On the platform of the dry well and stone cave in Jing Shui Village, Shui Miao’s body suddenly jolted. He abruptly exited his meditative state and opened his eyes wide.
“You’re truly fearless to the point of recklessness and ignorant of your own life!”
Before Shui Miao could react, he heard a woman’s sharp scolding from behind. Just as he was about to turn his head, someone struck the back of his head with a palm. Immediately after, he saw a white-robed woman step in front of him and shoot a black talisman through the air straight into his dantian.
A chill—very cold—spread through his head and into his dantian.
“Hmph! You’re causing chaos in the Immortal Realm. Do you want to get me and Ling Shuai killed too? This time, you’ve caused a huge disaster. The Immortal Realm will definitely hunt you down. If it weren’t for… well…” The white-robed woman, a thousand-year-old ghost, scolded him furiously. She suddenly stopped mid-sentence, as if something were too inconvenient to say. She angrily waved her hand again and said, “Hmph! You fool, do you know why many fortune tellers are blind? It’s because their souls entered the Immortal Realm and saw things they shouldn’t have, resulting in heavenly punishment. But you—you actually broke into the Jade Void Sect and stole their pills. You’re truly reckless and audacious!”
“Smack!”
With a slap from the air, the thousand-year-old ghost struck Shui Miao hard across the face.
The slap was so powerful that Shui Miao was knocked flat onto the ground, his face burning with pain.
“Shui Miao, listen well. From today onwards, you are forbidden from returning to Zhonghai City or going to Huanghai City again. You must leave here as far away as possible. And from now on, you must never use the name Chen Shui Miao again. In fifty years, the seal on your cultivation and dantian will automatically lift, and after that, you can do whatever reckless things you want, and it won’t concern me anymore. Right now, I’m giving you only half an hour. If you’re still in Zhonghai City after that time, and if you dare to reveal your identity again, I will kill one of your loved ones or friends each time you do. First, I will kill your mother. You can try me if you don’t believe me.”
After saying this, the thousand-year-old ghost waved her hand again, delivering another hard slap across the other side of Shui Miao’s face.
Then she vanished into a streak of white light.
※※※
Shui Miao stood up in shock, his face burning with pain, feeling as if his skin had been peeled off.
“Master, you must leave quickly. White Lady always keeps her word. If you don’t leave now, it will be too late,” Jin Chanzi suddenly appeared. “Remember, keep the coins I gave you safe. I will come to find you again in three months.”
As soon as Jin Chanzi finished speaking, he eagerly disappeared.
The thousand-year-old ghost was actually helping me!!
Shui Miao’s mind was in a mess, trying to sort things out but not knowing where to start.
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Shui Miao instinctively tried to channel his immortal energy to climb up the rope to the surface, but upon trying, he found his body completely devoid of any energy.
Calmly attempting to enter his meditative state, he found he couldn’t even do that.
“Right, where is Seventh Sister?”
Suddenly remembering the fox spirit Seventh Sister, she immediately appeared. She leaned close to Shui Miao’s ear and whispered, “White Lady asked me to protect you, but that will be three months from now. You go first; in three months, I will find you together with Jin Chanzi. Now, I’ll guide you to Zhonghai River. You’ll jump into the river and escape through the water…”
After saying this, the fox spirit Seventh Sister quickly flew up and activated the switch at the top. Shui Miao hurriedly grabbed the rope… his mind was in a daze. Did Seventh Sister make a mistake? She actually wanted him to jump into the river? Was she asking him to swim out of Zhonghai City? If so, half an hour wouldn’t be nearly enough!
Reaching the surface, Seventh Sister led Shui Miao to the duty room, where Li Lan and the others were on duty.
Li Lan and the others couldn’t see the fox spirit Seventh Sister.
Reminded by Seventh Sister, Shui Miao found some paper and a pen and wrote a few sentences as instructions for his mother.
Then, urged by Seventh Sister, Shui Miao had Wang Xiaomi drive him to Zhonghai River, the same spot where the giant salamander had previously jumped into the river.
After Wang Xiaomi drove back.
