The faint moonlight cast silver streaks through the leaves. The night was as cold as being sealed in a coffin. Steam rose from the hot spring, forming a hazy curtain that obscured the lush spring scenery. A suspicious red-eyed crow folded its large wings, gracefully landing on a nearby bamboo branch. It looked around, its long beak cawing a few times before it changed direction and flew off. Despite the immortal aura in its eyes, the creature was still too weak to see through the strictly woven barrier array here. It failed to detect that the person its master sought – the Demoness Su Ling, traitor of the Huadong Sect, and thief of the Heart-Severing Divine Sword – was right there by the steaming stream.
Among the Nine Great Sects of the immortal realm, there was no one who didn't know the woman named Su Ling. She was the sole female disciple of Venerable Feng Ze. If one were to compare the great names of the immortal realm, Feng Ze of Huadong was a symbol of pride in immortal cultivation. Not only did he achieve enlightenment at the age of 22, the youngest among Huadong's leaders, but he also possessed profound cultivation and was the author of the Thirteen-Part Scripture sword art.
For hundreds of years, Feng Ze had virtually no rivals. His name was synonymous with endless praise, lauded for his divine immortal arts, his exceptional appearance, and his compassionate heart like a Bodhisattva. Everything was perfectly flawless until Su Ling appeared. The Huadong Sect typically accepted disciples between the ages of 10 and 15. While there were no strict rules, female immortals usually took in girls, and male immortals were responsible for boys. Thus, Feng Ze had nearly 20 disciples, all male and all exceptionally brilliant. Until a little girl named Su Ling entered Huadong, insisting on taking him as her master. On that day, the "Demoness" was just a 10-year-old girl, with sparkling big eyes, a pretty small mouth, and two sparse tufts of hair on her head. Feng Ze, being gentle by nature, couldn't bear to refuse the girl's earnest request, and so he accepted Su Ling as his disciple. If he had known what would transpire later, he would probably never have acted on that moment of soft-heartedness!
The affair between Feng Ze and Su Ling was a scandal that had smoldered for a hundred years, never truly dying down. Who could have imagined that the little girl, upon growing up, would harbor impure feelings for her master? This was a great taboo among the sects. Disciples could respect, admire, or fear their masters, but they absolutely could not harbor romantic feelings for them. The teachings of the sages dictated this; to defy it was incestuous, leading to expulsion from the immortal gate and a lifetime of ridicule and shame.
Knowing this, Su Ling remained stubborn. She was inherently a headstrong girl, never surrendering to fate, never letting rules bind her, free as a bird soaring through the sky. As much as Feng Ze had once been proud of her and praised her, in that moment, he was equally furious and cruel towards her.
Clearly there was love, but why not acknowledge it?
Who had called “Ling’er” in a daze?
Who had embraced her with breath and kisses?
Who had been lost in passion, only to cast everything aside upon waking?
If you asked Su Ling who she loved most in the world, it was her master.
And who she hated most in the world, it was also her master!
The crow's caw from the bamboo branch roused her. Su Ling groggily looked around. Inside the barrier, intimacy permeated the air; outside, a purple hue shifted like a watery mirror. She felt a headache coming on, and habitually pressed her fist against her forehead. Just then, another hand gently helped her rub her temples, a familiar and natural gesture, as if it happened every day.
“A headache again?”
The voice was low, soft as a breeze. Su Ling struggled to open her eyes and look at the figure beside her.
– Bao'er… what time is it?
– It's the Chou hour. Go back to sleep.
Su Ling pouted, stretched out her legs, yawned widely, and then whined,
– Good Bao'er, come here and let Shifu hug you. It's so cold!
It was clearly quite warm by the stream, but Bao'er didn't object, obediently lying down. He sighed, watching the girl beside him pull him into her embrace. As a man, this was incredibly embarrassing, but because it was Su Ling, he could only swallow his resentment and let her hug him however she pleased.
– What are you sighing about? Let me tell you, when you were three years old and still in diapers, Shifu hugged you just like this. You little brat, you were such a nuisance, always trailing after me. Now that you've grown up, you want to be unfilial to Shifu, huh? It's truly like raising a viper in your bosom; the older you get, the harder you are to control!
She grumbled for a while, then vaguely drifted back to sleep, truly like a pig. Bao'er silently listened to her steady breathing, pressing his cheek against her rising and falling chest, only a faint scent of orchids wafting into his nose. He waited until she was sound asleep before shifting, completely changing their position. Now she was nestled in his arms, his masculine dignity finally restored. Bao'er smiled faintly, looking down at the girl sleeping so innocently. She was his benefactor, his Shifu, his mother, his sister, his family, and also his woman. The relationship between them could not be described with words. From the moment he gained consciousness, his eyes had only ever seen Su Ling. His world revolved around her.
He knew she had a past, and that past always caused her pain. In truth, Su Ling was very childish. Dissatisfied with Feng Ze, she took him as her disciple, then used her actions to prove that a master-disciple relationship wasn't impossible. This very act caused her to be criticized by the immortal sects, who called her a "demoness" for corrupting the dignity of the immortal realm. Su Ling, however, defiantly declared that since she already had a bad reputation, she might as well be shameless. She would show them, she would be even worse to truly earn the title of "demoness"! After all, she had already been expelled from Huadong and was no longer bound by the rules of the immortal sects. Her life was free and wandering, and provoking those old immortals who loved to preach was her greatest joy.
As for him, he cared even less. An "unorthodox" disciple, unrecognized by any immortal sect, with no status or reputation in the immortal realm. Bao'er desired nothing. He had followed her since he was a child, learned what she taught, listened to what she said; his worldview was created by Su Ling. That was why he didn't understand what shame or humiliation meant, just like now, holding her in his arms, uncaring of what others might think.
