74 - Divine Mastering Dragon System

Chapter 74: Mother When she was fourteen, Xiang Shi Yan first met Gong Ning. Her mother, Xiang Huai Lei, had never shown her much warmth as a daughter, and to this day, Xiang Shi Yan's most vivid memory is of the woman sitting alone under the pavilion in autumn, drinking silently, her thin back turned away. As she aged, her mother’s sudden bursts of anger would hurt her, perhaps because Xiang Shi Yan's features increasingly resembled those of the man who had abandoned mother and child. Xiang Huai Lei was born into the family of a wealthy merchant in the mortal capital. Suitors from esteemed backgrounds had come seeking her hand, hoping to enhance their status by marrying into new wealth. Xiang Huai Lei was meant to be the family’s tool to ascend socially, casting off their humble origins. Blessed with remarkable beauty, she remained unmarried at seventeen, waiting for the next opportunity to arise. During a spring festival, the young girl crossed paths with a man wearing a white fox mask. Xiang Shi Yan could imagine such a romantic scene, as she too had gazed at the bustling street strewn with the warm glow of lanterns. This encounter was orchestrated by a fox spirit known for its clever manipulations in matters of the heart for centuries. It seemed that her mother’s extraordinary beauty, even in her youth, was unforgettable, even to a fox spirit. Yet, in Xiang Shi Yan's memory, her mother was a shadow of her former self, lifeless and drained of color. That man was no ordinary fox spirit but a Jade Fox—an ancient bloodline from the six branches of the demon race, renowned for their beauty since time immemorial. Xiang Shi Yan wouldn't boast, but if her own features resembled that man’s sevenfold, then surely no mortal man could ever compare. The fox, disguised as a downtrodden scholar preparing for examinations, used his charm and feigned gentle nature to deceive the naive girl, making her believe she had found an incomparable earthly love. The scholar was believed to be brilliant and destined to rise at the imperial examinations, then return to marry her. Instead, he vanished without a trace, leaving Xiang Huai Lei pregnant, a scandal that became fodder for gossip throughout the city. Her life spiraled into ignominy and she was confined to a villa on the outskirts of the city. That man had continuously tested her boundaries—from tending the garden’s burgeoning blossoms, to financing his exams, to finally stealing her heart. A Jade Fox’s unique trait among fox demons was their ability to draw strength by consuming others’ emotions, with youthful, wholehearted love serving as the most potent elixir. Heartless and unloved, Xiang Huai Lei lived like a corpse, with others assuming her madness stemmed from her sudden fall from grace, compounded by the realization that the man would never return. She decayed from a praised young lady into what appeared to be a chaotic madwoman. She had given her heart and love to that man, leaving none for Xiang Shi Yan. From an early age, Xiang Shi Yan sensed that she was different. Often, she could perceive scents unnoticed by others, and though her mouth was empty, she could taste mysterious flavors. The maid pulling her hair exuded a mixture of sour bitterness, while the servant who cast odd glances emitted a foul odor... Her mother, on the other hand, was scentless. Though Xiang Shi Yan rarely detected any fragrance emanating from her, she was left with a vague memory of resting her head on her mother’s lap, a dreamy, exquisite scent that persisted in her heart long after her mother passed. During the intense summer when she was thirteen, her mother finally exhausted her last breath waiting in vain, passing amidst the drone of cicadas and a hot breeze, under the wary and distant gaze of her daughter. Coincidentally, her master was flying with a sword over the capital and, being skilled in sensing, detected an unexpected hint of demon aura. Intrigued, she landed to observe the scene of the woman's death. It was curious how a woman could survive so long after having her heart removed, thanks to a fox spirit's spell. This grotesque spectacle amused the otherwise cold and detached woman enough to adopt the young girl, whose faint demon aura lingered, saving her from homelessness after losing her mother's protection. Truthfully, the discovery that she possessed an ice spirit root later on was merely an added bonus since the master simply had an appreciation for beauty. Following her master across the vast lands of Shenzhou for a year, the first person to greet them upon arrival at Yu Cang Mountain was Gong Ning. Her master had little moral sense or compassion and took on four disciples merely to quickly offload the burdensome role of a sect leader. The eldest disciple, Li Hui, was the child of her master’s junior sister; the second disciple, Gong Ning, was the most beautiful among the new disciples at Yu Cang Mountain that year. Yu Ming entered the sect six years before Xiang Shi Yan, just two years her senior, having been fortuitously rescued by the master from a group of refugees. Over that year, her master casually taught her some breathing techniques and the method to circulate energy, before handing her over to Li Hui. Gong Ning was naturally gentle, and when