After My Thoughts Were Read, My Master Led Me to Change My Fate - Chapter 74.2

Ning Songwu looked up at her mother. The attachment in her eyes was gone. She chuckled, her voice very innocent: “Shouldn’t the monster be appearing on the east mountain?”

Ning’s mother’s expression changed. She covered Ning Songwu’s mouth, “Bah, bah, bah! Children should not talk nonsense.”

Ning Songwu smiled, her eyes crinkled, but her gaze was manic. She pulled her mother’s hand away and continued: “It did appear on the east mountain, Mother. You were eaten by the monster.”

Ning’s mother looked panicked: “How can you talk like that, child? Did you get muddled from herding the cow? Go take a nap. You will be fine after a nap.”

Ning Songwu rested her chin on her hand, looking at her mother. Her small feet swung back and forth. She looked just like a mischievous child: “Mother, am I not already sleeping? It is just time to wake up now.”

With that, Ning Songwu’s expression changed. She jumped off the stool and rushed straight toward the corner of the wall. Pain shot through her forehead. A warm wetness covered her eyes, forcing her to close them.

After a moment of dizziness, Ning Songwu slowly opened her eyes.

What came into view was an unfamiliar stone wall. Although it was an illusion, the pain was real. Ning Songwu wanted to raise her hand to rub her temple, but she quickly found her hands were tied.

“Do not move.”

Ning Songwu stopped her incessant wriggling. She was slightly surprised: “Master, why are you here too?”

Ran Fanyin and Ning Songwu were tied together, but Ran Fanyin’s body temperature was so low that Ning Songwu thought she was tied to a pillar.

Ning Songwu’s heart settled a little: “Is this demon so powerful that even Master cannot deal with her?”

Ran Fanyin closed her eyes. She was tied to Ning Songwu. Ning Songwu’s wriggling rubbed against her back, making her feel a little ticklish. A flush appeared on her face, but her voice remained faint: “No, there is also a formation here.”

Had she not fallen for a trick, how could Ran Fanyin have been defeated?

Ning Songwu was facing away from Ran Fanyin, so she could not see the strange look on her face. Thinking that struggling was useless, Ning Songwu relaxed: “Can Master not destroy this rope?”

“No.”

Ran Fanyin looked at the rope binding them with some confusion. She did not know Chen Siting, yet Chen Siting seemed to understand her weaknesses very well.

Golden light flowed on the rope binding the two. As soon as Ran Fanyin moved slightly, incantations surfaced on the rope.

Sensing Ran Fanyin’s movement, Ning Songwu asked: “Has Master discovered anything?”

“No.”

Thinking that everything was about to end, Ning Songwu found Ran Fanyin much more pleasing to the eye. She teased: “What a pity. Life is going to stop at this beautiful age of sixteen.”

No matter how much Ning Songwu disliked this nominal Master, Ran Fanyin’s appearance was exactly the type she liked. So, she changed the subject: “Dying with Master is not bad either.”

Ran Fanyin seemed touched. She paused and softly replied: “That will not happen. Your life is still very long.”

“Right. Master has lived for five hundred years. Compared to that, I am the one who is more tragic.”

“…That is not what I meant.”

“If that is not what you meant, does Master have a way to escape?”

“I…”

Ran Fanyin was confused by Ning Songwu’s winding questions. She suddenly did not know what to say. Her original intention was to comfort Ning Songwu, but now it seemed Ning Songwu was taking it easier than her.

Unexpectedly, this cheap Master was a bit clumsy. The huge contrast made Ning Songwu laugh.

The flush on Ran Fanyin’s face deepened a little. She forced herself to maintain composure and adopt the air of a Master: “The situation is critical. Why are you laughing?”

Ning Songwu laughed until her stomach ached a little. She wanted to wipe the tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, but she couldn’t in their current situation.

She continued to tease her Master: “Master, look. The monster captured you but did not kill you. She must have taken a liking to your beauty.”

