Mistaken Era – Chapter 5
At that moment, Cui Xiaoxiao asked junior brother Ayi to deliver a barrel of smoke water to Qin Lingxiao who had charged ahead.
“Sect Leader Qin, pour this water onto that cocoon shell, it may be able to prevent this demonic creature from being born!” Little Xiao shouted loudly.
Qin Lingxiao knew this demonic creature was bizarre and demonic. Cui Xiaoxiao’s method was excellent, but perhaps angered by her earlier insult to the disciples of the Sword Sect, he did not reach out to take the smoke water. Instead, he manifested a sword air blade with his hands again and flew up, preparing to cut open the cocoon shell.
This time, when Qin Lingxiao’s sword air blade struck the cocoon, the previously quiet and motionless cocoon rapidly extended a jet-black demonic claw, not fearing the sword’s light at all. It grasped Qin Lingxiao’s sword air blade. At the same time, demonic silk threads surged out from the cocoon again, tightly binding the nearby Qin Lingxiao.
This time, the water mist true qi armor was completely ineffective. Qin Lingxiao was quickly “submerged” within the fine silk threads.
Cui Xiaoxiao said in a tense voice, “Oh no…”
If she wasn’t mistaken, this demonic creature was truly cunning. Previously when Qin Lingxiao could shatter the demonic silk, it was clearly this demonic creature feigning weakness to lure the enemy.
Just like a hibernating bear waking up ravenously hungry, wanting to have a hearty meal, this demonic creature likely also wanted to fill its empty stomach after breaking out of the cocoon.
Ordinary mortal flesh and blood could no longer satisfy its appetite, while a cultivator like Qin Lingxiao would be the perfect supplement.
So it had intentionally feigned weakness earlier to lure Qin Lingxiao closer to the cocoon, and then suddenly attacked, intending to devour Qin Lingxiao in one fell swoop.
Ayi hurriedly threw the barrel of water directly at the creature.
However, the demon had already emerged its head from the cocoon, revealing a face that was neither human nor insect-like. Even though the smoke water made the monster recoil and roar in disgust, it could not stop it from dragging Qin Lingxiao.
Ayi was too close, and his legs were also bound by the demonic silk threads. He fell to the ground and was rapidly pulled towards the creature.
This sudden turn of events terrified the young man, causing him to shout loudly as he flung out the yellow talisman papers from his arms like they were worthless. The transformed eagles, rabbits and sparrows flew about, but were powerless to turn the tide.
Ji Wuqi wanted to rescue his junior brother, but his whole body was scorched, and the slightest movement brought unbearable pain. Meanwhile, the second senior sister Jiang Nanmu was so frightened that she stood at a distance, unsure of what to do.
At this critical juncture, Cui Xiaoxiao felt the toilet paper in her pocket. She quickly took out a sheet, bit her finger to draw blood, and drew a talisman on the paper before sticking it to the back of her loyal elderly dog. She gave the dog another talisman to hold in its mouth and instructed, “Jixiang, stick this talisman onto that giant bug!”
Her master had once said her blood was special, and using it to make talismans could better concentrate her intent. She had painstakingly studied the talisman scripts overnight, and with the reinforcement of her blood, victory or defeat rested on this move!
Perhaps due to the urgency, it unlocked her cultivation channels. After being marked with the talisman, the old dog’s body suddenly swelled, baring its ferocious fangs as it viciously charged towards the emerging demon.
The demon had its attention focused on its two prey, but the old dog acted too swiftly. Caught off guard, its throat was clamped by the dog’s jaws, and at the same time, the talisman was impaled into the demon’s flesh by the dog’s fangs.
The old dog Jixiang seemed highly excited, refusing to release its death grip as it even mounted the demon’s body, furiously wagging its tail.
The demon’s expression became dazed as it turned its head to nuzzle the biting dog, but it soon regained some clarity and raged, attempting to tear the dog apart.
