NOVEL FROG Chapter 55: Elder Fang's Child
Transmigrated back into the body of her child self, can the mighty Celestial Bing Meilu survive in a Xianxia world all the while staving off the advances of arrogant young masters and wannabe protagonists alike?
Why is life so hard for the Icy Beauty?
Any corrections or criticisms are welcome, I hope you enjoy Chapter 55: Elder Fang's Child
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Bing Meilu stepped into the fourth woman's room. Sima Yazhu sat atop her bed, eyes blank. One hand clutched her swollen belly. The first woman, Tang Wuhan sat by her side, holding her hand gently.
Through the balance of Yin and Yang, Bing Meilu could sense the child would have been a girl. However, the effects of having one's yin essence drained during the pregnancy had led to complications, and the child would be born with muddled Yin and Yang, having traits of both sexes.
"Is that her?" Yazhu asked. Tang Wuhan nodded.
"Greetings Junior Sister. I am Bing Meilu, disciple of Elder Hai Yu. I happened to discover Elder Fang's plot and managed to bring him down with the aid of the Redscale Clan. As a result, you're all safe and free now."
"Fang is... dead?" Yazhu asked, her voice low.
Bing Meilu nodded.
"Did he die a good death?"
"His soul was forcefully snuffed out without a chance to fight back. I'd wager he experienced suffering that a human mind cannot survive," Bing Meilu said. "And with his level of negative karma, he's looking forward to eternities of life as an insect or ghoul before he can even have the chance to be reborn as the lowest of slaves."
Sima Yazhu began to cry, shoulders shaking as she clutched her belly. Tang Wuhan hugged her tightly for a while until she calmed down.
"If only he'd been able to break through, none of this would have had to happen..."
It was strange language for the victim of such a nightmarish crime. She seemed to actually sympathize with Elder Fang, even accepting his own framing of his motives.
Would someone like Elder Fang stop at Nascent Soul? Of course not. Inevitably he would have hit another bottleneck, whether at the fifth, sixth, or seventh realm. When that happened, would he look to his own Dao-heart, to test himself? Would he choose to journey the world in search of enlightenment and understanding?
Of course not. He would take the shortcut and do what harmed others to save himself some effort. Only it would not have been five women, but hundreds or thousands or more. Many cultivators peacefully died when they ran out of longevity. Some would turn to certain unorthodox methods, but not many went to Elder Fang's lengths. People like him were never victims of circumstance, they were the perpetrators. Otherwise, why did countless others in the same spot not stoop to such lows of wickedness?
As for Sima Yazhu's confusing sympathy, according to texts Bing Meilu had once read, victims of a crime could, through means of certain traumas, come to even love and value those who harmed them. It was a defence mechanism. If you love your attacker, you'd be more likely to treat them with respect or obey them, and thus make them less likely to hurt you.
Bing Meilu did not know how to address the delusion head-on, so she chose to avoid it entirely.
"Whether it be to continue cultivating, live a peaceful life or travel somewhere, everything will be covered. How do you wish to live?"
"I... don't know," Sima Yazhu conveyed. "What should I do? My sect is gone, my master and my senior disciple sisters- I always wanted to become the head of the West Palace library- It's gone now."
"Is it the case you don't know what to live for?" Bing Meilu asked.
Sima Yazhu did not respond, but her blank and despondent expression said yes.
"Then, in the meantime, just live for me until you discover what you want to do."
"...Alright."
"There's one more thing... Elder Fang's daughter."
"I don't want it!" Sima Yazhu sat forward and hissed suddenly, with a venom that surprised Bing Meilu.
There was a sense of cognitive dissonance. On the surface, she seemed to have sympathy for Hong-Long Fang, but there must have been some deep part of her that truly despised him. It was enough to overcome the natural instincts of a mother.
Bing Meilu shrugged. It would be hypocritical for her of all people, to intervene if someone wanted to take a life for being related to their enemy. It wasn't like she had been discriminate when it came to "Cutting the weeds and pulling out the roots" of a Sect that she was at war with. A top-down view of reincarnation had the effect of lessening the value of human life and murder.
'I'm only doing the children a favour by giving them the chance to reincarnate into a life where they weren't unfortunate enough to be related to someone who had offended me. It's almost charity in a sense. Not that I would ever take an action for the sake of just charity,' Bing Meilu nodded to herself.
"You can do what you want. But be advised, all lives contain souls and uncreated energy. To kill one incurs Karma. If it's worth the Karma is up to you."
"I never said I would kill her!" Sima Yazhu reared back as if slapped "I just- I don't know what to do. I don't want it, but I don't want to kill her..."
"Why don't you give birth and then decide. If you don't want to raise the child... I can." This time it was Tang Wuhan who had spoken up, her voice dreamy and distant.
Sima Yazhu nodded in acceptance at her fellow suggestion, seeming utterly lost and hesitant.
"Then the matter is settled for now," Bing Meilu sighed.
In any other circumstance, she might have suggested speeding up the pregnancy with medicine, but honestly, time was probably the best thing for Yazhu. The longer she could recover before putting off her ultimate decision, the better. Hopefully, the three months remaining in the pregnancy would allow her to recover enough.
"Tang Wuhan, I know you want to go see your sister, but could you stay with me for a little while? Please?" Sima Yazhu hugged the other girl, eyes red with tears.
"It's alright, my sister's waited for me for years at the least. She can wait a while more," Tang Wuhan shrugged.
