Chapter 80: 80. Chapter Eighty

80. Chapter Eighty

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She was no longer at the Bai Fu in Guangkai Town.

Unable to continue sleeping, Atian lifted the quilt and got out of bed, changed into the sect attire prepared the night before, washed up simply, and hesitated before a box of jewelry Lady Bai had prepared on the vanity, but ultimately shut the lid firmly.

She had not forgotten the one submerged at the bottom of the sea.

Applying a bit of lip rouge to her lips, Atian stood up and warmed herself up; the moon-white silk dress given by Guo Huai was soft and fit well, and she felt she could easily perform a roundhouse kick.

Once finished washing and dressing, she could head out.

She tentatively pushed open the door, and then she knew where the rumbling sound that had woken her up came from.

The Beihai Sword Sect had a total of one thousand three hundred and six people; excluding the five Elders including Sect Master Duan Xuan, there were one thousand three hundred and one disciples in total. Among these disciples, if one removed Bai Xinli, who was in seclusion year-round, and also deducted those out gaining experience, there were still several hundred living in this dormitory complex.

When Atian returned last night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, so naturally, she felt nothing, but as soon as dawn broke, the presence of these disciples became apparent.

Moon-white figures leaped down along the hill-like dormitory buildings, and amidst the overlapping sounds of footsteps, various greetings were mixed in—Senior Brother, Senior Sister, Junior Brother... titles and names rang out in a chorus, and occasionally a "Junior Uncle" was mixed in, as the first floor was, after all, Guo Huai's territory.

Atian could not leap as skillfully as they did and could only honestly walk down the steep stairs; this normal action appeared particularly unconventional among the leaping crowd and quickly attracted the attention of others.

"Who is that?"

"A newly arrived Junior Sister?"

"A newly arrived Junior Sister."

"A newly arrived Junior Sister?!"

This news instantly caused an uproar among the disciples; they all stopped what they were doing and turned their heads in unison to look at Atian, who was earnestly walking down the stairs. The latter stopped her steps unhurriedly, covered half her face with her sleeve, and smiled with her eyes curved, her gaze sparkling with brilliance.

"Does she... does she, does she eat people?"

The male disciples, already accustomed to being trampled upon and bullied by the Senior Sisters, gasped and immediately acted as if facing a great enemy, and then they were kicked off the dormitory building one by one by someone.

"Morning class time is almost here; do not waste time."

Amidst the wails of the disciples, a slender figure appeared in Atian's line of sight. The newcomer wore the same moon-white silk dress as her, her long black hair was coiled at the back of her head, and there was not a trace of makeup on her face. Her appearance was not particularly outstanding, yet she made one feel comfortable from the heart.

The woman walked up to Atian; her age could not be discerned from her appearance, but her temperament was very mature, at least enough to make a young girl like Atian feel inferior.

"This elder sister," she reached out and took the woman's hand, "I feel like I have seen you somewhere before."

"Of course you have; a few years ago I went to your residence to pay a visit," facing the flirtation from someone of the same sex, the woman smiled calmly, "I am Su Ying; you should have heard Senior Brother mention me."

The smile on Atian's face faded; Su Ying used one sentence to bring her back to late last night.

"See me?" Atian tilted her head, "What for?"

Bai Xinli paused, "I need your memory."

"Fifteen years ago, you and I, who had not yet stepped into the Xiuxianmen, had a moment of eye contact..."

Atian interrupted him, "That was only for an instant."

"An instant... is enough," Bai Xinli said with a firm tone, "Even if it was only one glance, that was still 'me'."

Pondering for a moment, Atian touched her chin, "... Then, what do you want me to do?"

To her, this did not constitute a multiple-choice question at all.

Regardless of the starting point, the Bai couple had earnestly raised her for fifteen years. Although the couple always stubbornly said that their son had long been gone, deep down, what they missed most was Bai Xinli, who had left fifteen years ago. This was human nature and could not be criticized.

As for her, she had already severed her worldly ties and entered the Xiuxianmen; it would not be unreasonable to repay the kindness of the Bai couple by extending it to their biological son.

And what about Bai Xinli? He said he would gift her an Immortal Path, and he had indeed done so. If he hadn't intervened, she would have spent her life in Guangkai Town drifting with the tide; perhaps she would have been envied by others, but that would only have been the happiness of a "mortal."

Bai Tian did not need that kind of happiness.

Therefore, she followed Zhao Kuo and left, leaving behind her foster parents and her mundane life, opening up new horizons. Even if what she saw and knew was only the tip of the iceberg of the cultivation world, it was still magnificent enough.

When she saw that Broken Sword piercing through the Floating Island, she knew she could not go back, nor did she want to.

And now, Bai Xinli was here proposing a trade—to exchange irrelevant memories for everything she yearned for.

This was an open scheme through and through, upright to the point of being somewhat cute.

Atian could find no reason to refuse his proposal.

Why should she refuse?

