Chapter 89

89. Chapter Eighty-Nine

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The real turning point happened that night; Atian, who had spent the whole day watching the excitement, stood up and was counting on her fingers where she should go to sponge off a meal that night when she was stopped by a man who looked utterly devastated.

This man's expression was very strange, as if he were crying and laughing at the same time; he squatted down in front of Atian, his clean hem stained with mud, muttering incoherently about things like "my son is gone" or "the old Bai family has brought honor to their ancestors." If not for the fact that he looked decent and was neatly dressed, he would have been a complete, unfortunate madman.

The man repeated these words over and over, and finally, he simply buried his head and began to cry.

Atian watched him vent his emotions in a daze; even now, she couldn't figure out whether she had felt more fear or bewilderment at the time.

She also didn't know exactly how much time had passed before the man stopped sobbing; she only knew that it had become pitch black all around, and by this time, she would usually have already hidden in some shop, drinking a bowl of steaming porridge.

"My surname is Bai, my given name is Tao, and my home is in Guangkai Town, Qixia Kingdom," the man's voice was hoarse from his earlier crying. "I have a wife at home who is pure and kind. I see that you have no father or mother, wandering and begging in this town; would you be willing to come home with me and be my daughter?"

This man who called himself "Bai Tao" was naturally Master Bai. He had traveled thousands of miles to bring his beloved son to see the world, only to have his beloved son chosen by an Immortal Elder and led into the path of Xiuxian. He was not an ignorant fool; he naturally understood the cruelty behind this heaven-sent windfall—he would lose his eldest son forever.

As a father who loved his son deeply, he knew he should be ecstatic for his son's good fortune, but deep in his heart, there was the heart-wrenching pain of a living separation, which was why he had ended up squatting on the ground in tears.

Wiping away his tears, Master Bai, whose mood had gradually calmed down, knew very well that if a grown man like him felt this way, his wife, who had always treated their son as her lifeblood, would only be more conflicted and pained. Therefore, as he stumbled onto this street, he thought of Atian.

He had noticed the little street beggar entirely because of his beloved son, Bai Xinli. He remembered that in the evening, he had been holding his son's hand as they walked past this corner, and he had stopped to ask someone for information. When the conversation ended, he saw his son looking at a sloppily dressed young girl. Because this action was very rare for Bai Xinli, it made him remember this child inadvertently.

In all fairness, Master Bai approaching Atian was definitely not for the sake of that one glance from his son; he actually just wanted to find a substitute for his wife to transfer her affections to.

To outsiders, Lady Bai was shrewd, capable, and sharp-tongued; only he, as her husband, knew that she was actually a woman who was soft-hearted despite her harsh words and somewhat fragile. Since Bai Xinli had already entered the Xiuxianmen, he would have no more ties to the family, and he wasn't sure if she could handle this blow.

Approaching Atian was the first step in Master Bai's contingency planning.

Atian had been deliberately abandoned in Shengxian Town. To her fifteen years later, this act might have been intended to have her picked up by the Beihai Sword Sect, but the person who abandoned her could not have foreseen that a Master Bai would appear halfway and offer young Atian a proposal full of temptation.

If she had been older, hearing such words would have naturally made her more vigilant. However, at the time, she was only a child of three or four; even if she were precocious, she was still at an innocent age. Her biggest worry every day was how to be fed and clothed, so she was naturally coaxed by the glib-tongued Master Bai and really went to be his daughter.

However, Master Bai could use lame excuses to coax a child, but he couldn't use the same method to deal with his wife. If Lady Bai knew that he had snatched a girl back with the intention of raising a substitute, the sky would truly fall.

For this reason, Master Bai brought out his universal shield—Bai Xinli.

He pretended to be drunk and forcibly pinned the label of "acting on a whim" on his son—whom he didn't know if he would ever see again in this life—in front of Lady Bai, making her associate Atian with their son in her heart and gradually accept the reality that their son had become a "daughter."

As one of the parties involved, Atian naturally knew what that "glance" between her and Bai Xinli was all about, but even a cat or a dog knows how to seek advantages and avoid harm, let alone a human.

Just like that, "be my daughter" became "be my daughter-in-law." Anyway, Bai Xinli had already been left at the Beihai Sword Sect and would never return in this life, so she didn't really care about it.

Lady Bai was indeed a person who was soft-hearted despite her harsh words. Once the initial discomfort faded, she began to treat Atian well from the bottom of her heart, hiring a tutor for her to learn to read and write, and sewing all kinds of clothes for her with her own hands, doing everything a mother should do.

