Master is Also Running Away from Marriage Today (Transmigration) - Chapter 46

Luo Ying’s protection had been shattered, and Mercy City had already fallen into the grasp of the immortal realm.

 

The Qingfeng Sect, led by Sect Leader Huang, had contributed the most effort. They bore the brunt of the demonic race’s concentrated attacks and suffered the heaviest casualties in the battle.

 

It was only natural, then, that Mercy City came under the jurisdiction of the Qingfeng Sect.

 

After this battle, the Qingfeng Sect’s disciples were either dead or wounded, and their sect leader had perished. From a second-tier immortal sect, they plummeted to the ranks of the obscure and insignificant. Unable to bear this drastic fall from grace, and with Luo Ying’s faction who had defended the city already exterminated, the Qingfeng Sect vented their resentment upon the residents of Mercy City.

 

Mu Ling had initially wanted to stay out of it.

 

The affairs of Mercy City had nothing to do with the Qingyi Sect. In fact, unlike the other immortal sects, the Qingyi Sect hadn’t even entered the city to indulge in its pleasures. They had set up camp outside the city, intending to wait until the other sects had settled Mercy City’s affairs before continuing their journey.

 

Yet the wails and cries from the city were deafening, audible even from a great distance. Mu Ling had spent half the day meditating, but the anguished sobs lingering in her ears made it impossible to calm her mind.

 

In the end, Mu Ling could no longer sit still and rose to leave her room.

 

If not for the fact that she sensed no signs of spiritual surveillance, Mu Ling might have suspected Lin Qingge had planted a monitoring spell on her because the moment she pushed open her door, she saw Lin Qingge waiting outside.

 

Lin Qingge didn’t seem the least bit surprised that Mu Ling would enter the city. Silently, she summoned her sword and walked beside Mu Ling.

 

The entire city had become a living hell.

 

To arrange Sect Leader Huang’s funeral and vent their fury over his death, the Qingfeng Sect had forced all the men in the city to labor outside, working through the night to build a burial mound for their fallen leader.

 

And any resistance from the people was met with the blades of the cultivators.

 

By the time Mu Ling arrived, the ground outside the city was already soaked in blood, surrounded by towering walls of corpses. Yet the disciples of the Qingfeng Sect turned a blind eye to this human tragedy, still hovering on their swords above, shouting and driving the people below to continue building the mound.

 

Mu Ling took a closer look; even elderly men with graying temples were among them.

 

An old man, holding the hand of his two-year-old grandson, was being herded at the back of the procession. He stumbled and fell, and in the next instant, a cultivator’s sword light came slashing down.

 

There was no time to save them!

 

Mu Ling took a deep breath and closed her eyes, gripping the mermaid silk tightly. Then she heard a scream. Startled, before she could even process the tragedy, she suddenly sensed something amiss. The direction of the sound seemed of.

 

Mu Ling opened her eyes and saw the cultivator howling in midair, while Lin Qingge stood with her sword drawn, shielding the grandfather and child. Her expression was icy, her robes fluttering in the wind, her presence as unyielding as frost and snow. So awe-inspiring that one hardly dared to look at her directly.

 

—Lin Qingge had deflected the sword light back at the cultivator!

 

This version of Qingge…

 

Mu Ling blinked, her chest suddenly warming, her heart pounding wildly. The feeling was utterly strange!

 

Yet, faced with such a Lin Qingge, Mu Ling couldn’t bring herself to look away.

 

Pride and admiration welled up belatedly in her heart. The Lin Qingge described in the books merged with the girl before her eyes. This was how Mu Ling had always imagined Lin Qingge to be: radiant as the moon, breathtaking enough to captivate the world.

 

…

 

And it wasn’t just Mu Ling. Every person being driven by the Qingfeng Sect looked up in stunned silence, gazing at Lin Qingge, who stood before them like a deity.

 

“It’s the Fairy Goddess! The Fairy Goddess has come.” The old man saved by Lin Qingge exclaimed excitedly, pulling his grandchild down to kneel with a loud thud. Following his lead, the rest of the crowd also dropped to their knees in a sea of bowed heads.

 

“Who dares?” The disciples of the Qingfeng Sect drew their swords in unison, closing in on the direction of their injured comrade.

 

“Is that Fairy Qingge?” Yet, upon recognizing Lin Qingge’s face, the Qingfeng Sect disciples involuntarily took several steps back. The entire cultivation world knew that Lin Qingge had recently defeated the world’s top swordsman, her abilities unfathomable. To them, someone like her could slaughter them as easily as cutting melons or chopping vegetables!

 

“May we ask how our disciple has offended Fairy Qingge?” The Qingfeng Sect’s attitude shifted dramatically. A senior elder stepped forward with an ingratiating smile plastered across his face. “Our apologies for disturbing Fairy Qingge. We’ll leave immediately.”

