Chapter 358: Junior Sister, Secretly! Keep it from Senior Brother!
Dusk dyed the woman’s plain white skirt red. The fire phoenix on her shoulder, with its clear eyes, seemed to replace her closed eyelids, adding a touch of solemnity to her usually delicate appearance.
Li Longling, using the fire phoenix’s eyes, looked at the benefactor she hadn’t seen in nearly six years, feeling a little nervous.
Seeing Ye Anping’s slightly dazed expression, she thought he had forgotten her, and felt a bit dejected. She softly reminded him: “Senior Ye, we haven’t seen each other since the Chi Long Mansion incident six years ago. Do you still remember your junior?”
Little did she know, Ye Anping was merely lost in thought. He remembered that when he and his junior sister left, Li Longling was only at Qi Refining Completion. Now, six years later, she had already become a cultivator at Mid Foundation Establishment. Moreover, her demeanor had changed so much. The Li Longling he remembered was originally somewhat frail, but perhaps because she had grown a little taller and had a majestic fire phoenix on her shoulder, her aura had become somewhat unapproachable.
Ye Anping looked around, hesitated for a moment, and quickly clasped his hands in a deep bow: “How could I not remember? I just didn’t expect Madam Li to come here. If you have matters to discuss with the Hundred Lotus Sect, you should go to the Hundred Lotus Sect. Why come here?”
Li Longling felt a pang of dissatisfaction hearing his question. “Senior Ye, aren’t you asking the obvious?”
“Hmm?”
“I have no other business at the Hundred Lotus Sect. I simply came to see my benefactor.”
Li Longling didn’t beat around the bush. She stepped forward quickly, spread her arms, and threw herself into Ye Anping’s embrace, hugging his waist tightly and resting her forehead on his chest. “If it weren’t for Senior Ye, I would have likely died in Chi Long Mansion six years ago. The prosperity of Chi Long Mansion now, and my life, are all thanks to Senior Ye…”
…
Ye Anping was pushed back a step by her. A gentle breeze swept past, carrying the faint floral fragrance from Li Longling’s hair into his nose. Vaguely, Ye Anping felt a dampness on his collar. Li Longling, whether from excitement or something else, squeezed out two tears from the corners of her tightly closed eyes, and her hands gripping his back tightened.
She must have had many things to say to him, yet felt unable to articulate them. Since her father’s death, Chi Long Mansion had been entirely supported by her alone. Because she was alone, no matter how much she was wronged, she had no one to confide in; no matter what difficulties she encountered, she had to grit her teeth and face them alone. Furthermore, she had an eye affliction and not many friends. She must have suffered a great deal over these six years. Yet, even so, under her leadership, Chi Long Mansion had emerged from the shadow cast by her father and the demonic cultivators, turning from decline to prosperity. Throughout history, this was undoubtedly an astonishing feat.
Ye Anping exhaled softly, thinking that Li Longling probably mistook him for Li Feng and wanted to confide in him the bitterness accumulated in her heart over the past six years.
“…Remarkable, truly remarkable.” Ye Anping, as if stroking his junior sister, raised his hand to gently pat her back.
However…
Before his hand could touch Li Longling’s back, the fire phoenix on her shoulder pecked at his face with its beak.
?
Ye Anping slowly turned his head and saw the fire phoenix staring at him menacingly, as if to say: If you dare to lay a hand on my master, I’ll peck your eyes out!!
…
Indeed, this fire phoenix was a rare beast from the Immortal Realm, its temperament as fiery as its plumage. It was extremely volatile, and besides its master, it wouldn’t let anyone else touch it—a guard dog of the bird world. Although he wasn’t afraid of losing a fight, Ye Anping didn’t want to provoke it.
“Madam Li, speaking of this fire phoenix, is it the same one from back then…”
“Yes.” Li Longling nodded, slowly releasing Ye Anping’s waist, and gently scratched the fire phoenix’s chin. “It’s the same young phoenix from back then. I named her A’feng.”
Li Longling stroked A’feng’s feathers and said, “A’feng, this is the benefactor who helped me heal my eyes back then. Do you still remember?”
The fire phoenix stared at Ye Anping and tilted its head, then turned its head away, displaying an aloof expression.
Ying—
Although she had a lot to say, this was not a good place for conversation. After a moment of silence, Ye Anping jumped onto his flying sword and extended his hand. “Madam Li, this is not a place for talking. Come, extend your hand. I’ll take you to the Hundred Lotus Sect.”
“…Mm.” Li Longling pursed her lips into a smile. Without using her spiritual sense, she reached out in the direction of Ye Anping’s voice. Ye Anping grabbed her hand, pulled her onto his flying sword, and then they rode the sword together towards the Hundred Lotus Sect in the east.
…
Inside the Hundred Lotus Sect, the vast expanse of mountains was dyed a dark red by the sunset. Thousands of inner disciples of the Hundred Lotus Sect had gathered in the square in front of the main hall at Ye Ao’s summons, chattering and chatting.
