Offering Salted Fish to Master - C6
1- Where Am I?
2- An Excess of Beauties
3- The One Hundred
4- Clueless
5- Meeting The Ancestor
6- Sleep Schedule and Relax
7- Stairs, stairs and more Stairs
8- The red Lotus Fire
9- New Moon
10- Slim Waist
11- Cramped Hammock
12- Gengchen Immortal Mansion
13- The Youduan flowers of the Sun and Moon
14- Two Lumps of Flesh
15- White Deer Cliff
Chapter 6
Sleep Schedule and Relax
The black snake wasn’t particularly intelligent. Though it feared Sima Jiao and considered him a cruel master, it still sought his help in times of difficulty. Throughout its long life, it had been fed only by Sima Jiao and Liao Tingyan. In hopes of enjoying more of the delicious treats from them, it risked its life to carry the unconscious woman to the central tower.
However, Sima Jiao lacked the kindness to save anyone. His title, Dharma Lord of Compassionate Repository—bestowed upon him by some old monk—was ironic, as he had never displayed any compassion in his life. Even when his long-time pet approached him boldly with a few soft hisses, his only response was to lift his hand and impatiently swat the large snake away.
Thrown aside by its indifferent master, the black snake landed heavily on the ground and immediately deflated. Fearing further mistreatment, it crawled silently to a nearby pillar and coiled up, leaving Liao Tingyan still lying unconscious on the floor.
Shortly afterward, Liao Tingyan hazily regained some consciousness and felt unusually cold. Curling up, she pulled a nearby robe over herself, showing no further movement. Sima Jiao glanced at her again, finding it audacious that this Demon Realm spy had covered herself with his robe.
For some reason, his curiosity was piqued. He lifted her chin with a finger to examine her more closely.
“Come here,” he commanded the black snake.
The black snake eagerly slithered over from its position coiled around the pillar.
“What did she do to make you want to save her?” Sima Jiao asked.
The black snake shook its head, either not understanding the question or simply not knowing the answer.
“Do you know why she’s here?”
The snake shook its head again, as if that was all it could do. Sima Jiao’s irritation grew, and he cursed at it: “You know nothing yet still brought her to me—do you want to die?”
The black snake trembled, afraid he might lash out again.
Suddenly, Sima Jiao pulled Liao Tingyan upright and placed his ice-cold palm on her stomach, as if he intended to save her.
The black snake watched cautiously from the side, obediently behaving, unaware of its unpredictable master’s intentions this time.
Sima Jiao didn’t take the petty tricks of the Demon Realm seriously; he regarded them as mere methods of control. If he wished to deal with such matters, he had countless ways to do so, and he chose the simplest one.
He pinched Liao Tingyan's mouth open and inserted a cold, pale finger to feel her teeth. Pausing with an unreadable expression, he withdrew his finger. He then grabbed the nearby black snake, pinching its mouth open in the same manner, expertly locating its sharp fangs. With a slight prick to his own finger, he returned to Liao Tingyan’s mouth, casually swishing his blood around.
He fed her a drop of his blood. His earlier action of inserting his finger in her mouth had been instinctive—after all, this was how he had fed the snake for years. It hadn’t immediately occurred to him that humans and snakes were different; the useless human teeth couldn’t even pierce his skin.
Unbeknownst to Liao Tingyan, she was being disdained by an unreasonable ancestor. In her unconscious state, she felt a cold sensation enveloping her, particularly in her stomach, which had been in great pain earlier. As the pain began to subside, a chilling coldness emanated from her stomach, as if it contained heavy blocks of ice, numbing her limbs and bones.
Suddenly, she tasted something sweet in her mouth, followed by a wave of warmth surging through her body. It felt like a squad of soldiers, shouting battle cries as they cleared away the cold elements, advancing to the coldest part of her abdomen. There, the once-dominant icy flames trembled under the pressure of this newfound heat, shrinking continuously until they finally subdued.
Now, Liao Tingyan felt much more comfortable; her entire body was warm and cozy, allowing her to sleep soundly once again.
Sima Jiao waited for a while, intending to ask her some questions when she awoke, but she showed no signs of waking up. What was going on? Was his blood unable to cure that trivial demonic poison? She should have awakened immediately.
Then he realized that while she was indeed fine now, she had not woken up; she had simply fallen into a deep sleep, emitting soft snoring sounds if one listened closely.
