Chapter 3: Nearly Met My End

Lingxia Village.

The village was filled with the scent of mud and grass after the heavy rain.

Villagers emerged from their homes, cleaning the muddy areas in front of their houses.

Suddenly, a loud shout came from the distance: “The Warriors are coming down the mountain!”

The busy villagers were startled, quickly dropping what they were holding, grabbing their children, and rushing back inside their homes.

In no time.

Every household had their doors tightly shut, and the village became eerily empty, as if no one was there.

At the foot of the mountain, in one household.

Zhang Da Niang held her sleeping youngest daughter in her arms, hiding in a corner.

Her husband, Lao Zhao, gripped a hoe, standing nervously behind the door.

Their eldest son, Zhao Tiezhu, also stood beside his father with a shovel in hand, his fingers turning white from gripping it so tightly.

In this era, martial prowess was revered.

Warriors were symbols of status and strength; even one was enough to intimidate, let alone a group.

If Lingxia Village were to be slaughtered, no one would care.

Outside.

Footsteps approached, and faint voices could be heard.

“This mountain is impassable; we’ll have to take a detour.”

“No choice, with that person guarding the peak, who dares to force their way through?”

The leading Warrior remained silent, his brow furrowed.

His wound was still bleeding, and his entire upper body was in pain.

It was clear that the woman on the mountain peak had only given him a warning.

Had he stepped into the courtyard back then, he would likely be a corpse by now!

Who would have thought such a person was hidden in Lingxia Village…

The more he thought about it, the more terrified he became. His chest was bleeding, and his back was drenched in cold sweat—truly a mix of fire and ice.

Suddenly.

“Waaah—”

A child’s cry broke the silence of the village.

The Warriors turned their heads, looking in the direction of the sound.

Inside the house.

Zhang Da Niang’s eyes reddened with anxiety as she tried to soothe her daughter, but no matter what she did, the girl kept crying.

Lao Zhao and Zhao Tiezhu were ashen-faced, their bodies stiff.

No one had expected the youngest daughter, who had been sound asleep, to start crying at this moment!

The entire family was so tense they barely dared to breathe.

To make matters worse, the footsteps were now heading straight toward their house!

Creak—

The door was pushed open.

The family’s hearts sank.

Backlit by the light, the group of Warriors outside looked fierce and menacing, each armed with finely crafted weapons, their blades gleaming coldly.

In an era where martial prowess was revered, who cared about the lives of poor villagers?

Everyone could foresee the fate that awaited them…

Zhang Da Niang fell to her knees with a thud.

She began kowtowing, pleading as she did so: “Sirs, have mercy… the child is young, she didn’t mean to disturb you!”

But unexpectedly.

The leading Warrior spoke softly, “It’s fine, children cry—it’s natural. Please, stand up.”

Zhang Da Niang thought she had misheard, her pleas pausing as she looked up.

She saw the Warrior place the large blade from his back at the doorway and say, “My surname is Qiu, and my given name is Yue. My brothers and I are passing through and would like to ask for some water. May we?”

The other Warriors also set down their weapons, their faces now smiling as they looked at the family, with no hint of hostility.

Before long.

Qiu Yue was sitting at the table with the family, chatting happily. Lao Zhao brought out a plate of peanuts and a jar of wine.

To be able to exchange a few words with martial artists was something ordinary people could only dream of!

After a few rounds of wine, Qiu Yue, enduring the pain from the wound on his chest, began to inquire about the person on the mountain peak.

Zhang Da Niang recalled, “There was indeed a lady who passed through Lingxia Village and went up the mountain some time ago. She was veiled at the time, so I couldn’t see her face… But that mountain is so high! I don’t know when they built the stone steps; there used to be only cliffs before…”

Qiu Yue was instantly startled!

A mountain trail had been quietly constructed?

It must be known that Ling Mountain is steep, and all the stone steps leading up are made of stone blocks.

What a massive project!

Who was this woman? How did she manage it? Why did she come to seclude herself on Ling Mountain?

Suppressing his astonishment, he asked, “Did she say anything?”

Zhang Da Niang: “I remember she left a sentence before going up the mountain.”

Qiu Yue leaned forward eagerly: “What did she say?”

Zhang Da Niang: “She said, ‘If there’s any trouble, you can come up the mountain.'”

Qiu Yue’s mind ‘exploded,’ and his face turned pale.

“If there’s any trouble, you can come up the mountain…”

This was clearly a declaration that she was protecting Lingxia Village!

Qiu Yue was terrified; if he dared to harm any of the villagers, he would surely meet his end!

Thinking of this, he stood up and placed some money on the table: “I had no idea that Lingxia Village was under the protection of such a master. I have offended greatly and humbly ask for your kind words in front of the immortal.”

…………

At the thatched cottage on the peak of Ling Mountain.

After finishing her meal and cleaning up, Xiao Ranshu started looking for a mirror. Unable to find one, she returned to the courtyard and looked at her reflection in the water of the large vat.

Wow!

She was shocked!

What a stunning beauty!

Even with mud on her cheeks, it couldn’t diminish her breathtaking beauty, instead adding a touch of a fallen celestial’s fragile allure.

Xiu Ranshu’s eyes instantly lit up.

Pretty sister, let’s stick together!

Suddenly, she realized that the reflection in the water was now herself…

Disappointed and disdainful, she decided not to stick together!

She placed the incense stick back into the incense burner in the main room, bowed casually, and continued rummaging through the house.

She found two sets of clothes, but both were white.

How much did the Original Owner love white?

It’s like mourning… Ah, never mind!

Xiao Ranshu bowed to the incense stick again.

My apologies…

She changed into clean clothes, washed the muddy ones, and hung them to dry. Then she spent the entire afternoon searching every corner of the house.

Unfortunately, apart from the house and a pitifully small amount of furniture, the Original Owner had left only two sets of clothes and a medicine jar.

Not a single coin!

Xiao Ranshu had been poor in her previous life, but never to this extent.

Truly at the end of her rope!

She leaned against a large stone in the courtyard, looking up at the sky in frustration.

“I really want to eat chicken…”

Xiao Ranshu murmured to herself, not wanting to touch those tough wild vegetables for dinner again.

As soon as she finished speaking.

Footsteps sounded on the stone steps outside the door.

Lao Zhao and Zhang Da Niang were cautiously peeking into the courtyard, with Zhao Tiezhu following behind his parents, holding something wrapped in thick cloth.

After the three of them climbed up, panting, they found the courtyard gate wide open.

The first thing they saw was the exquisite layout of the Four Waters Returning to the Hall. Though the courtyard was small, it had a more artistic atmosphere than the courtyards of wealthy families in Liangcheng, exuding an extraordinary aura, with even the angles of the floor tiles seemingly meticulously designed.

Then.

They saw Xiao Ranshu leaning casually against a stone pillar.

She was dressed in spotless white, like a celestial maiden, her posture relaxed, her eyes ancient and calm, as if she had seen through all things in the world and was indifferent to the mundane.

At this moment, Xiao Ranshu looked at the three people outside the gate with such tranquility.

Zhao Tiezhu was the first to be unable to withstand such a gaze. He immediately lowered his head to look at the ground, his entire face flushing red as if it were about to drip blood!

Lao Zhao and Zhang Da Niang were also stunned for a while. The woman before them had passed through Lingxia Village not long ago while going up the mountain, but she had been veiled at the time. Today was the first time they had seen her true appearance.

She was truly breathtakingly beautiful!