Master is Also Running Away from Marriage Today (Transmigration) - Chapter 54

Before long, footsteps sounded outside the door.

Little Zhuzi had returned.

Zhen Niang stopped him outside, seemingly chattering excitedly about something. Mu Ling listened carefully. It seemed Zhen Niang was happily telling Little Zhuzi the news that their “foolish daughter” had regained her senses.

Mu Ling couldn’t quite make out what Little Zhuzi said in response. Soon after, the tightly shut door opened, and Mu Ling saw Zhen Niang, her eyes red-rimmed, enter the room alongside a man of modest height and delicate features.

“This is your uncle, Zhuzi. Hua’er, quickly greet your uncle.”

‘Hua’er’ was the childhood name of this body. Because she had been mentally impaired all these years, Zhen Niang had never given her a proper formal name.

Mu Ling discreetly studied Little Zhuzi for a while. Back when she had rescued the siblings from the Red Sleeve Pavilion, Little Zhuzi had only been ten years old. Now, fifteen years later, he had grown into a man. His facial features hadn’t changed much, but his entire demeanor had become steady and composed. No longer the reckless, impulsive little boy who had once wanted to charge into the Red Sleeve Pavilion with a sickle to fight for their lives.

Mu Ling truly couldn’t bring herself to call Little Zhuzi “uncle,” so she could only play dumb and flash him a silly smile.

While Mu Ling was observing him, Little Zhuzi was also subtly scrutinizing her. When he saw her smile, his gaze flickered, and he slowly clenched his fists.

Zhen Niang, however, didn’t notice the silent exchange between the two.

In her mind, her daughter had just woken up, so it was understandable that she wasn’t yet familiar with her family. Given time, with patience and care, their hearts would surely grow close.

“I’m a little hungry,” Little Zhuzi suddenly spoke up after studying Mu Ling for a while.

“Ah, look at me. I was so overjoyed I forgot to prepare a meal for you!” Zhen Niang hastily wiped her tears and stood up, heading to the kitchen to cook for him.

Mu Ling understood that Little Zhuzi had deliberately sent Zhen Niang away, so she remained silent, sitting still as she waited to see what he would do next.

She hadn’t expected Little Zhuzi to kneel before her!

He dropped to his knees in front of Mu Ling, his eyes red and his expression grief-stricken. “I don’t know which esteemed cultivator you are, but when I was young, my family suffered a great tragedy. Now, my sister is the only kin I have left. She is frail and cannot bear any shocks. Even though our little Hua’er was slow-witted, she was the apple of my sister’s eye. I beg you, have mercy and spare our family.”

Having lived in Lufeng Town for so many years, Little Zhuzi was no longer an ignorant child. He had learned some basics about the cultivation world. He had once secretly taken Hua’er to see a cultivator, who bluntly stated that there was no soul within her body. She was merely an empty shell. To keep his sister from losing hope, Little Zhuzi had hidden this truth all along. But now that his “mentally impaired” niece had suddenly regained consciousness, her demeanor was so different that he couldn’t help but suspect that Hua’er’s body had been taken over by someone else.

In the face of cultivators, mortals were as insignificant as ants. Little Zhuzi didn’t dare confront them head-on. He could only plead desperately, hoping to awaken their compassion.

Mu Ling hadn’t anticipated that her arrival would frighten Little Zhuzi so much. After a brief moment of stunned silence, she revealed her identity, vaguely explaining the reason she had ended up inhabiting Hua’er’s body.

Little Zhuzi never imagined that the soul within Hua’er would turn out to be Mu Ling, their savior from all those years ago!

“If not for your timely assistance, my sister and I would have perished long ago. Even a thousand deaths could not repay your kindness.” Little Pillar pondered for a moment before respectfully bowing to Mu Ling, acknowledging her as their savior.

However, his expression soon turned troubled, as if he wanted to say more but hesitated. “You probably already know that Hua’er is but a soulless shell but my sister remains unaware. She has raised Hua’er as her own daughter all these years. My sister is frail and cannot bear such a shock. Could you refrain from telling her the truth?”

Zhen Niang had always been submissive and burdened by her thoughts. Over the years, she had carried the guilt of their parents’ deaths, which she blamed on herself. Her sole purpose had been raising her daughter. If she were to suddenly learn the truth, Little Pillar feared it would break her.

Moreover, Zhen Niang was naturally beautiful, yet she had refused all suitors out of fear that her “simple-minded” daughter might be mistreated. If Hua’er were to “recover,” perhaps Zhen Niang might finally relent and seek a new partner.

Mu Ling had no reason to refuse Little Pillar’s request. After agreeing to continue playing the role of Hua’er, she took the opportunity to inquire about the current state of the cultivation world.

“Ever since the Demon King lost his Dao companion fifteen years ago, he has abandoned his previous reclusive ways. In recent years, his cultivation has grown even more formidable, and he has unleashed a reign of terror upon the cultivation world. The righteous sects are in decline, countless sects have been annihilated, and now the Demon King has built a vast prison in Lufeng Town, specifically to detain captured cultivators.”

As for other matters, such as the fate of the Qingyi Sect or the Demon King’s current whereabouts someone like Little Pillar, an ordinary commoner, would naturally have no knowledge.

In the past, Mu Ling would have had ways to contact her sect. But now, devoid of any spiritual power, she had no means to reach out to any of her former allies.

Furthermore, Mu Ling still did not understand who had dealt her that fatal strike fifteen years ago. The fact that the assailant had managed to evade both Yan Qi and Zhao Yunshi to deliver that sword thrust meant their cultivation was at least on par with those two. With such a terrifying enemy lurking in the shadows and herself bereft of spiritual power, Mu Ling dared not act rashly.

