Transcending the Nine Heavens

Inside the carriage…

Mo Qing Wu curiously lifted the curtain of the carriage. Then, she looked outside, "So many people are gathered her. It seems as if they have come to a fair…"

"This is a big matter of the Middle Three Heavens! How would it not be lively?" Jun Xi Zhu smiled. She had developed an increasingly favorable impression of this gentle and melancholic little girl in the past few days.

[This girl looks far more sensible, adorable, and intelligent than ordinary girls of her age. In fact, some of her thoughts can be regarded as very mature. She has attained commendable inner strength after going through lots of troubles in her life. One would harbor a deep and favorable impression of her when they’d see her for the first time. And, one would feel endless pity towards her…]

Jun Xi Zhu had been frequently taking to Mo Qing Wu in the past few days; she had obviously teased the little girl quite a bit. Regardless, they had chatted endlessly. She would also check the knowledge of this little girl by her probing her reactions.

However, Mo Qing Wu’s reactions had made her very amazed. And, she concluded that this little girl wasn’t merely quick-witted, but some of her talks had substance as well. Let’s say she came across an issue that she didn’t understand. Then, she would simply blink her eyes, and frankly say, "Elder Sister Jun, I don’t understand this."

Jun Xi Zhu admired her because of her attitude of not pretending to understand what she didn’t. Therefore, Jun Xi Zhu would explain the said-matter to her in detail. And, Mo Qing Wu would nod her little head repeatedly...

The two women would feel a sense of accomplishment after Mo Qing Wu would grasp the meaning of the things that she didn’t previously understand. And then, they would continue to carry out the discussion in depth…

Jun Lu Lu would also participate in the discussions on occasions. Various Jianghu facts, the circumstances of aristocratic clans, tangled and complicated relationship between all the clans, some rumors and anecdotes… they carried out discussions and assessment on a myriad of subjects.

It could be said that Mo Qing Wu had a special grasping ability! In addition, she had encountered a good mentor in Jun Xi Zhu since the woman had in-depth knowledge of worldly affairs. And, more and more things could be deduced from each discussion as a result.

As the saying goes — a good teacher must have a brilliant student. The teacher would feel depressed if only they are good, and the student wasn’t brilliant-enough. But, if both are at par… then the teacher wouldn’t feel depressed, and the student wouldn’t feel tired. And, everything would seem full of enthusiasm to them.

These three women didn’t feel the passage of time over the past few days, and time just went by. Jin Xi Zhu thought as they arrived, [how good it would’ve been… if I had a little sister or a daughter like her?]

Even Jun Lu lu had become somewhat jealous. [Elder Sister is so good towards this little girl. She would always beat me and scold me when I was young. But, she is unexpectedly so patient with this little girl ever since she has met her. And, she isn’t being artificial either...]

An invisible falcon came flying. The sound of flapping wings sounded outside the curtain of the carriage.

Jun Xi Zhu held out her hand, and grabbed the invisible falcon. She seized the message, and read it. And, she couldn’t help but sighed in surprise…

"What happened?" Jun Lu Lu asked.

"The compensation rate of Ji Mo didn’t drop. Instead, it went up. And unexpectedly … this has happened because…" Jin Xi Zhu slowly clenched that slip of paper in her hand. After that, she looked towards Mo Qing Wu, "…the person you’ve been waiting for has arrived!"

"The person I’ve been waiting for… has arrived?" Mo Qing Wu was startled. She carefully thought for a moment. Suddenly, her entire body shook. She jumped up, and her little head bumped into the ceiling of the carriage. It issued a ‘bang’ sound. Then, she fell down. But, she paid no attention to the pain as she shouted in joy, "Elder Brother Chu Yang has arrived?"

Jun Xi Zhu sighed and nodded.

"Yay! Wonderful! Wow! I want to see Elder Brother Chu Yang!" Mo Qing Wu’s began to dance in joy. She wreaked havoc in this small carriage until the dizziness took over. Then, she sat down at once. She sat for quite a while in a daze. Then, her small mouth slowly became flat in sadness, and her eyes slowly turned red. Suddenly, she threw herself on the floor, and burst into tears. Apparently, whatever grievance she had suffered in the past one year had been unburdened from her chest in this moment!

