Transcending the Nine Heavens

[Leave the clan!]

This had been Mo Qing Wu’s persistent desire for more than a year. And, Mo Qing Wu had completely lost hope a few days after the ‘marriage proposal’ matter.

[I won’t get any blessings here! I will only end up getting used as a tool.]

Mo Qing Wu had been naively expecting that her father would change his mind this past year, and that her clan would become amiable to her.

[After all, it’s not my fault that my Three Yin Meridians got destroyed. I’m the victim instead! I don’t expect my clan to train and nurture me like it used to before. However... at least treat me like a child of this clan...]

[I hadn’t offended anyone even when the clan used to put effort into training me back in the day. I would always greet everyone with a smile. Everyone used to praise me for being well-behaved. Then, why are they ignoring me now?]

She had been hoping for a year. But, she had only received despair in return.

The arrival of marriage proposal from the Meng Clan had extinguished the last source of brightness in her heart.

Now, she only wanted to get away from here.

[I must leave here, and go to the Cang Lan Battlefront. Elder Brother Chu Yang’s brothers are present there. Everything will be fine as long as I find them. Then, I’ll wait there for Elder Brother Chu Yang...]

[But... I can’t leave without doing a thorough planning for the journey...]

Therefore, Mo Qing Wu spent several days in planning and making some inquiries. She didn’t plan to take away anything that belonged to the clan. Firstly, these things belonged to the Mo Clan. So, she didn’t wish to take them away. Secondly... she might get busted if she tried to take anything...

In fact, she even had to leave her most beloved scabbard behind. The Mo Clan’s people knew that it was the most beloved treasure of Mo Qing Wu’s. So, she wouldn’t leave as long as this scabbard was still here.

She thought for a long duration of time. And, she tried to think as far as possible in order to make a thorough plan. She pondered over this matter in her little heart, but she didn’t discuss it with anyone...

She looked around the interior of her room one last time... then, she placed a pillow on top of the scabbard. Afterwards, she walked out without showing any signs of being reluctant to leave.

"Mother, I want to go out to play and have fun..." Mo Qing Wu looked at Madam Mo, "I’ve been rather bored these days..."

"Good, that’s good! I will dispatch someone to keep you company when you go out on a stroll." Madam Mo was very pleasantly surprised. She had been anxious in her heart because her daughter was getting more and more depressed lately. Moreover, her little daughter was becoming more and more silent. But, she had finally heaved a sigh of relief now that her daughter had arrived with a request to go out. [At least, her mood will get better...]

"There’s no need for that. I’m just going to the nearby meadows to see the flying kites... then, I want to go to the ‘Alighting Geese’ River to see the flowing river, and play in the water... and, I can also catch some fish while I’m at it!" Mo Qing Wu wore a jolly smile, and pretended to be lively.

"Naughty girl!" Madam Mo replied angrily, "You’re such a big girl, but you still wish to play in water and catch fish..." She pondered for a moment. Then, she said, "Well, alright then. Go, but don’t forget to come back before breakfast time."

"It’s all right mother... I have a few copper coins on me. I will buy something to eat." Mo Qing Wu took out a few dozen copper coins, and shook them in her palm.

"Ha-ha, go go." Madam Mo also didn’t take this seriously.

"Alright... Mother, your daughter is going..." Mo Qing Wu looked at her mother and spoke in a soft voice.

Madam Mo didn’t know that the sentence ‘Mother, your daughter is going’ was her daughter’s way of bidding farewell to her for a long time to come. So, she merely caressed her daughter’s hair, and replied in a sentimental manner, "Go and have fun... Little Wu, there are things that you must do even if you don’t wish to. But, you can’t be forced to do them against your will... so, you will have to understand the clan..."

"Yes..." Mo Qing Wu lowered her head. No one saw that the last bit of light in her eyes had quietly extinguished in this moment...

[Understand the clan? By sacrificing myself...? I want to understand the clan but... what should I do?]

She thought for a while with her head lowered. Then, she walked out. Madam Mo sighed gently behind her... Madam Mo had been married-off at an early age because of her poor aptitude. She used to think that her daughter would lead a happy life because she had the inborn ‘Three Yin Meridians’. However, she hadn’t thought that her daughter... would ultimately meet the same fate as herself...

Mo Qing Wu cheerfully walked out of the small courtyard. Her small face looked bright and lively. She greeted everyone she saw on her way out with a sweet smile.

Then, she went out of the Mo Clan’s front-gate. Follow current s on (F)ire

In fact, she even hugged the two guardian lion statues for a while as she walked out of the front gate. Then, she jumped to climb on the head of a stone lion, and stood on tiptoes to look in the direction of her home...

The bodyguards on guarding-duty smiled slightly when they saw this. [Young Miss is already 11 years old. She’s a big girl now. Yet, she’s so naughty...]

"I’m leaving..." Mo Qing Wu waved her hand at the guards with a smile on her face. Then, she turned her head, and cheerfully ran away...

Mo Qing Wu’s eyes had turned red in the moment she had turned her head. She bit her lip with the entirety of her strength; she was trying her best to not burst-out crying. Then, she raised her head, and looked at the morning sun that had risen a moment ago. The beautiful sunlight was falling on her floating hair, and had turned her hair pale golden in color.

She walked cheerfully, and arrived at the garden that was located behind the Mo Clan. Mo Qing Wu rested her chin on her hands, and spent a while looking at the 8 or 9-year-old children playing there. Then, she headed east and went to the Alighting Geese River’s bank. She lay on her stomach to lean her head over the river... as if she was looking for something...

After that, she quickly smeared something on her face when no one was looking. And, her beautiful, cute and small face immediately turned black because of the black paint she had just applied on it.

