Master is Also Running Away from Marriage Today (Transmigration) - Chapter 39

Mu Ling woke up five days later.

During the time she was unconscious, the Demon-Subduing Conference had already finalized the division of benefits and the attack plan. Everyone had returned to their respective sects, then split into four teams to advance toward the demon realm from four different directions. They were to regroup outside the Demon Palace before launching a joint assault.

Mu Ling was roused by an odd pressure on her eyelids. When she opened her eyes, she found herself lying on the jade bed atop Qingbo Peak. This jade bed had been procured for her by Lin Qingge; warm in winter, cool in summer, and carved into the shape of a massive lotus. The petals could open and close freely, shielding her from prying eyes, which made it the perfect hiding spot for Mu Ling to secretly read her storybooks. It was one of her favorite magical artifacts in the cultivation world.

And now, someone was sitting beside the bed.

Mu Ling turned her gaze and saw Lin Qingge meditating with her eyes closed.

The moment Mu Ling stirred, Lin Qingge opened her eyes.

Mu Ling met her gaze, staring at her for several seconds before slowly realizing where she was. Then, her eyes reddened once more.

Ever since transmigrating into this book, Mu Ling had been missing her grandfather. She had tried to console herself even without her, her uncle’s family would take care of him, so his life shouldn’t be too bad. But who could have imagined that the nursing home staff would secretly abuse him?

Would her uncle’s family even notice the staff’s cruelty?

Mu Ling thought of her perpetually busy uncle and her aunt, who barely visited her grandfather once a year, and despair filled her heart.

The staff probably mistreated her grandfather precisely because he had so few visitors. And now, with Mu Ling gone, she couldn’t bear to imagine how he was suffering.

Was there really no way back?

For the first time, Mu Ling desperately wanted to return and save her grandfather.

……

“Shi Master, what’s wrong?”

Yan Qi had been watching Mu Ling intently, but Mu Ling remained silent, her gaze distant as if lost in thought.

Was she ignoring her because she was still angry about the four women Yan Qi had harmed?

“Do you still blame me?”

The more Yan Qi thought about it, the darker her mood grew. She clenched Mu Ling’s skirt, her voice hoarse as she spoke. After the words left her lips, Yan Qi herself froze for a moment, a shadow flickering in her lowered eyes.

She was Yan Qi, not that delusional fool Lin Qingge. Her cultivation far surpassed Mu Ling’s, and she was more than twice her age. She had never once entertained the thought of calling Mu Ling “Master,” yet the words had slipped out so naturally.

Perhaps some lingering remnants of that idiot’s consciousness were still influencing her.

Yan Qi narrowed her eyes, recalling the pitiful sight of that fool kneeling before Mu Ling, terrified of being abandoned, and frowned.

She, the Demon King, had never once debased herself like that. What an utter disgrace!

She had already spared those four women out of mercy. If Mu Ling dared to blame her for harming them.

Yan Qi’s eyes gleamed coldly: Then she would drag her back to the Demon Palace, tie those women up, and kill them one by one in front of her!

……

Mu Ling was oblivious to Yan Qi’s thoughts.

Yan Qi’s words pulled her out of her sorrowful reverie.

“How could I possibly blame you? You were so young back then, forced by those demonic cultivators.” Mu Ling gazed intently at Yan Qi, memories flooding in belatedly as she recalled what had happened before, she lost consciousness. She quickly grabbed Yan Qi’s arm. “Did Wang Qing give you any trouble? Don’t shoulder everything alone. I’ll always come to help you.”

“I’m fine now. Wang Qing is nothing to fear.”

Yan Qi’s eyes lingered on Mu Ling’s reddened eyes for a moment. Seeing the concern in her gaze, she wrung out a cloth and pressed it gently against Mu Ling’s eyes. Her tightly pursed lips couldn’t help but curl slightly, the suffocating weight in her chest vanishing in an instant.

As expected, Mu Ling still couldn’t bear to see her suffer!

“But you, why were you crying so bitterly?” Yan Qi fixed her gaze on Mu Ling. “Tell me what you wish for, and I’ll do everything in my power to help you.”

“I…” Mu Ling clenched her fists, the memory flashing through her mind, threatening to bring fresh tears.

But crying wouldn’t help now. What she truly wanted was to find a way back.

“I’m fine,” Mu Ling replied softly.

Fine?

Lying through her teeth.

Yan Qi’s eyes lingered on Mu Ling’s pale lips, a cold laugh echoing silently in her heart. But she didn’t press further.

Fine, keep your secrets. Once the demonic sect uncovers your origins, everything will come to light.

These past few days, Yan Qi had spent every spare moment watching over Mu Ling.

Mu Ling had been unconscious for five days. Then, two days ago, she had begun sobbing in her sleep. Yan Qi had never known a person could shed so many tears. Mu Ling cried until her face was drained of color, her eyes swollen and red. For some reason, Yan Qi couldn’t stand seeing her like this, so she had been applying herbal compresses to Mu Ling’s eyes.

No matter how much she pondered, Yan Qi couldn’t figure out why Mu Ling was crying. In her memories, Mu Ling had never faced any calamities on Qingbo Peak, nor was she particularly fragile. It had to be something from before she joined the Qingyi Sect.