In these few hundred years, no one had ever joked with Ran Fanyin. Because of her great power and cold demeanor, everyone could only look up to her and dared not behave frivolously.

Therefore, Ning Songwu had the honor of becoming the first person to dare to flirt with her.

Ran Fanyin felt somewhat ashamed and angry inside. She felt this apprentice was incredibly audacious. At the same time, she remembered a move her Master taught her while he was still alive.

Returning the opponent’s move to them.

So, Ran Fanyin calmly retorted: “You were also captured. She must have taken a liking to you.”

Ning Songwu was immediately choked by her own words. Although the monster could transform into a beautiful woman, her true form was a skeleton. Ning Songwu’s entire body screamed in rejection.

As retaliation, Ning Songwu was about to speak and disgust Ran Fanyin again when she heard her say: “She is here.”

Indeed, there was a creaking sound from the cave entrance. Ning Songwu turned her head to look. It was Chen Siting.

At this moment, she had not transformed into human form. Two balls of red ghost fire flickered in her empty eye sockets.

The voice was still ancient: “I did not expect a little doll like you could break my illusion.”

“The Senior overpraises me.”

Chen Siting no longer paid attention to Ning Songwu. She looked directly into Ran Fanyin’s eyes. Seeing that the Frost-Mist Venerable showed no sign of fear, she could not help but suspect if this person had a hidden trick up her sleeve.

So, she quietly took two steps back. Feeling slightly relieved, she chuckled: “Isn’t the Frost-Mist Venerable unwilling to be captured by a little demon like me?”

“You are not a demon.”

Ran Fanyin had originally thought she was a skeleton spirit, but now she did not seem like it. Human qi, ghost qi, and demon qi were mixed together, very strange.

Chen Siting’s heart jumped in surprise. She quietly retreated another step.

Ning Songwu noticed Chen Siting’s subtle movement. An idea sparked in her mind. It seemed she could frighten this monster.

However, a fake is a fake. Ning Songwu did not answer her question but instead pushed the person away with a slam. She then tried to cast a healing spell on herself, realizing it was useless.

Since that was the case, Ning Songwu did not waste any more energy.

She staggered forward. She had to leave this place. She had found the meaning of life now. Her Master was waiting for her.

“You cannot go!”

Yuan’er chased from behind and grabbed Ning Songwu’s ankle. Ning Songwu was startled. She tilted her head and looked down at Yuan’er on the ground, her voice devoid of emotion: “Let go of me.”

Yuan’er’s snow-white hair was smeared with dirt. She said tearfully: “You cannot leave. If you leave, I will be alone!”

“Are you a human?”

“Are you that bothered that I am a demon!”

“You are an illusion. The real Yuan’er died long ago, right in front of me.”

Yuan’er began to cry: “You hate me this much! I did nothing wrong!”

This clingy and tearful appearance was exactly the same as the one in Ning Songwu’s memory. However, Ning Songwu had never understood why this rabbit demon was so fixated on her.

Even when she looked at her with pure disgust in her eyes, she still rushed toward her regardless, until she was finally killed because of her.

So, even though Ning Songwu knew everything here was fake, she still asked out loud: “Why are you so obsessed with me?”

Ning Songwu’s body was trembling, not because she was trapped in an illusion, but because of the guilt brought up by the illusion.

Pain was like wine; the older it was, the more fragrant.

She whispered, “I am sorry.”

In a place Ning Songwu could not see, the bloodied Yuan’er smiled, but her voice was still vicious and full of temptation: “I told you, stay and keep me company. In hell, you will find redemption this way. After all, in your eyes, hasn’t this world already become corrupted and unbearable? As long as it does not exist, there will be no more pain.”

Ning Songwu stopped crying. She murmured: “Yes, as long as it does not exist…”

Ding-a-ling-ling, the clear sound of a bell rang out. Ning Songwu suddenly jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat.

She opened her eyes and saw the bell given by her Master floating in front of her. It glowed faintly, dispersing the surrounding darkness.

