Love Travels through Time (My father who traveled through time and space to cultivate immortality came back to pick me up) - Chapter 22
Chapter 22: Sand Bear
Inside the Buddha Cave.
“I’ve stayed by your side for five hundred years, Uncle. This is everything I can remember.”
Yin Changli had instructed him to recount every detail, so Bai Xingxian laid out the whole story, speaking through the entire night.
Yin Changli sat cross-legged behind the desk. The pad of his index finger circled slowly, tracing the tiny dent Xiang Haikui had previously stabbed with her dagger, while he remained lost in silent thought.
Bai Xingxian added, “However, these five hundred years are merely a drop in the ocean of your life’s experiences.”
His finger paused. Yin Changli asked, “Little Bai, in your eyes, am I ultimately a good person or a bad person?”
“Well…”
This genuinely stumped Bai Xingxian. The youth’s delicate features scrunched up into a knot, completely at a loss for how to answer.
He had seen his uncle sigh with deep regret over a single wilting flower, yet he had also seen him take a human life in the blink of an eye without so much as batting an eyelash.
He was a deeply contradictory man.
Observing his expression, Yin Changli pondered thoughtfully. He might not be a particularly good person, but he likely wasn’t terrible either.
Otherwise, Miss Xiang wouldn’t be protecting him so wholeheartedly.
After all, in his current state, he probably held no value to her anymore.
“Ah, right.” He suddenly remembered. “Since my true name is Yin Changli, why does she call me Hanpi?”
“…” Bai Xingxian’s hands trembled beneath his sleeves.
How could he possibly dare to tell him?
Even though his uncle currently seemed so gentle he could melt like water, it was all an illusion—a complete illusion.
Yin Changli still had questions,”You said you rescued me from the chopping board in a restaurant’s kitchen. Why did you go into the back kitchen in the first place? And if you didn’t know the black snake was me, why did you think to save it?”
Eek~
Help.
Bai Xingxian kept his head hung low, not daring to meet his uncle’s eyes.
He had lied about the small black snake being chopped in half.
Granted, that slice from Little Kui wouldn’t have killed his uncle—his near-death state was actually caused by severe internal injuries.
However, knowing his uncle’s temperament, once he recovered his memories and learned he had been salted and chopped, he would undoubtedly make Little Kui suffer terribly.
Little Kui might then confess that he had wanted to eat him too, leaving him equally doomed.
His uncle had been on the brink of death earlier and likely remembered nothing, so a little white lie should go unnoticed… right?
Yin Changli, of course, saw right through his concealment.
The actual truth was likely much grimmer—and profoundly humiliating.
He had continuously caught a faint scent of cured salted meat lingering on Miss Xiang.
His true form had probably suffered some utterly inhumane treatment, and out of concern for his dignity, they had fabricated a lie to cover it up.
Miss Xiang truly was a warm, kindhearted, and considerate young woman.
Bai Xingxian watched in terror as his uncle rested his chin on one hand while using a silver needle with the other to trim the oil lamp’s wick.
Crackly-pop.
The dim yellow lamplight reflected in his uncle’s watery eyes, shimmering with unreadable depth…
Bai Xingxian felt goosebumps break out all over his skin.
Usually, when that inscrutable, bizarre expression appeared on his uncle’s face, it meant someone was about to die.
No! Uncle, please listen to the truth from Little Bai! I’ll never dare lie to you again!
Trembling, Bai Xingxian was just about to open his mouth to beg for mercy when Xiang Tianqing called out from outside the door.
“Master.”
The Buddha Cave had no protective barrier set up, and the two had been chatting via voice transmission the whole time.
Yin Changli adjusted his posture and sat up straight.
“Please, come in.”
When Xiang Tianqing stepped inside, Yin Changli hadn’t completely wiped that earlier expression off his face yet, causing her to freeze slightly in surprise.
What is with the Master…
In just a few short days, his image had fluctuated like a roller coaster.
From a holy, divine monk, to a detached, solitary mortal, and suddenly now… he seemed almost “human”?
“Miss Xiang?”
Xiang Tianqing snapped back to reality.
“Master, Young Master Lu’s condition doesn’t look good. Blood is trickling from his seven orifices again. Would you mind taking a look in person?”
Ever since Lu Xiqiao had his soul seized, he had remained unconscious.
