Chapter 9

After Li Wendao recovered from his illness, the devout old madam firmly believed that the Li family had escaped disaster thanks to the Buddha’s protection. She insisted on staying at the temple for a while. Li Mu had to accompany her, along with Li Zhi, who the Ning family had abandoned.

After Li Wendao safely returned home, the Second Master of the Li family calmed down. Although humiliated, he didn’t want his daughter to be truly abandoned. He even decided that as long as the elders of the Ning family personally came to apologize and properly took Li Zhi back, he would pretend he hadn’t seen the divorce letter. However, during the days when Li Wendao was bedridden, the Ning family made no move, not even sending someone to the Li family to explain; they just dragged things out.

The Second Master of the Li family learned from his disreputable friends that the Ning family was waiting for the assassination case to be resolved. They were reluctant to end the marriage but also feared being implicated by the Li family, so they kept stalling. Enraged, the Second Master sent people to the Ning family to demand the dowry that Li Zhi hadn’t had time to take when she was driven out. He also had the servants curse the Ning family at their gate, calling them despicable and unfaithful, making the matter widely known and completely severing the marriage.

The old madam, fearing that Li Zhi might not be able to cope, took her to Mingtai Temple as well.

After staying for a few days, Li Mu found that life at Mingtai Temple was much more comfortable than at home. There were no frequent visitors coming to pay respects to the old madam. She could read, practice calligraphy, exercise daily, and even find a secluded path for a walk to get some fresh air.

Li Yunxi was busy with her studies and rarely visited, but Li Mu’s third and sixth brothers did. One was her half-brother, accustomed to idleness; the other was Li Zhi’s full brother, who cared deeply for his sister and often brought things to the temple for them.

Li Zhi also took things in stride. Besides accompanying the old madam in copying and reciting Buddhist scriptures, she taught Li Mu how to brew tea, blend fragrances, and make rouge. Occasionally, she had Li Mu teach her crochet. When she found medical texts among Li Mu’s books, she would read a few pages with her. Life was relatively relaxed.

A few days ago, the family sent many light summer clothes and new jewelry. Madam Qian decided to give Li Zhi a few more pieces. Whether out of pity or guilt, she didn’t blame Li Zhi for being abandoned by her husband’s family. After all, the Ning family’s actions were disgraceful and couldn’t be blamed on their daughter.

As for Li Zhi’s future, there was no clear plan yet, but with family around, it was impossible to send her to Mingyue Nunnery to become a nun.

Li Mu thought this was good; at least she wouldn’t drown like in the book.

Li Mu switched to a new calligraphy practice sheet and began practicing. As she practiced, her thoughts drifted back to the plot she remembered.

In the book, Li Zhi is abandoned and becomes a nun at Mingyue Nunnery, but her story doesn’t end there. Later in the novel, she kills someone—King Yan’s brother, Gu Chi. Their first encounter is when Gu Chi, injured, is found by Li Zhi. Unaware of his identity, she saves him out of kindness. They became acquainted, and the book didn’t depict any romantic interactions between them. It was just one quietly practicing and the other silently repaying the life-saving grace by driving away ill-intentioned people. They knew each other for eight years until Li Yunxi, who had become the male protagonist’s consort, came to find her second cousin and accidentally discovered that King Yan’s brother had contact with Li Zhi. She revealed his identity to Li Zhi. Later, Grand Princess Zhaoming was imprisoned, Lin Qiwu died in the harem, and Gu Chi, returning from outside, was pursued by people sent by the male protagonist. No matter how skilled Gu Chi was, he couldn’t withstand the endless pursuit. Severely injured, he fled to the vicinity of Mingyue Nunnery and met Li Zhi again as if time had returned to their first meeting. The difference was that Li Zhi saved him the first time, but she drew his sword this time and stabbed him in the chest. Gu Chi, spitting blood, still struggled to pull Li Zhi away, saving her from a hidden arrow. Then, someone came out of the shadows with a bow. Seeing that Gu Chi didn’t want Li Zhi harmed, he didn’t bother to do anything more and took Gu Chi’s body away. As for Li Zhi, she was clearly someone who loved to cry, but since learning Gu Chi’s identity, she never cried again. She didn’t cry when she killed Gu Chi, nor when he saved her. Even when his body was taken away, she didn’t shed a tear. Only on a sunny afternoon did she jump into the river, ending what she considered an unremarkable life.

A very clichéd story, but classic enough.

When reading, Li Mu suspected that the author of “Drunken Phoenix” set up the plot where married women wouldn’t be implicated by their natal families just to arrange this storyline and deliberately hurt the readers.

Thinking of this, Li Mu’s writing became heavier, cursing the heartless author who loved to torment readers.

After practicing a few sheets, Li Mu felt she hadn’t made much progress recently. Coupled with the old sorrow she had just swallowed, she decided to go for a walk to clear her mind.

The guest courtyard of Mingtai Temple was very quiet. Li Mu had observed that in the afternoon, with the sun high, there were usually few people walking around. Today, with a lecture taking place, there were even fewer people.

