Love Travels through Time (My father who traveled through time and space to cultivate immortality came back to pick me up) - Chapter 45
Chapter 45: Jinling Flower Moonlit Night (Part 1)
Yin Changli’s meridians were blocked and his qi and blood were sluggish, leaving him unable to open the Little Black Orb palace.
He couldn’t sit cross-legged in meditation either; sitting for even a short while triggered severe lower back pain.
The black hair on his true form had already been absorbed by his body. After transforming into human form, a faint black pattern about an inch long remained on his lower back.
He stayed bedridden in the City Lord’s Manor for over ten days before he could support his waist and barely manage to walk around.
Once his condition stabilized, the timing was just about right.
Xiang Haikui bought ferry tickets to set off for the Royal Capital.
Before purchasing the tickets, she paid a special visit to the Buddha Cave.
“Dao chen, are you coming with us?”
Dao chen’s Tianren ability could control her berserk state during her dragon transformation, making him a useful asset. Meanwhile, her Tian kuang was excellent for slaying demons, so providing support with Tianren would also earn him karmic merit.
They made a great pair.
Dao chen found it amusing.
“Why would I go with you? Don’t forget, I was only forced into this mess with you because I was possessed.”
Xiang Haikui replied, “Fair enough.”
They were originally enemies, but after ten years together, they had grown accustomed to each other’s presence and no longer found one another detestable.
Still, calling them teammates wasn’t quite accurate either.
“Fine then,” Xiang Haikui didn’t push.
“You saw it yourself. If you cultivate your heart, your Tianren sword will progress rapidly—isn’t that better than messing around with dirty schemes all day?”
Daochen darted a glance at her.
Yet, through Xiang Tianqing, it seemed he truly had gained some enlightenment.
For all these years, he had been unable to let go of his resentment toward his father, harboring a knot in his heart without ever knowing who he was actually getting revenge on.
“Goodbye,” Xiang Haikui turned to leave.
Dao chen spoke up behind her, “I hope you can contact your master soon and nail my father’s name to the pillar of shame. Then I might consider assisting you in cultivating Tian kuang.”
“I’d love that too,” Xiang Haikui sighed, walking out of the Buddha Cave without looking back.
—
On the day they left Silver Sand, Yin Changli was bid a tearful farewell to the alpaca.
“Little Kui, do we really have to leave Mie-Mie in Silver Sand? It doesn’t have a single one of its kind in the entire Central Continent. It’s so pitiful.”
Xiang Haikui asked, “What else can we do? Spend another half-year sending it back to Western Continent?”
Yin Changli suggested, “How about…”
Xiang Haikui cut in, “How about we eat it!”
Yin Changli choked up, stepping sideways to cover the little alpaca’s body while clutching the reins in flustered helplessness.
He wouldn’t stop her if she insisted on eating it, but he genuinely couldn’t bear to let it go.
Xiang Haikui was only joking.
She had spent so much effort raising Mie-Mie for over half a year; she wouldn’t eat something she had developed feelings for.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have asked Dao chen to rescue it after it spat at him.
She just wanted to tease him, but seeing his eyes turn red made her roast him internally.
Look at this scene—is weeping over buried flowers really that far off? Not far at all.
“Senior, it’s inconvenient to bring it with us to the Royal Capital now. Once you can open your temporary palace, with a swoosh, you can return to Silver Sand, and with another swoosh, you can send Mie-Mie back to Western Continent. If it makes you happy, you can even keep it in your palace.”
It took a great deal of persuading to finally convince him.
Before boarding the ship, he repeatedly entrusted the alpaca to Xiang Heng, as if entrusting a son.
Xiang Heng held Yin Mie-Mie on the city gate tower and waved to Xiang Haikui.
“Daughter, stay safe! If anyone bullies you in the Royal Capital, don’t worry about who they are or my status—just beat them up!”
“Will do!”
—
After one layover and over twenty days of travel, they arrived at Jinling, the Royal Capital.
When the airship entered the territory of Jinling, guards boarded to verify everyone’s identities one by one, allowing the airship to fly directly into the inner city and land at the ferry terminal.
After entering Jinling City, Xiang Haikui looked down over the entire metropolis.
Jinling’s geographic location mirrored that of ancient Huaxia’s Jinling.
The physical difference lay in a dragon-shaped mountain range running directly through it, while the vast spiritual lakes and winding rivers formed a pattern that bore a striking resemblance to a phoenix spreading its wings to soar.
Jinling City was the place with the densest spiritual energy in the Central Continent.
Compared to Jinling, Silver Sand was practically a heavily polluted wasteland.
