Offering Salted Fish to Master - C8
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 8
The Red Lotus Fire
Liao Tingyan was captivated by the mesmerizing red flame; it was truly beautiful and seemed to possess magical powers. She became entranced, but suddenly, a chill ran down her neck, causing her to shudder and snap back to reality.
Sima Jiao’s cold hand rested on her neck, like that of a corpse. He pressed down slightly, guiding her forward and forcing Liao Tingyan to stiffen her neck as he pushed her closer to the red lotus flame. The only centrepiece of this chamber was a small jade-water pool with a single red lotus growing in it, and the flame burning spontaneously above the flower. Even with her limited knowledge of the mystical world, Liao Tingyan could tell that this was something extremely precious. Yet, Sima Jiao appeared quite casual as he approached the red lotus flame and unceremoniously plucked a petal from the flower.
Suddenly, Liao Tingyan heard a crying sound, similar to a child's. The sound echoed once before falling silent. A child's cry? From a flame? She suspected that she was imagining things.
“Do you know what this is?” Sima Jiao asked casually as he crushed the petal and tossed it carelessly to the ground. Liao Tingyan thought she heard another faint sob.
Liao Tingyan replied, “Uh... a flower?”
Sima Jiao gave her a strange look. “You know nothing, and they just let you come in here like this?” he said, shaking his head. The demon realm was indeed in decline.
“Yeah, nobody told me anything,” Liao Tingyan admitted dejectedly. Her master and senior brothers were unfamiliar with the situation and had no inside information. If she had known what to expect, she wouldn’t have come, even if it meant playing dead.
Sima Jiao had no intention of explaining further. “You come here every day to water it,” he said.
Liao Tingyan thought, Are you serious? Although there was a flower beneath the flame, the flower was topped with fire—won’t watering it just extinguish the flame?
However, Sima Jiao wasn’t joking at all. Having said that, he turned and left, abandoning her there with a puzzling task on her first day. What a heartless boss! You inconsiderate tyrant!
Liao Tingyan didn’t dare to follow him and stared helplessly at the flame, which seemed to have grown a tiny bit larger. Soon, she realized it wasn’t an illusion; as Sima Jiao’s figure disappeared, the once small flame instantly doubled in size, like a frightened person regaining their confidence.
The suddenly enlarged flame burned a small lock of hair from Liao Tingyan’s chest. Strangely enough, it seemed to sway smugly. A flame? Smug? Doubting her own vision, Liao Tingyan realized she could hesitate no longer—she would water it.
There was water in the small pool beneath the red lotus. Liao Tingyan took a bamboo tube from her pouch, scooped some water, and was about to pour it onto a flame when suddenly, the flame leaped up, forming what looked like a gaping mouth. From this opening, it spewed a jet of flame directly at her.
Liao Tingyan quickly ducked while simultaneously pouring water onto the flame. With a sizzling sound, the flame erupted into loud, wailing protests.
“Villain! Villain! You watered me! I’ll burn you to death!” The voice was like that of a bad-tempered baby, its fury different from that of the ancestors.
Liao Tingyan thought to herself, In a mystical world, talking flames are normal. Don’t panic; stay low, and I can live longer.
“Puff—” The flame seemed truly angry, huffing and puffing fire outward, displaying extreme arrogance.
She never expected that watering a flower would put her life in danger. Liao Tingyan moved further away, pondered for a moment, and then took out a gourd-shaped watering can from her pouch.
As a professional land cultivator and a disciple of Qinggu Tian, the original owner of her body, Qinggu Tian, had a complete set of tools. Although she hadn’t used them much, the current owner found them to be useful.
She filled the watering can with water, aimed it at the furious flame, and gave it a sweeping spray. Then she ducked to avoid the flame's pursuit and turned back for another spray. Watering a flower felt like engaging in a guerrilla war.