 

But Yan Qi did not depart.

 

She cast a complex glance at the commoners below, her gaze lingering on Mu Ling’s bright, hopeful eyes.

 

Yan Qi’s lips curved slightly.

 

Truth be told, she had never cared about the lives of ordinary folk. Having grown up relying solely on herself, she believed weakness was an original sin.

 

Yet, Mu Ling wished for her to protect them.

 

Yan Qi smiled at Mu Ling. Though she didn’t understand why Mu Ling’s face suddenly flushed crimson before she averted her gaze, the memory of those earnest eyes made Yan Qi’s chest burn with warmth.

 

If this was the kind of good person Mu Ling wanted her to be, then she would become one!

 

“These people are innocent,” Yan Qi heard her own voice ring out coldly in the air as she raised her sword before her. “If you wish to kill them, you’ll have to get past my blade first!”

 

…

 

Lin Qingge was now the most celebrated top swordsmaster, while the Qingfeng Sect had plummeted from a second-rate faction to obscurity after the recent death of their leader. Under such circumstances, the Qingfeng Sect dared not provoke Lin Qingge further. With faces twisted in humiliation, the disciples mounted their swords and fled.

 

But this was only the beginning. Over the past two days, other cultivators in the city had indulged in “seeking amusement,” committing atrocities—burning, killing, and looting without restraint.

 

As Mu Ling watched the twisted grins of these cultivators, she could hardly tell whether they were supposed to be righteous immortals or demonic practitioners.

 

In the original story, since both the male and female leads belonged to the immortal sects, the sects were naturally portrayed as the righteous faction. They ruled the world from on high, setting the rules, governing the mortal realm, and branding the demonic path as heretical. For generations, they had enjoyed the worship of mortals, their influence enduring through the ages…

 

But living in this world firsthand, Mu Ling realized these immortal sects were rotten to the core. Cultivators who treated human lives as worthless were the true scourge of this world!

 

Mu Ling sighed. She wouldn’t be staying much longer and could hardly change this world.

 

Yet, surely someone could?

 

Her gaze settled on Lin Qingge ahead. Throughout their journey, Lin Qingge had been saving lives. Her beauty ethereal, her actions righteous, never bullying the weak. This was the kind of immortal sect disciple Mu Ling had always envisioned.

 

Once Qingge slew the Demon King and ascended as the foremost figure in the immortal realm, uniting the world under her rule, she would undoubtedly make this world a better place.

 

Alas, by the time that day arrives, I will likely have already departed, unable to witness that glorious age.

 

The celestial forces pressed forward toward the demon palace’s location.

 

Mu Ling noticed something peculiar: the demon generals who ambushed them all bore deep grudges against specific immortal sects in their ranks. Rather than following orders to battle the immortals, it seemed more accurate to say they had come seeking personal vengeance.

 

These demon generals would single-mindedly target their sworn enemies. If they succeeded in killing their foes, they would immediately retreat with their demon soldiers without further engagement. But if they were slain by their enemies, most had prepared contingencies. Even if it meant their souls would scatter, they would ensure their adversaries paid with their lives.

 

Most celestial cultivators, however, valued their lives dearly. When the cautious met the reckless, victory favored the bold. Few immortal cultivators who had committed past sins escaped successful retribution.

 

Meanwhile, everyone in the contingent began to realize: Lin Qingge utterly despised bullying the weak and could not tolerate cultivators oppressing common folk. This stance led to conflicts between her and several sects in their ranks. Though many privately mocked her “womanly compassion” with disdain, none could defeat her in combat. Moreover, Qian Jing, daughter of an elder from one of the Four Great Sects. The Earth Sovereign Alliance followed Lin Qingge like a shadow every day. Under such circumstances, even unwilling sects had no choice but to grudgingly curb their bullying behaviors.

 

Naturally, the celestial realm also had those who cared for the world. Witnessing Lin Qingge’s actions, they grew increasingly awed and willingly followed her lead.

 

Observing all this, Mu Ling felt growing contentment: Lin Qingge had become indistinguishable from the immortal dao’s foremost figure described in the texts.

 

At the same time, Mu Ling noticed Lin Qingge becoming increasingly filial!

 

Despite her busy schedule, every few days Lin Qingge would personally prepare desserts for Mu Ling. Whenever they passed through distinctive nations, she would insist on experiencing local specialties together. Beautiful scenery along their journey never failed to prompt Lin Qingge to bring Mu Ling for a viewing. Even Mu Ling’s emptied Qiankun bag was refilled by Lin Qingge with numerous storybooks.

 

Mu Ling reveled in these surprises, yet each passing day brought deepening sorrow as their inevitable separation drew nearer.