Because of this, Jinling was densely populated, and anyone who owned permanent real estate here was immensely wealthy.
“Sister Kui! Little Brother Bai!”
Just after stepping off the airship, the two heard Lu Xiqiao’s excited shouts.
Dressed in vibrant, eye-catching clothes, Lu Xiqiao charged over like a gust of wild wind and threw his arms around Bai Xingxian in a big hug.
It was Bai Xingxian’s first time having a friend, and reuniting after such a long separation made him deeply happy.
“How did you know we’d arrive today?”
“Before coming, my dad sent a letter to the Royal Capital. Registrations need to be done in advance here so they can arrange receptions,” Xiang Haikui grinned, revealing her teeth.
She was also delighted to see Lu Xiqiao.
“Let’s go. A classmate of mine came to pick someone up too, but I don’t want to see him. Let me take you guys outside to talk,” Lu Xiqiao gestured toward a group of people not far away.
As they walked out, he finally noticed someone else following beside Xiang Haikui.
Draped in a black cloak with the hood pulled down low, their face was hidden, but it clearly wasn’t Dao chen—a lock of long hair strayed outside the hood.
“This is…”
“My uncle,” Bai Xingxian introduced.
“Hello, Uncle Bai,” Lu Xiqiao greeted promptly.
Yin Changli gave a subtle nod, making no move to correct him.
Xiang Haikui changed the subject.
“Brother Lu, where is the courier station?”
Lu Xiqiao patted his chest.
“What courier station? You’re insulting me! Now that you’re in the Royal Capital, you’re definitely staying at my place.”
“We’re still staying at the station,” Xiang Haikui wagged a finger.
“Under normal circumstances, I’d definitely go to your home, but this time I’m representing my dad. Staying at your place wouldn’t be appropriate.”
“I know it’s not ideal, but didn’t I tell you before? Uncle Xiang refuses to network and has too rigid a personality. He leaves no leeway in how he handles things, cutting off a lot of people’s livelihoods and offending way too many folks.”
Lu Xiqiao tried to dissuade her.
“It’s rare for everyone to gather like this. Xiang Tianqing is at the Sword Dao Academy protected by the Sword Venerable, so they’re definitely going to concentrate their fire on you. If you go stay at the courier station, you won’t get a single moment of peace.”
Xiang Haikui’s eyes lit up with excitement.
“Really?! That’s fantastic!”
Lu Xiqiao was left completely speechless.
He wanted to remind her that this was the strictly governed Royal Capital, a city crawling with powerhouses—not the wild, lawless lands of Silver Sand.
A familiar mocking voice sounded from behind them.
“Are you talking about him? He’s my classmate at the Sword Dao Academy—the young master of the Lu family, Lu Xiqiao. The Lu family has nothing else going for them except money. You can tell just by looking at Young Master Lu’s aptitude: he couldn’t even defeat a Third grade during academy spars, yet his cultivation was forcibly pumped up to the Sixth grade, matching mine.”
Lu Xiqiao held up his hand to form a ‘seven’ with his fingers.
“You’re mistaken. I just stepped into the Seventh grade. Are you mad now?”
The male cultivator’s face darkened instantly.
Lu Xiqiao spread his hands.
“See? Even when I spend all day eating, drinking, and fooling around, I still surpass you. If I were actually smart, hardworking, and ambitious, how would you even survive?”
The male cultivator sneered.
“Lu Xiqiao, enjoy running your mouth while you can. Let’s see how I knock your teeth out during the upcoming assessment!”
Xiang Haikui turned her head and glared at him, but Lu Xiqiao pulled her away.
“Let’s go, let’s go, Sister Kui. No need to lose your appetite over a sour lemon like him. Let’s get some food first—I booked the entire Jinling Tower to welcome you!”
During the meal, Xiang Haikui suddenly remembered something and asked, “By the way, after you opened your Heavenly Eye, have you seen anyone else whose soul is golden?”
There ought to be another little golden person in the capital.
“Not a single one since Meng Xilou,” Lu Xiqiao sounded quite deflated.
He had thought he was special, only to realize this Heavenly Eye seemed utterly useless.
—
After dinner, Yin Changli and Bai Xingxian stayed behind at the inn.
Xiang Haikui headed to the courier station to hand over her official document.
Whether following standard protocol or doing it deliberately, Station Master Zhao—a middle-aged man—announced in a loud voice, “So it’s the Second Young Lady of Silver Sand City!”
The moment his voice fell, spiritual senses that had been lazily scanning her suddenly shot over from all directions.
