Kong Qing brought out a defensive array disk, two sword energy balls, and a bottle of Qi-restoring pills, handing them over.
“The defensive array disk can withstand cultivators below the Golden Core stage. The sword energy balls are condensed from the sword intent of a Spirit Transformation stage sword cultivator and can attack those of the same cultivation level. As for the Qi-restoring pills, I don’t need to say more. The path to immortality is long; I hope you take care of yourself.”
For someone who only sought—and had to seek—heavenly treasures yet didn’t even have a decent protective magical treasure, having the other party bring out such essential items made things quite difficult for her.
Should she accept it? Accept it? Or accept it?
“What? You look down on them?” Kong Qing asked deliberately.
“Not at all, it’s just that you’re suddenly being so generous, I’m a bit unaccustomed to it.” Ye Wan immediately took the items with a grin, her heart filled with a gratitude she didn’t know how to express.
“You make it sound like I’m usually very stingy.”
“Yes, yes, yes, you’re not stingy at all. When Grandma Tonghua tried to borrow an egg from you and you only spared her half, that was my biggest misunderstanding of you.”
Kong Qing: “…”
That was to extinguish the little sparks in Grandma Tonghua’s heart that shouldn’t have been there. With a crack of the egg, those little sparks were snuffed out so thoroughly they couldn’t be any deader.
Ye Wan tucked the items into her storage bag and pulled Sui Sui in front of her. “Sui Sui, you must remember, your Grandpa Kong is the first person to help you achieve longevity.”
Sui Sui tilted her head up. “Mommy, who is Longevity? Does Grandpa Kong have to give him needles to save him too?”
Ye Wan: “…”
She forgot that this was a little illiterate who didn’t even have a kindergarten diploma. At three and a half years old, being able to articulate clearly was already far ahead of the curve.
“Mommy means that the place Mommy wants to take Sui Sui is very far away, and we didn’t have enough travel fare. At this time, your Grandpa Kong helped us with money. So, Sui Sui must remember Grandpa Kong’s great kindness.” Ye Wan changed her explanation to something the little cub could understand.
“Mhm! I remember! Grandpa Kong, wait for me to come back and provide for your old age and see you off at your funeral!”
Sui Sui was the village’s little gossip cub and had heard the village elders chatting about “providing for the elderly and seeing them off” many times. Therefore, she believed that old people simply loved being provided for and sent off.
“Then Grandpa Kong will wait for Sui Sui to come back and provide for me. Sui Sui must be good and not break her word.” Kong Qing patted Sui Sui’s head, his words carrying his sincere blessings.
“I don’t lie! Grandpa Kong, wait for me obediently in the village.” Sui Sui took Grandpa Kong’s hand off her head and patted it like a little adult.
Kong Qing revealed a benevolent smile. “Good.”
Ye Wan didn’t want to disturb anyone when she left, so she asked Kong Qing to pass word to Auntie Wang next door that the house and everything inside were given to her, and to thank her for her care over the past few years.
Kong Qing nodded and saw the mother and daughter to the door.
Just as they were about to walk out of the courtyard, Ye Wan suddenly stopped and turned back to look at Kong Qing.
Kong Qing had come to the village shortly after she gave birth to Sui Sui. He usually treated people’s illnesses and gathered herbs on the mountain, appearing no different from an ordinary doctor. If it hadn’t been for a time when a village child fell into the water and she saw Kong Qing use a spell to save him with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have known he was a cultivator.
What did this prove? It proved the other party’s cultivation was higher than hers and that he had hidden it. He might be a hidden powerhouse. He could casually pull out sword energy balls from a Spirit Transformation sword cultivator, so his own cultivation might even be above that level. For various reasons, he had returned to the secular world to experience the common life.
This was a classic protagonist encounter found in novels. Ye Wan, who suspected she was the biological daughter of the Heavenly Dao, felt it would be a regret if she didn’t dish out a wave of “chicken soup” for the soul.
“Ahem, Doctor Kong, although I don’t know why you came here, I want to say: even if you’ve failed ninety-nine times, you should try once more, just to make it a round number.”
Kong Qing looked up, his eyes showing confusion.
“The mountains are high and the waters are long; why fear that it’s too late, why worry that you won’t arrive? Let heaven follow its course, let the earth follow its nature, let people follow the changes; everything is just right.”