However, in that moment of the demon’s disorientation, the bound Qin Lingxiao suddenly froze, as if his light had been extinguished. His tall figure instantly turned into icy mist, as though his true qi had been drained away, and he vanished into thin air…
Those sword sect disciples who had flown over to rescue their master were aghast, crying out “Master!”
At that moment, a gale suddenly whipped through the air as a white-robed figure descended from the sky, standing atop a sword light—it was none other than the previously vanished Qin Lingxiao, as if a deity descending from heaven.
The second senior sister Jiang Nanmu was once again captivated by his heroic demeanor, murmuring in an infatuated daze, “The Qin Lingxiao from before…was actually just his true qi manifested into a false body? How formidable!”
Cui Xiaoxiao also realized why she had sensed a hazy aura around the earlier Qin Lingxiao—it was not his true qi protecting his body, but a false form he had projected…
This was the false body illusory technique that only great cultivators who had formed their Golden Dan could use, requiring immense true qi to sustain and equally tremendous concentration to control.
Though cunning, the demon had simply ensnared Qin Lingxiao’s false body!
The real Qin Lingxiao who appeared did not use a sword light, but instead drew a rusted old sword embedded with black gemstones. With a swing of his arm, he fiercely struck down towards the emerging demon.
Cui Xiaoxiao had originally planned to douse the demon with smoke water to prevent its emergence from the cocoon, and then subdue and capture it alive.
Seeing Qin Lingxiao’s lethal strike, she urgently shouted, “Sect Leader Qin, please show restraint…!”
But how could Qin Lingxiao listen to her? His rusted old sword had already stabbed into the demon, causing the black cocoon to burst open.
With her keen eyesight, Cui Xiaoxiao noticed that the hilt of the sword Qin Lingxiao wielded was carved with a blooming nine-petaled lotus flower. She didn’t know if it was due to the rust, but the lotus appeared not red, but an ominous jet-black color…
She had no time to ponder this as she swiftly turned her gaze to the fallen demon.
Since it did not fully shed its skin, the demon’s lower half remained in insect form. Unable to withstand Qin Lingxiao’s sword qi, its belly exploded as it was forced out of the cocoon while shrieking, lying on the ground and gasping for breath.
Qin Lingxiao ignored the dying demon, only waving his sleeve to disperse the splattered insect fluids as he strode forward. Amidst the pool of fluids, he found a lychee-sized pearl.
The pearl initially emitted a dim glow, but as soon as Qin Lingxiao grasped it, it quickly turned a dull charcoal color within moments.
A wrathful look flashed across Qin Lingxiao’s handsome face as he glared at Cui Xiaoxiao and demanded, “What kind of talisman did you use? Why did it turn out like this?”
Cui Xiaoxiao bent down to pet her dog Jixiang, who had run back, removing her own blood talisman from its body. She casually said, “It’s just a common beginner’s exorcism talisman…Sect Leader Qin, even though I helped you, there’s no need to be so courteous!”
It was obvious the girl spoke in jest – Sect Leader Qin’s tone towards her was anything but courteous!
Qin Lingxiao’s senior disciple Jiang Zheng angrily said, “My master journeyed from afar to subdue this demon, yet you, an outsider, have defiled the demon pearl. What punishment do you deserve!”
Cui Xiaoxiao laughed derisively at the Sword Sect disciple’s words, “I only used a common exorcism talisman. It was your master’s sword that slew the demon. To say I was the cause is giving me too much credit. Could it be your master’s sword was not properly cleaned, causing the rust contamination?”
Qin Lingxiao seemed disinclined to let others examine his rusted sword closely. He swiftly sheathed it, wrapped it in a white cloth, and handed it to the black-robed woman beside him.
Then, after frowning at the tainted demon pearl again, he placed it into his robe’s pocket.
Finally, Qin Lingxiao lifted his gaze to glare at the talisman in Cui Xiaoxiao’s hand.
It did not seem to be made with cinnabar ink, but rather…with blood as the medium.
