"Qingyuan, it is time to descend the mountain."
Shen Qingyuan, who was holding her lessons, froze as she stepped into Sanqing Hall.
"Master, today does not seem to be a rest day."
Daoist Xuan Liang nodded.
"But your opportunity has arrived."
My good disciple, your Marriage Luck has arrived.
Shen Qingyuan obediently put down her lessons.
She first offered a stick of incense to the Ancestor Master, then bowed respectfully to her Master.
"Then this disciple shall depart now."
Xuan Liang calmly accepted his little disciple's bow, then raised his hand.
"Go. While you are at it, go to the Capital City and check on the eldest one for me."
"Yes."
✦✦✦
Below the mountain, at the villa.
Before Shen Qingyuan had even arrived, her voice reached them first.
"Mother, I have returned."
Gu Minglan, who was inside the room, was startled by the sound and walked out quickly.
"What mother? Whose girl are you? Get back at once!"
Shen Qingyuan did not move; she only stared fixedly at Gu Minglan's forehead.
In the Xuan Sect, there are three things one does not calculate.
One's own kin is one of them.
Because of the obstruction of kinship, Shen Qingyuan had never been able to see through or calculate her mother's Fate.
But Shen Qingyuan possessed a talent that others did not.
That was her innate ability to observe Qi.
It was precisely because of this.
Daoist Xuan Liang, who had long since stopped taking disciples, made an exception and accepted her as his Closing-door Disciple.
At this moment, Shen Qingyuan looked at the black Qi on her mother's forehead.
She frowned slightly.
That was Death Qi, and yet, when she came home last week.
The Luck on her mother's forehead had still been faintly glowing red.
Before Shen Qingyuan could make sense of it.
A woman dressed in brocade walked out from behind Gu Minglan.
"Oh, so this is the eldest young lady. She looks quite blessed."
Shen Qingyuan did not respond, only watching her with cold eyes.
She could not see through her mother, but could she not see through this woman?
The corners of this person's eyes drooped, and the whites of her eyes were more prominent than the pupils—what is commonly called "three-white eyes," the most sinister and vicious kind.
Observing her aura, a thick, murky gray-black Qi coiled behind the woman.
This woman had human lives on her hands.
And she had Karma with her mother.
If she had not appeared today, her mother might have become a Grievous Ghost on this woman's back.
Thinking of this, Shen Qingyuan already had a plan in mind.
"Who are you? What are you doing at my home?"
The intent to drive her away was obvious, but the woman was not annoyed.
"Eldest young lady, Madam has arranged a good marriage for you and specifically sent this servant to bring you back."
Gu Minglan was somewhat angry.
"Bah! What good marriage? That vixen could never have any good intentions!
Prince Jing is in a coma; it is clearly just to have my Yuan'er go over for a Wedding for Luck!"
Shen Qingyuan, however, fell strangely silent.
Prince Jing?
She seemed to recall her Master mentioning him; he was the Emperor's eldest son.
Born to the Empress, he originally had the most noble Fate.
Unfortunately, the former Empress died early, and he was ostracized in the imperial court.
Despite being the Eldest Legitimate Son, he was sent to the battlefield to start as a minor general.
Yet, Prince Jing truly had some ability and gained much support from the military at the border.
He was summoned back by the Emperor, but on the way back to the Capital City, he was ambushed by enemy troops and struck by a poisoned arrow.
He had been bedridden for over a month.
Rumor had it that if he did not wake up soon, he would perish.
Seeing that Shen Qingyuan was silent and her face was full of contemplation.
The woman sneered inwardly.
As expected of someone raised in the countryside, she must be tempted upon hearing the name Prince Jing.
She then chuckled and reached out to take Shen Qingyuan's hand.
"Eldest young lady, no matter how bad Prince Jing is, he is still a Prince, don't you agree?"
Shen Qingyuan pulled Gu Minglan back a step, avoiding the woman's hand.
"I do not know Prince Jing, nor do I know any Madam. You should go back."
The woman was rejected, and the smile on her face slowly faded.
She withdrew her empty hand and patted it.
"Someone, invite the eldest young lady back to the mansion!"
Hearing this, Gu Minglan anxiously pushed Shen Qingyuan.
