After My Thoughts Were Read, My Master Led Me to Change My Fate - Chapter 4

There was a commotion among the crowd. Several people covertly stretched out their feet to trip or block the red string, but all attempts failed.

The string seemed sentient, bypassing everyone and rushing all the way to the back.

“Everyone” naturally included Lin Yuxue.

She quietly clenched her fist, seemingly harboring resentment. The action was minuscule but did not escape the eyes of Ran Fanyin on the platform.

“She reacts like this just because someone else was chosen first? Why bother?”

Ning Songwu, hiding behind the pillar, heard the phrase “This Venerable One wants her” and assumed Ran Fanyin had ultimately chosen Lin Yuxue first. She hid even more completely, not wanting to be seen.

“If she only accepts one disciple, Lin Yuxue shouldn’t feel jealousy or even attempt to kill me right from the start, right?”

She checked her fate again; it was still Death.

“I was planning to flee down the mountain; how am I still going to die?! Is there really no opportunity to change anything?”

Not only that, Liu Ruoying, whose fate was Uncertain moments ago, had now changed back to Death. “Why? Which part of the plot did I even affect? It’s so strange; it keeps changing.”

Alas.

“Well, fine, fine.”

“I’ll just take this as punishment for staying up late every day.”

She fiddled with her fingers, carefully calculating in her heart. Before she could make further plans on how to escape the mountain later, a red string suddenly appeared in front of her, paused, and wrapped itself around her wrist, transforming into a simple red cord.

“What is this?”

Ning Songwu was still stunned when the red cord generated a force, tugging her out from behind the pillar. Immediately, everyone’s gaze fell upon her, or more accurately, on her hand that was pulled into the air by the red cord.

Their gazes were fiery, as if they wanted to tear her apart and devour her.

Some keen-eyed individuals quietly spoke to the person beside them: “Isn’t that the little girl Elder Ran saved just now?”

“Are you sure it’s her?”

“Look at that set of tattered clothes; it can only be her.”

Ning Songwu’s side profile felt slightly hot. Her lips were tightly pressed, revealing neither joy nor anger. She was simply pulled forward by the red cord, surrounded by fragmented whispers.

“Looks like she has a cold nature too; she doesn’t talk much. It’s not easy for her to remain so composed even in this situation.”

“They say Elder Ran is cold and reserved, not one for words. Now there’s another like her. Chaomu Peak must be winter-like in summer—icy cold all year round.”

“Do you think it would be alright if I asked Elder Ran later to let me be a general help at Chaomu Peak?”

Only Ran Fanyin knew that this seemingly steady young person was actually a chatterbox, constantly muttering in her mind.

“Master, are the Heavens forcing the two of us to die together?”

“Elder Ran, shouldn’t you have chosen Lin Yuxue first?”

“If you chose me first, Lin Yuxue will be even angrier later, won’t she? When she pushes me off Zhaoyun Hall, won’t she use more force to kill me faster?”

“Oh, Heavens! I only stayed up late a bit; why are you tormenting me like this?!”

So noisy. Truly so noisy.

She suddenly regretted her decision.

Ran Fanyin tilted her head to look around. Helan Mianmian was nearly dozing off from fatigue. Qin Siyue still maintained her cold demeanor, suggesting strangers keep away and acquaintances don’t bother her. Feeling Ran Fanyin’s gaze, she shifted her body to avoid it. The Sect Master was sitting upright, revealing nothing.

She had observed for a long time, and it seemed that indeed, only she could hear this voice.

“What a gift from the heavens. Very well, very well.”

However, the “pushed off Zhaoyun Hall” the little girl kept muttering about—would someone truly be so brazen, and then go unpunished afterwards? She found that a little hard to believe.

The author and heroine the child kept mentioning might be a glimpse into the future derived from some strange, fictional Huaben (storytelling scripts)? With many extraordinary people in the world, it wasn’t surprising for someone to write the future in a Huaben. But why was this person so deeply convinced, seeing nothing unusual about it?

“Let me put her to the test.”

Finally, Ning Songwu was forcibly dragged to the front of the line by the red cord, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Lin Yuxue. The frozen expression on her face softened a little, managing a smile that was uglier than a cry.

