Chapter 59: Disciple and Wife
They maintained this delicate balance of closeness and distance, one fulfilling her duties as a disciple, the other as a master, their interactions indistinguishable from any other master-disciple pair.
It wasn’t typical for a master and disciple to share a room, or to casually touch sleeves while walking. Having grown accustomed to the unusual, 520 had forgotten what a normal dynamic looked like.
It couldn’t decipher its host’s intentions, but it felt… uneasy.
Tonight, for instance, they arrived in another city, having collected more materials for the sword. They planned to stay at an inn.
The sun had just set, the first stars appearing in the twilight sky. The bustling city had quieted down, the streets deserted, only the inn’s lights still flickering.
The innkeeper stood behind the counter, his abacus clicking rhythmically. Two waiters busily wiped tables and swept the floor.
Hearing the door open, he called out without looking up, “How many rooms?”
Cen Dianshuang placed some silver coins on the counter, then added a smaller piece. “Two. Premium rooms.”
Tao Ning, standing behind her, her eyes downcast, seemed oblivious, her expression unchanged.
Cen Dianshuang glanced at her, then back at the innkeeper, who had stopped his calculations, his gaze shifting between the two women, lingering on the swords on their backs.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, they carried their weapons openly. It had been an effective deterrent so far.
In his fifty years, the innkeeper had learned that ordinary swords didn’t glow. So these were…
He asked cautiously, “Are you… Immortal Masters?”
Cen Dianshuang: “We are cultivators, traveling the world. We require lodging for the night.”
The innkeeper understood. This was confirmation. His eyes widened slightly in excitement as he retrieved two keys, personally leading them upstairs.
“Our premium rooms are cleaned daily, with fresh linens. Guaranteed comfort… Do… do Immortal Masters require sleep?”
Cen Dianshuang, walking ahead, replied calmly, “Cultivators circulate spiritual energy. Meditation is sufficient.”
The innkeeper nodded, impressed. “So you don’t sleep. Cultivation is truly wonderful.”
He turned to Tao Ning, who had remained unusually quiet. She looked young, barely more than a girl. “And this one is also…?”
Tao Ning interrupted, feigning curiosity. “Innkeeper, I heard Butterfly City is famous for its fragrances. Isn’t the Fragrance Competition happening soon? I came specifically for that. Why are the streets so deserted?”
The innkeeper’s face fell slightly. “The… the competition… it’s… postponed. The City Lord’s son passed away recently. He’s… grieving. The competition has been canceled.”
Tao Ning gasped, her face a mask of disappointment. “What a pity! I heard Butterfly City had the finest fragrances in the world, the competition attracting swarms of butterflies, a truly breathtaking sight. I came all this way for nothing.”
The innkeeper, his own disappointment resurfacing, sighed. “Yes, it was always such a lively event, with fragrant carriages parading through the streets, merchants flocking to the city… But…”
Tao Ning: “But what?”
The innkeeper stammered, his face reddening. “The City Lord’s son… he… died. So it’s canceled.”
Tao Ning blinked. “I see.”
He led them to their rooms, handing them the keys before hurrying downstairs.
Two waiters, who had been eavesdropping, approached him, but he silenced them with a glare. “Back to work.”
They quickly dispersed, not daring to look upstairs, busying themselves with securing the inn for the night.
The innkeeper, returning to his counter, patted his chest, then smacked his lips, shaking his head as he resumed his calculations.
Once he was gone, Tao Ning turned to Cen Dianshuang. “He’s hiding something.”
Cen Dianshuang, having already noticed this, extended her spiritual sense, her voice low. “There’s a demonic aura in this city. Very faint.”
Only a cultivator of Cen Dianshuang’s level could detect it.
Tao Ning: “A demon?”
Cen Dianshuang hesitated, then said, “Be careful tonight. Call me if anything happens.”
She entered her room, and Tao Ning entered hers.
Just as the innkeeper had claimed, the room was clean and… odorless. Surprisingly so.
The lack of scent was what made it suspicious. The innkeeper had clearly been proud of the city’s Fragrance Competition. Why wouldn’t he use incense in his own establishment?
Tao Ning examined the room, but found nothing unusual. She had sensed the demonic aura before entering the city.
However, the strongest aura wasn’t within the city, but outside, in the opposite direction from which they had come.
Sitting on the bed, she considered her options: feigning vulnerability to seek her master’s protection, or drawing out the demon herself.
She decided against the former.
Cen Dianshuang wasn’t known for her patience with rebellious disciples. If she suspected Tao Ning of harboring malicious intent, especially towards the three realms, she would eliminate the threat without hesitation.
Tao Ning doubted she would be killed, but she might be… distanced.
