Mutated Tao

“The sun sets behind the western mountains and darkness covers the sky~ Nine out of ten houses have closed their doors but one remains open~ Burn the incense, beat the drum, and Summon the Gods~"

Dum-dum-da-da-dum~

Bai Lingmiao circled around a bound naked man in the center of the room along with the urgent rhythm of the drumbeats.

A group of people were in the corner of the room, and their eyes were filled with tears.

"It’s an auspicious day to close the doors. The Southern Dipper gets close to the Northern Dipper. Do not close the doors yet~ First spray three mouthfuls of divine water~ Step into the southwest and northwest corner~ With the Heavens and Earth as witnesses, chase away the evil spirits and monsters!"

When Bai Lingmiao's words fell, she took off her red veil and shoved it into a water basin. Then, she covered the man's face with the drenched red veil. The man let out a miserable cry reminiscent of a ghost or a wolf's wail as he writhed against the restraints.

The soaked red veil changed shapes according to the beat of the drum. Sometimes, it'd become a wolf head with a massive wound in the crown of the head, and sometimes, it'd become a colossal skull made out of the skull of four snakes.

The cries became louder, and the man tensed up before collapsing to the ground. A blurry red figure crawled out from under the red veil and ran swiftly toward a nearby pillar.

Bai Lingmiao didn't move. She waited until the misty red figure had crawled into the pillar before walking up to it.

The Second Deity's sharp nails pierced the wooden pillar, and the pillar cracked open, revealing a tiny blood-red palace.

However, it seemed like the tiny blood-red palace had grown from the wooden pillar itself. It didn't seem like someone had placed the tiny blood-red palace after the construction was done.

"Have you offended someone?"

The Second Deity swiped at the tiny blood-red palace with her black nails, and the tiny palace collapsed. The blood-red color of the palace's material dimmed rapidly.

The victim handed over a pouch of copper coins, but Bai Lingmiao didn't immediately accept them. She looked around at the bare walls and decided not to accept them.

"Copper coins are too troublesome to carry. You can just use that money to repair that pillar and think carefully about who installed that pillar in the first place. Remember to stay away from them," Bai Lingmiao said, turning around to leave.

Bai Lingmiao walked out and sat in the carriage. Then, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, "This job is really hard to find."

Chun Xiaoman waited until the Second Deity was on the carriage before pulling on the reins and directing the carriage toward Cowheart Village. "Miaomiao, are you done with the Immortal family's quota for this month?"

"Yes, and we have to do it again next month," Bai Lingmiao replied with a nod. Then, she leaned back on the carriage walls. Afterward, she picked up a book from the side and opened it.

The book contained simple characters, and the page that Bai Lingmiao had opened revealed the character for the word "duck" on the left and a duck drawn on the right.

Bai Lingmiao grabbed a wooden stick and wrote the character over and over again in the air. After memorizing the character, Bai Lingmiao flipped the book to the second page and saw a pig.

The book was filled with character worksheets, and it wasn't available anywhere else. After all, Gao Zhijian had personally made this book.

There were so many books and techniques under the ancestral hall, but they were all recorded in texts rather than images. Bai Lingmiao had to learn how to read to know what her family had left behind for her.

Amidst the incessant creaking of the carriage wheels, the sky darkened. When Chun Xiaoman pulled the curtain open, it was already pitch-black inside the carriage. The only source of light was a pair of green beast eyes floating in the air.

"Miaomiao, it's already late. How about camping here tonight?"

"You go ahead and do your thing. I want to keep reading."

Chun Xiaoman sighed at the reply and pulled down the curtain. Then, she walked away to pick up some firewood. Miaomiao's personality had changed drastically, especially her way of doing this—she was stubborn once she had made up her mind.

Bai Lingmiao spent all of her time learning characters except for eating and drinking, and it appeared that she wouldn't give up until she became perfectly capable of reading.

After collecting enough firewood to set up a campfire next to the carriage, Chun Xiaoman returned and saw two familiar figures standing silently in front of her.

"Thank you. I'll get the pot. Watch the fire and make sure it doesn't go out."

There were only two of them, so a large pot was unnecessary.

A small iron pot would do.

Soon, the guokui were broken into smaller pieces and thrown into the pot. Once it became a bit soft, Chun Xiaoman added cured meat and wild vegetables into the pot.

A simple meal was made in the blink of an eye.

Chun Xiaoman looked up and shook her head helplessly upon seeing Bai Lingmiao reading her book while eating. Chun Xiaoman was convinced that her close friend was going crazy.

"Why do you insist on doing such a troublesome thing? Gao Zjijian can read, you know?" Chun Xiaoman asked.

"It’s always best to rely on oneself rather than others. Besides, his brain isn't good enough for what I want to read. What if he reads it wrongly? We'll have no idea, as we can't read those texts ourselves. Have you already forgotten how Li Huowang fooled that damned baldy last time? I don’t want to end up like him.”

"How about hiring some teachers, then?"

"That's a good idea. Let those teachers know that I'm a survivor of the White Lotus Sect. I'm sure they won't report me to the Surveillance Bureau."

Chun Xiaoman frowned. The old Miaomiao had never teased her like that. However, her dissatisfaction was assuaged when the Second Deity used her chopsticks to pick up two pieces of meat before putting them into Chun Xiaoman's bowl.

"You're still good to me," Chun Xiaoman said and leaned against the Second Deity's shoulder before continuing with her meal.

Soon, the meal was over, and the two lay on their beds, resting with their backs against each other. Bai Lingmiao turned around and put her hand on Chun Xiaoman's shoulder. At that, Chun Xiaoman decided to let go of her dissatisfaction.

Chun Xiaoman then turned around and stroked Bai Lingmiao’s eyelid. Bai Lingmiao had changed, but she was still the same Miaomiao—the same close friend who would comfort Chun Xiaoman whenever she was the most vulnerable.

Chun Xiaoman was about to close her eyes when someone hugged her from behind.

Of course, it was none other than the Second Deity.

"Hey..." Chun Xiaoman trailed off mid-sentence. Eventually, she closed her eyes with an arm beneath the Second Deity and Bai Lingmiao's head.

The next morning, Chun Xiaoman woke up to find that the carriage was already moving. She yawned and stretched lazily. Then, she walked up to the front to take over the reins from the Second Deity, but the latter refused to hand over the reins.

"It’s fine. I'm not going to get tired. I'm going to drive a carriage, not walk."

While the two were arguing, a small settlement appeared before them. The small settlement was full of farmers carrying wild game and woven baskets.

"Oh right, today is the fifteenth day of the month. It’s when they set up the market.”

The carriage soon entered the settlement, and a cacophonous din inundated the carriage from all directions. The noises were coming from the people hawking their goods on both sides of the street.

The carriage moved slowly as the street was filled with people. The majority of them simply listened to the hawkers without buying anything.

"Why is it so noisy?" Bai Lingmiao asked, sounding impatient. She pulled open the curtain, and the bright sunlight dazzled her. Li Huowang was about to cover her eyes with the ribbon that Li Huowang gave her when she spotted a familiar figure in the periphery of her vision.

"Xiaoman, isn't that Lu Xiucai?" Bai Lingmiao pointed out.

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