Chapter 331: Meeting Like Old Friends, Recalling the Past

The mother in Lingxiang's memory, thinking back on it now, could truly not be considered a gentle woman.

Take the daily chores of lighting a fire and cooking, for instance. For an ordinary household, starting a fire and setting the stove requires going through the steps of preparing the kindling, igniting it, lighting the stove, and blowing on the flames; but Tumi was something else—she would simply say that cooking a meal was nothing more than lighting a fire, and could it really be harder than Spirit-Refining?

In the eyes of Tumi Xianzi, starting a stove and lighting a Pill Furnace were the same thing; it was merely a matter of sending fire into the furnace chamber, so she would naturally cast a Fire Character Formula toward the stove opening. This one Fire Formula was no small matter; in an instant, the entire kitchen was ablaze.

How could an ordinary earthen stove compare to a Pill Furnace?

Generally, a Pill Furnace capable of Spirit-Refining has at least some spirituality, and a Pill Furnace must be fed with fire and nurtured for a long time before it can be opened for Spirit-Refining, only then being able to withstand the Witchcraft of a Fire Formula. But an earthen stove is merely a furnace built from ordinary soil and stone; how could it possibly withstand the Witchcraft of a cultivation level like Tumi Xianzi's?

Moreover, Tumi Xianzi was accustomed to Spirit-Refining and casting spells in her daily life; how could she possibly gauge the proper measure when suddenly lighting a fire to cook a meal?

Therefore, in Lingxiang's memory, every time her mother cooked, nine times out of ten she would burn down half of the Xianyun Abode, and even on the one or two occasions that remained, it was because her father had personally gone into the kitchen to light the stove.

It was precisely because of this that, after several years, the buildings of the Xianyun Abode still appeared quite new.

However, even when she did not have to light the stove herself, the things she cooked were truly not worth complimenting. Thus, most of what Lingxiang ate since she was small came from the kitchens of Youyuan Hall.

Yet, Tumi Xianzi clearly lacked a clear understanding of her own craftsmanship; whenever she had free time, she would always happily run to the kitchen, tirelessly trying every method to cook up some incredible things.

Faced with such meals, Lingxiang could still be fooled when she was just learning to babble, but after she was half a year old, whenever she saw Tumi Xianzi bring out something, little Lingxiang would inevitably cry incessantly and refuse to open her mouth to eat.

Tumi Xianzi was naturally unconvinced, bluntly stating that the ordinary stove was not up to the task, and she even harbored the delusion of using the Linglong Treasure Cauldron to cook meals; it was only thanks to Sect Leader Lingxiao discovering it in time that Linglong was spared a disaster.

Sect Leader Lingxiao was also left with lingering fear; if he had really let Tumi Xianzi open the furnace to cook, who knows what might have happened!

There were even more extreme cases, such as grooming and dressing up.

Lingxiang only remembered one time when her mother excitedly brought a wooden box up from the foot of the mountain, mysteriously saying that it was full of treasures, and then left Lingxiang outside the house to play by herself.

At that time, Lingxiang had just learned to walk and was at an age full of curiosity; she was playing in the courtyard, babbling away, but before long she felt bored. Seeing that the courtyard gate was not closed, she excitedly ran out.

At that time, the mountain rocks of Qingwei Peak were sharp, and just outside the gate of the Xianyun Abode were steep stone steps, with a ten-thousand-foot cliff to the side; if little Lingxiang had lost her footing even once, she would have met her end in the Yellow Springs.

It was a coincidence that Sect Leader Lingxiao was returning from his studies and happened to see little Lingxiang, who was just learning to toddle, about to step off the stone steps. He was so startled that he used the seventh level of the Tayun Boots technique, the Cloud Step, just barely managing to catch little Lingxiang as she was about to fall face-first.

Sect Leader Lingxiao finally let out a sigh of relief, carried the overjoyed little Lingxiang into the courtyard, but was then startled by what followed.

