Chapter 3410: Far More Fearsome Than The Ephemera Tree

In one hand she carried a delicately wrapped box tied with a pink ribbon. In the other hand she held a lacquered tray with a small crystal cup resting on it.

The faint scent drifting from the cup made everyone freeze.

Cattaleya inhaled deeply. "That... that smells like Dual Euphoria Liquor."

Elyon’s eyes widened. "It really is."

They had smelled a bit of it back at the Pavillion and it was hard to forget.

Meng Bai gulped. "Daoist Chu, run."

But Daoist Chu, frozen in horror, could not even move.

Mistress Tender Flower arrived with a smile that could only be described as predatory.

"Oh my," she said, clasping her hands dramatically. "You ran off in such a hurry, little one. You left me heartbroken."

Daoist Chu turned to Lin Mu. "Save me."

Lin Mu looked away. "No. Even I can’t go against such a foe..."

Mistress Tender Flower held out the gift box. "I brought you a present. A little something to remember me by."

Daoist Chu stared at it as if it were a poisonous snake. "I... I do not need a gift."

She sighed. "So shy."

Cattaleya elbowed Daoist Chu. "Accept it, master Chu. It is rude to refuse a lady."

Daoist Chu mouthed traitor at her, but took the box with trembling hands.

Mistress Tender Flower stepped even closer.

"Now," she said slowly, lifting the tray with the crystal cup, "for the real prize."

Even Lin Mu leaned forward slightly.

This was Dual Euphoria Liquor. One of the rarest substances in the Immortal Court. A single sip was worth fortunes.

The entire group felt the richness of Dao Traces coming off the liquor. It looked like liquid starlight with hints of rose and gold shimmering within.

Mistress Tender Flower smiled sweetly at Daoist Chu.

"I will give you this cup," she said, voice dripping with honey, "if you let me kiss you."

Daoist Chu’s soul ascended.

Cattaleya laughed so hard she punched the ground.

Meng Bai choked on his own saliva.

Elyon whispered, "This woman is terrifying."

Even Lin Mu’s jaw had dropped slightly.

Mistress Tender Flower leaned in ever so slightly. "Just one little kiss. Nothing more. I promise to keep it gentle."

Daoist Chu shot backward so fast that he tripped over his own robe and fell to the ground, scrambling away with both arms shielding his face as if she were firing energy beams at him.

"Absolutely not!" he shouted. "I would rather ascend through tribulation lightning right now!"

Mistress Tender Flower pouted. "I am not that frightening."

Daoist Chu screamed, "You are!"

Cattaleya fell over. "Daoist Chu, the cup! The liquor! Think of the liquor!"

"I refuse!" he wailed. "That price is too high! Far too high!"

Mistress Tender Flower approached another step. "Are you sure? It is only a kiss. You could become a legend among your peers."

Daoist Chu nearly fainted. "No! Please stop talking!"

Lin Mu stepped forward at last, feeling genuinely bad for the man. "Senior Tender Flower, Daoist Chu truly cannot endure this."

She sighed, then shrugged. "Very well. I suppose he really is too delicate."

Daoist Chu exhaled in pure relief.

The others exhaled too.

But then Mistress Tender Flower added, "I will come find you again at the main Martial tournament. Do not miss me."

Daoist Chu promptly fell over face-first.

Lin Mu covered his eyes.

Cattaleya laughed until she turned red.

The elders passing by gave Daoist Chu sympathetic looks. They had clearly experienced similar trauma.

Mistress Tender Flower waved cheerfully and disappeared into the pavilion, leaving behind a trembling, broken Daoist Chu clutching the gift box as if it contained his sanity.

Meng Bai patted his master’s shoulder. "Daoist Chu, if you ever need to talk... we are here."

Daoist Chu whispered, "I need to lie down."

Cattaleya lifted him under one arm like luggage. "Come on, the inn is this way. You poor thing."

Lin Mu shook his head and followed.

And somewhere in the distance, Mistress Tender Flower giggled.

The group returned to the inn with Daoist Chu wobbling between consciousness and despair. Cattaleya had to half carry him, half drag him through the door while he muttered incoherent things about roses with teeth and old women who should be illegal.

They finally laid him on his bed in the largest room, and he immediately fumbled out a small pouch from his storage ring. His hands trembled as he opened it and poured a scattering of calming pills into his palm.

He tossed three straight into his mouth with the desperation of a man trying to erase memories.

Gulp

He swallowed, sat cross legged, and closed his eyes.

And within three seconds his eyes popped open again in sheer terror.

"No, no, she is there again," he whispered as if the room had suddenly dropped below freezing. "Her voice. Her eyes. Her wink. The way she leaned over the board. The way she said little Daoist. I cannot meditate like this."

Cattaleya burst into laughter and had to lean against the wall for support.

Meng Bai tried to comfort him. "Daoist Chu, it is alright. You survived."

Daoist Chu responded by pulling his blanket up to his nose. "Barely."

He shut his eyes again, trying to steady his breathing, but a moment later he let out a soft whimper. "I can still hear her. I swear she is whispering in my ear."

Lin Mu sighed softly. He knew psychological damage when he saw it, and Daoist Chu was seconds away from gaining an actual trauma.

He stepped forward and placed a hand on Daoist Chu’s back. "Do you want me to use a sutra?"

Daoist Chu grabbed his arm with the grip of a drowning man. "Please. Please remove her from my mind. I beg you."

Lin Mu took a breath and began chanting the Severing Heart Sutra.

His voice deepened, echoing faintly with a power that seemed to clean the air itself. A subtle silver glow radiated around him, subtle than the Healing Heart Sutra but with a razor sharp purity that severed distracting thoughts at the root.

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