Sima Jiao's expression changed suddenly. The black snake next to him pulled back its head more and more; if it had ears, they would be flattened by now.
It seemed that Liao Tingyan wasn’t just bold-hearted but also rather carefree. He remembered seeing her sunbathing and napping that day, appearing more relaxed than himself, and his expression became even more peculiar. The Demon Realm had gone to great lengths to send someone here, and after all that effort... this was the result?
Perhaps the Demon Realm had declined over the years, leaving them with no competent spies and forcing them to use such an unambitious person, even less proactive than those from Gengchen Immortal Mansion.
After further consideration, he concluded that this individual must be remarkable, probably more intelligent than those fools. Not only had she avoided confronting him and risking her own downfall, but she had also managed to win over that foolish snake. Perhaps today’s events had been intentionally planned by her—truly a display of skill.
Sima Jiao, having come to this realization, nodded with a hint of satisfaction. "Not bad," he remarked. Such profound scheming suited her seductively wicked appearance.
The scheming and alluring Liao Tingyan finally woke up, immediately noticing the ancestral demon gazing down at her. This sight was as traumatic as the night she had awakened to the terrifying black snake with its bloody maw hovering above her. Her reaction was instinctive—she clutched her chest and gasped sharply, the sound of her breath quite audible.
Sima Jiao observed her performance with an ambiguous smile, thinking to himself, “Truly excellent acting—very authentic.”
Liao Tingyan nearly let out a scream similar to a goose's. She couldn't clearly remember what had happened, only vaguely recalling that she had fainted from intense pain—though she quickly dismissed the idea that it was the kind of pain linked to a period; no period had ever been that severe. How did she end up in the Ancestral Master’s central tower?
She noticed the large open window behind the Ancestral Master, with the scenery outside clearly revealing her location, yet she couldn’t understand how she had gotten there. There was no way she had sleepwalked to this place.
In her nervousness, she gripped the “blanket” tightly around her. The blanket… was actually the Ancestral Master’s robe.
Realizing the seriousness of her situation, Liao Tingyan felt she could no longer hide and prepared herself for the worst. Under the Ancestral Master’s mysterious gaze, she let go of his garment, smoothed it out, and sincerely apologized, “Please forgive this disciple, Ancestral Master.”
Sima Jiao sat there like a snake ready to strike its prey — not like the black snake, that fake creature, but like a truly menacing venomous serpent. In a tone that hinted he might lash out in violence at any moment, he praised her: “Your courage is truly remarkable.”
Liao Tingyan thought, “Huh?” This ancestor seemed to commend her bravery for the second time, but where did he see that? If she were truly courageous, she wouldn’t feel an urgent need to use the bathroom right now.
Sima Jiao observed Liao Tingyan’s truly confused expression, his gaze turning colder. He disliked bad acting, but he found superb acting even more unpalatable. Feeling tempted to send her to her doom early, he asked a deadly question: “Why have you come here?”
Liao Tingyan hesitated for a moment before settling on the standard reply: “This disciple has come to serve the Ancestral Master.”
Sima Jiao, unfazed, raised a finger and lightly touched his forehead, asking again, "Answer me: why have you come?"
Liao Tingyan replied, "To adjust my sleep schedule and relax my mind and body." In short, she just needed a holiday.
Suddenly, Liao Tingyan wondered, What’s happening? How did my words change as they left my mouth? This must be that grandson’s trick! This fantasy world is messing with me! How can there be a truth-compelling buff like this?
Sima Jiao expected to hear about a nefarious plot, but instead received a completely unrelated answer. He was taken aback, showing a hint of surprise. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked again, and Liao Tingyan repeated the same response.
Sima Jiao had complete confidence in his abilities. Thanks to his bloodline's power, no one could deceive him—at least not the person directly in front of him—so she must be telling the truth. Yet it was precisely this truth that rendered him speechless.
Was what she said even understandable? He had heard that people from the Demon Realm who practiced demonic cultivation often suffered mental damage. Still, he had previously believed it was just a rumor—mere slander from righteous cultivators because of the irreconcilable conflict between good and evil. Only now did he start to reconsider. Coming here so boldly for relaxation? This place was a den of tigers and dragons! Even the old fogeys from Gengchen Immortal Mansion were afraid to come here. Anyone from the Demon Realm who wasn’t mentally deficient wouldn’t choose this place for relaxation.