Tian kuang vibrated within its sheath. There were formidable experts present whom her weapon deemed worthy, yet she couldn’t pinpoint where they originated.
Xiang Haikui frowned and asked, “Is there a problem?”
Station Master Zhao smiled.
“No problem at all. I was merely reflecting on how formidable the younger generation is, given Second Young Lady Xiang’s booming reputation.”
Receiving her access token, Xiang Haikui walked from the front hall into the rear garden.
Voices drifted over continuously as she made her way through.
“She really doesn’t have a spiritual root. How strange, how does she cultivate without one? Can any of you sense her grade?”
“She was at the Fifth grade ten years ago, so she should be Sixth grade by now. After all, she’s someone favored by the Sword Venerable.”
“Didn’t they say she was just a buy-one-get-one-free extra?”
“Even if she was thrown in for free, she must have some strength. After all, if someone offered you to the Sword Venerable, he’d definitely refuse…”
A wave of laughter erupted.
Xiang Haikui slapped her hand back against the sword case, forcing a narrow crack to open in it.
The chatter and laughter instantly vanished.
A sword cultivator releasing their sword aura was a warning signal before taking action.
The people staying in the courier station at this time were either the children or disciples of major city lords, or elite members of prominent sects; very few fools would provoke her for no good reason.
Xiang Haikui actually wished a few such fools would pop up so she could draw her sword.
It would make the coming days much quieter.
The more idiots that jumped out, the better—it would give her the chance to prove: screw your buy-one-get-one-free.
Xiang Haikui followed the signs to her assigned room. Just as she held her access token up to unlock the door, the adjacent door creaked open, and a woman stepped out from within.
The woman was fair-faced and possessed an exceptionally slender waist.
“There are so many empty rooms in the courier station, why do you have to stay right next door to me?”
Her tone was hostile in the extreme.
Xiang Haikui knew who she was: Wan Yuyao, the Eldest Young Lady of Xuelong City.
Lu Xiqiao had already warned her that this woman was notoriously domineering and unreasonable, making it extremely likely she’d be used as someone else’s pawn.
He had hit the nail right on the head.
With so many empty rooms in the courier station, the station master just had to arrange for her to stay next door. Who knew how much black money he had pocketed?
Xiang Haikui: “I didn’t choose this room myself.”
Wan Yuyao: “Then go find the station master and pick another one. I don’t like having people on either side of me.”
Xiang Haikui: “Oh, then off you go.”
Wan Yuyao narrowed her eyes: “I meant you.”
Xiang Haikui narrowed her eyes as well: “I know.”
Wan Yuyao sneered with an expression that said, “Choosing the hard way over the easy way, are we?”
Xiang Haikui felt her spirits lift. Instead of opening her door, she stood at the entrance with her hands on her hips, matching her sneer for sneer.
Come on, provoke me! Draw your sword! Let’s scrap!
A pawn was still a pawn—if others could use her, so could Xiang Haikui. She certainly wasn’t about to waste any pity on her.
Wan Yuyao was thoroughly incensed by her reaction. With a sharp clang, she drew her sword.
“Fine! Then we fight! Whoever loses gets the hell out!”
Leaping over the railing, she plunged straight down from the third floor and landed in the garden.
Just as Xiang Haikui was about to jump down after her, a fierce, sharp wave of sword aura suddenly struck from behind Wan Yuyao!
Wan Yuyao turned sideways and swung her blade to block it, but even after the two forces collided, the incoming attack wasn’t fully neutralized.
The attacker was clearly superior, forcing Wan Yuyao back two paces.
“Eldest Young Lady Wan, isn’t it enough that you act so tyrannical on your own turf? Now you’re bullying people on the head of my Silver Sand City?”
Still standing in the corridor on the third floor, Xiang Haikui knitted her brows. It was Xiang Tianqing’s voice.
A moment later, Xiang Tianqing stepped in from outside.
She was still dressed in a red gauze dress, but while she used to carry an intensely seductive charm with her scarlet outfit and red lips, she now resembled a fiery, scorching flame.
Likely due to following Jing Wenxiu to cultivate the path of the killing sword, her brow and expression had hardened significantly.
Wan Yuyao raised her willow brows.
“A fair duel between sword cultivators—since when is that considered bullying?”
Xiang Tianqing countered, “Look at your own age! If you want a fair fight, come at me. Why pick on my younger sister?”
“Fine! You it is then!”
Wan Yuyao raised her blade and slashed directly toward her.
The sword at Xiang Tianqing’s waist unsheathed once more.
The courtyard of the Royal Capital’s courier station was spacious enough for the two beauties to leap and tumble as they fought.
