Chapter 2: The Witch Shangguan Ling

  The space inside the carriage was very spacious, and after walking in, Tang Qing looked around and found that there were some mysterious symbols and patterns drawn inside the carriage. This was an array, an array used to reduce bumps, and it was a masterpiece of a master at first glance.

  "Hey, what's your name?"

  In the carriage, Shangguan Ling looked at Tang Qing with some curiosity and asked, "You're called Tang Qing, how did you learn about the Tongling Secret Art?" In her impression, the Tongling Secret Art belonged to the left path, and very few people understood it. Even in some large sects, there were very few people who knew about it. She really couldn't understand how a wandering Taoist priest like him could possibly know about it.

  Tang Qing lay on his back, his head lolled listlessly to one side, and he was so weak that he didn't even have the energy to speak.

  "Teach me, then?" Upper Official Ling looked very interested in the spiritual communication technique and said, "Of course, I won't learn it for nothing. What do you want? I'll give you a large amount of spirit stones, so you can live a good life from now on and never have to wander around again. How about that?"

  Tang Qing closed his eyes as if he hadn't heard anything.

  "I'll give you a treasure, how about that? You've been traveling the world, you must have heard of treasures? It's very precious, even cultivators may not be able to obtain one in their lifetime, what do you say?"

  Shangguan Ling went all out to get Tang Qing to teach him the spiritual arts, but the guy opposite him remained unmoved, lying there with his eyes closed, completely ignoring him.

  Suddenly, Tang Qing discovered that Shangguan Ling's expression was somewhat off, and hastily said, "Miss, the Tongling secret technique I only slightly understand, how can I teach you? Besides, I won't teach anyone."

  "Is that so?" Shangguan Ling took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger in his heart. The refined face still maintained a smile as he said, "You must be very tired from traveling around Jianghu, and you often encounter all sorts of dangers. Since you understand the art of communicating with spirits, why don't you become my groom from now on? Take care of my horses specifically? What do you say?"

  Tang Qing didn't respond, so she continued, "If you're willing, I'll give you a large amount of spirit stones every month. If you perform well, I can also give you some rare and precious medicinal pills. If you're willing to endure hardships, I can even help you embark on the path of cultivation? I know many powerful experts, including several who are leaders of their respective sects - Snow Mountain Sect, Qing Yu Sect, Dong Hua Sect, Zhong Tian Sect... which one would you like to join? You can choose whichever one you want, is that satisfying enough for you?"

  In Shangguan Ling's view, anyone would have agreed to such a tempting condition without hesitation, because whether it was Xueshanmen, Qingyumen, Donghuamen or Zhongtianmen, they were all top-notch cultivation sects in the local area. Ordinary people would do anything to become a disciple of these sects, but they had very strict requirements for accepting disciples, making it impossible for them to join without an excellent family background and good qualifications. It was just unknown what Shangguan Ling's identity was, yet he dared to boast that Tang Jing could enter casually.

  Shangguan Ling expected to see a look of surprise on Tang Jing's face, but soon she found that except for fatigue, there was no extra emotion on this god stick's face.

  "Sorry, I'm really not interested!" Tang Jing shook his head in refusal. He now only wanted to find a comfortable place and sleep soundly, as for other things, he was too lazy to care. After a while, it seemed that he no longer heard Shangguan Ling speak. Tang Jing felt something was off, opened his eyes and glanced over, discovering the smile on Shangguan Ling's face was slowly disappearing.

  It's gone bad, this woman seems to be playing tough!

  Tang Qing had gone through the nine heavens tribulation, and although his eyes didn't seem to be able to see through everything in the world, they still had a strong piercing power. He quickly stood up and said, "Miss, let me get off the carriage." As he was about to leave, Upper Official Ling suddenly stood up and shouted, "You damned charlatan, I asked you for help with good intentions, but you repeatedly refused Miss. I thought that by helping you cure your horse, I would be doing you a favor and giving you an opportunity to cultivate, but you said you weren't interested?"

  "You see me not drinking the toast, thinking of getting off? The door is not even there." Shangguan Ling was furious, she pressed down on Tang Jing's shoulder, pinning him to his seat. The weak and helpless Tang Jing was no match for Shangguan Ling, he smiled bitterly and said, "Miss, do we have to do this?"

  "Hmph! Death God Stick! You think you're some kind of spiritual master, don't you? Thinking you're a big shot? Let me tell you, when I set my sights on someone, no one can escape. Today, you'll agree whether you like it or not!"

  Shangguan Ling flipped his palm, and a black jade bangle suddenly appeared in his hand. Before Tang Qing could react, he saw Shangguan Ling pulling on his wrist with a swift motion, and the next moment, the black jade bangle was already on Tang Qing's wrist.

  Tang Qing did not resist, and at this moment he had no ability to resist. He stared at the black cuff on his wrist, saying nothing, but only letting out a quiet sigh. He could tell that the cuff was a magical artifact, and it was an artifact used to control people. Sure enough, Shangguan Ling's triumphant voice came from above.

