Love Travels through Time (My father who traveled through time and space to cultivate immortality came back to pick me up) - Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Brought the Wrong Person
Just as the criminal suspect, Xiang Haikui, was about to give her statement, the police station suddenly experienced a blackout.
The darkness lasted for over a minute.
When the lights came back on, she found herself no longer in the police station’s interrogation room but inside an ancient-style palace.
She was still sitting, except now she was on the ground.
Beneath her was a golden hexagonal array plate, and above her head floated a golden seal.
It was clear that this was a fantasy world.
In this kind of situation, most modern people would instinctively think they had transmigrated.
But Xiang Haikui knew the reason: her father, who had “died” twelve years ago, had forcibly “pulled” her here using some kind of secret array…
*****
To explain in detail…
When Xiang Haikui was five, she lost her mother.
Her father, Xiang Heng, was originally a long-haul truck driver.
To take care of her, he switched to driving a taxi in the city.
But after just half a year, he had to quit even that.
Her father began experiencing mental issues, frequently having vivid hallucinations.
While driving, he would suddenly see groups of ancient people flying through the air on glowing swords or a three-headed beast charging past.
Who could handle that?
In the end, he quit driving and started a small food stall near her school.
Life for the father and daughter was tough but manageable.
However, in the winter of Xiang Haikui’s ninth year, her father slipped on ice while heading out early one morning.
He hit the back of his head on a block of ice and died on the spot.
Just like that, she became an orphan and was sent to an orphanage.
Xiang Haikui was a pretty and delicate child, and many families wanted to adopt her.
But when they learned her father had suffered from mental illness, they quickly changed their minds.
One family even backed out after completing the adoption procedures, deciding to “return” her.
Mental illness had a hereditary risk, after all.
She might look fine now, but who knew what the future would bring?
In reality, Xiang Haikui grew up perfectly fine, reaching the age of 21 without any issues—except for one strange dream.
In that dream, she felt like her soul had left her body and floated above a glowing platform.
A long-haired, handsome man sat cross-legged in the center of the platform, holding a lotus flower.
As she curiously observed him, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked around in surprise, calling out, “Haikui, is that you?”
Although his appearance and voice had changed, Haikui knew this man was her father!
It turned out that after his death, his soul had awakened in the body of a cultivator in another world.
That world was the very same one he used to see in his hallucinations.
Time moved differently between the two worlds, and he had already spent over two centuries cultivating there.
Now, he was the ruler of a large city.
Over the years, he had never given up on finding a way to reunite with Haikui.
Finally, with guidance from an expert, he learned a soul-guiding array capable of pulling her into his world.
Given his current abilities, this was the only method to bring them together.
But before casting the array, he needed to ask Haikui if she was willing to leave her world behind.
Since she lacked spiritual roots, he would have to help her forcibly build a foundation using techniques and elixirs.
With the addition of life-extending items like longevity fruits, she could live for at most two hundred years.
Of course, Xiang Haikui was willing!
Staying youthful for two centuries sounded like a dream come true.
Besides, even without these perks, just being able to reunite with her father was enough to make her happy.
But when she woke up, she realized it had only been a dream.
She felt dejected for quite some time.
It wasn’t until a few days ago that she finally learned it hadn’t been a dream at all.
Her father truly had transmigrated into a cultivation world, just like in a novel!
The array was really activated—to bring her over!
But… they got the wrong person!
Every time Xiang Haikui thought about this, she felt like coughing up blood.
When her dad activated the array to bring her over, she had been attending a team-building event with her university’s mountaineering club.
That evening, while camping at the mountain peak, she mustered the courage to call out the guy she had secretly liked for ages.
After confessing her feelings, she nervously awaited his response.
Just then, a crackling sound of static electricity filled the air.
Looking up, she saw a glowing ring appear overhead, and from the ring emerged a withered claw-like hand that latched onto her crush’s shoulder.
As her stunned crush began to levitate, Xiang Haikui sprang into action, grabbing hold of his leg—but all she managed to do was pull down his track pants.
Thus, her crush, wearing only cartoon-print boxers on his lower half, left the Earth’s surface and was taken to another world—
While Xiang Haikui became the prime suspect in the case of the missing genius heartthrob of A University.
At the police station, staring at the poster that read “Confess for leniency; resist and face severity,” she recounted the incident honestly and swore with both hands raised:
Just ten days!
At most ten days!
Her dad just needed to recuperate a bit, then he would reactivate the array and send the genius heartthrob back safe and sound!
The young detective in charge of the case listened to her story while flipping through her file, looking at her with a hint of pity.
And then…
They applied for a psychiatric evaluation for her.
Just moments ago, Xiang Haikui once again heard the crackling sound of static electricity—the exact same sound as before.
Shortly after, the police station’s lights went out completely.
On the surface, she remained calm, but her heart was pounding wildly.
She desperately hoped her dad wouldn’t mess it up again this time.
And thus, these were the events that led to Xiang Haikui’s arrival in this palace.
“Dad?”
Unsure if there were others around, she decided to follow local customs and used the formal term, “Where are you? Did you send my classmate back?”
She got up from the ground, patted the dust off her pants, and began inspecting the interior of the palace.
Her dad had mentioned their family’s immortal city was located on the border of Zhongzhou, next to a desert, with relatively harsh conditions.
But looking at the understated yet luxurious decor of this palace, it seemed her dad had been far too modest.
“This isn’t your father’s Silver Sand City, Miss Xiang,” a male voice said with a soft laugh.
The voice was gentle and warm, not her dad’s.
Xiang Haikui turned toward the source.
The man wore a light gray scholar’s robe.
