Love Travels through Time (My father who traveled through time and space to cultivate immortality came back to pick me up) - Chapter 38
Chapter 38: Opening the Heavenly Eye
That single word, ‘Uncle’, nearly choked Xiang Heng.
Even having overheard the events outside from within the small black orb and being mentally prepared, he still couldn’t comfortably accept it.
Xiang Heng’s expression was intriguing, yet he didn’t correct him, “Senior, you had better rest first.”
If a crowd of city folk hadn’t been watching the city tower, requiring Dao Chen to maintain his image as a holy monk, he would have nearly rolled his eyes.
“Enough, my father went to the Buddha Cave to wait for me. I need to go back and see what he intends to do. Otherwise, he might think I fear him,” Dao Chen turned around stumbling, preparing to leave the city tower.
However, Yin Changli suddenly took forced control over his sea of consciousness.
The leg he raised turned stone-like, unable to move.
He handed control of his physical body over to Yin Changli quite willingly.
Just as Dao Chen had said before, he understood clearly what choice was most advantageous for him.
First, as weak as Yin Changli was, a emaciated camel remained bigger than a horse, entirely capable of suppressing him.
Even if he fought to the death, he couldn’t drag Yin Changli down to the grave with him.
Second, through these few days of observation, Yin Changli had genuinely lost his memory, and his personality had become… hard to describe.
It was very easy to extract benefits from him.
Dao Chen had prostrated at his feet serving him for a hundred years in the past.
Even if Yin Changli revealed only the tip of an iceberg, Dao Chen could discern that he was a massive treasure trove.
After seizing control of the body, Yin Changli forced his divine soul to stabilize while asking, “Uncle, I wonder what happened here. How did you come out from… my palace?”
With his question, Xiang Heng remembered that he would eventually have to explain the whole cause and effect to his daughter.
Though Yin Changli had lost his memory, he also deserved to know.
Xiang Heng invited, “This is a long story. If Senior can still hold up, why not return with me to the City Lord Mansion first? I will explain slowly.”
Yin Changli hurriedly agreed.
However, when they turned around, the two realized that within the blink of an eye, Xiang Haikui was nowhere to be found.
Even the small black orb that had been rolling around on the city wall had vanished without a trace at some point.
Xiang Heng glanced over and noticed Meng Xilou had also disappeared, realizing his daughter had gone to chase him down.
His brows instantly knitted together.
…
Meng Xilou had fled reluctantly only after repeated urges from the elder inside his sea of consciousness.
To be in such a panicked and wretched state was something he had never imagined in his life.
He hated it to the core.
“That black coal ball treasure belongs to the Shanhai Tribe, and adding Xiang Haikui’s fighting style, the ‘expert’ behind her is likely from the Shanhai Tribe as well,” the elder’s tone was exceptionally heavy.
He had originally thought it was an enemy of the Meng Family causing trouble on purpose.
For it to actually be a remnant of the Shanhai Tribe made things truly difficult.
This matter had escalated from an internal conflict of interest to a racial conflict.
Normally, encountering such a situation called for an immediate report to the Heavenly Emperor.
Under the Heavenly Emperor sat a mysterious organization dedicated to dealing with Shanhai untouchables and suppressing Shanhai remnants.
However, the actions their Meng Family was currently taking violated heavenly laws.
Hiding it away was barely enough, making it utterly impossible to report.
“Does Xiang Heng really dare to kill me?”
Meng Xilou was contemplating this question.
Given the current situation, Xiang Heng should know that this was merely his clon.
Under the protection of the family’s divine artifact, even with the Soul-Chaining Lock, his true body couldn’t be killed.
Furthermore, this lower-realm Meng Family was a top-tier family in Zhongzhou.
If Xiang Heng killed him, how would he account to the Meng Family?
The elder asked in return, “Young Master has followed Xiang Heng for two hundred years. Do you still not understand his temper?”
Meng Xilou fell silent.
Even so, escaping was not guaranteed.
Disconnecting from the physical body to return to the human realm required a certain amount of time.
The elder made a worried proposal, “Young Master, why not contact the Third Young Master first and inform him of what happened in Silver Sand?”