Still doubtful, he approached Liao Tingyan, grabbed her chin, and, examining her eyes closely, asked, “You don’t want to kill me?” If she were from the Demon Realm, that should have been her only mission.
Liao Tingyan, with a frozen expression, shook her head and replied with two words: “Don’t want to.” What kind of baffling question was this?
Sima Jiao became even more confused. “Why don’t you want to kill me?”
Liao Tingyan truly believed that this ancestor might be mentally unwell. Was his question even understandable? Why would she want to kill him? She was just an innocent salted fish with such low cultivation—who would be foolish enough to try to kill him? Did he have paranoid delusions? Was he kept here because his mind had been damaged by cultivation gone wrong?
While her mind was screaming, her mouth softly murmured, answering Sima Jiao's almost self-directed question: “Because there’s no reason, no grudge.”
Why didn’t she want to kill him? Because there was no reason or grudge? Sima Jiao’s expression shifted as unpleasant memories surfaced, causing his face to contort subtly. “In this world, killing requires neither grievance nor reason.”
Liao Tingyan was speechless. How could she express her thoughts? She was a law-abiding citizen raised in a society governed by the rule of law, and their worldviews simply didn’t align.
Sima Jiao’s murderous aura began to leak out. “For instance, right now, without any reason or grievance, I simply want to kill you. How do you feel about that?”
Liao Tingyan’s mouth, seemingly acting on its own, replied, “I think that’s fine since I can’t defeat you anyway.”
As soon as she said this, her expression fell into dejection. When would this truth-compelling buff be removed, allowing her a chance to beg for mercy? If he decided to strike her down with a single palm after hearing her, wouldn’t she just die? If there were any chance of survival, she’d like to try to stay alive.
Sima Jiao raised his hand to strike, but then lowered it again. “You want me to kill you, but now I don’t feel like it.”
Was he some kind of moody teenager? This ancestor, with his questionable mental state, had wildly erratic thoughts—one moment wanting to kill, the next deciding against it. Not only did he hold back from killing, but he also told Liao Tingyan, “From now on, you will come to attend to me.”
Inside, Liao Tingyan wanted to refuse, but how could she say no to the Ancestral Master? She had effectively become her ultimate boss, and for the sake of her survival, she compromised like any corporate employee would. When her boss asked her to revise a design proposal ten times, she might not have wanted to, but she still had to. Similarly, when the Ancestral Master instructed her to come to work, she may not have wanted to, but she had to comply.
Thus, she unexpectedly became a teammate of the black snake and, at the same time, the first person in the group of one hundred women to successfully approach the Ancestral Master.
Lucky me!
However, Sima Jiao lacked the kindness to save anyone. His title, Dharma Lord of Compassionate Repository—bestowed upon him by some old monk—was ironic, as he had never displayed any compassion in his life. Even when his long-time pet approached him boldly with a few soft hisses, his only response was to lift his hand and impatiently swat the large snake away.
Thrown aside by its indifferent master, the black snake landed heavily on the ground and immediately deflated. Fearing further mistreatment, it crawled silently to a nearby pillar and coiled up, leaving Liao Tingyan still lying unconscious on the floor.
Shortly afterward, Liao Tingyan hazily regained some consciousness and felt unusually cold. Curling up, she pulled a nearby robe over herself, showing no further movement. Sima Jiao glanced at her again, finding it audacious that this Demon Realm spy had covered herself with his robe.
For some reason, his curiosity was piqued. He lifted her chin with a finger to examine her more closely.
“Come here,” he commanded the black snake.
The black snake eagerly slithered over from its position coiled around the pillar.
“What did she do to make you want to save her?” Sima Jiao asked.
The black snake shook its head, either not understanding the question or simply not knowing the answer.
“Do you know why she’s here?”
The snake shook its head again, as if that was all it could do. Sima Jiao’s irritation grew, and he cursed at it: “You know nothing yet still brought her to me—do you want to die?”
The black snake trembled, afraid he might lash out again.
Suddenly, Sima Jiao pulled Liao Tingyan upright and placed his ice-cold palm on her stomach, as if he intended to save her.
The black snake watched cautiously from the side, obediently behaving, unaware of its unpredictable master’s intentions this time.
Sima Jiao didn’t take the petty tricks of the Demon Realm seriously; he regarded them as mere methods of control. If he wished to deal with such matters, he had countless ways to do so, and he chose the simplest one.
