Cataclysm Chapter 130: Extras·Fated Marriage 01

Chapter 130: Extras·Fated Marriage 01

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

Young Kou Xuanling was different from the other members of the Kou family of his generation. At two or three years old, he was sent away from the Kou family’s ancestral home. The reason was that his fate clashed with the ancestral home and the mountain where the family tombs were located, so he grew up studying in the city center. Despite this, he maintained good relationships with his family and returned to the ancestral home during festivals. Even though there was a clash, as long as he didn’t stay long-term, there was no problem.

Around the age of seven, Kou Xuanling returned to the Kou family’s ancestral home during summer vacation. Despite his young age, he had already achieved some success in Taoist arts. Among the younger generation of the Kou family, he was highly talented, which made the family members adore him even more. After receiving a warm welcome from the elders, he, carrying a peach wood sword, solemnly told them, “Dad, Mom, uncles, aunts, brothers, and sisters, I need to go review my Taoist lessons.”

At that time, Kou Daibo, who was still very young and unmarried, rubbed his hands together and said with a shy smile, “Can I teach you, Xuanling?”

“No,” young Kou Xuanling flatly refused. Although Kou Daibo was the most skilled in Taoist arts in the family, his character was not admirable. “Last time, you said you’d teach me but ended up taking me to town and forgetting me there while you went home to sleep.”

Kou Daibo, embarrassed, laughed awkwardly at the family, “I got caught up chatting with friends and…forgot.”

“Every time you say you’ll teach me, you disappear. I don’t want you to teach me; I can do it myself.” With that, Kou Xuanling ran towards the family shrine, stopping to greet his cousins along the way.

When his cousins saw him, they pulled him into their group and asked, “A-Ling, have you ever seen a fox spirit?”

Kou Xuanling replied, “I’ve seen animals gain spiritual awareness, but it’s hard enough for them to become demons, let alone transform into human forms and become immortals.” His series of questions left everyone speechless, and his younger cousin, quick-witted, added, “Why not? Doesn’t the Zhang family’s Tianshi mansion have a fox spirit hall? The 40th Tianshi of the Zhang family saved a mother and child fox spirit from a lightning tribulation. To repay the favor, they stayed with the Zhang family ancestor, helping him subdue demons and monsters.”

Kou Xuanling asked, “Do we have a fox spirit hall?”

The younger cousin replied, “No.”

“Then I haven’t seen a fox spirit,” Kou Xuanling said, “Have you seen one?”

His cousins nodded eagerly, “Kou Ying saw one at the Xianling Pavilion. One night, after having a nightmare, he went to find his parents and saw a person in a white robe there. Kou Ying said the person was very beautiful, like a fox spirit.”

Kou Ying, a younger cousin of Kou Xuanling, nodded repeatedly, “Really, really. She was a girl with long hair, and when she turned to look at me, I was startled. Her eyes were long, like a fox’s. I’ve seen foxes, and I’ve heard that fox spirits are particularly beautiful. I haven’t seen a woman more beautiful than her, so she must be a fox spirit.”

His cousin frowned unhappily, “Is she prettier than me?”

Of course. But seeing his cousin’s sour expression, Kou Ying quickly said, “Of course not. You’re the prettiest girl, and she’s a woman. You’re younger than her.” His quick wit suggested the kind of person he would grow into.

Another cousin and older brother testified that they had also seen the beautiful woman in white at the Xianling Pavilion a few times. They hadn’t told the adults and planned to explore. Seeing Kou Xuanling, they asked him, “Do you want to go?”

Kou Xuanling, with a serious expression, frowned and said, “Go.” He needed to watch over his cousins to prevent any mishaps.

That night, they planned to go to the Xianling Pavilion to catch the fox spirit. The pavilion was located between the back and front halls of the Kou family’s ancestral home, near a lotus pond. The pavilion, as its name suggested, looked like a celestial pavilion from a distance, and up close, it was intricately designed.

At midnight, Kou Xuanling, carrying his peach wood sword, followed his cousins to the pavilion to see the fox spirit. Unfortunately, only Kou Ying and two older brothers showed up. He asked, “Where are the others?”

Kou Ying replied, “We couldn’t wake them up.”

Kou Xuanling asked if they were still going, and since they were already there, they had to go. The four children walked towards the pavilion. The summer night breeze was cool, and the full moon illuminated the ground, making it easy to see even without a lamp. However, the Kou family’s ancestral home was vast and centuries old. During the day, it was lively, but at night, it was eerily quiet.