So, while managing affairs in the Demon Palace, Yan Qi had also issued a secret Demon King’s decree. Though Mu Ling kept insisting she had a deep grudge against the “Demon King,” Yan Qi owed her not just for years of care, but for saving her life multiple times. Yan Qi believed in repaying kindness. One way or another, she would find a way to repay Mu Ling.

By now, the demonic sect should have already begun investigating Mu Ling’s background. Soon, everything would be revealed.

Mu Ling endured the herbal compress for about the time it took an incense stick to burn. By the time it was removed, her emotions had settled.

Yet her thoughts drifted back to Peak Master Xu of Qianji Peak. After his death, the entire Qianji Peak had gone into seclusion for nearly thirty years. Perhaps there were still some clues there.

Returning to the modern world wasn’t something that could be resolved in a day or two. Forcing herself to focus on the present, Mu Ling noticed that Qingge seemed busy. After tending to her eyes, she had immediately left on her sword. Watching her retreating figure, Mu Ling’s worry deepened.

“Master, you don’t know this, but Junior Sister is now the top sword cultivator in the world.” Though Qingge had claimed Wang Qing was no threat, Mu Ling couldn’t bring herself to believe it. Quietly, she sought out Ding Xin for answers.

Due to the original plot, Mu Ling had long known that Lin Qingge was destined for greatness in the future. However, that was supposed to happen two years later. Mu Ling never expected Lin Qingge to excel so soon, advancing two levels in the martial arena and even wounding Wang Qing.

With Ding Xin’s confirmation, Mu Ling finally learned that not only had Lin Qingge not been injured by Wang Qing, but she had now become a highly sought-after expert in the cultivation world.

But this newly emerged cultivation expert had no time for socializing, as she had been tirelessly assisting her master with preparations during this period.

After all, the Demon-Suppressing Alliance was about to set off, and many things needed to be arranged. With Mu Ling unconscious, all the miscellaneous tasks had fallen on her two disciples.

Feeling guilty, Mu Ling threw herself into handling the sect’s affairs as soon as she woke up.

Keeping busy did help numb the pain in her heart. Soon, the golden sun dipped westward, and the moon rose high. Another day passed.

Laughter from a few puppets echoed from the neighboring room. Ding Xin and Lin Qingge still hadn’t returned. Mu Ling gazed at the full moon hanging over the treetops, quietly summoned her mermaid silk, and swiftly arrived at the foot of Qianji Peak.

The gates of Qianji Peak had been closed for decades. Unable to enter, Mu Ling wandered aimlessly nearby for a while. Just as she was about to return to Qingbo Peak to reconsider her plans, footsteps suddenly sounded under the moonlight. The eldest disciple of Peak Master Xu appeared behind her.

“Peak Master Mu,” sighed the eldest disciple, now the new leader of Qianji Peak. “Master once said, ‘To return or depart, fate decides.'”

“Then when will I return?” Mu Ling’s heart skipped a beat, and she pressed for an answer.

The disciple fixed her with a steady gaze before turning away. A faint voice drifted on the wind: “When all is concluded, dust returns to dust, earth to earth.”

Mu Ling’s eyes lit up!

Though the words were cryptic, she grasped the core meaning: there was still a chance for her to return to the modern world!

But what did “when all is concluded” mean? And once she returned, would she be in time to save her grandfather?

…

With a mix of excitement and trepidation, Mu Ling returned to Qingbo Peak.

Unbeknownst to her, shortly after she left, a figure slowly emerged from the woods…

Yan Qi, whom everyone believed was busy handling Mu Ling’s affairs, stared intently at the empty gates of Qianji Peak, her eyes narrowing. “Dust returns to dust, earth to earth… What secrets is Mu Ling hiding?”

“Where does she intend to return to?”

…

A sudden sense of foreboding surged in her heart, accompanied by a panic as if she were about to lose something precious.

Yan Qi pressed her lips together, dark shadows swirling in her eyes.

Mu Ling slept poorly that night, her mind preoccupied with the meaning of the eldest disciple’s words. Half-asleep, a tingling sensation spread from the back of her head, and she lost consciousness.

A shadowy figure materialized in Mu Ling’s room.

Yan Qi approached the bed, closed her eyes, and took several deep breaths.

With the return of the Demon King’s memories, many of his old habits had resurfaced.

The murderous rage during cultivation, the occasional nightmares—violence and bloodshed followed like shadows. Even a brief nap could jolt her awake in terror.

However, Yan Qi discovered that whenever she was near Mu Ling, her heart felt an unprecedented sense of tranquility.

Yan Qi gazed intently at Mu Ling, who was dressed in sleepwear, curled up obediently under the blankets like a docile little rabbit.

Yan Qi clenched her jaw slightly, feeling an inexplicable itch in her heart. As if bewitched, her hand reached out to caress Mu Ling’s cheek:

Why can’t you just stay this obedient? Why must you think of ‘leaving’?

Besides…

Lin Qingge narrowed her eyes, her fingers tracing the contours of Mu Ling’s face as a smile curved her lips: No matter where you wish to return to, I’ll always be able to drag you back!