Chapter 393: Bewildering and Unsolvable

It was actually Tumi Xianzi; this truly exceeded Lingxiang's expectations.

Could it be that she is not yet dead? Could all of this be nothing but a dream?

But if she were not yet dead, she would be nothing more than a wisp of divine sense, a phantom to begin with? Where, then, would a dream come from?

"Mother... Mother..."

Lingxiang tried to call out to Tumi, but Tumi did not react at all, only smiling as she picked up the little girl.

Wait!

Could this little girl be herself when she was young?

Lingxiang frowned and studied her for a long time, arriving at a conclusion that left her extremely disappointed.

Tsk! Cute enough, but lacking in looks...

To talk about looks for a two-year-old girl was truly a bit excessive, but Lingxiang had been brooding over the fact that Long Qi had criticized her appearance, so she had deliberately paid attention to where her younger self had grown crooked.

In fact, Lingxiang was not ugly; it was just that she rarely groomed herself, wearing coarse cloth robes and a simple wooden hairpin in a bun, leaving it at that.

Of course, she was just a child, not yet fully grown, so naturally, one could not tell much.

Moreover, with Tumi Xianzi by her side, Lingxiang was naturally much less impressive.

She had often heard people talk about Tumi Xianzi's immortal bearing, but seeing her today, Lingxiang did not feel much.

Her mother was naturally beautiful, but to say things like "only found in the heavens" was a bit much.

In Lingxiang's view, this was her mother, and she was just her mother.

But why? What exactly had happened? And where was she herself right now?

Lingxiang was completely baffled, and just then, the curtain was pulled open again, and two boys, one large and one small, crawled out.

The smaller boy's outer garment looked as if it had just been put on; his little hands were fiddling with the collar and cuffs unnaturally, his face full of unhappiness.

Tch! Such a little sour face! As if someone owed him hundreds of taels!

Lingxiang curled her lip and snorted through her nose.

Just then, a nervous-looking man stood up, bowed to Tumi, and spoke with extreme humility: "Fairy, my son, he..."

Tumi Xianzi, who had just picked up little Lingxiang and teased her, smiled: "No matter, no matter. Although there is slight danger, fortunately, there are noble people, and one can always turn misfortune into a blessing."

The man let out a long sigh of relief, then asked again: "As for that so-called 'great mission,' does the Fairy have any leads?"

Tumi Xianzi sat down holding little Lingxiang and pondered for a moment before replying: "All of you family heads are considered people who cultivate the Dao; do you not know the principle that 'fate is determined by one's parents, but the Dao is one's own responsibility'?"

Hearing this, Lingxiang deeply agreed.

Lingxiang never believed in "fate is determined by Heaven," and even less in "bad luck" or such things; in the vast world there are vast ways to live, if one path is blocked there is always another, and so-called "being born at the wrong time" is merely a dead end chosen by those who are stubborn.

The Heavenly Dao certainly has its say, but it cannot be an excuse for anyone.

Tumi Xianzi stopped at that and said no more, and apart from the little boy's father, the other two men also fell into deep thought.

And Lingxiang realized something at this moment.

"All of you family heads"?

What? All three of them are family heads?

Lingxiang looked at the so-called family heads in Tumi Xianzi's mouth—one old, one in his prime, and one still quite young—and could not help but fall into deep thought.

Could it be...

While she was thinking, the little boy took two pine cones out of his bosom and held them up to Tumi Xianzi with a serious face.

"Here!" The little boy frowned, looking displeased.

Seeing this, Tumi Xianzi smiled, let go of little Lingxiang, and bent down.

"For me?"

The little boy shook his head and gestured with the pine cones toward little Lingxiang.

"Don't lose them again, and don't run into Mother's arms to cry, how shameful!"

It turned out that when the little boy came out and saw little Lingxiang, he thought she had lost her toy and was unhappy, so he had followed her, and thus he had hurriedly returned the pine cones.

Seeing this, the boy's father hurriedly scolded: "Xiao Qi, do not be rude!"

Although it was a scolding, the voice was not loud, sounding more like doting.

