Chapter 61: Mountain God Ceremony

Shangguan Yunzhu’s fingers gently hooked the edge of the back hem of the nightgown.

“Mm… no! Don’t… don’t touch there!!”

Lu Qiancha’s heart felt as if it were being gripped by an icy hand. Fear surged like a tidal wave, instantly overwhelming her. Her body instinctively began to struggle violently.

But she was not a physical cultivator.

Even as a Lianxu Realm cultivator, her naturally soft and petite frame was like a butterfly’s wing nailed to a wooden board in the hands of Shangguan Yunzhu, who had reached the Divine Transformation Peak and mastered formidable Zhanfa.

She couldn’t break free from that restraint at all.

“Be good, listen to me…”

Shangguan Yunzhu’s voice softened even further, as if soothing a frightened child. Her palm, warm yet firm, pressed down on Qiancha’s slender back to stop the futile writhing.

She was full of confusion — it was just applying some Yao Gao, so why was this little one so resistant?

She was clearly trembling from the pain, so why still so stubborn…?

Her heart ached with both anger and pity. She scooped a small amount of the cool, bone-chilling ointment with her fingertips and gently pressed it on the most painful part of the injury.

The moment the icy, slippery ointment touched the skin, it was as if the gates of the underworld had swung open.

The temperature at her fingertips.

That chilling sensation.

The humiliating posture, immobilized from behind.

All at once tore open the dam of memories Lu Qiancha had locked away.

Elder Wan Shuang’s furious face, looking down on her, seemed to reappear before Lu Qiancha.

“Uu~”

A massive wave of terror choked Lu Qiancha’s throat, finally breaking out as a faint whimper.

Large, scorching tears spilled uncontrollably, pounding onto Shangguan Yunzhu’s hand that cradled her abdomen.

“Does it… hurt a lot?!”

That heart-wrenching cry made Shangguan Yunzhu’s heart clench sharply. Her fingertips stiffened as if burned, and her voice trembled in panic, “I… did I hurt you? I-I’m sorry…”

She hurriedly tried to pull her hand away.

“Uu~ No, don’t hit me…”

Without Shangguan Yunzhu’s restraint, Lu Qiancha, like a frightened fledgling, immediately bounced off her lap and curled into a trembling blue fluff ball, clutching her tail tightly, burying herself inside.

“Please… I know I was wrong… I’m sorry… uu…”

Those sapphire-blue eyes grew dull, devoid of any life, with only endless fear spreading in the emptiness.

“Who’s going to hit you?! Qiancha Senior Brother! Xiao Qianqian! Look at me!”

Shangguan Yunzhu was completely flustered. She anxiously tried to brush aside the tail that was tightly wrapped around her, meeting those vacant eyes. “It’s me! Yunzhu! Nobody’s going to hurt you!!”

She couldn’t understand the sudden change before her eyes. She only felt the tiny, incoherent, crying figure curled up like a needle piercing sharply through her heart.

She had come to apply ointment, so why had she scared the child like this?!

The heavy confusion and panic were instantly replaced by an even stronger wave of pity and guilt.

Even though she had done nothing wrong, looking at the little wolf cub sobbing in terror, a crushing sense of self-blame pressed down on her like a massive stone, making it hard to breathe.

“Uu… I’m sorry… I know I was wrong…”

Lu Qiancha still sobbed and apologized unconsciously, her voice broken. Her small body trembled violently with each sob, as if enduring a horrifying torture alone.

Shangguan Yunzhu could no longer hold back. She bent down suddenly and pulled the trembling blue fluff ball tightly, tightly into her embrace.

Her arms closed in as if to melt away all the icy fear inside with her body heat and presence.

She lowered her head, pressing her cheek against that shaking blue head, her voice trembling with guilt, panic, and pleading that even she could not control:

“I’m sorry! It’s my fault! I scared you!… Be good… we won’t apply the ointment anymore… no more… don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid… Yunzhu’s here… Nobody can hurt you… don’t cry… please… don’t cry anymore…”

Shangguan Yunzhu muttered incoherently, her warm tears blurring her vision as well.

And so, the two girls — one older, one younger — cried softly inside the small wooden hut until Lu Qiancha, somewhat exhausted by tears, gradually fell asleep in the warmth of the embrace.

***

Lu Qiancha slowly opened her eyes amid gentle bumps. Her blurred vision gradually focused—the uneven branches of ancient trees drifting overhead.

