Chapter 14: Unexpected Awakening
Before she could speak as a child, Sang Ying was diagnosed with congenital weakness and blocked meridians, meaning she had no talent for cultivation. In her lifetime, she could only barely reach the Foundation Establishment stage.
I heard that her mother also had the same constitution and passed away not long after giving birth to her.
How long can one live if they only cultivate to the Foundation Establishment stage in their entire life? Sang Ying calculated that it would be about 130 years.
When they heard the news, her senior brother and father were afraid of upsetting her, so they never mentioned it. Sang Ying was very happy, though, because while mortals can live to be a hundred, she could live thirty years longer.
Sang Ying had no interest in swordsmanship, nor did she have the strength for it. While her two senior brothers practiced swordsmanship, she would always play with a book of talismans.
This was something her mother left behind; she found it deep inside her father's study. It was called the "Knowledge and Prosperity Records," and the last few pages were torn out, but the beginning contained many interesting talismans.
The first skill Sang Ying learned was the shapeshifting talisman.
The first time, it turned into the instructor teasing the second senior brother, punishing him by making him run ten laps around the mountain. The second senior brother didn't even notice. When he returned to report after finishing the run, Sang Ying couldn't help but laugh, and that's when he discovered the trick.
Neither of her two senior brothers recognized her when she used the illusion talisman, and even her father was sometimes fooled by her. Only Xie Lingyu could recognize Sang Ying no matter what form she took; she could never be fooled.
Sang Ying was a stubborn person who never gave up. The more she was defeated, the more determined she became. When the illusion talisman failed to fool him, she went and learned another divination technique left by her mother. She planned to wait outside his window at night, intending to conjure up some ghostly blue flames to scare him.
As a result, the fire accidentally burned his hair. In his panicked attempt to put out the fire, the window was pushed open. The boy sighed and picked up a ladle of water to pour it on.
The fire was extinguished. Sang Ying looked up and saw that the boy was obviously taking a bath. His long hair was dripping wet, and he was covered in moisture. He was only wearing a loose outer garment, which revealed his fair collarbone and chest.
In an instant, Sang Ying's ears turned red, and she ran back to her room in a panic.
The boy didn't say anything after that, as if nothing had happened.
Sang Ying never expected that he would remember this for so long, and bring it up again years later to accuse her of peeping at him while he was bathing.
...She wasn't trying to peek at all!
In her early years, when Sang Ying listened to her father tell stories, she swung her legs and asked, resting her face on her hands: Why did the protagonist only realize the ultimate martial arts before he died and make a comeback?
My father said it was a very mysterious thing, and he couldn't explain it either.
It is only at the moment of life and death that one may glimpse the secrets of heaven. One may unleash boundless potential, comprehend the realm of constraints, or recall events from long ago and see one's own destiny clearly.
Sang Ying thought that she might be the latter.
Enveloped in demonic energy, her spiritual power depleted, and her consciousness clouded, she had a dream in which she realized that this world was actually a book.
She used to listen to Sang Jingming read storybooks, which, in addition to the righteous protagonists, contained many very bad supporting characters.
As luck would have it, she was one of them.
The protagonist of the book is Xie Lingyu, who was chased by his enemies when he was young. While he was unconscious, he was unexpectedly picked up by the villainous female supporting character in the book. After that, he was taken in by the villainous female supporting character's father and stayed on Minghua Mountain.
The vicious female supporting character did not regard Xie Lingyu as her senior brother, but as her follower, making him work like a slave every day. The young Xie Lingyu was constantly bullied.
Of course, the villainous female supporting character's father was no good either. On the surface, he saved Xie Lingyu and took her as his disciple, but in reality, it was because of his bloodline. The blood of the Azure Dragon can prolong life, cure diseases, and nourish the tendons and veins.
Sang Jingming used Xie Lingyu's blood as a medicinal ingredient to nourish the body of the vicious female supporting character, disregarding the loss of his cultivation. She drank the medicine for six years.
Sang Jingming, wanting to pave the way for his daughter's future success, saw that he was destined for greatness and, hoping to repay a debt of gratitude, demanded that he marry his daughter in the future.
...
Sang Ying fluttered her eyelashes, opened her eyes, and saw a quiet lake with the moon reflected on its surface, rippling in the wind.
The night was quiet, but the demonic cultivator beside me was making a lot of noise, "No way, I didn't even faint after being stabbed with a sword, but you almost passed out after just a little bit of demonic energy."
No wonder.
She was frail and sickly from a young age, with a weak constitution. Even a minor illness like a cold would be a major disaster for her.
Sang Jingming had consulted countless doctors and received numerous prescriptions since childhood, but none of them were effective. However, when she was twelve years old, a medicine that could cure her illness suddenly appeared.
After that, as long as she took the medicine every day, her physical condition gradually stabilized, and she was even able to cultivate with her senior brother.
"Ouch...that was a really hard hit. Hey, what are you spacing out for? Did you get brain damage from the fall? Are you really brain damage?"
No wonder my second senior brother hesitated and refused to reveal his true intentions when he saw her.
No wonder he was so eager to persuade her to divorce him and even introduced her to other promising young men; now I understand.
So that's how it is.
Sang Ying lowered her eyes.
Second Senior Brother probably knows that Xie Lingyu has feelings for her white moonlight and wants to tell her, but he can't bear to say it.
In the book, Xie Lingyu had someone he liked when he was young, but he had no choice but to marry the vicious female supporting character in order to repay a debt of gratitude.
