Master is Also Running Away from Marriage Today (Transmigration) - Chapter 48

Mu Ling was unaware of Lin Qingge’s thoughts.

 

From a distance, she watched for a while as Lin Qingge engaged in the decisive battle against the Demon King. Afterward, she handed the pre-prepared healing elixirs to Ding Xin and excused herself, claiming she felt unwell, before retreating to her room.

 

Everyone was focused on the duel between Lin Qingge and the Demon King, so Mu Ling’s departure went unnoticed.

 

She wasn’t sure why, but as she left, she took with her the little rabbit lantern Lin Qingge had given her that night.

 

Before long, the seven-colored vortex of light would appear, and Mu Ling would leave this world. Thus, she didn’t go far, settling in a small kingdom within the demon realm.

 

Mu Ling knew there was an eighty percent chance Lin Qingge would come looking for her. To avoid being found, she adhered to the principle of hiding in plain sight. She deliberately disguised herself, renting a house in the bustling streets and transforming into a short, unseemly middle-aged man with a crooked mouth and squinty eyes. So repulsive that no one would spare him a second glance, let alone suspect he was the famously beautiful Immortal Mu Ling.

 

She was extremely pleased with her disguise.

 

Every day, she stayed in the courtyard, reading storybooks, occasionally lost in thought as she gazed at the rabbit lantern. Listening to the lively clamor of her neighbors’ lives, time passed slowly in this way.

 

Next door lived an ordinary family. A mother who worked as a seamstress in the city, a father who drove carts for a living, and their daughter Zhen Niang, who was exceptionally beautiful. Suitors had flocked to their doorstep the moment she came of age. Unfortunately, fate was unkind to Zhen Niang. Not long after her marriage, her husband’s entire family perished in an accident. The clan elders branded her a harbinger of misfortune and drove her, pregnant with her late husband’s child, back to her parents’ home.

 

Zhen Niang also had a younger brother, Xiao Zhu, who was mischievous by nature. The family’s daily routine often revolved around: eating, sleeping, and disciplining Xiao Zhu.

 

They were a hospitable bunch. On the day Mu Ling moved in, they sent Xiao Zhu over with some local delicacies for her to try. Despite Mu Ling’s current unsightly appearance, Xiao Zhu showed no trace of disdain, which warmed her heart toward the family.

 

That day, Mu Ling lounged in the courtyard as usual, engrossed in her storybook. But by dinnertime, the neighbors still hadn’t returned. A sense of unease crept over her, so she kept a sliver of her divine awareness alert to their movements. It wasn’t until nearly midnight that hurried footsteps finally sounded next door. Someone entered the house and began rummaging through the darkness.

 

Listening to Xiao Zhu’s muffled sobs, Mu Ling frowned. Eventually, she rose in the dark and leaped onto the wall, where she saw the tear-streaked boy trembling as he clutched a sickle.

 

“Where are your parents and sister?”

 

Xiao Zhu looked up and saw Mu Ling standing atop the wall. The short, unremarkable man from next door, usually so inconspicuous, now stood firmly on the wall; proof that he was no ordinary person.

 

Tears welled in Xiao Zhu’s eyes as hope flickered within them. He dropped the sickle and desperately kowtowed to Mu Ling, his forehead soon marked with blood. “Please if you can save my sister, I’ll do anything you ask.”

 

Through Xiao Zhu’s tearful account, Mu Ling finally learned what had happened that day.

 

The news of the Demon King’s death had now spread across the entire continent. The immortal sects launched a full-scale assault on the demon territories, and the small country where Mu Ling resided was no exception. The demonic forces were in retreat, and the city was flooded with cultivators.

 

One day, Zhen Niang went out to deliver some sewing supplies for her mother when she caught the eye of a cultivator who had entered the city. She was forcibly taken to the Red Sleeve Pavilion in the city. When her parents went to demand justice, they were cut down by the cultivator’s sword.

 

Xiao Zhuzi witnessed everything from the shadows, burning with the desire to avenge his parents and rescue his sister from the Red Sleeve Pavilion!

 

“Good child,” Mu Ling sighed softly, no longer able to remain uninvolved. She crouched down to meet Xiao Zhuzi’s eyes. “If you trust me, go home now and pack your belongings. We’ll meet at Qili Slope outside the city in an hour. Then, you and your sister can leave this place far behind.”

