended to intervene. Her apprentice was too afraid of this Junior Sister, and if this continued for too long, it would lead to a Heart Demon (Xīnmó). Not only would it hinder her cultivation path, but it would also cause her to lose her life to the Heart Demon.

Letting the little one negotiate and converse with this person was also a form of tempering.

However, the little one’s inner monologue about “picking the softest persimmon to squeeze” was truly too funny. Since she couldn’t laugh for no reason, intervening and resolving the immediate situation for the little one could be considered payment for the joke.

“I hope my apprentice has similar comments; they are genuinely amusing.”

Facing Ning Songwu, Lin Yuxue could still muster some spirit, but with Ran Fanyin’s sudden interjection, she didn’t know what to say.

She looked at that smile but felt no warmth, while the chill clenched in her palms repeatedly reminded her of the coldness beneath the expression of the person before her.

“N-Nothing.”

“Since it’s nothing, Niece-Apprentice, please depart on your own. This Master…” The woman gave a few light, timely coughs. Before she could speak, a thick cloak landed on her shoulders, the fluff brushing against her cheek and causing a tickle.

She looked sideways. Her apprentice was holding a straight face and was standing on tiptoe to drape the cloak over her.

$$text{[She hasn’t fully recovered yet; what if it gets worse?]} $$

$$text{[Why does she have no self-awareness, alas.]} $$

“Why can’t this little reserved bottle gourd just say it out loud?”

Ran Fanyin pinched the cloak, lowered her eyes, and said calmly, “This Master has been ill these past few days and is truly in no state to receive guests. Niece-Apprentice, please take the manual and depart on your own.”

“Elder Ran, I…” Lin Yuxue hesitated for a moment, then said, “I still want to recommend myself to you. I…”

“Niece-Apprentice, judging by seniority, you ought to call this Master, Aunt-Master (Shī Shū).”

She genuinely did not want to engage with this pitifully foolish young woman any longer. In all these years, this was the first person who consistently went against her will.

Ran Fanyin was not known for her good temper. Her eyes lowered slightly, and coldness immediately surged up.

“Did you just return from down the mountain? Then you should have gone to Luo Yun Palace to find the Sect Leader first. Next time…” The woman let out a soft laugh and lightly waved her folding fan. “Next time, be sure not to go to the wrong place again.”

$$text{[Waving a fan while sick? Isn’t she cold? A serious question: How can I snatch that fan away…]} $$

Elder Ran subtly put away her fan, merely watching the arrogant young woman with a cold smile.

“Elder, I am already at the Mid-Stage of Qi Condensation, and it has only been four months. My talent is clearly here. Why are you unwilling to even look at me? Instead, you keep looking at this person… who doesn’t even know enough to change her clothes when receiving guests…”

$$text{[Oh my heavens, why are you so clumsy, little sister? Weren’t you quite manipulative later in the story? Why are you such a dimwit now?]} $$

$$text{[Did the author not feel awkward when writing a character like this?]} $$

It was simply painful to watch.

She heard the woman give a faint affirmation, and her heart jumped in alarm. $$text{[Is the protagonist halo that strong? Is the plot going to bend back? Am I going to die?]} $$

Ran Fanyin felt helpless. She simply thought her apprentice was right. How was she supposed to tell her that?

The arrogant young woman, upon hearing the affirmation, gained momentum. “So, Elder, are you…”

“This Master only thinks you are too dull, and it is uninteresting to tease you. Do not overthink it.”

$$text{[Then, am I interesting to tease?]} $$

“Elder, then, if I win the secret realm assessment half a year from now, will you reconsider?”

Lin Yuxue wanted to continue speaking, but her limbs were suddenly tightly enveloped by a soft wind. In the next instant, she was thrown outside the barrier, with only a light sentence drifting into her ear—

“Too noisy.”

$$text{[Good thing I don’t talk much.]} $$ Ning Songwu secretly rejoiced.

