5 – The Power of Ten Women
At the summit of Qingyun Mountain, amid dense forest, the Chang’an Temple nunnery was shrouded in ethereal clouds and mist, giving it the mysterious air of an immortal dwelling among the clouds.
After parting with Fu Jingxiao, Luo Xingchen made her way carefully up another path to the mountaintop.
Pushing open the gates of Chang’an Temple and walking into the back courtyard, Luo Xingchen saw five women dressed in gray nun’s robes, all kind-faced and clearly great beauties in their youth, sitting around a redwood table in the living room, brewing tea over a stove and chatting merrily.
“First Master, Second Master, Third Master, Fourth Master, Fifth Master, I dug up lots of spring bamboo shoots and wild vegetables that you all love!”
Having not seen her masters for two years, Luo Xingchen ran toward them as happy as an innocent child.
Seeing Luo Xingchen run over, the women rose from the table one after another, applauding in welcome.
“Welcome, welcome, a warm welcome! Welcome home, our beautiful and adorable champion!”
“First Master, Second Master, you all went off wandering for two whole years—I missed you so much!” Luo Xingchen hugged First Master, her voice choking with emotion.
“Silly girl, you’re a world champion now—you can’t cry like a little child anymore,” said First Master Shen Fanghua gently, a peerless healer capable of bringing the dead back to life.
“If he dares laugh at my Xingbao even once, I’ll blow his head off,” said Second Master Qian Junyao, the cold-faced god of slaughter with an undefeated record, stroking Luo Xingchen’s hair affectionately.
“Put away that explosive temper. Do you want our Chenbao to become a widow at such a young age?” Fifth Master Ouyang Mengdie, a legendary actress of captivating charm, admonished.
“Our Xingbao is so amazing—he’s lucky to have found such a treasure. How could he bear to laugh at her? He’d be too busy cherishing her on the tip of his heart,” teased Third Master Leng Aoxue, a legal beauty and queen of sharp tongues.
“That’s right—you’re married now. All this sobbing, and your man will laugh at you!” said Fourth Master Mo Xianyun, a top hacker who could summon a hundred followers with a single call, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
“…” Hearing her masters’ words, Luo Xingchen said weakly, “Fu Jingxiao and I are divorced!”
Aside from telling Little Senior Sister Lu Wan’er, who had the best temper, Luo Xingchen hadn’t dared tell anyone else about her divorce.
She was afraid that once she did, her masters and senior sister would go blow up Fu Jingxiao’s head.
Though Fu Jingxiao was also very powerful, the combined force of ten women was probably more than he could withstand.
Instantly, the courtyard fell into a dead silence.
After everyone had been silent for over ten seconds, Second Master’s furious roar rang out.
“How dare he bully my precious disciple! I’m going down the mountain right now to blow that brat’s head off!”
“Second Master, he didn’t bully me. We agreed two years ago to divorce today. Please don’t go make trouble for him,” Luo Xingchen hurriedly pleaded, hugging Second Master tightly.
She knew that the moment divorce was mentioned, the first to explode in rage would be her hot-tempered Second Master, for whom killing someone was as easy as slaughtering a chicken.
“What do you mean you agreed two years ago to divorce today?” First Master asked with a serious gaze.
“Masters, please sit down, and I’ll tell you everything slowly!”
The masters all sat down, and Luo Xingchen recounted the whole story of her marriage of convenience with Fu Jingxiao.
“Master, for a marriage without love, divorce is liberation. I don’t feel wronged at all. Please don’t go down the mountain to stand up for me, okay?”
The masters exchanged glances, then gently nodded.
“Marriage isn’t everything for a woman. Without a marriage, you can still live a wonderful life!”
“That’s right—swap out the bad one, and the next will be even better.”
“Xingchen is such a good girl, she’s bound to find a man who treasures her like a gem!”
“…” The masters took turns comforting Luo Xingchen.
“Masters, I won’t let you down. At the sports meet, I won a gold medal and brought honor to my country. Now you can tell me about my mother, right?”
“No, no, no. After wandering abroad for two years, what we’ve missed most is that table of vegetarian dishes you used to cook for us. Cook first, and once we’ve eaten and have our strength back, we’ll tell you.”
“Masters, I just got divorced today and competed in an intense match. I’m this miserable, this tired, this pitiful—can you really bear to make me work?” Luo Xingchen looked at her masters with teary eyes, playing up her misery.
“Cuteness won’t work on us. Get to the kitchen!” Fifth Master said, pushing Luo Xingchen toward the kitchen.
What cuteness? She was clearly playing the pity card, thank you very much.
Although they had Luo Xingchen cook, the vegetables had all been washed and plated already. All she had to do was stir-fry and cook them through.
Looking at plate after plate of side dishes that were all her favorites, Luo Xingchen’s eyes stung.
Her masters’ care and love for her were hidden in these carefully prepared dishes.
“Xingchen, on the long road of life, we will always meet people and things that don’t go our way. As long as we stay strong and get through it, when we look back, we’ll realize those people and things were never worth our sorrow.”
Seeing Luo Xingchen’s moist eyes, First Master gently stroked her jet-black hair with affection, his voice as tender as a pool of spring water, soothing and reassuring.
“Master, I don’t love Fu Jingxiao. I’m not sad about the divorce at all. I’m crying because even after two years apart, you still remember what I like to eat. I’m just so touched.” As Luo Xingchen spoke, tears the size of beans fell uncontrollably.
Only in front of her masters did she dare to be herself without any reservations.
She didn’t know why either—she clearly didn’t love Fu Jingxiao, yet the moment his name was mentioned, her tears fell uncontrollably.
Even though he had “cheated during the marriage,” flirting with another woman while sleeping with her and taking advantage of her, and forcibly kissing her at the slightest disagreement—she’d sworn in fury to tear him limb from limb.
“Silly girl, you’ve been raised by us since you were five. Let alone two years—even if it were twenty years, we’d never forget what you like to eat,” Third Master said fondly.
“Stop crying. Fifth Master is hungry—go make Fifth Master’s dinner!”
“…” Soon, Luo Xingchen finished cooking ten dishes and one soup, and dinner ended in a warm, harmonious atmosphere.
First Master brought out the keepsakes Luo Xingchen’s mother had left for her, and briefly told her what they knew about her mother.
The keepsakes her mother left were five skincare formulas, a letter, and a white mutton-fat jade crescent pendant that was obviously extremely valuable.
Looking at the skincare formulas before her, shock appeared in Luo Xingchen’s eyes.
Only today did she understand why her masters couldn’t blend skincare products and perfumes, yet she had loved using mountain herbs to make skincare and fragrance blends since childhood.
So her talent in this area was inherited from her mother.
Although these were formulas her mother had written over a decade ago, Luo Xingchen knew that any one of them, taken out on its own, would produce a product that would take the world by storm.
After reading the formulas, Luo Xingchen opened the letter her mother had written her. The further she read, the colder her expression became.
Besides expressing her mother’s helplessness and guilt at not being able to watch her grow up, the letter also contained her speculations about her own illness.
“My mother suspected that her illness wasn’t a natural sickness, but the result of someone slowly poisoning her. She asked me to return to the Luo family if I ever had the chance and uncover the truth for her, so that she could rest in peace!” Luo Xingchen said, looking at the masters.