The small flame transitioned from initial arrogance and anger to a whiny demeanor. It surrendered, unable to win, and said in a pitiful tone, “Don’t water me anymore; I feel so uncomfortable. wū wū [1]”
As it spoke, it deliberately coughed twice, spitting out two tiny sparks from the gaps formed by the flames. Watered too much, this fellow could no longer spit fire.
Liao Tingyan put away the watering can, wondering if her task of watering the lotus flower was now complete.
At that moment, the flame spoke to her again: “I’ve never seen you before. I haven’t seen other people for so long. Who are you? How were you brought here by that person?”
When it mentioned “that person,” the flame’s voice lowered, as if afraid of being overheard.
Having been isolated for so long without much interaction, Liao Tingyan was close to becoming withdrawn. Still, even while facing a flame, she felt compelled to respond: “I haven’t been here long. I came to serve the Ancestral Master.”
The flame suddenly jumped, “You’re a disciple of Gengchen Immortal Mansion! I knew it! Someone would come to rescue me from that person’s hands. Alright, since you’re also a disciple of Gengchen Immortal Mansion, you’re not allowed to water me next time!”
Was this some internal company strife? The scary boss had assigned her a task, likely one intended to harm the interests of others in the organization. It felt as though she was playing a script for workplace survival.
Liao Tingyan said, “If I don’t water you, how will I answer the Ancestral Master?”
The flame seemed to place its hands on its hips and confidently replied, “Aren’t you his woman? Just act cute with him, and it’ll be fine!”
Liao Tingyan was taken aback. “What?!? Wait a minute! How did you reach that conclusion?”
The flame continued, “Anyone he dares to bring here must belong to him. You’re a woman, so you’re his woman. What’s wrong with that? Didn’t the person who sent you teach you sex? Quickly go fuck that person and win him over; I can’t stand this life anymore! wā wā [1]”
Indeed, it seemed that the ancestor’s flame was mentally unstable. It had been mentioned that it had been confined here for five hundred years; looking at it now, its condition seemed quite serious. Liao Tingyan ignored the flame’s ramblings and continued to water it.
Compared to an evil force like a flame that only flickers tiny sparks, it was wiser to respect the more powerful ancestral force. Company loyalty could be that cruel.
The flame shrieked as she sprinkled it with water and started to curse. “Sima Jiao, you heartless one! You betray your teacher and ancestors; you’re disloyal! You’ve gone mad! If you extinguish me, you’ll die too! And you, stinking woman, dare to water me? Someday, when I recover, I’ll burn you to ashes and scatter them in front of that bastard Sima Jiao!”
Upon hearing the name ‘Sima Jiao’ being cursed, Liao Tingyan guessed that this was likely the ancestral master’s name.
Suddenly, the flame went silent.
Liao Tingyan sensed something and turned to see the black-robed ancestral master appear at the door. He looked irritable and approached without a sideways glance, tearing off the red lotus petals beneath the flame one by one. With each petal he tore off, Liao Tingyan could hear a soft sobbing sound, filled with intense physical pain.
In the presence of the ancestral master, that once-arrogant flame no longer dared to speak loudly, becoming very timid.
After tearing off the petals, Sima Jiao floated away like a ghost.
“yīng yīng yīng [1], my flowers, my flowers that I raised with such difficulty,” the flame cried quietly. Then, fierce once more, it said to Liao Tingyan, “Help me, and I’ll give you benefits! Sima Jiao is a madman; anyone who follows him won’t meet a good end. Even if you help him now, he’ll kill you later. But if you help me, I can give you many treasures. See my red lotus? One petal equals a thousand years of cultivation. As long as you help me, I’ll give you twenty petals!”
Liao Tingyan was speechless. Was this flame an idiot? No wonder—it was just a flame, after all, and flames don’t have brains.
She picked up the six petals that Sima Jiao had discarded on the ground, along with the one he had initially crushed, totaling seven petals, which she carefully stored away.
“Thank you, now I know now these are treasures.” This should count as wages.
