Chapter 142: 142. Chapter 142

142. Chapter 142

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However, there was no time left for them to ponder. Shortly after the servant announced the visitor, a youth of seventeen or eighteen years old strode in. He was dressed in a moon-white robe, with a long sword mark embroidered in blue silk at the hem. On his back was a thick, heavy sword nearly as tall as a person, and his long hair, tied back with a ribbon, swayed with his steps, the tips brushing against the sword hilt.

The standard attire of a Beihai Sword Sect disciple.

The person who arrived was, of course, not Bai Xinli. Although the person before them had thick eyebrows and large eyes and could certainly be considered a handsome youth, if Bai Xinli looked like this now, Atian could only assume he had grown up poorly.

Sure enough, the moment the youth spoke, he confirmed her suspicion: "Which one is Bai Tian of the Bai family?"

Atian did not move. Lady Bai took a step forward, "May I ask, Immortal Elder, what business you have with Atian?"

"You are Bai Tian?" The youth looked shocked, as if struck by lightning, and he couldn't help but take a step back, "You're... way too old..."

Perhaps his reaction was too blunt; Master Bai couldn't hold it in and let out a "pfft" of laughter.

Lady Bai glared at him and replied irritably, "I am Atian's mother."

Whatever awe for the Immortal Elder or fear of the unusual had vanished along with the youth's dense behavior.

"Oh, oh, oh!" The visitor touched his chest, "Thank goodness, thank goodness, you scared me to death."

Atian felt that Lady Bai probably wanted to tear him apart right now.

Perhaps self-aware of his own lack of tact, the youth touched his head in embarrassment after realizing his mistake. He then straightened his expression and introduced himself: "I am Zhao Kuo of the Beihai Sword Sect. By order of my sect, I have come to take Bai Tian of the Bai family to attend the Ascension Ceremony."

Atian's first reaction upon hearing this was that the other party had found the wrong person. She subconsciously looked at Master Bai and Lady Bai, only to see them also looking suspicious and uncertain.

In the end, it was Master Bai who stepped forward.

"This Immortal Elder Zhao," he bowed, "My daughter is indeed named Atian, but she has never had any connection with the Xiuxianmen. Could it be... a mistake?"

"No mistake," Zhao Kuo asked in return, "The Bai family's silk shop south of the city in Guangkai Town, Qixia Kingdom—isn't that your home?"

So, there was no mistake.

"Fifteen years ago, you took a young girl from the North Sea and named her Tian," Zhao Kuo continued, "My master observed the stars at night and calculated that a piece of raw jade had fallen into the mortal world and had a connection with our Xiuxianmen. He specifically ordered me to bring her back during the Ascension Ceremony. That is your daughter."

Setting aside the fact that Atian's true identity was a child bride rather than a daughter, his statement was entirely accurate to the facts, leaving no room for doubt.

But in reality, Zhao Kuo's palms were sweating from nervousness, and his heart was thumping. Only he knew that the above was eighty percent nonsense—everyone in the Beihai Sword Sect, from top to bottom, only knew how to wield swords. They got dizzy just looking at an Eight Trigrams diagram, let alone observing the stars at night!

As a Sword Cultivator known for his uprightness, he rarely lied, but sometimes, for the sake of the sect's reputation, he had to compromise a little.

"Of course, I understand that empty words carry no weight. To prove my identity, Senior Brother Bai Xinli specially wrote a letter." Zhao Kuo took out an envelope from his chest. He didn't use his hands; with a light tap, the letter flew out of the envelope and stopped in front of Master Bai.

This was indeed the method of an Immortal.

Master Bai tremblingly took the letter. Bai Xinli had been five years old when he left home and had already undergone Enlightenment. Although the handwriting on the letter was unfamiliar, one could vaguely see the traces of his childhood. It even mentioned one or two small things that only the Bai couple would know, causing Master Bai to nearly shed tears of an old man.

Furthermore, the fact that Bai Xinli was a disciple of the Beihai Sword Sect had never been publicized. Even old neighbors didn't clearly remember that the Bai family once had a son. Apart from the few remaining servants and the Beihai Sword Sect, outsiders knew nothing of this matter.

Since Zhao Kuo's identity was proven, the Bai family naturally had no more doubts about his claims.

However, there was one thing Zhao Kuo truly hadn't lied about: his appearance here was entirely due to a sect order. It wasn't because of any so-called divination, but because the Beihai Sword Sect's Senior Brother, Bai Xinli—hailed as "the person of the younger generation closest to the Heavenly Dao"—had submitted a request for family leave.

The content of the request was simple: first, he stated that he had been away from home for fifteen years and missed his parents dearly; then, he mentioned that he still had a child bride, and if he didn't go back to see her, the cooked duck would likely fly away.

The entire request was reasonable and logical, without a single flaw. It was no different from anyone else's reason for family leave and should have been readily approved, but the problem was that the applicant was Bai Xinli.

