The two had finally come upon the resting spot where the black orchids were located.There were several large pavilions built on the edge of a cliff and down in the valley below were thousands of blooming black orchids. There were already quite a few people observing the orchids with wonder, many of them were middle aged or older. Clearly this was a popular spot for the more wizened of folk.
Jiang Ying rushed up excitedly to the edge of a nearby empty pavilion, leaning on the wooden guard she laughed melodiously as her robes fluttered in the breeze. "Look big brother! Aren"t they pretty?"
Rong Xiaoman followed and stood beside her, she gave the valley below a glance before nodding. "They certainly are."
She never had time to stop and appreciate the vast beautiful areas that populated the myriad worlds. Cultivation, treasure seeking, techniques and sect/kingdom management were her usual priorities in her life before her death.
"Say big brother, did you know that my mama and your mama set up a marriage between us?" Jiang Ying murmured in a trance as she gazed at the valley of flowers below that resembled black stars in a green sky.
"I heard whispers and rumors from the servants, so it"s true.. " Rong Xiaoman remarked a she looked at Jiang Ying. [To think me of all people, the mighty Empress Rong Xioman, would be getting married.. to a girl no less. Quite laughable.]
"Mama has been teaching me how to be a wife lately, like manners, cooking and embroidery. It"s okay but I"d rather go out, play and have fun." Jiang Ying mumbled.
"Oh? You don"t want to be a wife?" Rong Xiaoman asked as she cupped her chin in thought. [She"s certainly a bit too young to be thinking of these things. Though i"m clueless on such matters.. maybe I should ask one of mother"s servant for advice?]
"It"s not that, just that it gets really boring!" Jiang Ying sighed with a little frustration.
Rong Xiaoman nodded her head in agreement. [My younger self would have thought the same, I was quite the tomboy.]
"I-I don"t mind being your wife though big brother." Jiang Ying said as her tiny ears turned a shade of red.
Rong Xiaoman chuckled as she replied. "I feel the same."
[I certainly wouldn"t mistreat or bully Little Ying like many of the arrogant scoundrels out there. Many of my female disciples told me of the horror stories they encountered, like dao partners who would trip over and fall into other women repeatedly, or how they had their flowers plucked because of some random aphrodisiac mist they encountered..] Rong Xiaoman shivered at the thought. [It"s too dangerous out there for the poor, innocent, naive Llittle Ying! I must keep her safe!]
"Really big brother?" Jiang Ying asked.
Rong Xiaoman replied with certainty in her voice. "Yes. Don"t worry little Ying, I"ll look after you."
"You promise?" Jiang looked back and stared into Rong Xiaoman"s golden eyes. They shone brightly in the light and would leave one in a trance if they were stared into too long.
"Promise." Rong Xioman smiled as she brushed away few loose hairs covering Jiang Ying"s face. [Even though we"re both girls, I"ll marry you and keep you safe little Ying.] She thought affectionately.
Although Rong Xiaoman was inhabiting a male incarnation, she still thought herself as the peerlessly beautiful woman who once ruled an entire kingdom in the heaven realm. There were no ulterior or l.u.s.tful intentions in her mind as she only treated Little Ying as a younger sister.
Jiang Ying smiled widely showing her pearly white teeth. "Hehe!"
"Tsk!"
Rong Xiaoman heard someone clicking their tongue behind her, a frown appeared on her face. When she turned around she saw nothing but an empty pavilion. The nearest people were over 20 meters away in another pavilion.
[Who was that?] Rong Xiaoman thought suspiciously.
"Big brother?" Jiang Ying looked at Rong Xiaoman curiously. "What is big brother looking at?"
As she was turning back to face Jiang Ying, an immense blast of wind past beside her causing the robes she was wearing to ripple violently.
The wind was so great that it caused the ground to shake but strangely, apart from her clothes, Rong Xiaoman wasn"t effected at all.
"Gyah!" The gust of wind blew against Jiang Ying strongly pushing her against the edge of the railing.
"Big brother!" Fear flashed in her squinting eyes as she cried out.
Right before Jiang Ying was about to be pushed past the rail and off the cliff, a hand grabbed her arm and held on tightly. The hand pulled forward and she suddenly found herself in a warm embrace, her small head resting against something warm and st.u.r.dy.
Closing her eyes as the wind whistled past her, she heard a steady thumping sound that seemed to drown everything out; it was calming and rhythmic.
After a minute, the wind died down. Jiang Ying opened her eyes and found herself in the arms of Rong Xiaoman, her shivering hands gripping her robe tightly.
Tears began to leak from Jiang Ying"s big black eyes. "Wuu Wuu, big brother that was so scary!"
Rong Xiaoman held the shivering little girl tightly while looking around vigilantly with narrowed eyes. [That was no normal wind.. ]
Seeing nothing in her immediate vicinity, she sighed. [Mistress"s incarnation isn"t strong enough, when I get back home I"ll devote myself to cultivation.]
Rong Xiaoman looked at Jiang Ying who was crying into her chest, snot and tears were left sticking to it. She gently stroked the little girl"s head calming her down.
[Which coward would want to hurt little Ying?.] Her expression showed a brewing anger.
[Whoever it is, they"ll never succeed!] She thought with a firm determination in her golden eyes.
"I"ll walk you home little Ying." Rong Xiaoman used her sleeve to wipe away Jiang Ying"s tears.
"Mmn." Jiang Ying sniffled as she nodded her head.
"Stupid dumb wind.. Humph! You smelled like farts." She grumbled hatefully.
*Clack* The sound of something falling came from somewhere nearby.
...
Back at the manor, Rong Xiaoman was sitting cross legged in her courtyard; her eyes closed and her expression focused.
She was currently cultivating the resonance realm or as some others call it, meridian awakening.
[It"s been so many thousands of years since I was at this realm. To use Qi to find the dormant meridians twelve in total and resonate with them, thus slowly, one by one awakening them. It"s a tedious process from what I remember.] Rong Xiaoman effortlessly used the Qi residing in her Qi sea to find the first set of three meridians.
She soaked the three meridians in Qi and with a little manipulation, the Qi began to vibrate. Instantly, the three closed meridians opened like three blooming flowers which completely baffled her!
"Eeeh!" Rong Xiaoman cried out loudly in shock.
[It took me nearly a year to open the first three meridians and the mighty talents in the heaven realm took at least a month! Just how blessed is this body? Not even those with the spiritual physique could compete with this cultivation speed.. ] She thought in amazement.
While she continued she became absolutely stunned. Within a few minutes, she had fully completed the resonance realm and awakened the 12 meridians, it would take others years to accomplish what she had just done!
[Compared to my previous difficulties and efforts, this body feels like a complete cheat!] Rong Xiaoman thought at how ridiculous everything was.
"Well.. I"m not complaining." She muttered with a smile.
"Now that I"ve completed this resonance realm, I can finally begin the foundation realm. This is where I can start cultivating that Rising Dragon technique."
"Rising what-now?" A voice sounded in her head.
[Ah Mistress! It"s the new cultivation technique I obtained, with it we"ll be able soar like a dragon through the endless sky. It"ll take a lot of effort and heaven and earth treasures to get it to the maximum level but I think it"s worth it!] Rong Xiaoman explained enthusiastically.
"That"s sounds like a bother, let"s just do it the easy way." She heard Ariel"s apathetic reply.
[Huh? What do you mean Mistress?] Rong Xiaoman asked curiously.
"Raw power! Heat! Magnetism and gravity! Gahahaha!" She heard Ariel"s cackle in her head which filled her with a faint fear.