Standing by the riverbank, Shui Miao felt a sense of confusion, as if everything were a dream—so unreal! Now, he had so many friends and so many things in Zhonghai City. Was he really going to leave all of it behind? Was he really going to leave without taking anything? How was this any different from dying suddenly?
“Brother Shui Miao, what are you waiting for? Aren’t there still us here after you leave? If you don’t leave now, you’ll endanger not only yourself but also your mother!” The fox spirit Seventh Sister approached Shui Miao, urging him urgently in a low voice.
Mother!
No! I can’t endanger my mother!
Hearing Seventh Sister’s words, Shui Miao suddenly let go. Yes, there was still Seventh Sister and White Lady here.
“Bang!”
A rush of blood surged to his head. Without thinking further, Shui Miao jumped directly into Zhonghai River.
He originally thought he would have to swim out of Zhonghai City, but when he jumped into the river, he found the giant salamanders waiting for him underwater… but to his surprise, they all pressed down on him, preventing him from breathing. Without his immortal energy, he couldn’t resist. After struggling a bit, a previously unseen, very white giant salamander blew a puff of water mist at him, and he immediately fell unconscious.
※※※
A gentle breeze lightly brushed across his face. Shui Miao suddenly regained consciousness and slowly opened his eyes. Looking up at the sky, he saw a few white clouds beneath which two eagles were circling…
Suddenly, the two eagles changed direction and dove toward him!
“Ahh!”
Startled, Shui Miao quickly got up, spotted a stick nearby, grabbed it, and swung it at the sky. The eagles immediately changed direction and flew away into the distance…
Looking down, Shui Miao suddenly realized he was completely naked!
“Ahh!?”
Then, Shui Miao noticed a dead man’s body nearby, dressed in ethnic minority clothing!
“Damn it!”
Shui Miao quickly covered his lower body and looked around. He found himself in a place surrounded by lush green mountains, a beautiful and scenic location. The spot where he stood was beside a large river.
The man’s body was swollen and pale, with a bloated stomach, but it wasn’t smelly, clearly having drowned only a few days ago.
He had no clothes, and here was a ready supply, even though it was from a corpse…
Shui Miao couldn’t help but suspect that this was also part of White Lady’s plan.
Half an hour later, Shui Miao dug a hole by the river, buried the man’s body, and took the clothes he had stripped off, washing them in the river. As he washed, looking at his reflection in the water, Shui Miao suddenly noticed that his face had changed—it looked exactly like the corpse he had just buried!
“Uh… I’ve transformed my appearance…”
Shui Miao immediately thought of the two slaps from White Lady. It must have been those slaps that changed his appearance.
Right! And that giant white salamander too!!
As thoughts raced through his mind, Shui Miao suddenly understood everything. It was White Lady who was helping him, who had sent him here.
Shui Miao knew that there were no such beautiful rivers and mountains near Zhonghai City. He had been sent far away—something that a few salamanders alone couldn’t have accomplished. So that meant the death of this ethnic minority man was also connected to him? Shui Miao was stunned. He had caused someone’s death as soon as he arrived! But this seemed to be the best and most direct way to escape pursuit from the Immortal Realm.
“Forget it, no need to think so much. Let things take their natural course.”
What’s done cannot be undone. Accepting the reality, Shui Miao silently bore it. He quickly washed his clothes, wrung them out, and hung them to dry on branches by the river. Perhaps due to the sealed dantian and lack of immortal energy, Shui Miao gradually felt hungry.
Since there was no one around and his clothes weren’t dry yet, Shui Miao decided to go naked and search the surrounding area for something to eat. The area was full of trees, some so large that several people couldn’t encircle them. The ground was littered with pebbles and thorny branches. Wearing the cloth shoes he had taken from the corpse’s feet, Shui Miao followed the riverbank looking for food.
There were bird nests in the trees, but Shui Miao, naked, dared not climb…
There were fish in the river, but the river was too big, and the fish were too smart, swimming away at the slightest sound.
After searching for a while, Shui Miao suddenly heard the sound of women laughing and chatting. Carefully following the sound, he walked about a hundred meters or so, passed through a dense patch of tall grass and small trees, and peeked his head out. He saw a river ahead where many naked women were bathing in the water.
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