With Qianyun following behind her, Li Mu held a pinwheel her third brother had brought her. Walking in the direction of the wind, she watched the pinwheel spin rapidly, her steps quickening until Qianyun called out to her, making her slow down.

At the end of the path was a pavilion. As usual, Li Mu sat there for a while before getting up to head back. She was pleased that she hadn’t encountered anyone along the way, but then she faced her first mishap of the day—

She missed a step while descending the stairs, fell, scraped her knee, and twisted her ankle. Her ankle swelled up, but Li Mu thought it wasn’t a big deal and that she could walk back if she endured the pain.

Qianyun hurriedly helped her back to the pavilion, insisting that a sprain shouldn’t be taken lightly, as it could lead to a permanent limp if not appropriately treated.

Li Mu: “…” Really?

Li Mu didn’t think a sprain was a big problem, but she feared she might be too accustomed to modern medicine and thus overly confident. She decided to listen to Qianyun and wait for her to call Nanny Zhao and a monk skilled in medicine from the temple to check her injury.

Qianyun initially wanted to carry Li Mu back, but Li Mu refused without a second thought. She hadn’t been carried since graduating from elementary school. Since transmigrating over a year ago, her height had shot up from 1.6 meters to 1.68 meters, the same as before transmigrating, making her half a head taller than Qianyun. Having Qianyun carry her felt awkward no matter how she thought about it.

Qianyun ran back along the path they had come while Li Mu leaned against the railing, waiting idly and singing songs in her mind. She thought no transmigrator could resist singing modern songs in their mind, especially during exams.

Li Mu mentally sang from pop to rock, then from rock to ancient-style music. Eventually, out of boredom, she started humming softly along with the spinning of the pinwheel.

“Amitabha, this way, Your Highness King Yan.”

On a distant path, a monk guided Lin Que down the road, stopping Gu Chi and the guards accompanying King Yan: “The abbot will only see His Highness King Yan. Please wait here.”

Gu Chi frowned, and the fierce-looking guards placed their hands on the hilts of their swords, creating a tense atmosphere. Lin Que, however, casually instructed, “Then you all wait here.”

Gu Chi: “Brother.”

Lin Que ignored him: “Please lead the way.”

The monk led Lin Que further in, the path becoming more secluded. Initially, they could still see a few temple buildings, but soon, only lush trees surrounded them.

Lin Que seemed oblivious to the strangeness, casually asking, “Master, have you ever been to Luoyang?”

The monk: “Amitabha, this humble monk has never been to Luoyang.”

Lin Que smiled: “Really? Your accent sounds like you’re from Luoyang.”

The monk fell silent, and Lin Que continued talking to himself: “I’ve been there. Don’t laugh, Master, but I went there to kill my maternal uncle and looted his mansion’s gold and silver, solving the court’s financial crisis.”

“I found this method quite effective, so I killed a few more uncles. If there were no uncles, cousins would do. Even distant relatives, though it felt a bit awkward, had to be dealt with.” Lin Que’s tone was light as if discussing visiting relatives during the New Year, not killing them: “Fortunately, the late emperor had many offspring, and I successively went to Wuchang and Chengdu…”

The monk’s breath hitched slightly.

“Hmm? Was it Chengdu? King Chu’s branch should have been wiped out. Could it be that Ah Chi was negligent?” Lin Que suddenly changed the topic, speaking to himself, startling the monk into stopping.

Then Lin Que remembered to tell the monk where he had slipped up: “Do you know that the monks at Mingtai Temple love to call me ‘benefactor’?”

The monk turned, glaring at him, while a dozen black-clad assassins with swords and knives emerged from the woods.

Seeing this, Lin Que genuinely smiled.

The monk, unnerved by his smile, showed no emotion and ordered the assassins, “Kill!”

…

A strong wind suddenly blew from afar. Li Mu, humming a song, raised the pinwheel and swayed it to the rhythm of her humming. But she didn’t hold it steady, leading to her second mishap of the day—the pinwheel slipped from her hand.

The pinwheel was blown into the small woods. If she had a phone, Li Mu would have taken a picture and added some lines to make a “slipped away” meme.

Li Mu didn’t immediately get up to chase it. She waited until the pinwheel stopped, ensuring it wouldn’t move again, then stood up, leaning on the railing, and hopped out of the pavilion on one foot, bouncing towards the pinwheel.

She placed her sprained foot on the ground and bent down to pick up the pinwheel when she suddenly heard a dull thud of something heavy falling.

She shivered slightly, straightened up with the pinwheel in hand, and stiffly turned her head towards the sound.

Under the shimmering golden light filtering through the trees, she saw a tall man standing with his back to her. At his feet lay a black-clad figure, either dead or unconscious. Looking further, she saw a few more black-clad figures scattered on the ground. Beyond that, her limited vision couldn’t make out clearly, but she guessed those black shapes were also people.

Had he fought his way here?

Bright red blood dripped from the blade of the long sword in the man’s hand. Li Mu silently corrected herself.

He had killed his way here.

Li Mu encountered her third mishap of the day—witnessing a murder scene.