Bai Tian's life took a turn at the age of three and turned back at the age of eighteen; perhaps this was the karmic connection between her and the Heavenly Dao.

Seeing her agree, Bai Xinli should have felt happy, yet the young girl before him was wearing clothes soaked through with cold sweat, her face pale. His Adam's apple moved, but the words he finally spoke took a different turn.

"There is another person waiting outside the door; return to your room to rest tonight, and Junior Sister Su Ying will come to find you tomorrow morning."

The person waiting outside was naturally Song Zhicheng, and Atian waited with schadenfreude to see him make a fool of himself the next day.

Unexpectedly, before she could see Song Zhicheng make a fool of himself, the "Junior Sister Su Ying" mentioned by Bai Xinli came knocking first.

Although addressed as "Junior Sister" by Bai Xinli, Su Ying was much older than him, and her temperament was much more composed, quite different from the other boys and girls.

Su Ying's own explanation for this was: "It is shameful to say, but I am much older than Senior Brother, and I once followed the Master's orders to look after him for a period of time, only back then everyone still called him Junior Brother Bai."

Atian nodded in understanding; Bai Xinli was only five years old when he went up the mountain, just a child, and he might have been quite a handful; it would have been strange if no one had looked after him.

By now, the two of them had returned to Bai Tian's room, and Su Ying had even produced a set of tea utensils from somewhere, thoughtfully pouring a cup for Atian.

"Senior Brother entrusted this matter to me because this is something only I can do."

She said calmly, taking an amber-colored short sword from her bosom and placing it on the table.

"This sword is named 'White Colt', and it is my personal sword."

"White Colt? Is that the 'white colt flashing past a crack' White Colt?" Atian asked.

Su Ying nodded, "That's right. The Sword Heart I have realized is Time. The past between you and Senior Brother is actually hidden within the time you have experienced."

"I will capture that period of time and sever it from you," saying this, her expression became serious, "And you will only be left with a vague memory and will never be able to recall anything else. Have you thought it through?"

"To be honest, I can't remember much clearly even now," Atian answered sincerely, "I make eye contact with countless people every day; how could I possibly remember them all?"

"What you say makes so much sense... No, wait!" Su Ying changed her tone abruptly mid-sentence, and she slapped the table with her hand, "In that case! Then you should start practicing hard from today! I will supervise you!"

"Huh?" The other person's image had changed too quickly, and Atian didn't react for a moment.

"You are nothing but a mortal right now, Junior Sister Bai! If I strike with this Sword, you'll be done for!"

Su Ying stood up all of a sudden, her aggressive demeanor showing no trace of the gentle big sister she had been just a moment ago.

"The sect was already mentally prepared to throw spiritual medicine at you to force out a Foundation Establishment cultivator; your possession of a Sword Bone was a complete surprise, and it saved us a huge sum of money!"

The tone she used to say this was exactly the same as when Lady Bai discovered that a newly hired clerk only needed to be paid one string of coins per month, which instantly made Atian feel a sense of kinship.

"Although our Beihai Sword Sect isn't short on money, these big men are always spending lavishly; even a large household can't withstand such reckless spending! In this regard, Junior Sister Bai, you are truly a thoughtful little padded jacket!"

Atian's cheeks flushed from the praise, and she nodded with deep feeling; while Master Bai's ability to earn money was impressive, his talent for spending it was no less so, and many times she could only join forces with Lady Bai to block his heart, which was forever restless on the front lines of spending.

As the only person who resonated with her troubles, Bai Tian's shy little appearance made Su Ying beam with joy, feeling as though she had met a kindred spirit.

"Here! This is your class schedule; you must attend every single lesson." She took a piece of paper from her bosom and handed it to Atian.

"A class schedule?" The latter unfolded the paper in confusion. "Is this a Classroom?"

Upon hearing this, Su Ying revealed a desolate expression. "Junior Sister, you don't know, but our sect has few members; including the Sect Master and the Elders, there are only five of us in total, so we really aren't enough to go around."

"Because of this, the sect has abolished the one-on-one master-disciple system and specifically opened a Classroom, where the Elders and several senior martial brothers take turns teaching, and all disciples can attend lectures according to their own level."

"Take a piece of advice from your Senior Sister: grabbing a seat... is a tough battle."

The mountain gate of the Tianxing Sect was a hundred and eight thousand li away from Guangkai Town; it was hard to imagine someone traveling such a long distance just to assassinate a Qi Refining disciple of the Beihai Sword Sect, and heaven is my witness, this was his first time leaving the island—what kind of enemies could he possibly have!

A thousand thoughts surged through his mind; Zhao Kuo might indeed lack experience, but no one who could enter the Beihai Sword Sect was a fool. Whether the person shooting cold arrows came from the Tianxing Sect or not, they were clearly up to no good, and furthermore, since the opponent could make him completely unaware of their presence, their cultivation was obviously above his; the most urgent priority was to hide first.