He didn't love her, so for three years after their marriage, he never got close to the villainous female supporting character, only addressing her as his senior and junior brother.
Her chin was lifted up, pinched between two fingers, and the gloomy young man scrutinized her: "The book has never written about someone turning into an idiot after being hit by demonic energy. You are the first case. Let me think about how to cure your stupid brain."
Sang Ying raised her hand and slapped him away, her tone indifferent, "Is this how you treat your savior?"
The boy was taken aback for a moment, then laughed, "Finally remembered? Judging from your expression, I thought you had completely forgotten."
Sang Ying really didn't remember, but the character was mentioned in the book.
Wei Li, the prince of the Demon Realm, was once saved by a vicious female supporting character. His memories of many plot points are hazy, but he vaguely recalls doing many bad things to help her.
Sang Ying remembered immediately after being pushed; she had saved a comatose boy half a year ago, and it seemed that this was him.
Sang Ying looked around. Several mirrors stood by the lake, but their surfaces were too blurry to see clearly. Several female cultivators lay unconscious on the lakeshore.
"What do you want to do with them?" she asked.
"Repaying a debt of gratitude." Wei Li glanced at her, as if somewhat disdainful of her intelligence. "Isn't it obvious?"
"Three years ago, these girls' fathers tried to seize your lousy sect and force you to marry into their family. Hmph, a bunch of hypocritical bastards, let them taste what it's like to lose a daughter."
Sang Ying: "..."
She sighed and rubbed her temples. "You said it yourself, they're a bunch of hypocritical people. What sincerity could they possibly have? This tension is probably just for show."
The boy visibly froze, then rubbed his head in frustration.
"Furthermore, if there is any retaliation for the evil they committed, it should be directed at the individuals themselves. It has nothing to do with these girls."
Sang Ying leaned against the tree, her face pale and bloodless, and said in a very soft voice, "Let them go."
“Alright…we can let these few go. But this one,” Wei Li thought for a moment, “Xu…Xu what was it again? Anyway, he’s going to take over your little sect, there’s no doubt about that. I once saw him in the study with your portrait, he’s definitely plotting something to harm you.”
Sang Ying sighed, "The struggle for the crown prince position has always been like this, there's nothing more to say. What about the others?"
Wei Li leaned against the tree, crossed his legs, and hummed softly, listing off his grievances one by one: "Your second senior brother ran away as soon as he saw you were in trouble, and he hasn't been seen for three years. He's a typical ungrateful traitor."
"This is still considered good; your husband is the worst."
As he spoke, the boy sat up, quite indignant. "Those bastards forced you back then, he couldn't possibly not know that, yet he agreed to the Immortal Alliance to rescue their daughter. It's clear he didn't care at all about the humiliation you suffered back then."
Sang Ying sighed softly: "I've already said, they are innocent."
The gloomy boy glanced at her. "Fine, then what about the fact that he changed his mind?"
Sang Ying suddenly froze.
“我可是调查到了，他爱上了别的姑娘，喏，就那个瑶池的什么圣女，我也抓来了。这叫什么，小三对吧？等会就把这个小三和你那个混蛋夫君一起狠狠揍一顿。”
"Stop talking."
"What kind of long-cherished white moonlight is he? He already has a wife and still does such a thing. He's a hypocrite and a heartless scoundrel..."
"I was the one who interfered in their relationship."
Wei Li paused, somewhat stunned, and looked at the girl. "What did you say?"
Sang Ying leaned against a tree, looking at the moon in the deep blue lake, her eyes calm. "I said, he hasn't changed his mind, I'm the one who's in their way."
A gentle breeze rippled the water, and Sang Ying's voice was soft as well, "He married me only to repay the kindness of saving him back then. There was no affection between us, so how could he have changed his mind?"
Wei Li was speechless for a moment, not expecting this situation. The words of curse he was about to say could not be uttered. He scratched his head and said, "Who cares? Anyway, he's married to you, so he's yours. It's against male virtue to like someone else while married."
Wei Li released the girl from his family, leaving only the one who would become the next Holy Maiden of Yaochi, who was now unconscious and sleeping peacefully.
Looking at her face, Sang Ying found that she was indeed as described in the book, with a gentle and pure temperament.
There are many rumors about her in the cultivation world: Yaochi Shenying, a proud daughter of heaven, with amazing talent.
In fact, Sang Ying had met her once before.
Two years ago, Xie Lingyu encountered an unexpected situation while slaying demonic beasts, and he and the people from Yaochi who were traveling with him were trapped in an ancient secret realm.
When she heard the news, she wanted to go there. At that time, it had only been a year since the sect incident, and many people were watching. Lengmian even stopped her from going.
By the time she finally arrived, they had already broken through the secret realm and emerged. It was Xie Lingyu who had risked her life to rescue several of her companions from the perilous secret realm.
Xie Lingyu was seriously injured. Before he could say a word to her, he collapsed heavily to the ground.
She was flustered and at a loss, but Shen Ying calmly and gently comforted her, telling her not to worry, and used Yaochi's innate healing ability to treat Xie Lingyu's injuries.
At the time, there were rumors that they were a good match.
Two years ago, Sang Ying angrily tore up the cultivation magazine, couldn't eat anything that day, and stared blankly at the moon all night.
Two years later, Sang Ying quietly looked at the moon in the lake and thought.
They are indeed a good match.
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Alright, Little Green Dragon, your wife is going to be gone.
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