Li Hui, uninterested in dealing with children, found Xiang Shi Yan's personality too aloof, Gong Ning naturally took her under her wing. Xiang Shi Yan had little interaction with others due to her mother's intimidation, which made her somewhat reserved, and as a result, she wasn't fond of speaking. Fortunately, Yu Ming’s senior sister had been a dirty, skinny, stubborn child when first brought in, and remained a small-framed, irritable girl, which made Xiang Shi Yan appear relatively normal by contrast. Yet, Gong Ning was undeniably someone even the most reclusive child would want to please. Even after many years, Xiang Shi Yan could vividly recall the first time Gong Ning arranged her hair. Although she was an illegitimate child, the Xiang family’s remaining good grace ensured that she and her mother didn't live in destitution. Previously, it had always been the maids who braided her hair. Once with her master, who couldn't be bothered, she was often left with her hair untied. Senior Sister was herself barely beyond girlhood, but there was none of the girlish pettiness in her demeanor. Gong Ning's hands were warm, her fingers slightly calloused from years of sword practice, brushing against Xiang Shi Yan's ears as she tucked her locks. Xiang Shi Yan flinched, but Gong Ning, thinking she had hurt her, softened her voice to comfort her. The early spring sun cast a faint golden hue on Gong Ning, and Xiang Shi Yan distinctly remembered the familiar fragrance emanating from her, leaving her puzzled when she turned to find only Gong Ning's bright, cheerful smile. It was a profoundly comforting and unfailingly pleasant scent, one that made one feel safe, even tearful. Xiang Shi Yan had never quite realized from whence this familiarity arose, and as time passed, the scent on Gong Ning mixed with a touch of sweetness, causing her to gradually forget its original form. Despite their extended lifespans, their memories remained as frail as mortals', with everything from the past being slowly pushed towards the edges of memory until, overloaded, it all falls away. Although the harmonious scene of the four siblings in the sect was only about twenty years ago, Xiang Shi Yan couldn't recall any details. Her carefully gathered memories related to Gong Ning were sealed away as she secretly watched her senior sister's departing figure in a vibrant red wedding dress. All this turned to bitter ash in Xiang Shi Yan's mouth at the moment, a rare taste of herself, as she lightly coughed and discreetly wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes before Du Ruo noticed. The little snake coiled on the desk lifted its head with glee at her sound, only to see the woman silently wipe her eyes with the back of her hand. Du Ruo, feeling suddenly at a loss, pretended not to notice anything amiss and asked cheerfully, "Elder, are those women in good condition?" Xiang Shi Yan tilted her head. "I've already checked. Zhu Cheng has used a spell on them, and he might be able to control them remotely. For now, I've drawn isolating formations on the six walls of the chamber, but I'm uncertain how effective they will be. We need to retrieve the mother Gu from Zhu Cheng to free them." Du Ruo pondered for a moment. "The trick with Gu involves creating resonance between the primary and secondary bugs. If we could distance them from it, maybe Zhu Cheng wouldn't notice." Du Ruo almost teased Xiang Shi Yan about the "Gu poison" she had spun tales of before, but the sight of the woman's reddened eyes stopped her. "That might indeed work, but I've heard that distancing from the mother Gu might automatically kill the host with the child Gu…" Xiang Shi Yan hesitated. "Are we sure it won't cause grave harm?" "Gu originated from the demon clans. Even the great sorcerers I know would go to considerable effort to craft such Gu. Would Zhu Cheng waste such precious resources on these women, who he might dispose of at any moment?" Du Ruo laughed dismissively. "I'd be more worried about whether the two sisters have something sinister on them." The Zhu family has no connections with the demon clans. The only way Zhu Cheng could obtain Gu poison was through mass-market items sold at black markets by the demon clans. Inducing a deep sleep is already considered high quality, as Du Ruo said, with life-threatening poisons tightly held by major Gu sorcery families within the demon clans, seldom shared with outsiders. Du Ruo frowned again and said, "You mentioned before that Lord Qiwei was controlled by Gu but acted unlike these women. He seemed natural in his actions and speech…" Xiang Shi Yan's eyes briefly flickered with intensity, "Do you have any clues?" "I'm somewhat versed in this path, but without more leads, I'm at a dead end," Du Ruo admitted. Xiang Shi Yan remained silent, having already consulted the system, yielding no results. Later in the original work, a name did appear—Zhu Yun, poised to inherit the family's leadership, heard about it from his father. The narrative hinted at severe torture and implied patricide by Zhu Yun, suggesting truth in it. The system's inability to retrieve what seemed like straightforward background knowledge could only mean one thing: this Gu was tied to unknown future developments in the plot, thus auto-blocked by the system’s main