Coincidentally, Xiang Tianqing possessed a bit of medical knowledge, so she had dragged him to the adjacent cave for treatment.
“This is normal.”
Yin Changli had also experienced soul manipulation, so he understood its effects.
“Understood.”
Xiang Tianqing was about to say more.
However, Yin Changli prepared to enter a state of deep meditation.
“Miss Xiang need not concern herself with him any further. I intend to go into secluded cultivation for a few days. If you have nothing else to attend to, you may return to the City Lord’s Manor.”
This was a subtle request for her to take her leave.
Moreover, he had suddenly reverted to his detached, solitary persona.
So the Master puts on different faces for different people?
For a split second, Xiang Tianqing really wanted to know: just how many more faces did he have?
“Little Bai, you should step outside as well.”
“Alright, Uncle.”
Bai Xingxian hesitated for a moment, swallowed his explanation back down, and went to crouch by the entrance to guard him during his retreat.
Yin Changli formed a lotus hand seal and closed his eyes.
After possessing this body, he had originally intended to devour Daochen’s divine soul and completely take mastery of the physical shell, which was why he had been locked in a constant struggle with Daochen and the Tianren Sword.
Now, his perspective had shifted.
“Daochen, my true body is still intact and should be repairable. I am only borrowing your physical form temporarily.”
“If you cooperate, I will nourish you within my sea of consciousness during this time, and I will even refine this body for you while cultivating the Tianren Sword.”
“If you refuse to cooperate, at most I will waste a bit more spiritual power, but it will still be more than enough to consume you. Neither you nor Tianren are a match for me. You are a clever man; you should know how to choose.”
Xiang Haikui and Meng Xilou were truly traveling out of the pass on foot.
As mentioned before, although the Silver Sands resembled the Yumen Pass of Huaxia, its hostility scaled proportionally with a cultivator’s strength.
Flying artifacts couldn’t take off, so without riding beasts, walking on foot was the only option.
Treading on yellow sand that reached hundreds of degrees outside the pass, under a scorching sun equally intense, felt no different than being trapped inside a furnace.
And it genuinely made one break out into a sweat.
Xiang Haikui herself was in a miserable state, her face slick with sweat and oil.
Meng Xilou walked beside her with one hand tucked behind his back and the other holding a radiant paper umbrella to shade the two of them.
His face was flushed red from the heat and his thin lips were cracked, yet he maintained a dignified posture with his back straight as a ramrod.
Even his hairstyle remained impeccably intact.
“In the past, here, here, and here… none of these were places where the human race could set foot…”
He gestured across the regions with his finger.
“It took me thirty years…”
He carried the aura of someone boasting, Look, this is all the kingdom I conquered for you.
Xiang Haikui felt ready to throw up.
Where on earth did this pretentious idiot pick up such a tacky romance script?
Likely, back in the Upper Realm, countless beauties threw themselves at him, so he had never actually bothered to woo a woman before and was trying to improvise on the fly.
This learning ability was laughably atrocious.
While Xiang Haikui was trash-talking him in her mind, Liu Yihang and Luo Yunxiu, hiding in the shadows, were equally miserable.
Even though they could turn invisible, the sand burned their feet just the same, and the sunlight was equally blistering.
Luo Yunxiu cursed under her breath, “I’m going to file a formal complaint with the Upper Realm to report him!”
When the two of them had previously investigated the City Lord’s Manor, they had already uncovered Xiang Tianqing’s true identity.
Seeing Meng Xilou here wasn’t a surprise to them either.
Sending an avatar to the lower realm to protect a family member undergoing a divine tribulation was hardly a novelty.
Though they didn’t know his exact identity, judging by the radiance glowing within Xiang Tianqing’s soul, her family’s protective divine artifact was bound to be extraordinary.
There was no need for them to stir up trouble.
Listening to Xiang Haikui panting heavily beside him, Meng Xilou remarked indifferently, “Junior Sister, if you are tired, just let me know. I can carry you on my back.”
Xiang Haikui rolled her eyes and didn’t bother to banter with him; she had sensed something amiss.
Along this stretch, there were no sign of sand monkeys underfoot, nor had they encountered any other monsters.
Had they all been devoured by that evolving super-monster?
If so, and if that monster had the capability to consume even the sealed Mirage Demon, what kind of form would it evolve into?