Liang Ating had returned to her room and dressed up as a young lady, even applying some rouge to her face. She stood in front of the Tian Ge, a sword on her back. Due to her low cultivation and being in her growth spurt for the past two and a half years, she was no longer the short and stout little girl she used to be. Likely inheriting genetics from Tong Zilan, her body had developed quite rapidly. She was now even taller than Pei Lianxue, and her chest, the pride of any maiden, had developed into two small watermelons.
“Godfather, why hasn’t Uncle returned yet?”
“What’s the hurry?” Liang Zhu cast a cold glance at her. “I don’t think you needed to come.”
“Why not? That’s my Sixth Uncle! He’s different from Aunt. He used to be very good to me. I haven’t seen him in so long, and I miss him.”
Liang Zhu narrowed his eyes slightly. “You miss him?”
“Yes! Uncle is kind, handsome, rich, and his cultivation is now higher than Godfather’s. I definitely have to butter him up! Heehee…”
Hearing this, Liang Zhu felt a strange sense of unease, as if his own cabbage was being lured away. He thought he should re-emphasize the “Uncle” relationship to his Sixth Brother later.
A moment later, a flying sword carrying two people and a bird slowly landed in front of the Tian Ge. Everyone turned their gaze, and seeing Ye Anping holding a female cultivator at Foundation Establishment with her eyes closed, they were all stunned. Liang Zhu reminisced for a while before remembering that she was the daughter of Li Feng from Chi Long Mansion, and felt speechless.
Ye Anping calmly disembarked Li Longling from the flying sword, then waved his hand, retracting the flying sword into his storage bag, and looked at the four people in front of him. Liang Zhu, Ye Wan’er, and Tong Zilan were much as he remembered, but…
“You are… A’ting?” After Ye Anping’s gaze lingered on her for a long time, Liang Ating finally blurted out uncertainly. Liang Ating covered her mouth and smiled, then ran up quickly. “Hehe, Uncle, didn’t you recognize me?”
Liang Ating stood tall and proud, showing off her chest, which was even larger than her aunt’s, to Ye Anping, making him feel a little apprehensive. He felt Liang Zhu glaring at him with a resentful and murderous gaze.
“Mm, you’ve certainly grown a lot.”
“Hehe!” Liang Ating smiled with satisfaction and quickly took out a small box from her storage bag. “Uncle, congratulations on reaching Core Formation. This is a gift A’ting prepared for you!”
Ye Anping patted her head. “Thank you.”
However, Li Longling, who was standing nearby, inexplicably became nervous again upon hearing this and pursed her lips slightly.
Ye Anping put it into his storage bag without looking at it and walked directly to Liang Zhu, asking frankly, “Brother Liang, Sixth Brother has emerged from seclusion after reaching Core Formation. As his elder brother, aren’t you going to give him something?”
“Heh, you’re quite shameless.” Liang Zhu rolled his eyes at him and waved his hand, taking out a tombstone and a coffin from his storage bag. “Here, your elder brother’s gift to you. A red oak coffin and a pure jade tombstone.”
Ye Anping’s eye twitched slightly, but he soon resigned himself to it and clasped his hands in thanks. “Thank you, Brother Liang. By the way, aren’t you planning to reach Core Formation?”
“I’ll go in a while.”
“Alright, then when Brother Liang succeeds, Sixth Brother will also prepare a grand gift in return.”
…
Liang Zhu naturally rolled his eyes at him again but didn’t continue the topic. Instead, he became serious and asked, “The commotion you caused when you reached Core Formation was quite significant. This matter probably can’t be hidden. You, the Young Master of the Hundred Lotus Sect, are about to become famous. Achieving the Heavenly Dao Golden Core with a dual Spiritual Root aptitude is not good news.”
“There’s nothing I can do, this kind of thing can’t be hidden.” Ye Anping shrugged slightly, feigning indifference. “But what does the Hundred Lotus Sect’s Young Master reaching Core Formation have to do with me, Jiang Ziya?”
Liang Zhu understood what he meant and nodded. After exchanging pleasantries with Liang Zhu and the others for a few more minutes, Ye Anping first asked Liang Zhu to take Li Longling to the Hundred Lotus Sect to settle down, and then entered the Tian Ge alone.
After watching Ye Anping go in, Li Longling finally breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t known Ye Anping was reaching Core Formation when she came, so she hadn’t prepared a gift. If Ye Anping had asked for one later, it would have been awkward, but fortunately, he didn’t.
“Hoo…”
“Madam Li, it’s been a long time. I’ll take you to the guest hall first.”
“…Thank you.” Li Longling nodded, glanced towards the Tian Ge with the fire phoenix’s eyes, pondered the gift issue, and followed Liang Zhu towards the Hundred Lotus Sect’s guest hall.
…
Upon entering the Tian Ge, Ye Anping was naturally greeted by his mother’s “killer” embrace and Ye Ao’s proud gaze. They performed the rituals of offering tea, exchanging greetings, and bowing… After completing all the necessary formalities, the family of three sat down at a tea table beside the bed.
