This time, Mei Man looked around carefully and deliberately took the paths with fewer people.
She had not gone far from the archery range when she spotted the cave residence her senior sister had mentioned.
But there was no young attendant guarding the entrance.
Mei Man searched the area, yet could not find a single person. The main gate was tightly shut as well.
By rights, she should have turned back. Her senior sister had warned her repeatedly never to enter the cave residence.
But she had come specifically to meet Shen Shushi. If she went back now, would all this effort not have been for nothing?
Naturally, she was unwilling to leave. She stepped forward and knocked.
To her surprise, the moment her knuckles touched the door ring, the main gate creaked open a crack.
It wasn’t locked?
Mei Man was delighted. It was as if even Heaven itself was helping her.
Without the slightest hesitation, she pushed the gate open and entered.
A winding path of blue-gray stone followed the river into the distance. On either side grew jade-like flowers, celestial herbs, and immortal trees. It was a paradise of pristine mountains and limpid waters.
But Mei Man had no time to admire the scenery. If she could convince Shen Shushi to take her as his disciple, she would have endless time to enjoy it all. If she failed, then no matter how much she saw now, it would be useless.
She followed the path ahead, secretly pondering how to persuade him to accept a mortal as his disciple.
She had no spiritual root, but apart from spiritual arts and talisman-making, Shen Shushi was also skilled in medicine-making. That did not require much spiritual power. If she devoted herself to studying it, perhaps he might make an exception and take her as his disciple.
Buildings of carved jade and ornate towers gradually appeared ahead. That should be Shen Shushi’s residence.
Mei Man immediately put on an injured act, dragging her formerly broken left leg as she limped forward.
She encountered no one along the way. She did not even hear the cries of birds or insects. After a while, she gradually realized that something was wrong, and slowed her pace considerably.
“Immortal Master?”
She tried calling out.
The only answer was a deathly silence.
Mei Man stopped. The soles of her shoes scraped against the stone path with an ear-piercing sound.
The pavilions and towers stood quietly among the verdant pines and cypresses. Wisps of colorful mist drifted through the air, and the faint phantom images of azure phoenixes and iridescent birds could be seen dancing overhead.
It was an auspicious, otherworldly paradise, yet a sudden chill crept across Mei Man’s back. It was icy cold, traveling along her spine straight to the top of her head.
Her instincts told her that she should not continue forward. Her scalp prickled, and every faint sound around her suddenly seemed magnified.
Her heartbeat, her breathing, the rustling of leaves stirred by the wind, the sound of running water…
Amid the jumbled, whispering noises, she suddenly heard a faint creak.
It sounded like a dry leaf being crushed beneath someone’s foot.
Mei Man whipped her head around.
A young attendant’s corpse abruptly entered her view.
She jolted in fright and nearly cried out. Only after she forced herself to calm down did she realize that it was not a person at all.
It was a wooden puppet.
The Qiu family also had plenty of puppets used for various tasks. Once infused with spiritual power or affixed with a talisman, they looked no different from real people.
But the puppet on the ground was battered and broken. Its face was mangled beyond recognition, and its body was covered in broad, deep grooves that looked like claw marks from some enormous beast.
Mei Man’s unease instantly surged to its peak. She took a step back, instinctively wanting to run.
At that moment, she heard a faint “crack.”
Like a withered leaf being crushed underfoot.
She turned her head sharply.
A pair of vivid green animal eyes met hers.
The instant she saw them, every muscle in her body tensed. She did not dare move a finger, terrified that any motion might awaken the creature’s savage instincts.
The beast slowly emerged from the dense woods, allowing her to see it clearly.
It was a wolf.
But it was far larger than an ordinary wolf, nearly the size of a full-grown tiger. Its smooth, fluffy fur was white, and its tail, hanging behind it, was as sharp as a blade.
Once it emerged from the shadows, its eyes shifted from bright green to a honey-brown. They were no longer so eerily cold, but they remained brimming with aggression.