Kong Qing: ?
Ye Wan: “…”
Her face was turning red. Wasn’t it said that a single word from a protagonist could trigger an epiphany in others?
“Um, everything of yesterday died yesterday, and everything of today is born today. As long as you’re still alive, practice like your life depends on it. Every second spent being decadent is a disrespect to life.”
Kong Qing nodded. “You have ambition. I hope you can do it.”
Ye Wan: “…”
It must be that her chicken soup wasn’t brewed right!
Ye Wan’s eyes darted around as she continued her output. “Love is not a necessity of life. When there is no romance in the heart, cultivation naturally becomes divine.”
Kong Qing’s expression was beyond words.
“Life isn’t just about the immediate struggle, there’s also your ex-lover’s harvest of both love and career. Stop being depressed, get competitive! Ninety-nine this year, eighteen next year. A girl isn’t after your wrinkled face, but your deadly waist!”
Wait, wait, wait! He closed his eyes! He closed his eyes, is he about to have an epiphany?
Sui Sui gently tugged at her mother’s hem. “Mommy, why did Grandpa Kong suddenly close his eyes to sleep?”
“Shh! Your Grandpa Kong is having an epiphany.”
Just as she finished speaking, Kong Qing opened his eyes, catching Ye Wan off guard.
“Is an epiphany that short? Doctor Kong, did you realize it?”
Kong Qing was speechless for a long while. “I realized… that you are sick.”
Ye Wan: “…”
Ye Wan looked at the sky. She really wasn’t destined to be a protagonist.
“Forget it. If there’s a chance in the future, I will repay you by being generous with my sect’s resources.” After saying that, Ye Wan picked up Sui Sui and left. Even a true warrior wouldn’t dare face such awkwardness head-on.
The corners of Kong Qing’s mouth twitched. Having her was truly the “blessing” of the Wanyan Sect.
…
The mother and daughter quietly left this peaceful and harmonious small mountain village, just as they had arrived four years ago—without warning they came, and without warning they departed.
From the original owner’s memories, Ye Wan knew there were various sect outposts in Fengyang City, which sat at the border between the secular world and the cultivation world.
The sects established outposts in the border city to maintain the boundary, prevent cultivators from harming mortals in the secular world, receive disciples recruited from the secular world, and make it convenient for disciples out on trials to seek help.
Ye Wan chose a reliable merchant caravan and hired a carriage to follow behind them. After traveling for two days and one night, they arrived at Fengyang City without any mishaps.
Entering Fengyang City and seeing the crowded streets, Ye Wan remembered that these few days were the final deadline for the once-in-a-decade disciple recruitment. No wonder she saw so many groups traveling to and from Fengyang City on the road.
“Wow! Mommy, look, a bird that can talk!”
“Mommy, that kitty can dance!”
From the moment she entered Fengyang City, it was as if a door to a new world had opened for Sui Sui. She kept exclaiming, her eyes unable to take everything in.
This place was even more fun than the provincial capital her mother had taken her to!
“We’ll find a place to stay first, and then Mommy will take you out to walk the streets.”
“Okay, Mommy! I want to eat candied haws later.”
“Then remember to remind Mommy to buy them for you.”
Fengyang City wasn’t very large, and the sect outposts were easy to find.
For the past two days, Ye Wan had been constantly digging through the original owner’s memories to cram knowledge of the cultivation world.
This was a cultivation world called the Qianyuan Realm, with four sects and two gates: the Wanyan Sect, the Taiyi Sect, the Wanjian Sect, the Danxia Sect, the Liaoyin Gate, and the Huanxi Gate.
Once, the Wanyan Sect was the number one sect. Later, after a great catastrophe, the sect’s vitality was severely damaged, and since then, its ranking dropped from first to last.
To put it bluntly, in the current disciple recruitment assembly, if there were only the Wanyan Sect and the Huanxi Gate to choose from, people would rather choose the Huanxi Gate.
It was evident that in the eyes of others, the Wanyan Sect was going downhill day by day. The swaying, dilapidated door frame in front of her was proof of that.
Ye Wan held Sui Sui’s hand and stood before a shabby little building. The front of the door was so desolate that even fallen leaves didn’t want to stay.