The ones who descended to the lower realm alongside Meng Xilou back then, aside from the shadow servant Huaimie, included a younger half-brother of Meng Xilou.
In the plan, Meng Xilou was only responsible for the beginning stages in Silver Sand. That was, once Xiang Heng fell into demonic madness, Xiang Tianqing killed her father to prove her Dao and became world-famous, got taken as a disciple by Jingwen, and traveled from Silver Sand to the Royal Capital of Jinling, Meng Xilou would step down after fulfilling his mission.
As the succession master of the family, he could not remain in the mortal realm for long periods.
The subsequent arrangements would fall onto the Third Young Master’s shoulders.
The reason he came so early was that finding a suitable physical body was difficult.
The body’s age couldn’t be too old, its cultivation couldn’t be too high, yet its talent had to be good, and after a long period of synchronization, it could fully match his true body.
Having botched the mission so embarrassingly, Meng Xilou didn’t want to say anything, “Our plan here has failed, so his end won’t connect…”
“It is merely missing a good start; there is still room for turnaround later,” the elder placed great trust in the Third Young Master’s capability.
His personality was a world apart from the Young Master’s, looking completely unlike children born of the same father.
Cautious, deeply calculating, and skilled at planning.
He wouldn’t strike easily, but once he did, it was a guaranteed kill—a textbook ruthless man of few words.
For example, even they did not know what kind of physical body the Third Young Master had acquired in Jinling.
When they parted back then, he had only left behind a single-use paper crane for voice transmission.
For two hundred years, he had never contacted Meng Xilou a single time.
“But…” Meng Xilou was still hesitating.
The elder’s voice suddenly turned sharp, “Someone is pursuing us!”
Meng Xilou’s heart panicked. Within a brief moment, the people entering his divine sense were not Xiang Heng, but Xiang Haikui and Bai Xingxian, with the small black orb following right behind them.
After catching up, the two leaped down from their camel beasts and landed in front of Meng Xilou.
Bai Xingxian stood slightly behind.
Upon landing, he extended a hand and gave Xiang Haikui’s back a light push to keep her from losing her balance and stumbling.
The snake jar stopped moving, and the small black orb stopped as well, beginning to roll around the three of them in circles.
Xiang Haikui continued using Tian kuang as a crutch, thrusting it into the sand dune.
Though her complexion was poor, her expression was vivid and spirited, “Yo, Senior Brother, are you out inspecting your territory?”
Seeing her gloating face, Meng Xilou’s temper flared instantly.
Xiang Haikui clicked her tongue, “Or do you know your little life is on the line, so you’re taking one last look at the vast lands you built up in Silver Sand over the years?”
Resentment churned inside Meng Xilou’s chest.
He sneered, “Relying on just the two of you, you want to kill me? It’s more like delivering yourselves to your deaths!”
If Xiang Haikui were at her peak, he might still harbor a trace of fear.
But she was already at the end of her rope.
Where did she get the confidence to chase after him?
“I am covered in injuries, but if I remember correctly, Senior Brother, you are injured too, aren’t you?” Xiang Haikui clenched her small fists and waved them, winking at him sweetly to remind him of the time he was brutally beaten by that cute bear.
Meng Xilou tightened his grip on the reins, his thin lips pressed tightly together, so furious his blood vessels nearly burst!
Xiang Haikui raised her sword pointing at him, raising an eyebrow, “Come! Defeat me now, and you still have a chance to flee. Otherwise, once my dad catches up, you’ll be completely helpless!”
At the end of her rope? Thinking too much.
Tian kuang was never a conventional sword path; it required moving against the grain.
In her current state, she still dared to pursue and kill Meng Xilou—this was the precise wildness recognized by Tian kuang.
Her mad intent, which had originally hit rock bottom, surged upward significantly once again.
With Bai Xingxian offering support, she had the strength to go toe-to-toe with Meng Xilou.
She had originally brought Lu Xiqiao along, as every bit of help counted.
However, she suddenly remembered he was unaware of these grudges and preferred not to drag him into deep waters.
The fewer people who knew Meng Xilou’s true identity, the better.
“Fine!”
Meng Xilou truly could no longer endure it. He leaped down from the camel beast as countess brambles condensed around his body.
