Chapter 420
Chapter 420
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 420
>Chapter Title: Bai Lingmiao
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“Thump thump thump~!! Thump thump thump~! The sun sets in the west, blackening the sky~ Nine out of ten households bar their doors. Only one house leaves its door unlocked, burning incense and beating drums to welcome the immortals~”
Amid the urgent drumbeats, Bai Lingmiao drummed while circling the naked man bound by his limbs in the center of the room.
In the nearby wall corner, a group of people—men, women, young, and old—crouched, trembling with tears in their eyes.
“Today the Upper Pass is most auspicious, the South Dipper aligns with the North.”
“Before ascending the Pass, first spray holy water three times.”
“Step forth to the southwest and north, Qian is Heaven, Kun is Earth.”
“Evil demons and ghosts, begone far away!!”
As Bai Lingmiao chanted the Invocation of the Troops to this point, she immediately removed the red veil from her head, soaked it in the nearby prepared water jar, and slapped it dripping onto the man’s face.
In an instant, the man bound by his limbs let out a howl like a ghost’s wail and wolf’s cry.
The water-soaked red veil, amid the drumbeats, kept shifting shape—now bulging into a split-open wolf’s head, now sinking into the skull like four snakes fused together.
The screams grew ever higher-pitched, peaking as the man’s body tensed like a drawn bow before collapsing limp to the ground.
Immediately after, a hazy, faint red mist figure crawled out from under the red veil and dashed toward the nearby beam pillar.
Bai Lingmiao made no move to stop it, waiting until the little mist figure burrowed into a corner of the pillar before she approached.
Ershen’s sharp nails pierced into the wooden beam, flipping it open with force. Amid the splintering wood, a miniature blood-red palace appeared before them.
This little palace didn’t look pre-made and inserted—it seemed sculpted directly from the heart of the pillar.
“Have you folks offended someone?”
Ershen’s black nails swiftly slashed across, and the entire little palace crumbled in an instant, its glaring red rapidly fading.
Seeing the copper coins offered as payment by the victims, Bai Lingmiao glanced at the bare walls around and took none, simply turning to leave.
“These few coppers are a hassle to carry—keep them to fix that pillar. Think hard about who installed this beam, and remember to stay farther away next time.”
Once Bai Lingmiao exited and boarded her carriage, she let out a long breath. “Jobs like this are really hard to come by.”
Chun Xiaoman waited until Ershen bent her legs to board the carriage before lightly shaking the reins, sending it toward Oxheart Village. “Miaomiao, that should count as finishing the immortal family’s duties for this month, right?”
Hearing Chun Xiaoman’s words, Bai Lingmiao nodded. “Yeah, but just for this month—next month it resets.”
With that, she leaned back and sprawled on the carriage floor, picking up a nearby book and flipping it open.
The book’s contents were simple: on the left, the character “duck,” and on the right, a drawing of a duck.
“Duck.” Bai Lingmiao traced the character stroke by stroke with a wooden stick, utterly serious.
Once she’d firmly memorized it, she turned to the second page—this time, it was “pig.”
This primer for literacy wasn’t sold anywhere else—it was hand-drawn by Gao Zhijian himself.
So many books and techniques lay beneath the ancestral hall, all recorded in characters. To understand what her clansmen had left her, she had to learn to read.
As the carriage wheels creaked, the sky gradually darkened. When Chun Xiaoman pulled back the curtain, it was pitch black inside, save for a pair of gleaming green beast eyes floating in the air.
“Miaomiao, it’s so late—shall we camp here tonight?”
“You go ahead—I’ll read a bit more.”
Hearing the reply, Chun Xiaoman sighed softly, dropped the curtain, and went to gather firewood.
Miaomiao’s personality had changed, and even her ways of doing things had—becoming stubbornly fixated.
Since deciding to learn to read, aside from eating and drinking, she buried herself entirely in the book, as if she’d never stop until she could.
Just as Chun Xiaoman had gathered enough firewood and lit a campfire by the carriage, she saw Ershen standing silently before her, cradling some wild greens.
“Thanks. I’ll fetch the pot—you keep the fire from dying.”
Two people didn’t need such a huge pot—a normal little iron one sufficed. Chun Xiaoman broke the naan into small pieces and tossed them in.
When half-soft, she added some dried meat and wild greens, and a makeshift dinner was ready.
Seeing Bai Lingmiao clutching that book even while eating, Chun Xiaoman shook her head helplessly. Her sister was obsessed.
“Why go to such trouble? Gao Zhijian can read.”
“Better to rely on yourself than heaven or earth. And his brain’s not up to it—what if he misreads? You wouldn’t even know.”
“Forgot how Li Huowang fooled that bald-headed monk back then? I don’t want to repeat that mistake.”
“Then how about hiring a tutor?”
“Yeah, good idea. Then let those tutors learn I’m a remnant of the White Lotus Cult and report me to the Surveillance Bureau.”
Chun Xiaoman’s brows furrowed slightly. The old Miaomiao never used to mock herself like this.
When Ershen picked up two pieces of meat with chopsticks and placed them in Chun Xiaoman’s bowl, the dissatisfaction in her heart eased a bit.
“You’re still the best.” Chun Xiaoman leaned gently on Ershen’s shoulder and continued eating her veggie-meat naan soup.
After eating, the two lay down to rest, back-to-back, one on each side.
“Pat.” Bai Lingmiao’s hand rested on Chun Xiaoman’s shoulder, gradually melting away her lingering displeasure.
She turned over, hugging her sister’s closed eyes as before. No matter how she’d changed, Miaomiao was still the good sister who’d comforted her in her weakest moments.
Just as she was about to close her eyes, another body pressed against her back—Ershen’s.
“Hey, you two...” Chun Xiaoman simply lay flat, one arm around each.
By the next morning, when Chun Xiaoman woke, the carriage beneath her was already moving.
She yawned and came forward to take the reins from Ershen, but the other refused to hand them over.
“I’ve got it—won’t get tired. It’s just driving a cart, not walking.”
As the two bickered, a small county town appeared ahead, with tenant farmers hauling all sorts of wild game, bamboo baskets, and hides inside.
“Oh right, it’s the fifteenth today—market day.”
The carriage entered the town, and the surroundings erupted in a buzz. Hawkers and buyers packed the streets on both sides.
Plenty came out for nothing in particular, making the streets terribly congested—the carriage crawled along.
“Why so noisy?” Bai Lingmiao, visibly annoyed, pulled back the window curtain. The bright sunlight nearly blinded her.
Just as she reached for the silk ribbon Li Huowang had tied to her wrist to cover her eyes, she spotted an acquaintance.
“Xiaoman, isn’t that Lv Xiucai over there?”
(End of chapter)