“Duh. I’m about to die soon; I really can’t smile happily.”

Seeing the person stand still, the Sect Master asked directly, “A Heavenly Grade Ice Spiritual Root, correct?”

Ning Songwu felt the intense, burning gazes upon her and the trace of cold malice emanating from her side. She immediately knelt and bowed her head. “Junior Ning Songwu, Heavenly Grade Ice Spiritual Root.”

Ning Songwu.

Ran Fanyin savored the name, finding it quite fitting for her spiritual root attribute.

She lightly raised the tip of her fan, guiding the maiden to stand upright, allowing everyone to get a better look at her appearance and aptitude.

“Master, I only bowed down because I didn’t want to be seen! Now look, I’m famous; I can’t run away! Wuwuwuwu.”

The Sect Master noticed the ragged outer-door disciple robe on Ning Songwu and frowned slightly. “What happened to your clothes? Were you wronged in the outer sect?”

“No, I wasn’t. I merely fell accidentally while climbing the Heaven-Ascending Steps earlier. Fortunately, I was rescued by Elder Ran, which allowed me to escape disaster.” Ning Songwu lowered her head, her voice calm, as if speaking of someone else’s affairs.

Lin Yuxue turned her head to look at her and suddenly smiled, taking a step forward. “Elder Ran, forgive my directness, but although Ning Songwu is also Heavenly Grade, she is an Ice Spiritual Root. Water and fire are already incompatible, let alone ice. I implore Elder Ran to reconsider.”

“Ah, yes, yes, yes. You are the most compatible! So compatible that you trick Ran Fanyin into a trap, gravely wounding her, which gave the Demon Venerable his opportunity. Heh heh, love-addled idiot!”

Whenever Ning Songwu recalled Lin Yuxue’s remarks in the later parts of the novel, she felt the urge to vomit:

“From childhood, I was never anyone’s preferred first choice. Only with her (the Demon Venerable), in her heart, I was always the first.”

“Heh heh!”

Ran Fanyin’s expression remained unchanged upon hearing this. She said calmly, “Why do I need you to interject in what this Venerable One intends to do?”

Vague prophecies about the future had never been able to deter her, but Lin Yuxue’s repeated disturbances had genuinely annoyed her.

“When did I allow a junior to comment on my actions?”

“Oh, Heavens! You’ve shamed Lin Yuxue in front of everyone! Dear Master, do you think she’s not going to become evil fast enough…?”

Ran Fanyin let out a dry, cold laugh, turning her eyes to the upright Sect Master. “Senior Martial Sister, you know my physical condition. I fear I may not be able to instruct two geniuses.”

Physical condition?

Ning Songwu was startled. Ran Fanyin was in great health in the original work, so why was she using her body as an excuse now?

She secretly looked towards the Sect Master. The Sect Master, who had been somewhat hesitant, immediately made up her mind upon hearing this. “Lin Yuxue, are you willing to join my tutelage? As for cultivation methods and such, I believe Elder Ran will not be stingy.”

Ran Fanyin slightly raised her head, tacitly agreeing.

“Woah! She tossed the hot potato to the Sect Master. Let me see what the ending is like without Lin Yuxue as the hot potato… Motherfu—it hasn’t changed.”

Ning Songwu quietly clicked her tongue, feeling a little distressed.

Lin Yuxue clenched her fist, then immediately bowed her head. “Master above, please accept this disciple’s bow.”

“So, is Ran Fanyin really not well? Impossible! It wasn’t written in the book.”

“How could the book detail such deep secrets? Only a few of my fellow Senior Martial Sisters know the specifics of my health. Outsiders definitely wouldn’t know.” Ran Fanyin countered in her mind. Her phoenix eyes, gleaming faintly, settled back on Ning Songwu, and she asked coldly, “And you?”

Ning Songwu followed suit. “Master above, please accept this disciple’s bow.”

“Dear, dear Master, the two of us are truly grasshoppers on the same string now. Don’t cry if I die soon.”

Her heart was full of sorrow, making her expression even more indifferent.