More and more spiritual senses swept into the courtyard, casting unabashed critiques left and right, with the main focus zeroing in on Xiang Tianqing.
Xiang Haikui could tell as well that Xiang Tianqing had undeniably put in an immense amount of hard work in the way of the sword over these past years.
It seemed she had wronged her sister before.
While the old folks at home had indeed paved the way, some of her reputation was likely something she had earned through her own efforts.
Just as Wan Yuyao was on the verge of defeat, Station Master Zhao rushed over and intervened between the two.
“Oh my, young ladies, what on earth is going on here?”
Wan Yuyao glared at him.
“You have the nerve to ask what happened? Before I even set off, I explicitly stated in my official post that I wouldn’t share a wall with anyone! How on earth do you handle things here!”
Station Master Zhao put on an expression of sudden realization.
“Look at my memory!”
“Forget it this time!” Wan Yuyao gave herself an out to save face.
Flying back up to the third floor, she shot a furious glare at Xiang Haikui before entering her room.
That glare seemed to say: No wonder you dared to be so arrogant in front of me—you knew your sister was here!
Xiang Haikui found it hilarious.
Eldest sister, it’s lucky she showed up, otherwise you’d already be on your knees calling me daddy, alright?
Sheathing her weapon, Xiang Tianqing came upstairs and followed Xiang Haikui into the room.
“Although I dislike you, when we’re outside, both you and I represent Silver Sand City. Every word and action reflects our father, so we must stand on the same side.” She placed a token on the table.
“If you need anything during this time, send someone with this token to the Sword Dao Academy to find me.”
Xiang Haikui glanced at the token.
Seeing her sister act with such tact and sense of the bigger picture, it felt wrong to say it wasn’t needed.
“Alright.”
Xiang Tianqing remained standing where she was, silent, as if waiting for Xiang Haikui to ask her something.
But Xiang Haikui simply went to make her bed, seemingly paying no mind to the changes her sister had undergone.
“I’ll be leaving then.”
Xiang Tianqing bit her lip and turned to leave the room.
Over these years, Xiang Tianqing had managed to find a somewhat reasonable explanation for the events of the past.
Perhaps Xiang Haikui wasn’t as malicious as she had thought.
Their Eldest Senior Brother was originally a noble from the Royal Capital, and perhaps he truly harbored some plot against their father—after all, even Second Senior Brother said as much.
Xiang Haikui really was helping their father solve the problem, but in order to replace her, she had painstakingly engineered a whole set of excuses.
Xiang Tianqing stopped being angry; she simply wasn’t as capable as others, so she couldn’t blame anyone else.
Rather than worrying every day about people saying her sister resembled their father more, why shouldn’t she change herself to become even more like him?
And so, she abandoned the Alchemic Path, stopped tending to plants and flowers, and broke her time down to the bone without wasting a single second, training tirelessly and gaining experience everywhere she went.
When she finally achieved a small measure of success, she couldn’t resist writing a letter to her father.
Yet her father’s response broke her heart.
Her father’s message was for her to wake up and see that all of this had been arranged for her by others.
He even betrayed a hint of regret—regretting letting her go, so that while Silver Sand avoided disaster, other places suffered in its stead.
All the effort she had poured out through gritted teeth, covered in scars, was negated just like that.
From that point on, she never wrote another letter.
—
No matter what little interlude occurred, nothing could ruin Xiang Haikui’s good mood.
Before coming to the courier station, she had asked Lu Xiqiao to help deliver a letter to her senior brother at the Sword Dao Academy, asking to meet up tonight.
The senior brother had agreed.
Xiang Haikui was over the moon. After taking a bath and changing into a new set of clothes, she even turned back just as she was stepping out to apply some lip stain in front of the mirror.
The meeting spot had been chosen by her senior brother: Lotus Heart Lake, said to be one of the ten grand views of Jinling.
Arriving half an hour earlier than the agreed time, Xiang Haikui followed her map over, only to find that her senior brother had already arrived.
Along the shore was a bustling night market, while many lotus lanterns and small boats drifted across the lake. With a quick sweep of her spiritual sense, she located her senior brother.
Dressed in a plain white robe, he sat cross-legged inside a small boat. His once short, cropped hair had grown all the way down to his waist, worn half-draped and half-tied. He looked cool and distant, with a touch more tranquility to him—a bit different from the shadow in her memory.
However, ten years had passed, and her senior brother had cultivated from a mortal all the way to the Fifth grade. It was impossible for him not to change.
“Senior Brother!” she transmitted her voice to him.
