Chapter 44 Part 1
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This chapter is edited by Cthulhu. Thank you for your contribution!
Chapter 44: Master, I Like You! (1)
Entering Bai Lian’s past was somewhat disorienting.
Despite having the Past Stele, An Lan should have encountered no obstacles getting through.
Yet during the actual process, she only saw chaos, as if she had entered through the wrong entrance.
It felt like instead of moving forward, she had accidentally slipped out through a side or back door.
This path would lead somewhere, but not to the intended destination!
“What’s happening?”
An Lan felt discouraged.
It was like being doused with cold water, her enthusiasm first ignited then partially extinguished.
Just as she was about to retreat, wondering if she had entered the wrong place, everything transformed.
Suddenly, the chaos before her receded like an ebbing tide.
Moonlight streamed down from above, sprinkling onto the weed-covered courtyard beneath her feet.
“Phew!”
An Lan relaxed her grip slightly.
The Past Stele confirmed this was indeed Bai Lian’s past.
Bai Lian was nine years old at this time.
Neither too young nor too old, like a green apple.
She wasn’t completely naive about the world, yet wouldn’t be filled with superficial knowledge.
This was the original Bai Lian!
An Lan decided this deserved five stars.
A subtle smile crossed her face.
Perfect!
Though the entry process had been roundabout, the outcome was satisfactory.
She recalled the stories Bai Lian had shared before, and by now Bai Lian would have discovered the strange “death” marks on her body.
Aww.
Poor little Bai Lian!
An Lan wished she could immediately embrace little Bai Lian, stroke her head gently while telling her—she was the most precious treasure in An Lan’s heart.
“Don’t be afraid, your master is here.”
But upon reflection, An Lan remained still.
She was a very methodical person!
Before seeking out Little Bai Lian, she first assessed her surroundings.
Night had fallen.
Yet the small courtyard remained brightly lit.
In the front hall, distressed parents were discussing an illness with a red-robed “cultivator.”
They were clearly talking about Little Bai Lian’s “condition.”
The hall echoed with parents’ sighs and moans on one side, and the cultivator’s rhythmic table-tapping on the other.
“This issue is quite serious. To truly resolve it, it seems…”
“We’ll increase the payment, double it even!”
“Miss Bai Lian is fortunate to have such caring parents. Your devotion has touched me. Even at the cost of my life, I shall do my utmost to expel the evil spirit from Miss Bai!”
The cultivator produced a “ghost-banishing” stick.
The implement was covered in tiny sharp spikes, resembling a wolf-tooth club.
“Cost your life?”
Bai Lian’s “father” was startled by both the cultivator’s harsh words and the stick in his hand.
The cultivator nodded, “Ghosts carry extreme death energy. Those who carelessly contact them naturally lose some of their life force. But Mr. Bai, fear not. We cultivators wouldn’t fear even heavenly lightning, why would we worry about losing a few years of life?”
Bai Lian’s “father” nodded.
That seemed logical.
“That would be—”
Before he could finish, a blue-white lightning bolt suddenly flew in through the front hall.
BOOM!
The brilliant flash illuminated the entire room.
As the light faded.
Bai Lian’s parents stood stunned, watching the cultivator writhing on the ground, eyes rolled back, body blackened, with blue smoke emerging from his mouth.
The cultivator survived.
After all, An Lan didn’t want to kill anyone in Bai Lian’s past. Even if they were just memories, she didn’t want to leave any negative impressions on Bai Lian.
But she couldn’t ignore what happened.
She remembered clearly everything Bai Lian had told her.
After discovering the death marks on her body, Little Bai Lian endured torture from many doctors.
Some claimed she was possessed by evil spirits.
This led to a parade of witches, fake cultivators, and fraudulent Taoist priests, all using Little Bai Lian for their schemes.
One day she had to drink special soup, the next walk backward, and perhaps face beatings the day after.
Thankfully, fate hadn’t been completely cruel.
Despite facing many hardships, Little Bai Lian still managed to grow up.
