Chapter 423
Chapter 423
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 423
>Chapter Title: Twin Lotus
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Accompanied by the creaking of the carriage wheels, Bai Lingmiao's carriage slowly pulled up to the entrance of Oxheart Village. Seeing her return, the other fellow disciples all came out to welcome her.
Though their attention was quickly drawn away by Bai Lingmiao's adopted sons and daughters.
“Hey, this is great. I said before that even if you bought more oxen, they couldn't plow all the land around here. Well now, we've got people to do the plowing.”
Gouwa, supporting his big-bellied wife, pretended to know all about it and chattered on.
“Hey! Heh heh! Isn't that Xiucai? How come he's—”
But before he could finish, a massive force slammed into him from behind, sending him stumbling. As soon as he steadied himself, he saw Lv Juren rolling up his sleeves and leading the furious Lv Zhuangyuan charging over aggressively.
When Lv Zhuangyuan wound up his right arm and delivered two resounding slaps across Lv Xiucai's face, Gouwa was absolutely delighted.
“Hah! Now we've got a real show to watch!”
Lv Xiucai was then tied to the tree at the village entrance by his older brother. Lv Zhuangyuan followed up by whipping him viciously with his tobacco pipe. Father and son hurled curses at each other in a lively spectacle.
“You dare steal money! You actually dare steal money and run off!! Fine, fine! Our old Lv family has been squeaky clean for generations, and now in your generation, you've turned into a damned monk! I'll beat you to death, you little bastard!”
“You little turtle bastard! You're the old turtle bastard! If you've got the guts, untie me! I'll kill you!”
“Who's your old man! Say that again! Who's your old man!”
Lv Zhuangyuan swung his tobacco pipe up and down furiously, leaving Lv Xiucai's mouth a bloody mess.
Watching the father and son roaring at each other at the village entrance, Bai Lingmiao found it rather boring. She poked her head out, glanced around, and said to the towering Gao Zhijian,
“Zhijian, could you fetch some paper and pens? We're signing on some long-term laborers in the village.”
Gao Zhijian shifted his gaze from Chun Xiaoman and glanced at the men and women behind the carriage before nodding.
“Sure.”
Soon, the once-deserted Bai family ancestral hall bustled with activity as these people lined up one by one to press their red handprints onto their contracts.
Though not a single one of them was literate, the contracts spelled out their wages in detail without any deception whatsoever.
“Miaomiao, what's all this for?”
Chun Xiaoman watched Gao Zhijian scribbling away rapidly and asked in confusion.
“Signing contracts. My grandfather used to recruit short-term and long-term workers just like this. These folks are only the beginning—more will come later. Since we've got people now, we might as well make things official from the start.”
Bai Lingmiao racked her brains, trying to recall how her grandfather had managed the village back then.
“You're hiring even more people?”
“Of course. Oxheart Village is huge. We need to fill it up at least.”
To revitalize Oxheart Village, this was nowhere near enough—especially since she still needed to weed out those with poor aptitude.
Once she saw everyone had pressed their handprints, Bai Lingmiao looked at them and said,
“Since you've all called me foster mother, that makes us family. The road here was tough—tonight we'll slaughter a pig and have a proper feast.”
The moment they heard there would be pork, these people instantly forgot their anxiety at being in a strange land and began swallowing instinctively. Some had never even tasted meat in their entire lives and had only heard that pork was delicious.
For that evening's dinner, Little Yang Kid threw himself into the task. Every bit of a hundred-plus-jin black-skinned pig—except the bones and bristles—was turned into dishes and eaten clean.
These people were then assigned to the empty houses in the village. The once-desolate village began to show some signs of life.
That night, in the secret chamber of the Bai family ancestral hall, Bai Lingmiao held up a lantern. Her hand gently trailed over those White Lotus Cult cultivation manuals, a hint of longing in her eyes.
