126 - Divine Mastering Dragon System

**Chapter 125: Hydrangea** "What did Little Uncle-Master and Grandmaster discuss?" Fu Zhi fumbled her way out of Tian Ji's chamber, suddenly hearing a familiar voice. She looked up instinctively—a habit she hadn't had before, as if she could still see. Her empty eyes moved slightly from side to side, ultimately relying on her hearing to place her non-existent gaze beside her. A young girl leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed, her expression indifferent. She gazed at the person's thin back, her eyes slightly lowered in reflex, avoiding prolonged eye contact. Fu Zhi did not respond, and the girl, realizing the intrusive nature of her question just a moment later, hastily changed the subject, feeling her tongue go a bit numb. "Master asked me to take you back to the Rejuvenation Pool." Even this statement seemed somewhat misguided, and the young girl's lips tightened, suddenly feeling awkward. "Let's go back then," Fu Zhi listened intently, the girl's slightly hesitant voice reaching her ears, making her feel unexpectedly surprised. She extended a hand towards the unseen junior disciple. The girl, knowing Fu Zhi couldn't see the path, furrowed her brows, standing there for a moment before reluctantly placing her own hand in Fu Zhi's palm. The fingertips of Little Uncle-Master, frail and cold to the bone, reminded her of the icy touch when she had once pulled Fu Zhi out from the pool. Unexpected sadness filled her heart. At Tian Ji Sect, talent was a burden so heavy it was difficult to bear. Living here for over ten years, she grew to see the 'blessings from heaven' as nothing but poisonously cryptic illusions—always lingering death from even a joke or a mere practice divination. If the heavenly secrets were not to be revealed, then why show them to people deliberately? In the entire Tian Ji Sect, only Fu Zhi could stably operate the puppet of the Rejuvenation Pool, perhaps due to her extraordinary gifts. But it was merely a temporary measure. The dead cannot be brought back to life; how could a lifeless body be revived without paying a price? Yet she was merely a disciple of an elder, not even daring to assume whether the Master fully comprehended such unnatural arts. Or perhaps, she thought tremblingly, the unnatural frailty of Fu Zhi was orchestrated by a Master dissatisfied with her precarious elder position. Her eyes darted nervously. Without Master's rescue, she wouldn't even know where she might have died. Such speculation felt like sheer ingratitude. Yet, despite this realization, cold sweat still formed due to her suspicions. She wanted to grasp Fu Zhi's hand instead, but the cold, slippery feeling slipped away like a fish. The girl realized she had intended to hold Fu Zhi's hand, feeling a surge of embarrassment. She allowed Fu Zhi to cling to her sleeve without a word, silently stomping forward. Fu Zhi, pulled suddenly, almost lost her grip on the sleeve, gripping it hard in unease, puzzled by the sudden change of demeanor. The conversation with He He that day crept back to her mind. Being escorted by someone whose name and face she didn't even know reminded her of the two disciples she saw today—her first glimpse of the faces within the Tian Ji Sect. Blind for eleven years, the reemergence of sight brought her a myriad of sensory overloads, each visual memory etched into her mind as novelty. Fu Zhi knew this rediscovered light would soon fade away once more. Thinking of Tian Ji, the image of Mu Hua—the respectful and gentle smiling girl in her indigo robes—repeatedly resurfaced in her mind. Mu Hua, a disciple of the Grand Elder, naturally positioned herself closer to Tian Ji—chosen by fate, not unlike common cultivators choosing apprentices randomly. Elder disciples were rare in Tian Ji; Mu Hua's youth had earned her Tian Ji's favor, giving her the privilege of accompanying the Master. The grand-niece held a significant reputation, often assisting the Master in managing sect affairs. This time, entrusted with liaising with the Jade Cang Mountain team regarding destiny—a responsibility valued far beyond that with Tai Xu Sect—Mu Hua had presented her report in front of Tian Ji and the elders. Though Fu Zhi had been absent-minded during the briefing, Mu Hua's calm and confident disposition was impossible to miss. She, more than Fu Zhi, seemed suited for the leadership. The senior sisters were exceptionally talented, having been assisting with duties since the Master showed signs of decline. With Mu Hua's capabilities, passing down Tian Ji to their lineage