The bramble vines lashed at her fiercely.
This opening move was identical to Huai Mie’s earlier attack.
Meng Xilou knew she would condense sword aura to block it and was prepared with a second move. Unexpectedly, Xiang Haikui used her sword aura only to push Bai Xingxian out of harm’s way while remaining in place herself, taking the whip strike head-on.
The barbs of the bramble vine scraped across her neck, tearing away a layer of skin to reveal bloody flesh.
Meng Xilou froze.
Xiang Haikui wiped the blood from her neck, “Earlier when Jingwen attacked me, you blocked a sword strike on my behalf. Even if it was just putting on a act, I consider it a favor received from you. Now it is returned.”
Tian kuang hummed softly as a fierce glint gradually appeared in her eyes.
She spoke with cold severity, “Now, we play for real!”
A sweep of sword aura blasted across, kicking up waves of sand ahead and forcing Meng Xilou back dozens of steps.
In an instant, Meng Xilou’s heart flooded with confusion and grievance.
Blocking that sword strike from Jingwen hadn’t been an act at all; he didn’t even know why he had done it himself.
“Why are you angry with me!”
Meng Xilou lost his desire to fight and argued, “I already told you the truth and changed the plan! It was Huaimie acting on his own initiative; it had nothing to do with me at all!”
Up until now, had he done anything to harm her?
No!
And he had repeatedly shown goodwill to her!
“If not for me, you would have been captured back when Ye Qianzhi died. You woman, do you make any sense at all?!”
Xiang Haikui burst out laughing upon hearing this, “Senior Brother speaks these words so solemnly—don’t you find it hilarious yourself? Just because you changed your strategy and temporarily decided not to kill me, I’m supposed to be deeply grateful to you? Besides, wasn’t it because I came prepared and wasn’t easy to torture and kill that you changed your plan? Furthermore, no matter who called the shots, in my mind and eyes, you and your lackey are the exact same trash!”
“You…!”
“Enough!”
Xiang Haikui didn’t bother wasting breath with him.
Holding her sword, she flew forward, the sword tip dragging out a line of fire once again as it rubbed against the dry air with popping sounds.
Xiang Haikui hadn’t instructed Bai Xingxian on what to do, but Bai Xingxian thought seriously about it, broke off his front tooth, and threw the Tianbao Twin Swords into the air.
Tianbao could boost Tian kuang’s power and weaken Meng Xilou.
Meng Xilou did not possess a wood-attribute spiritual root; his bramble vines were likely the power released by a wood-attribute spiritual pearl.
It was glaringly obvious that although Meng Xilou was powerful in the upper realm, he hadn’t put enough effort into refining this physical body that he would discard sooner or later anyway.
He usually relied on treasures brought down from the upper realm to supply him with power, making his true strength far inferior to Huaimie.
His bravery and skill in battle in Silver Sand had mostly been handled by Huaimie.
When Xiang Haikui used Tian kuang to force Meng Xilou to shift positions, Bai Xingxian controlled his swords to follow immediately, forcing him back toward Xiang Haikui’s side.
Whenever Meng Xilou hurled out a magic treasure, Bai Xingxian could instantly analyze its attributes and spit out a counteracting magic treasure from his mouth.
Meng Xilou was beaten miserably and finally pulled out a ultimate weapon.
Having never seen it before, Tianbao was overjoyed.
Without waiting for Bai Xingxian’s control, it released even more power to Tian kuang, as if saying: Little brother, get him!
The person is yours to slash, but give me the magic treasure, ahhh!
Tian kuang’s power surged drastically as expected.
Xiang Haikui also understood the Tianbao Sword’s intention, coordinating to disarm Meng Xilou’s magic treasure, which was then drained into scrap iron by Tianbao.
The long and short twin swords collided in an “X” shape, making a crisp sound like a satisfied burp.
Meng Xilou stared at the scrap iron in his hand, his eyes filled with disbelief.
In that momentary instant of shock, Xiang Haikui had already closed the distance, pressing Tian kuang right against his chest.
With his protective spiritual energy active, it wasn’t that easy to pierce through, but it was merely a matter of time.