Bai Xinli's Sword Heart was very special. Influenced by his Sword Heart, his daily demeanor was one of having no desires or cravings. Therefore, his request immediately put the entire upper echelon of the Beihai Sword Sect on high alert, fearing that he had gone astray in his cultivation.

Yet, the person who caused such an uproar appeared completely normal, leaving people unable to fathom his intentions. In the end, the Sect Master made the final decision to satisfy the request first while observing him closely, though all of this had to happen under his own watchful eye.

The Sect Master could not leave the sect, so naturally, he could only have the person brought over.

The Bai parents had always been under the protection of the sect, so meeting them was not difficult. The difficulty lay in the fact that Bai Xinli's request emphasized his worry about the "cooked duck flying away."

He, Bai Xinli, was already cultivating immortality, yet the girl was still a mortal! Their Beihai Sword Sect couldn't possibly stop her from marrying someone else! This was definitely a sign that his cultivation had gone astray!

Whether Bai Xinli had gone astray, Zhao Kuo did not know. He only knew that after the Sect Master personally spoke with Senior Brother Bai, the bitter task of bringing Senior Brother's child bride to the sect fell upon him.

Picking someone up wasn't bitter; the bitterness lay in having to lie. But if he told the truth, what would happen to the reputation of the Beihai Sword Sect? The miserable Zhao Kuo could only compromise his conscience according to the pre-arranged script.

It just so happened that this was his first time in Guangkai Town, and there was more than one family named Bai in town, which led to this "returning spear" blunder.

The Bai family naturally did not know the hidden story behind this and only thought that Atian had a deep affinity for immortality.

"When I picked you up by the North Sea all those years ago, I should have expected this day," Master Bai sighed to Atian, slapping his thigh. Beside him, Lady Bai cried and laughed at the same time—crying because she was about to lose a daughter, and laughing because Atian finally had the chance to embark on a completely different life. As for Atian herself, she was left dizzy by this pie falling from the sky.

After all, who wouldn't want to become an immortal?

Zhao Kuo looked at the happy family of three and suddenly felt he was guilty of a heinous crime. Before passing through the Sword Washing Pool, no one knew if this child bride of Senior Brother Bai had any aptitude for cultivation. He was currently painting a big picture for them that might not necessarily satisfy their hunger.

Although it was said that as long as one entered the Beihai Sword Sect, even a mortal could prolong their life, Zhao Kuo himself had come from being a mortal. He knew his own situation well: once one entered the world of cultivation and saw its magnificence and vastness, no one could ever be content with a simple life again.

He could only hope that this Miss Bai Tian truly had an affinity for immortality.

Zhao Kuo had also gone up the mountain at a young age and was not very worldly. As he thought this, it naturally showed on his face. Atian happened to look up, saw that flash of guilt, blinked, but said nothing.

Given that Zhao Kuo stated the Ascension Ceremony was imminent and they had to depart immediately, Lady Bai wiped away her tears and personally packed a few new sets of clothes and other personal items for Atian. She and Master Bai held hands as they sent off the "daughter" they had raised for fifteen years. Only when they saw Atian disappear following Zhao Kuo did she collapse in tears into Master Bai's arms.

Atian, whose fate had been changed in the time it took to eat a meal, followed Zhao Kuo, walking at a leisurely pace. It was currently high noon, and the town streets were bustling with people, yet everyone turned a blind eye to the two of them. It was likely that Zhao Kuo had used other means.

"Miss Bai, once you head to the North Sea, it will be difficult to return in this lifetime. If there is anywhere else you would like to go, feel free to tell me," Zhao Kuo said, turning back to Atian.

Atian gave him a shy smile, "Immortal Elder, you joke. If I cannot pass the Ascension Ceremony, wouldn't I have to come back?"

Zhao Kuo thought to himself that this was a rigged operation; no one would fail if she didn't, but he could only swallow the truth, feeling as if his Sword Heart was about to transform into that of a "liar."

Seeing him remain silent, Atian gave another shy smile.

Zhao Kuo suddenly felt a chill down his back.

The two walked out of the town and arrived at the woods outside. Zhao Kuo could naturally fly on his sword, but a Sword Cultivator's Life-bound Sword would never be touched by a second person. The solution for this was to use a specialized Carrier Artifact.

Zhao Kuo took a large vegetable basket out of his sleeve and then pulled out a piece of hemp rope. Facing Atian's gaze, he smiled sheepishly, unslung the heavy sword from his back, and tied one end of the rope to the basket. Just as he was holding the other end to tie it to the sword tassel, he was kicked half a meter away by a sudden blow.

I... I was kicked down by a mortal?

Lying on the ground, Zhao Kuo couldn't recover for a long time, until a cold, clear female voice rang out.

"Immortal Elder Zhao, is this your friend's arrow?"

Hearing this, Zhao Kuo was startled and jumped up from the ground, only to be so frightened by the scene before him that he nearly fell again. He saw that at the spot where he had been standing, a golden arrow was being gripped tightly by a slender hand. The magical power surged on the arrow, emitting a crackling sound, yet it could not pierce through a layer of fair, crystalline skin.