His Shifu had raised a disciple with no concept of morality. This was the fruit of Su Ling's education, and she was, one might say, very satisfied!
Bao'er suddenly remembered an incident from a few months ago. At that time, he and his Shifu had just finished a task in a small town at the foot of a mountain, helping the locals capture a fox spirit that specialized in seducing men and draining their vital energy. Afterward, they received a small sum of money, ate a hearty meal, and departed. They leisurely strolled along, enjoying themselves, and in the late afternoon, they sat on a rock by the river, watching the sunset. Su Ling was in high spirits, having just eaten her fill. She grinned, pointing at a few birds flying in the sky, saying that she was now as free as them. Her large, mischievous eyes narrowed, her eyelashes trembling, making Su Mingbao's heart tremble along with them.
He didn’t hesitate to lean in and kiss her eyes. Su Ling flinched but only smiled, offering no resistance. Emboldened, he kissed from her eyes down the bridge of her nose, stopping at her lips. Just as he, in a daze, pressed her down onto the rock ledge, a shout came from the other side. It turned out a group of disciples from the Hua Dong Sect and Jin Jing Sect were on a mission. It was getting dark, and they intended to set up camp by the river. What a fateful encounter! They never expected to witness such a scandalous scene, and with none other than the Demoness Su Ling and her depraved disciple!
Another coincidence was that Feng Ze was among them. He was still the same, clad in flowing white robes, exuding an otherworldly aura, with the serene expression of a supreme being. Bao’er, seeing Feng Ze for the first time, did not disappoint Su Ling’s teachings. He pulled her up, straightened her robes, and smiled calmly as he spoke to the group on the other side:
“Hello, everyone, have you had dinner yet? And this one… Grand-Master, are you well?”
Su Ling, who had been staring at Feng Ze, only looked up and asked when she heard him speak:
“What ‘Grand-Master’?”
“Isn’t it? A master’s master is a grand-master, isn’t that right?”
Su Ling blinked, seemingly having grasped this new concept. The Hua Dong disciples couldn’t stand it and shouted:
“You shameless demoness! Who is your master? Our Hua Dong Sect has no depraved wretch like you! In broad daylight, what are you two master and disciple doing?”
Then they all started scolding, and Feng Ze’s face visibly darkened, because their insults inadvertently dragged him into it too. Su Ling carefully observed the man she had longed for day and night; he hadn’t changed at all. It was as if even if the heavens and earth collapsed, Feng Ze would still stand aloof in his own realm. Su Ling took a breath, steeling herself, for she had noticed several elders from the Jin Jing Sect – those who loved to preach morality needed her help to broaden their understanding!
Su Ling put on a flirtatious air and asked Bao’er:
“Bao’er, Master doesn’t understand what they’re saying. What exactly did my little disciple do to make them waste so much saliva?”
Bao’er replied with an innocent look:
“Bao’er didn’t do anything, Master, please don’t be angry, Bao’er is very scared of being scolded by you!”
Su Ling had thought her words were quite provocative, but who knew her disciple’s reply would be even more nauseating. It would be strange if he were actually afraid of her! Ever since he turned fifteen, he hadn’t known fear, gradually climbing all over her. Look, now he does whatever he wants without asking permission, even getting caught by outsiders and having his ears filled with insults.
The child’s docile appearance only made the faces of the onlookers darken further. Su Ling played along perfectly, patting his head:
“Good Bao’er, Master isn’t blaming you! Just remember, next time you do anything, wait until it’s dark, find a place out of sight, so people don’t have to voice their opinions!”
The two of them put on a show, acting like a model master and an obedient disciple. The disciples from both sects stood dumbfounded, staring. Truly, they hadn’t expected the two individuals to be thicker-skinned than an elephant. Finally, to conclude their act, Su Ling gracefully greeted everyone and departed, with Bao’er following obediently like a little immortal attendant, bowing his head, calling “Master” this, “Master” that, utterly filial!?
And from then on, their reputation only grew, it didn’t diminish. Although Su Ling was primarily the one targeted by criticism, her disciple Bao’er also received his fair share. He had never interacted with the immortal sects; no one knew his name, where he came from, or what his abilities were. Only Su Ling had been secretly training talents for decades. After all, she was the outstanding disciple of Feng Ze Ming Zun; teaching Bao’er those ultimate techniques was not difficult!
Tố Linh said nothing, and Bảo nhi didn't socialize, so everyone only knew him as "Bảo nhi" – the degenerate disciple of the demoness. No one could have guessed that this disciple had attained mastery at the age of 20, a full two years earlier than the legendary Phong Trạch. What's more, Tố Linh had gone to great lengths to steal the Divine Sword Tâm Sai from Hoa Đông's Secret Chamber. This sword was a sacred artifact, previously only worshipped and never used because it was almost impossible to lift. She herself had expended a great deal of cultivation to pull it from its stone pedestal. The sword was sealed; only a Hoa Đông disciple could remove it. Yet, her "Bảo nhi" picked it up with one hand, examined it, and even pouted and shook his head:
"This sword is truly ugly!"
Tố Linh really wanted to beat this ignorant disciple to death, but it seemed she couldn't defeat him now. What karma! How could she have raised a disciple who dared to surpass his master like this? Although deeply resentful, Tố Linh knew that her disciple no longer relied on this incompetent master; it was she who now sought reliance on him.
Tonight's moon was a crescent, and all around there was only the gurgling sound of the stream...
Using the grass as a bed, clothes as a blanket, someone's arm as a pillow, the warm mist as a hazy curtain... in truth, everything was very comfortable. Companionship with the wind and clouds was a pleasure not everyone knew. Tố Linh slept drowsily, instinctively snuggling into the warm chest. She felt as if she had come home!