Chapter 282: Chapter 255: Until the World’s Black Hair Turns White, Until the Withered Tree Under the Clouds Blooms

"Mother... is Brother Xiao okay?"

"I don’t know either, Weiwei. He should be... he should be fine..."

"Mother, this big sister is so pretty. But why doesn’t she have any hair?"

"Weiwei, that’s a Monk. A female Monk, though. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen one, too..."

"Then, Mother, what’s this thing? It’s so pink and chubby, and it has wings! It’s so cute..." As she spoke, Ning Wei reached out and gently poked the unconscious Chaos.

Little Chaos’s chubby belly jiggled.

"Well... I’m not really sure either," Madam Wang said, quickly pulling her daughter’s hand away. "You shouldn’t touch people’s things without asking."

"Oh..."

Ning Wei nodded and continued to watch the big sister lying on the bed.

Not long before, while the young woman was washing clothes by the river, she saw a lotus flower slowly drifting downstream.

A man and a woman were lying on the lotus flower.

After Madam Wang rescued the man and woman from the lotus, she realized the man was Young Master Xiao.

Madam Wang quickly pulled Young Master Xiao off the lotus, covered him with some straw, and pushed him back to her courtyard in a small cart, making sure no one saw her.

"Mother, look! The big sister seems to be waking up."

Seeing the big sister’s long eyelashes flutter, Ning Wei quickly tugged on her mother’s sleeve.

Madam Wang looked up and saw the young woman on the bed slowly open her eyes.

The young woman’s eyes held a dazed look.

When Wangxin saw a woman and a little girl watching her from the bedside, she grew even more confused.

She only remembered an Immortal Realm Cultivator striking at her with his palm. She had activated the Protective Magical Artifact her Grandpa Abbot had given her, and after that, she didn’t know what happened.

"Xiao Mo!"

As her consciousness fully returned, Wangxin’s first thought was of Xiao Mo.

"Don’t worry, Miss. Young Master Xiao is resting in the next room," Madam Wang reassured Wangxin, then asked uncertainly, "If I may ask, what is your relationship with Young Master Xiao?"

"Xiao Mo is my friend," Wangxin replied. "Benefactors, may I ask where this is...?"

"This is our home. You and Young Master Xiao were drifting down the river on a lotus flower. I stopped the lotus and brought you both back home.

Actually, my family and I have known Young Master Xiao for a long time.

Back in Fengye City, the Wangchuan Sect tried to take my daughter by force, and it was Young Master Xiao who helped me.

Afterward, Young Master Xiao had someone escort my daughter and me to the Wandao Sect..."

To put Wangxin at ease, Madam Wang explained the whole story in detail, recounting the kindness Young Master Xiao had shown her family in Fengye City.

Wangxin learned that Madam Wang and her daughter had indeed been living on Blood Sin Peak, taken in by that Blood Demon.

But just a few months ago, the Blood Demon told them that the one with the Yin-Yang Eye needed to train for a while in the Mortal World and shouldn’t stay in the Demon Sect. He then sent the two of them to this courtyard, saying he would bring them back in four years.

Although Wangxin didn’t understand the reasons behind it, she knew this encounter was truly fated.

Wangxin got out of bed, walked to Xiao Mo’s room, and channeled her Spiritual Power into his body to investigate his condition.

It was just as Wangxin had expected—

Although Xiao Mo had failed his Tribulation Crossing this time, he had at least survived. But this was an Immortal Tribulation, after all.

After failing the tribulation, his Spirit Veins and Root Bone were severely damaged. His Realm had fallen to the Nascent Soul level, and even that was unstable. He was on the verge of losing his Nascent Soul Realm at any moment... 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Besides the damage to his Realm, Xiao Mo’s Divine Soul had also sustained a certain degree of damage, and there was no telling when he would wake up.

In fact, for most people, an injury to the Divine Soul of this severity would likely mean being bedridden for life, never to awaken.

The day after Wangxin awoke, Little Chaos woke up as well.

Little Chaos was not seriously injured.

But when it saw its master lying motionless on the bed, it became extremely dejected.

"Migu, migu..."

Sitting by Xiao Mo’s bedside, Little Chaos nuzzled his cheek, trying to wake its master, but to no avail.

One day...

Two days...

Three days...

As the days passed one by one, Wangxin and Little Chaos grew accustomed to life there.

The village where Wangxin was staying had quite a few residents, and her appearance was too conspicuous. She worried that news of her might spread and attract other Cultivators.

So, Wangxin put on a wig again, took off her Monk’s Robe, and changed into simple linen clothes.

Every day, Wangxin cared for Xiao Mo, washing his body and brewing all sorts of medicinal recipes.

Aside from its daily routine of migu-ing a few times in Xiao Mo’s ear to try and wake him, Little Chaos would fly around with Wangxin, searching for Heavenly and Earthly Treasures.

Wangxin would try any method she could think of.

She even went so far as to chant Buddhist Scriptures to the withered tree in the courtyard, hoping the Buddha would bless Xiao Mo and allow him to wake up.

Watching everything Miss Wangxin did for Young Master Xiao, Madam Wang felt it had to be more than just friendship, despite what Miss Wangxin had said.

’If they were just friends, how could she go to such lengths?’

’For Miss Wangxin, it’s as if Xiao Mo is her very life.’

Before they knew it, half a month had passed.

A heavy snow fell upon the small village.

The snow began in the middle of the night and hadn’t stopped by dawn.

The ochre-colored roofs were covered in a thick layer of white, with only a few dark, wet patches showing around the chimneys. Snowflakes landed on the straw piled atop the courtyard walls, accumulating in a fluffy layer.

The bare parasol tree stood in the courtyard, its branches bent slightly under the weight of the snow. Occasionally, a clump of snow would slide from a branch, kicking up fine, powdery flakes below.

The occasional muffled bark echoed from a courtyard, but silence quickly returned.

Early in the morning, when Ning Wei woke up, she saw Sister Wangxin kneeling under the parasol tree as usual, chanting Buddhist Scriptures and praying for Brother Xiao.

"Sister Wangxin..." Ning Wei walked over and called out softly.

"Hm?" Wangxin slowly opened her eyes and looked at the girl beside her.

"Sister Wangxin, why are you praying to a parasol tree? Shouldn’t you pray to a statue of the Buddha?" Ning Wei asked.

In truth, Ning Wei had wanted to ask this for many days.

But her mother had told her not to disturb Sister Wangxin.

Her curiosity had been swelling inside her, and today, she finally couldn’t hold it in any longer.

"Grandpa Abbot once said that the Buddha is in all things. As long as your heart is sincere, you don’t need a statue. You can even pray to a rock," Wangxin answered gently.

"But Sister Wangxin, you’ve been praying for so long. What if the Buddha doesn’t answer?" Ning Wei asked.

"If the Buddha does not answer me, then I will simply keep asking."

"Then how long will you ask for, Sister Wangxin...?" Ning Wei asked, her heart aching for her.

"How long..."

The young woman lifted her head, watching the snowflakes fall from the sky.

"Until the world’s dark hair turns white with age."

"Until the withered tree beneath the clouds blooms once more."