Meng Xilou was pinned down by the sword aura surging out from the blade’s tip, unable to budge.
He could only gather even more protective spiritual energy to meet her head-on.
“This is nothing more than a clone of mine. What if you kill me?”
He gritted his teeth and glared at Xiang Haikui, blue veins bulging on his temples.
“It can’t kill your true body, but it can damage it. For a long time to come, you’ll have to go into secluded cultivation to recover,” Xiang Haikui had inquired about every detail with crystal clarity.
Furthermore, the protective divine artifact guarding a clone could only protect it once.
Once Meng Xilou recovered from his injuries, if he ever dared send a clone down to the lower realm again, the risk of his true body dying would be extremely high.
Given his status, his family would surely not risk sending him back down to the lower realm.
“And let me tell you, even if it’s just your clone, I’m going to kill you once! You filthy idiot have disgusted me for far too long!”
Xiang Haikui’s teeth creaked as she ground them, exerting more force through her arm to push the sword tip a fraction closer to his chest!
Meng Xilou’s protective spiritual energy shield, centered at his chest, had already begun cracking outward.
“Is it worth causing huge trouble for your father just to cause me some injuries? Your Tian kuang Sword is so special…”
Blood flowed from the corner of Meng Xilou’s mouth.
For some reason, he actually laughed, as if mocking himself.
The elder inside his sea of consciousness had gone quiet, seeming to have fallen into a deep sleep, preparing to be sent back to the upper realm alongside him.
“I acted before my dad could kill you precisely because I have a way to keep our Silver Sand completely clean,” as Xiang Haikui spoke, the flood dragon coiled around the Tian kuang Sword actually released a massive wave of demonic qi, slowly covering Tian kuang.
Meng Xilou’s eyes widened larger and larger.
This demonic qi was…
It was Huaimie’s demonic qi!
When she dueled Huaimie on the city tower earlier, Xiang Haikui had only guarded three vital spots while forcibly tanking over six hundred and eighty of his demonic strikes—it wasn’t just to wear him down and wait for an opportunity to counterattack.
She had also absorbed those traces of demonic qi and funneled them into Tian kuang, letting Tian kuang temporarily store them away.
Yes, she had been prepared to kill Meng Xilou right from that moment.
“Speaking of which, I really have to thank you all for teaching me how to be a despicable and shameless scumbag!”
Huaimie had gathered the residual sword aura left behind from her brawl with Wumian’s group in the desert, poured it into Second Senior Brother Ye Qianzhi’s body, and shredded his internal organs to frame her.
The framing method was stupid to the absolute extreme, yet so many people had believed it, which truly served as a lesson for Xiang Haikui.
Bang!
The tip of the Tian kuang Sword shattered Meng Xilou’s protective spiritual energy, yet it only pierced through his outer robe, penetrating the surface layer of his skin.
Next came Xiang Haikui’s sharp shout, accompanied by the power of the Soul-Chaining Lock, as surging demonic qi poured into Meng Xilou’s body from the sword aura!
“The expert behind me once said that logic is meant for people who understand logic. For those who don’t, you simply pay them back in their own coin.”
Xiang Haikui suppressed Meng Xilou with her aura, rendering him motionless so he had to absorb all of this demonic qi.
The demonic qi was like blades slicing wildly inside him. Meng Xilou felt sharp agony in his internal organs, his soul showing signs of crumbling, while thick, dark blood flowed from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.
Forcing himself to hold out, he extended a hand, gripping the Tian kuang Sword tightly, his eyes stained red by demonic qi as he stared fixatedly at Xiang Haikui.
Within his venomous gaze lay a mix of complex emotions.
Xiang Haikui was terrified she wouldn’t infuriate him enough, unleashing her full mockery, “Senior Brother, after returning to the upper realm, remember to learn more about how normal people hit on girls. Your style is truly outdated!”
“Xiang Haikui, you just… wait for me! One day, I will definitely make you kneel before me and beg for my forgiveness!”
The demonic qi shredded Meng Xilou’s internal organs.
The moment the clone died and the golden soul dispersed, he exerted all his effort to roar out these words.
Wanting to act tough even on his deathbed—Xiang Haikui was genuinely impressed.