Ye Ao personally poured Ye Anping a cup of tea. “You brat, truly astonishing. Heavenly Dao Golden Core?”
“Just lucky,” Ye Anping replied with a wry smile, shaking his head. He then asked, “Speaking of serious matters, didn’t Lianxue reach Core Formation four months ago? Why haven’t I seen her?”
Ye Ao chuckled when he heard this, stroked his long beard, and said, “Heh, you’ve just emerged from Core Formation and you’re already thinking about your wife?”
“It’s been two years since we last met, how could I not miss her? But that’s secondary. I’m just a bit puzzled. Knowing my junior sister’s personality, she would definitely have returned immediately after reaching Core Formation.”
Ye Ao shook his head helplessly and glanced at Kong Yulan, giving her a signal. “Yulan, go get it.”
“Get what?” Ye Anping’s brow twitched slightly. He glanced at Xiao Tian, who was perched on his head, but Xiao Tian quickly shook its head, indicating it knew nothing.
Kong Yulan stood up, walked to a desk on the first floor of the Tian Ge, rummaged through it for a while, took out a jade slip, and brought it back. “Ping’er, Pei girl sent this to you last month. You were in Core Formation then, so we didn’t want to disturb you.”
Ye Anping took the jade slip and, using his finger as a sword, looked at its contents:
—”Madam Kong, after Senior Brother completes Core Formation. Please relay to my Senior Brother that Yunluo and I are going to Hantian Kingdom in the Northern Region for a Xuan Xing Sect mission to collect some spiritual medicine. Tell him not to worry; we should be back by the end of the year.”
“Hantian Kingdom…” Ye Anping withdrew his spiritual sense, his brow furrowing slightly. Junior sister and Xiao Yunluo went to Hantian Kingdom? Although the jade slip mentioned “collecting medicine,” and Hantian Kingdom did have many rare spiritual medicines… Was collecting medicine more important than seeing her senior brother, whom she hadn’t seen for two years? It wasn’t jealousy, but Ye Anping felt that the logic of this matter didn’t align with his junior sister’s temperament. Moreover, if they were truly going to collect spiritual medicine, they could have waited for him to come out of seclusion and gone together. He was certain that his junior sister was hiding something from him, and it was related to Hantian Kingdom. But… Hantian Kingdom was precisely at a critical point in the main storyline. It was hard to say whether the two of them would stumble into it… No, they were bound to be involved. If his junior sister and Xiao Yunluo went to Hantian Kingdom, Feng Yu Die would definitely follow them sheepishly. The threads of fate were intertwined, and Feng Yu Die would inevitably encounter Gu Mingxin.
Ye Anping fell silent for a while and then asked, “When was this jade slip sent?”
“About three and a half months ago.” Kong Yulan, seeing his serious expression, asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Mother, please help me get a faster flying sword. I need to go to Hantian Kingdom.”
Ye Ao’s expression immediately turned serious. “Ping’er, you mean something big is about to happen in Hantian Kingdom, right?”
“?” Ye Anping’s lips parted slightly. He didn’t want to admit it, but he had to. “Mm.”
…
Ye Ao’s brow furrowed tightly. He nodded and said, “Then I’ll select some experienced disciples from the Hundred Lotus Sect in the coming days. They can accompany you and help you somewhat.”
“No need.” Ye Anping raised his hand to interrupt. “The Hundred Lotus Sect is too small now, and we don’t have many cultivators at Core Formation Stage within the sect. Besides, acting alone will be much more convenient and discreet.”
Ye Ao frowned. “Then how about this, I’m your father, and your mother is your mother. You choose one of us to accompany you? Your mother and I are both at Core Formation Stage, we won’t be a burden to you.”
Be a burden… Ye Anping felt that this phrase sounded strange. After some thought, he still shook his head and refused, saying, “Father, Mother… In this world, I don’t have many people I care about besides you two. It’s only my junior sister and the others… I can’t possibly let you risk your lives with me. The journey to Hantian Kingdom is fraught with peril, and furthermore, you have no experience fighting demonic cultivators. I cannot take you with me.”
“Then you’ll have no company on the road, and we won’t be at ease! Before, Pei girl followed you. Can’t you bring someone along this time for assistance? The Northern Region is very far away.”
…
Ye Anping lowered his gaze and pondered for a while. Although it wasn’t about assistance, having a backup wouldn’t hurt. But who should he bring? Brother Liang was preparing to reach Core Formation, so he wouldn’t consider him for now. Tong Zilan was at Core Formation Stage, but she primarily cultivated alchemy. While she was skilled in alchemy and talismans, her combat power was negligible. Ye Wan’er was good at evasion and thievery, but her skills were useless against Gu Mingxin. Moreover, she had a tendency to run when in danger, and might betray him. Li Longling…
“Mm, I have someone in mind. Father and Mother, please rest assured. Just help me prepare a fast Divine Movement artifact.”