Cen Dianshuang was a cultivator raised in the Radiant Realm, her values different from Tao Ning’s. She had been taught to respect and obey her master. A romantic relationship between master and disciple was considered taboo.
In the Radiant Realm, such relationships were condemned. The original host had once sheltered a master-disciple pair fleeing persecution.
Unable to endure the judgment and their sect’s attempts to suppress them, they had fled to the Demonic Realm, becoming loyal generals under Demon Lord Qingji.
Tao Ning valued Cen Dianshuang’s happiness more than a fleeting romance. She wouldn’t burden her with such a difficult choice.
Lying down on the bed, staring at the ceiling, she sighed. “Master and disciple it is. If I can’t be her wife, I’ll be her disciple forever. I’ll stay by her side.”
Her voice, though soft, echoed through the quiet room, the words suggesting acceptance, but the tone betraying a lingering wistfulness.
【Wife?! You want to be the protagonist’s wife?!】 520 finally understood what felt off. The widow was seeking a second spring.
Tao Ning, lying motionless on the bed, her hands folded over her stomach, resembled her earlier self at the bottom of the crater.
“Is there a problem with that?”
520, seeing her like this, couldn’t bring itself to be harsh. After ten years of widowhood, finding love again was perfectly normal.
But remembering Cen Dianshuang’s familiar smile, it felt a twinge of unease. She wouldn’t be… replacing her deceased wife, would she?
How do I steer my host back on track? It’s not against the rules, but it feels… ethically questionable.
520, its core buzzing with anxiety, carefully formulated its words.
This was its most competent host. Its performance evaluation depended on her success. And while Tao Ning might be drowning in debt, 520 wasn’t.
520: 【Don’t you think this is… problematic?】 Please reconsider, Host.
Tao Ning: “How so?”
520: 【It feels… morally wrong. Even though she doesn’t know she resembles your… deceased wife, what if she finds out? It won’t end well.】
Tao Ning almost laughed at 520’s anxious tone, covering her mouth with her hand to stifle her amusement. “What will happen if she finds out?” She wasn’t ready to reveal that the two protagonists were the same person, but 520’s reaction was too tempting.
520, recalling Cen Dianshuang’s ruthless efficiency in purging her sect, replied cautiously, 【You’ll be hunted down by the protagonist? Forget completing the mission, you might not even make it back to the main world if you’re killed by someone with the world’s favor.】
Tao Ning: “Then you’ll have to find another host, 520. You’re a good system. Someone else will appreciate you.”
520: 【!!!】
Don’t give up on me! I didn’t realize you were so… hopelessly romantic!
She’s usually so cunning and ruthless!
But there was no rule against cunning and ruthless people falling in love. And her willingness to pursue love despite her crippling debt should have been a warning sign. Everyone had their weaknesses.
520 was on the verge of tears. 【Please don’t give up on me, Host!】
Tao Ning, ignoring its pleas, sat up and began meditating, her expression resolute.
After a moment, she opened her eyes and extinguished the candle.
The room plunged into darkness, the only light coming from the faint glow of the dying embers.
520, silenced: …I feel like a dog being abandoned by its dying owner.
It opened its search engine, typing with a trembling hand: Is there a cure for being hopelessly romantic?
The powerful search engine returned the following results:
How to Help a Hopelessly Romantic Friend
I Cured My Hopeless Romanticism with Traditional Medicine (Recipe Included)
I Can’t Take It Anymore! My Hopelessly Romantic Friend Got Back Together with Her Ex!
Please Include Hopeless Romanticism in Healthcare Coverage! I’m Willing to Pay a Fortune for My Friend’s Treatment!
…
Thousands of words condensed into a single, despairing comment: There’s no hope. Give up.
520 let out another silent sob.
As the night deepened, the watchman’s clapper echoed through the deserted streets, marking the passing hours.
A sliver of a moon hung in the starless sky, its light unable to penetrate the darkness. Without a lantern, one couldn’t see their own hand in front of their face.
Every window was dark, the city asleep. No one noticed the wisp of pink smoke drifting through the night sky, like a fleeting dream, silently slipping through an open window.
The smoke, a creature of dreams and desires, sought a new host, its victims lured into a world of illusion, their minds enthralled by visions of their deepest desires.
A sweet, intoxicating fragrance filled the room.
It had found a beautiful woman, her exquisite appearance a welcome addition to its collection. It circled her, preparing to enter her dreams.
Slipping into her consciousness, it suddenly stopped, unable to penetrate further.
Turning, like a startled snake, it saw its tail grasped in a slender, pale hand, the same hand it had just admired.
Then, it heard a voice, devoid of any allure.
Tao Ning, holding the seemingly intangible smoke like a snake by its tail, said, “A Meiyan?”
The Meiyan, a creature of nightmares, preyed on desires, its victims dying in their sleep.