“If we just wander around aimlessly like this, how are we supposed to find it?” Xiang Haikui asked.
“It will deliver itself right to our door,” Meng Xilou replied, completely unconcerned.
Xiang Haikui asked, “How so?”
Meng Xilou said with no small amount of pride, “Given that monster’s rate of evolution, it shouldn’t be a creature of the mortal realm. Naturally, it will sense that the glow of my soul is distinct from ordinary beings…”
Xiang Haikui understood—both his soul and Xiang Tianqing’s were the type that literally glowed.
After walking for more than another half-hour, Meng Xilou suddenly stopped and extended an arm in front of her chest to block her path.
Xiang Haikui’s nerves instantly tightened.
She scanned the surroundings using her Wind-Chasing Qi-Observation Technique, but detected no anomalies.
She asked, “What’s wrong?”
“There’s movement below.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, a roar echoed out.
The sand dune exploded, and a massive creature crawled out from the pit.
Xiang Haikui’s eyes went wide.
It was actually a Sand Bear!
She took a deep breath. She genuinely couldn’t win against this thing.
Her Tiankuang Sword belonged to the heavy sword category, but the Sand Bear was famous for its thick hide and fleshy defense—it was extremely durable, practically the ultimate hard-counter to her sword.
Moreover, this Sand Bear was an Eighth-Rank beast—a full three ranks higher than her own cultivation level.
Furthermore, the Tiankuang Sword didn’t show the slightest hint of excitement.
Sand Bears were typically dull and clumsy, relying entirely on brute strength, which wasn’t enough to rouse Tiankuang’s competitive spirit.
What felt rather strange, however, was that Sand Bears didn’t usually attack humans on their own initiative.
Yet today, this one had bloodshot eyes and was wildly swinging its thick, heavy paws, lunging at the two of them with ferocious intent.
Was this the work of that giant monster?
Driving a Sand Bear that shouldn’t even belong to this region out here, and pushing it into a berserk state?
“Junior Sister, hold this.”
Unhurried, Meng Xilou handed the sunshade umbrella to her.
Xiang Haikui was already preparing to draw her sword and leap into the fight, only to have the umbrella handle shoved firmly into her hands.
“I could actually use the practice…” She tried to push the umbrella back.
“It is merely an Eighth-Rank Sand Bear,” Meng Xilou declared with unquestionable authority, stepping forward to stand protectively in front of her.
“With me here, is there any need for a woman to step into battle?”
Fine, I’ll step aside and watch you put on your solo show.
Holding the umbrella, Xiang Haikui backed away.
She watched as threads of glowing aura condensed around Meng Xilou, swirling about him and illuminating his silhouette like a celestial deity.
As the Sand Bear brought its massive paw crashing down, the threads of light transformed into thistly vines, binding the bear’s wrists.
Meng Xilou stood with his hands behind his back, his expression effortless and composed.
Moments later, those radiant threads suddenly coalesced into a long sword, which he gripped tightly before charging at the Sand Bear.
So Meng Xilou is a sword cultivator too?
Xiang Haikui felt a sudden curiosity to gauge his capabilities.
But after watching intently for a long while, she realized his sword technique was nothing more than a bunch of flashy showmanship—styled entirely for maximum visual impact.
Then it clicked.
The lack of monsters along the way was probably because Meng Xilou’s subordinates had cleared the area in advance.
Meng Xilou had deliberately led her to this spot just to “stumble upon” this artificially enraged Sand Bear.
The classic “hero saves the beauty”?
Bro, it’s literally 9012.
(T/N: It simply means: Bro, it’s the 21st century—stop using such old, cheesy clichés!)
Just shoot me directly, bro; please don’t torture me with your trash-tier acting, okay?
Seeing the Sand Bear about to be impaled by his blade, Xiang Haikui gasped and shouted frantically, “Don’t do it, Eldest Senior Brother!”
Meng Xilou: ?
Terrible tropes require terrible tropes to cure.
Xiang Haikui balled up her tiny fists, her face a picture of grief and indignation.
“I love bear-bears the most! Bear-bears are so cute, how could you be so cruel to kill a bear-bear?”
The moment her words landed, the utterly bewildered Meng Xilou took a heavy punch straight from that “cute bear-bear.”
