Anli Calls Him Master

Yun Jing's brow twitched. This child was quite tenacious.

Yuan Tuo felt guilty. Before his master left, he had said someone from Chongwu Mountain would come seeking Huan Dan Grass. Yuan Tuo was to make things slightly difficult for her before giving it to her and sending her back.

Yet he had made her kneel for ten days and ten nights.

He anxiously asked, "Can she be saved?"

"Brat." The Magpie God knocked him on the head. "How dare you doubt me?"

Rubbing his head, Yuan Tuo grinned foolishly. "As long as she can be saved."

The Magpie God took out a medicinal pellet, went inside, and fed it to Meng Anli.

When he came back out, he produced another bottle of pills and handed it to Yun Jing. "One pill a day. She'll wake within three days. I'll go fetch a female Medicine Immortal to dress the wound on her abdomen."

Yun Jing accepted it.

Mischief glinted in the Magpie God's eyes. "You care quite a bit about this girl. She really isn't your daughter who was left out in the world..."

"Yuan Tuo." Yun Jing cut him off coldly. "See the guest out."

"Yes."

The Magpie God curled his lips. "I was overthinking it. How could an iron tree like you possibly have a child with anyone?"

Yuan Tuo stared at Yun Jing in shock.

What did that mean?

He suddenly recalled what his master had said when instructing him to give away the Huan Dan Grass: "If Meng Anli from Chongwu Mountain comes, make things slightly difficult for her, then give it to her. I was acquainted with her mother."

Acquainted?

Acquainted enough to have a daughter?

Yun Jing irritably raised his hand, and the Magpie God and Yuan Tuo were flung backward.

He turned the porcelain bottle over in his hand a few times, then gripped it and lifted his foot to kick the little lion aside.

The little lion rolled across the ground, still sleeping soundly.

Yun Jing walked into the room.

The little girl's face was slightly turned to the side. Her delirious muttering had stopped, but she was still crying. Her tears were caught by the bridge of her pert nose, pooling between the corner of her eye and her nose.

"Tsk. You really can cry."

Meng Anli felt as though she had returned to that dark prison. Scenes of her father and brothers misunderstanding her in her previous life played over and over, trapping her inside, impossible to break free from.

Until a sweet medicinal pill slid down her throat, and a gentle power pulled her out of the dark chamber.

Before she could think further, she sensed danger drawing near.

She struggled to lift her heavy eyelids, only to see the impatient brows and eyes of that Great Deity.

All her grievances were instantly tossed to the back of her mind. She scrambled up, got off the bed, and dropped to her knees with a thud. "Thank you, Great Deity, for saving me. I've caused you trouble again."

"You don't want your knees anymore?"

Meng Anli was horrified. What did he mean?

She had caused him trouble, so he wanted to chop off her legs below the knees?

"I do..."

Meng Anli touched her knees. "I have yet to develop regenerative abilities. I beg the divine one to show mercy. If you are truly angry..."

Meng Anli looked herself over, then held out her little finger. "Cut this first to vent your anger."

"Heh!" Yun Jing was so angered that he laughed. "A pair of legs for one little finger. You certainly know how to calculate."

Meng Anli's face turned deathly pale. After hesitating again and again, she gritted her teeth.

Forget it, forget it. As long as she did not die, it would be fine.

"Please." She sat on the ground, stretched out both legs, and closed her eyes.

Yun Jing lowered his head. What met his gaze were her little feet, red and swollen from the cold.

"They're frozen like this?"

Yuan Tuo had just returned in time to hear that sentence. Terrified, he slid to his knees beside Yun Jing.

"Master! It was my fault."

"How many days did she kneel?" Yun Jing's voice gave away neither joy nor anger.

Yuan Tuo said softly, "Ten days and nights."

Meng Anli half-opened one eye to look at Yun Jing and saw a trace of... approval in his eyes.

Enlightenment struck her. She swiftly knelt again. "I can endure hardship, and I am very persistent. I will stop at nothing to become stronger. Please, divine one, offer me some guidance. I will never disgrace your name."

Yun Jing thought, This little girl is rather good at reading the room.

So clever and resilient—giving her a little guidance would not hurt.

"We'll discuss it once your inner core forms."

He agreed?

Enormous delight struck Meng Anli like a blow. Her expression went blank for a moment, then a radiant smile burst across her face, only for her brows to furrow in conflict.

Those nightmares from just now made her desperate for revenge.

If she waited until her inner core formed before returning, she might miss Meng Shiwan's academy entrance test.

She wanted to ruin Meng Shiwan's academy entrance test!

Yun Jing watched her curiously. Could one person's expression change so many times in an instant?

She bowed devoutly again and cautiously asked, "May I ask the Great Deity for guidance now?"