Ran Fanyin: “…”

Ning Songwu stood with her head bowed to the side, not daring to breathe loudly. After feeling her Master’s chilling gaze sweep over her, she completely held her breath.

$$text{[Master seems to be in a bad mood. I hope I won’t be punished for stepping with my left foot first later.]} $$

“Do you think she is beautiful?” A sudden, incomplete sentence fell from above her head.

Ning Songwu gave a soft ah and stiffly looked up.

The tip of the fan suddenly tapped her forehead twice. Her beautiful Master smiled and then said:

“You are not allowed to think she is beautiful.”

Ning Songwu completely froze in place. Only when a burning heat rose on her wrist did her consciousness return.

And the woman, completely unaware of the immense power of her own charm, had already left, wrapped in her cloak. As Ning Songwu moved, the woman’s leisurely voice came: “Add one extra hour of practice today. Come back in when you are done.”

Ning Songwu: “?”

The culprit, sipping hot tea, was quite pleased, listening to her apprentice’s agonized wailing in her mind.

It turns out that teasing her own little apprentice was extremely entertaining.

Ning Songwu dragged her two trembling legs back into the room. Before she could speak, she met a pair of smiling phoenix eyes.

$$text{[When Master smiles, nothing good ever comes of it…]} $$

Her heart felt a slight chill. She watched the woman slowly stop smiling, and her heart felt even more tragic.

$$text{[Master won’t even smile anymore. It’s over.]} $$

“This little reserved bottle gourd. Laughing is not right, and neither is not laughing.”

Elder Ran rolled her eyes internally and said calmly, “There are nearly eight months left until the assessment. You…”

“Everything is at Master’s discretion.”

$$text{[Can I not go? Can I not go? Can I not go?]} $$

Ran Fanyin: Sometimes holding back laughter is truly painful.

“You are not allowed to interrupt me.”

“Yes.”

“Say that word less often.”

“…” Ning Songwu opened her mouth, then simply closed it again, nodding her head.

“Little mute,” Ran Fanyin tapped her head from a distance, leaning into the recliner. She finally softened her expression and smiled again.

“Although this competition can be entered solo, it is best to have teammates. I have discussed it with the other Elders: you, Luo Sheng, and Liu Ruoying will participate together. Is that agreeable?”

Ning Songwu nodded in affirmation.

$$text{[Red-haired nine-tailed fox, fox, hehehe…]} $$

Luo Sheng, who was cultivating quietly, sneezed.

Elder Ran looked at her helplessly and said, as if unintentional, “I wonder who that little girl will be with.”

“I will pay attention at that time.”

$$text{[I remember, in the original work, Lin Yuxue, being Elder Ran’s personal disciple, was unwilling to make friends and ended up entering the secret realm alone. I wonder if she will still be alone this time.]} $$

Alone, you say?

Elder Ran lightly tapped her finger, a thought forming in her mind.

“Was she unwilling to make friends, or was she unable to?”

Ning Songwu rested for a while longer, then got up. “Master, I will return to my room now.”

“Wait.” Ran Fanyin took out a jade pendant and handed it to her. “Starting tomorrow, after you finish your practice on the peak, you should also go find the other two and practice together diligently.”

“This jade pendant can be used to contact me at any time. The Vermilion Bird will accompany you.”

The word that was on the tip of Ning Songwu’s tongue was swallowed back. She nodded. “Alright, Master, I will go.”

$$text{[Waaah, more practice. It’s so exhausting. I want to slack off. Can I not go?]} $$

$$text{[I want to be a lazy fish who barely survives by the skin of her teeth.]} $$

“Why is this child so unambitious and lacking in goals?”

Frowning slightly, the woman said languidly, “If you truly lose to the person from earlier and cause this Master to lose face, then…” The prolonged ending concealed a threat that needed no explicit articulation.

Ning Songwu cried out particularly loudly in her heart.

The next day, Ning Songwu finished her practice and sat cross-legged on the Vermilion Bird’s back, with her sword strapped on.

The location for the trio’s joint training was set on Ruanxi Peak, the peak of the Sixth Elder, Helan Mianmian.