This was the Wanyan Sect outpost. While there were people queuing up to test their spiritual roots in front of other sect buildings, there wasn’t even an ant at the Wanyan Sect.
The person in charge of disciple registration nearby leaned lazily in a circular chair, arms crossed, eyes closed as he rested.
An amiable-looking manager came out from inside to greet them, a warm smile plastered on his face.
“You must be here to join the Wanyan Sect, right? You truly have a discerning eye!”
The manager swept a glance over Ye Wan—sixth level of Qi Refining, likely a rogue cultivator. When he saw the child Ye Wan was holding, his eyes brightened even more.
“This little girl isn’t even five yet, right? No matter, no matter. Take her back to the sect together, and when she turns five, we can test her spiritual roots.”
Others might dislike this woman for bringing a family along, but the Wanyan Sect didn’t mind. This was a “buy one, get one free” deal. If it weren’t for the fact that she was bringing a child, it wouldn’t even be the Wanyan Sect’s turn to get her.
“Senior Brother Qin, hurry and register them.” The manager, afraid the “cooked duck” would fly away, quickly shook the man awake.
Qin Zixun was dreaming of earning a million spirit stones a day when he was suddenly interrupted, putting him in a bad mood.
He pulled out a spiritual testing plate and placed it on the table. “Put your hand on it.”
Ye Wan looked at this man with a rather bad temper.
In the sect, someone with the surname Qin who could make a Foundation Establishment stage outpost manager respectfully call him “Senior Brother” was likely only the Sect Master’s son, Qin Zixun.
In stereotyped impressions, as the Eldest Senior Brother of a sect, one should be labeled with words like steady, hardworking, humble, polite, and capable of holding one’s own. Being cynical and neglecting one’s duties was not the image a sect role model should have.
Although this Qin Zixun was the Eldest Senior Brother, he didn’t like to cultivate and only wanted to earn spirit stones. Could the Sect Master allow this? Of course not. That was probably why he had been banished to this place.
Ye Wan pulled out the sect token that proved the original owner’s identity. “I wanted to say that I am an outer disciple of the Wanyan Sect.”
Qin Zixun and the manager: “…”
The manager had a look of pained regret, as if he really saw a cooked duck flying away.
Qin Zixun looked up at Ye Wan. The cultivation world was not lacking in handsome men and beautiful women, but Ye Wan’s bright appearance coupled with her lazy and casual temperament made her stand out.
His gaze moved down, and when he saw the fair and obedient little ball of a child, his eyes lit up.
This child was simply too good-looking, delicate as if carved from pink jade. Her cheeks were chubby, and her eyes were sparkling; looking at her made one’s heart soften.
The tiny person wore a green and white front-buttoned skirt, with a small woven cloth bag slung across her body. Her hair was styled into two small flower buds wrapped with woven green vines, making her look exactly like a little forest flower spirit that had just taken human form.
One might say that children in the cultivation world didn’t lack spiritual energy, but this child looked as if she had been infused with it, making people like her at first sight.
Qin Zixun took the initiative to step forward and crouched down, his voice involuntarily becoming high-pitched and gentle. “Little one, how old are you? What’s your name?”
The manager was dumbfounded. Was this still the same Senior Brother Qin who criticized heaven, earth, and the air itself?
Since Senior Brother Qin was sent here to recruit disciples, he hadn’t had a single good expression. If a dog had walked past him, he probably would have wanted to give it a kick.
“My name is Sui Sui, and I’m ten years old this year!” Sui Sui spread out ten fingers, her voice milky and crisp.
Qin Zixun couldn’t help but wonder if he had seen wrongly. Was this child sure she was ten?
“Sui Sui.” Ye Wan’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was powerful.
Sui Sui fidgeted with her fingers. “Sorry, big brother, I lied. Sui Sui is a little over three, but I’ll be ten very soon!”
Qin Zixun couldn’t resist pinching her little face. “Then tell big brother, why do you want to grow to ten so fast?”
“Because Mommy always tells Sui Sui that I’ll know when I grow up. I have so, so many questions I want to know, so I have to grow up fast.”
Qin Zixun arched an eyebrow. “What does Sui Sui want to know?”
Sui Sui tilted her little head and looked toward the sky. “I want to know why other people’s daddies are all on the ground, but my daddy is in the sky.”