Tian kuang dropped onto the sandy ground, and she collapsed onto the sand as well, her exhausted eyes barely able to stay open.
“Little Sister Kui,” Bai Xingxian led the camel beast over, retrieved a bottle of spiritual elixir for her, and then shouldered Meng Xilou’s body, which was wrapped in black demonic qi, onto the camel’s back, “Can you still hold up?”
They had to hurry and bring Meng Xilou’s body back while Huaimie on the city tower had just recently died.
They would say they discovered Huaimie possessed puppet arts and escaped by swapping shells, and when Meng Xilou pursued him, a chaotic battle broke out between both sides, accidentally killing him.
Having a plausible excuse was enough; even if the Royal Capital’s Meng family wanted to cause a fuss, they couldn’t get it off the ground.
“Let’s go!”
Xiang Haikui swallowed a spiritual pill, pushed her palm against the ground, and stood up stumbling.
She and Bai Xingxian rode on the same camel, leading the camel carrying Meng Xilou.
Bai Xingxian extended a hand toward the small black orb happily rolling in the sand, “Time to go, Ball-Ball!”
The small black ball reluctantly rolled back, shrinking into a tiny orb, and dropped into his palm.
“Getting more and more obedient, huh,” Xiang Haikui stroked it gently with her index finger, just like petting a cat.
The spikes on its body abruptly flared open, parting its mouth to intimidate her.
“Heheh,” without any pressure left, Xiang Haikui’s smile became much lighter.
She suddenly noticed a person standing in the distance—it was Lu Xiqiao.
This guy was bent on following her to do big things; when told to go back, he hadn’t, sneaking over secretly instead.
“Don’t worry, I saw him long ago,” Bai Xingxian comforted her, “I threw a barrier magic treasure over to block his path. He can’t hear what we’re saying either.”
Feeling a sense of relief, Xiang Haikui patted Bai Xingxian’s shoulder, “Little Bai, you’re getting wiser and wiser.”
Bai Xingxian turned back, his eyes curving with a smile, “Little Sister Kui is getting smarter and smarter too.”
“Sister Kui! Little Brother Bai!” Lu Xiqiao waved his arms.
The camel beast trotted over, and Lu Xiqiao pointed at Meng Xilou’s body in surprise.
Xiang Haikui spoke first, “Just pretend you didn’t see anything…”
She was planning to fill Lu Xiqiao in advance.
While Lu Xiqiao looked quite unreliable on the surface, Xiang Haikui sometimes felt that he was inexplicably dependable.
“But I did see it,” Lu Xiqiao had no interest in Meng Xilou’s death.
He already disliked Meng Xilou in the first place, and since Xiang Haikui wasn’t one to kill indiscriminately, the man definitely deserved it.
“When Meng Xilou was pierced by your Tian kuang, a sudden burst of golden light erupted from his body, just like the fairy I saw while unconscious. Was I really not dreaming—did I actually see a fairy before?”
Hearing this, Xiang Haikui was astonished, “You saw it again?”
Lu Xiqiao nodded, “Really, glittering and glowing.”
What is going on?
Xiang Haikui blinked and asked Bai Xingxian via voice transmission, “His soul was drawn out by Liu Yixing earlier. Seeing Xiang Tianqing’s soul aura while half-asleep and half-awake was reasonable enough. But he’s fully recovered now, so why can he still see Meng Xilou’s soul aura?”
Could it be… the legendary opening of the Heavenly Eye?
Bai Xingxian was quite surprised as well.
After pondering for a moment, he said, “As the Palace Master of the Soul-Restraining Palace, Liu Yihang is proficient in the Dao of the soul. Is it possible that while executing that grand soul-drawing miracle, he accidentally stimulated certain acupoints in Lu Xiqiao?”
He really had opened his Heavenly Eye. Xiang Haikui found it quite novel, noting that when Lu Xiqiao saw Xiang Tianqing earlier, he hadn’t reacted at all.
His ability to see Meng Xilou’s golden light only occurred when Meng Xilou was critically injured, which meant the Heavenly Eye came with conditions and limitations.
