Flirting with the Villain's Mother - Chapter 16

Jiang Ruiping wasn’t known for her easygoing nature, but Sect Leader Shen Yinxue was a compassionate soul.

Wei Nanyi had long anticipated her inability to persuade Jiang Ruiping. On their way to rescue Mirror Quilt, she had sent a message to Shen Yinxue. Though Jiang Ruiping was far stronger than Shen Yinxue, the latter’s status as Sect Leader compelled Jiang Ruiping to halt her attack upon her arrival. Still, she showed no intention of backing down easily.

Realizing the futility of pressing Jiang Ruiping to forgive Mirror Quilt, Shen Yinxue shifted her approach. “Junior Sister Jiang,” she said, “let them leave the mountain.”

Jiang Ruiping chuckled coldly. “Agreed. But every demonic creature that entered Approaching Immortals Mountain must leave with her. Senior Sister Shen must also guarantee that Approaching Immortals Mountain will never again accept demons into its ranks.”

Mirror Quilt, already unable to fathom Jiang Ruiping’s true intentions, now found herself too weakened to even read the hearts of Wei Nanyi and Shen Yinxue. A rare flicker of panic crossed her face. “Jiang Ruiping, this is my affair alone!”

She knew her anger would only amuse Jiang Ruiping, given her complete powerlessness against her.

Jiang Ruiping’s smile was indeed mocking, colder than glacial ice. “But they’re all demons from Wild Goose Jade Mountain. If their leader suffers here, the entire mountain might swarm Approaching Immortals Mountain for revenge. Who knows if those demons might even act as spies? Mirror Quilt, either you all get out of Approaching Immortals Mountain right now, or I’ll kill you all here and now!”

Faced with Jiang Ruiping’s relentless aggression, Mirror Quilt began to understand that this might have been Jiang Ruiping’s true motive all along. Jiang Ruiping had never particularly liked demonic creatures, and Mirror Quilt’s violent act had given her the perfect excuse to expel all demons from Approaching Immortals Mountain.

After all, the theory that Wild Goose Jade Mountain had besieged Approaching Immortals Mountain didn’t hold water. While Mirror Quilt wasn’t the strongest member of Wild Goose Jade Mountain, her position as leader wasn’t solely due to her being the Spirit of Mirror Lake. She was also among the top eight strongest members of Wild Goose Jade Mountain, yet she couldn’t withstand even twenty moves against Jiang Ruiping.

Even more alarming was Approaching Immortals Mountain’s long-standing tradition: the Elder Council changed with each new Sect Leader.

Shen Yinxue was currently the Sect Leader, and the elders who still appeared in public were her contemporaries. But this didn’t mean these were the only elders in Approaching Immortals Mountain. The sect’s foundations ran deep and were unfathomable.

Mirror Quilt’s initial plan had been simple: steal Wei Nanyi’s body and flee. No one could estimate the price of besieging Approaching Immortals Mountain.

Even if the demons of Wild Goose Jade Mountain wanted to demand justice for Mirror Quilt, she would never allow them to come.

She feared Jiang Ruiping, and Shen Yinxue seemed to share her concerns. She agreed to Jiang Ruiping’s demands: “Very well, we’ll follow Junior Sister Jiang’s wishes. They will all leave Approaching Immortals Mountain, and there will be no more demonic creatures here in the future.”

Wei Nanyi had never imagined things would escalate so far. She hastily called out to Shen Yinxue, “Master!”

Shen Yinxue gently shook her head, signaling Wei Nanyi to remain silent.

A flicker of satisfaction crossed Jiang Ruiping’s brow as Shen Yinxue acquiesced. She glanced sideways at Shen Yiwen. “Yiwen, Master asks you: do you choose this Demonic Creature, or do you choose Master?”

Shen Yiwen froze, understanding Jiang Ruiping was forcing him to choose.

He gazed deeply at Mirror Quilt, then respectfully kowtowed three times to Jiang Ruiping. “This disciple is unfilial.”

Mirror Quilt realized she hadn’t misjudged him. Shen Yiwen hadn’t abandoned her. He had forsaken his status as an inner disciple of Approaching Immortals Mountain, and even his exceptionally powerful Master, choosing her instead.

Jiang Ruiping remarked dryly, “You’re quite the romantic.”

