Chapter 116: Towards the Mortal World
“I hate her to death.”
The moment Ning Ruoque closed the window, she turned around and pulled the bed curtain, completely covering Yin Buran. That action was similar to hiding food.
How could she let others see the just-woken Yin Buran!
In just a moment, the door was blown open by a gust of wind, and a woman in black with a wine gourd tied to her waist walked in gracefully.
It was rare for her to use the main door, and she did not forget to sneer, “Unfilial disciple.”
Ning Ruoque’s expression was frank. She didn’t care what the other said, and her attention was completely on Yin Buran.
Seeing a thin white hand part the curtain, she quickly went to help.
The neatly dressed Yin Buran slowly got off the couch. Her plain clothes made her face look even paler, as if she would be scattered by the wind.
However, her bowing was not off in the slightest, neither humble nor arrogant. When she looked up, her pair of glassy pupils were as calm as water.
The woman in black sat down with a smile, and as soon as she came, she occupied one of the two chairs, her legs crossed in a carefree manner.
She said with a smile, “I’ve come at an inopportune time.”
Ning Ruoque squinted her eyes, a little unhappy. She let Yin Buran sit in the other chair and stood herself.
The woman’s second sentence was to Ning Ruoque, “You’ve seen her.”
Her tone was too certain. Ning Ruoque took a moment to react before she suddenly realized who this “she” was referring to.
The goddess Chen Suxin.
Ning Ruoque’s brow furrowed in an instant. “What is the relationship between Master and the goddess?”
Just then, Yin Buran also asked, “Senior, where does your sect’s inheritance come from?”
The two voices collided, and the two of them also looked at each other. Ning Ruoque was stunned for a moment and subconsciously took out a piece of candy to feed her.
Yin Buran directly leaned over and bit the candy, chewing it slowly.
And the woman, it was unknown if she found it amusing or if she was angered by their interaction as if no one else was around, let out a light sneer.
She untied the wine gourd at her waist, weighed it in her hand, and the corners of her mouth curled up in a faint smile.
“I’ve said it before. She is your master’s wife, my lover, and—”
Ning Ruoque remained suspicious. “Are you sure it’s not a hallucination from drinking too much?”
Her words were interrupted, but the woman was not annoyed and still said slowly, “She is also my senior sister.”
A single stone stirred up a thousand waves.
Ning Ruoque had never heard her talk about her sect and her past, so at this moment, she was so shocked that she didn’t know where to start.
On the contrary, Yin Buran recalled that the goddess had been stunned by Ning Ruoque’s refusal to become a god.
She asked Ning Ruoque, “Yan Ci… did your master not teach you?”
A thought flashed through her mind like lightning. Yin Buran boldly sought confirmation, “May I ask for Senior’s esteemed surname?”
The woman did not hide it and was quite straightforward. “Yan, with a single name ‘Ci’.”
Ning Ruoque was still trying to understand the complex relationship between Yan Ci and the goddess, while Yin Buran had already frowned, slowly breathing to calm her mind.
Since she had already said so, it was not difficult to guess.
Yin Buran’s gaze was dark. “So Senior’s sect is the common people’s dao, whose purpose is to ascend to godhood and bless all the people.”
This would explain it.
Why the goddess had subconsciously thought that Ning Ruoque was the same as her, because their sect was like this. For generations, they had entered the dao with the common people, and they would not hesitate even if they had to die.
She subconsciously clenched her sleeve, but she heard Yan Ci tease, “Smart, you get it right away. Unlike Ning Ruoque, who is probably still suspecting if I’m lying to her.”
Ning Ruoque was startled and subconsciously retorted.
“It was you who were muttering when you were drunk, saying that the common people had nothing to do with you, and that you hated the goddess the most, but you also said that she was your lover…”
When Yan Ci was drunk, she loved to talk nonsense, holding a wine jar and boasting about her past experiences, but her words were often incoherent.
When she was happy, she would pull Ning Ruoque to practice her sword. If she was in a bad mood, she would sit alone on the mountaintop and wipe her sword.
At that time, Yan Ci’s eyes were full of madness. Even if Ning Ruoque approached rashly, she would be attacked by her restless sword qi.
That was why Ning Ruoque had said that her master’s brain was sometimes not normal. It was just that she was afraid that Yin Buran would run into this situation and be hurt by Yan Ci.
Yan Ci raised an eyebrow and asked in return, “Is that a conflict?”
Ning Ruoque said seriously, “Of course it’s a conflict.”
As soon as she finished, she raised her hand to block Yan Ci’s elbow strike. But she didn’t expect this person to stand up, and then flicked her finger at Ning Ruoque’s forehead, accurately hitting her on the head.
She even looked at her with a loving expression. “Silly disciple, go and play.”
That gaze was like looking at a child who was just learning swordsmanship, just short of saying “you don’t know a thing.”
Ning Ruoque: “…”
Ning Ruoque really didn’t understand, but she would observe Yin Buran.
Seeing that Yin Buran had no objections, she covered her forehead and squatted down, sulking. The small, broken table just happened to block her.