made perfect sense. Yet, Fu Zhi couldn't help but tremble. Reason dictated such succession was appropriate. But if the Master chose her to inherit the position, what then? Every elder, apart from her, had deep-rooted foundations—unmatched by even the disciples of her senior sisters. The master's hints during their private discourse when everyone else was dismissed only stirred Fu Zhi’s unease, driving her questions into a relentless loop in her mind. The young girl turned back to find Fu Zhi's expression distant and vacant, guessing that Grandmaster had shared something in private. Master had instructed her to wait—aiming, as she had in earlier interactions, to foster a connection with her rather unfamiliar Little Uncle-Master. Alas, her initial approach had been wrong, and Fu Zhi likely wouldn't open up to her now. The girl lifted her chin, "Didn't walk yourself tired again, Little Uncle-Master? If you're being slow, should I just carry you back again?" Fu Zhi snapped out of her thoughts, flustered, "No need, it's not urgent. I can manage these few steps." Being carried only made her feel utterly useless, constantly watched when escorted by a junior, leaving her uneasy—even in the deep night absent of other disciples. She didn’t want to endure that embarrassment again. The meeting had convened late to accommodate her task. "Steps ahead—you're frail enough to avoid that Pool, looking sick and wheezing after every few steps." Fu Zhi turned pale. Compared to the beautiful faces she was now accustomed to, her own former indifference as a blind woman was gone. Thoughts of Xiang Shi Yan, He He, and Mu Hua filled her mind—a bony skeleton of herself—her heart unable to calm down. Perhaps an affection for beauty is common, and insecurity understandable, yet every such thought made her feel insincere, pushing herself not to dwell on it but trapping her in those sentiments. Fu Zhi couldn’t even remember her appearance since her blindness. A bizarre image lingered in her mind: her sickly outline curling up—uncertain if it could fill the shadow of a puppet. Even before the Rejuvenation Pool's initiation, her health was frail but nowhere near as weak as now. Fu Zhi clenched the girl’s sleeve tighter, myriad thoughts flashing through her mind—Master’s silent instruction, Xiang Shi Yan gripping her wrist with chilling eyes, and— The smile of the demon whispering "deal" into her ear. She tripped, her legs buckling as the girl realized the person behind her was drenched in cold sweat, unfocused eyes skimming the polished floor under the dim light, droplets of sweat landing on its gleaming surface, throwing the girl into panic. She hurriedly supported Fu Zhi, preventing her fall. Despite Fu Zhi being six years older, her serene nature sometimes revealed an elderly sadness in stark contrast with her appearance. Fu Zhi's expressions seldom varied, yet the abrupt helplessness in her features disarmed the girl. The so-called deal—the precondition was Fu Zhi becoming Tian Ji. Fu Zhi believed herself prepared; however, when the Master painstakingly wrote into her palm the injunction to avoid He He's interference and focus on forging ties with Qin Miao, reality dawned harshly that escape was impossible. She gazed into darkness, faced with the Master’s quiet, serious demeanor, whose silent pressure suffocated her. Fu Zhi questioned herself, unknowingly placing more trust in He He than any sect members, until she belatedly felt fear post-Huaihai City incident. Yes, she feared He He. "Are you alright? I was saying..." Fu Zhi tried to shrug off the girl's supportive grip, but upon attempting to stand, she found herself breathless, leaving her no choice but to lean against the supportive arm. Her ears buzzed, her body shivering with cold, life seemingly draining away, as she clutched at her collar, gasping for air. The girl lifted her face, frantically speaking to her vacant eyes, "I'll... I'll get someone. You—" Appearance deceivingly drained of strength, Fu Zhi unexpectedly caught the girl’s wrist when she brushed her cheek. Her clear, dark eyes widened, producing a strange illusion of meeting in gaze with the astonished girl. Fu Zhi, her regularity marred by her irregular breaths, spoke with a stark chill, "Master instructed... Second Senior Sister to deal with me, you were merely ordered to watch over me... leave me to my fate then." Prolonged silence, mirroring her stoicism before the Master. "You've grown thinner," the Master wrote in her palm. She gently caressed from Fu Zhi's forehead to her chin, conveying tenderness for her beloved