Han Qi was resting with his eyes closed when he opened them upon hearing her call. Looking over in her direction, he gestured toward the seat opposite him, making a “please” gesture.
Xiang Haikui leaped up in a fluid arc and landed at the stern of the boat.
Unbuckling her sword case, she sat down across the small table from him.
“Seeing you looking in good spirits puts my mind at ease.”
“Thank you for your concern.”
Han Qi glanced at the sword case she had set to the side.
The jade pendant at his waist blocked the stray sword aura escaping from Tian kuang, leaving Tian kuang completely unaware of his presence.
“I heard earlier that you injured your sea of consciousness and lost a lot of your memories. I was worried you wouldn’t even remember me.”
When Xiang Haikui first heard that news, she had felt like she was cursed—everyone around her kept losing their memories one after another.
Han Qi poured a cup of tea and pushed it over to her.
“To be honest, I only have vague memories of you now, Miss. But since you’ve written letters without fail for so many years, I know everything I ought to know.”
Those letters were like foot-bindings—long, drawn-out, and tiresome.
Crucially, there were many parts he couldn’t even understand.
Yet he did grasp one key point: the physical body he had borrowed was not only a fellow hometown native of hers, but also the object of her affection.
That was something he hadn’t known before.
“That’s so awful,” Xiang Haikui felt deeply distressed for him.
He was already far away from home, and now even his memories of his hometown were blurry.
“It’s alright, take your time…”
“It will likely be difficult. Far from our native land, there’s nothing to trigger sentimental memories,” Han Qi looked toward a painted pleasure boat not far away, doing his best to avoid direct eye contact with her.
“You are likely my only tie to the past in this place, Miss, yet even you cannot make me…”
He wanted to convey a message to Xiang Haikui: it was impossible for him to remember the past. The current him was a completely new individual.
Who would have guessed that Xiang Haikui would cut him off.
“What kind of past am I? You never paid any attention to me in the past anyway.”
She was fully prepared. Reaching into her storage ring, she pulled out two stacks of underwear.
She set them side by side on the small table between them.
“Senior Brother, you should be much more familiar with these. I made them according to your original style, though to this day I still can’t tell whether the pattern is Psyduck or Donald Duck…”
Unable to figure out which duck was his favorite, she had drawn both—ten pairs of each, plenty for him to rotate through.
“If you wear them every day from now on, you’ll definitely remember.”
Han Qi had just taken a sip of tea, but it felt as if his throat had been scalded.
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down several times.
Oh right, people here don’t wear underwear. I wonder if Senior Brother still remembers what underwear means.
She peeked at his expression—looks like he knew.
Well, the shape of underwear made it pretty obvious where it belonged anyway.
“Senior Brother?”
She pointed at the two types of ducks, hoping he could choose a side instinctively and recover a few memories from the past.
Han Qi sharply sensed a gaze landing on his back.
It wasn’t spiritual sense, yet it felt even more intense than one.
Tracing the source back, he saw a figure draped in a black cloak standing beneath a blessing tree hung with peace charms by the shore. The hood was pulled down very low.
Sensory awareness hitting him, the figure raised an arm and slowly pushed down the hood, revealing a pair of eyes overflowing with hostility.
Yin Changli.
Han Qi knew he had come, but what was with that look in his eyes?
Had his memories returned?
It couldn’t possibly be this fast.
Han Qi was utterly bewildered. After stealing a few more glances at him, he turned back to look at Xiang Haikui sitting in front of him, and suddenly it all clicked!
He hadn’t failed—that star of love really had moved!
Wait, this wasn’t right.
Even if his spiritual apertures had been sealed, it couldn’t possibly be this woman in front of him.
It wasn’t that she was bad, but rather, he felt that men like himself and Yin Changli could hardly ever fall into mundane earthly desires again. If someone could touch their heartstrings even a little, even if she wasn’t an empathetic, comforting flower, she should at least be a gentle, submissive mimosa.
Yet Xiang Haikui was clearly a reckless brute—and after cultivating the Tian kuang sword, she was bound to be a brute among brutes. What kind of bizarre match was this?
Han Qi could barely catch his breath, feeling the heartbreak of seeing a prime jade cabbage get rooted up by a wild mountain boar.
He let out a tragic inner cry: Brother Changli, I am truly so sorry to you!
I only wanted to win against you, I never intended to humiliate you!
“Senior Brother?”
Seeing his previously calm expression suddenly turn so agitated, Xiang Haikui thought he had recalled something.
Striking while the iron was hot, she urged him on.
“Between these two ducks, quickly make a choice based on your instinct!”
