Chapter 118: Mother and Daughter

Tang Lingwumin’s villa seemed to be only three stories, and the interior was far from luxurious—even somewhat outdated.

“This is my grandfather’s old house…” Tang Lingwumin whispered: “My father doesn’t live here; he’s in the provincial capital.”

“What about your mother?”

“The doctor said it’s better for her to stay in a familiar environment.”

Zheng Fa had long been puzzled: even ignoring Tang Lingwumin’s academic record, her family background didn’t seem to fit with attending Qing Shui High School.

Now he realized, it was probably to be near her mother that she’d stayed here all along.

On the first floor, a woman resembling a housekeeper was cleaning, moving with such quiet steps that not a sound was made.

The house was so silent it felt uninhabited; the footsteps of the three visitors echoed hollowly through its vast emptiness.

“My mother is resting upstairs,” Tang Lingwumin led the three up the stairs: “She can’t sleep at night, so she naps almost all day.”

On the second floor, Zheng Fa saw Tang Lingwumin’s mother.

Before arriving, Zheng Fa had expected Tang Lingwumin’s mother to look unwell.

After all, according to Tang Lingwumin’s description, her mother suffered from hysteria, suffered from insomnia, and had a strong need for control.

In Zheng Fa’s mind, such a person, though not disheveled or mad, would surely appear listless and drained.

But she wasn’t—

Tang Lingwumin’s mother lay on a sofa nearly flattened by her weight, draped in a wide, soft bath towel.

Thin trails of incense smoke curled upward from the coffee table, filling the room with a soothing fragrance.

A delicate young woman, around twenty, crouched at the far end of the sofa, gently massaging her face and scalp.

As if hearing the footsteps of Zheng Fa and the others, Tang Lingwumin’s mother sat up slightly; the towel slipped from her shoulders, revealing a strapless long dress beneath.

Her facial features resembled Tang Lingwumin’s by eighty percent, only with a more mature, graceful figure.

At first glance, she even looked better than Tang Lingwumin had the night before—her complexion was clear and flushed, her posture languid, almost vibrant.

Not just Zheng Fa—even Tang Lingwumin was stunned, staring blankly at her mother.

Tang Lingwumin’s mother rose to her feet, first extending her hand to the old white-haired man: “Teacher Bai, thank you for taking care of Xiao Wu.”

The old man lightly shook her hand twice.

She then gave Zheng Fa a slight nod, offering no handshake, but speaking warmly: “You must be Student Zheng. I’m Ye. Call me Sister Ye.”

Zheng Fa froze, turning to Tang Lingwumin beside him: “Sister… Ye?”

“Call her Auntie Ye!” Tang Lingwumin protested, her status suddenly lowered a generation: “Mom, he’s here to treat you—do you really have to be like this?”

“How am I being?” Sister Ye rolled her eyes, muttering: “I’m having a massage, doing a spa, adjusting my state before meeting guests—what’s wrong with that?”

“….”

Zheng Fa glanced at Teacher Bai, feeling this Sister Ye was far more lively than he’d imagined.

But upon closer inspection, he noticed her condition wasn’t as good as it appeared.

Her flushed complexion seemed painted; her languid posture hid her sluggishness, and her right hand occasionally trembled slightly, as if suffering from nervous weakness.

Sister Ye turned to Teacher Bai: “Teacher Bai, look—I really don’t have any serious problem… Xiao Wu is just overreacting.”

Zheng Fa was stunned, finally understanding Sister Ye’s mindset.

On one hand, she likely still lacked confidence in herself… inviting him here was probably only out of respect for Teacher Bai’s reputation.

On the other, she probably also suffered from medical avoidance.

“Mom! Didn’t you promise me?” Tang Lingwumin, seeing her mother’s flip-flopping, spoke with rising anger.

“Look, I’m feeling much better today!”

“Every time we go to the hospital, you refuse to go—I have to force you!” Tang Lingwumin’s anger was genuine: “Now I’ve brought someone to help you, and you’re doing this again?”

“….”

Sister Ye fell silent.

Zheng Fa looked from Tang Lingwumin to Sister Ye.

He couldn’t help but feel that, between these two, Tang Lingwumin was the one doing the worrying.

Sister Ye seemed aware she was in the wrong. She sat on the sofa, silent for a long while, then spoke: “It’s useless…”

“Mom, you—”

“What experts haven’t I seen, domestic and foreign? I’ve taken medicine like meals, and it’s never helped—before, I could sleep two hours at night; now, I open my eyes and it’s already morning.” Sister Ye said: “Xiao Wu, I know you care about me. All these years, you’ve been the one taking care of me.”

Teacher Bai opened his mouth to speak.

“Teacher Bai, I believe in your good intentions, but I know you don’t have this illness—certainly not mine.”

“….”

“Don’t ask your student to treat me, and don’t force me to go to the hospital anymore,” Sister Ye suddenly said: “I already contacted a hospital overseas this morning. I’ve booked my flight for tomorrow, and I’ll be admitted the day after. Since you don’t have to take the college entrance exam anyway, your father will come to pick you up and take you to the provincial capital.”

Sister Ye seemed to have given up controlling her daughter, yet Tang Lingwumin still appeared determined to leave.

“I know I have problems, and I try to restrain myself, but being with you, I sometimes just can’t help it—I overthink, I push you to do this, to do that.” Sister Ye whispered to Tang Lingwumin: “Just remember to visit me from now on.”

Tang Lingwumin stared blankly, then suddenly asked: “Then why are you like this today…”

“I want my daughter to remember what her mother looked like at her best.”

Zheng Fa fell silent.

In Sister Ye’s eyes, Tang Lingwumin’s belief in this treatment was probably desperation—she was clutching at straws, dragging Teacher Bai into the charade.