"Yuan'er, go!"
Shen Qingyuan did not move her feet, only shielding Gu Minglan behind her.
The servants who had been inside the house all swarmed out.
They surrounded the three of them.
The woman smoothed her cuffs.
"Eldest young lady, do not refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. I advise you to come back with me obediently, so you can suffer less physical pain."
"Physical pain?"
Shen Qingyuan was amused to the point of laughter.
Yes, her Master had said.
After descending the mountain, she should not use Xuan Sect techniques on ordinary people casually.
However, he never said she could not beat people up.
She, Shen Qingyuan, was also very well-versed in physical combat.
Shen Qingyuan looked at her mother.
Clearly, she had already suffered at the hands of this woman earlier.
Shen Qingyuan stepped forward first and slapped her without hesitation.
"You can taste this physical pain first."
Shen Qingyuan did not hold back her strength.
The woman was slapped so hard she fell directly to the ground, her hair bun disheveled.
Everyone was stunned for a moment; no one expected this little girl to strike first.
Seeing this, the woman could no longer bother to maintain her haughty appearance.
Covering her face, she shrieked.
"What are you all standing there for? Beat her, beat her hard!"
Madam had said that as long as the girl got into the bridal sedan, even if she only had one breath left, it would be fine to carry her into Prince Jing's Mansion!
The servants then grabbed their weapons and charged at Shen Qingyuan.
Only one servant, who was quite observant, helped the woman up.
"Nanny Liu, are you alright?"
Nanny Liu was the current favorite by Madam's side.
By helping her now, if Nanny Liu said a few good words to Madam upon their return, he might be rewarded.
Nanny Liu used his strength to climb up from the ground.
She was just about to look up and enjoy the sight of the girl being beaten to a pulp.
Instead, she saw that Shen Qingyuan had already knocked one person down.
She dodged a swinging wooden club, grabbed the man's wrist, and applied force with one hand.
A crisp "crack" was heard; it was the sound of a wrist bone dislocating.
The man cried out in pain and let go of the wooden club.
Shen Qingyuan caught the club, flipped her wrist, and the weapon changed hands.
She swung it fiercely at its original owner.
Having injured two people in a row, the others hesitated and dared not step forward.
Seeing this, Nanny Liu was furious and kicked the retreating servant.
"What are you afraid of? There are so many of you, can't you attack together!"
Nanny Liu's kick sent the servant stumbling forward a few steps.
The servant was both afraid and angry, but dared not retort.
He knew that Nanny Liu carried great weight before Madam.
And if this girl was not brought back, they would only die a more miserable death upon returning to the mansion.
"All of you, attack! Whoever drags this girl back to the mansion, I will reward them with this bracelet!
If you don't bring her back, you know Madam's methods."
Seeing that no one was moving, Nanny Liu used the bracelet in her hand to coerce and entice them.
She was Madam's confidante.
The bracelet in her hand was also a gift from Madam, worth more than thirty taels of silver.
It was equivalent to more than half a year's wages for these servants.
The servants exchanged glances, gripped their wooden clubs tightly, and rushed toward Shen Qingyuan again.
This time, they did not underestimate their opponent and approached step by step in a surrounding formation.
Clearly, they were thinking that Shen Qingyuan could not fight off so many hands.
However, none of them wanted to be the first to make contact, and they were actually somewhat timid.
Shen Qingyuan looked at the cowardly behavior of this group and sneered.
Did they think that by hiding behind numbers, she could not hit them?
Shen Qingyuan stood her ground.
Seeing the moment they approached, she suddenly changed her stance.
She drove the wooden club hard into the ground, used it to vault up, and did a flip in the air.
Her feet kicked straight into the chest of the person in front.
With a "thud," the servant was kicked away like a sandbag, knocking over his companions behind him.
Following that, Shen Qingyuan landed lightly behind the servants.
She flipped her wrist and struck the servant's legs hard with the wooden club.
Three more fell instantly.
Nanny Liu had originally thought it was just a matter of picking up a country girl, and the total number of servants she brought was only seven or eight.
Now, only the servant who had helped Nanny Liu remained standing.
Shen Qingyuan raised the wooden club.
She pointed it at the servant.
"You, do you still want to fight?"
✦✦✦