“Young Master Lu, it’s best if you don’t mention what you saw this time either,” Xiang Haikui reminded him once more.
When she had the chance to meet Luo Yunxiu again, she would ask about the situation.
“Alright,” Lu Xiqiao agreed readily, without even asking for a reason.
He keenly sensed that he was starting to become extraordinary and was about to rise to the pinnacle of life!
Sister Kui was unequivocally his benefactor!
…
Xiang Haikui brought Meng Xilou’s body back to Silver Sand City, stirring up another massive uproar.
Having lost two senior brothers in such a short span, the already sickly Xiang Tianqing fainted outright.
Xiang Heng stood before the camel beast with his hands behind his back for a long while, various emotions flitting through his eyes.
Xiang Haikui apologized via voice transmission, “Dad, I acted on my own initiative.”
Xiang Heng understood her intentions, which was why he hadn’t given chase earlier.
He merely cautioned, “Little Kui, you should tend to your injuries properly and not take risks. I told you before that in Zhongzhou, a disciple is the possession of the master. As Meng Xilou’s master, even if I killed him for no reason at all, the Meng Family couldn’t convict me even if they appealed to the Heavenly Emperor.”
“The fewer troubles, the better,” Xiang Haikui affectionately pulled on his arm.
“We’ve temporarily dodged this calamity, but the upper-realm Meng Family won’t let us off easily. We might face plenty of troubles down the road, so there’s no need to fret over these trivial matters.”
“Mm,” Xiang Heng nodded slightly, instructing the guard officer, “Send Meng Xilou’s body back to the Royal Capital’s Meng Family.”
Afterward, Xiang Heng led her to the deliberation hall.
Yin Changli was resting in the hall with his eyes closed.
Hearing the father and daughter enter, he hurriedly opened his eyes and stood up.
His gaze swept over Xiang Haikui, and seeing another fresh wound on her neck, his distressed expression went without saying.
“Senior, how are you?”
Seeing that sorrowful yet affectionate gaze, Xiang Haikui knew this was the Boss and not Dao Chen.
Xiang Heng cut in, “You had better worry about yourself first.”
Xiang Haikui stuck out her tongue and sat down in the armchair opposite Yin Changli.
Xiang Heng immediately reached out his palm, resting it over her Lingtai point.
(T/N: It is located on the midline of the back, in the depression below the spinous process of the 6th thoracic vertebra (T6).)
Streams of pure spiritual energy surged into Xiang Haikui’s body, and her severely damaged meridians slowly unfurled like vines.
In an instant, all her fatigue vanished.
Her entire body felt more comfortable than soaking in a medicinal bath after complete exhaustion.
It felt oddly familiar, yet her father had never healed her injuries before.
“This feeling…” Xiang Haikui glanced across the room, meeting Yin Changli’s gaze as he closely watched her.
“It is a technique Senior Yin taught me,” Xiang Heng said.
As expected.
Xiang Haikui said, “I was just about to ask how you…”
Xiang Heng was also prepared to explain, “On the day I went into secluded cultivation, I met Senior Yin…”
He began to recount the story.
Yin Changli was originally quite curious, but the more he listened, the more his heart beat like a drum.
Xiang Heng’s recount was far too detailed, practically reconstructing the entire scene step-by-step.
When Xiang Haikui heard the phrase “chest as flat as a plain…”, her eyes instantly went wide.
Hearing the words “…hidden gully” right after, her expression reverted to normal.
Her chest certainly wasn’t flat.
When she first practiced basic movement techniques in the Thousand Bones Cave—like the hawk’s flip—she had to wear a bellyband due to a lack of change of undergarments, which was very inconvenient.
She had been binding her chest ever since.
As for calling her simple-minded and lacking guile, she wasn’t angry at all.
She even comforted Xiang Heng instead, “Senior measures others using himself as a ruler, so it’s inevitable. Even my master gets mocked by him every day, so don’t take it to heart.”
However, as she continued listening and heard descriptors like “a brain like a barren wasteland, a mind the size of a cherry, and a rare freak of the mortal realm,” she glared at Yin Changli across from her, baring her claws.
Yin Changli felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, desperately wishing he could knock Xiang Heng unconscious to stop him from continuing.