Ning Songwu reached out her hand. The bell slowly descended, resting in her palm.

A warmth spread in Ning Songwu’s heart. She thought: ‘That’s right, I still have Master.’

Just as it was about to succeed, the illusion was suddenly broken by a bell. The “Yuan’er” was extremely displeased. It opened its mouth and mocked: “Now that you have a new life, you have forgotten the past. You know you wronged me.”

Guilt flashed through Ning Songwu’s eyes, but Yuan’er was already dead. This prolonged torment had been inflicted by Ning Songwu upon herself. She adjusted her mood and casually wiped her tears with her hand: “If you are not her, do not use that face to speak for her.”

With that, Ning Songwu struck a palm toward the “Yuan’er.”

Knowing that it was impossible to control Ning Songwu any further, the fake Yuan’er engaged in a fight with Ning Songwu. This entity that transformed into Yuan’er was the spontaneous consciousness generated by the formation itself. It sensed a threat from Ning Songwu and came to deal with her first, or rather, it had developed a greed and wanted to eliminate Ning Songwu’s consciousness and seize her body.

After a few exchanges, Ning Songwu realized that her clumsy moves were no match. She was accidentally cut on her right arm by the formation spirit.

Ning Songwu felt the pain, but she did not want to retreat. Taking advantage of the formation spirit’s moment of pride, she fiercely attacked forward again.

The formation spirit had assumed Ning Songwu would retreat after being injured. It had not expected this lunatic to charge over, completely ignoring her injury. Caught off guard, the formation spirit’s face was struck by Ning Songwu’s punch.

The formation spirit retreated two steps. Ning Songwu was only at the Golden Core stage. The formation spirit’s cultivation was much higher. Shocked and enraged, the formation spirit could no longer maintain Yuan’er’s appearance.

It lost its mind. It no longer cared about Ning Songwu’s Spirit-Devouring Physique. It roared, disintegrating its body into countless black mist and then lunged toward Ning Songwu.

Ning Songwu fully resisted the pressure brought by the formation spirit. Blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. This was the first time in a desperate situation that she thought not of abandoning her life but of wanting to live, wanting to live to see one person—a figure in a blue robe, with eyes untouched by the world.

She had not yet left her imprint in her Master’s eyes. If she died, others would come to compete with her for her Master. This absolutely could not happen!

Ning Songwu shouted, “Ah! I must live!”

The bell suddenly rang again. This time, its sound was urgent.

In the moment of crisis, Ning Songwu suddenly recalled her Spirit-Devouring Physique. She remembered what Helan Mianmian had said and began to concentrate her mind on the formation spirit.

The dispersed black mist of the formation spirit suddenly lessened its offensive power. After losing momentum, it burrowed into Ning Songwu’s body.

The formation spirit regained its senses. It quickly retracted its resentment, trying to hide.

After absorbing the resentment, Ning Songwu’s face turned pale. Contrasted with her crimson eyes, it formed a bizarre aesthetic.

Ning Songwu’s legs were shaking. She stared at the formation spirit and advanced step by step.

The formation spirit was terrified: “Do not come closer!”

Ning Songwu smiled and spat out a mouthful of blood: “You wanted to kill me? But now, you are the prey.”

The formation spirit sensed that Ning Songwu’s condition was very poor. It fiercely threatened: “If you absorb any more resentment, you will die too! Do you not want to see your Master anymore?”

Ning Songwu continued her advance. She gripped her injured right arm and moved forward step by step.

The formation spirit retreated with her steps. Because Ning Songwu had locked onto it, its power was slowly draining away.

Ning Songwu felt increasingly faint. She wanted to concentrate, but she could not.

I cannot collapse here, Ning Songwu told herself.

Suddenly, a tearing sound came from behind. It was the sound of the barrier of this place being torn apart, followed by a cool voice, but the voice was laced with panic, unlike its usual calm.

“Ning Songwu!”