“Bunch of frauds!”
An Lan couldn’t help but scold again, all for Bai Lian’s sake.
“You claim my little Bai Lian is possessed, but I think it’s your entire family who’s possessed. No, people like you don’t even deserve family!”
While muttering, An Lan passed through a door into the back yard.
This area was more confined and darker than the front yard.
This environment made An Lan’s heart race.
She liked it here!
She spotted the small room, illuminated by flickering candles.
Though no one was visible, An Lan sensed strongly that Little Bai Lian was inside.
Let’s go!
After several cycles of closing eyes, opening them, inhaling, and exhaling.
An Lan raised her hand.
She pushed gently.
The door offered no resistance.
When a small gap appeared, the night breeze suddenly stirred.
It was an unusual wind.
It lifted the courtyard leaves.
It carried Bai Lian’s unique fragrance.
It swept away all of An Lan’s rationality.
It dispersed past memories while carrying away the present.
Finally, it blew through the frozen chaos of time.
Behind the door, on the wooden bed.
There suddenly appeared a story that originally belonged solely to Bai Lian, hidden beneath the title of “Natural Saint.”
“But…”
It belongs to me now too!
An Lan thought.
Though she hadn’t gotten Bai Lian’s permission to explore her secrets, hadn’t Bai Lian taken her first kiss without consent last time?
It doesn’t matter anymore.
An Lan’s thoughts were consumed by the young girl sitting on the bed examining her hands.
Little Bai Lian wrapped in her blanket was as adorable as imagined.
Fair and delicate as a porcelain doll, her features not yet fully developed, but already hinting at her future beauty.
Her small legs were covered in white over-the-knee socks, fitting both slender and chubby parts that made An Lan want to playfully squeeze them.
Little Bai Lian was as pitiful as she had imagined.
Staying up late, examining her hands in dim light—surely because of the death marks covering them?
An Lan looked closer.
When she saw the death marks on Little Bai Lian’s body were as dense as a black lace bodysuit, her heart clenched.
This matched the current Bai Lian exactly!
Despicable.
She never would have imagined Bai Lian carried such heavy karma from such a young age.
This was pain no child should bear.
No wonder she could silently endure all hardships even after growing up.
She had weathered storms, walked through thorns, stumbled on muddy paths, yet always rose again.
No difficulty could defeat her; they only made her more patient and gentle.
An Lan’s hands trembled slightly.
She took a breath.
The air carried little Bai Lian’s fragrance, mixed with overwhelming sadness.
She’s a total jerk!
Bai Lian kept trying to get close to her, but she was coldly shut down.
This coldness is a double-edged sword.
It jabbed into Bai Lian’s body.
Finally, it deeply pierced into her own body.
They got not happiness, but longing, and the emptiness after the longing.
Because the past is already gone, with her current strength, she can’t make up for the wounds that have been imprinted in the long river of time.
An Lan raised her hand and wiped away the tears in her eyes. Today, she was surprisingly emotional.
“Bai Lian.”
She softly called out, then locked eyes with the astonished Bai Lian.
There is neither dry wood nor raging fire.
Only a master full of apologies and a disciple equally full of apologies.
An Lan rushed up, she leaned on the bedside and tightly held Little Bai Lian.
The sudden warmth flooded Bai Lian’s body in that moment.
She had two little hands lifted high and nowhere to rest them.
An Lan hugged tightly, as if she wanted to merge into one with her.
The two hugged each other, and with a gentle rub, it caused them to feel sore.
Bai Lian wanted to scold An Lan loudly, but she really broke the rules too much!
Why do you apologize?
“Sorry, I’m late.”
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have been deliberately avoiding you.”
“Sorry, I knew you wanted to have dinner with me, and I was standing outside, but I just couldn’t bring myself to go in.”
“Also…”
Anyway, this is Bai Lian’s past. Bai Lian won’t know whatever she says here, so An Lan has completely opened her heart.
She kept repeating it, her sobbing made Bai Lian surrender on the spot.
Enough.