"Elder Brother Chu Yang… you have finally come, boohoo…" Mo Qing Wu cried in grief. Her mind had become inexplicably relaxed all of a sudden. It seemed that she was pressed under a burden as heavy as a mountain before… but, this burden had disappeared without a trace in this moment.

"Hey, why are you crying right now?" Jun Lu Lu smiled and consoled her, "You won’t be able to cry when you would see your Elder Brother Chu Yang!"

"I want to cry right now." Mo Qing Wu replied while she sobbed, "Elder Brother Chu Yang doesn’t like when someone cries. I only want to smile at Elder Brother Chu Yang when I see him. He would feel unpleasant in his heart if I cried."

"I will cry my heart out now itself. And, I wouldn’t need to cry when I see Elder Brother Chu Yang in that case, boohoo…" Mo Qing Wu said as she wiped her tears.

Jun Xi Zhu sighed in her heart. These were the words of a child, but they contained deep feelings. How could she not heed?

"However, you must be prepared, Little Wu. Your Elder Brother Chu Yang may not be able to protect you," Jun Xi Zhu spoke in a soft voice.

"No! Elder Brother Chu Yang will protect me!" Mo Qing Wu replied with confidence.

"He may want to protect you… but, he might not have that kind of strength, ah." Jun Xi Zhu tried to convince this stubborn little girl.

"Elder Brother Chu Yang will find a way!" Mo Qing Wu had a confident look on her face, "The people of the entire world may not be able to find a way, but Elder Brother Chu Yang will always find a way! I’m sure of it!"

She tightly clenched her small fist to express the incredible confidence her heart had on Chu Yang!

Jun Xi Zhu sighed. She silently raised her head, but she didn’t speak anything. [I will let this little girl hit the wall. Then, I will let her Elder Brother Chu Yang suffer a little setback. Otherwise… she wouldn’t realize that she is truly the safest when she’s here with me…]

The carriage sped along the road. But, Mo Qing Wu’s heart had already floated away from this place. It had already flown to Mt. Dingjun. She lifted the curtain of the carriage after a while, and peeked outside. She pouted her little mouth and complained, "Why are we going so slowly? Elder Brother Chu Yang must be getting worried…"

She again lifted the curtain after a while, and looked outside, "How come we still haven’t arrived… what I would do if Elder Brother Chu Yang left?"

She waited for a moment to catch her breath. Then, she lifted it open again, "Too slow! Too slow! Too slow, ah, ah! When will we arrive, ah…"

Jun Lu Lu’s face became sullen.

[You have already peeked out three times and complained that it is too slow in a time frame of gasping for breath… This is a carriage you know… it can’t fly…]

Mo Qing Wu had never been this lively before. She had cried so much. But, her tear-stained face exuded the beauty of raindrops on a pear blossom. There was also excitement on her face. She would raise her little face time and again, and would take a look outside. However, she suddenly recalled something important after she had done this dozens of times in quick succession. And, she became nervous immediately-after…

"Elder Sister Ah Lu…" Mo Qing Wu pulled the sleeves of Jun Lu Lu with her little hand and showed her cute smiling face, "Please, you have to do one thing for me… you must promise…"

"What?" Jun Lu Lu vigilantly looked at her.

"Do you have a mirror? And… a comb? And, also that… Do I look ugly right now? My face isn’t dirty, right? And, and… do you have clothes? Pretty ones… the prettier the better…" Mo Qing Wu pleaded earnestly.

"No." Jun Lu Lu lowered her face to hold back her laughter.

Mo Qing Wu immediately abandoned her worn-out shoes. She then turned around and went up to Jun Xi Zhu. And, she made a flattering face, "Sister Xi Zhu… he he… you’re very beautiful. You seem only two or three years older than me… do you have a mirror, a comb, and pretty clothes?"

Jun Xi Zhu nearly fainted. [Two or three years older than you? Do I look like a cute little girl to you?]

"No." Jun Xi Zhu glared at her.