 

Xiao Zhuzi stared blankly at Mu Ling. This seemingly unremarkable and diminutive man suddenly appeared gentle and resolute, inspiring an inexplicable sense of trust.

 

Wiping away his tears, Xiao Zhuzi kowtowed heavily to Mu Ling several times.

 

Having given her word, Mu Ling couldn’t go back on it now. She immediately headed into the city to the Red Sleeve Pavilion.

 

The Red Sleeve Pavilion was a place of revelry, sprawling and labyrinthine, with pavilions and towers everywhere. Women in revealing clothes could be seen throughout, and behind closed or half-open doors, the unmistakable sounds of passion filled the air.

 

Though Mu Ling had some theoretical knowledge of such places, this was her first-time stepping foot inside one. A wave of embarrassment washed over her, but she suppressed it, keeping her head low as she searched for any trace of Zhen Niang.

 

Yet, after scouring the place, Mu Ling couldn’t detect Zhen Niang’s presence.

 

Frowning, Mu Ling had no choice but to extend her spiritual senses. She discovered that a certain area within the pavilion seemed to be shielded by a magical artifact, obscuring any human presence.

 

Her brow furrowed slightly as she quickly retracted her senses, now certain of her target. She swiftly made her way toward that location.

 

But the moment Mu Ling released her spiritual probe, hundreds of miles away, Lin Qingge, who was flying on her sword mid-air, suddenly felt a jolt in her senses. Without hesitation, she turned her sword and sped toward the small city.

 

Unaware that Lin Qingge had already detected her presence, Mu Ling arrived at the location and found a towering building guarded with unexpected strictness. With the agreed-upon meeting time with Xiao Zhuzi drawing near, Mu Ling had no choice but to use her spiritual power once more to infiltrate the building.

 

Mu Ling had expected the place to be unsavory, but she hadn’t anticipated the sheer depravity within. The locked hall reeked of a sickly-sweet, strange fragrance and was filled with dozens of naked men and women, their debauched state too appalling to behold.

 

Realizing the danger of the scent, Mu Ling held her breath and, fighting back nausea, knocked everyone unconscious.

 

She used her spiritual power to suppress the strange fragrance in a corner of her body, planning to expel it later, and continued her search for Zhen Niang.

 

Zhen Niang wasn’t in the hall, and Mu Ling breathed a sigh of relief. She found her in a room upstairs. Though tear-stained, Zhen Niang’s clothes were intact. However, the emotional turmoil seemed to have affected her unborn child. The barely detectable pulse of the fetus was now unstable.

 

“Kind benefactor, thank you for saving me!” Zhen Niang burst into tears again upon seeing Mu Ling, sobbing as she knelt before him.

 

How could Mu Ling allow a pregnant woman to kneel before him? He immediately stepped forward to help her up. As Zhen Niang raised her head, still weeping, Mu Ling suddenly noticed something amiss in her expression. Her pupils had abruptly turned vacant. Then, she grabbed a pouch of powder and flung it directly into Mu Ling’s face!

 

—Puppetry Sorcery?!

 

Mu Ling was horrified. Puppetry Sorcery was a sinister art; those ensnared by it remained unaware until the critical moment when they could be manipulated.

 

In this situation, Mu Ling couldn’t push away a pregnant woman. He could only watch helplessly as the powder settled on his body, seeping into his skin like tiny insects.

 

Almost as soon as the “insects” entered his body, Mu Ling felt his legs weaken. He tried to summon his spiritual energy, only to find it vanishing at a visible rate.

 

“Friend who has come from afar,” a voice suddenly called from outside the building.

 

“Since you had the ability to enter this tower, it proves you are no ordinary being. Ordinary methods would not suffice for someone like you,” said a gaunt-faced Golden Core cultivator standing outside, his sinister smile directed toward the tower. “You’ve already inhaled our newly developed Alluring Incense and been infected with a Lust Gu. Once this gu enters the body, it’s nearly impossible to expel, working in tandem with the incense. Even a Mahayana-stage cultivator wouldn’t be able to resist. ”

 

The cultivator chuckled maliciously. “Why not stay and join us in experiencing the ultimate pleasure of this world? Once you try it, you’ll never want to leave.”

