Accidentally Married A Fox God - The sovereign lord spoils his wife

Chapter 12 - Forgotten Waters Sect

Chapter 12 - Forgotten Waters Sect

Li Meirong transmigrated to a different world.

On her first day in this different world, she had been sold to a brothel and was nearly r.a.p.ed by a man, which had only been prevented by his being murdered right on top of her. Then, she was drugged with an aphrodisiac and ended up doing such shameful activities with no other than that man's murderer!

She couldn't help the wave of shame that flooded her innards.

And she'd been so eager for it too!

Li Meirong fervently wished she wouldn't remember. Why couldn't she have been afflicted with a convenient case of amnesia right now?

On her second day, she woke up in a forest straight out of a fairytale.

But…how did she get here? And where was that man? Had she hallucinated the whole thing?

She concluded, sitting up on the mossy forest floor.

One way or another, I can't stay here!

At least she wasn't in the brothel anymore, whether that whole episode was just a bad dream or not, she decided she would focus on figuring out her current whereabouts, identity and, quite hopefully, a place to stay.

In her previous life, Li Meirong had never had any grand dreams or aspirations. She had no particularly great achievements to speak of and only ever wanted to live peacefully, to be one of the crowd.

Get a stable job, find a good man and settle down, make her parents happy.

But now all of that was lost. She had no one here, and she stood out like a sore thumb.

She felt weak.

Useless.

No matter what, she refused to be in a position where she was sold or tossed around again. She thought about the man with the golden glowing eyes and wondered if what they did could be counted as a one night stand. She most likely wouldn't see him again.

The bitter taste of disappointment filled her and the expression on her face fell into a dejected frown. At least if everything that had occurred yesterday was real, then he'd apparently fulfilled his promise and took her out of that whorehouse.

Now, at least, she was free.

She sighed and got up, gathered her long dress in her hands, picked a random direction and started walking.

No point dwelling on the past, she had to move on!

Making her way through the forest, she soon found a traveller's path through the trees and bushes.

There were signs pointing north, so she followed them up the unfamiliar path.

The further she walked, the more the atmosphere changed. It was morning, yet there were so many trees around that hardly any light shined through. Little fireflies fluttered about, some even circled her as she walked. She reached out her hand to touch one and felt a stab of pain.

It bit her!

Frightened, she hurriedly jogged away from the swarm of glowing fireflies.

The forest got darker still, the trees grew denser, branches heavy with leaves and creeping vines that twisted around the damp tree trunks all the way down to the forest bed. Paying closer attention to them, she began to realize the vines were actually the roots of the trees and they moved subtly, like snakes coiling in the sand.

Her heart began to race when her eye was suddenly caught by something glowing through the shrubs on the sides of the path. Many pairs of beady, red eyes blinked at her.

She started running down the path as fast as her legs could carry her. The more she looked around the more afraid she became, certain that at any moment something was going to pounce on her from the darkness and she would be defenceless against it.

Eventually, panting and covered in cold sweat, she found herself safely at the end of the woods.

In front of her, a large clearing at the edge of the woodland path slowly appeared. Li Meirong slowed her pace to a walk and saw a crowd of people, apparently lining up for something.

Almost jumping in joy, she hurried to join the nearby population.

The majority of the people in the queue appeared quite wealthy, although there were a few dressed in rags as well. it seemed as though anybody was able to follow if they wished. Most of the people around her were in fact very young, looking as though in their early teens. Parents were also in the crowd, holding their toddlers and children while waiting in line.

At the end of the queue sat a woman, perched atop a large boulder with her shoulders back and her legs crossed in a lotus position.

She stood apart from the crowd with strikingly beautiful and youthful features and was surrounded by a vividly bright aura. Her eyes were dark and piercing.

Behind her was a vast and empty abyss, only the blue-grey skies and fluffy clouds could be seen there.

If a person were to walk a little further beyond her place, they would surely fall to their doom.

Li Meirong took in the peculiar scene, watching curiously as the distinguished woman gazed upon the crowd. She was clothed in a light blue robe and her waist adorned with a white sash. She was giving instructions to all the participants regarding their destination.

In front of her boulder was a large metal bowl filled with water. Each time a person in line reached the lady, they would put their left hand into the water.

Sometimes, the water glowed brightly in different colours and other times it had a singular dim, subtle glow. The people who placed their hand in the water and received no shimmer whatsoever were instructed to leave the premises.

The devastation of the rejected participants was painfully obvious. When the water didn't glow for a little girl who had reached the head of the line, she burst into tears due to the rejection, as though her whole world had collapsed around her. The wailing girl's mother quickly grabbed her and urged her to move aside.

In the distance, men and women with distinguished bearings, wearing the same set of light blue clothes, gazed at the occurrence with unmasked disdain.

There was no place for weaklings here.

The line was so long that Li Meirong was sure that by the time she reached the front, nighttime would arrive. Yet everyone still stood patiently, not a single person left before they had the opportunity to place their hand inside the bowl.

Since Li Meirong had nowhere else specific to go, and her curiosity was piqued by this magical ritual of sorts, she figured that she might as well stick around and give it a shot.

The chatter of the participants in front of her reached her ears.

They were three cheerful and excited teenagers, two boys and a girl. Their plump cheeks and innocent looking smiles gave the impression of spoiled noble children.

"The Forgotten Waters sect only recruits once every fifty years, this is such a lucky event for us! If we get accepted, not only do we have the opportunity to become stronger and elevate our households, we can also practice immortality!" The girl in front excitedly squealed, but her expression quickly changed to alarm as she uttered her next sentence.

"But if I don't get accepted…"

The boy in the middle was all smiles towards her as he patted her head gently.

"I'm sure you will be accepted, little Qianqian. After all, we've been practising our internal strength since infancy."

Li Meirong remembered the dramas she used to watch on TV before she died and how most of them dealt with bickering women in harems, empires and politics. She had, however, once come across a show that had to do with cultivating powers.

After overhearing the kids in front of her, she concluded that this event seemed to be a test in order to get accepted into a sect, similar to the show she once watched, where you end up gaining magical, superhuman powers!

Practising immortality? Becoming stronger? That didn't sound bad at all...

In this world, there were no laws to protect a person personal rights. Her soul had transmigrated into a discarded, punished maid. If she didn't become stronger, the odds of her finding herself in such a situation as the original owner of this body had again was disturbingly high.

She wondered if she could become the type of person who could raise her strength and become powerful. With this newfound thought in mind, Li Meirong tapped on the shoulder of the boy who was standing in the middle of the trio.

The boy turned back to look at her, as did the other two at his sides.