Murim's Weakest Princess-Chapter 100: Spiritual Bracelet

To nobody’s surprise, Gu Ying caught on almost immediately what her young master and young mistress had done. Although MIngshen’s poker face was perfect, Anji was a terrible actress. Ever since she was a child, she had never been able to hide anything from anyone. Most people in the Celestial Dragon Sect noticed Anji’s suspicious behaviour but chose to look the other way. After all, everything would reach her mother’s ears. Anji was safe there.

In the absence of other parental figures during their travel to the Mystical Qilin Sect, Gu Ying assumed that role. Hence, when Anji spilt the beans out of fear, Mingshen was also held accountable. The siblings were punished before dinner and made to fill their own baths. Considering Gu Ying’s temperament, it was considered a merciful punishment. The bodyguard gave them a light sentence when Anji explained how they donated most of the candy flower to other children.

That night, Anji ate her dinner and was supervised strictly by her bodyguard while she wrote her letter to be delivered back to the sect. Gu Ying insisted that she apologised to her mother and Doctor He for going behind their backs with her brother to eat unhealthy things. Anji wrote the letter with a heavy heart and prayed that her parents would not tattle to her shifu. Adopting a vegetarian diet was hard enough for Anji. She didn’t want her access to sugar to be limited on the sage’s mountain.

After more scolding and a short lecture from Gu Ying, Anji took a bath and went to bed. Mingshen had to leave to oversee some business operations in Silver Water Town, but Anji was too tired to follow him. Gu Ying was told to stay and guard Anji, and Mingshen promised to be back in two hours.

With peace of mind, Anji slept soundly.

The next morning, Anji woke up to a surprisingly quiet town. She was used to hearing the shouts from vendors and the laughter of children in the streets by sunrise in the small village below the Celestial Dragon mountain. However, the people in Silver Water Town seemed to be late risers. Even her brother woke up later than usual. He still had dark circles beneath his eyes, indicating the late hour he slept. Likewise, Anji thought the vibrant nightlife made most people in the town sleep later than usual.

"Good morning," Gu Ying greeted, looking fresh as usual, even if she slept late. "Would you like to have some breakfast while the young master is getting ready?"

Anji nodded. Few shops were open at this hour, so it was better to eat something before checking out the morning river market. According to Mingshen’s schedule, they would leave after Anji checked the morning market.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Anji asked. "You don’t seem tired even if you slept later than usual."

Smiling slightly, Gu Ying explained that martial artists with a higher cultivation base required fewer hours of sleep than regular people.

Ah, that was right. Sometimes, Anji forgot how much Gu Ying had advanced in the last few years. She was now in the Enlightened Core stage, almost on the verge of breaking through to the Radiant Core stage. At the age of twenty-eight, the Manchurian bodyguard was an elite among the elite. Anji knew how Gu Ying trained under her father’s guidance. If not for escorting Anji to the Mystical Qilin Sect, Anji knew Gu Ying would definitely be able to achieve the tip of Radiant Core in two more years. She tried convincing Gu Ying to remain behind in the Celestial Dragon Sect to complete her cultivation training, but the lady refused. She insisted on accompanying Anji to the Mystical Qilin Sect, where she would continue the rest of her cultivation training at a slower pace instead, prioritising Anji’s safety over her own progress.

After Mingshen joined them, wearing a bamboo-green scholar robe, Anji munched on a pork bun that the hotel staff had prepared for them.

The air was warmer than on the mountain, so Anji wore fewer layers of clothes. She liked how the rising sun sparkled on the river water, reminding her of the sunset Zhou Fu showed them last night. However, when it was a little higher in the sky, the orange hues turned into blinding white lights that hurt Anji’s eyes.

"What do you want to get from the morning river market?" Mingshen asked. "It’s not very different from the market you visited yesterday afternoon."

Truthfully, Anji had no idea. However, unlike yesterday, she wasn’t here for food. Apart from the small village at the foot of the mountain, Anji had never gone anywhere else. However, she remembered the souvenirs that accompanied letters from people who travelled. Hong Nian Niang’s souvenirs were especially memorable, and Anji loved receiving them. Hence, she wondered if there was anything she could buy at the morning market to send along with the letter she wrote last night back to her parents.