She was nestled in Shangguan Yunzhu’s arms, the faint scent of dandelions lingering on her breath… Clearly, they had already set out on the winding mountain path to the Shanshen Ritual.

“Awake?”

Shangguan Yunzhu was the first to notice her stirring, lowering her head and speaking softly, gentle as a whisper.

Her amber eyes were filled with concern and an almost maternal tenderness. “Is there still anywhere on your body that hurts?”

Lu Qiancha instinctively shook her head, but a faint blush quietly crept up her cheeks. She found herself uncomfortably overwhelmed by Shangguan Yunzhu’s motherly gaze.

It was the first time someone her age had looked at her like this… Uu~ It felt so embarrassing…

Recalling how she had been scared to tears earlier… It was over — she’d really been treated like a little child…

Uu~ It was truly humiliating.

Flustered and helpless, her cheeks burning, Lu Qiancha instinctively burrowed deeper into Shangguan Yunzhu’s embrace, trying to hide herself.

This fledgling-like gesture seeking refuge, in Shangguan Yunzhu’s eyes, was proof that the lingering fear was still seeking comfort.

“Don’t be afraid anymore, I’m here…”

Shangguan Yunzhu’s heart softened, the overwhelming tenderness in her eyes nearly spilling over. She reached out, gently stroking Lu Qiancha’s furry pointed ears and soft blue hair atop her head.

The gentle touch above her head caused Lu Qiancha’s blush to explode all at once, burning even hotter.

She almost whimpered, burying her head even deeper into the embrace, leaving only a small portion of her flushed blue ears exposed.

They remained silent all the way until the long procession stopped on a broad platform halfway up the mountain.

“We’ve arrived.” Shangguan Yunzhu’s voice pulled Lu Qiancha out of her shameful ostrich-like state.

“Mm…”

Lu Qiancha gave a barely audible response, quickly escaping from Shangguan Yunzhu’s embrace as if scalded and lightly jumped to the ground.

No… it still felt so embarrassing… Uu~ I can’t face anyone.

She closed her eyes tightly, almost instantly shrinking behind Shangguan Yunzhu’s tall figure, sending her divine sense out to scout the surroundings for her.

Seeing Lu Qiancha’s timid demeanor, Shangguan Yunzhu couldn’t help but smile quietly.

She firmly grasped the small furry paw that had reached out from behind, unconsciously tugging at her clothes, wrapping her five fingers gently around it.

Then she turned her gaze to the villagers performing the ceremonial worship rite before her.

Her eyes also fell on the Shanshen Temple at the platform’s edge.

Several burly villagers were working together to carry a huge wooden tray piled high with large, plump, and vividly colored immortal peaches—standing out starkly among the surrounding Green Rocks in the mountains.

The tray was carefully placed at the foot of a somewhat crude stone stone statue of the Shan Shen, roughly chiseled from a single slab of Blue Stone.

Then began a long, solemn, and almost numbing ceremony of worship.

Intricate blessings, kowtowing, incense offerings… every step executed meticulously, yet weighed down by a stifling, oppressive atmosphere.

At the end of the ritual, the Village Chief’s hoarse, aged voice pierced the air: “Close your eyes—kneel—!

“Let the Shan Shen Great Lord… enjoy the offering—!”

As his words fell, the villagers on the platform simultaneously sank deeply to the ground, their foreheads pressed tightly against the cold rocky surface, exhibiting utmost humility and reverence.

The entire platform fell silent, filled only with the sound of suppressed breathing.

Shangguan Yunzhu and Lu Qiancha exchanged a glance and sat cross-legged as well, placing their hands respectfully in front of them, bowing their heads with closed eyes.

Though both remained silent with closed eyes, their divine sense never rested, sharply catching the slightest fluctuations in the air, trying to detect any hint of abnormality in the dead stillness.

Just as Lu Qiancha’s divine sense swept across the surface of the piled, delicious peaches, a sudden shiver of malicious, sticky coldness rose in her heart.

Her divine sense detected—

Beneath the rosy, tempting peach skin, a few grain-sized, oddly pale green or sickly orange-yellow soft-bodied worms wriggled, piercing the smooth skin and greedily gnawing on the tender flesh.

What was even more disgusting—

Whenever they gnawed off a portion, they excreted a murky, translucent sticky substance from their tiny mouthparts.

This vile secretion, as if alive, quickly spread, sealing the bite marks on the peach perfectly back to their original state.