intelligence. Given this, Xiang Shi Yan was even more determined to uncover the origin of this thing. Her studies in medicine had often piqued her interest in Gu arts, but the speculation found within the realm of cultivation was mostly baseless rumors. Xiang Shi Yan considered it unlikely that Zhu Cheng could distill any essence of value from such fanciful tales to create such potent Gu poison. She entertained another theory: perhaps the Gu itself wasn't inaccessible, but rather, the people and events it was linked to caused it to be blocked. A glint of determination flashed in Xiang Shi Yan's eyes; those who supported evil would not escape her resolve. "Heart-devouring Gu, have you heard of it?" she asked. Du Ruo tilted her head, pondering before slowly shaking her head. “I don’t think so. But I can ask around for you.” Xiang Shi Yan nodded. “Do you have a place where you can shelter these women?” “That depends on how far your artifact can transport them,” Du Ruo jested, “But safe? There’s no place safer than my abode, and I can ask some friends versed in Gu arts to examine them.” The ability to manipulate space and transport was impressive enough, and the talisman Xiang Shi Yan had given her seemed pre-filled with spiritual energy, not requiring the slightest bit of her own—an exceptionally convenient artifact. Du Ruo was taken aback when Xiang Shi Yan paused thoughtfully before saying, “It should work. Use the marker to transport them to the demon territory.” Xiang Shi Yan's deliberation wasn’t about the distance—after all, the system had assured her that it could be found as long as it existed in this world, even the edges of the universe as it were. She had only asked the system to see if it knew where Du Ruo’s home was, ensuring they wouldn’t end up stuck in a wall. Fuming at her distrust, the system had moved Du Ruo’s anchor point to the underground chamber of Song He Hall. Holding the black scale she had used to deceive Zhu Cheng, Xiang Shi Yan played with it for a moment. It was something Du Ruo had plucked from herself. When inviting Du Ruo to be her ally, Xiang Shi Yan had considered many factors. She’d even contemplated wiping out the entire Zhu household, seeing them as collaborators in wrongdoing worthy of death. In the original story, the major antagonist Xuan Jiu also bore black scales, perhaps to intimidate Taixu Sect, often leaving scales at scenes of bloody retribution. Pinning blame on him wouldn’t trouble Xiang Shi Yan in the least. Sadly, she was no longer the same Yuehua Lord from a decade prior, when she had single-handedly laid waste to the Du family's head and several elder enforcers. Back then, unencumbered by concern, she dared to go all out against the Du family. Eliminating Zhu Cheng and major culprits was feasible, but dragging her sect into it was not; nor would she risk exposing Zhu’s secrets to the world, subjecting the women and remaining Zhu sisters to probing eyes. Zhu Cheng’s black market network wasn’t merely about “processing and selling.” Dismantling Zhu’s corrupt lair wouldn’t guarantee others in the chain wouldn’t attempt to resurrect it. Those who kidnapped cultivator women for Zhu Cheng, supplied him with controlling Gu poison, assisted in refining vessels, remained silent, or lusted for his goods had to be made to fear ever treading that path again. It would be difficult, considering the immense profit enticing each player to risk it. When He He began cultivating, the divine soul Xiang Shi Yan had deposited in her nearly mutated her water spirit root into ice, risking atrophy of her other two roots. Zhu Cheng used similar principles, forcing a risk-filled contraction of spiritual roots in fetuses, ensuring exceptional talent. The twins likely suffered such prenatal distortion, with Zhu Yun’s weak meridians possibly due to Gong Ning’s pregnancy marred by Zhu Cheng’s arrays. The twins remained prototypes; meanwhile, Zhu Cheng improved significantly over the years, producing many artificial vessels. Only now, with Zhu Yun matured as an enticing “sample,” he began making deals with noble families. A girl's growth spans mere years, a blink to cultivators, yet yields vast gains—a top-grade vessel could fetch a million spiritual stones on the black market, illustrating their worth. “So Zhu Cheng mass-produces vessels, selling at cut-rate prices to kill off competition from kidnappers, monopolizing the market in a few years to fleece buyers,” the system commented. “This self-developed technique ensures he doesn’t need fear competition for quite some time.” Xiang Shi Yan nodded. “Combine that with creating endlessly talented male heirs for noble families, and Zhu threatens to strangle them in the short term. Without his methods, they’d struggle to unite ousting Zhu.” “Uh, what?” The system, incredulous with its voice perfectly reflecting a real person's surprise, interjected. Xiang Shi Yan frowned. “Is my analysis wrong?” Communication distorted briefly, and after a moment of silence, the system spoke with realization, “Oh, your world doesn’t have male vessels, right?” “Male…vessels?” Xiang Shi Yan was taken aback. The system seemed unconcerned: “Despite worlds self-correcting to ensure smooth operations, their foundation is laid by the author. If the original author grew up in a society with male-dominant perspectives on sex, it’s not strange. Think lines like ‘men take the lead during sex’ or ‘men can’t be the passive party—like being entered,’ that sort of thinking.” Xiang Shi Yan: “Uh? Uh…” “Such occurrences aren’t rare. Before the rise of Yaoi and fourth love cultures, challenging traditional male sexual roles, ‘vessels’ in novels were typically female. Even female authors rarely wrote about male vessels. 