Yet after the entire story was finished, the way Xiang Haikui looked at Yin Changli changed once more.
The Boss was truly the Boss; your father would always be your father.
“Senior gave me a jade slip?”
“Yes.”
With the healing completed, Xiang Heng retrieved the jade slip from his storage bracelet and handed it to her.
Xiang Haikui tried extending her divine sense into it, but perhaps because her sea of consciousness was injured, a sharp pain flared up.
She stored it into her ring first, “I’ll read it after I rest up.”
Right at that moment, a terrified guard reported from outside the door, “City Lord, Young Master Ye has returned…”
He was clearly dead, with his corpse still lying in the room, yet he had returned alive and well.
“Young Master Ye went straight to the Hall of Law, and Young Master Wumian followed along as well.”
At the mention of these two disciples, Xiang Heng’s face suddenly turned exceptionally grim once more.
Xiang Haikui didn’t want to add fuel to the fire, yet she couldn’t help saying, “Dad, you really have zero judgment when it comes to taking in disciples.”
When Xiang Heng originally accepted them into his sect, it wasn’t because of how promising they were, but simply because, like himself, they were both “stray dogs.”
If he didn’t teach them, they would only turn out worse.
Yet he acknowledged his failure and refrained from arguing with his daughter, saying to the guard, “I will be over shortly.”
After the guard stepped down, Xiang Heng turned to Yin Changli, “If Senior has no further questions, why not rest first? I have a few words I wish to say to my daughter.”
“Very well,” Yin Changli stood up.
Once he stepped outside and only the father and daughter were left in the deliberation hall, Xiang Heng extended his arms and hugged his daughter.
When he “died,” she was only nine years old.
She was a delicate, spoiled child back then, who would complain of being tired after walking just a few extra steps, demanding he carry her in his arms or on his back.
In the blink of an eye, his daughter had grown up, and boundaries had formed.
Moreover, having not seen each other for years, there was inevitably a barrier between them when they first reunited.
Holding her now, his voice carried a faint choke, “As a father, I am truly deeply ashamed.”
When trapped in the small black orb by Yin Changli, listening to the commotion outside, he had thousands of words in his heart that he wanted to pour out to his daughter all at once.
How much he loved her, how much he cared about her, and that bringing her here was merely to reunite with her, give her a reliance, and let her live a good life.
Unexpectedly, he had dragged her straight into an abyss instead.
“Stop right there,” Xiang Haikui wouldn’t let him continue.
Sniffling, her voice choked up as well, “What abyss or paradise? Aside from life-and-death separations, nothing in this world is a big deal.”
“Mm,” seeing how open-minded his daughter was, Xiang Heng felt both heartbroken and relieved.
Releasing her, he wiped the tears from her eye sockets with his thumb, “But there is one matter your father still needs to remind you about.”
Xiang Haikui, “Hmm?”
Xiang Heng hesitated briefly, “Saying this might sound a bit ungrateful, but I still hope you keep your distance from Senior Yin from now on.”
Xiang Haikui looked up at him.
Xiang Heng said, “I’m afraid that once he recovers his memory, you will end up hurt.”
Thinking it was something serious, Xiang Haikui said dejectedly, “I feel like this hurt is unavoidable anyway.”
Xiang Heng’s heart leaped in shock, “Could it be that you’ve already…”
Xiang Haikui said, “Treating him the way I did, I’m already fully prepared to be beaten up by him.”
Xiang Heng let out a long sigh of relief, “Scared me to death. I thought you had already fallen for him.”
Xiang Haikui was astonished, “Me? Fall for him?”
Xiang Heng guided her patiently, “Do you know about the imprinting effect? Senior Yin is a demon. When he lost his memory, your hair infused vitality into him, and he remembered that sensation. His kindness toward you isn’t genuine emotion. If you fail to resist the temptation and fall for him during this period, once he recovers his memory and returns to being himself, only to advise you not to take it seriously—daughter, you’ll be the one hurt…”
Seeing her father so solemn and earnest, Xiang Haikui collapsed into the armchair, clutching her stomach as she nearly burst out laughing, “You… you’re truly overthinking this.”