Bai Lian doesn’t blame An Lan.
She knows that An Lan is a bit peculiar.
If An Lan really had dinner with her that night, that would be problematic, as it would make her suspect that someone else had possessed her body.
In short, Bai Lian was very happy now.
She was filled in by An Lan very carefully.
At least she knew that at that time, An Lan was waiting outside.
She wanted to comfort An Lan and tell her not to blame herself too much.
At this moment, the system task suddenly popped up.
[Task 1: Comfort An Lan by saying “Master, I don’t blame you.” (Reward: Hard Skill +4).]
[Task 2: Burst into tears (Reward: Light Skill +1)]
[Task 2: Trembling, “Who… who are you?” (Reward: Tea Ceremony +1)]
Three tasks don’t seem very dangerous.
But Bai Lian suddenly figured it out.
Task 1 is a trap!
As an awkward person, the reason why An Lan has become so frank is because this is the so-called “past”.
Therefore, An Lan can do whatever she wants.
If An Lan knew she was still herself, she would probably be scared and run away.
An Lan might even disappear directly because of an emotional “meltdown”.
How could she possibly find An Lan who was deliberately hiding with her strength?
Between Task 2 and Task 3, Bai Lian chose Task 3.
Because the object is An Lan, she doesn’t want to take any risks.
Just…
This is a deception.
You have woven a lie, and now you need more lies to fabricate it.
This is guilty acting!
Bai Lian can only act.
Her body trembled slightly and she stammered, “Who…who are you?”
Ah?
An Lan suddenly woke up.
Yes.
Little White doesn’t even know her, so to do this in Little Bai Lian’s eyes it’s just being a weirdo, right?
She awkwardly let go of her hands.
Bai Lian stumbled back to the corner.
“I…”
An Lan was about to introduce herself again, when Little Bai Lian shouted and buried her head in the quilt with only her round buttocks and short legs trembling outside of it.
“Ahhh…”
“…”
An Lan’s hand was stiffened halfway out.
However.
This little Bai Lian completely meets her expectations in her heart.
Cute and lovely.
She couldn’t resist the urge to tease Little Bai Lian’s bum.
But the sound that followed made her face pale.
“There’s a ghost!”
How dare you!
Your master is a super beauty, yet you dare to scold me as a ghost?
It seems that you need to be taught a lesson!
An Lan, angry, grabbed little Bai Lian’s foot and then lifted her up from under the blanket.
Four eyes looked at each other.
An Lan stared intently.
I, An Lan, am fierce!
Done.
Bai Lian was a bit flustered, she was wondering if what she just did was a bit too much.
If An Lan gets angry and beats her, then she has to helplessly take the beating.
She instinctively covered her butt.
In the end, An Lan didn’t take action.
Although she raised her hand, she didn’t bully Bai Lian’s butt, but after staring at Bai Lian for half a day, she created a lot of blue and white flowers out of thin air.
It was as if the stars suddenly spread out in the room.
An Lan said, “I’m not a ghost, I’m a fairy. Do you understand?”
Understood.
Bai Lian immediately raised her head.
At this time, she dared not continue arguing with An Lan.
An Lan secretly let out a sigh of relief.
She really isn’t good at dealing with children, even though Little Bai Lian is much more mature than the other children.
She was relieved. If flowers can’t soothe Little Bai Lian’s emotions, then she would have to perform magic tricks such as lit a firework from her hands.
Fortunately, she “tamed” Little Bai Lian at once.
“I’m still quite personable!”
After all, she is the Immortal Heavenly Lord.
The Immortal Heavenly Lord! Isn’t it amazing?!
An Lan laughed and said, “I can make you a fairy too, so you won’t have to be afraid of those death words anymore.”
“Really… Really?”
Bai Lian looked surprised.
She was wondering if she should immediately comply with An Lan.
Would that be too fast?
If it’s too fast, it will arouse An Lan’s suspicion.
Take it slow.
Hmm.
She decided to refuse An Lan, and then suddenly agreed to An Lan when she was annoyed.