'Men are immune to sexual exploitation’ is still a prevailing thought in your main world,” the system elaborated. Xiang Shi Yan, head pounding, rubbed her temples and sighed, “In the next life, let me be a bystander.” Trying to lighten the moment with a poor joke, the system obliged, “But a bystander with such beauty is bound to be played by strong base, only to meet a tragic end to fuel the plot.” Not funny in the least, Xiang Shi Yan paled, offering condolences to the system’s humor that was even worse than hers. “By the way, the preparations you ordered at Song He Hall have been completed,” the system added. “What?” Zhu Cheng seemed lost for a moment, unconsciously trembling as he set down his cup. Smiling, he asked the attendant who came to report, “What did you say? Repeat that.” In Huaihai City, power struggles among the influential families were intense; each household had its own intelligence network, closely tracking the others. Being the weaker party, the Zhu family had exercised extra caution, and upon taking leadership, Zhu Cheng notably bolstered their information section. Even so, it was days before he realized Xiang Shi Yan’s plans. The Zhu family spies, tasked with eavesdropping on the city’s rumors, knelt quivering before him, “Recently, the city’s cultivators are uneasy, with…there are rumors of demons entering Huaihai City.” Zhu Cheng slapped the informant to the ground furiously, scolding, “Didn't I order you to spread rumors of a conflict between Xiang Shi Yan and the Zhu family? How did rumors of demons infiltrating Zhu Manor leak out?” The Zhu family’s official statement claimed an explosion was due to aging spirit formations—a plausible excuse in Huaihai, a city of cultivators where being struck by lightning on the streets was not rare. He knew it was a weak excuse, and Xiang Shi Yan surely wouldn’t waste such a perfect handle. His chest heaved; since the day the “goods” vanished, he had been anxious and stressed every day. Regarding Xiang Shi Yan’s threat to inform the other two families about the demon involvement, he was still negotiating and maneuvering, not exposing his dire situation. If the Xu and Bai families took advantage of the situation to push down prices or secretly covet the method to create artificial vessels…he hadn’t expected this woman to ruthlessly make the matter public. The informant, dazed, scrambled to his knees again, collapsing at Zhu Cheng’s feet, shivering. “No, it’s, the demon presence rumor is…it’s…” “What is it? Speak quickly!” The subordinate cautiously lifted his head to look at him, "There are rumors of high-level female cultivators being trafficked... and sold in Huaihai City's underground market to demons for their amusement." Zhu Cheng was momentarily stunned, then slowly slumped into his chair, accidentally knocking over his teacup, but he paid it no mind. Xiang Shi Yan's actions were more forceful than he had anticipated... Was she truly willing to go to any lengths for Gong Ning's revenge? A cold sweat broke out on Zhu Cheng. Since Xiang Shi Yan played the "demon" card, he couldn't help but feel scared. For several days, the thought lingered in his mind—perhaps it would be better to hand Zhu Yun and Zhu Yu over to Xiang Shi Yan. After all, vessels could be recreated, and the earliest batch of girls were already at the age to be "delivered." Although a heavenly spirit root vessel was extremely tempting, Zhu Yun’s weak meridians marked her as a substandard product, one that couldn’t be used more than a few times, and losing her wouldn't cause him much heartache. Even a heavenly spirit root could eventually be created if he continued to refine his array studies. He was deluding himself. Of course, to Xiang Shi Yan, if she truly knew everything, the twins would probably seem nothing more than abominations that shouldn’t exist in this world, barely binding her at all. Xiang Shi Yan’s actions this time... must be aimed at utterly destroying him and the entire Zhu family. Author's Note: Actually, the master has a bit of a mommy issue... In my opinion, characters that exude a maternal aura are quite captivating, as are the interactions between a stuttering, introverted child and a gentle sister. I'm not sure if I've conveyed that well, but I hope everyone can feel it. For those who find it off-putting, please don't criticize me. I'm just a mess, a pile of trash, a hypocrite QAQ. Thank you to the little angels who cast power votes or nourished me with nutrient fluids between 2022-03-15 22:51:00 and 2022-03-17 35:57:58. Thank you to the little angels who threw landmines: Nai Lin Queen 3; Cha Little Cat Su Ning 1; Thank you to the little angels who nourished with nutrient fluids: I unexpected grew a beard 5 bottles; HeartSweet 4 bottles; I truly appreciate everyone's support, and I will continue to work hard! 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