---
Bing Meilu did not have to approach the third woman. The girl, who was also the youngest of the four, approached her directly the next day, as Bing Meilu drank a cup of tea.
"I heard you were a Prime Elder's disciple. Please... teach me something that will make me stronger- You must know all sorts of secret arts. I know this is a lot to ask- But since the Moon Crying Swan Palace is gone, there are no rules stopping you from teaching me a-and I promise not to ever spread them. I just- I need to be stronger!"
Having finished her speech, the girl bowed deeply, fists clenched in determination. Bing Meilu enjoyed a slow sip of tea, humming in thought.
"What's your name?"
"Shen Xinyue, of the Snowblossom Elder's lineage!"
"Then, Shen Xinyue... How much would you give up for power?"
"Everything?" the girl replied. "I don't- ever- want to be... I don't want to be weak, no matter what it costs!"
"Would you rebel against the Dao of Heaven for power?"
"Y-yes!"
"Very well then. You're correct. The Moon Crying Swan Palace is gone, its inheritance severed. Give me your blood essence and I will grant you the chance to become more powerful than ten thousand Elder Fangs."
Shen Xiyue gulped nervously, but she didn't hesitate. Storing her blood in a vial of ice, Bing Meilu nodded.
'I didn't formally induct Xia Xuefeng into the Crystal Providence Heavenly Palace, but she shouldn't lose out in seniority to a newcomer.'
"Then, henceforth, you are the Second Disciple of the Crystal Providence Heavenly Palace in this world."
An invisible weight descended on Shen Xinyue, a form of karma and providence. Even countless epochs before its very birth, Bing Meilu's sect had tangible power, stretching across the River of Time.
"There will be heavy expectations for such a title- You won't be allowed to slack off in the future."
The girl created a tablet of ice. Upon it was the Crystal Providence Heavenly Tome, the basic yin cultivation manual of Bing Meilu's Sect. It was a weaker derivation of the Crystal Providence Absolute Tome she herself cultivated.
Unlike Xia Xuefeng, who had a unique affinity for bloody cultivation. Shen Xinyue was a more orthodox Yin cultivator, so the Heavenly Tome was well-suited for her.
"There should be a section in there on converting your cultivation base. Return to me when that process is finished."
Shen Xinyue nodded, face set in determination. She bowed once more and ran off to cultivate in seclusion, Bing Meilu sipped her tea, reflecting on the events of the past few days.
Tang Wuhan had dissociated, refusing to accept reality. Chang Xili lost her resolve and self-esteem. Shen Xinyue became filled with ambition and fear. Sima Yazhu was lost, with no sense of direction for herself. All different reactions to the same truth, to the suffering of the Sea of Bitterness that encompassed all mortals.
As somehow who had transcended Heaven and Earth, Bing Meilu had a very different perspective on suffering than mortal humans. To them, staving off suffering and evil, and acquiring good and joy was an imperative goal of life itself. In truth, suffering, joy and every experience of the mortal world, every vicissitude and joy, every curse and every blessing, were all the same to her.
'Good and evil are the same. This is the cycle of the mortal world, it turns without end. An illusion, in truth. It must be transcended. Only the mightiest of deities have the right to exist in true peace.'
There was no way out but up, to the Peak, to peer into the Great Dao itself and achieve true liberation.
"If Yin can birth Yang, then it can also birth Taiji. If Yin can birth Taiji, it can birth Wuji. If Yin can birth Wuji, it can birth the Great Dao."
This was Bing Meilu's Way, her path to Godhood. She would walk it without hesitation until even the nameless Dao was beneath her command, all the while raising up her sect and power.
Having seen the horror of the mortal world again, Bing Meilu felt her resolve to the Dao harden. It wasn't that she had never experienced such things herself, but higher beings were disconnected from the mortal world. It was easy to lose sight of the fundamentals of being that had set one on the path of cultivation in the first place.
---
A few days later, a stony-faced man arrived at the hotel Bing Meilu and her group were staying at. He was a dignified-looking middle-aged man, with subtle streaks of grey in his hair, and long dragon horns curling from his skull. While he only had the presence of a Core Formation, his true cultivation was nearer to the peak of Transcending Impurity
This was Elder Fang's father, Grand Elder Hong-Long Houyi. He addressed Bing Meilu.
"The Redscale clan gives it thanks to the Sky Swallowing Gulper Armada for its aid in rooting out devils and demons," he nodded in her direction.
Bing Meilu felt she had an idea as to why the man was here.
"Of course. The Twelve-Headed Bird Sect is always happy to help their subordinates deal with matters they struggle with."
There was also a subtle power game in her words. He spoke of the Armada, merely one branch, and she responded, claiming to represent the Twelve-Headed Bird Sect itself. Being an old monster who had lived for hundreds of years, the man gave no reaction to her disdain, other than a slight nod.
"I must admit the wayward demon Elder Cao-Cao killed was once my own son. I must have slipped in strictness along the way. I'd like to apologize to his victims directly."
"I think my junior sisters have seen enough of the Redscale clan for a lifetime."
This time Houyi frowned. Even if she were a disciple of the higher sect, he was not someone a junior like her should have dared to offend.
"I hope the Armada can give me some face on this matter." His cultivation subtly flowed outwards, a pure fiery power beyond even a Nascent Soul.
"Just get to the point. You want to take Sima Yazhu since she's pregnant with the child of your most talented son, right? I'm afraid that won't be happening."