disciple's weariness. Yet, she said nothing about abandoning the use of the Rejuvenation Pool, shifting the topic instead to the situation concerning destiny. The Master always liked to stroke her with such affection, evoking deep-seated memories of her mother—a soft hand smoothing her hair. Once, she longed to see the Master’s face. But now, she feared that the eyes looking back might not be as pure as she imagined, but mixed with something else entirely. Fu Zhi forcibly withdrew her hand, gripping the Master’s wrist tightly. Deaf and perhaps unaware of her disciple's teeth-gritted tone, the Master serenely extended another hand, signaling she didn’t understand Fu Zhi's intent. She wrote: "Why didn’t you die?" Fu Zhi's fingers lightly tapped the Master's palm, noticing how the leader of Tian Ji Sect, a cultivator of over seven centuries, nervously clenched her fist, almost capturing Fu Zhi’s fingers, only to nonchalantly open them again. In a long, agonizing silence, Fu Zhi wrote extensively on the Master's palm, avoiding mentioning “Heaven’s Way” or “Fate” directly, using their usual coded tapping language instead. "Heaven commands us to uphold the cultivation world, to aid in eradicating demons, yet why did it reveal that calamity-bound star's fate to you years ago, such critical secrets to a tribulation-taker?" Fu Zhi tapped a certain knuckle, indicating the cost and consequences. "Why then are you only deaf and mute, as she thrives alive today—" The Master slowly grasped her trembling hand, tracing a few strokes on her wrist, hinting she should go rest. Though also at the Golden Core stage, Fu Zhi had never dueled anyone and was already breathless, making it easy for the younger disciple to break free and counter. Her junior grabbed her up and carried her on her back, "If you can talk so much, it seems you’re fine. Let's head back." Fu Zhi's arms hung beside the girl’s neck, resting her cheek on her slender shoulder. Blindness had sharpened her other senses, though aside from sounds, only scents remained memorable for her. At the Jade Cang Mountain inn, she noticed Mu Hua’s distinct scent—a blend of paper and ink—as they passed, and another elder disciple's hydrangea fragrance. It was like post-rain humidity rising, lifting floral scents from the courtyard to the attic—a scent that mixed with the girl’s warmth, offering a little comfort. On nights when no one was stationed by the pool, Fu Zhi would sit in her damp clothes by the beam imagining a sea of flowers. Hearing the girl's clothing brush against flower twigs, dew flicking, Fu Zhi reached out, her hand brushing across a cluster of large blooms, "How are the hydrangeas blooming?" "Shut up," the girl replied, "I don’t feel like listening to you right now." Night had deepened, and as dawn approached, Tian Ji sat upon her mat, gazing down with an expression devoid of emotions. Her eyes watched silently over the girl scanning the books in her quarters, her hands resting quietly on her knees, occasionally glancing at the retreating darkness outside the window. "So this is where all the books on external alchemy have gone, moved to your own room," the girl remarked, sitting amidst a pile of books, her eyes casually wandering over the illustrations and text. She looked up, smiling at the woman whose appearance hadn’t changed much, trying to match her with the flustered, stuttering young cultivator she once knew. "You’ve made it pretty well, surviving aren’t you?" Tian Ji remained silent—it wasn’t like she could speak anyway, probably unable to hear either. He He, slightly bored, approached her. **Author's Note:** Family, I'm back! Sorry for delaying a day longer than promised… I’ve introduced new characters, which may seem confusing at first, apologies for that QAQ Fu Zhi may seem a bit defeated here, not quite what I initially envisioned. It feels like she's becoming a pushover bullied by He He. It seems like this good person can only be stuck as a passive character! Thanks to the angels who cast Dragon Tickets or watered the Nutrient Solution between 2022-05-15 35:59:30 to 2022-07-05 35:58:52~ Special thanks to the angel who gave a landmine: Akolndgknng 1; Thanks to the angels who watered the Nutrient Solution: Hotpot Egg 74 bottles; Nine Thousand Miles 85 bottles; Lantern Moon 50 bottles; Akolndgknng 11 bottles; Green Gone 10 bottles; Tea Kitten Su Lemon 5 bottles; Abu 5 bottles; Crane Manager 4 bottles; Cheap Chocolate 1 bottle; Thank you all for your overwhelming support, I will continue to work hard! This site has no pop-up ads, permanent domain (xbanxia.com)