“Do you think, with all these wonderful things here, there might be something to fix the immortal house troubles afflicting us?”
The Second God, shrouded in her red veil behind her, followed silently like a specter.
The Second God thought for a moment, and a familiar face surfaced in her mind.
“Senior Brother Li said we could find a great fiend to balance it.”
“He said it, sure, but he made it sound so easy. Just a name—how are we supposed to track it down?”
Four rows of tears in varying sizes soaked through the Second God's red veil as an overwhelming wave of longing welled up in her heart.
“I miss him.”
Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao's expression twisted savagely.
“Miss him, miss him, miss him! That's all you ever think about! Would you die without him?”
“Look at you, sniveling and pathetic—just like back when you tried to kill yourself in the ancestral hall. It makes my blood boil!”
The Second God choked back a sob and pulled a white jade pendant from her bosom, stroking it gently. Li Huowang had given it to her back then. She'd meant to pawn it for travel money, but even after making it home, she still hadn't spent it.
As she walked, Bai Lingmiao continued,
“Haven't you realized? We can't even get involved in the things happening around him anymore. If you want to avenge your parents and kill your father's murderer, then by all means—go be a deadweight dragging him down.”
At these words, Bai Lingmiao sensed no movement from behind her. Faint sobbing soon echoed from the dark corner.
Hearing the sound, Bai Lingmiao rolled her eyes and resumed patrolling the entire secret chamber.
After eyeing the Bai family heritage left for her a while longer, Bai Lingmiao's greed got the better of her. She casually grabbed a book and flipped it open.
She struggled to read it, but the contents were still far too complex for her at present.
As she frowned in concentration, a faint glow flickered nearby, drawing her attention.
Bai Lingmiao looked over in surprise and spotted the massive white jade lotus atop the cabinet. Unlike before, when it had emitted a steady soft white light, it now flashed on and off.
Curious, Bai Lingmiao leaned in for a closer look but came away utterly clueless.
She had no idea why this thing had been placed here, but given its hiding spot in such a secretive location, the white lotus had to be something precious.
Still, from her guesses, she figured it was connected to that Wusheng Old Mother. According to the earlier translations, all the White Lotus Cult's divine powers were bestowed by this Wusheng Old Mother.
“Why is it flashing? Does this signify something?”
Suddenly, a hand clapped onto Bai Lingmiao's shoulder. She whipped around to see the Second God gazing up at the wall mural.
When Bai Lingmiao looked up as well, her pink pupils widened slightly. The white lotus petals previously borne by six white donkeys were now overlapping. With the petals packed so densely, it no longer resembled a white lotus—instead, it looked like a hollow onion.
Abruptly, a bizarre chanting arose from the left, enveloping everything.
“Great Thousand Nectar Realm, Azure Radiance Gate of Eternal Joy. Within the Eastern Extreme Palace of Marvelous Adornments, myriad truths encircle. Upon the throne of nine-colored lotuses, amidst billions of auspicious rays, the Jade Pure Spirit Treasure Venerable. In cataclysm bestows mercy and salvation, seven treasures in fragrant groves luxuriant. Manifests the Profound Origin.”
The chant featured men and women, old and young, layering atop one another into some utterly grotesque sound.
This sensation of the Vedic tones pouring into her ears made Bai Lingmiao tremble uncontrollably. She even felt the baleful aura in her heart on the verge of being scattered.
“Not just the baleful aura—my Ten Emotions and Eight Sufferings too!”
All manner of emotions flashed across Bai Lingmiao's face as she struggled desperately.
Almost on instinct, Bai Lingmiao lunged for the white jade lotus. Only when its flickering light enveloped her entire body did she start to feel a little better.
Fortunately, the sensation came quickly and departed just as fast, lasting no more than a moment. When the still-shaken Bai Lingmiao looked up at the mural again, she saw that the lotus painting—dragged by six white donkeys on the wall—had transformed into a twin lotus.
(End of chapter)