His elegant eyebrows, phoenix-shaped eyes, straight nose, and thin lips were so finely featured they looked like they’d been carefully edited magazine cover photo
There wasn’t a shred of realism to him.
Because of that, she didn’t feel particularly awestruck by his looks.
Instead, her attention was drawn to his jet-black, knee-length hair—it was downright mesmerizing.
“May I ask who you are?”
“Yin Changli.”
Xiang Haikui blinked.
Huh, that name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it.
It wasn’t until she noticed the white, chubby Tun Tun Mouse crouching by his left foot that realization struck her.
Yin Changli was the “highly-skilled individual”!
He was the one who had taught her dad the soul-guiding array.
It was said that Yin Changli, renowned for his vast knowledge, was a peculiar existence in this cultivation world.
No one knew his origins or the extent of his cultivation, only that he possessed endless wealth and resources.
Few dared to provoke him.
Even the most reclusive experts in the Divine Concealment realm maintained an unspoken agreement to steer clear of him.
Presumably, they had either suffered losses to him before or witnessed someone else fall victim to him.
In fact, even looking for trouble with him was nearly impossible—just finding him was an extraordinary challenge.
Yin Changli had no fixed residence and always stayed inside a small black sphere.
Inside the small black sphere was a grand palace, but from the outside, it looked like a tiny bell hanging around the neck of a Tun Tun Mouse.
The mouse roamed the world, treasure hunting.
This meant that wherever a high-grade treasure appeared in a secret realm, finding Yin Changli was most likely.
Her father had relied on this clue, spending thirty years before finally locating him.
Yin Changli strolled leisurely over to a table, then sat cross-legged behind it.
“Are you currently guessing that your father accidentally brought the wrong person, exhausted too much spiritual energy, and had to request my help to bring you here?”
Not at all—Xiang Haikui’s mind didn’t work that quickly.
Right now, her head was filled with one thought: standing before such a big shot, who was practically like a deity to an ordinary person like her—should she kneel and kowtow first?
But then again, her father was also supposed to be a big shot in this world.
According to this realm’s unwritten rules, would that embarrass him?
Yin Changli continued, “However, your father bringing the wrong person was because I interfered. Otherwise, the soul-guiding array wouldn’t have malfunctioned. Now, I’ve secretly brought you here without his knowledge.”
Xiang Haikui froze.
“Why? Did my dad offend you?”
Other than offending him, she couldn’t think of a reason why he would sabotage their father-daughter reunion.
Yin Changli shook his head.
Thankfully, Xiang Haikui breathed a sigh of relief.
That made things easier.
“I possess a treasure that allows me to glimpse the past and foresee the future,” Yin Changli explained, signaling to the Tun Tun Mouse at his feet.
The mouse touched its cheeks with its tiny paws, then with a pop, opened its mouth and spat out a brush.
It was just an ordinary black calligraphy brush, but as soon as it emerged from the mouse’s storage pouch, it floated into the air and began writing.
Using the air as its canvas, the brush’s strokes were bold and flowing.
Surprisingly, Xiang Haikui could read what it wrote:
“Yin Changli! Do you really plan to live your life on the run like this? Do you think by stealing me and gaining early insight into the heavens’ will, you can evade judgment? It’s futile! I advise you to turn back while you still can! I advise you—”
Yin Changli’s phoenix-like eyes narrowed coldly.
“Silence.”
The brush continued writing: “How many times do I need to correct you? I don’t have a mouth—”
Before it could finish, Yin Changli glanced at the Tun Tun Mouse.
The little creature instantly bared its golden teeth, wearing a menacing expression as though it was about to pounce and snap the brush in two.
The brush froze in place, then hastily erased all the previous warnings it had written, as though it had never happened.
Wow.
Xiang Haikui couldn’t help but admire the brush’s desperate survival instincts.
After this little interlude, Yin Changli composed himself, his expression softening as he offered a faint smile.
“Pardon the scene. That’s my pet, Divine Calculator.”
Xiang Haikui sneaked a glance at the fortune-telling brush, noticing its bristles tremble slightly.
She was certain that it wasn’t really called such a scammy-sounding name.
Yin Changli continued, “Previously, when your father sought my assistance, I found his story quite intriguing. So, as payment for teaching him the soul-guiding array, I kept a strand of his soul’s aura. After he left, I used the Divine Calculator to foresee your futures.”
Xiang Haikui tensed up.
“What did you see?”
Yin Changli smiled.
“Take a guess.”
Though his smile appeared gentle, Xiang Haikui felt a chill creeping into her heart.
“I… did my father bringing me here somehow affect your safety?”
Judging by the earlier behavior of the fortune-telling brush, it seemed like Yin Changli was some sort of “fugitive.”
If it wasn’t related to his personal safety, a figure of his caliber likely wouldn’t have interfered.
“I did foresee some rather interesting events,” Yin Changli replied, lifting his hand gracefully to gesture toward the fortune-telling brush.
“You’ll understand once you see for yourself. Afterward, you’ll realize my interference was for your benefit.”
The fortune-telling brush darted over to hover above Xiang Haikui’s head.
Not knowing what it intended to do, she instinctively wanted to dodge but forced herself to stay still.
The brush’s tip gently touched her forehead.
It felt like being struck by a heavy hammer, leaving her vision swimming with stars.
Scenes began flooding into her mind in a torrent.
It was as though she were experiencing another out-of-body dream.
In this dream, time rewound to a few days ago.
She stood on the mountaintop confessing her feelings to her crush.
After he responded with, “My main focus right now is studying hard,” she was whisked away by her father’s array to the cultivation world, becoming the little princess of a city lord.
She had thought her suffering had finally ended and her good days had begun, but shockingly, just six months later—she was dead!