Liao Tingyan felt a surge of happiness upon unexpectedly receiving her wages. No matter how challenging the work was, as long as the pay was sufficient, everything was negotiable. Wage slaves all shared this principle.
The flame became agitated and exclaimed, “If you help me, I’ll offer you more. You should know that in this world, aside from Sima Jiao, only I can pick the red lotus petals!”
Liao Tingyan replied, “No need.” She understood that greed could lead to disaster. To be honest, she didn’t dare to use such treasures just yet. What did “thousand years of cultivation” even mean? It sounded incredibly powerful, but what if she used it carelessly and couldn’t handle it, resulting in her death? Many such traps existed in novels.
The flame continued to insist, sounding like a pyramid scheme. In response, Liao Tingyan took out her homemade sleeping earplugs and inserted them into her ears.
With the flower-watering task completed, she can take a short break now. Having a complete bedding set meant she could enjoy a leisurely rest anytime and anywhere.
At that moment, a big black snake crawled in. It noticed its newfound master and was quite pleased. Seeing the black snake, the flame shrieked, “Get lost, you filthy snake!”
The big black snake slid next to the flame, took a sip of water, then raised its head and sprayed the jade pool water all over the flame. Liao Tingyan understood that one of the black snake's jobs was also to water the flowers.
Having been splashed twice, the flame was like a spoiled child, shouting and crying, “That woman already watered me! Why are you, you stupid snake, spraying me again?”
The big black snake sprayed the flame once more before waiting for it to wilt, then slowly slithered over to Liao Tingyan, nudging her hand with its large head.
Liao Tingyan sighed, “Brother, you’re a snake, not a dog.” She then took out a bowl for the big black snake and poured bamboo juice into it. The creature happily drank the juice, and she asked, “Brother, do you know when I can get off work?”
The big black snake gulped down the juice.
Feeling tired, Liao Tingyan leaned back and said, “Never mind, let’s wait a bit longer. Climbing stairs is exhausting. I need to gather my strength first.”
As if it understood her plight, the big black snake flicked its tongue, turned, and crawled outside, hissing at her as it went. Liao Tingyan packed up her things and followed, letting the snake wrap its tail around her and lift her onto its back to sit.
The large black snake often carried Sima Jiao and was accustomed to having someone ride on its back. However, Liao Tingyan was experiencing such a "vehicle" for the first time and felt somewhat nauseous.
As the black snake moved forward, it weaved through tall corridor pillars and wide-open windows. They were set high above ground; outside, crisscrossing thick iron chains and floating jade tablets inscribed with the word "seal" cast a sombre atmosphere. Liao Tingyan was certain these chains were used to imprison the great demon's ancestral master. This place was, indeed, as she had suspected, a prison.
Feeling a bit dazed, Liao Tingyan was soon taken to a room by the black snake. This room was just as spacious but had more furnishings than the others—long tables and shelves, a bed, and a rectangular pool.
The water in the pool exuded a cold mist, lowering the temperature of the entire room. In the middle of the pool, a person floated. Their wide black clothing and jet-black hair spread out in the water like seaweed. The excessively pale face displayed an eerily cold expression. The robe was open, revealing the neck, collarbone, and a significant portion of the chest, resembling a water demon capable of bewitching souls.
Liao Tingyan even noticed the ancestral master’s two points on his chest… No, this is a disaster! She suddenly gripped the big black snake's scales with both hands, pulling its head back. They needed to leave immediately! Being caught peeping at this ancestor while he was bathing would surely be fatal! You scheming snake, are you deliberately trying to frame a colleague?!
The fucking black snake, confused by her panic, hissed a few times. Liao Tingyan watched helplessly as the ancestral master, who was soaking in the pool, was awakened. He opened his eyes, sat up, and looked at them.
Liao Tingyan jumped into the air and quickly tried to recover, forcing a smile that was more about moving her lips and showing her teeth. She said between her teeth with her head on her shoulders, "Ancestral Master, I've watered the flowers. Can I take a break now?"