 

Lost in melancholy about her impending departure, Mu Ling failed to notice her growing comfort with Lin Qingge’s proximity, nor the often poorly concealed affection in Lin Qingge’s gaze: like the most skilled and patient hunter, she was gradually drawing her oblivious prey into the net.

 

Spring faded into autumn in the blink of an eye.

 

As they neared the demon palace, the demonic forces collapsed like a landslide, their defeat now undeniable.

 

Having journeyed for over half a year, the Demon-Subduing Alliance approached increasingly larger city-states near the demon palace. One day, Mu Ling and Lin Qingge received a mission: to investigate military deployments at a major city-state’s lord’s manor.

 

Donning veiled hats, they entered the city adorned with lanterns and colorful decorations. Only then did Mu Ling belatedly realize it was the mortal world’s Moon-Chasing Festival again.

 

Finding the city lord absent, their trip proved fruitless. With time to spare, Mu Ling simply decided to celebrate the festival with Lin Qingge in the mortal realm.

 

The streets were bustling with crowds of visitors, and Mu Ling and Lin Qingge were swept along by the flow of people, hidden within the throng.

 

In a moment of distraction, Mu Ling was jostled and stumbled into Lin Qingge’s embrace. She didn’t know what came over her. Staring at the elegant curve of Lin Qingge’s jawline, she froze for a full two seconds. When she finally realized what she was doing, her cheeks burned, and she hurriedly tried to pull away.

 

Unbeknownst to her, the sight of her flushed face and shy gaze was utterly adorable, enough to ignite the smoldering desire of a certain long-lurking hunter.

 

Almost there, isn’t it?

 

Yan Qi gazed deeply at Mu Ling in his arms. He had, as she wished, outwardly become a good man, and she no longer shied away from his closeness.

 

She was supposed to be his wife from the very beginning…

 

Mu Ling didn’t notice Yan Qi’s stare.

 

Blushing, she scrambled out of his embrace and looked up, her eyes immediately landing on a beautiful rabbit lantern.

 

The lantern was exquisitely crafted. Hollowed out from warm jade, carved so vividly it seemed alive. It wasn’t just Mu Ling; many mortal girls were staring at it with longing.

 

But winning the lantern was no easy feat.

 

It was the prize for a nine-linked rings competition set up by a family of master craftsmen. They had arranged eighty-one interlocking rings, and only by solving them all could one claim the lantern.

 

The demon realm was open in its customs, allowing men and women to mingle freely during the Moonchase Festival. Many young men had already stepped up to try their luck, only to fail midway and retreat in defeat.

 

Mu Ling suddenly felt the space beside her empty. When she looked again, Lin Qingge had already taken the stage.

 

She could barely follow Lin Qingge’s movements—one, two… eighty-one. The crowd held their breath as they watched, until finally, with a soft click, the last ring was undone.

 

“Solved so quickly?!” The hosting family gasped in amazement, while the audience erupted into thunderous applause.

 

The shopkeeper, smiling warmly, presented the rabbit lantern to Lin Qingge. “Such remarkable skill, young lady. This lantern is yours.”

 

“I’d like to give it to someone,” Lin Qingge said, her lips curving slightly as her gaze drifted toward Mu Ling.

 

“Who would you like to gift it to?”

 

Mu Ling met Lin Qingge’s eyes and smiled back, but her heart suddenly skipped a beat. There was something unsettling about Qingge’s expression!

 

Her face grew hot again, her heartbeat quickening as if it might leap out of her chest. Lowering her head, she unconsciously took two steps back only to collide once more with a soft embrace.

 

The cool fragrance of Lin Qingge enveloped her. Instinctively, Mu Ling looked up and, through the thin veil of the hood, saw Lin Qingge’s face, even more enchanting under the moonlight.

 

The clamor of gongs and drums, the dazzling lights of the festival; it was just like the night they had first met.

 

Behind Lin Qingge hung a vast full moon, yet the gaze she fixed on Mu Ling was gentler and more tender than the moon itself.

 

Could Qingge really feel that way about me?!

 

…

 

Mu Ling finally realized something was amiss. Her body stiffened, her mind a tangled mess, utterly incapable of coherent thought.

 

Lin Qingge looked at Mu Ling’s expression and slowly began to smile.

 

“Master finally noticed!” Lin Qingge sighed softly. The once emaciated little girl, who had only reached Mu Ling’s waist when they first met, now stood half a head taller and had blossomed into a breathtaking beauty. She tilted her head slightly, gently placing the rabbit lantern into Mu Ling’s hand and clasping it tightly. Leaning close to Mu Ling’s ear, she let out a soft, low laugh: “My lantern, I only wanted to give it to the one I love.”