  "This is the Palm Punishment Mother Bracelet, what you're wearing is only for the child, and this one here is for the mother. As long as I want to, I can torture you anytime and anywhere! So, you must listen to me, otherwise...". Upper Official Ling raised his jade arm, revealing the black Palm Punishment Mother Bracelet on his wrist, with an evil smile at the corner of his mouth, saying "I'll tell you, if I shake this mother bracelet, your wrist will immediately feel sore and then quickly spread throughout your body. You know that feeling? It's like countless ants devouring your bones, itchy and sour, making people want to split their own head open with a knife. Do you want to try?"

  Tang Jing saw that the girl was not joking, he furrowed his brow deeply and said helplessly, "Alright, you're formidable. I'll teach you the Tongling secret technique, but first take off this... whatever it is, Palm Punishment Mother-Child Bangle."

  "Want to teach me?" Shangguan Ling was also lying down, but with his legs raised and arms wrapped around them, exuding an air of arrogance and dominance. He sneered, "But now you don't want to learn anymore, from now on you're just my personal horseman, Shangguan Ling's!"

  Tang Qing cursed his bad luck, closing his eyes and banging his forehead repeatedly. He had originally thought that this time out, no matter what, he would enjoy the good days, but unexpectedly, before he could even achieve his goal, he encountered a woman with such a strange and overbearing temperament.

  "Miss, we've never met before, and yet I cured your Black Flame Horse. How can you be so ungrateful to me?"

  "Don't you know that the more beautiful a woman is, the more ruthless she is?" Shangguan Ling chuckled and stroked her smooth cheek with her jade-like fingers, saying with great interest, "Sister, I'm so beautiful, just one look and you can tell I'm that legendary femme fatale. It's your own fault for being stupid. What's this nonsense about ingratitude? Even if I were ungrateful, what could you do?"

  He was thoroughly convinced, Tang Qing couldn't help but secretly sigh in his heart, wondering if he had grown old or if the times were changing too fast, how did these women become so crazy? As for the mother-child cuff on his wrist, he wasn't very concerned about it, although there was no way to get rid of it now, but after a while when his cultivation recovered, dealing with this thing would be as easy as turning over his hand.

  "Death God Stick, spare you for today, I'll settle the score with you when I get back!"

  It's unclear whether it was because Shangguan Ling suddenly lost interest in the person in front of him, or if he noticed Tang Qing's physical weakness and had a change of heart, but after leaving behind a sentence with an ill temper, he lifted the curtain, stood outside the carriage, and began to sing a gentle melody. Meanwhile, Tang Qing, perhaps truly exhausted, lay down and gradually fell asleep.

  After humming a tune, Shangguan Ling regained his interest and called out twice. When no one responded, he lifted the curtain to find that this damned old man was actually asleep!

  "Wow! You're really enjoying yourself, aren't you? Madam is working hard outside driving the car, and you're sleeping like a dead pig inside."

  Tang Qing had a good temper, but the one thing he hated the most was being woken up while sleeping. He was extremely tired at this moment, and immediately got angry, scolding, "What the hell do you want?"

  "You... what did you just say?! You dare to scold my mother?! How dare you?! You..." Shangguan Ling's teeth were clenched in anger, her finger pointing at Tang Qing, her beautiful eyes wide with rage, her furious gaze as if it could kill Tang Qing on the spot.

  "Hum! Don't let you taste the power of Auntie, you really don't know your own surname!"

  Shangguan Ling raised her arm, and the sleeve fell down, revealing the palm punishment mother-child bracelet on her wrist. She let out a cold hum, shook it three times, and Tang Jing only felt a tearing pain coming from his wrist, instantly spreading throughout his body. Originally, after passing through the nine heavens tribulation, his physical body was severely damaged, and his cultivation was lost. At this moment, he was even weaker, how could he withstand such torture? His head tilted to one side, without even making a sound, he directly fainted.

  "Hey!"

  Feeling something was off, Ling stopped shaking his wristlet and walked over to check on him, only then discovering that Tang Jing had fainted.

  "How can you be so weak, unable to withstand even this little bit of pain?" It seemed that Shangguan Ling's inner self really had some self-blame, muttering, "Who told you to scold me first, humph! This time I'll let you off, wait till we get back and then I'll settle the score with you!"

  Shangguan Ling felt a pang of guilt and decided to find a comfortable spot for Tang Jing. As soon as he reached out to pull him, without using much force, there was a ripping sound, and the clothes on Tang Jing's body were torn!

  "What a broken clothes!" Shangguan Ling couldn't help but complain, feeling a bit embarrassed. However, what made her curious was that this guy's chest seemed to have quite a few scars. These scars were reddish-black in color and there were nine of them, looking like nine chains binding him up at first glance. As someone from a prestigious family with extensive knowledge and also being a disciple of a major sect, Shangguan Ling couldn't figure out what had caused these scars. What surprised her even more was that these marks seemed to be natural, as if they were born with him.

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