Ran Fanyin suppressed the corners of her mouth but still found it amusing in her heart.

“This child, why does she take the contents of that story script so seriously? She is so firmly convinced, constantly preoccupied with the thought that she is going to die.”

“Truly the mind of a child.”

“Rise,” she replied calmly. “I have finished selecting. I won’t say more.”

The Sect Master accepted Lin Yuxue and then selected a few others. Qin Siyue naturally accepted three Wood Spiritual Roots with relatively good aptitude, including Liu Ruoying. The remaining people were then selected. Among the rest, those of Middle Grade and above were accepted into the inner sect. Those below Middle Grade but above Earth Grade were placed in the outer sect, or they could choose to leave with those of Mortal Grade.

It was this brutal. If your talent wasn’t good, you didn’t even get a chance to enter the sect. At least Shangyun Sect gave them a chance to enter the grounds.

The Sixth Elder, who had still gained nothing, let out a long sigh. Looking at the multitude of young disciples coming and going below, she whispered, “In past years, I could at least catch a few disciples. This year, I can’t even catch one.”

Helan Mianmian’s bloodline was special; she was a half-human, half-demon hybrid. The cultivation technique she practiced was one she had meticulously summarized over many years. To inherit her mantle, one would first have to be a hybrid like her.

However, many hybrids had impure bloodlines and couldn’t embark on the path of cultivation. Even those fortunate enough to start the path often had low-grade spiritual roots and poor talent, and achieving half the result with twice the effort in cultivation was the norm. Those with High Grade Spiritual Roots like her were extremely rare.

Therefore, for hundreds of years, she did not force the issue. When she saw a hybrid, anyone of Earth Grade and above was accepted into her lineage. Although they couldn’t be taken as core disciples, it at least made the barren Wanxi Peak a little livelier.

“But Elder Ran has a dear little disciple now!”

The woman with the natural baby face was jealous. She held her breath, her cheeks slightly puffed out, and she walked angrily toward Ran Fanyin. “Senior Martial Sister, a hug!”

Ran Fanyin was about to take her little disciple back to the peak when she was stunned by this person. Then, seeing her cheeks puffed up like a little goldfish, she was momentarily dumbfounded.

“She wants me to transfer some good luck to her!”

Elder Ran patted Ning Songwu’s shoulder. “Go wait for me outside the gates of Zhaoyun Hall.”

“Yes.” Ning Songwu nodded and quickly slipped away.

Ran Fanyin opened her arms. “Come here, a hug.”

“Yay! Senior Martial Sister is the best. Rubbing off some luck! Bless me so I can also get a dear disciple in the next grand selection.”

The Sect Master, standing behind the two, lightly coughed, her expression somewhat unnatural.

Ran Fanyin, used to the antics, said, “Go on. Cen Ran is waiting for a hug from you too.”

“Her luck is bad. I won’t hug her.”

Sect Master: “…”

Qin Siyue passed by gracefully, giving them a faint glance and leaving with a soft laugh.

The group was chatting happily, completely unaware that someone was approaching. Suddenly, a hoarse voice interrupted their conversation.

“Disciple Luo Sheng wishes to become a disciple under the Sixth Elder’s tutelage.”

The voice was hoarse and lacking strength, as if the person had not had water or food for many days. Helan Mianmian was startled. She composed herself and looked over.

The girl looked only thirteen or fourteen years old. She was slender, small as she knelt on the ground, and one could even see the protruding bones of her spine. Her hair was yellow and dry, suggesting she had lived a very pitiful life before coming up the mountain.

“Luo Sheng? Why does that name sound so familiar?”

“Ah! Isn’t that the Demon King’s illegitimate daughter?!”

“Wait, she’s actually in this sect too? No wonder the Demon Clan firmly resisted the Demon Race later on! Heh, if someone kills your master, how could you possibly swallow that resentment?”

“Why didn’t the author write such important things in the story?!”

The consecutive thoughts made Ran Fanyin’s eyebrows twitch. “This skinny little girl in front of me is that old fox’s illegitimate daughter?”

She looked at the conflicted Elder Helan. Before she could speak, the woman’s voice was somewhat anxious. “I’m sorry…”