AMHA - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - An Embrace Mixed With Bergamot and Agarwood

The gentle breeze blew from the mountains and fields, and the river below was full of water.

Zhaozhao landed unskillfully outside the mountain gate of Yunlu Immortal Manor and staggered a few steps before coming to a standstill.

When she looked up, she saw faint mountain mist in front of her. At the end of the mottled ancient stone steps, there stood a mountain gate with the four characters: "Yunlu Immortal Manor" engraved on it.

This is the sect Fairy Yao Ling belongs to.

She was about to truly embark on the path of cultivating immortality and she was extremely excited.

It is said that everyone who enters a sect must first test their talent.

She didn’t know how talented she was or whether she was  qualified to become the disciple of Fairy Yao Ling.

Her heart beat a little faster. Zhaozhao took a few deep breaths to psyche herself up and then stepped inside.

Stepping into the mountain gate, the surroundings suddenly became quiet.

The soft sunshine filtered through the lush ancient trees, swaying the slightly old cornices and green tiles. The palaces and temples built against the mountains stood here and there, silent among the mountains.

If you had never been to the Kunwu Immortal Land, this place can actually be regarded as an elegant and simple locale.

But Zhaozhao had just come from the Thirty-Third Palace in Kunwu Immortal Land which appeared  like a heavenly fairyland. Now that she saw the Yunlu Fairy Manor in front of her, it was hard not to feel a bit odd.

It seemed... a little different from what she imagined?

Moreover, since the moment she stepped foot into Yunlu Immortal Manor, she has not run into anyone.

Something doesn't feel right.

"—Why did this girl come here?"

A gust of wind swept behind her, accompanied by a lingering voice, almost as if it was whispering in Zhaozhao's ear.

Zhaozhao suddenly got goosebumps all over her body. She jumped a few steps away and turned around cautiously.

She clutched the mustard bag tightly; the Karma Red Lotus Umbrella Shi Lanyan gave her was inside it.

"Who are you?"

The man standing behind her had long disheveled hair and was dressed in mysterious clothes. The chain ornaments decorated with turquoise and red corals collided with his movements and made a soft tinkling sound. He looked at Zhaozhao with a half-smile.

The pattern and style of his robes were a bit strange. Zhaozhao didn’t know if this was just the style of the sect.

But his temperament was completely different from the disciples of Kunwu Immortal Land, which inevitably aroused suspicion.

The man crossed his arms and said frivolously:

"Is there any point in going to someone else's home and asking them who they are? Girl, you should report who you are first."

Zhaozhao looked around.

It's just... it’s a little too quiet.

There were no disciples guarding the gate, no cultivators walking back and forth. The wind blew the leaves and it was as quiet as an ancient temple.

With her thoughts moving slightly, Zhaozhao lowered her eyes and said, "I am a disciple of Kunwu  Immortal Land. I just came from the celebrations at the Immortal Terrace. Kunwu sent return gifts to each Immortal Sect to thank them for their congratulations.”

When she said these words, Zhaozhao's heart beat rapidly.

The other party looked at her silently for a long time and even came forward, with the tip of his nose twitching, to smell her scent.

"It is indeed the fragrance of Kunwu Immortal Land..."

The man turned his head and stared into her eyes, his eyes suddenly a bit ambiguous.

"Not only that, but there is also the aura of cultivator in the Yuanyang Realm {This is a cultivation stage}. Although it is very faint, I can still smell it so faintly. The cultivator who practices dual cultivation with you must be absolutely extraordinary."

Zhaozhao blinked and took a moment to realize what Yuanyang and dual cultivation meant.

In an instant, it was like there was a fire burning from her cheeks to her neck. Her snow-white skin turned red as if it had been cooked.

"There are many Kunwu cultivators but if it’s such a powerful one, and who is also male, there should only be a handful."

He actually counted on his fingers.

"Kunwu's several top disciples led by senior brother Zong Fei, the group of rising stars in this year’s sect competition including Yan Chenzhou, as well as Lord Yaoguang in the Elder Hall... Wow, so they would actually engage in sex with a junior sister who had just entered the sect and hasn’t even been training for more than a few days… these so-called noble and decent cultivating clans are really not all they’re cracked up to be."

