Chapter 47: Call Me Mother

The little fruit dropped from the fox’s mouth.

Yan Zhao, with quick eyes and quicker hands, caught it and promptly stuffed it back into the fox’s mouth, laughing at it. “How can you not even hold onto your food?”

Little Fox finally came to her senses, gulped the fruit down whole, and tasted nothing.

Meeting Yan Zhao’s cheerful grin, her body stiffened and her gaze drifted away, refusing to meet Yan Zhao’s eyes. She twisted around and hopped out of Yan Zhao’s arms.

Once on the ground, she didn’t run far, just followed Yan Zhao slowly back the way she came.

When they returned to the tree where they had faced off against Feng Jin, the person who should have been standing there had long since fled.

Yan Zhao’s steps didn’t falter; she paid no mind to Feng Jin’s comings and goings. Little Fox, dazed and confused, also cast the matter from her mind.

Several corpses lay strewn before the cave entrance.

An ordinary person would have been terrified upon seeing such a sight and immediately fled. Yan Zhao, however, had no such reaction. She squatted down beside a body and rifled through its pockets, taking anything of value.

These people were already dead anyway; they couldn’t use these things now.

After looting the corpses, Yan Zhao spotted Bi Lan also lying on the ground. She walked over, crouched down, and nudged Bi Lan’s shoulder.

No response and no visible wounds. It was unclear if she was dead or alive.

Yan Zhao pondered seriously for a moment, then reached out and felt under Bi Lan’s nose.

“Oh, she’s still breathing. Not dead.”

Having said this, she stood up and went back into the cave.

About half an hour later, Bi Lan woke up. Her body lay in an extremely awkward position on the ground, head angled downwards, neck twisted. Upon waking, she felt an aching, sharp pain in her neck and shoulders.

How had she suddenly fainted?

Struggling to rise from the ground, before she could even brush the dirt from her clothes, a vast tableau of dead bodies filled her vision, startling Bi Lan so much her pupils constricted.

What is going on?!

Bi Lan froze for a moment, then immediately recalled Yan Zhao was still in the cave. She bolted inside.

She found Yan Zhao with her back to the cave entrance, sitting next to Little Fox. They were hunched together, whispering about something she couldn’t make out.

Getting closer, she saw several Universe Pouches laid out before Yan Zhao, looking very much like she was taking inventory.

Remembering the bodies at the cave entrance, Bi Lan guessed roughly what Yan Zhao had been up to.

She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“Junior Sister Yan,” Bi Lan called softly. “What’s the story with those people outside?”

Yan Zhao swiftly scooped the Universe Pouches from the ground and stuffed them into her own pockets. Upon hearing the question, she shook her head: “Dunno.”

Bi Lan frowned, puzzled.

Twice now, Yan Zhao had been the one to find the dead. The corpses outside the cave had the same cause of death as the ones they’d seen earlier in the forest. Could it really not have been Yan Zhao?

If not Yan Zhao, then who?

But Junior Sister Yan had nerves of steel. There were several bodies lying right outside the cave, yet here she was inside, cheerfully counting her loot.

“Even though it’s not yet dawn, we shouldn’t stay here long,” Bi Lan spoke up. “Junior Sister Yan, let’s leave this place first.”

Yan Zhao had no attachment to the place and did not want to sleep anyway. She responded: “Oh.”

She scooped Little Fox up into her arms.

Since returning from the forest, her fox had become rather dull and listless.

Bi Lan took to the air on her sword, and Yan Zhao stepped onto her Flying Sword. Not long after they left, several black figures plummeted down onto the clearing before the cave.

After inspecting the corpses on the ground and making a sweep inside the cave, one of them spoke: “The people in this cave just left. The cause of death for these men is identical to that of our sect’s disciples—the work of the same killer.”

“Daring to kill disciples of my Great Saber Sect, do they truly think our sect has no one left?”

“Pursue them!”

·

Upon Bi Lan’s flying sword, the oncoming Astral Winds were all neutralized by Bi Lan’s Dharma Power. The flight was relatively smooth, but inevitably dull. Soon, Yan Zhao began to feel sleepy.

From last night until now, she hadn’t closed her eyes once.

Although she didn’t want to have that “I am your mother” dream again, her body couldn’t hold out any longer.

