Chapter 1437: Chapter 151: Prayer to the Gods
The waiter glanced at Ah Dai, muttering to himself as he walked out, "A beautiful flower stuck in manure, such a lovely girl, how did she end up with such a husband?" Just as he was about to step out of the room, he suddenly felt a chill at his neck. Shocked, he froze in place, not daring to move. A short blade pressed against his neck as Mie Feng’s icy voice sounded, "Don’t ever let me hear you speak ill of my husband again. Even ten thousand of you wouldn’t be worth a fraction of him. Now leave—" A powerful shove from behind sent the waiter staggering out the door, where he crashed to the ground with a thud. The sound of the door closing echoed sharply.
It took a long moment before the waiter struggled to his feet. Just as he was about to curse out loud, the memory of the icy sensation on his neck resurfaced. He hastily swallowed his words, shot a fierce glare at the closed door, and walked away in frustration.
After shutting the door, Mie Feng swiftly moved to Ah Dai’s side. Due to the dark attributes of her own Dou Qi, she didn’t dare try to heal Ah Dai’s wounds. All she could do was anxiously watch over him.
Ah Dai had completely slipped into a semi-unconscious state. The True Qi within him was locked in a life-and-death struggle against the Evil Aura of the Sword of Hades. If Xuan Yue had been by his side, and if his heart were brimming with benevolence, it was possible that even after using the sixth move of the Nine Nether Techniques, he might not have fallen into such dire straits. However, his inner being had long been tainted by Malevolent Aura, and he was filled with a desire to kill. The moment he wielded the Netherworld technique, it was as though heaven’s thunder had ignited earth’s fire—a chaotic reaction that spiraled out of control. Now, all he could rely on was the overwhelming power of his True Qi to fend off the invading Evil Aura.
Mie Feng’s heart stirred. She leaned close to Ah Dai’s ear and whispered, "Ice, do you remember Ice? For her, you cannot let anything happen to you! You still need to destroy the Assassin’s Guild and fulfill the promise you made to me. You’ll get through this—you won’t fall." Perhaps, Ah Dai truly heard Mie Feng’s call, as the chaotic energy within him seemed to settle slightly.
Mie Feng stood up and began pacing back and forth in the room. Suddenly, as though an idea struck her, she paused to deeply study Ah Dai lying on the bed, then strode out of the room.
In the inn’s lobby, the waiter who had led Mie Feng to the room earlier was chatting with another waiter. "That little lady might be pretty, but she’s downright scary. She pulled a blade on me just now—I was scared out of my wits! I haven’t even gotten married yet; I don’t want to die!"
The other waiter laughed and teased, "You’re such a coward. A little girl scared you that badly? No wonder you can’t find a wife. It’s just a woman, what’s the big deal? Do you honestly think she’s stronger than us men?"
"What about women? Do you think women can’t kill people?" The icy voice interjected, instantly enveloping the two waiters in a chilling murderous aura.
The two waiters were ordinary civilians who had never encountered anything like this. Under the weight of the oppressive aura, both collapsed to the floor, trembling uncontrollably. They stared at Mie Feng approaching them step by step and begged desperately, "Please, spare us, miss! We’ll never talk out of turn again!" "Miss, I—I didn’t mean to say anything about you. I have elderly parents and young children at home. Please have mercy!"
With a flash of light, Mie Feng sheathed her short blade and glanced disdainfully at the two kowtowing men before her. "I won’t kill you. Killing people like you would only dirty my hands. Get me a record of the Prayer Charm. It must be written in the Holy Church’s language."
"Y-yes, yes. Ah, so the miss is also a devoted follower of the Sky God! I am, too. I’ll fetch it for you right away."
The Prayer Charm was a widely known chant throughout the continent, often recited by faithful followers of the Sky God and the Holy Church. Though the Prayer Charm didn’t have any extraordinary function, its recitation produced a faint Sacred Aura, which could help calm one’s emotions. Mie Feng had thought of the Prayer Charm because of the Evil Aura invading Ah Dai’s body. She hoped that reciting the Prayer Charm might help him endure his crisis. However, she wasn’t confident. As a member of the Dark Forces herself, she didn’t know if her chanting would have any effect. At this point, she had no other options and could only take the chance to do her best.
After a short while, the waiter brought back a small, exquisitely bound book and respectfully handed it to Mie Feng. She let out a cold snort and warned, "If any officials come here to investigate, none of you are to mention our presence. If you do, you better start counting the days your pathetic lives have left." With that, her figure flashed and she floated upstairs, leaving the two stunned waiters gaping after her.
Back in the room, Mie Feng sat beside the bed. Ah Dai’s complexion alternated between red and white, his body trembling incessantly. Beads of sweat poured down his face as though he was in excruciating pain. Mie Feng placed the Prayer Charm book to the side, fetched a towel from the bathroom, and began gently wiping the sweat from Ah Dai’s brow. Holding the Prayer Charm book in her other hand, she let out a bitter laugh, "I never thought I’d have a day where I’d be pleading for the Sky God’s blessings." She opened the first page of the Prayer Charm, took a deep breath, and murmured, "Behold the divinity that sees all, guiding all beings in salvation, nurturing the divine essence within, erasing all suffering and malevolence. Pray to the Sky God: suffering is emptiness, emptiness is suffering; sensation, perception, intent, consciousness—divine prayers for heavenly protection..." The archaic words resonated through the room as Mie Feng slowly deciphered the verses. Gradually, as she recited the thousand-word Prayer Charm, she felt a strange calm settle in her heart, as though nothing mattered anymore. Her mind became entirely absorbed in the characters of the chant, leaving room for nothing else. For the first time in her life, outside of her martial arts training, she poured her entire being into one single act. Her chanting grew smoother and more fluent, and without realizing it, Mie Feng had already crossed her legs on the floor, reciting the Prayer Charm over and over again.