The roots of Zhaozhao's ears were red and bleeding.

But in her shame, she did not miss the slightest clue in the other person's words.

He just said - "these noble and decent cultivating clans."

Would a disciple from a well-known and upright sect describe the Kunwu cultivators like this?

Her heart was beating louder and louder, and her feet were a little weak, but a sharp gaze still circled around her from time to time. Zhaozhao knew that she could not show her timidity no matter what.

Right now she is in a dilemma. Only by wearing the guise of a Kunwu disciple and betting that this person wouldn’t want to offend Kunwu did she have a chance.

“It’s not the turn of outsiders to comment on the matters of my Kunwu’s disciples!”

Zhaozhao, who was pretending to be a tiger, spoke sharply and acted like a businesswoman:

"I have delivered the things. If the Immortal Lord has nothing else to say then I will leave first..."

Zhaozhao randomly grabbed a few bottles of elixirs from the mustard bag, pretending that they were gifts from Kunwu. She wanted to hand them to the man in front of her.

The moment it was about to touch his fingertips.

From somewhere, there was a muffled sound, like something hitting the door panel.

It wasn't her imagination, there was definitely someone else here.

Her body moved faster than her consciousness. Zhaozhao had no time to stop herself. She suddenly retracted her hand and blurted out:

"...Where are the rest of your sect? What the Immortal Lord just said... is really rude... It would be better for your sect to find someone who understands etiquette better to receive Kunwu's gift."

Zhaozhao was already screaming in her heart after using all the courage she had to say this in a tone that was half angry and half arrogant.

What on earth is she doing!

As long as she hands over the gift, she will have an excuse to leave!

The man's hand that was about to receive the gift stopped and his eyes gradually darkened as he looked at Zhaozhao.

After a moment of silence, he said slowly:

"Okay, there are other disciples in the main hall at the back. If the fairy doesn't mind the trouble, you can go and give it to them."

Zhaozhao looked at the main hall with closed doors and windows which was not far away.

The sound just now came from inside.

The man in dark clothes leaned against the locust tree in the courtyard without any intention of blocking her. He waited with great interest for Zhaozhao's next move.

Zhaozhao's back was soaked with cold sweat.

She always felt that the other party had noticed something.

But trying to escape now was like seeking death, and she had no way out.

Taking a deep breath, Zhaozhao lifted up her feet and walked towards the main hall.

Do not be afraid.

The journey to becoming an immortal has just begun, so you must not be afraid.

Thinking on the bright side, maybe this person is really a disciple of Yunlu Immortal Manor and everything she was thinking was just her overactive imagination creating a conflict out of nothing.

And if she thought about the worst possible outcome—

Zhaozhao felt a lump form in her throat. If it’s the worst possible outcome then why was she so unlucky? Why did she run into something evil just as she was embarked on the road of becoming an immortal?

This is the immortal sect that is supposed to be the safest!

One step, two steps, three steps—

Getting closer and closer to the main hall.

Zhaozhao was anxious and even a little despairing, but she had to force herself to calm down.

What would she do if someone behind her suddenly attacked her?

If the current Yunlu Immortal Manor was really invaded by some evil spirit, does she really have no way to protect herself?

If……

If Xie Lanshu was here, how would he respond?

The moment this thought appeared, Zhaozhao's chaotic mind seemed to be held by a gentle hand and the emotions that were about to boil to the extreme calmed down instantly.

She suddenly remembered that this was not the first time she had encountered such a situation.

*

That was still in the first year of her marriage to Xie Lanshu.

At that time, the world was a bit dark and chaotic. A scourge of bandits emerged and even spread to Lake Yunmeng. At the time, Zhaozhao wanted to go to the temple on the mountain to pray for blessings for the coming year. As a result, she met misfortune. On the last day, she was besieged by bandits in the  snow-capped mountains and trapped inside a wooden house.

"If I cut my neck myself, will the pain before death be less?"

