“Take the Goddess Consort to take a medicinal bath.”
Hearing the voice of the female demon, I turned around, lowered my head, stared at her back through her hair, and clenched my fingers. As if she felt my gaze, she suddenly turned around and raised my chin with her hand. I lowered my eyelids and let her look at me. I didn’t know if she recognized me. My heart tightened, but I felt the finger on my chin quickly move away: “What a pity. If it weren’t for this scar, you would be a beauty, and it would be a good match to be in the portrait together with my son.”
—I guess she didn’t recognize me. I breathed a sigh of relief and said, “This minister is born ugly and indeed unworthy of the Saint Lord. If Shengzun wants to choose another goddess consort, this minister will not dare to raise any objection.”
“Forget it, who asked my son like you?” She sighed with a smile and didn’t mean to embarrass me. She turned and walked up the stairs in front. I stared at her back, biting my teeth until they bled.
As I soaked in the bathtub, the pain in my chest gradually eased, and I fell asleep without realizing it.
While I was half asleep, my scalp seemed to be gently brushed by something, like a comb.
I raised my eyelids, looked back, and met a pair of gentle eyes.
“Godmother?”
She made a silence gesture with her lips, indicating that there was someone outside the bathroom door.
“Speak softly.” She took off her veil, revealing a face covered with twisted scars. It looked like it had been burned by fire, and it was impossible to tell its original appearance. She stared at me. “Do you still recognize me, Mi Jia? I didn’t treat you well enough in the past, it’s normal that you don’t remember me.”
I stared at her for a long time and finally recognized who she was.
She turned out to be… the madam of the Mi family.
“Ma—” I just screamed, and she covered my mouth.
I lowered my voice: “You are not dead?”
I thought that except for Mi Luo and me, no one else in the Mi family survived that night.
She put on her veil again, washed my hair, and whispered in my ear, “I was seriously injured and unconscious that day. I thought I was dead too, but I was awakened by the fire. When I woke up, I saw the corpses of my children who died with their eyes open… At that moment, I swore that if I could survive, I would avenge my beloved children for the rest of my life. God has eyes, and I was lucky to survive. I joined the cult and pretended to be a believer. Because I can remember the doctrine, do things quickly, and abide by the rules of the cult, I was able to get the position of a maid and get close to that female demon. I am not the only one in this holy temple who wants that female demon and those elders to die, but we haven’t found a chance to do it yet.”
My heart skipped a beat: “You have seen Mi Luo here, right?”
Her hands, which were combing my hair, froze for a moment, and she nodded.
I couldn’t catch my breath and asked, “Did she… pass away in pain?”
The madam was silent for a while before saying, “Originally, she was going to become a goddess consort just like you.”
“What?” I was shocked.
The madam shook her head: “It was decided by that female demon. During those years, the Saint Lord was locked up in the tower. It was said that he was insane. That female demon raised Mi Luo in this holy temple and made her a goddess consort. She originally planned to marry her to the Saint Lord when she turned eighteen. But when she just turned seventeen, she had an affair with a male priest here. The two even had physical contact and agreed to flee secretly. I helped them, but they were still discovered on the night of their escape…”
At this point, she stopped talking, as if she couldn’t bear to continue.
My heart was broken, and I held her hand: “What happened next?”
“When that female demon found out that Mi Luo had been deflowered, she flew into a rage and locked up both the priest and Mi Luo. After that, I never saw her again. But not long after that day, two more human bone lamps appeared in the holy temple shrine. One was made from a man’s spine, and the other… was made from a young girl’s.”
I jumped out of the bucket: “I want to kill her…”
“Don’t be impulsive!” She pushed me back into the water. “How can you kill her with your bare hands?”
“Is there any way to kill that female demon?”
“Use poison.” She combed my hair and whispered in my ear, “I have been here for so many years, and I know a very experienced priest here. He and I share the same suffering. Many years ago, his son was chosen as a sacrifice, so he endured hardships and lurked in the cult, waiting for an opportunity to seek revenge. He developed a special poison, and only a little bit can kill these evil believers with spiritual veins. Listen to me, that female demon and her followers have been practicing evil skills and have relied on the blood of the Saint Lord for purification and backlash for many years. As long as you poison the Saint Lord, that female demon and her followers will…”
“No!” I whispered, “I will never poison him and use him for revenge.”
“Why?” She frowned.
The madam obviously didn’t know about my past and my feelings for Nalin. I couldn’t open my mouth and tell her that I loved my enemy’s son. I clenched my fists and said, “I have met the Saint Lord. The Saint Lord… is very kind and a good person, different from them.”
“He is that female demon’s son, the son of your enemy. Besides, it is said that he has cultivated an immortal golden body. Even if you poison him, you can’t kill him either.”
“You don’t understand him.” I shook my head. “Anyway, I will never use him for revenge. Is there no other way? I became a goddess consort and had the opportunity to contact that female demon.”
“If you don’t want to take action against the Saint Lord, you can’t kill them. You’d better leave here as soon as possible. At midnight tonight, I will find a way to get out with you and send you away from here.”
“I won’t leave, Madam. If I don’t kill them, there will be thousands of my mother and Mi Luo in the future. The entire Mi family died tragically at their hands. I can’t rest in peace if I don’t avenge my family. What’s the point of living alone? Is there no other way?”
She was silent for a long time before she sighed, “Why does the Goddess Consort have to be Mi Luo, have to be you?”
“What do you mean?” I asked in confusion.