Mei Man guessed that it was Shen Shushi’s spirit beast. Hoping that it could understand human speech, she slowly backed away while keeping her face toward it.
“I’ve come to deliver medicine to Immortal Master Shen. Do you know where he is?”
The white wolf suddenly stopped.
Thinking that it really did understand her, Mei Man relaxed slightly.
“If you do, please show me the way.”
As soon as she finished speaking, it lowered its back until its body was nearly pressed to the ground. Its head remained slightly raised, exposing a row of pale, razor-sharp teeth, while a threatening growl rolled in its throat.
Mei Man’s heart clenched. The mangled puppet flashed through her mind.
Wasn’t it supposed to be a spirit beast?
In the next instant, it leaped forward, lunging straight at her.
Mei Man no longer had the luxury of pretending to limp. She spun around and sprinted toward the enclosing wall.
There was a river on the other side. The current was somewhat swift, but she was a strong swimmer. Once she got into the water and put some distance between them, she could use the communication talisman her senior sister had given her.
She quickly came up with an escape plan, her eyes fixed on the wall ahead as she drove her legs forward with all her strength.
Behind her came the rapidly approaching huffing of the beast. The wall drew closer and closer, until it was only three steps away.
Two steps—
One step—
Mei Man raised her arm high, reaching for the top of the wall.
But for some unknown reason, there seemed to be an invisible barrier above it. The moment her hand touched it, a powerful force sent it flying back.
At the same time, the wolf caught hold of the back of her collar in its teeth.
The scene before her abruptly twisted and changed, light and shadow spinning into a chaotic blur.
The wolf flung her backward by the clothes.
Mei Man crashed to the ground and rolled several times.
The wolf pounced on top of her, one enormous paw pinning her shoulder down. Its paw was unbearably heavy, and the force was enough to render her entire left arm immobile.
A short, strangled sound escaped her throat. Her head was still spinning, and all she could see were pale, pointed teeth.
The wolf had opened its jaws wide. It suddenly lowered its head and bit down toward her neck.
Mei Man was so terrified that she could hardly make a sound. Her right hand shot up to block its mouth.
A shrill, agonized howl exploded through the air.
She squeezed her eyes shut and turned her face away from the blood splattering toward her.
Her right hand was clutching a broken arrow. Its sharp tip had pierced through the wolf’s upper palate, while the arrowhead protruded slightly from the nasal bone of its snout, gleaming with a cold, silvery light.
Mei Man opened her eyes and silently thanked her miserly nature for not throwing away the broken arrow she had salvaged from Qiu Heyang.
The pain was clearly severe. The wolf loosened its paw and let out a miserable howl, frantically trying to claw at the short shaft jutting from its snout.
Mei Man felt no sympathy for the beast. If she had not had the broken arrow in her hand, she would have been the one screaming now—no, perhaps it would have bitten through her neck before she even had the chance to cry out.
The wolf was still above her. Mei Man could only use her elbows to drag herself free.
She scrambled awkwardly to her feet and ran straight toward the main gate without hesitation, pulling out the communication talisman her senior sister had given her.
But before she could tear it open, a heavy weight crashed onto her back.
The wolf had caught up with her.
Damn this beast!
Mei Man tightened her grip on the other half of the broken arrow and turned around, preparing to stab it.
But what entered her field of vision this time was not a pair of deep-brown animal eyes.
It was a broad, firm, snow-white chest, spattered with tiny droplets of blood.
Mei Man froze for a moment, her mind going completely blank.
A human?
And not only that… a man without a stitch of clothing.
The sudden turn of events left her dazed. It was only after he had tackled her to the ground that she lifted her head to look at his face.
Silver hair spilled loose around his face, his eyes were shaped like willow leaves, and his complexion was deathly pale. On the right side of his nose was a conspicuously tiny, tiny blood-red eye. If not for the blood trickling down from it, it would have looked more like a small crimson mole.
Could this person actually be—
Shen Shushi?
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