After their death, it would carefully peel their skin from their backs, preserving it as a trophy.
A hybrid of demon and beast, it had no fixed gender, capable of reproducing with any species. Its true form was small and deceptively cute, with a long body, short legs, two small horns, pink eyes, and soft, pink fur.
Its human form, however, was grotesque, a fleshy, amorphous blob, said to be cursed by the heavens.
A creature of extremes, both beautiful and repulsive.
This explained its obsession with beauty, its constant pursuit of new and more exquisite forms, discarding its previous “skins” in favor of newer, more desirable ones, regardless of gender.
Aren’t they supposed to stay in the Demonic Beast Realm?
Just as she was about to crush the Meiyan’s wisp of consciousness, a sharp voice echoed from the next room. “Don’t you dare!”
Followed by the clang of a sword, the door burst open.
Tao Ning, distracted, loosened her grip, allowing the smoke to slip into her mind.
Before it could delve into her memories, manipulate her desires, it was shattered by the sheer force of her spiritual consciousness.
Within a cave outside the city, the Meiyan’s true form coughed up blood. ??? How…? Its consciousness, so easily destroyed?
A more agonizing scream echoed from a nearby cave. It recognized the sound – the Cave Master. Ignoring its leader’s plight, it quickly began meditating, trying to heal its injuries.
It had assumed its target was an easy prey, a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It hadn’t anticipated such resistance.
It didn’t know that while Tao Ning’s cultivation was at Foundation Establishment, her spiritual consciousness was at Mahayana, far beyond the capabilities of a late Golden Core Meiyan’s wisp of consciousness.
Cen Dianshuang stormed out of her room.
With a resounding crash, Tao Ning’s door splintered. Cen Dianshuang, her face slightly flushed, stood in the doorway, sword in hand, having witnessed the Meiyan’s intrusion.
Before Tao Ning could speak, a bitter pill was forced into her mouth, its taste making her wince.
Then, a sweet, milky candy followed.
Cen Dianshuang’s voice was as sharp as her movements, laced with anger. “Circulate your spiritual energy. Activate the pill’s effects. Focus your mind. Clear your thoughts.”
She placed two fingers on Tao Ning’s neck, channeling her own spiritual energy to help her disciple process the pill’s effects.
Tao Ning obeyed, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, Cen Dianshuang was gone.
A large screen now blocked the view of the door. Cen Dianshuang sat on a soft couch by the window, Xuan Ying resting in her lap, her gaze fixed on the street outside.
Hearing Tao Ning stir, she turned, her eyes clear and alert. “Are you alright?”
The flushed face Tao Ning had glimpsed earlier seemed like a hallucination.
Tao Ning shook her head. “I’m fine, Master. What was that thing?”
Cen Dianshuang’s face contorted in disgust, her hand instinctively brushing her knee, as if dispelling something unclean. Her voice remained cold. “A Meiyan. It escaped from the Demonic Beast Realm.”
Tao Ning got out of bed, walking towards her, placing her hand over the spot Cen Dianshuang had just touched. “From the Demonic Beast Realm? What’s it doing in the Radiant Realm? Do you think it has something to do with the City Lord’s son’s death, Master?”
Cen Dianshuang’s gaze lingered on Tao Ning’s hand, a strange restlessness within her subsiding. She felt calmer.
“They prey on desires, entering their victims’ dreams. High-level Meiyan can even absorb their host’s cultivation. They’re despised even in the Demonic Beast Realm.”
Tao Ning: “I see.” Why does she seem so familiar with the Demonic Beast Realm?
After this incident, Cen Dianshuang’s demeanor towards Tao Ning softened, a subtle shift towards greater intimacy. No one knew what thoughts had crossed her mind during those tense moments.
Tao Ning, instead of commenting on her master’s sudden shift in attitude, frowned, changing the subject. “We made quite a commotion. Why didn’t anyone from the inn come to check?”
Cen Dianshuang extended her spiritual sense. “They’re all awake, hiding in their rooms. A wise decision.”
Mortals were no match for demonic creatures. Self-preservation was paramount.
Her fingers brushed against Xuan Ying. “But since it’s here, Xuan Ying shouldn’t return without drawing blood.”
She intended to eliminate this threat. Tao Ning wasn’t surprised. This was typical Cen Dianshuang.
Unlike other cultivators, she rarely ignored injustice, using her travels in the mortal realm to refine her heart, never tolerating evil in her presence.
Before Tao Ning could even suggest it, a visitor arrived at their door just as dawn was breaking.
A dignified woman in a dark cloak, her face etched with worry, introduced herself. “I am Cheng Shuangyi, City Lord of Butterfly City. I beseech you, Immortal Masters, to rid our city of the Skin-Peeling Demon.”
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