My Husband’s Ascension C41 (Part 2)
Chapter 41.2 Meet Again
Dao Lord Tianshu did not know how long he had slept.
When he once again became aware of his body, the sky outside was bright, the song of birds threading through layers of flowering branches. Faintly, a familiar scent of sugar flatbread reached him—
“Has he woken up?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Who is he, and why is he in Sect Master’s room?”
“Sect Master said he is an honored guest… His eyelashes are so long, and white too. So pretty!”
“Senior Sister Yao Ling, what are you doing?”
Yao Ling, wearing a crimson demon mask, held a bamboo brush and nibbled on a piece of sugar flatbread, crumbs falling in a shower onto the youth’s cheek. She looked at the others as if it were only natural and declared, “Of course, while he’s still sleeping, I’m going to draw a piece of poop on his face!”
A chorus of gasps and laughter erupted from the other children, some astonished, others envious.
Sect Master had clearly said not to act rashly toward any guests. If they angered him and were beaten, she would not intervene on their behalf.
Yet Senior Sister Yao Ling had always been the boldest and most skilled among them. What others dared not do, she dared.
“What are you all afraid of? Forget anyone else, but this one, don’t think that drawing a turtle on his face is bullying! You could draw a pile of poop on his very heart and liver, and it still wouldn’t count as picking on him!”
It was this stinky man who had caused Master such grief!
As Master’s foremost disciple, Yao Ling had vowed since childhood that one day she would avenge Master.
The ink brush touched his cold, porcelain-like cheek. Rong Yu noticed the fingers dangling over the edge of the bed twitch slightly, but when he looked again, the youth seemed to maintain the same serene sleeping expression, showing no signs of waking.
Yao Ling finished the final stroke, just as Zong Fei, escorting several disciples from the Yin-Yang Sect and Ghost Soldier Sect, finally returned.
Upon entering, he saw a circle of small children had gathered around the bed, and the ringleader was perched atop the blanket, happily drawing a pile of poop on the face of his master!
The other disciples, there to pay respects to Dao Lord, were utterly shocked.
“Insolent!” Zong Fei scooped Yao Ling up, his teeth gritted in anger. “This is Dao Lord Tianshu of Kunwu! How dare you act recklessly while he is gravely injured? This is far too mischievous!”
Rong Yu, wearing a fox mask, shook off his earlier daze and said to Zong Fei with solemnity, “Let her go!”
“First, she must release the brush she’s holding!”
Like a chick tossed into the air, Yao Ling dropped the brush and laughed. “Okay, fine, I’ve already finished anyway.”
“You—!” Zong Fei was both angry and unwilling to fuss over a single child. He could only say, “Miss Immortal Tanzhao is such a gentle and easygoing sect master, how could she raise such a mischievous disciple!”
“Zong Fei.” The youth lying on the bed rose slowly. Meeting the astonished gazes of the assembled disciples, he seemed entirely unbothered, speaking only in a calm, soft tone, “The sect master of Cloudculm Abode saved me. Do not harm her disciples.”
…Zong Fei had no intention of hurting anyone.
Yet in the presence of so many eyes, if word spread that Dao Lord had been so restrained, it would be a slight to his reputation.
The disciples from the various sects seemed to feel the awkwardness as well and hastily added:
“We are reassured knowing Dao Lord is safe.”
“Yes, yes, yes. We will leave you to rest, Dao Lord, and not disturb you further.”
One by one, the others filed out, the remaining children quietly slipping away until only Yao Ling sprawled atop his blanket and Rong Yu, standing guard to keep Zong Fei from approaching, remained.
Dao Lord Tianshu regarded their masks in silence. “Why are you wearing masks?”
The masks had been purchased years ago during a Lantern Festival, when Zhao Zhao had taken them down the mountain to wander the market.
Since Rong Yu had been afflicted by gu several years prior, both he and Yao Ling had been warned that their identities were dangerous and that they must not reveal themselves recklessly. A supply of face-altering pills had been prepared so that, if they ever needed to meet outsiders, their true faces would remain hidden.
Yao Ling, lively by nature and often venturing out, was too lazy to use the pills and thus frequently wore her mask.
“Because Master bought it for me, so I like it a lot,” the little girl replied in a crisp, fearless voice.
Dao Lord Tianshu then cast his gaze toward Rong Yu at the bedside.
Both wore masks, concealing their true faces. By their size, he could only estimate their age, around six or seven, perhaps.
Yao Ling had expected anger, ready to cry for help at any moment.
Yet the silver-haired youth merely spoke in a gentle tone, “At your age, your sword cultivation has already reached the second stage of the Grand Primordium Dao. You are exceptionally gifted.”