She didn’t believe Zheng Fa, nor did she believe Tang Lingwumin—but Tang Lingwumin’s frantic desperation made her feel her daughter’s helplessness, and finally, she decided to lock herself away, so as not to ruin her daughter’s life.

“Since you’ve come today, enjoy yourselves at our home,” Sister Ye, seeing her daughter’s silence, smiled: “I asked the housekeeper to prepare a few dishes—let’s eat together, as a farewell.”

“Mom, just try it!” Tang Lingwumin pleaded softly.

Sister Ye glanced at her daughter, looking slightly resigned: “Fine, I’ll try. How do I do it?”

There was no hint of hope on her face.

After escorting the others out, only Tang Lingwumin, her mother, Zheng Fa, and Teacher Bai remained on the second floor.

“Sister Ye, just sit on the sofa, close your eyes… I’ll just give you a gentle massage.”

Zheng Fa had no intention of revealing his cultivation to outsiders.

Tang Lingwumin seemed to understand, saying only that Zheng Fa knew some traditional Chinese medicine techniques, using acupressure on the scalp to treat illness.

Sister Ye nodded, turning her back to Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa could see her muscles, from neck to back, were rigid, as if tense.

Especially when his hand touched her head, her whole body jolted.

Clearly uncomfortable.

Zheng Fa pretended to massage her for a moment; inside his dantian, the Calming Talisman trembled slightly, its inscription flowing from his fingertips into the back of Sister Ye’s skull.

Her head grew heavy in his hands; a moment later, she was asleep.

They gently laid her back on the sofa and waited nearby.

After about ten minutes, Sister Ye finally woke.

Her expression was dazed, as if unsure of time or place, yet a faint smile lingered on her lips.

“Mom? How do you feel?”

Sister Ye looked up at the ceiling, then at her daughter.

Tang Lingwumin was smiling at her.

Sister Ye suddenly turned her head, staring at Zheng Fa’s hands as if they were priceless treasures.

“Student Zheng… could you massage me again?”

She pleaded with him like an addict craving a fix.

“Mom… you’ve changed too fast!” Tang Lingwumin looked utterly exasperated.

When her mother refused Zheng Fa’s treatment, she’d only felt helpless.

Now, this sudden over-trust in him…

She felt embarrassed.

“Sister Ye, this treatment doesn’t need to be done too often,” Zheng Fa shook his head.

The Calming Talisman only needs to be applied once a week to gradually nourish; more won’t help.

Sister Ye blinked, then suddenly stood up and walked into the room.

When she returned, she held a bank card, slapping it onto the coffee table.

Zheng Fa looked at the bank card.

Then at Tang Lingwumin and Sister Ye.

He could only think: you two really are mother and daughter—your extravagant gestures are identical!

“How much did Xiao Wu give you?” Sister Ye, as if reading his thoughts, said: “That’s just pocket money.”

Zheng Fa: … Our definitions of “pocket money” clearly differ.

“It’s not about money—it really only needs to be once a week. More isn’t necessary,” he thought for a moment, then shook his head again.

Hearing this, Sister Ye looked deeply at Zheng Fa, then suddenly asked: “Could I ask you to come once a week?”

“Mom? You’re not going abroad?” Tang Lingwumin exclaimed in delight.

“Not going!” Sister Ye smiled: “That nap was the best sleep I’ve had in ten years—I feel like my brain just had a spa. I’ve never felt this good after any hospital treatment!”

Zheng Fa said nothing, as if thinking.

“Student Zheng, if you think the money’s not enough, we can negotiate!” Sister Ye urged.

Looking at Tang Lingwumin’s anxious face, Zheng Fa nodded gently: “I’ll come again next week—but you must go for a medical checkup first, to confirm if it’s truly effective.”

In a way, Sister Ye was also his experiment—he still wanted to see if the Calming Talisman truly worked in the modern world.

"Good! Good! I'll go to the hospital for a checkup."

Aunt Ye nodded obediently.

She didn’t look at all like the person Tang Lingwumin described as refusing to go to the hospital.

Zheng Fa thought for a moment and said, "Shall we wait until after your checkup results come in before discussing the payment?"

…

Aunt Ye, with Tang Lingwumin, saw Zheng Fa and the old white-haired man off into the car.

Watching the receding taillights, Aunt Ye suddenly let out a soft sigh.

Tang Lingwumin gazed at her mother, puzzled.

"Remember this: get along well with Zheng Fa. He’s also getting tutoring from Old White, right? Then you should go more often too—classes you can skip, but you can’t skip seeing him."

"Mom?" Tang Lingwumin blinked.

"Do you know why I didn’t go abroad?"

"Zheng Fa’s massage is amazing."

"Massage…" Aunt Ye gave her daughter a sidelong glance and snorted. "Fine, call it massage if you want. But remember—business and life follow the same rule: the most important thing is finding the right person. Once you find them, spare no cost."

"…"

"Meeting someone like him is a stroke of immense luck. If I went abroad, you’d have to move to the provincial capital… wouldn’t that be a waste?"

Tang Lingwumin widened her eyes.

"I wonder what Zheng Fa likes—money? A house?" Aunt Ye muttered, then looked at her daughter with a faint air of disappointment, her expression tinged with the old bias against daughters: "Too bad—he doesn’t like women."

Tang Lingwumin: … Mom, aren’t you being a bit extreme? Just now you didn’t believe anything, and now you believe everything?

…

In the Xuanwei Realm, at Zhang Shijie’s home.

Zheng Fa had been summoned by Zhang Shijie, who told him: "Master Pang says he no longer wants the 'Fu Dao Foundation Establishment Method.'"

"Huh?"

"He wants you," Zhang Shijie said, frowning.

Zheng Fa’s expression slowly changed: "…Does Master Pang have some unusual preference?"