The Black Lotus Stole the White Moonlight (GL) - Chapter 11
Her cheap mother still sat before the dressing mirror, combing her hair. She wore a thin gauze, letting her long black hair fall down her back, her fair hand holding a wooden comb.
“An’er, come and comb my hair.”
Bai An’an, looking frightened, walked over slowly.
She took the comb, her small hands holding it, making her look even more pitifully petite.
She was six years old this year, but looked only three or four. Too short to reach, she had to stand on a low stool to comb her cheap mother’s hair.
Her cheap mother glanced at her in the bronze mirror, casually mentioning, “I heard Cuiyan applied medicine to your wounds?”
Bai An’an really wanted to roll her eyes, but she managed to restrain herself.
Her fingers paused, she bit her lip, and carefully looked at the bronze mirror, saying, “Sister Cuiyan was just being kind…”
As soon as she finished speaking, her cheap mother suddenly turned her head.
Bai An’an didn’t react in time, and the comb pulled out a few strands of her hair.
Holding the comb, she stood there blankly, looking down at the few hairs that had fallen on the comb, her face drained of all color.
She hurriedly jumped off the low stool, her small face filled with fear as she looked at her cheap mother, “Mother, An’er didn’t do it on purpose!”
“Kneel!” Her cheap mother looked at her coldly, her gaze not that of a mother looking at her child, but of an enemy.
Bai An’an gritted her teeth, telling herself to endure it for now, as this person was already dead in the real world. There was no need to argue with a dead person.
She knelt on the ground with a thud, trembling as she knelt there.
Her cheap mother adjusted the light gauze that had slipped off her shoulder and rose from the dressing mirror. She turned and walked gracefully to the rosewood round stool, sitting down, her fair, slender legs showing beneath her gauze skirt, and leisurely poured herself a cup of tea.
“Do you think Cuiyan is a good person and I’m a bad person?” Her cheap mother held the teacup, took a light sip, and asked casually.
Bai An’an hurriedly shook her head, denying, “It’s not like that. Sister Cuiyan is good, but mother isn’t bad either.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a white porcelain teacup smashed directly into Bai An’an’s forehead.
Bai An’an screamed and fell backward.
She landed on the ground in a mess, bl00d gushing from the spot on her forehead where she had been hit.
Her cheap mother rose, walked slowly to Bai An’an, squatted down, and grabbed Bai An’an’s neck, lifting her up.
“Liar!” She glared at her fiercely. “You clearly think that a prostitute like Cuiyan deserves to be your mother!”
Bai An’an, her neck gripped, her feet dangling in the air, shook her head with difficulty, “No, it’s not…”
Her cheap mother stared at her darkly and suddenly released her grip.
Bai An’an lost her support and fell to the ground with a thud.
She lay on the ground, covering her neck, coughing painfully.
The porcelain teacup lay nearby, shattered into pieces on the ground.
Her cheap mother stood beside her, looking down at her, “I don’t believe you. An’er is the best at lying. Unless…” She drew out the word, her gaze falling on the nearby shards, a hint of amusement flashing across her face, “Unless An’er kneels here for half an hour, mother will forgive you.”
Bai An’an glanced at the teacup shards, cursing the madwoman and the watching Mu Tianyin a hundred times in her heart.
She gritted her teeth, got up from the ground, and crawled step by step, enduring the pain, and knelt on the shards.
As soon as she knelt, she almost fainted from the pain.
Her body was still that of a child, and her tolerance for pain was not as strong as her adult body.
And her body was extremely weak, only by biting her lower lip could she barely stay conscious.
Her cheap mother looked at her kneeling there, her face expressionless, only the corners of her mouth slightly twitching, “Mother is doing this for your own good.”
“In this world, apart from mother, you can only rely on yourself.” She ran her finger over the wound on Bai An’an’s forehead, softly saying, “Does it hurt?”
Bai An’an’s face was pale, she didn’t even have the strength to wipe the bl00d from her face, she weakly shook her head.
Before fainting, Bai An’an heard her cheap mother let out a cry of alarm, and then, as she wished, she fell into a cold, fragrant embrace.
When Bai An’an woke up, she immediately felt a sharp pain in her knees.
Realizing that Mu Tianyin hadn’t directly healed her, she couldn’t help but click her tongue in her heart.
Bai An’an closed her eyes, feeling Mu Tianyin standing beside her bed, slowly looking her over.
After looking at her, she thought she wasn’t in any life-threatening danger and was about to leave.
Bai An’an sensed this and immediately reached out, her small hand grabbing Mu Tianyin’s sleeve.
She opened her eyes, met Mu Tianyin’s surprised gaze, and smiled sweetly, “Fairy sister, I knew you saved An’er.”
“Are you An’er’s guardian? Will you appear whenever An’er is in trouble?”
Mu Tianyin was surprised that Bai An’an had continuous memories, but she didn’t show it on her face.
She frowned slightly, a hint of doubt appearing on her otherwise indifferent face.
Hearing the second half of Bai An’an’s words, she said directly, “No.”
Bai An’an carefully examined her, bit her lip, and her eyes suddenly lit up, hopefully asking, “Then… then are you actually An’er’s mother?”
Mu Tianyin: “…”
Although she thought the woman was too cruel and didn’t deserve to be a mother, she couldn’t answer Bai An’an’s question.
After a long silence, Mu Tianyin lowered her tea-colored eyes and denied again, “No.”