Kou Ying grabbed Kou Xuanling’s clothes and said, “I’m scared.” Kou Xuanling comforted him, “We’re almost there. We’ll leave as soon as we see it.” Turning the next corridor, they could see the pavilion from the arched bridge. If someone were there, they would be faintly visible through the bamboo curtains.

Kou Xuanling stared at the pavilion but didn’t see a woman in a white robe. He turned and said, “There’s no fox spirit. You must have been mistaken.” But his cousins looked terrified and ran away, shouting, “Run!”

Kou Xuanling turned around quickly and saw a blue light in the pavilion, giving it a mysterious glow without being terrifying. The light wasn’t from the usual lanterns in the pavilion, but from something else.

Behind the bamboo curtains, he could see a faint figure. Could it really be a fox spirit? Kou Xuanling shook his head in denial. Even if it was, it had to be a mischievous fox demon. A bold demon, daring to cause trouble in the Tianshi’s domain!

Young Kou Xuanling cautiously approached the Nine-Curve Bridge and ran to the entrance of the Xianling Pavilion. He suddenly lifted the bamboo curtain and shouted, “Bold fox demon, how dare you cause trouble here? Surrender at once!”

Inside the Xianling Pavilion, there indeed lay a beautiful person in a white robe with black hair, reclining on the couch and drinking wine under the moonlight. His long hair flowed over his white robe, with a few strands trailing on the ground. The moonlight poured over him as if he emitted a faint glow, like a true celestial being secretly descending to the mortal world, indulging in a moment of earthly delight.

Hearing the crisp, childish voice, the beautiful person slightly turned his head to look, revealing a delicately handsome profile with bewitching ink-stained eyes. When he glanced over, it seemed as if a beam of moonlight was hidden in his eyes—bright and clear, as though the finest painter had dipped into thick ink, gathering spirit and focus to capture a fleeting moment of brilliance. Young Kou Xuanling was rooted to the spot by that gaze and foolishly asked, “Are you a celestial maiden?”

The beautiful person smiled faintly and replied, “Weren’t you just calling me a fox demon?”

Kou Xuanling felt deeply ashamed and forgot to wonder why the celestial maiden’s voice sounded like a man’s. Holding his peach wood sword, he walked up to the beautiful person and said, “I’m sorry.” After apologizing, he looked up and said, “My name is Kou Xuanling. My dad, mom, uncles, aunts, and cousins all call me A-Ling. What’s your name?”

“Didn’t the Kou family teach you that you shouldn’t tell ghosts and spirits your name when you meet them at midnight?” The beautiful person took a sip of wine, a faint aroma of alcohol wafting from him—pleasant and just right.

“They did. But you’re not a ghost or spirit.”

“Do you know that ghosts and spirits like to wear beautiful human skins, luring lustful men at midnight to eat them?” The beautiful person leaned closer to Kou Xuanling and said, “Perhaps if I took off this human skin, I’d scare you to death.”

Kou Xuanling, with his dark, shining eyes, stared straight at him and said, “But this is the Kou family’s ancestral home. No ghost or demon would be foolish enough to throw themselves into the net. Kou Ying and the others said you were a fox spirit, but it doesn’t seem so because there’s no record of any connection with a fox spirit in the Kou family history. I’ve never seen you before. You’re not a Kou family relative, so are you a friend of Uncle’s?” It was plausible, given that Uncle had friends from all over.

“You’re quite smart. My name is Lu Jing.” Lu Jing sat up straight, patting the couch and inviting Kou Xuanling to climb up. At that time, Kou Xuanling was round and chubby, but fortunately, the couch wasn’t too high, making it easy for him to climb up. Kou Xuanling tugged at Lu Jing’s long hair and said, “You’re so beautiful, even more than my mom.”

Lu Jing took a sip of wine and laughed, “It’s not difficult to say a man is good-looking.”

Kou Xuanling blinked, staring at Lu Jing, his gaze shifting from his prominent Adam’s apple to his flat chest, feeling instantly dejected. “I’ve had my heart broken.” His world turned into a snowstorm overnight.

Lu Jing nearly choked on his wine. “What?”

“I wanted to marry you,” Kou Xuanling said sadly, staring at Lu Jing’s overly handsome face for a long while, finding it impossible not to marry him. So Kou Xuanling solemnly offered his peach wood sword to Lu Jing, saying, “A-Jing, this is for you.”

Lu Jing looked down and asked, “Why give it to me?”

“As a token of our engagement,” Kou Xuanling said seriously. “You’re so good-looking; I must marry you. Wait for me to grow up, and then I’ll marry you.”