 

…

 

Mu Ling’s brow furrowed tightly.

 

His spiritual energy continued to drain, and his cultivation had already dropped to the Golden Core stage. If he stayed any longer, the loss would only grow worse.

 

Mu Ling knew this loss was temporary. Once he complied with their wishes and engaged in intimacy, his cultivation would naturally recover. Their goal wasn’t to kill him, just to drag him into their depravity.

 

Most cultivators might have succumbed, half-resisting, half-yielding. But Mu Ling would rather die than give them what they wanted.

 

Biting her lower lip, she ignored the waves of heat surging through her body. After knocking Zhen Niang unconscious, she prepared to carry her and flee but the cultivators below lunged at her with lewd grins.

 

Mu Ling dodged awkwardly while holding Zhen Niang. As the sword tip came at her a second time, her legs gave way. She watched helplessly as the gleaming blade drew closer, its wielder seemingly intent on slicing open her collar.

 

Gritting her teeth, Mu Ling braced herself to endure the strike, planning to use her Mermaid Veil to escape afterward.

 

But instead, she heard a sharp clang. The unmistakable sound of metal striking metal.

 

A familiar plum blossom fragrance drifted from behind her.

 

“My, Master, you’ve got your arms full,” came a voice Mu Ling knew all too well. Lin Qingge let out a light laugh. “No wonder I couldn’t find you anywhere. I’ve scoured heaven and earth, turning the Three Realms upside down, only to discover you hiding here, indulging in pleasure.”

 

Mu Ling could feel Lin Qingge’s gaze on Zhen Niang in her arms. A gaze that regarded the woman as little more than a corpse.

 

“No, I was just trying to take her to Qili Slope to find her brother.”

 

Mu Ling was utterly shocked and hurried to explain. Though she couldn’t see Lin Qingge’s expression, her instincts screamed that the woman before her. Her voice now low and hoarse was incredibly dangerous. A primal urge to flee surged within her, but before she could act, a hand reached out from behind, lightly yet firmly grasping her neck. In the next moment, a torrent of spiritual energy flooded into her.

 

Mu Ling’s heart lurched. She tried to summon her own spiritual power, only to find it completely suppressed. The aphrodisiac poison she had barely managed to restrain now seized the opportunity to spread rapidly through her body.

 

This was already an overstep!

 

“Rebellious disciple! Let me go!” Mu Ling clenched her teeth, suppressing a moan as she scolded. After all, she was a Divine Transformation cultivator. If she could escape, she was confident she could suppress the love gu and the aphrodisiac incense. But now, with her spiritual power sealed, Mu Ling could only helplessly endure as the aphrodisiac coursed through her veins.

 

Yet, perhaps due to the poison’s effects, her reprimand sounded less like a stern rebuke and more like a coquettish whimper. Humiliated and furious, Mu Ling could only muster every ounce of willpower to resist the poison’s influence.

 

Lin Qingge’s eyes darkened further.

 

She covered Mu Ling’s eyes with one hand and swept her sword through the air. Cries of pain erupted below as a large number of cultivators fell dead or wounded. In that same instant, the three figures above vanished without a trace.

 

After tossing Zhen Niang to Xiao Zhu, Lin Qingge realized the Mu Ling in her arms was becoming increasingly difficult to handle. She quickly found a room in the city and settled in.

 

“Master, why didn’t you take me with you?”

 

Lin Qingge’s gaze was unfathomable as she held Mu Ling close. Only after confirming this was the real Mu Ling did she finally relax, gently nibbling on her ear. “I can accompany you anywhere you want to go. Even if you wish to live in seclusion, I can…”

 

Lin Qingge didn’t know how she had endured these past days.

 

She had been consumed by hatred for Mu Ling’s sudden departure. At first, she had only wanted to find her and lock her away. But after days of fruitless searching, a sudden panic gripped Lin Qingge’s heart. What if she never found Mu Ling again?

 

Her inner insecurities flared up once more. Every day felt like an eternity. In her desperation, she resolved to cling to Mu Ling no matter what. During her search, she devised countless plans, reminding herself that once she found Mu Ling, she would cater to her every whim, suppress her true nature, and make Mu Ling unable to leave her side.