Hearing this, Bai An’an’s bright almond-shaped eyes dimmed.
After a moment, she blinked, regaining her lively appearance, “An’er remembers last time, fairy sister could fly. Can I become an immortal too?”
“Become an immortal?” Mu Tianyin twitched the corners of her mouth and shook her head, “I am a cultivator, not yet an immortal. And the path to immortality is difficult; no one has attained immortality in tens of thousands of years.”
“That’s still great!” Bai An’an suddenly said, her face without a trace of gloom, childishly, “So you can fly if you cultivate? Can An’er cultivate too?”
After saying that, her small hand slid down Mu Tianyin’s sleeve and took her fair, slender fingers.
Her small hand tightly grasped Mu Tianyin’s hand, which was twice her size, her bright gaze falling on Mu Tianyin’s face, cautiously asking, “Fairy sister, can An’er become your disciple?”
She had a white bandage wrapped around her forehead, making her small face look even paler and more pitiful.
Although she had just been violently beaten, her face showed no trace of resentment or hatred.
Compared to this child, many people’s hearts were not as strong as hers.
Mu Tianyin paused, her thick eyelashes drooping, casting a shadow under her eyes.
As the master of the righteous path, she should benefit the world, so giving this child a few pointers wouldn’t break the rules.
She looked down at her, her eyelashes trembling slightly, and after a long while, she said, “If you can pass the mountain gate trial, I will accept you as a disciple.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a big smile appeared on Bai An’an’s small face, “Thank you! Fairy sister!”
She was so happy that she almost jumped out of bed, but because she pulled the wound on her leg, she immediately fell back, her small face wrinkled in pain.
Mu Tianyin originally intended to send her back to the brothel. When she carried her through the market, she glanced at Bai An’an’s small head and saw her staring blankly at a candied hawthorn in a child’s hand.
Mu Tianyin looked at her, “Want to eat?”
Bai An’an swallowed her saliva, but said the opposite of what she thought, “No.”
Mu Tianyin patted her head, carried her to the stall, and bought her a candied hawthorn.
Bai An’an took the candied hawthorn blankly, her small hand tightly gripping the bamboo stick, and tentatively licked it.
She pursed her lips, and her eyes gradually reddened.
Mu Tianyin paused, “What’s wrong?”
Bai An’an bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes, sobbing, “The candied hawthorn is too delicious.”
Mu Tianyin was expressionless, but her eyes held a smile. She put her hand on her head and gently rubbed it, “Silly child.”
Bai An’an wiped her eyes, held back her tears, and said earnestly, “Fairy sister is so good to An’er! An’er will work hard to grow up, become fairy sister’s disciple, and serve you well!”
“We’ll pinky swear, and I definitely won’t lie to you!” She made a serious vow, her earnest expression amusing, yet her sincere heart was touching.
Even Mu Tianyin couldn’t help but take her finger and softly say, “Mm.”
Mu Tianyin took Bai An’an to the brothel entrance and set her down, watching her enter before concealing her presence and leaving.
Bai An’an hid the candied hawthorn in her arms, wondering how to use this important prop to move Mu Tianyin, standing in the hall, watching her leave.
When Mu Tianyin saw her the next day and mentioned the memory fragment, Bai An’an looked blank again, leaving her speechless.
••••
After that night, Bai An’an noticed that Mu Tianyin’s attitude towards her had softened considerably.
Bai An’an, thinking about the upcoming disciple mountain gate trial, coaxed Mu Tianyin to give her a backdoor.
“Senior sister, senior sister, just tell An’er what the mountain gate trial will test!” Bai An’an pouted, grabbed Mu Tianyin’s sleeve, and shook it vigorously.
Mu Tianyin glanced at her, sitting aside and calmly reading a book, “There’s no need to be so anxious. With your aptitude, you should be able to pass smoothly.”
Bai An’an rolled her eyes, she had naturally considered spiritual roots when creating this body.
After all, cultivators still relied on talent.
In the Demon Realm, other things were hard to say, but her handiwork was quite skilled.
The puppets she made were almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Even the Demon Realm’s Demon Lord couldn’t see anything wrong.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, glanced at Mu Tianyin, not without pride. She was so skilled that even Mu Tianyin couldn’t tell.
Mu Tianyin seemed to sense something, looked up at her, “Something wrong?”
Bai An’an shook her head, showing an innocent look, “Nothing, senior sister, what’s wrong with you?”
Mu Tianyin stared at her for a moment and shook her head, “Nothing.”
Mu Tianyin, having agreed to accept Bai An’an as her disciple, naturally made preparations early.
Bai An’an was older than the children raised with spiritual herbs from birth in the sect.
Thinking about the spiritual medicine for Bai An’an’s marrow cleansing and meridian opening, which lacked a special ingredient, she returned and assigned the task to her junior disciple, Zhai Anyi.
After saluting, Zhai Anyi prepared to leave, but was stopped by Mu Tianyin just as he reached the door.
She sat on the couch, her aura calm and refined, her tea-colored eyes still and unwavering, completely unlike someone from the mortal world, “Wait…”
Zhai Anyi hurriedly turned around, respectfully saying, “What else do you need, master?”
Mu Tianyin said calmly, “Remember to bring back a string of candied haws when you return. Your junior sister likes them.”
Zhai Anyi immediately looked up, staring at her in surprise.
Wasn’t he the youngest disciple?
Where did this junior sister come from?