She could only proceed cautiously and wait for an opportunity.

Mu Ling bit her lower lip. The best course of action now was to find Yan Qi in secret. After all, Lufeng Town was closest to the Demon Palace. Though she still hadn’t figured out how she would face him.

Unfortunately, having been a sect leader for so long, Mu Ling had underestimated the vast divide between cultivators and mortals.

The Demon Palace was guarded like an impenetrable fortress, surrounded by traps, formations, and countless demonic sentinels. Killing a commoner was as effortless as crushing an ant. As one such commoner now, Mu Ling couldn’t even get close to the Demon Palace, let alone meet Yan Qi in secret.

After several failed attempts, Mu Ling abandoned the idea of seeking him out directly and instead resolved to gather information through indirect means.

Perhaps due to the seed within her, Mu Ling discovered that this body also possessed a singular Water Spirit Root talent. She had begun attempting to cultivate again, but the mortal realm lacked the abundant resources of the cultivation world. Compared to her previous rapid progress, her current efforts yielded minimal results.

Nearly a month passed in this manner before Little Pillar returned with news: the Demon Palace’s prison had taken in a new batch of cultivators, and they needed someone literate to serve as a scribe, registering the prisoners into the records.

Mu Ling seized this opportunity to enter the Demon Palace Prison.

The Demon Palace Prison towered thousands of feet high, its interior eerily gloomy, filled with countless cages and torture devices, the air perpetually filled with wails of agony. Over the years, the prison floor had turned a dark reddish-black, stained with the blood of countless cultivators.

The overwhelming stench of blood in the prison made Mu Ling nearly retch, and it took her a long time to adjust to the suffocating, oppressive atmosphere.

What exactly was Yan Qi trying to achieve by creating such a living hell?

The Demon Palace Prison held cultivators captured by the Demon King from various sects. Their cultivation had been sealed, and their collarbones pierced, rendering them no different from ordinary mortals. In fact, within these prison walls, the cultivators were worse off than commoners; starving, freezing, and enduring endless torture.

Mu Ling hadn’t expected that simply offering food as a reward would so easily coax valuable information from these once-proud cultivators:

For instance, the Qingyi Sect had gone into hiding, and despite years of searching, the Demon King had failed to uncover their whereabouts. Or that the Demon King seemed to be searching for a particular woman, prompting various factions to curry favor by sending numerous women into the Demon Palace. And then there was Qian Jing and Bai Junhao, who had become traitors to the immortal realm and were now high-ranking generals under the Demon King’s command.

Mu Ling never imagined the situation would deteriorate to this extent. What shocked her even more was that Yan Qi had accepted Bai Junhao and Qian Jing into her ranks because, knowing Lin Qingge’s temperament, she had never been one to compromise.

Mu Ling’s instincts told her that something had changed, and this unknown shift filled her with unease.

Before she could devise a plan, disaster struck without warning.

Whether it was fortune or misfortune, Mu Ling couldn’t say, but on this day, she encountered Bai Junhao, who was escorting a new batch of cultivators to the Demon Palace.

Bai Junhao had grown much thinner, his cheeks marked with black demonic patterns, his frame gaunt to the point of skeletal. At first glance, Mu Ling didn’t even recognize him as Bai Junhao.

Following her usual routine, she kept her head down, recording the names of the cultivators, not daring to look up at the cruel demons.

Just as she finished and was about to leave, a hoarse voice suddenly called out from behind her: “Wait! Lift your head!”

A chill ran down Mu Ling’s spine, as if a venomous snake had fixed its gaze on her. She took a deep breath, clenched her teeth, and raised her head.

Bai Junhao scrutinized her eyes and features intently, a dark glint flashing in his gaze. “Who are you?” he demanded.

“This lowly one is Hua’er, a clerk in the prison…” Mu Ling belatedly recognized him as Bai Junhao, her shock widening her eyes, which, paired with their innate clarity, made her appear genuinely terrified.

Bai Junhao didn’t suspect her. Ordinary mortals often reacted with fear under the scrutiny of demons. It would have been stranger if she hadn’t been afraid.

“Hua’er? A flower indeed, as lovely as your name.” Bai Junhao studied her thoughtfully, his lips curling into a slow smirk. “Listen well. From now on, your name will be Mu Ling.”

Mu Ling’s eyes widened in shock!

–

From the moment Mu Ling heard Bai Junhao’s words that day, a sense of foreboding settled in her heart.

And soon enough, her fears were confirmed.

In the following days, Bai Junhao, under the pretense of admiring Mu Ling’s potential, claimed he wanted to train her in demonic cultivation. He even paid Zhen Niang a hefty sum of money for her.

Though Zhen Niang was reluctant to part with her daughter, she knew that cultivation was a rare and extraordinary opportunity. Unwilling to hinder her daughter’s future, she could only send Mu Ling to Lord Bai Junhao’s residence with a heavy heart.

What Zhen Niang didn’t know was that Bai Junhao immediately sent Mu Ling to the Demon Palace.

At first, Mu Ling feared that Bai Junhao had recognized her, but she soon noticed his attitude was bizarre. If he had recognized her, it didn’t seem so. Instead, it was more like he was treating her as a gift.

The answer soon became clear.

After delivering Mu Ling to the Demon Palace, Bai Junhao left. A demon attendant led Mu Ling deeper inside, past the Demon King’s main hall and straight into the rear courtyard.

There, over a hundred young women resided, each with her own charm. Some plump, some slender, all uniquely beautiful. Yet upon closer inspection, every one of them bore some resemblance to Mu Ling’s previous body.

But what truly stunned Mu Ling was this: every single girl in the courtyard was named Mu Ling!