Lu Jing, amused, accepted the small peach wood sword and casually agreed to Kou Xuanling’s marriage proposal. “Alright, I’ll wait for you to marry me.” But as Kou Xuanling dozed off and fell asleep, Lu Jing erased all his memories of that night before leaving. The next day, Kou Xuanling woke up to his family’s calls, rubbed his eyes, and stretched out his hands to be held by his mother, saying, “Mom.”

His mother gently patted his bottom and said, “Naughty boy. Running out in the middle of the night to sleep in the pavilion, aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?”

Kou Xuanling opened his mouth, ready to tell her they had gone to catch a fox spirit, but his memory showed no fox spirit; instead, he just fell asleep. He couldn’t say that, or he’d get spanked. However, he whispered in his mother’s ear, “Mom, has there ever been a fox spirit at home?”

“Where would a fox spirit come from?” His mother didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “It’s hard enough for animals to gain spiritual awareness, let alone become immortals. Don’t overthink it. Let’s go home.”

In the crowd, little Kou Xuanling saw Kou Ying and his two cousins winking at him. When the adults left, they all gathered around, talking at once, asking, “A’Ling, did you see the fox spirit?” “A’Ling, was it a fox spirit or a ghost?” “Are you okay? Did you see the fox spirit?”

“There was no fox spirit at all. There was nothing in the Xianling Pavilion. And you guys ran away as soon as you saw a bit of ghostly light, leaving me behind without any concern, showing no hint of the demeanor of disciples of a heavenly master family. As children of heavenly masters, you should have slain the ghosts upon seeing them.” Little Kou Xuanling stood at the entrance of the Kou family ancestral hall’s altar, hands on his hips, lecturing his cousins.

The cousins lowered their heads in shame, murmuring, “Next time, we will fight side by side with you. But, A’Ling, are you sure there was no fox spirit in the Xianling Pavilion?”

Kou Xuanling walked into the altar, where the gods, heavenly soldiers, and various spirit officers were enshrined, while the eastern hall enshrined the Kou family ancestor. As he walked, he said, “There was nothing.” Upon entering the eastern hall, he bowed to the image of the clear ancestor and the Kou family’s Northern Heavenly Master Dao ancestor, Kou Qianzhi. When he bowed before a portrait of an unfamiliar ancestor, he felt puzzled and asked, “Who is this ancestor?”

Kou Ying looked over and replied, “This is Ancestor Lu Jing. It’s said he was the chief disciple of our ancestor, exceptionally talented, and he is also considered an ancestor of our Northern Heavenly Master Dao. During the spread of the teachings, Ancestor Lu Jing almost took over the task entirely. Later, he attained immortality, and though he wasn’t conferred a divine title, he returned to the mortal world to continue protecting the Northern Heavenly Master Dao. Otherwise, the Northern Heavenly Master Dao would have long lost its inheritance.”

After the passing of Ancestor Kou Qianzhi, the once-prosperous Northern Heavenly Master Dao suffered a catastrophic decline due to political strife. In a few years, hundreds of thousands of followers were either persecuted or converted to other Daoist sects, causing the Northern Heavenly Master Dao to falter. Fortunately, Ancestor Lu Jing continued to protect the Kou lineage after becoming an immortal, allowing the Northern Heavenly Master Dao to survive to this day. Thus, the Kou family devoutly worshiped Lu Jing as an ancestor.

Kou Xuanling said, “I’ve never seen him before.”

“That’s because Ancestor Lu Jing appeared in the dreams of the sect master, instructing that offerings only need to be made on the first and fifteenth of each month. Ancestor Lu Jing prefers peace and dislikes noise. If too many people worship daily, it would disturb him. Since you don’t come often, you wouldn’t know,” Kou Ying suddenly thought of something and said, amazed, “It’s remarkable that A’Ling never encounters Ancestor Lu Jing whenever you visit.”

“Coincidence,” Kou Xuanling said. He looked up at the portrait of Ancestor Lu Jing, which was similar in solemnity and dignity to the other ancestor portraits. He stared at it for a while, then knelt to bow. When he stood up, he noticed the portrait of Ancestor Lu Jing smiling at him, startling him to rub his eyes for a closer look. Upon closer inspection, it was no different than before. Was it an illusion?

Kou Ying gave Kou Xuanling a push, “A’Ling, let’s go.”

Little Kou Xuanling scratched his head, saying, “The name Lu Jing sounds familiar.” His cousins had already run out of the eastern hall, but as he reached the threshold of the hall, he suddenly heard an ethereal laugh behind him. When he turned to look, he saw only the quiet, standing portrait of the ancestor.

“Did I hear it wrong?” he murmured to himself, leaving the eastern hall.

 

 

 

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