"Now?"

"Yes. I wish to ask: if I have rather many enemies, and every one of them holds greater status and strength than I do, how should I deal with them?"

Yun Jing recalled her delirious murmurs and thought for a moment.

"First, wait until you grow stronger. Second, kill with a borrowed blade. That blade may be one blade, or many. Third, attack their weak points and use four ounces to move a thousand pounds."

"Kill with a borrowed blade? Attack their weak points?" Meng Anli pondered for a moment, and her eyes gradually brightened. "I understand!"

She looked at Yun Jing with joy. "Thank you, Master!"

Yun Jing gave a soft snort, but he was not angry. "You certainly know how to climb up a pole once you're given one."

"The Master said, 'When three walk together, one must be my teacher.' Master, your guidance has cleared the clouds from my mind. That makes you my master." Meng Anli kowtowed to him three times.

Only after she finished did Yun Jing raise his hand. "I have no intention of taking a disciple."

A force pulled Meng Anli to her feet. "All right, Master. Then I will not disturb you further, Master. I'll be going."

Yun Jing's phoenix eyes narrowed, and a cold, severe aura abruptly rose around him.

Not knowing what she had said wrong, Meng Anli instinctively wanted to kneel again.

Yun Jing flicked his sleeve coldly. "Yuan Tuo, see her out."

"Huh?" Yuan Tuo was somewhat bewildered. Hadn't she just acknowledged him as her master? Why were they parting ways in the blink of an eye?

But he did not dare hesitate any longer, fearing he would be flung away again.

"Yes."

Meng Anli hurried after him. When they reached the door, she turned back for another look.

Bang!

The door was slammed shut by a gust of wind. Had Meng Anli not retreated quickly, it would have struck her nose.

"Go, go!" Yuan Tuo grabbed her sleeve and flew away.

Meng Anli suddenly took flight. She instinctively looked down to see immortal mist curling through the air, deer carrying flowers in their mouths, colorful birds paying homage to phoenixes, and spirit spring water winding around immortal mountains lush with flowers and grass.

It truly was a cultivation ground overflowing with spiritual energy.

What a pity. If she were not in such a hurry to seek revenge, she would have liked to linger here a while longer.

The immortal mountains faded into the distance, and below them stretched the boundless North Sea.

Only after reaching the shore did Yuan Tuo release her.

Meng Anli felt that he was easier to talk to, so she bowed to him. "May I ask, Great Deity..."

Yuan Tuo made a gesture to stop her. "No need for that. Just call me Yuan Tuo."

"Great Deity Yuan Tuo, can the effects of the Huan Dan Grass be suppressed, so that my inner core will only regenerate after six months?"

"It can, but why would you do that?"

"Because I wish to kill with a borrowed blade and stab my enemies in their softest spots."

Yuan Tuo still did not quite understand, but he intended to do as she asked. After all, she was the first woman to lie in his master's room, and she also seemed to have some connection to his master.

He lightly tapped the space between Meng Anli's brows. Black mist entered her body from there, restraining the unruly force within.

"I'll also teach you an incantation. You may activate the Huan Dan Grass's effects at any time."

Meng Anli bowed gratefully. "Thank you."

"No need." Yuan Tuo made another gesture to stop her. "Do you need me to send you home?"

"Thank you, immortal, for your consideration. I can return by the way I came."

Traveling back from here through the mortal realm would take nearly six months—just the right amount of time. She could also endure wind and sleep in the open, growing even more haggard.

But there was still one thing she was curious about.

She asked quietly, "May I ask who that... divine one is?"

"Huh?" Yuan Tuo stared at her in shock. "Didn't you realize? That was the Great Emperor Dangmo of the North."

"Huh?"

Meng Anli was even more shocked.

He was actually the Great Emperor Dangmo who had wiped out three hundred thousand demon soldiers with a wave of his hand—the most supreme god across the tens of thousands of miles of the Northern Wasteland?

His magic power was boundless, his killing decisive, and he did as he pleased. Even the Heavenly Emperor had to yield to him by three parts.

And Great Emperor Dangmo looked like that?

She had seen his portrait before. In it, his hair was red like a crown, his face blue, his fangs exposed. He held a treasured sword in one hand and a little ghost in the other, while his broad, thick foot trampled a demon.

Who would have thought his true form was such a peerlessly handsome man, untouched by mortal dust?

That stunning face appeared before her eyes again. She quickly shook her head to drive it away. That was Great Emperor Dangmo—he could crush her to death without even lifting a finger. How could she still dare think about his appearance?

Meng Anli bowed three times toward his immortal mountain in the distance. "Great Emperor Dangmo of the North, Anli has offended you many times. I am sorry."