And Tumi Xianzi also waved her hand: "What is Family Head Long saying? Your son is still an unpolished gem, how would he understand these things? Why be so harsh?"

The boy's father smiled to smooth things over, but Lingxiang clicked her tongue in wonder—

This little brat was actually Long Qi?

Good heavens! No wonder he spoke so provokingly! Just looking at him made her hands itch.

Not only her hands, but her teeth were itching even more!

But what could she do? She couldn't hit him!

Lingxiang clenched her fists, no longer thinking about why she was here, only thinking that if she could see Long Qi in the future, she would definitely have to give him a good lesson.

While feeling resentful, she happened to catch a glimpse of the slightly older boy on the side, who was acting like a little adult and pretending to be serious—Lingxiang then realized that this child must be Long Wu.

Come to think of it, Lingxiang and Long Wu had met once before; that was when Long Qi had just moved into Youran Abode.

Long Qi had been shamelessly clinging to Youran Abode at that time, and Lingxiang couldn't just have no guard up, could she?

At that time, she always saw Long Qi looking dejected while holding the Panlong Jade, and feeling there must be a reason for it, she took advantage of sending Long Qi out to buy supplies to secretly take the ancient jade and perform a soul-summoning technique.

With Lingxiang's cultivation, she could not perform high-level soul-summoning, but she could summon the last soul that had held the jade and had not yet entered Reincarnation, which was Long Wu.

It was precisely at that time that Lingxiang learned of the Long Family's plight, and after investigating further to confirm that this matter was related to Tumi Xianzi, she made up her mind to temper Long Qi.

However, the Long Wu she saw back then was in his miserable state before death, which was far from the graceful youth now, so she only felt he looked familiar but did not recognize him.

Tsk! Since they are blood brothers born of the same father and mother, why is the difference so great?

Lingxiang glanced at little Long Qi with disdain, then turned her head to look at the three men.

If she guessed correctly, these three were the heads of the Long, Lu, and Qiao families; she never expected that these three had met her mother so early, but why couldn't she remember such an event?

Could it be because she was too young? After all, when Yuanqing met with disaster, she was only a little over two years old, and she had heard of many things from those disciples in the sect.

Of course, it inevitably involved using some methods of coercion and inducement.

This was not important; the key was that Long Qi looked to be about four years old at this time, an age when he should be able to remember things, so why did he not recognize her when they met?

Even if he had changed too much after growing up, he should still have had some impression!

While she was puzzled, she saw Tumi Xianzi squat down in front of little Long Qi and smile as she tapped his nose.

"So, you have met before?"

Little Long Qi nodded, then shook his head.

If one were to say they had met, they indeed had, but it was only him seeing her, while she had never seen him.

Father had said that one must be rigorous in their studies, so strictly speaking, it did not count as having met.

Seeing little Long Qi's conflicted expression, Tumi Xianzi smiled and carried little Lingxiang in front of little Long Qi.

"My young lady is named Lingxiang; can the little young master remember that?"

Long Qi stared earnestly at little Lingxiang, who was also blinking her eyes at him, and only after a long while did he nod.

"I have remembered it."

"Is that so?" Tumi Xianzi formed a hand seal and pressed it against little Long Qi's brow: "Then you must protect her well in the future!"

As soon as her voice fell, a flash of spiritual light appeared on Long Qi's brow, and he immediately fell asleep in Tumi Xianzi's arms.

It was actually the Heart Imprisonment Seal!

The Heart Imprisonment Seal was a type of Witchcraft that could lock a matter deep within a person's memory, and this type of Witchcraft was something Lingxiang had only seen in books in the Langhuan Pavilion, never in person; after all, without a certain level of cultivation, this Witchcraft could not be cast at all.

No wonder Long Qi did not remember her; so that was why, but why? Why would Mother do this?

"What is the meaning of this, Fairy?"

Long Feiyu, concerned for his youngest son, hurried forward, but Tumi Xianzi waved her hand and looked toward the inner room.

Following Tumi Xianzi's gaze, through the gap in the curtains, one could vaguely see someone seemingly asleep on the canopy bed behind the screen.

Lingxiang was suddenly astonished—

Who is this person?