Sima Jiao’s cold hand rested on her neck, like that of a corpse. He pressed down slightly, guiding her forward and forcing Liao Tingyan to stiffen her neck as he pushed her closer to the red lotus flame. The only centrepiece of this chamber was a small jade-water pool with a single red lotus growing in it, and the flame burning spontaneously above the flower. Even with her limited knowledge of the mystical world, Liao Tingyan could tell that this was something extremely precious. Yet, Sima Jiao appeared quite casual as he approached the red lotus flame and unceremoniously plucked a petal from the flower.
Suddenly, Liao Tingyan heard a crying sound, similar to a child's. The sound echoed once before falling silent. A child's cry? From a flame? She suspected that she was imagining things.
“Do you know what this is?” Sima Jiao asked casually as he crushed the petal and tossed it carelessly to the ground. Liao Tingyan thought she heard another faint sob.
Liao Tingyan replied, “Uh... a flower?”
Sima Jiao gave her a strange look. “You know nothing, and they just let you come in here like this?” he said, shaking his head. The demon realm was indeed in decline.
“Yeah, nobody told me anything,” Liao Tingyan admitted dejectedly. Her master and senior brothers were unfamiliar with the situation and had no inside information. If she had known what to expect, she wouldn’t have come, even if it meant playing dead.
Sima Jiao had no intention of explaining further. “You come here every day to water it,” he said.
Liao Tingyan thought, Are you serious? Although there was a flower beneath the flame, the flower was topped with fire—won’t watering it just extinguish the flame?
However, Sima Jiao wasn’t joking at all. Having said that, he turned and left, abandoning her there with a puzzling task on her first day. What a heartless boss! You inconsiderate tyrant!
Liao Tingyan didn’t dare to follow him and stared helplessly at the flame, which seemed to have grown a tiny bit larger. Soon, she realized it wasn’t an illusion; as Sima Jiao’s figure disappeared, the once small flame instantly doubled in size, like a frightened person regaining their confidence.
The suddenly enlarged flame burned a small lock of hair from Liao Tingyan’s chest. Strangely enough, it seemed to sway smugly. A flame? Smug? Doubting her own vision, Liao Tingyan realized she could hesitate no longer—she would water it.
There was water in the small pool beneath the red lotus. Liao Tingyan took a bamboo tube from her pouch, scooped some water, and was about to pour it onto a flame when suddenly, the flame leaped up, forming what looked like a gaping mouth. From this opening, it spewed a jet of flame directly at her.
Liao Tingyan quickly ducked while simultaneously pouring water onto the flame. With a sizzling sound, the flame erupted into loud, wailing protests.
“Villain! Villain! You watered me! I’ll burn you to death!” The voice was like that of a bad-tempered baby, its fury different from that of the ancestors.
Liao Tingyan thought to herself, In a mystical world, talking flames are normal. Don’t panic; stay low, and I can live longer.
“Puff—” The flame seemed truly angry, huffing and puffing fire outward, displaying extreme arrogance.
She never expected that watering a flower would put her life in danger. Liao Tingyan moved further away, pondered for a moment, and then took out a gourd-shaped watering can from her pouch.
As a professional land cultivator and a disciple of Qinggu Tian, the original owner of her body, Qinggu Tian, had a complete set of tools. Although she hadn’t used them much, the current owner found them to be useful.
She filled the watering can with water, aimed it at the furious flame, and gave it a sweeping spray. Then she ducked to avoid the flame's pursuit and turned back for another spray. Watering a flower felt like engaging in a guerrilla war.
The small flame transitioned from initial arrogance and anger to a whiny demeanor. It surrendered, unable to win, and said in a pitiful tone, “Don’t water me anymore; I feel so uncomfortable. wū wū [1]”
As it spoke, it deliberately coughed twice, spitting out two tiny sparks from the gaps formed by the flames. Watered too much, this fellow could no longer spit fire.
Liao Tingyan put away the watering can, wondering if her task of watering the lotus flower was now complete.