She saw that a boat was leisurely sailing over from afar. A few people stood on the prow of the boat. Their hands were crossed behind their back, and they seemed to be enjoying the scenery on both sides...

Afterwards, Mo Qing Wu jumped and went up to the riverbed. She looked at the people on that boat with rapt attention at first. Then, she felt somewhat relieved, and exerted her strength to beckon the boat.

The boat stopped, and an old man walked out. He had a square-shaped face, and big ears. His beard and hair were white in their entirety. He looked rather surprised to see her, "Little girl, you..."

"I want to go home..." Mo Qing Wu said with a sad look on her face and reddened eyes, "My home is located there. I must go along the river to get there... Grandpa, would you please give me a ride? I will give you money..."

She said this, and took out a broken piece of silver tael. After that, she pitifully looked at the old man...

One must never expose one’s valuables to the others. Mo Qing Wu had learnt this point well-enough.

"Poor girl, have you separated from your family?" The old man sighed in sympathy, "Come on up, I will give you a ride, little girl. I don’t want any money from you..."

"Thank you Grandpa..." The cute-little Mo Qing Wu courteously moved forward, and cheerfully embarked the boat. Then, her small body got concealed in the hold of the boat...

"My home is located 100 Km or 50 Km away from here... towards the Willow River Town..." Mo Qing Wu blinked and innocently said, "My daddy does business. I followed after him to play. But then, I saw a monkey and followed it to play with it. But, I couldn’t find daddy afterwards..."

"Willow River Town ah..." This old man was obviously a very kind-hearted man. Moreover, he seemed to adore children. This was also the reason why Mo Qing Wu had dared to embark on this boat...

"Next time... you mustn’t run around on your own, ok? There are lots bad people out there... poor girl." The old man sighed and stoked her head, "Would you like to eat something, little girl? You must be hungry, right?"

"Yes..." She nodded in a timid manner.

The old man was just an ordinary merchant. So, there was no need to be worried. However, Mo Qing Wu would habitually insert her hand into the bowl each time before she ate or drank... there was a ring on her finger. It seemed like an ordinary ring, but it was actually a Poison Testing Ring.

She was extremely cautious despite the fact that she was so young... [I will never be able to see Brother Chu Yang if I got nabbed by someone on the way...]

She secretly looked from inside the hold of the boat towards the Mo Clan’s territory; it was getting farther and farther away. A determined look appeared in her eyes as she bit her lip... [I might have regretted leaving my home earlier... but now, I have no choice but to leave.]

[Mo Clan... it will no longer have the person named Mo Qing Wu.]

[Mother, take care of yourself!]

They eventually reached the Willow River Town. Mo Qing Wu politely bid farewell to the old man, and came ashore. She waved her hand in good bye. Then, she disappeared into the willow forest... The old man watched her as she walk into the distance. The look on his face clearly showed that he didn’t wish to part with her. He had spent a very short period of time with her. But, his heart was already full of love for this cute little girl...

"Senior, this Young Miss... has been intensely vigilant the entire journey," his bodyguard stepped over from behind him, and warned him.

"That doesn’t matter. This little girl is away from her home. She is bound to be vigilant," the old man replied in a disapproving manner. Then, he gently stroked his beard, and said with a smile, "If only this old man could have such a granddaughter..." he muttered and heaved a deep sigh.

.... ....

Mo Qing Wu found a market in the Willow River Town. She bought a set of grey clothes for men. Then, she changed clothes, put on a hat, and dyed her face bronze. Her immature and fragile body – that hadn’t begun to develop yet – suddenly began to look like the lean body of a typical young master of some random clan...

Then, she inquired around, and found a stable of horses and mules. She paid 12 silver taels, and hired a horse-drawn carriage. She then travelled east. She ate and lived in the carriage itself...

Mo Qing Wu got off the carriage three days later. She paid a gold leaf, and bought a horse from that carriage. She got on the horse, and rode forward. Her small figure slowly disappeared on the horizon...

She was already more than 500 Km away from the Mo Clan at this moment...

She had been cautious the entire journey. She had silently contemplated about a million things in her heart. However, so far, she still hadn’t come across any danger for some unexpected reason... But, she would still have to cover thousands of kilometers to reach Cang Lan Battlefront. There was a long journey ahead. But, she was completely ignorant, and didn’t know what lay in-wait in her future...

She didn’t know that a little kid like her... traveling alone on such a long journey... would come across many dangerous situations, spirit beasts, wild animals, wicked people, bandits, thieves...

She only knew that she had to go to the Cang Lan Battlefront! That’s because that place was her only hope...

Mo Qing Wu had to run away from her home because of a ‘forced marriage’ scenario in her previous life as well. And, she had embarked on this road even in this life as well... However, it had happened two years earlier in this life...

Another difference was... Cang Lan Battlefront wasn’t her goal in her past life. So, she had to look for a place to hide while despairing all the while after she had left her home...

However, she — at the very least — was hopeful in her heart in this life. Moreover, she had a goal in her mind...

...

Mo Clan had already spiraled into chaos by now!

Mo Qing Wu had gone missing.

Madam Mo had felt strange when Mo Qing Wu didn’t come back by evening. So, she and Mo Xing Chen went to examine Mo Qing Wu’s small courtyard. They opened the door, and saw that the room was in order. Like always, that shabby scabbard was kept under the pillow like a treasured object... half exposed...

So, they felt relieved.

After all, the Mo Clan’s domain was spread in the surrounding radius of hundreds of kilometers. Nothing could happen to Mo Qing Wu. However, they realized that something was wrong when the entire night passed and she didn’t return...

They slowly went up to the riverside the next day. They made inquiries on the way, and finally determined — [Mo Qing Wu has left home!]

Mo Xing Chen flew into a rage!