“After becoming a goddess consort, they will also suck your blood until it gone! This is why I want to send you away, Mi Jia… If you were not a child of my Mi family that I watched grow up, I would use you without hesitation. If you stay here and refuse to leave, you will only end up with a tragic death.”
I was shocked: “Why do they want to suck my blood after I became a goddess consort?”
Is it because I practiced dual-cultivated with Nalin and developed a spiritual vein?
“You don’t need to know so much. Just listen to me and leave here.” The madam put down the comb and was about to get up, but I grabbed her sleeve.
“I’ve told you, Madam, I won’t leave. If I can avenge my family with my life, it will also give countless others a chance to survive. I beg you to use me as the knife to kill them.”
She stood there for a long time, tears falling on the back of my hand.
“You know, what I just said to you was actually to use you, you silly child.” She turned her head away, tears streaming down her face that was distorted by the fire, and suddenly knelt down and covered her face. I hugged her from behind, imagining that she was my mother.
If my mother were still alive, she would surely do the same as her, hiding her identity and risking everything to collect debts from her enemies.
After wiping away her tears, she turned around and whispered, “That priest told me that the so-called god worshipped by the Tusheng Sect, Tunshe Tianzun, was the leader of the Champa religion, which was once the state religion of the Modaluo Kingdom. When he was about to ascend to become a god, he was assassinated by his consort, who had dual-cultivated with him and was also the saintess. Although he did not ascend to become a god, relics had already grown in his body, which contained abundant divine power. The Saintess stole the body, rebelled against Champa, and became the Saintess of the Tusheng sect, which was about to be slaughtered by the Champa sect. She led the remaining followers to Guge and buried the body of the Champa leader in the heart of Sulou Mountain. Over the years, she and the elders wanted to use the spiritual power in the relic to practice, but in addition to the spiritual power, the relic also contained the resentment of the Champa leader before his death. All believers who used his relic to practice would be eroded by the evil curse. They called it ‘karma’, which was actually the resentment of the Champa leader. Anyone who dared to touch the relic would be eaten by his resentment, just like being poisoned by a chronic poison, which would hurt the skin, flesh, and bones at the least, or die on the spot at the worst.”
I felt cold all over when I heard this: “Na, Nalin…”
“The Saint Lord is the cauldron for their cultivation. He is the biological son of the leader of the Champa leader and the Saintess, and he inherited the leader’s natural spiritual veins and divine blood, so he can carry spiritual power without being backlashed. However, the Saintess and elders who cultivate through him still cannot escape the erosion of karma, so they look everywhere for substitutes who can absorb karma for them, that is, children born on the Ghost Festival and sitting in the Yin for sacrifice. These children are consumed to death one after another, all because they have no spiritual veins in their bodies and cannot absorb much karma. But once they become the goddess consort and practice dual cultivation with the Saint Lord, spiritual veins will be born in their bodies. If they absorb the blood of the goddess consort, they can resolve the karma in their bodies and ascend to become gods.”
It took me a while to digest what she said. A terrible guess rose from the bottom of my heart: “If, if they succeed, what will happen to Nalin? Will he… also ascend?”
She shook her head: “When the Saint Lord ascends to heaven, they will suck him dry in one breath. But who made him the child of that female demon? Although it’s pitiful, this is his fate.”
A thunderclap sounded in my head, breaking my heart.
“So… it’s fake…” Thinking of the words that the devil woman said to coax him into seclusion for three days, I trembled all over. “She lied to him, I’m going to tell him…”
The madam hugged me and covered my mouth tightly: “Mi Jia! Mi Jia, it’s too late. The Saint Lord has already gone into seclusion. There are heavy guards outside the holy temple. You can’t get out of the holy temple. It’s impossible to see him! Moreover, he is just a container for carrying spiritual power. He has not practiced the skills of the Tusheng Sect. He is just a weak and useless decoration. Every once in a while, that female demon will absorb most of his spiritual power. He has no power to fight against that female demon. So what if he knows? What can he do!”
I bit her hand to stop myself from crying.
Nalin only knew that his mother had high hopes for him and forced him to cultivate himself to become a god. How could he know that behind these high hopes was a large web full of greedy spiders that trapped him for his entire life? They sucked his flesh and blood bit by bit until he was completely devoured and nothing was left. And it was me who personally pushed him into that web.
What should I do? What should I do?
Suddenly, a flash of lightning flashed through my mind, illuminating my chaotic thoughts.
I was brought here, and Nalin was sent away…
I see. It turns out that that female demon already knows who I am.
So, for now, there is only one way left to save Nalin.
“Madam, I… have dual-cultivated with the Saint Lord, and I already have a spiritual vein.” I looked at her, took a deep breath, and tried my best to remain calm. “You just said that they have to suck the blood of the goddess consort to resolve their karma, right? Doesn’t that mean they have to suck my blood?”
“You have dual-cultivated with him?” The madam opened her eyes in disbelief.
I nodded.
“That’s why… that female demon sent the Saint Lord away and brought me to the holy temple… Madam, I can’t survive any longer. Give me the poison.”
She stood up suddenly, staggered a few steps, and held on to the wall to steady herself: “I’ll get it right away.”
“Madam.” I called her, “Excuse me, there is a carnelian ring under my pillow in my bedroom. Please take it over. I want to wear it when I go out.”
The door was closed, and I lay on the ground, curled up into a ball, waiting quietly.
After a while, the sound of several footsteps suddenly came from outside the door, like the death knell.
“Send him to the altar, the elders and Shengzun are waiting.”