It is said that Tumi Xianzi heard the commotion inside the house and rushed out, just in time to see the father and daughter entering the courtyard. But as soon as this pair saw her, their expressions, which had been full of joy, changed again and again.

As for why this father and daughter were like this, it was because they had seen Tumi Xianzi.

It turned out that the wooden box Tumi Xianzi had brought back was a vanity case she had won in a gamble at Shaoyin Ge at the foot of the mountain. Just hearing the name, one could tell what kind of place Shaoyin Ge was.

Tumi Xianzi had never dressed herself up before, and for some reason, she had a sudden whim to try it. This attempt was no small matter, resulting in a face full of gaudy colors.

Looking at Tumi Xianzi before him, whose face was more spectacular than a dye house, Sect Leader Lingxiao did not know whether he should laugh or whether he should laugh, his handsome face turning red from holding it in.

Compared to her father, Lingxiang was not so composed. First, her smile froze, then she was so shocked her little mouth went perfectly round, and then she began to shed golden beans, finally wailing out loud. While crying, she burrowed into her father's arms, all the while shouting: "Monster! Monster!"

Tumi Xianzi's laughable and tear-inducing incidents were truly too numerous to count, but no matter how unreliable she was, Lingxiang never felt that there was anything wrong with her mother.

By the time little Lingxiang grew a bit older, for some reason, the number of times her father returned home decreased significantly, and she could see him at most four or five days a month. However, this became little Lingxiang's anticipation; all day long, she would count on her chubby little fingers, looking forward to her father's arrival.

Time is like dust, the years fly by, and the days passed by just like that, one day after another.

Lingxiang vaguely remembered the last time she saw her father. At that time, her mother was combing his hair, and while combing, she was speaking softly to Lingxiang.

"Xiang'er, tell Mother, what do you want to do when you grow up?"

At that time, Lingxiang was only two years old. Staring at the two little buns just tied up in the bronze mirror, eating sour and sweet fruit, she thought for a moment, then answered vaguely but loudly:

"I want to be a Fairy!"

Tumi Xianzi was startled upon hearing this, and then burst into loud laughter.

"Xiang'er wants to be a Fairy, so why do you want to be a Fairy?"

Seeing her mother laugh, Lingxiang also laughed. The entire Xianyun Abode was filled with the laughter of mother and daughter, soft and mixed with childishness, like a faint fragrance in a clear breeze, making one intoxicated.

"Fairies are pretty, just like Mother, and they can summon rain and cast fire."

After laughing, Lingxiang replied in a milky voice. She truly felt that her mother was extremely beautiful; there could never be a more beautiful woman in the world.

Tumi Xianzi did not know the little girl's thoughts, but she heard the part about summoning rain and casting fire. She had quite a bit of self-awareness and only smiled to cover up the embarrassment on her face.

"If Xiang'er wants to be a Fairy, then be a Fairy, but don't learn from Mother to summon rain and cast fire; there isn't a shred of a lady's reserve in that."

Just then, a burst of loud laughter came from outside the house, and then Sect Leader Lingxiao stepped through the door, saying with great boldness:

"If Xiang'er wants to summon rain and cast fire, then feel free to do it; Daddy is here for everything. Whatever Xiang'er wants to do, just go and do it; even if it's wrong, Daddy can help you smooth it over!"

Tumi Xianzi glared at Lingxiao, saying only that he would spoil the child this way.

Lingxiao hurriedly stepped forward to hug his wife and daughter, laughing as he said: "My daughter, if I don't spoil her, who else can spoil her?"

Lingxiang remembered that at that time, she had clearly seen her father's appearance, but after so many years had passed, she could no longer remember it clearly; she only vaguely remembered that it was an extremely handsome set of features, such that even the immortals in heaven were likely no better.

And at this moment, as the mask fell, the man in golden-threaded black robes standing before her, with his cold and sharp aura, overlapped with that blur in her memory.

This man with gentle brows and eyes and a warm countenance, isn't he...

"You... who exactly are you!"