After My Thoughts Were Read, My Master Led Me to Change My Fate - Chapter 20

Ning Songwu blinked slowly, then blinked again, her eyes practically popping out as she stared at those few silver notes. After a long moment, she stammered, “M-M-Master, that was your property?”

Her tongue was tied in a knot, and she couldn’t speak clearly. This child is truly…

Ran Fanyin chuckled and nodded gently. “Mm. But don’t tell anyone else. After all, quite a few people on the peak, and even the Elders of the other peaks, have involvement. The more you say, the more mistakes you make. Do you understand?”

Ning Songwu nodded vigorously, reaching out to take the silver notes. Before she could touch them, the woman pulled them back, a strange smile on her face. “That’s punishment for wasting money. I’m not giving them to you.”

The disciple is about to cry. The disciple is about to shatter. The disciple is pitifully clingy.

Ran Fanyin pretended not to see, put away the silver notes, and reached up to lightly tap the girl’s forehead again. “Just take it as spending money to learn a lesson. It’s nothing; you’re eating your own loss.”

[Master’s heart is truly colder and harder than the heart of someone who has butchered fish at a major supermarket for ten years.]

[Wuwuwu, my precious money.]

The young woman tightly pursed her lips, finally nodding in resignation. “Good. I will.”

“You will what?”

“…I don’t know.”

“…” She raised her hand and delivered another firm knock.

[So, was Lin Yuxue dealt with by Master?]

She had nearly forgotten about this matter.

Ran Fanyin cleared her throat and said warmly, “Next is the evening lesson I must give you today.”

“You don’t need to inquire into where Lin Yuxue ultimately went. You just need to know that in the future, if there’s someone you don’t want to see, someone you don’t want to travel with, or someone who wrongs you, you are perfectly free to make a fuss about it, rather than constantly tolerating it.”

“Whether it is financial power, material resources, or martial force, your Master is behind you. Do you know this?”

“Little Ning’er, when your Master said she would protect you, she meant she will protect you, and she will naturally continue to protect you.”

“If there is anything you want to do, go ahead and do it. As long as it’s not murder or arson, your Master is willing to handle those small after-effects for you. Do you know? You are still too well-behaved. Being this well-behaved will lead to you being bullied.”

The woman spoke seriously, even furrowing her brow slightly.

Ning Songwu wanted to reach out and smooth away the creases in that brow. A beautiful Master should always be happy.

The woman’s voice was gentle as jade and warm as a summer moon breeze, slowly wrapping these temperatureless words and drilling them into Ning Songwu’s heart, capturing her heartbeat.

In her twenty-some years of life, this was the first time someone had told her, “Do whatever you want; I have your back.” Her mother and grandmother had always told her to be reserved, to believe that avoiding trouble was best, to be a good girl, to be perfectly ordinary in life, to be outstanding in academics, and to always have to be “someone else’s child” in comparisons.

This was the first time someone had said, I’m not afraid of you making a fuss. Don’t be too good, because you have me.

The bridge of her nose and her brows suddenly became sore. She had to tilt her head up so that the tears wouldn’t stream directly down, but they still stained her temples along the corners of her eyes.

A warm, cool hand took hers and drew her closer. Then, the other hand covered her eyes, gently wiping away the tears, and the woman asked softly, “Why are you crying? Do you think your Master is deceiving you?”

When she cries, she doesn’t even say her inner thoughts anymore.

Ning Songwu shook her head and asked softly, “Master, may I hug you?”

There was no verbal answer, but the sudden warmth that enveloped her was the best response.

[The last time I had such a warm embrace was back in high school, wasn’t it? That was two or three years ago…]

Ran Fanyin held the person tighter, her voice now heard more clearly. The disciple was like a soft, glutinous little animal, softly agreeing, and then falling silent again.

[Master smells good. She’s soft. I really want to kiss her.]

There we go again.

Despite her exasperation, she did not loosen her embrace; instead, she hugged the girl even tighter.

The inner thoughts Little Ning’er revealed when completely unguarded always elicited a measure of heartache.

After the New Year, during a training session one day—

Before tossing the three into the training arena, Helan Mianmian pulled Ning Songwu aside and asked, “That profound black gown your Master has—did you buy it?”

Ning Songwu nodded sheepishly.

After that day, she had the privilege of seeing Ran Fanyin’s wardrobe. Before this gown, the darkest color in the closet was the heavy purple Daoist robe required for major occasions. It could be said that her gift had pioneered a new direction.

For some reason, she felt a sense of familiarity, especially watching Ran Fanyin put on the outfit. Golden threads were embroidered on the profound black robe, outlining a shape that seemed to be a fire phoenix spreading its wings, drawing out a beautiful curve. The silver hair spilled down her back, forming a sharp contrast with the deep, inky color.

The woman’s red lips curved slightly, and she ran a finger over the golden thread, saying that it was beautiful.

She was standing with her back to Ning Songwu, her head slightly turned, her hair gathered to one side of her shoulder. The candlelight outlined a dark red border around her figure.

It was this scene. It was this scene that somehow made Ning Songwu feel very familiar, yet subtly wrong.

Not silver hair. It shouldn’t be silver hair.

Suddenly, this absurd thought popped into her mind: Not white hair, but a long, inky waterfall, catching the flickering candlelight, like starlight fallen upon her.

How strange. Why would she have such an odd idea? Whether in the book or what she had seen with her own eyes, Ran Fanyin had silver hair.

However, all of that was in the past. At this moment, Elder Helan was clearly not asking about that.

