That Fair-Faced 'Sage' {Completed}

25. Demon Cultivator

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LanFen opened her eyes to find herself in another strange place...

Weak sunlight filtered into the small room, highlighting the particles that danced about, and a crisp breeze blew through the open window, bringing in the scent of snowy mountain air.

Her brows drew together in a pretty scowl.

Between the boat ride, her room in the Shuǐ Manor, the forest at the base of the mountain and then this room, LanFen had woken up in more strange places, in the short time since she met the Shuǐ family members, than she had in all her life!

And Shuǐ ChénLín in particular was always involved!

She swung her feet over the bed, checking and confirming that her robes were still intact, then she sat in the lotus position and meditated for a short while.

When she was certain that everything was intact, she stepped outside, and felt her breath catch, at the beautiful scenery.

Lu FengHo had been heading to check on Zhao LanFeng, and he beamed when he saw the surprise on his face.

"Over here!" He waved Zhao LanFeng over.

"Elder brother Lu!" LanFen skipped over. "Did I die and ascend to the heavens? I thought I'd suffer through the hells for centuries! Are there Immortals and fairies here?!"

"Tsk!" Lu FengHo shook his head. "Making a joke the second you open your eyes... How do you feel? I noticed you were completely fine, except for loss of energy, so I transferred some pure qi, and instructed the disciples to let you sleep."

"After seeing the heavens like this, anybody will be fine." but she was considering the fact that, once again, she had noticed foreign qi that was not Lu FengHo's, and there was no imbalance from it.

"Hehehe... Well these 'heavens' that you admire, are the Shuǐ training grounds." Lu FengHo was saying, gesturing towards the organised scattering of small, neat buildings.

There were large pine trees or willows here and there, and the large bamboo forest surrounding the grounds, seemed to embrace the entire setting.

There was a particularly large Crystal looking willow, which appeared frozen and LanFen wondered whether it would look like this in other seasons as well, or whether it was a rare sight, seen only in winter.

It was certainly different from the rest, and Winter was now dying, yet the willow still looked like it was encased in crystal ice.

Here and there, there were weeping forsythias, snow lotuses and winter roses, which bravely coloured the landscape, despite the snow.

To put it simply, the grounds were breathtakingly beautiful, and LanFen could only imagine what it would look like, through the other seasons!

Lu FengHo smiled at her expression. "Disciple Zhao. Do you still think badly about training here?"

But LanFen barely missed a beat. "Elder brother Lu, a gilded cage is still just that... A cage." Still, she couldn't keep the joy and excitement off her face, as she went on to explore the quaint arrangement of buildings.

Being imprisoned here for three years didn't seem much like punishment, and if she wasn't hell bent on revenge, she would be looking forward to it.

Lu FengHo shook his head with a sigh, as he caught up with her and continued their tour. "The training grounds are vast and surrounded by powerful arrays that keep strangers out." He tossed her a small wooden pendant, which bore the Shuǐ clan insignia.

"You have to carry that at all times, so you can pass through the arrays." He told her, then held up his own up to show her. It was silver, unlike hers which was wooden. "The pendant material depends on rank or relation. Disciples carry wooden pendants, except Shuǐ JunHo, who is a possible successor."