She said no more. Now that Shen Yiwen had made his choice, she wouldn’t try to retain this disciple.

Shen Yinxue cast a profound look at Mirror Quilt and Shen Yiwen, then turned away heavily. “Nanyi, let’s go.”

Wei Nanyi bit her lip, her voice low and resolute. “Master, Miss Guiyan and Junior Brother Shen are both gravely injured. I want to escort them back to Wild Goose Jade Mountain!”

When Wei Nanyi had spared her earlier, Mirror Quilt had found her laughable. When Wei Nanyi had pleaded for her life, she had thought Wei Nanyi was too soft-hearted and would eventually bring ruin upon herself. But now, as Wei Nanyi offered to escort them, Mirror Quilt felt a genuine surge of gratitude.

Her bloodline was exceptionally rare, a treasure coveted by both cultivators and demonic creatures alike. When a powerful force suppressed them, those who coveted her could only conceal their desires. But once that power vanished, they would swarm upon her like bees to honey.

Wei Nanyi accompanied them on their journey, but both she and Shen Yiwen were severely injured, slowing their progress and hindering their recovery.

Jiang Ruiping was truly ruthless.

One day, as Wei Nanyi drove the carriage carrying them, Shen Yiwen leaned out and asked, “Eldest Senior Sister, if Yan’er and I get married, would you officiate the ceremony?”

They should have married long ago.

By the time they reached Wild Goose Jade Mountain, Shen Yiwen would have no living elders. With Wei Nanyi as his Senior Sister, they decided to marry with her as their witness.

The three of them initially felt awkward around each other, but Wei Nanyi’s tactful nature helped ease the tension. She would discreetly disappear at opportune moments, giving them ample time alone.

On a frigid winter night, Wei Nanyi, who should have returned long ago, remained absent.

Mirror Quilt had always known that not everyone on Wild Goose Jade Mountain revered her, but she never imagined that even one of the mountain’s eight great demons—creatures who had grown up drinking from Mirror Lake—would try to kill her.

The appearance of the Jade-Eyed Fox shattered Mirror Quilt’s last illusions about her homeland.

Beyond her unique bloodline, Mirror Quilt possessed two extraordinary abilities: the ability to reflect the ugliness of human hearts and hear their innermost thoughts, and the power to transform into demonic creatures and possess their bodies. With her last reserves of strength, Mirror Quilt forcibly cast the Transformation Art, seizing the body of the Jade-Eyed Fox to protect Shen Yiwen, though this left her even weaker.

By the time Wei Nanyi returned, Mirror Quilt was on the verge of death.

It was then that Wei Nanyi handed Mirror Quilt a jade tiger.

Mirror Quilt recognized the tiger—it was the City-Protecting Jade Marrow of Fallen Moon City. She learned that Wei Nanyi’s delayed return was due to discovering the marrow’s whereabouts. As a treasure of Approaching Immortals Mountain, Wei Nanyi had naturally pursued it, finally wresting it from a Tiger Demon after a fierce struggle.

Their desperation to kill Mirror Quilt for her bl00d was evident in their willingness to sacrifice even the stolen Jade Marrow. Jade Marrow was an exceedingly rare treasure; fewer than a hundred pieces existed in the entire Cultivation World. Each fragment contained immense spiritual power and continuously absorbed more. With Jade Marrow in one’s possession, the flow of spiritual power would accelerate tenfold. Typically, only the Four Great Sects dared to offer Jade Marrow to their disciples for cultivation.

Wei Nanyi didn’t take the Jade Marrow she had painstakingly retrieved back to Approaching Immortals Mountain. Instead, she left it with Mirror Quilt.

The Jade Marrow had saved Mirror Quilt’s life, but her bloodline had already fused with that of the Jade-Eyed Fox, forever trapping her in the fox’s body.

Wei Nanyi escorted them to a village near Wild Goose Jade Mountain.

As Wei Nanyi prepared to leave, Mirror Quilt thanked her for the first time and made a solemn promise: “Wei Nanyi, I never owe anyone a debt. I will repay this kindness!”

She wasn’t grateful for Wei Nanyi saving her life, but she was grateful that the Jade Marrow had given her unborn child the right to live.

Yes, she was pregnant.