Elder Helan sighed lightly. “You bought very well. It’s beautiful, but next time, remember to buy her something that she cannot wear outside. Do you understand?”

“Something she can’t wear outside?” What kind of request was that? What kind of thing couldn’t be worn outside?

Elder Helan rubbed the bridge of her nose. “You might not know this, but your Master is a Peacock Spirit.”

A question mark slowly formed in the young woman’s clear eyes.

She truly didn’t know. After all, both in the novel and now, wasn’t Ran Fanyin a pure human?

What did “Peacock Spirit” mean?

“In short, next time, send her a decorative item she can’t wear outside, preferably one that can only be kept in your courtyard.”

With that said, she waved her hand, and the young woman was tossed down to the viewing platform. The barrier closed, cutting off all sound.

“Peacock Spirit,” as the name implied.

—Senior Sister, what will the Elder Assembly be discussing today?

—How did you know my disciple gifted this Seat an extremely gorgeous Dharma Robe?

According to a certain unnamed tri-colored beauty cat, this kind of dialogue lasted at least a month. It was unknown what methods Senior Sister Qin used to finally make this person shut up.

Winter gave way to spring, which eventually turned to summer.

Chaomu Peak turned from white to tender green, and then to a deeper shade, until a rain washed the entire peak clean, leaving only summer.

On the day marking one full year since their initiation, the disciples were brought once again to the Luoyun Hall. Six Elders sat in the main seats. The Sect Master, wearing a heavy purple robe, presided over the main seat and announced the rules for today.

Inner Sect disciples must undergo this assessment after a full year of initiation. Those who performed exceptionally poorly would be asked to leave the sect, but since they had entered the Inner Sect, there were no true incompetents. Therefore, this Secret Realm assessment was more like a demonstration—a final examination.

[A final exam, huh? I don’t need to suck up to the examiners to beg for those few participation points. I’ll definitely pass smoothly. No fear.]

Ning Songwu rubbed her belt. Beside her was Liu Ruoying, who was already a head taller than her, and Luo Sheng, who was basically the same height as her.

They had been acquainted for a year now, and in that year, she seemed to be the only one who hadn’t grown taller at all.

Wuwuwu…

A few days earlier during a meal, she had mentioned this to her Master. Ran Fanyin merely swept a meaningful glance over her small frame and comforted her by saying, “You’ve gained some height; you’re almost up to your Master’s chin. Not bad. After being nourished for so long, you’ve also put on a few taels of flesh. That’s enough.”

“Liu Ruoying has been well-nourished since childhood, so it’s natural for her to be taller. Luo Sheng has the bloodline of a Nine-Tailed Fox Demon, and she’s still young. With proper diet, it’s normal for her to shoot up quickly.”

“You were working to support yourself during the most crucial years for growth. Now you’ve caught the tail end. Eat more these two years, and you can still grow.”

As she spoke, Ran Fanyin even picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and placed it in the girl’s dish, gently tapping the edge of the plate, suppressing a laugh. “Eat more.”

Ning Songwu tearfully scooped up a couple more mouthfuls of rice, stuffing herself like a little hamster, chewing away, trying to distract herself.

[Master, why don’t you say, “You’ll shoot up at twenty-three”? You’re so good at comforting people.]

[And that look in your eye, don’t think that just because I’m a child, I don’t understand. Wuwu, why couldn’t I have transmigrated my original body… I used to, well, I wouldn’t say I was great, but I was…]

…not that much worse than Ran Fanyin!

But she silently swallowed the thought, both in her heart and her mind, only lowering her head to eat. Naturally, she didn’t notice the person beside her propping her chin with her chopsticks, her silver shawl hair trembling slightly, her free hand fully blocking her face.

Suppressing laughter was truly difficult.

Even sitting in this hall, watching her disciple fiddling with her belt with her head down, the smile was hard to restrain.

A pitiable child.

Liu Ruoying gently nudged Ning Songwu’s arm and sent a voice transmission, “Elder Ran’s smile is so lovely.”

“She’s smiling at us. Truly beautiful.”

Social Phobic Ning, who hadn’t looked up since entering the hall, raised her head upon hearing this and met that smiling gaze. She inexplicably felt a hint of strangeness in the smile. There was no lust in her heart; instead, a bit of resentment arose.

[Master’s smile must be because she’s thinking about what we discussed the other day. It’s true that the three of us together make me look pitiful. Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, wuwuwu…]

Elder Ran raised her fan to cover her continuously broadening smile. Ning Songwu had long since grown accustomed to her Master constantly fanning herself regardless of the season. After watching for a moment, she lowered her head again to play with her belt.

She couldn’t help it. The things the Sect Master was saying were truly too boring.

Someone who had taken tests for over a decade in the modern world really didn’t want to listen. She could already recite it all: No bringing outside equipment, no cheating, no harming people, take it seriously…

If the Sect Master’s serious voice hadn’t been genuinely intimidating, she would have fallen victim to pre-exam syndrome—the closer the test, the sleepier she got, and the more she wanted to merge with her pillow.

As Cen Ran finished his last sentence, the trio was about to huddle together to make plans when Lin Yuxue, who had been absent from their lives for half a year, walked directly towards them, carrying her sword.

[Here we go again, here we go again, here we go again. Why is she only fixated on me? This is a clear, scarlet path to a doomed ending, so why are you only focused on killing me?]

The fire in Ning Songwu’s heart was about to explode.

Lin Yuxue stopped in front of the three of them, then said coldly, “Senior Sister Ning, I want to make a bet with you.”