Ning Songwu turned her head to look. It was a blurry figure in blue.

She thought in her heart: ‘What a pity. I cannot see Master’s worried expression for myself. Master’s panic must be because she is worried about me. That is good. I am so tired. Can I sleep now…’

Ran Fanyin was originally pursuing her own Master, but the sound of the bell told her that Ning Songwu was in danger, so she followed the sound to find her.

After tearing through the formation spirit’s barrier, Ran Fanyin saw the heavily injured Ning Songwu and cried out her name.

Ning Songwu turned her head, offered her a reassuring smile, and then fainted. Ran Fanyin embraced the heavily injured and unconscious Ning Songwu. Anger and confusion coexisted in her heart.

When Ning Songwu turned her head, those crimson eyes were extremely similar to those of the Demon Sovereign Danzhu.

Ran Fanyin chatted with Jiang Yue until the afternoon before returning to the Pavilion of Glory and Desolation. Just by looking at the maid’s expression standing outside the door of her sleeping quarters, she knew that nothing good was happening inside.

As expected, as soon as she stepped into the sleeping quarters, she heard the noisy and chaotic voices of Luosheng and Cen Ran. Before she could walk further, a short figure shot out like an arrow, crashing fiercely into Ran Fanyin’s arms. Ran Fanyin instinctively wrapped her arms around the child’s back.

“Little brat, running around like a monkey…” Luosheng rushed out after her, her face full of anger. Her expression froze the moment she saw Ran Fanyin, and she stopped in her tracks. Cen Ran’s voice came from behind: “Hurry up and chase her back…” Before her voice faded, she bumped into the abruptly stopped Luosheng. The two quickly called out respectfully: “Master.”

The beggar child struggled for a moment, but upon smelling the familiar scent of plum blossoms on Ran Fanyin, she stopped and obediently buried her head in Ran Fanyin’s chest.

“Zisheng, Cen Ran, come with me.” Ran Fanyin led the beggar child into the room. Luosheng and Cen Ran exchanged glances and followed in, bewildered.

Ran Fanyin looked at the messy inner room. She picked a chair that was still intact and sat down, maintaining her composed elegance in every movement. She pulled the beggar child to stand beside her. After a pause, she spoke solemnly: “I have decided to take her as my apprentice. Kneel.”

The beggar child looked at Ran Fanyin in confusion.

Cen Ran stepped forward and helped the beggar child kneel.

Ran Fanyin spoke strictly and clearly: “From today on, you are the apprentice of me, the Venerable Lord of Beifa. I, Ran Fanyin, am your personally designated Master. I will protect you for every day I remain in this world; I will teach you for every day I remain in this world. All the best of my life’s efforts, I will impart to you without reservation. I do not ask you to bring glory to the sect; I only ask you to respect your Master’s teachings, be diligent and hardworking, never deviate from the orthodox path, and never defy your superior. This is what it means to be my person.”

The beggar child looked at Ran Fanyin with clear eyes. She seemed to understand something, yet also seemed to understand nothing at all.

Luosheng watched all this, raising an eyebrow slightly: “I knew Master would take her in. But Master, have you considered how this little brat will be looked after in the future? Today, my Junior Sister and I did not even have time to drink a mouthful of water…”

Cen Ran interrupted Luosheng’s incessant rambling: “Master, since this is the case, the child does not yet have a name. I wonder if Master…”

Ran Fanyin nodded. Indeed, she had forgotten this matter.

Her thoughts turned, recalling the conversation with Jiang Yue earlier in the day. She pondered for a moment and said, “She suffered such hardships in her childhood. Now that she is entering the Beifa Palace, I hope that in the future, she can look past the illusions of the mortal world and achieve success in both the sword and the Dao. Let her be named Ning Songwu.”

The beggar child, standing to the side, could not understand what Ran Fanyin was saying. But when Ran Fanyin cast a gentle glance at her, she happily took Ran Fanyin’s sleeve and smiled very cutely.