"This is bad… Oh no! Oh no! Oh no…" Mo Qing Wu got anxious. Her small face twisted, and got wrinkled. Her small nose also got creased. After that, a bitter look appeared on her face, "What should I do? What should I do? I look ugly right now, very ugly… Elder Brother Chu Yang says that he likes neat and clean girls…"

She tried to tidy herself in a flustered manner. However, the more she tidied herself… the more she felt dissatisfied. After that, she stood helplessly since she didn’t know what to do. And, her face became rather pitiful to look at…

Jun Lu Lu and her elder sister exclaimed in unison, [This little girl has been poisoned! In fact, this poison isn’t a mild one either…]

The two sisters couldn’t help but despise Chu Yang. [What kind of magic potion has this bastard poured into this little girl? He has ruined this little girl…]

"Fortunately, she’s still very young..." Jin Xi Zhu took a deep sigh, "I’m afraid this Elder Brother Chu Yang would’ve only needed to causally speak ‘follow me’ if she were a few years older… and this naïve little girl would’ve eloped with him without the slightest hesitation… it’s really dreadful."

Jun Lu Lu nodded since she had the same feeling deep down. It seemed like both sisters could read each other’s thoughts. Then, they began to teach some womanly-tricks to Mo Qing Wu. A girl must always act reserved… A girl should not take the initiative, and so on…

Mo Qing Wu absent-mindedly listened to them. She just replied with an ‘oh’ from time to time. After that, her eyes began to look all over the place in anxiety… [What should I do to dress up and look pretty? I am so dirty right now. What would I do if Elder Brother Chu Yang saw me like this and didn’t like me?]

[It’s really awful! I would’ve brought many pretty clothes from home if I had known that Elder Brother Chu Yang would be here too. I’m done for… boohoo boohoo…]

Jun Lu Lu had vigorously promoted the so-called tricks of being a ‘virtuous lady’ a moment ago. But, she saw that this little girl had started to cry all of a sudden, and she couldn’t help but choke up.

"What should I do, boohoo … What would I do if Elder Brother Chu Yang didn’t like me…?" Mo Qing Wu cried in grief.

"Here, I have a mirror and a comb…" Jun Lu Lu felt sad in her heart when she saw her crying. So, she had no other choice but to surrender, "I was just fooling you, he he."

Mo Qing Wu received the items. Unexpectedly, she looked at herself from all angles. The more she looked at herself in the mirror… the more she felt sad in her heart. Her eyes again became red as a result. And, more and more tears fell down in despair as her crying became more intense, "As expected… I look very ugly, boohoo…"

Jun Lu Lu felt helpless because she couldn’t do anything about it. She looked at her elder sister with a pleading look. [We have no choice… we have encountered such an emotional and saintly little girl…]

"Well, there is a solution. So, you can dress and look pretty," Jun Xi Zhu spoke-up in a calm tone, "But, your eyes would swell and look like peach if you cry again. And, you wouldn’t look good even if you dress up nicely after that happens. Then, your Elder Brother Chu Yang will never like you."

The impact of this sentence was very powerful. In fact, it was amazing. Mo Qing Wu immediately stopped crying. She twitched her nose and spoke, "I won’t cry."

"But… how will I dress up?" The radiance of hope glittered in Mo Qing Wu’s eyes.

"If I remember correctly… there is a small market ahead. It’s not too far away from here…" Jun Xi Zhu blinked and replied, "You can wash your face there, and you can take a bath too… So, bathe there, and clean yourself properly. You can spray perfume and get dressed up as well. Then, you will look elegant and pretty… in addition, you also needn’t worry that your Elder Brother Chu Yang might go away… he’s here to snatch a wife for your Elder Brother Ji Mo. So, he won’t leave without snatching the wife. Therefore, you have a lot of time."

"Really?!" Mo Qing Wu’s little face started to shine, "I can wash my face? I can take a bath? I can buy pretty clothes?"

Jun Xi Zhu nodded her head in affirmation.

Mo Qing Wu immediately felt relieved. And, her face started to beam with joy. But, her complexion became suspicious soon after. She nervously asked, "Has he really come to snatch a wife for Elder Brother Ji Mo? And… not to snatch wife for himself…? Are you sure of that…?"

Jun Xi Zhu and Jun Lu Lu became speechless. They simply stared at her, and were unable to respond…