Behind her mask, Yao Ling’s expression twisted in a peculiar mix of pride and mischief. “…I am Master’s disciple, of course I’m gifted! Is that something you even need to point out?”
Zong Fei could not help but chuckle at the little girl’s self-assuredness.
To receive praise from the foremost sword cultivator of the age, she likely had no idea of the weight those words carried.
Dao Lord Tianshu’s gaze then fell upon Rong Yu.
There was something unusual about this boy’s cultivation.
He could not discern the boy’s true realm; perhaps he had none at all.
Even among those who cultivate, it was not unheard of for a child born to mortals to show little or no aptitude for cultivation.
Dao Lord Tianshu said nothing. He merely reached out and gently patted Rong Yu on the head.
Rong Yu tilted his head in puzzlement.
This was the same person Yao Ling had drawn a pile of poop on without incurring anger, and yet he seemed perfectly kind and gentle.
…
Early this morning, disciples from the seven great sects of the Cultivation Realm began arriving at Beaconlight Mountain one after another.
To Zhao Zhao’s surprise, Shi Lanyan, long absent from the world, had finally emerged from closed-door cultivation. This time, she came on behalf of Polaris Confucian Sect, leading a hundred disciples in support.
“…Though I had already heard the news of your survival as soon as I emerged, seeing with my own eyes that you have become the head of a sect… it’s truly…” Shi Lanyan’s gaze swept over Zhao Zhao, almost failing to recognize her.
Back then, Zhao Zhao was barely eighteen; she had not reached the peak of a young woman’s beauty. Now, however, time and trials had honed her. Gone was the flustered girl Shi Lanyan had first met in Kunwu; she now carried the serene elegance of finely carved jade, her brows and eyes exuding a gentle composure.
Zhao Zhao smiled. “Though I am now a sect master, I could not have reached this position without your aid back then, Miss Immortal Lanyan.”
“…Aid? That was not aid, I was tricked by you!”
Shi Lanyan rolled her eyes at her good-naturedly, and Zhao Zhao offered no rebuttal, only smiling warmly and asking if she would like some Poria cake*.
(TLN: Poria Cake (茯苓糕) is a traditional handmade snack from the Minnan region. Its main ingredients are poria (Wolfiporia extensa) and flour, which are mixed, fermented, and then steamed to create a fragrant and slightly sweet cake.)
“It is indeed quite delectable. Your Cloudculm Abode’s cooks are skilled.”
To receive such praise from Shi Lanyan was no small compliment.
“It is not the cooks, but my disciple, Zhongli Shun,” Zhao Zhao replied.
Shi Lanyan nodded. Having emerged from closed-door cultivation, she had learned of Dao Lord Tianshu’s resignation from the leadership of the Zhongli Clan, and of the clan now being placed under Cloudculm Abode’s governance.
Presumably, the Donghua Pearl had already been restored to its rightful owner as well.
Shi Lanyan was about to ask and confirm this suspicion but suddenly felt it unnecessary.
Why concern herself with matters that had never involved her?
“Stop snacking here. Today you are the host, how can you be idly chatting with me?”
Within the great hall, elders and disciples from every sect had gathered, the place brimming with activity.
Zhao Zhao said nothing in response. Instead, the young man walking beside Shi Lanyan spoke gently, “Junior sister, perhaps you should temper that sharp tongue of yours, it makes things awkward for others.”
Shi Lanyan seemed to have grown accustomed to such soft jabs; words like these, spoken by anyone else, would have set her off immediately. Only this senior brother of Polaris Confucian Sect, her childhood companion and long-time friend, could speak to her this way.
“What awkwardness? I was only asking casually. She should go—” Her words faltered mid-sentence as she suddenly fell silent.
The reason she had the leisure to chat was clear.
Cloudculm Abode, after all, was merely a rising power in the region of Jimo Sea. To the venerable seven great sects, it was neither familiar nor influential enough to warrant flattery or concern.
A polite greeting at first meeting was one thing, but when it came to serious matters, the sects naturally exchanged affairs only with those they knew well.
Daoist Ming Jue had long anticipated this and had prepared Zhao Zhao in advance.
She had adjusted her mindset and no longer minded.
Cloudculm Abode was still young, its achievements modest. Everyone present had gathered to discuss how to quell the increasingly aggressive Demon Realm incursions. This was no child’s play, and the prestige of each sect had to be respected.
“Come,” Shi Lanyan suddenly grasped Zhao Zhao’s wrist. “You will follow me and observe from the side.”