Even if she did feel a pulse of excitement, it was purely under the influence of Tian kuang—restlessly itching to overthrow that power plant of his!
…
After the father and daughter spoke for a long time, Xiang Heng stood up and headed for the Hall of Law.
Xiang Haikui prepared to return to her room to rest and recuperate quickly, so she could open the letter the Boss had given her.
However, she noticed Yin Changli hadn’t left; he was sitting in the small garden, with Bai Xingxian standing behind him.
“Miss Xiang,” Yin Changli had waited a long time before she finally came out.
Holding a small medicine chest, he said, “I will help you apply the medicine.”
Xiang Heng had only treated Xiang Haikui’s internal injuries; the wounds on the surface of her body remained unaddressed.
The moment he took a step forward, Xiang Haikui instantly took a step back, “There’s no need, Senior.”
Xiang Haikui was already terrified of him, and now his “glorious” image was becoming increasingly vivid and alive in her mind.
The puppy Boss holding the medicine bottle in front of her was merely a sugar-coated cannonball thrown out by the CEO Boss—the second she dared to accept it, she would be blown to bits.
Yin Changli froze in place, lowering his eyes as a trace of hurt leaked from his pitch-black pupils.
In an instant, Xiang Haikui felt like quite an asshole, but there was truly no way around it.
If she agreed to let the puppy Boss apply medicine for her today, tomorrow might be the CEO Boss visiting her grave.
“Senior, I’m not afraid of being nailed to your pillar of shame. I just don’t want to leave you with any unbearable memories to look back on.”
Xiang Haikui attempted to explain, but seeing his lowered eyelashes quiver rapidly, he seemed even more hurt.
Xiang Haikui’s lips quivered along with them.
Having been friend-zoned before herself, she knew the feeling wasn’t pleasant.
Yet where decisiveness was needed, hesitation would only breed chaos.
She walked toward him, “Senior doesn’t need to worry about me. Only when you recover your body sooner will I be happier.”
Turning slightly sideways, she brushed past him and hurriedly signaled Bai Xingxian with a look to drag the man away for healing.
A rich fragrance of hair mixed with the scent of blood swept past his face before gradually fading away.
Yin Changli stood rooted to the spot, unmoving.
Only after Xiang Haikui had walked far away did Bai Xingxian step forward, “Uncle…”
“Miss Xiang had finally grown a bit less afraid of me and was willing to smile at me. Who would have thought, in the blink of an eye…” Yin Changli murmured softly.
Now, he didn’t know whether he should be grateful to his past self or hate him.
He was grateful that his past self had calculated every step to resolve the crisis.
Yet he hated that his past self had held him hostage at such a high pedestal.
“Uncle, shall we go heal your injuries first?”
Bai Xingxian had never seen his uncle like this before.
Setting aside his fear of him, a tiny sliver of heartache welled up inside him.
Yin Changli extended his hand toward him, “Give it to me.”
Bai Xingxian couldn’t react in time, “Huh?”
Yin Changli said, “The jar.”
“Oh, right, right.” Bai Xingxian hurriedly unbuckled the snake jar from behind his waist and presented it to him with both hands.
Yin Changli opened the jar’s mouth and looked at the little black snake coiled up inside.
The snake’s body was iced over, staying rigidly coiled. It looked no different from before, yet around its midsection, the “silk waistbelt” Xiang Haikui had stitched using her hair had faded significantly.
Those strands of hair—foreign matter not belonging to its body—seemed on the verge of being absorbed.
Yin Changli extended his hand once more, “Give me needle and thread.”
A cold shudder ran through Bai Xingxian. Was his uncle planning to pick out Little Sister Kui’s hair and re-stitch the wound?
Wouldn’t this kind of tossing around just stack injury upon injury?
Besides, his uncle had no hair—was he going to yank out his white hair instead?
Would he act so affectionately, clingy, and persistent toward him in the future as well? How terrifying!
No, he couldn’t let such a thing happen!
Plucking up his courage, Bai Xingxian was just about to snatch the snake jar back when he heard Yin Changli say, “Hurry and give me needle and thread. I want to sew its mouth shut and take it over to apologize to Miss Xiang and her father…”