Ruanxi Peak was to the south of Morning Mist Peak. When viewed from the mountaintop, there were no peaks or mountains in between, creating a false sense of closeness. However, when actually flying in the air, one couldn’t help but feel amazed by the distance.

Spotting Elder Helan, who habitually wore a girly pink robe, from afar, Ning Songwu suddenly remembered something she had forgotten in her rush to leave.

She pressed the jade pendant and said gently, “Master, don’t forget to take your medicine.”

$$text{[The illness still has a bit of a tail left. Take your medicine properly and get well soon.]} $$

Ran Fanyin was taking advantage of the warm weather in the courtyard. Since her little chatterbox apprentice was off the peak, she could enjoy half a day of peace. The sunlight was warm, a perfect time to rest.

The jade pendant hanging at her waist vibrated. Her apprentice’s voice and inner monologue transmitted simultaneously.

But only that one utterance. Once the jade pendant returned to calm, the inner voice vanished again due to the distance.

Elder Ran slightly propped open her eyes, touched the jade pendant with her finger, and replied lazily with an “Alright.”

Sure enough, when the spiritual power circulated through the jade pendant, she heard another piece of her little reserved bottle gourd’s inner monologue.

$$text{[Luo Sheng has grown quite a bit taller. She is still so…]} $$

The spiritual power broke off, and only half of the inner voice was transmitted.

It can be done this way?

If she continuously maintained the flow of spiritual power, would she be able to hear her apprentice’s inner voice all the time?

“Hmm, this would be convenient. If there are any future excursions down the mountain, I won’t have to worry about missing important information that my apprentice knows.”

However, at this moment…

Ran Fanyin picked up the dangling jade pendant with a bare hand, slightly narrowed her eyes, watched it for a moment, and then put it back.

“Let her have some quiet for a while. The inner thoughts of a certain little reserved bottle gourd are truly too much. It’s not that I dislike it, but sometimes I do miss the quiet life I had alone.”

The woman closed her eyes and let the sunlight fall on her. After lying there for a while, a sense of injustice gradually rose in her heart again.

“My apprentice took the jade pendant, and the first thing she said to me was about taking medicine? Didn’t she have anything else to say?”

“This little reserved bottle gourd. If she could speak half of the messy thoughts in her heart, I don’t know how many people she could charm.”

Luo Sheng was finally wearing a dark robe, standing quietly at the edge of the cliff behind Elder Helan, waiting for the other two to arrive.

A splash of red carrying a bit of white appeared from the horizon. Luo Sheng secretly moved her stiff ankles. She then heard Elder Helan say fretfully, “Senior Sister said Ning Songwu is also a reserved bottle gourd, and you don’t like to talk. What are we going to do with the three of you together?”

“It’s nothing, Master. Liu Ruoying should be fond of talking.”

Elder Helan rolled her eyes at her, thoroughly speechless.

“They all say Fox Demons are seductive and charming, possessing thousands of alluring forms. Yet, this fox of mine is a cold-faced block of wood. If I led her out and told people she was a fox, people would think I was trying to pass off a fox-dog as a spiritual creature.”

She even harbored some doubts herself.

“However, if she were truly a dog, I shouldn’t feel nothing. At the very least, her feline characteristics should make me feel a sense of danger.”

Ning and Liu arrived almost simultaneously. Liu Ruoying was sent by her Senior Sister, while Ning Songwu patted the Vermilion Bird that brought her. The great bird rubbed against her twice, then quietly hung itself upside down on the cliff edge.

My dear sister, why do you look like a giant bat?

Ning Songwu’s mouth twitched, but she didn’t say much. She joined the group, waiting for the Sixth Elder to issue instructions.

Helan looked at the three people arranged from tallest to shortest before her. Her apprentice was still in the shortest position, but she had grown quite a bit. Not bad.

She lightly clapped her hands, signaling the three to relax, and said gently, “Do you know why we are training our team battle here on my peak?”

The three little ones all shook their heads.

“Then, follow me~”