Before Zhao Zhao could respond, the decisive Shi Lanyan swept her along into the midst of the crowd.
All present knew the reputation of this young lady of Polaris Confucian Sect, and gave her the courtesy of their respect, greeting Zhao Zhao politely.
She returned each greeting in kind.
“Just now you mentioned the stalemate in the battle, have you discerned the cause?”
Several disciples from the opposite side exchanged uneasy glances, hesitating before speaking, “We have some conjectures. Normally, disturbances of this scale would never require the intervention of all Seven Great Sects, let alone drag on for seven years. When the previous Demon Lord was purged, Dao Lord managed it in merely twenty years…”
“With the Demon Lord dead and the Successor missing, the demons should have been quickly subdued.”
“But now it has lingered for seven years…”
They exchanged wary glances.
One disciple ventured boldly: “I’ve heard… though it’s only hearsay… that our Dao Lord’s strength may have waned in recent years, not what it once was, and thus the demons have not been swept away in a single strike.”
“Nonsense!” A keen-eared Kunwu disciple beside them immediately retorted with sharp authority, “Dao Lord has endured tribulations and his cultivation has only strengthened. All sects witnessed this upon his ascent to Ascension Terrace. How could his strength possibly decline? Such words undermine morale and deserve punishment!”
The commotion quickly drew attention from those nearby. The disciple who spoke initially, flustered, stammered, “I… I only repeated what I heard from others…”
“Who said it? Name them! One by one! I’ll go reason with them myself!”
“Alright, alright…it was my nonsense, my fault for shaking morale. Fellow Daoist, don’t take offense…”
“That’s not sincere at all!”
No one expected tempers to flare inside the grand hall. Disciples nearby, unsure of what had sparked the quarrel, hurried over to break it up.
Amid the rising clamor, the bickering voices weaving together, Zhao Zhao drifted into a daze.
Last night, when she and Daoist Ming Jue had treated him, they had pushed aside his outer robes and found countless overlapping scars beneath.
None of the old wounds were deep. New and old sword marks alike, similar in size, densely layered. Zhao Zhao found it impossible to fathom who could leave such wounds on someone of Dao Lord Tianshu’s cultivation.
Anyone capable of injuring him so often and so consistently…would have long since been capable of taking his life outright.
She was still sifting through these thoughts when a cry cut through the din, “Dao Lord has arrived!”
The snow-white robes brushed past the threshold. The flushed-face disciples, still mid-argument, hadn’t even had a chance to quiet themselves when Dao Lord Tianshu’s gaze swept lightly over them, passing through the crowd to his seat.
The moment he arrived, the grand hall grew markedly still. Elders and disciples from the various sects dispersed slightly, preparing to take their places.
“Dao Lord, why do you seat yourself here?” An elder of Polaris Confucian Sect spoke in surprise, noticing him taking the left side rather than the place of highest honor.
All eyes turned, uncertainty flickering across their faces.
Yet Dao Lord Tianshu, watched by countless pairs of eyes, only smiled gently, “This time, I failed to quell the chaos in time, you six great sects have traveled countless kilometers to assist. I have no face to occupy the highest seat; I should sit here instead, do you not agree, disciple of the Moyan Sect?”
The disciple who had whispered criticisms turned ashen, stammering incoherently. In the end, he was muffled behind Mo Lingyun’s hand.
“My junior spoke recklessly and offended Dao Lord. As his senior brother, I apologize on his behalf.” Mo Lingyun bowed deeply, though inside his heart a storm had already risen.
So the person they had seen last night…was none other than Dao Lord Tianshu himself!
Dao Lord Tianshu withdrew his gaze, saying nothing further.
Others in the hall glanced at the vacant forefront seat, exchanging wary looks. If Dao Lord did not sit there, who else would dare?
“The disciple earlier certainly spoke without restraint. Dao Lord is magnanimous, there is no need to trouble over a mere junior; had you not taken that seat, who would dare sit there?”
“Where is the sect master of Cloudculm Abode?” Dao Lord Tianshu spoke suddenly, his gaze slowly sweeping across the hall as though he had not immediately noticed her.
He fixed his eyes on her with the courtesy one might give a stranger, smiling gently. “Since Cloudculm Abode is the host, it is only fitting that its master and her disciples take that place.”
In an instant, all eyes turned toward Zhao Zhao.
It was only then did Shi Lanyan notice the two masked children who had followed Dao Lord inside.
The moment they saw Zhao Zhao, they dashed toward her as though reunited with their mother.
Only belatedly did Shi Lanyan remember—
She seemed to have misled Dao Lord Tianshu about a certain matter many years ago.
