chapter 9 - The Heroine Insists on Being My Master

Feeling "extremely terrified," Wen Jiayin was immediately taken back to the adjoining room by her master, with no more than ten seconds in between. "Master! There was a strange woman, a strange woman whose face couldn't be seen, in my dream. She pressed a ball of fire into my head! When I woke up, I actually found a ball of fire in my mind! Master... what in the world is this? It's so frightening!" Wen Jiayin clutched Xin Yun's sleeve, like a poor little hamster. "...Let Master take a look at your mind, relax and don't resist." With a serious expression, Xin Yun knew how private and delicate a place one’s mind was for any cultivator, allowing no easy access for others. Given the disparity in cultivation levels between Xin Yun and Wen Jiayin, a single careless resistance from Wen Jiayin could hurt no one else but herself. Damage to one's mind could lead to instability of the soul at best, and idiocy or even death at worst. So when Wen Jiayin mentioned there was a ball of fire in her mind, Xin Yun was understandably worried. "Okay," Wen Jiayin obediently replied. Being just a rookie on the cultivation path, with only the second layer of Qi Refinement, Wen Jiayin's mind was small and exceptionally fragile. Xin Yun cautiously probed in with just a tiny wisp of her divine sense. It was indeed as Wen Jiayin described, with a small flame found at the center of her mind. What Xin Yun feared most was that the fire could be hiding the soul of a cultivator aiming to seize her body. She had seen these shameless tricks often disguised as opportunities before. Thankfully, this fire carried no soul aura, it was exceptionally pure. Xin Yun triple-checked to reassure herself before retracting her divine sense. "Don't worry Jiayin, this fire is safe," Xin Yun reassured, pausing to gently squeeze Wen Jiayin's hand. "Can you tell me what just happened? What was the strange woman like?" Hearing her master's confirmation that it was safe, Wen Jiayin finally relaxed her anxiously pounding heart. "It was like this..." Wen Jiayin recounted everything she had "dreamt" to Xin Yun. "The images from the dawn of creation?" Xin Yun’s arms tightened ever so slightly around Wen Jiayin, and she glanced at the tattered scroll which had turned completely blank with no words left, a thought flashing through her mind. "This is a divine artifact," Xin Yun declared. "The woman who spoke to you might be its owner, a deity who has passed away." "What?" Wen Jiayin was stunned. That strange woman who wouldn’t show her face turned out to be a legendary deity mentioned in the original stories? Mentioning the stories’ background, humans, demons, and ghosts cultivated to become immortals, and in the ancient myths, numerous deities were born from heaven and earth with immense power and long lives. However, most of them perished due to calamities, fading into the background of existence. "I even asked if she was human or ghost... Was that a bit rude?" Wen Jiayin’s focus was endearingly misplaced, prompting a rare chuckle from Xin Yun. "If she is indeed a deity, she wouldn't mind the words of a child." Wen Jiayin pondered for two seconds. She felt that the strange... deity didn’t seem like she didn’t mind—otherwise, she wouldn't have engaged in such a violent act as smacking her on the head... "This is your opportunity, Jiayin." Xin Yun, with an inexplicable certainty, stroked Wen Jiayin’s head, smiling faintly in a place unseen. The grotesque, distorted face surfaced in her mind again. The man who tried every imaginable way to elicit information on divine succession from her, much to his chagrin, didn't realize all he sought was within these tattered scrolls in her own possession. Truly laughable, laughable... Xiaoyao Zhenjun, after all your scheming and hurting countless lives, what isn’t meant for you will never be yours. These things belong to Ayin, destined to return to their rightful owner. But I will settle the score with you for the pain caused to Ayin, one account at a time. To think that in two lifetimes, the last face she saw before dying was his—it was indeed quite vexing. Wen Jiayin didn’t notice the subtle tremor in Xin Yun’s voice; instead, she proudly presented the flame in her hands for Xin Yun to see. "Master, master, the strange... erm, the deity praised this fire to the skies. Is it really that powerful?" For some reason, Wen Jiayin couldn't muster any reverence for the deity-like woman, nor suppress her skepticism about the fire. As the flame's mistress, Wen Jiayin merely felt the warmth of the small flame, unable to perceive the power the deity spoke of. However, it was different for Xin Yun. The flame, which behaved like a docile kitten in Wen Jiayin’s hands, emanated a tumultuous energy for her. If what the unknown deity said was true, the flame's origin was astonishing. Once Ayin matured, its power could be deemed terrifying. Xin Yun grazed her hand over the flame, and although her body, meant to withstand spiritual weapons, found itself with a scorched wound seared by the flame. If Xin Yun hadn't promptly used her spiritual power to mend it, the blackening matter within the flame might have continued to corrode her body. And this was without any spiritual power enhancement. "Master!" Wen Jiayin was shocked, unable to fathom Xin Yun testing the flame's potency in such a manner. She hurriedly dispelled the flame, helplessly watching the wound on Xin Yun’s hand. "It’s fine, it’s healed." The self-recovery ability of a tribulation-transcending cultivator was formidable, and within a blink, the wound on Xin Yun's hand vanished. "But..." Wen Jiayin hesitated, focused on Xin Yun’s hand. "Even if it heals quickly, it must hurt when it’s injured, right? People aren’t stones, unable to feel pain. You should cherish your body more..." Wen Jiayin’s attentiveness was directed entirely at Xin Yun's hand, preventing her from noticing her master's tear-filled eyes due to those familiar words. “Master~ you’re not made of stone; how could you not feel pain? Moreover, even if you don't, I still feel heartache. Promise me, please? Take better care of yourself...” The unabashedly affectionate figure came to mind, matching the child in her embrace. In her past life, Xin Yun never imagined that those parting words of care had become a farewell. "Alright..." Xin Yun worked to suppress the catch in her throat, pretending to respond calmly. How ironic—she, who was so much older than Ayin, is not even half as openhearted. Perhaps her past silence dealt Ayin the greatest harm, while the soft sigh outside the door at their parting moment held untold regrets… she deserved to lose all she held dear. This "alright" was a response she long owed. Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who cast votes or nurtured with nutrient solution between 2022-01-27 23:21:24 and 2022-01-28 23:44:37~ Thanks to the little angel who threw a mine: Si Nan, 1; Thanks to the little angels who irrigated nutrient solution: One Peeking Jun, 10 bottles; Jiang Shangqing, Sha Yu's Little Tail, 5 bottles; Si Nan, Li Shui, 3 bottles; XYH, Yu>_<Ban, Like Shadow, 1 bottle; Thank you all so much for your support, I will continue to work hard!