Murim's Weakest Princess-Chapter 258: Blind Wish-Granting Snake

After splinting her ribs and tying a brace, Anji lay on the ground and listened to the old story from several millennia ago. The story of a blind wish-granting snake that people call Mang Yuan out of respect and fondness and the grand betrayal that cursed everyone for all eternity.

Mang Yuan was a beautiful white snake demon who had lived for thousands of years. Born as a regular white snake who had eaten human flesh, she walked the demonic path but was shown mercy by a demonic hunter who was also a cultivator. To show her devotion to turning over a new leaf, Mang Yuan blinded herself and followed the righteous path with the cultivator.

After many years of burning incense and chanting the sutras, Mang Yuan eventually outlived the cultivator who became a sage and turned into a human. For many more years, she cultivated as a human and eventually developed a unique skill, becoming a thousand-year snake and attaining the karmic right to become a dragon. All she had to do was grant a thousand wishes.

"And that was the start of the Mang Yuan shrine. We pray and worship Lady Mang Yuan in hopes that she could transform into a dragon and ascend to heaven. She might have been born a snake and walked the path of evil. However, nobody had any doubts in our hearts that she had truly turned over a new leaf. There was nobody else more fitting than Lady Mang Yuan to become the next dragon."

According to the shrine keeper, Lady Mang Yuan adopted an abandoned orphan like her and took her into the care of her shrine. The shrine was built deep in a cave underground because Lady Mang Yuan did not like the sun. However, the attendants and children she adopted were free to roam wherever they wanted on the mountain and in the nearby village.

Those who showed interest and aptitude would be taught cultivation and martial arts. The shrine keeper was one fortunate person who learned directly from Lady Mang Yuan.

"Over time, word about the prosperity and skill of our shrine spread. The villagers started becoming devoted worshippers, and those from afar also came to learn about it. Although it was still a very secluded place, many people came to see and pray to Lady Mang Yuan. Of course, we do our best to kick out people with impure intentions. Lady Mang Yuan does not grant ill-harbouring wishes. She was a benevolent and fair deity who granted wishes through her wisdom. Naturally, some people would become unhappy about it. The greedy people who assumed a God should give them whatever they asked for started to spread negative rumours about Lady Mang Yuan."

Anji nodded. Human greed knows no boundaries. Not everyone was kind and hardworking. There would always be a few who would reap the rewards of other people’s hard work for themselves, thinking it was owed to them. Anji had not experienced it herself personally. However, she had experienced and observed it through the memory crystals. There was a reason why the Mystical Qilin Sect closed its doors to the world. It was not to be stingy with their resources but to protect their people. All it took was one bad apple to spoil the basket completely. Although the Mystical Qilin Sect tried its best to prevent such cases, it was not infallible when people like Song Geying existed. Even though she bullied Anji badly when she first entered the sect, Anji could not help but feel there would be people more incorrigible than Song Geying who had been expelled from the sect.

As Anji listened to the shrine keeper’s story, her suspicions were proven right.

From riches to lovers, people came to ask Lady Mang Yuan to grant their wishes. Some came with bribes and others with threats. However, Lady Mang Yuan refused everyone with greed in their hearts firmly. When she could not grant their wishes, they would curse her, spit at the shrine and even defile the sacred property. It was only natural for the followers of Lady Mang Yuan to be angry about it.

Despite the rude acts, Lady Mang Yuan remained benevolent. She did not turn anyone away and continued to listen to their wishes earnestly.

"That was until Lady Mang Yuan met someone who earnestly begged her to grant his wish to learn martial arts for personal revenge." The shrine keeper became more solemn. "Lady Mang Yuan took pity on him and accepted him as one of our own."

Although Anji did not know the full story, she could guess how this changed the fate of the small shrine. There was a reason why the Mystical Qilin Sect refused to participate in worldly affairs, even when it had one of the most influential in the murim world. The only reason they were participating in the new murim war was that one of the people in the murim war was a member of their own.

As expected, the child who was accepted and raised by Lady Mang Yuan ended up implicating the entire shrine. Lady Mang Yuan, who had become a responsible person, chose to take accountability for raising this child who bore a heart of revenge. She broke the sacred code and stained her hands with blood once more, denying herself the chance to become a true dragon and ruining thousands of years’ worth of karma.

"Many people, after hearing how Lady Mang Yuan could no longer grant wishes, started to leave. Some even said she deserved it, but only we knew the truth. The child who sought revenge was too burdened by the guilt of having killed himself after he completed his revenge to atone for his sins, but his death only weighed heavily in Lady Mang Yuan’s heart. Eventually, the shrine closed down and only a few of us who had chosen to remain behind continued to guard this place."

For many years, Lady Mang Yuan and her few devoted followers lived a simple life. The villagers who had seen Lady Mang Yuan before fame spread dutifully presented their harvest for her in gratitude for all that she had done, even during famines. In return, Lady Mang Yuan’s wounded heart slowly healed.

"Yet, fate was cruel. An epidemic spread in the village overnight, and everyone died. Lady Mang Yuan was grieved and decided that they would be buried here in her sacred shrine, under her care, as she would watch over them as they had watched over her for many generations."

Hearing that, Anji put two and two together. Those lingering souls with nowhere to go must have been the villagers buried here. Knowing who they were and where they had gone, Anji felt lighter in her heart. They can now re-enter the cycle of reincarnation for a better life.

"I don’t remember how I died," the shrine keeper admitted. "However, in my final years, I vaguely recall Lady Mang Yuan leaving for a long time to seek someone. Many of my fellow followers had passed on, and I was the last to remain. When Lady Mang Yuan returned, she returned with a priest. He was the first founder of the Mystical Qilin Sect, who made a deal with Lady Mang Yuan to look after us and this place. I don’t know what deal they made, but even now, Lady Mang Yuan is still in the cultivation chamber sealed off and protected strongly. She told us that to rewrite the karma, she needed to spend a few more thousand years in isolated meditation, praying for forgiveness to the Goddess of Mercy, so she could shed her old skin and be reborn anew for another chance to ascend to Heaven. We have been waiting ever since as guardians for the successors of the Mystical Qilin Sect who are taught the secret arts needed to maintain the special seal on Lady Mang Yuan’s isolation chamber until the day she becomes a dragon."

Here, Anji paused. Lady Mang Yuan was still alive? For some reason, she held her tongue. If such a powerful being was still alive, she should have sensed it when she first entered this labyrinth. Unless the first successor’s seal was as strong as the barrier around the Mystical Qilin Sect’s mountain range, she should have sensed Lady Mang Yuan’s energy.

Keeping that to herself, Anji asked if the Shrine Keeper knew where the other followers were so that she could check on them when her injury was better. Thrilled, the talkative soul shared more trivial stories about her friends and the places Anji could visit in the labyrinth when she became better.

"Sorry, I cannot accompany you to hunt for those spiritual mushrooms as I am bound to this worship hall. However, my junior brother can guide you there if you look for him in the underground farming area! He is in charge of the gardens and prefers to spend his time grinding herbs. I’m sure you will have a lot to talk about with him because I can smell medicine on you."