Yan Ci let out a sneer, and after taking a gulp of wine, she continued, “The common people’s dao is favored by the Heavenly Dao, so ascension is not difficult.”
“My grandmaster was the first to create the common people’s dao and thus ascended. It is said that she mended the sky, suppressed the four seas, and set the rules with her own strength.”
“The sect has chosen two women for generations, both with excellent character and talent. One ascends to bless the world, and the other stays in the human world to pass on this dao.”
Just like that, year after year, whenever there was a disaster, there would always be them to turn the tide, so that the human race could be eternal.
“Master saved her and me, and I was the one who stayed.”
She pointed at herself with a smile, her tone even too light and peaceful.
A question came from under the table, “You have excellent character?!”
The curve of Yan Ci’s mouth became even wider, and she laughed out loud. “Ah, my master is a rather simple person.”
Just a few words could give a glimpse of the past. This person must have been very good at pretending.
Yin Buran comfortingly stroked Ning Ruoque’s head. The latter pressed her lips together, and in the end, she was no longer sulking.
Ning Ruoque was still squatting, her head buried in her elbows. “You’ve never told me these things.”
Not to mention inheriting the common people’s dao, Yan Ci had even only taught her swordsmanship, and the occasional pointers were also roundabout.
If it weren’t for the fact that Ning Ruoque had learned to read early, she would probably have been illiterate when she left the mountain.
She had no junior sisters, and it seemed that Yan Ci was not willing to take any more. So the rule of choosing two women to inherit was also broken.
Yin Buran sighed again. “Since it’s a sect, there should also be corresponding heart sutras and scriptures.”
Yan Ci propped up her cheek and nodded, her hand fumbling in her pouch. “There’s no heart sutra, but there are indeed a few books.”
She fumbled for a long time, constantly taking out all sorts of empty wine gourds and wine jars, and in the end, there were two or three tattered books.
The pages were scattered, and the ink was smudged. It was already impossible to see what was written on them.
Yin Buran could only barely make out one or two sentences.
“If one wants to ascend, one must first forget love.”
“To see all living beings, one must first abandon oneself.”
Yan Ci slammed the table. “Ah, I remember now. I accidentally spilled some wine last time, and the ink was all smudged.”
Ning Ruoque: “…”
This person has no intention of inheriting the common people’s dao. She was actually doing it on purpose. Grandmaster has really misplaced her trust!
Perhaps because she had talked too much, Yan Ci took several more gulps of wine, until the wine gourd was completely empty, and her cheeks were also flushed.
She tilted the wine pot, clicked her tongue, and in a flash, she took out a new pot of wine.
She didn’t forget to ask Yin Buran, “Do you want a sip?”
Ning Ruoque rushed out from under the table with a “swish,” grabbed Yan Ci’s sleeve, and just like that, she pushed her out.
“Go, go, go. Yin Buran still needs to recuperate. Don’t bother her.”
The master and disciple pushed and shoved each other out of the room. Ning Ruoque was still not at ease and tried to throw this drunkard out of the courtyard.
As soon as she let go, Yan Ci fell down like a boneless person, and her tied-up hair fell loose, covering most of her face.
The bamboo forest rustled, and the bright moon hung high in the sky.
Ning Ruoque couldn’t be bothered. She was about to go back to the house, but halfway through, she turned back.
So she also sat down, her brow furrowed with some hesitation. “The goddess, she—”
She timely corrected herself. “I mean, Master’s wife, how did she become a goddess?”
The person beside her was silent.
After a long while, so long that Ning Ruoque thought that Yan Ci had fallen asleep, she finally heard a voice as soft as a murmur.
“She was willing.”
Yan Ci looked up, revealing her drunken face and her unsmiling eyes.
“She had made a great vow since she was a child, to be the bright moon in the sky, to save all people.”
“At that time, I was just a child who could barely survive. She saved me from the mud, gave me food and warm clothes, and led me to the path of immortality…”
She said, “I hate her to death.”
Yan Ci seemed to find the moonlight too dazzling. She raised her hand to block it, and in the end, she simply closed her eyes and lay down on the mountain path without any image.
The wine gourd was not tied securely and rolled down, and a few drops of wine spilled out, sparkling in the moonlight.
She was actually just like Ning Ruoque. An ordinary wine could not get her drunk.
But in Ning Ruoque’s eyes, this person was clearly drunk again. Otherwise, why would she tell her these things?
And although they had such intimate memories, why would she still hate her?
Ning Ruoque didn’t quite understand.
She only knew that when she was about to inherit Chen Suxin’s divine position, the Heavenly Dao had gradually erased all the proof that Yin Buran and she had loved each other.
But Yin Buran had not forgotten.
And Yan Ci was just like Yin Buran.
The Ninth Heaven of the goddess and the human world were separated by more than ten thousand miles. It was simply an insurmountable chasm.
Ning Ruoque was once again glad that she had given up on ascension back then, but the Demon God was not yet destroyed…
A cool wind blew, and Yan Ci shivered, humming.
Ning Ruoque casually pulled a tattered bedsheet and covered her from head to toe, and then she hurried back to the house to see Yin Buran.