Bi Lan, in front, felt a sudden weight on her shoulder and knew Yan Zhao had fallen asleep.

She slowed the flying sword’s speed, flying even more smoothly.

The moment Yan Zhao’s eyes closed, she fell asleep almost instantly.

Thus, that woman’s voice echoed in her ears once more: “Little Zhaozhao, just pay a little attention to me, please?”

“How about Mother teaches you a spell, hm?”

“…” Yan Zhao reluctantly spoke up, “I can’t cultivate, I can’t learn.”

Yan Yuanqing fell silent for a beat.

Then suddenly exploded: “Aaaahhhh!!”

“My Good Daughter finally spoke to me!”

In her dream, Yan Zhao frowned. This woman claiming to be her mother was really so noisy.

Yan Yuanqing’s laughter wouldn’t stop. After a while she added, “Who says you can’t learn? My daughter can learn anything. Mother will teach you, guaranteed results.”

Yan Zhao: “…”

Yan Yuanqing added, “Learn some powerful spells, and you can snatch up lots of Demon Cores, you know.”

“Mm.” Yan Zhao’s interest was slightly piqued.

“Come on, come on,” Yan Yuanqing coaxed in a childlike tone. “Come to the Immortal Abode.”

Yan Zhao: “…”

After hesitating a moment, a thought stirred, and her vision brightened as she once again appeared in the deep palace courtyard of the Immortal Abode.

A gentle breeze blew through the pavilion. Looking around, Yan Yuanqing was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, her vision darkened.

A black shadow dropped down, dangling upside down from the pavilion’s roof tiles, blocking the light before Yan Zhao’s eyes.

Yan Yuanqing, with a face of ethereal, unworldly beauty, had painted two shadows under her eyes. She stuck out her tongue at Yan Zhao, playing a hanging ghost.

Yan Zhao: “…”

She began to seriously doubt Yan Yuanqing’s sanity.

Seeing Yan Zhao’s expressionless face, Yan Yuanqing exclaimed “Eh?” in surprise: “It actually didn’t scare you.”

“Not scary at all.” Yan Zhao made the comment bluntly.

“Hahahaha.” Yan Yuanqing burst into delighted laughter, flipping herself over and jumping down from the roof.

Landing gracefully, she closed the two steps to Yan Zhao. “Now, let Mother have a good look at you!”

So saying, she cupped Yan Zhao’s face in her hands, looking at her from the left and then from the right.

Yan Zhao was expressionless. Though she let herself be moved around like a puppet on strings, she didn’t resist Yan Yuanqing’s fussing.

Suddenly, a smack sound rang out.

Yan Yuanqing planted a kiss on Yan Zhao’s forehead.

Like a single drop of water falling into a calm, clear pool, the surface suddenly rippled outwards in circles.

Yan Zhao’s eyes flew wide open. It was as if sunlight had pierced the depths of her eyes, reflecting two tiny crystalline points in her dark pupils.

Her heart pounded, its rhythm thrown into chaos.

Instinctively, she rejected physical closeness, yet her body was somehow frozen in place, standing there completely motionless.

Until Yan Yuanqing let go.

“The incantation for the Divine Movement Spell, I’ve already passed it to you.” Yan Yuanqing smiled, eyes crinkling. “Why don’t you try using it?”

Divine Movement Spell.

Yan Zhao echoed the phrase in her mind, and sure enough, a chant surfaced in her consciousness. The Qi in her Dantian also stirred and circulated according to her will, seeping into her meridians.

Eh?

Yan Zhao blinked, her attention caught by the subtle changes happening in her body.

From intent to physical mind, Yan Zhao seemed to grasp the use of this spell. She gently lifted her foot.

Whoosh—

Like a bolt of lightning, she vanished from Yan Yuanqing’s sight.

Yan Yuanqing raised a hand to shade her eyes from the sun as she peered into the distance.

No sign of Yan Zhao was to be seen, but a human-shaped hole had appeared in the palace wall.

Judging the distance from the pavilion to the courtyard wall, it was probably over thirty zhang.

Yan Yuanqing murmured to herself: “Was this courtyard still too small? A miscalculation, a miscalculation.”

Outside the courtyard was a pond. Water splashed and rolled on its surface.

A moment later, a string of bubbles rose from underwater. Then, a figure in white drifted up from beneath, floating face down.