At that moment, the flame spoke to her again: “I’ve never seen you before. I haven’t seen other people for so long. Who are you? How were you brought here by that person?”
When it mentioned “that person,” the flame’s voice lowered, as if afraid of being overheard.
Having been isolated for so long without much interaction, Liao Tingyan was close to becoming withdrawn. Still, even while facing a flame, she felt compelled to respond: “I haven’t been here long. I came to serve the Ancestral Master.”
The flame suddenly jumped, “You’re a disciple of Gengchen Immortal Mansion! I knew it! Someone would come to rescue me from that person’s hands. Alright, since you’re also a disciple of Gengchen Immortal Mansion, you’re not allowed to water me next time!”
Was this some internal company strife? The scary boss had assigned her a task, likely one intended to harm the interests of others in the organization. It felt as though she was playing a script for workplace survival.
Liao Tingyan said, “If I don’t water you, how will I answer the Ancestral Master?”
The flame seemed to place its hands on its hips and confidently replied, “Aren’t you his woman? Just act cute with him, and it’ll be fine!”
Liao Tingyan was taken aback. “What?!? Wait a minute! How did you reach that conclusion?”
The flame continued, “Anyone he dares to bring here must belong to him. You’re a woman, so you’re his woman. What’s wrong with that? Didn’t the person who sent you teach you sex? Quickly go fuck that person and win him over; I can’t stand this life anymore! wā wā [1]”
Indeed, it seemed that the ancestor’s flame was mentally unstable. It had been mentioned that it had been confined here for five hundred years; looking at it now, its condition seemed quite serious. Liao Tingyan ignored the flame’s ramblings and continued to water it.
Compared to an evil force like a flame that only flickers tiny sparks, it was wiser to respect the more powerful ancestral force. Company loyalty could be that cruel.
The flame shrieked as she sprinkled it with water and started to curse. “Sima Jiao, you heartless one! You betray your teacher and ancestors; you’re disloyal! You’ve gone mad! If you extinguish me, you’ll die too! And you, stinking woman, dare to water me? Someday, when I recover, I’ll burn you to ashes and scatter them in front of that bastard Sima Jiao!”
Upon hearing the name ‘Sima Jiao’ being cursed, Liao Tingyan guessed that this was likely the ancestral master’s name.
Suddenly, the flame went silent.
Liao Tingyan sensed something and turned to see the black-robed ancestral master appear at the door. He looked irritable and approached without a sideways glance, tearing off the red lotus petals beneath the flame one by one. With each petal he tore off, Liao Tingyan could hear a soft sobbing sound, filled with intense physical pain.
In the presence of the ancestral master, that once-arrogant flame no longer dared to speak loudly, becoming very timid.
After tearing off the petals, Sima Jiao floated away like a ghost.
“yīng yīng yīng [1], my flowers, my flowers that I raised with such difficulty,” the flame cried quietly. Then, fierce once more, it said to Liao Tingyan, “Help me, and I’ll give you benefits! Sima Jiao is a madman; anyone who follows him won’t meet a good end. Even if you help him now, he’ll kill you later. But if you help me, I can give you many treasures. See my red lotus? One petal equals a thousand years of cultivation. As long as you help me, I’ll give you twenty petals!”
Liao Tingyan was speechless. Was this flame an idiot? No wonder—it was just a flame, after all, and flames don’t have brains.
She picked up the six petals that Sima Jiao had discarded on the ground, along with the one he had initially crushed, totaling seven petals, which she carefully stored away.
“Thank you, now I know now these are treasures.” This should count as wages.
Liao Tingyan felt a surge of happiness upon unexpectedly receiving her wages. No matter how challenging the work was, as long as the pay was sufficient, everything was negotiable. Wage slaves all shared this principle.
The flame became agitated and exclaimed, “If you help me, I’ll offer you more. You should know that in this world, aside from Sima Jiao, only I can pick the red lotus petals!”