Mirror Quilt didn’t return to Wild Goose Jade Mountain. Instead, she used the Jade Marrow to conceal their auras and recuperated with Shen Yiwen in the small village for some time. Eventually, they took their unborn child back to Fallen Moon City, which was close to Approaching Immortals Mountain.

This decision was partly because the Jade-Eyed Fox’s assassination attempt had shattered her sense of belonging to Wild Goose Jade Mountain. More importantly, being closer to Approaching Immortals Mountain would make it easier to repay her debt in the future.

Though Shen Yiwen didn’t object, he couldn’t help but tease her about it.

In Shen Yiwen’s eyes, his Eldest Senior Sister was a celestial prodigy, born to stand on a divine altar. Wei Nanyi simply didn’t need their help.

But he overlooked one crucial flaw: Wei Nanyi was too soft-hearted.

Mirror Quilt believed she would eventually repay Wei Nanyi’s kindness, but even as her life drew to a close, the opportunity never came. She and Shen Yiwen had first been gravely wounded, then ambushed. They barely clung to life thanks to the Jade Marrow, but their vitality was diminished. Their remaining lifespan was only a few centuries—an eternity for mortals, yet a fleeting moment for Wei Nanyi.

Fortunately, they had descendants.

Mirror Quilt was determined to repay her debt. In her final years, she desperately wanted to throw her great-grandson directly into cultivation at Approaching Immortals Mountain, clinging fiercely to Wei Nanyi’s side. But Shen Yiwen, ever gentle, argued that even as ancestors, they shouldn’t force their descendants to do what they didn’t wish. Seeking immortality, pursuing the Dao, and embarking on cultivation—these paths required genuine volition.

Mirror Quilt had no choice but to abandon her radical plans. Instead, she drafted a will and recorded it in a scroll. The scroll detailed how future generations could open the tomb chamber to retrieve the Jade Marrow and Storage Ring. It also stipulated that if any descendant of the Shen Family were to embark on the Immortal Path, regardless of whether they joined Approaching Immortals Mountain, they must never harm its disciples, as repayment for Wei Nanyi’s kindness.

Fearing others would covet their descendants’ bloodline, they had established a Bloodline Restriction. This restriction sealed their descendants’ bloodline, allowing it to awaken only when they began Qi Condensation cultivation. However, there was another method of bloodline awakening, one not recorded in the scroll—Wei Nanyi.

Upon encountering Wei Nanyi and sensing her aura, the bloodline would be forcibly awakened, and the descendant would be eternally forbidden from harming her.

Therefore… Mirror Quilt had essentially left Wei Nanyi a form of compensation, and Wei Nanyi herself was the key to unlocking the Bloodline Restriction.

The original owner of this body hadn’t been completely unharmed; rather, her bloodline had only truly awakened after meeting Wei Nanyi.

No wonder hearing Wei Nanyi’s cries had caused her heart to ache, yet she felt no such pain when she could comfort her. It turned out her ancestors had tampered with the Bloodline Restriction.

Mirror Quilt was clever. She knew Wei Nanyi could recognize her bloodline. If a descendant awakened their bloodline in Wei Nanyi’s presence, Wei Nanyi would undoubtedly want to protect the descendant of her old friend and take them away.

But Mirror Quilt overlooked one crucial detail: though Fallen Moon City was close to Approaching Immortals Mountain, it was a desolate, abandoned place. Wei Nanyi would never have come here, nor would she have encountered Mirror Quilt’s descendant. In the original story, Mirror Quilt’s descendant never even appeared.

Their meeting only happened because Shen Su wanted to buy a horse and leave Fallen Moon City—something the original owner of her body would never have done.

It seemed the demons had obtained the ledger, learned about the Jade Marrow in the tomb, and discovered the Storage Rings containing Mirror Quilt and Shen Yiwen’s lifetime of accumulated treasures. That’s why they targeted the Shen Family’s descendants. However, the ledger didn’t reveal the secret of Mirror Quilt’s bloodline, so they remained unaware that the bloodline’s rarity far surpassed even the Jade Marrow.

For a moment, Shen Su couldn’t quite discern whether her pity for Wei Nanyi stemmed from their shared bloodline or from genuine concern for her well-being.

Perhaps it was both.