Yan Zhao just floated there on the water, completely still.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to move, but her limbs were utterly drained of strength. She couldn’t move.

Yan Yuanqing came to her, treading on the water. She grabbed Yan Zhao by the collar and fished her out.

Yan Zhao shook her head like a little dog, water flying everywhere.

A hint of disdain showed in her eyes.

What kind of spell is this? It’s completely useless.

As if possessing mind-reading, Yan Yuanqing caught the subtle shift on Yan Zhao’s face and tried to defend the Divine Movement Spell’s honor:

“This spell consumes very little Dharma Power and can enhance your movement speed drastically over a short time. Its explosive power is extremely strong. If you ever face danger, you can run if you can’t fight. Isn’t that very useful?”

Yan Zhao pouted, unconvinced.

Yan Yuanqing brought Yan Zhao back to the small courtyard. With a flick of her fingertip, she cast a Dust-Cleansing Spell to rinse the dust from Yan Zhao. Then, laughing, she tapped Yan Zhao’s nose. “Because your Dharma Power is quite low right now, this spell can only be used once a day. Have you memorized that?”

Yan Zhao didn’t speak, but she reluctantly nodded.

“My daughter is so good.” Yan Yuanqing’s smile crinkled her eyes. “Call me Mother, let me hear it.”

Yan Zhao turned her head away, turning a deaf ear.

Yan Yuanqing’s voice drifted from behind her ear: “Ah, my daughter refuses to call me Mother. Your mother is so very sad, oh.”

Yan Zhao: “…”

“Just one little call.”

Yan Yuanqing circled around to face Yan Zhao. She squatted down before her, placing her hands on her knees, and tilted her head as she looked up at Yan Zhao from below.

Her beautiful eyes were shiny and bright, glistening like they held water. If Yan Zhao was like a little puppy, then Yan Yuanqing’s current expression was like a big dog.

A mother dog longing for affection from her pup.

Yan Zhao’s eyelids fluttered. Her pupils swayed left, then right, but her mouth seemed sewn shut by needle and thread, refusing to open.

“Ah.” Yan Yuanqing sighed.

A muscle jumped near Yan Zhao’s eyebrow. A sense of guilt welled up unbidden.

It was as if refusing to call out “Mother” was an unforgivable crime.

But those two words were far too unfamiliar. Her tongue moved in her mouth, yet she couldn’t voice them, no matter what.

“Eh, I just thought of a fun place!” Yan Yuanqing suddenly looked up, her previous melancholy replaced instantly. “Mother will take you there!”

So saying, she took Yan Zhao’s hand.

Where their palms met, there was no warmth.

Yan Zhao felt a lurch in the void, and the scene before her eyes transformed.

They arrived at the edge of the Floating Island. Their vision was open and wide. Looking out, clouds drifted like puffs of cotton across the sky, the entire Immortal Abode laid out in a sweeping panorama below.

A white bird flew across the sky, clouds shifting in its wake.

Taking in such beautiful scenery, even the heart seemed to broaden and become magnificent.

Swoosh—

A stone struck the white bird, and it plummeted from the air.

Yan Yuanqing casually caught the small bird by its wing.

Yan Zhao looked at her.

Somehow, a fire had been conjured nearby. Yan Yuanqing cast some bizarre, unfathomable spell on the bird. Instantly, it was plucked completely clean, skewered on a branch, sprinkled with a mysterious powder, and set to roast over the fire.

Yan Zhao: “…”

Under Yan Zhao’s unwavering stare, Yan Yuanqing said: “Mother’s cooking is quite good, you know. Want to learn?”

Yan Zhao shook her head.

“Can’t be helped then.” Yan Yuanqing shrugged. “No matter, Mother will make it for you to eat.”

Yan Zhao crouched beside the fire. She watched as the bare pigeon’s skin turned golden brown and dripped with oil, sizzling with popping grease.

Simultaneously, waves of savory aroma wafted over.

Yan Zhao had to agree with Yan Yuanqing’s claim. Yan Yuanqing’s culinary skill was, in fact, excellent.

After a silence of who knows how long, Yan Zhao suddenly opened her mouth: “Mother, I want to learn what you did just now.”

Yan Yuanqing froze.

Yan Zhao thought she hadn’t understood.

So she clarified: “I want to learn that Feather-Plucking Spell.”