Walking by the river bank, Anji noticed many boats selling interesting handicrafts. She had fun trying out different paper masks and fans, but none of these things caught her eye.

"Good morning, little girl. Would you like to buy some prayer beads or flower lanterns?" an old lady beckoned to them from a distance.

She had a hump on her back and very wrinkly skin that had been burned brown from the merciless sun. Anji took pity on the old woman and decided to check out her boat shop. Unlike the other well-decorated boats, this woman had a very thin boat with no paint coats. It was a boat that weathered through many storms with the old lady, and her wares were as humble as the clothes she wore.

Anji could not send a lantern back because it was too bulky. However, the prayer beads looked light and durable.

"What are these beads made of?" Anji wondered. They were little brown spheres of irregular shapes.

Grabbing a stringed prayer bracelet with similar prayer beads, the old woman explained these were lotus seeds that had been dried under the sun and strung together.

The old lady wove every dried lotus seed into a bracelet or a prayer necklace herself, and Anji could sense faint energy coming from them. Unlike them, the old lady was an ordinary mortal who did not know any cultivation. However, there was no mistaking the energy accumulated in these prayer beads. This piqued Anji’s curiosity.

"Granny, did you make these yourself?" Anji squatted along the river bank to get a closer look at the wares.

Smiling proudly, the old lady nodded.

"I wake up every morning before the sun rises and pray before threading every bead for every bracelet and necklace I make."

Asking to examine a bracelet closer, Anji sneakily activated her Heavenly Eyes. The bracelet was imbued with the old lady’s goodwill and faith. She wasn’t lying when she said she offered a prayer for every prayer bead before threading them. Although they were not imbued with qi, she could detect the soul energy Gradnpa Jin taught. Perhaps it was because lotus seeds held the potential for life and became the crucible for the soul energy routed to them by the old lady’s prayers. However, these prayer beads would continue cultivating earnestly for as long as they exist.

What a gem!

"Granny, which is the oldest prayer bracelet that you have made here?"

Surprised that such a young child would be interested in such a boring trinket, the old lady searched her stock and found the oldest bracelet. However, she paused. Maybe it was not suitable for her. Perhaps it was fate that they met for such a special child.

Anji accepted the bracelet handed to her first, but when the old lady removed it from her wrist, she felt strange. Of all the wares on sale, the bracelet the old lady wore had the strongest soul energy, as if someone had been praying for years.

"That bracelet is the oldest ware that remains unsold," she explained. "However, this is the oldest bracelet I’ve ever made. It was the first bracelet I made nearly forty years ago before the Silver Water Town became prosperous."

Unlike the other bracelets, Anji could tell this was clumsily made. Because of the different-coloured threads, it must have been repaired at least twice. The old lady had taken extremely good care of the bracelet, and it was a treasured possession.

"Amitabha, the heavens are merciful."

Puzzled, Anji looked at the old lady, who had a serene smile on her face, gazing at Anji with immense affection. It was strange for strangers to feel such a deep connection on the first meeting, but Anji wanted to cry. It was as if she knew her in their past lives. Although it was their first meeting, it was also their last meeting in more than one way.

"I’ll buy the bracelet," Anji smiled. "Granny, please live a long life." freewebnøvel.coɱ

Returning the old lady’s bracelet, Anji saw how she shook her head and insisted on only payment for her other bracelet.

"That is a souvenir, but this is a gift. Please take good care of my bracelet, little girl."

Gu Ying and Mingshen watched wordlessly as Anji and the old woman exchanged a wordless conversation through their eyes. It was a strange sight to anyone who passed by. Customarily, the younger person would pay respects and care for an elderly person. However, for some reason, the old lady was paying her respects to Anji instead. Instead of feeling awkward, Anji looked determined, puzzling her brother and bodyguard. Nobody knew what Anji saw, but they often did not question it. Anji was their sect’s miracle child, and many people who escaped the clutches of death or defied the heavens understood things that most people could never relate to.

Parting with her only purchase, Anji respectfully bowed to the old lady and left with the old lady’s special bracelet tied onto her left wrist. Mingshen and Gu Ying helped Anji courier her letter with the lotus seed bracelet to her father but did not question the new accessory. Then, they left Silver Water Town with some packaged buns to eat on the way.