Liao Tingyan replied, “No need.” She understood that greed could lead to disaster. To be honest, she didn’t dare to use such treasures just yet. What did “thousand years of cultivation” even mean? It sounded incredibly powerful, but what if she used it carelessly and couldn’t handle it, resulting in her death? Many such traps existed in novels.
The flame continued to insist, sounding like a pyramid scheme. In response, Liao Tingyan took out her homemade sleeping earplugs and inserted them into her ears.
With the flower-watering task completed, she can take a short break now. Having a complete bedding set meant she could enjoy a leisurely rest anytime and anywhere.
At that moment, a big black snake crawled in. It noticed its newfound master and was quite pleased. Seeing the black snake, the flame shrieked, “Get lost, you filthy snake!”
The big black snake slid next to the flame, took a sip of water, then raised its head and sprayed the jade pool water all over the flame. Liao Tingyan understood that one of the black snake's jobs was also to water the flowers.
Having been splashed twice, the flame was like a spoiled child, shouting and crying, “That woman already watered me! Why are you, you stupid snake, spraying me again?”
The big black snake sprayed the flame once more before waiting for it to wilt, then slowly slithered over to Liao Tingyan, nudging her hand with its large head.
Liao Tingyan sighed, “Brother, you’re a snake, not a dog.” She then took out a bowl for the big black snake and poured bamboo juice into it. The creature happily drank the juice, and she asked, “Brother, do you know when I can get off work?”
The big black snake gulped down the juice.
Feeling tired, Liao Tingyan leaned back and said, “Never mind, let’s wait a bit longer. Climbing stairs is exhausting. I need to gather my strength first.”
As if it understood her plight, the big black snake flicked its tongue, turned, and crawled outside, hissing at her as it went. Liao Tingyan packed up her things and followed, letting the snake wrap its tail around her and lift her onto its back to sit.
The large black snake often carried Sima Jiao and was accustomed to having someone ride on its back. However, Liao Tingyan was experiencing such a "vehicle" for the first time and felt somewhat nauseous.
As the black snake moved forward, it weaved through tall corridor pillars and wide-open windows. They were set high above ground; outside, crisscrossing thick iron chains and floating jade tablets inscribed with the word "seal" cast a sombre atmosphere. Liao Tingyan was certain these chains were used to imprison the great demon's ancestral master. This place was, indeed, as she had suspected, a prison.
Feeling a bit dazed, Liao Tingyan was soon taken to a room by the black snake. This room was just as spacious but had more furnishings than the others—long tables and shelves, a bed, and a rectangular pool.
The water in the pool exuded a cold mist, lowering the temperature of the entire room. In the middle of the pool, a person floated. Their wide black clothing and jet-black hair spread out in the water like seaweed. The excessively pale face displayed an eerily cold expression. The robe was open, revealing the neck, collarbone, and a significant portion of the chest, resembling a water demon capable of bewitching souls.
Liao Tingyan even noticed the ancestral master’s two points on his chest… No, this is a disaster! She suddenly gripped the big black snake's scales with both hands, pulling its head back. They needed to leave immediately! Being caught peeping at this ancestor while he was bathing would surely be fatal! You scheming snake, are you deliberately trying to frame a colleague?!
The fucking black snake, confused by her panic, hissed a few times. Liao Tingyan watched helplessly as the ancestral master, who was soaking in the pool, was awakened. He opened his eyes, sat up, and looked at them.
Liao Tingyan jumped into the air and quickly tried to recover, forcing a smile that was more about moving her lips and showing her teeth. She said between her teeth with her head on her shoulders, "Ancestral Master, I've watered the flowers. Can I take a break now?"
Sima Jiao stared at her for a moment, making her scalp tingle, before finally responding with an "Mm." He watched as Liao Tingyan wrapped her arms around the black snake and dragged the confused creature away, and suddenly burst into laughter.
[1] wū wū Chinese onomatopoeia for sobbing or whining; wā wā is for the sound of a baby crying ; yīng yīng yīng is used for crying or sobbing
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