Chapter Fifty-Five: The Secret of the Hundred Flowers (Part One)

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“Sangsang, how do you plan to use this footage? Should I start spreading the video of you being hunted down in the Forest of Ten Thousand Trees?” Little Jin was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t any negative news about the Holy Maiden of a Hundred Blossoms in the material. In fact, aside from the final glance and close-up during the blessing ceremony, her name didn’t appear again.

“I’ll probably edit it and upload it to the Starlight account—or better yet, hand it over to Uncle Sena and let him figure out how to use this material to shape a positive image for Sang Hongye, the candidate for Holy Maiden. I’m worried that if we wait too long, the public discussion will reach a tipping point. Once their publicity campaign gains momentum, that’s your cue to act. Before you do, ask Sena for his plans as well.”

Sangsang knew nothing about advertising, but Grandfather Anthony’s team included a group that had once handled the previous Chief Holy Maiden’s public relations. Sena had said she could use this team at any time; before, she’d seen no need, but now the time had come.

For candidates from the orthodox temple, publicity only began after being appointed Holy Maiden, though they’d usually post about daily life and cultivation insights on Starlight to maintain popularity. Candidates recommended by major civilizational factions started promoting themselves the moment they entered the temple. Only someone like Sangsang, whose Starlight account had been left to gather dust and who was never seen outside of official events, was so invisible. Countless people blamed Sena for being irresponsible, saying he hadn’t done anything to promote Sang Hongye.

Sena felt wronged—it was just that his little boss was so opinionated that he dared not act without permission.

As soon as Sangsang left the cultivation room, she found Sena waiting outside, leaning against the wall, his gaze sweeping over her as she approached.

“My guardian alerts told me you were online. I was worried you’d be affected by the online chatter, but you look well—glad you weren’t. Don’t worry about any of this. Everything is under control. The Qining faction is about to face their own crisis in the election, and when that happens, your name will be cleared. Those who bullied you will come begging for forgiveness.”

“I trust you, Uncle. I’m sure you have your reasons.” Sangsang’s eyes flickered. So, the Qining faction would soon be in trouble? Perhaps the cheating scandal Little Jin mentioned involved one of their candidates. As she thought this, she handed over the chip containing the footage. “Here are some clips from my daily life and cultivation. They might be useful when you’re clearing my name.”

“Thank you for trusting me. I’ll use this incident to lay a solid foundation for your career as Holy Maiden.” Sena integrated the chip into his portable terminal, quickly scanning its contents. “Oh? You’ve been preparing for your publicity this early?”

“I just recorded them in the cultivation room,” Sangsang replied.

“The scan checks out… I forgot you’ve merged with the domains of time and space. The Third Realm’s temporal ability lets you replay localized mirror spaces.” Sena tapped his head. “A lot of this involves your personal life—are you sure you want us to use it for publicity? The promotion department maniacs have no concept of child privacy protection.”

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Sangsang waved her hand dismissively. “It’s fine. Since I’m here, I’m prepared to become a public figure. If someone studies these clips to figure out my personality, hobbies, or tries to find my weaknesses and get close to me, are you, as my temporary guardian, just going to stand by and watch?”

“In that case, the promotion department will be thrilled. They’ve been begging me for footage of your daily life. I never gave it to them before because I thought you wouldn’t like it, but this is perfect. I’ll send it over now.” Sena paused, then added, “You should stay here for the next few days. It’s unlikely, but not impossible, that someone might take desperate measures and try to harm you physically. If you need to go out, tell me in advance and I’ll arrange a protector for you.”

Sangsang nodded, then suddenly asked, “Why does the Holy Maiden of a Hundred Blossoms hate me so much?”

Sena was momentarily stunned, then sent off the material before leading Sangsang to the lounge by the window. He had a robot bring drinks and snacks, settling in for a long conversation.

“Part of it is because of me. She and I come from the same planet. We were admitted to the Seminary together—I became a priest, and I helped her become Holy Maiden. After I became an adjunct priest to Bishop Qining, she also earned her title after her internship and finally squeezed into the seventh seat. But after she managed to condense her origin and break through to the Profound rank, she no longer needed me in her life plan. She needed someone at the Prime rank or higher. That’s why I’m standing here before you now.”

“I see. Well, I’ll go paint then.” Sangsang got up, satisfied that Sena hadn’t tried to fool her. She knew the truth wasn’t as simple as he made it sound—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been forced to leave the Qining faction and seek Grandfather Anthony’s protection.

“Going to paint?” Sena asked.

Sangsang replied, “I can’t go out, and I don’t want to cultivate. Painting earns money, and if I get popular online, my work might fetch higher prices.”

“Don’t you have any other thoughts? Don’t you want to change your temporary guardian? The Holy Maiden of a Hundred Blossoms is still a seat-holder. Her actions are questionable, but not enough for the Tribunal to intervene. Even if you survive this crisis and win the election, she’ll still have plenty of ways to cause you trouble.”

“Oh? If I change my guardian, wouldn’t that be admitting defeat? Would her past attacks on me just disappear?” Sangsang narrowed her eyes. Not caring didn’t mean she forgot grievances. No one who had wronged her had ever gotten away unscathed. She was patient—if not now, then in the future. Eventually, her strength would surpass theirs. And sometimes, revenge didn’t require brute force.

Sena’s smile grew slowly, different from before—still gentle, but now tinged with a certain wickedness. Of course—a person who could defect to an alien race just to stay in the temple and wait for a chance to drag her enemies to hell couldn’t possibly be as harmless as she appeared.

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“What do you think about the title ‘Holy Maiden of a Hundred Blossoms’?” Sena asked.

Sangsang didn’t know why Sena brought this up, but sensed he was letting down his guard, wanting to share a secret. She thought for a moment. “It’s rather tacky, but sometimes what’s vulgar can also be elegant.”

Sena shook his head. “I mean the literal meaning.”

He wanted to be mysterious, so Sangsang played along. “Literally? ‘Hundred Blossoms’—a house full of flowers. Sounds like a beauty surrounded by blooms.”

Sena gave a short, sarcastic laugh. “She is a beauty, but flowers are the reproductive organs of plants. Using various reproductive organs as a title… well. The title is bestowed by the Central Intelligence. There might be unsuitable names, but there are no ill-fitting titles. Even if she’s dissatisfied, it’s pointless.”

Sangsang’s eyes widened in surprise.

Sena opened a barrier. “When she broke through to the Profound rank, the origin she condensed was ‘nurturing’—from the life domain. Combined with her planetary aspect, she’s well-suited for dual cultivation… Never mind, you don’t need to know what that means. What matters is her origin allows her to nurture children. As long as she never lets the child be born, she and the father can advance together. When the father can no longer satisfy her, she can absorb the child’s flesh and blood as nourishment, then nurture a new child.”

PS: There will be three chapters today, the second one updated at 2:20 p.m. Sisters, don’t forget to recommend and bookmark after reading!