 

Yet, despite her internal vows to please Mu Ling, the sight of her in a brothel had shattered Lin Qingge’s composure. Words she hadn’t meant to say spilled from her lips unbidden.

 

The Mu Ling in her arms remained silent.

 

Her jade-like earlobes were flushed a deep red, her body radiated heat, and she trembled faintly; pitiful yet irresistibly endearing.

 

If only she could always be this docile!

 

A shadow flickered in Lin Qingge’s eyes as she moved in front of Mu Ling, forcing her to behold her own breathtakingly beautiful face.

 

“Master,” Lin Qingge tilted her head up, gazing at Mu Ling’s tightly shut eyes and trembling form. She deliberately adopted a pitiful, pleading tone, knowing full well what kind of demeanor Mu Ling couldn’t resist. Her voice was low and husky, “Am I not more beautiful than any of them?”

 

“Why would you rather look at them?”

 

Mu Ling pressed her lips together, struggling weakly. Her eyes remained closed, her trembling grew more pronounced, and her cheeks burned crimson yet still, she said nothing.

 

Was she refusing to look at her?

 

“Master, please look at me.”

 

Lin Qingge’s lowered eyes flashed with a trace of ferocity, yet her voice remained coquettish. Tentatively, she reached out to pull Mu Ling’s hand to touch her own cheek, and it was only then that Lin Qingge realized something was wrong. Mu Ling’s palm felt frighteningly hot!

 

Before she could react, she suddenly felt the weight of a body pressing against her as Mu Ling threw herself onto Lin Qingge. Lin Qingge cushioned Mu Ling’s fall with her own body, fearing she might get hurt, and was about to check on her when her breath caught.

 

An unfamiliar kiss landed on Lin Qingge’s cheek!

 

For a moment, Lin Qingge wondered if she was dreaming until she saw the look in Mu Ling’s eyes.

 

Mu Ling’s eyes were now open: they shimmered with a seductive haze, as if filled with scalding water, completely devoid of reason. She whimpered softly about feeling “uncomfortable” and began tugging at Lin Qingge’s clothes.

 

When Lin Qingge had arrived, the cultivators were attacking Mu Ling. She hadn’t understood what was happening, but now, after taking Mu Ling’s pulse, she realized why the effects of the drug couldn’t be suppressed.

 

The drug had already spread throughout her body. Without relief, Mu Ling might die.

 

Her heart suddenly raced, and Lin Qingge found her mouth inexplicably dry at that moment.

 

Yet…

 

“Master, do you know who I am?”

 

Lin Qingge narrowed her eyes, gripping Mu Ling’s waist tightly as she released the spiritual energy within Mu Ling’s body. Countless emotions flickered in her gaze before settling into stillness. But her stare was so oppressive that even the delirious Mu Ling felt a pang of fear.

 

At first, Mu Ling tried to act spoiled, using the remnants of her spiritual energy to summon mermaid silk and bind the person before her, intending to have her way. She was unbearably hot, desperate to press against the cool, soothing presence beside her, but she didn’t know how. Like a small animal, she could only kiss the other’s cheeks. Yet the cool source refused to let her close, persistently asking in a hoarse voice, “Who am I?”

 

…

 

Mu Ling felt utterly aggrieved and miserable. Finally, with tears streaming down her face, she whimpered, “You’re Qingge.”

 

“Qingge, the rebellious disciple!”

 

“Rebellious disciple?”

 

Mu Ling heard the other person chuckle softly, the sound so pleasing that she couldn’t help but tighten her embrace. Then, she detected a hint of unmistakable amusement in the other’s voice: “If I don’t defy my master today, wouldn’t I be unworthy of the title ‘rebellious disciple’?”

 

The next moment, the world spun around her as Mu Ling found herself pinned beneath. The mermaid silk slipped away, and scorching kisses rained down on her cheeks.

 

That night, Mu Ling felt like dewdrops on a leaf, tossed and turned by the wind, scorched by the blazing sun until she was nearly dried out. But just as she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, a gentle drizzle would descend, moistening her parched body and carrying her away to a dreamlike paradise of bliss.

 

An endless night of spring’s indulgence.