Cui Xiaoxiao’s fingers were still bleeding. Qin Lingxiao took a light sniff, and his face abruptly changed drastically. Had it not been for the beautiful woman supporting him, he might have charged towards Cui Xiaoxiao right then. Covering his nose, he suddenly asked, “What are your birth details?”
Cui Xiaoxiao flashed a sweet smile, the beauty mark beside her eye becoming even more vibrant red. She suddenly stepped closer to Qin Lingxiao, as if to tell him something intimate.
Xiaoxiao replied in the most respectful tone, “Why should my birth details concern you?”
The seemingly mild-tempered girl suddenly became defiant, catching people off guard.
Especially for someone like Qin Lingxiao, who was highly revered in the cultivation world, it had been a long time since he was slighted publicly like this.
Qin Lingxiao’s handsome eyes narrowed slightly, scenting the faint bloody smell in the air. Steadying himself, he stated assuredly, “If I’m not mistaken, your birth characters show you have the rare all-yin destiny…Those with such a fate go against their parents and have shallow kinship ties…You must be an orphaned girl, aren’t you?”
The mocking smile on Cui Xiaoxiao’s face completely vanished now.
Because Qin Lingxiao was right – anyone who understood destiny would shake their heads upon seeing her birth details.
She was a posthumous child originally born to a relatively well-off merchant family. Her literate mother and father, who sold calligraphy and paintings, lived harmoniously together.
But when she was still in her mother’s womb, her father met with an accident and was robbed and killed on his way home from a business trip.
After Xiaoxiao’s birth, the family’s fortunes declined and her mother could barely make ends meet, pawning household items day by day.
Her mother later contracted consumption and wasted away from the illness.
Her uncle, who had always looked down on her older sister, sought help from an itinerant daoist priest, who said Cui Xiaoxiao’s fate was extremely inauspicious – one of the rare “Ten Injuries” destiny.
The so-called “Ten Injuries” refer to injuring the father, mother, siblings, spouse, sons, daughters, marriages, wealth, lifespan and luck.
Keeping a girl with such an extremely yin, injurious fate at home would not only harm relatives, but even if forced to stay, this girl would lead a life of solitary suffering.
At the time, the uncle was so frightened upon hearing this that he viewed his young niece Cui Xiaoxiao as a ferocious man-eating beast.
In the end, the ignorant uncle actually persuaded Xiaoxiao’s mother to sell the young girl as a servant maid in the neighboring county for just two taels of silver.
The young Xiaoxiao clung to her mother, unwilling to let go, but her weeping mother stuffed the family’s last steamed bun into her arms before coldly pushing her out the door.
When the young Xiaoxiao was thrown onto the horse carriage, all she had was the crushed bun and her beloved pet puppy Jixiang that insisted on squeezing aboard.
It bared its teeth fiercely, protectively huddling close to little Xiaoxiao.
And just like that, the girl and dog were sold to a wealthy household in the county town.
Perhaps it really was Xiaoxiao’s ill-fated destiny, as just days after she was bought, the wealthy household suffered an arson attack by a gang of bandits who broke in to loot and pillage. By a twist of fate, Cui Xiaoxiao was again abducted by the bandits.
She was nearly sold into a brothel, but luckily an elderly bandit with a remaining conscience saved young Xiaoxiao. This old thief had lost his only daughter when younger, and seeing how much Xiaoxiao resembled her, he felt a pang of pity and secretly took her on the run, adopting her.
From then on, Cui Xiaoxiao followed that old thief down the path of deception and trickery, wandering for over nine years until she encountered the previous sect leader of the Spirit Mountain Talisman Sect, Tang Youshu.
Now, Cui Xiaoxiao had blossomed into a young lady, while her loyal companion Jixiang had grown into an elderly dog nearing the end of its life.
But the wound in her heart seemed to never have fully scabbed over despite the passing years.
And now, for some unknown reason, Qin Lingxiao had suddenly guessed the deeply buried secret of Cui Xiaoxiao’s birth details she was so reluctant to disclose.
