After My Thoughts Were Read, My Master Led Me to Change My Fate - Chapter 17

There was no need to even read the contents of this second report to determine that this person definitely had problems.

Ning Songwu swallowed, picked up the other report, and found the familiar content: daughter of a wealthy farmer, the family was well-off, but her father died early. Her mother wanted to give her away, but she refused and ran away, thus entering the Immortal Mountain to cultivate the Dao and seek immortality.

“I think both of these are problematic,” the girl said, pressing on the table and calming her emotions slightly. “Setting aside why there are two reports, the day she came up the mountain, her clothes were expensive, though not for great nobility, and she couldn’t possibly be someone who ran away.”

“Moreover, her conduct is not proper, and she possesses an age-inappropriate fierceness and a killing intent born from an unknown source…”

[If not for the later plot where she and the Demon Lord (魔尊) clearly meet for the first time, I would suspect she was a spy sent by the Demon Lord.]

[But why would a spy come to us? Shouldn’t they go to a bigger sect? Like that one… Tiancheng Immortal Sect, the number one grand sect. Isn’t that much more valuable than here?]

Is this young girl implying that Shangyun Sect is not a small sect?

As for Tiancheng Immortal Sect, since Shangyun Sect already had a breach, they were likely dealing with as many, if not more, issues and needed more vigilance.

However, that had nothing to do with them.

Elder Ran  calmly tapped the tabletop and said slowly, “It is rather strange that two different backgrounds were investigated.”

“All major sects perform a quiet background check after recruiting disciples, and the timing is usually similar. That is why the report on the wealthy farmer origin was found.”

Her finger paused, and she changed the subject.

“Later, I sent people to inquire discreetly, without claiming it was an investigation, and that is how we found the wealthy merchant background.”

The woman propped her chin up. With no intention of going out today, her white hair was casually tied back with a wooden hairpin and spread over her shoulders. It gently swayed with the rise and fall of her voice and the depth of her smile, lending an unspeakable playfulness to her subsequent words.

“Disciple, what results do you think we will find if we investigate her again?”

“Do you think she knows we have investigated her so many times?”

“Tell me…” A silver strand of hair was looped around her finger. “Whose pawn do you think she is?”

The woman smiled faintly, staring at the beautiful hair in her hand. In Ning Songwu’s eyes, it caused another moment of rapid heartbeat.

[This woman is a temptress…]

Ning Songwu tightly gripped the fabric on her knees, took several deep breaths, and spoke evenly, “I believe, at the very least, she is not someone from the various cultivation sects.”

“Because there is no need for that, is there?”

“This is your mistake, not mine.” Lin Yuxue (林玉雪) clutched a black jade pendant, her voice trembling with barely contained anger. “Since it is your mistake, why are you withholding my medicinal pills?”

“Enough. We cannot yet determine who the other party is. We can only say they might be suspicious…”

“But without the suppressor, I will immediately be exposed.”

After a long silence, a cold female voice, replacing the previous one, came from the jade pendant. Her voice was clear and immediately suppressed Lin Yuxue into silence the moment it appeared.

The woman’s tone was flat, “The pills will be placed in a suitable location. Do not touch what you shouldn’t touch. Also, do not forget what you promised this Venerable One.”

“The Ice and Snow Exquisite Heart (冰雪玲珑心). It should be easy to find, shouldn’t it?”

The woman unilaterally cut the connection, leaving Lin Yuxue to silently grind her teeth while gripping the jade pendant.

Ice and Snow Exquisite Heart, Ice and Snow Exquisite Heart. Logically, it should be in Ning Songwu’s body. Why isn’t it there?

Is there another person with a Heaven-grade Ice Spiritual Root on this mountain?

Her thoughts were a mess. The Fire Spiritual Root within her body fiercely burned her dantian. The last pill to suppress her bloodline in the bottle glowed, tempting her to reach out.

This was a poison, and it was also an antidote.

From the day she began needing it, this day was destined to come.

But…

Such a huge oversight must have drawn a lot of suspicion and trouble to her. How was she supposed to approach Ran Fanyin? How was she supposed to suppress this uncontrollable fire? Was she meant to rely on this medication for the rest of her life?!

Ning Songwu, Ning Songwu. All the variables stem from this person.

The burning in her dantian turned into a sharp pain, urging her to swallow the last pill.

Ning Songwu merged her thoughts on Lin Yuxue from this period with parts of the original novel, slowly narrating them to Ran Fanyin.

The woman did not interrupt her even once. Her phoenix eyes were filled with appreciation and encouragement, watching her and signaling her to continue.

The long-held tension and anxiety in her heart were gently soothed by this gentle gaze, suddenly filling her with courage and leading her to voice her final thought: “There must be a force behind Lin Yuxue that we don’t know about. It’s not the Demon Clan, or it’s not only the Demon Clan.”

She had reached a conclusion that could be considered completely different from the original novel, yet the subtitles in her mind were calm, as if dead, and the world showed no fluctuation.

Is this normal for transmigration?

—Hey, the ‘silly, sweet, love-struck fool’ Female Lead is about to be reimagined by me as a villain!

In the novels she read, didn’t transmigrators get struck by lightning or burned by fire if they defied the plot? Why is everything so calm here?

Her mind was in turmoil. Yet, the woman opposite her was smiling, making her face flush intensely. She rubbed her face and let out a long breath.

“That is all of my thinking, Master.”