He pinched Liao Tingyan's mouth open and inserted a cold, pale finger to feel her teeth. Pausing with an unreadable expression, he withdrew his finger. He then grabbed the nearby black snake, pinching its mouth open in the same manner, expertly locating its sharp fangs. With a slight prick to his own finger, he returned to Liao Tingyan’s mouth, casually swishing his blood around.
He fed her a drop of his blood. His earlier action of inserting his finger in her mouth had been instinctive—after all, this was how he had fed the snake for years. It hadn’t immediately occurred to him that humans and snakes were different; the useless human teeth couldn’t even pierce his skin.
Unbeknownst to Liao Tingyan, she was being disdained by an unreasonable ancestor. In her unconscious state, she felt a cold sensation enveloping her, particularly in her stomach, which had been in great pain earlier. As the pain began to subside, a chilling coldness emanated from her stomach, as if it contained heavy blocks of ice, numbing her limbs and bones.
Suddenly, she tasted something sweet in her mouth, followed by a wave of warmth surging through her body. It felt like a squad of soldiers, shouting battle cries as they cleared away the cold elements, advancing to the coldest part of her abdomen. There, the once-dominant icy flames trembled under the pressure of this newfound heat, shrinking continuously until they finally subdued.
Now, Liao Tingyan felt much more comfortable; her entire body was warm and cozy, allowing her to sleep soundly once again.
Sima Jiao waited for a while, intending to ask her some questions when she awoke, but she showed no signs of waking up. What was going on? Was his blood unable to cure that trivial demonic poison? She should have awakened immediately.
Then he realized that while she was indeed fine now, she had not woken up; she had simply fallen into a deep sleep, emitting soft snoring sounds if one listened closely.
Sima Jiao's expression changed suddenly. The black snake next to him pulled back its head more and more; if it had ears, they would be flattened by now.
It seemed that Liao Tingyan wasn’t just bold-hearted but also rather carefree. He remembered seeing her sunbathing and napping that day, appearing more relaxed than himself, and his expression became even more peculiar. The Demon Realm had gone to great lengths to send someone here, and after all that effort... this was the result?
Perhaps the Demon Realm had declined over the years, leaving them with no competent spies and forcing them to use such an unambitious person, even less proactive than those from Gengchen Immortal Mansion.
After further consideration, he concluded that this individual must be remarkable, probably more intelligent than those fools. Not only had she avoided confronting him and risking her own downfall, but she had also managed to win over that foolish snake. Perhaps today’s events had been intentionally planned by her—truly a display of skill.
Sima Jiao, having come to this realization, nodded with a hint of satisfaction. "Not bad," he remarked. Such profound scheming suited her seductively wicked appearance.
The scheming and alluring Liao Tingyan finally woke up, immediately noticing the ancestral demon gazing down at her. This sight was as traumatic as the night she had awakened to the terrifying black snake with its bloody maw hovering above her. Her reaction was instinctive—she clutched her chest and gasped sharply, the sound of her breath quite audible.
Sima Jiao observed her performance with an ambiguous smile, thinking to himself, “Truly excellent acting—very authentic.”
Liao Tingyan nearly let out a scream similar to a goose's. She couldn't clearly remember what had happened, only vaguely recalling that she had fainted from intense pain—though she quickly dismissed the idea that it was the kind of pain linked to a period; no period had ever been that severe. How did she end up in the Ancestral Master’s central tower?
She noticed the large open window behind the Ancestral Master, with the scenery outside clearly revealing her location, yet she couldn’t understand how she had gotten there. There was no way she had sleepwalked to this place.
In her nervousness, she gripped the “blanket” tightly around her. The blanket… was actually the Ancestral Master’s robe.
Realizing the seriousness of her situation, Liao Tingyan felt she could no longer hide and prepared herself for the worst. Under the Ancestral Master’s mysterious gaze, she let go of his garment, smoothed it out, and sincerely apologized, “Please forgive this disciple, Ancestral Master.”
Sima Jiao sat there like a snake ready to strike its prey — not like the black snake, that fake creature, but like a truly menacing venomous serpent. In a tone that hinted he might lash out in violence at any moment, he praised her: “Your courage is truly remarkable.”
Liao Tingyan thought, “Huh?” This ancestor seemed to commend her bravery for the second time, but where did he see that? If she were truly courageous, she wouldn’t feel an urgent need to use the bathroom right now.