On a cold winter night, with the wind and snow outside the window, the girl huddled in the arms smelling of bergamot mixed with the fragrance of agarwood. She suddenly asked this question.

The arms holding her suddenly became a little tighter.

Xie Lanshu's broad and dry fingers rubbed her soft and slender neck and said with a smile:

"If you cut your neck, how will Zhaozhao wear those beautiful necklaces in the future?"

Zhaozhao rested her head on his shoulder and looked at him strangely.

"But aren't we going to die anyway? I heard that cutting one's throat is the fastest way to die. I'm afraid of the pain. I don't want to be stabbed several times before dying. It would be too ugly to die that way."

The footsteps of bandits came from all directions, and the siege became denser and denser.

The mountains are covered with snow, and the sound of crackling firewood can be heard from time to time in the quiet wooden house.

"Then just think of me and hold on a little longer."

The young man with spring-like eyes half squatted in front of the girl, holding an ax in his hand. This thing was the only thing that could be found which could be considered a weapon. But it seemed as though he was holding a sharp sword that controlled the world.

His cool fingers gently pressed against Zhaozhao's cheek, revealing a soft and almost pleading look.

"Just hold on until I can't move anymore."

"Until then, please don't cut your own neck, no matter how painful it may be."

"I would rather see you alive and less beautiful than a beautiful corpse."

It was a night when the snow was soaked with blood.

Zhaozhao couldn't count how many bandits surrounded them. She could only remember the back of that figure that gradually became clearer in the morning sun.

There were corpses piled on top of each other on the ground. The ax that the hunter left in the wooden house had already been sharpened. The dazzling golden light penetrated the dark night and shone on Xie Lanshu's blood-spattered robe.

On this night when she thought the world would collapse.

He stood there in his mortal body.

And never took a step backwards.

…

Scenes of past events came into her mind.

Zhaozhao clenched the blue pill bottle in her hand.

If it were Xie Lanshu standing here, he would never show weakness; if it were Xie Lanshu, he would definitely try his best to do whatever he could.

If she could trust Xie Lanshu that much—

Then why can't she trust herself just as much for once?

The towering wooden door of the main hall was right in front of her. Suddenly, without knowing where it came from, Zhaozhao found the courage to kick open the door!

While Zhaozhao kicked the door open, one of the children who was hanging by a long rope in the center of the hall finally tore open the cloth that sealed her mouth.

Seeing Zhaozhao breaking into the door, she immediately shouted at the top of her voice:

"Fairy, help me! This person is an evil demon who ambushed us and wants to kill my master!!"

Why are there two children hanging from a rope?!

Zhaozhao had no time to think about the situation in the hall.

At the same time as she heard the sound, Zhaozhao gritted her teeth and swallowed all the pills in the bottle in her hand. She then took out the Karma Red Lotus Umbrella given to her by Shi Lanyan from the mustard bag as quickly as possible.

The figure under the locust tree blinked in front of her like a ghost and his sharp claws lunged for her, nearly piercing through her eyes.

At the critical moment, the umbrella in Zhaozhao's hand bloomed like a lotus, twisted suddenly and the red flames rolled in the strong wind and rushed towards the figure that attacked Zhaozhao.

Her opponent never expected that a being like Zhaozhao, who was no different from a mortal, would have such a powerful magical weapon. He was unprepared to face the power of the Karma Fire Red Lotus Umbrella head-on without any defense at all—

Within a second!

Several locust trees in the courtyard were knocked down one after another, and the man in dark clothes was thrown ten feet away!

Zhaozhao was stunned and subconsciously touched her head to see if it was still there.

She's not dead.

She... actually survived a blow from a cultivator!

Zhaozhao held her chest with warm palms and almost felt like crying in this moment.

How could it be just a drop of water melting into the ocean?

The traces of Xie Lanshu's existence have always been here.

*

The author has something to say:

Zhaozhao: It turns out it’s not my ex-husband but my late husband!

-

Thanks to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated the nutrient solution between 2023-07-15 11:00:00~2023-07-16 11:00:00~

Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: Feng Xuanmo 16 bottles; zanebaby 5 bottles;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!

*

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