[If only all the teachers I met before were as good as Master…]

[Master is genuinely nice. I really like her…]

Ran Fanyin composed her expression and lightly cleared her throat, “The Elders’ current view is also to take no action for now. But rest assured, we won’t allow her to do as she pleases, and you don’t need to be so afraid anymore.”

Ning Songwu lightly pressed her thin lips together, her eyelashes fluttering, and nodded, “Okay.”

[So, everything Master did today was just to put my mind at ease?]

[I like Master even more now…]

Ran Fanyin’s eyes curved in a smile. Just a casual action was enough to make this child think such things in her heart?

She tapped the table again, “You must also be curious about the others. Have a look, and then…”

“We need to talk about you.”

Ning Songwu instantly froze, unsure how to react.

Seeing the child’s back instantly straighten and her previously relaxed fingers clench again, Ran Fanyin chuckled inwardly.

Teasing children is truly entertaining.

She smiled happily, her voice softening slightly as she teased, “What’s wrong? Are you scared?”

“I just grew up in the Outer Sect. There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Ning Songwu replied, forcefully maintaining her composure while feeling extremely guilty.

Elder Ran was non-committal, “I just think it’s rare for an orphan who grew up in the Outer Sect to be so clever.”

[Actually, even the short-lived Ning Songwu in the original novel was very smart. After her death, the plot occasionally mentioned her as being very quick-witted and highly intelligent, with her biggest flaw being her reluctance to speak.]

[I just know a bit more and have a few years more experience. That’s why I’m a little smarter. I must be far inferior to the original Great Ning, alas.]

The disciple’s expression clouded over. As she thought, she again showed that appearance of a wounded young animal, making Ran Fanyin desperately want to rub the child’s head. But remembering the young girl’s inner thoughts about liking her, she cooled her own fervor.

The child is still young. How can she understand the meaning of that kind of ‘liking’?

Ning Songwu eventually whispered, “Walking through the front streets and back alleys made me know more, so I’m a little clever. It’s just small intelligence, nothing worthy of display.” As she spoke, the corners of her eyes were lowered, showing a hint of redness.

Elder Ran: So pitiful, so wronged, I really want to rub my disciple’s clever little head.

Given that she couldn’t rub her disciple’s head, Elder Ran exerted great effort to restrain her hands. After much deliberation, she took out a wad of silver notes, common currency in the cultivation world, from her storage ring and handed them to Ning Songwu.

Little Ning, who suddenly received a huge sum: “…?”

[Is Master going to sugar daddy/mommy me?]

[How many zeros is this… units, tens, hundreds, thousands…]

[AAHHHH!!!!]

Ran Fanyin felt her brain being pierced by that internal howl.

She subconsciously covered her ears. Fortunately, Ning Songwu was still immersed in the joy of counting the money and didn’t notice the anomaly.

Ning Songwu counted carefully twice, tidied the notes, and handed them back to Ran Fanyin, very seriously, “Master, this is too much. I truly feel guilty taking it.”

This is nearly a million taels of silver! Heavens, she knew Ran Fanyin was rich, but she didn’t know Ran Fanyin was this rich. Giving away this much silver is like sprinkling water, completely unconcerned.

“No need to feel guilty,” the woman lightly furrowed her brows and pushed it back. “It’s been half a year, and I’ve never given you a monthly allowance. The sect disciple’s monthly stipend has always been sent to me.”

She paused and added, “In a few days, that auction house down the mountain will hold an auction. You can go and see. You will definitely need money. Take this first. We can talk if it’s not enough.”

[Master and I thought of the same thing! Hooray!]

[But I only intended to borrow a small amount. Isn’t this too much? I don’t think I can repay this just with my monthly stipend…]

Elder Ran spoke up promptly, “Between you and me, there’s no need to mention borrowing. Since this money is given to you, take it properly and don’t feel burdened.”

“This Master is not short of funds.”

Ning Songwu, who was poor in both her past and present lives—with four bare walls and one door—blinked her eyes. She held the silver notes carefully against her chest, as if she were holding a priceless treasure.

This earned her a suppressed laugh from her Master.

Later, Ran Fanyin would tease her about this for decades.

The rich matriarch’s words are truly devastating and intimidating, wuwuwuwu.

Outside Shangyun Sect, there was a ring of towns built along the mountain. From the inside out, these were the location of the Outer Sect and other markets. The Outer Sect being located here rather than on the mountain was also to provide opportunities for disciples to earn money through work-study, thereby supporting many poor people like Ning Songwu.

On weekdays, when they went down the mountain to eat and have fun, they mostly stayed around the Outer Sect. Among the numerous Outer Sect disciples in moon-white robes, the light purple robes of the Inner Sect disciples and the various colors of the Elders’ disciples’ private clothes were very noticeable, yet they didn’t attract too much attention or interference.

Further out were four towns with mostly ordinary people. The auction house they were heading to was in Chenshui Town, which was further out.

Ning Songwu only had one word to describe this auction house: Far!

For the three “little rookie dogs” who couldn’t yet climb clouds or wield swords, walking from the mountain down to Chenshui Town would take more than an hour, and their legs would be exhausted.

Entering the town, they could see many people lining up outside a shop from a distance. A waiter was even on the street reassuring the crowd, suggesting that this must be the auction house.

Perhaps seeing that they came from the direction of the Immortal Mountain, a young man approached them before they even got close.