Sima Jiao observed Liao Tingyan’s truly confused expression, his gaze turning colder. He disliked bad acting, but he found superb acting even more unpalatable. Feeling tempted to send her to her doom early, he asked a deadly question: “Why have you come here?”
Liao Tingyan hesitated for a moment before settling on the standard reply: “This disciple has come to serve the Ancestral Master.”
Sima Jiao, unfazed, raised a finger and lightly touched his forehead, asking again, "Answer me: why have you come?"
Liao Tingyan replied, "To adjust my sleep schedule and relax my mind and body." In short, she just needed a holiday.
Suddenly, Liao Tingyan wondered, What’s happening? How did my words change as they left my mouth? This must be that grandson’s trick! This fantasy world is messing with me! How can there be a truth-compelling buff like this?
Sima Jiao expected to hear about a nefarious plot, but instead received a completely unrelated answer. He was taken aback, showing a hint of surprise. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked again, and Liao Tingyan repeated the same response.
Sima Jiao had complete confidence in his abilities. Thanks to his bloodline's power, no one could deceive him—at least not the person directly in front of him—so she must be telling the truth. Yet it was precisely this truth that rendered him speechless.
Was what she said even understandable? He had heard that people from the Demon Realm who practiced demonic cultivation often suffered mental damage. Still, he had previously believed it was just a rumor—mere slander from righteous cultivators because of the irreconcilable conflict between good and evil. Only now did he start to reconsider. Coming here so boldly for relaxation? This place was a den of tigers and dragons! Even the old fogeys from Gengchen Immortal Mansion were afraid to come here. Anyone from the Demon Realm who wasn’t mentally deficient wouldn’t choose this place for relaxation.
Still doubtful, he approached Liao Tingyan, grabbed her chin, and, examining her eyes closely, asked, “You don’t want to kill me?” If she were from the Demon Realm, that should have been her only mission.
Liao Tingyan, with a frozen expression, shook her head and replied with two words: “Don’t want to.” What kind of baffling question was this?
Sima Jiao became even more confused. “Why don’t you want to kill me?”
Liao Tingyan truly believed that this ancestor might be mentally unwell. Was his question even understandable? Why would she want to kill him? She was just an innocent salted fish with such low cultivation—who would be foolish enough to try to kill him? Did he have paranoid delusions? Was he kept here because his mind had been damaged by cultivation gone wrong?
While her mind was screaming, her mouth softly murmured, answering Sima Jiao's almost self-directed question: “Because there’s no reason, no grudge.”
Why didn’t she want to kill him? Because there was no reason or grudge? Sima Jiao’s expression shifted as unpleasant memories surfaced, causing his face to contort subtly. “In this world, killing requires neither grievance nor reason.”
Liao Tingyan was speechless. How could she express her thoughts? She was a law-abiding citizen raised in a society governed by the rule of law, and their worldviews simply didn’t align.
Sima Jiao’s murderous aura began to leak out. “For instance, right now, without any reason or grievance, I simply want to kill you. How do you feel about that?”
Liao Tingyan’s mouth, seemingly acting on its own, replied, “I think that’s fine since I can’t defeat you anyway.”
As soon as she said this, her expression fell into dejection. When would this truth-compelling buff be removed, allowing her a chance to beg for mercy? If he decided to strike her down with a single palm after hearing her, wouldn’t she just die? If there were any chance of survival, she’d like to try to stay alive.
Sima Jiao raised his hand to strike, but then lowered it again. “You want me to kill you, but now I don’t feel like it.”
Was he some kind of moody teenager? This ancestor, with his questionable mental state, had wildly erratic thoughts—one moment wanting to kill, the next deciding against it. Not only did he hold back from killing, but he also told Liao Tingyan, “From now on, you will come to attend to me.”
Inside, Liao Tingyan wanted to refuse, but how could she say no to the Ancestral Master? She had effectively become her ultimate boss, and for the sake of her survival, she compromised like any corporate employee would. When her boss asked her to revise a design proposal ten times, she might not have wanted to, but she still had to. Similarly, when the Ancestral Master instructed her to come to work, she may not have wanted to, but she had to comply.
Thus, she unexpectedly became a teammate of the black snake and, at the same time, the first person in the group of one hundred women to successfully approach the Ancestral Master.
Lucky me!
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