Atian was not an ungrateful person. The kindness Lady Bai showed her far surpassed anyone she had encountered since she was born. The only thing she could do was to live up to Lady Bai's expectations.

Lady Bai's greatest wish was for her to grow into a refined young lady, and she swore she would do it.

But today, fifteen years later, Atian's vow had fallen short, because she could only visit Lady Bai's beloved son—Bai Xinli—in a half-dead state.

This was hardly something a refined young lady would do!

"Junior Nephew Xin Li is different from the others and does not live in the Dizi Yuanshe," Guo Huai said. "He lives in the Stone Chamber of the Martial Arts Arena all year round; it is a good place for closed-door cultivation."

"Doesn't that mean he is in closed-door cultivation all year round?" Putting her frustration aside, Atian blinked.

"You could say that, but Junior Nephew Xin Li has no choice; you will understand when you see him." The chubby cultivator scratched his face.

Filled with questions, Atian no longer worried about whether her appearance was neat. Although she had run all over the island during her previous errand tasks, she couldn't get up to the Martial Arts Arena floating in mid-air. Or rather, it wasn't suitable for newcomers like them who had only one foot in the Xiuxianmen.

In the end, it was Guo Huai who sent Atian up. Since the sect forbade flying on a Sword, he used the Sleeve Universe he had learned from Tan Tianming to put the girl directly into his sleeve. By the time Atian was shaken out by him, she was already outside the Stone Chamber where Bai Xinli was.

Guo Huai, who considered himself a kind and good Junior Uncle, had originally wanted to wait outside for Atian to come out and send her off. However, the moment he thought about the heavy relationship between this girl and Junior Nephew Xin Li inside—a relationship his fragile old bachelor Sword Cultivator heart couldn't bear—he felt his heart get pierced by another arrow. So, using the excuse that he still had to send Song Zhicheng over, he ran away while silently shedding tears in his heart.

Atian, completely unaware of Guo Huai's inner drama, stood in front of the Stone Chamber, took a deep breath, and walked in, biting the bullet with a "what will be, will be" attitude.

From the outside, the Stone Chamber looked like just a small room, but once inside, she discovered a different world. The space inside was vast, and in terms of size, it was no less than the Martial Arts Arena outside, but it was empty and felt exceptionally lonely.

In the center of the Stone Chamber stood a man. From Atian's position, she could only see his tied-up long hair, his straight back, and a White Jade Sword hanging at his waist.

Gritting her teeth, Atian bowed to the man, "New disciple of the Beihai Sword Sect, Bai Tian, greets Senior Brother."

This sentence echoed in the silent Stone Chamber. After a long time, the man turned his head slightly, and his gaze met Atian's perfectly.

It really is worthy of being my Sword.

She thought nonchalantly. This feeling of being in tune with one another made her scalp tingle; it was as if someone were peeking at her thoughts in her mind, or as if a soulmate were pouring their heart out to her. Either way, it was irresistible.

At this moment, no matter who came to her side, the only result would be a battle, so when she saw Bai Xinli's figure appear outside the door, she was ecstatic.

The Bai Xinli in the words of the Bai couple.

The Bai Xinli she hadn't seen in fifteen years.

The Bai Xinli who changed her Fate.

The Bai Xinli who could suppress her completely with one glance.

Too strong, too strong, too strong.

Too good, too good, too good!

She was going to draw her Sword against Bai Xinli!!

Atian knew she was going crazy.

A clear-headed madness.

But so what?

She was never destined to be a well-behaved good girl; what was wrong with being a little crazy?

The Sword hilt in her hand turned from cold to hot, and two flushes of red quietly climbed up her cheeks. Lady Bai, who had been single-mindedly cultivating Atian to be a refined young lady, certainly wouldn't spend money to hire a martial arts master to teach her. Her fighting moves were all wild street styles; she couldn't even clench her fist correctly, let alone hold a weapon.

However, for a Sword Cultivator, the least necessary thing to learn is how to hold a Sword—if it's something you are born with, do you still need someone to teach you?

Bai Tian, naturally, was the same.

As soon as Bai Xinli said, "Junior Sister Bai, please," she didn't even think and thrust her Sword backhanded. Flames gathered on the pitch-black Sword body to form a vortex, and in coordination with the Sword tip, it pointed straight at Bai Xinli's heart.

Her hand holding the Sword was steady, and the Sword body was also steady. The thrusting motion was accurate and powerful, as if it had been practiced thousands of times, and even the slight lateral spin of the Sword tip gave one a feeling of perfection to the millimeter.

This is a Sword Cultivator; they are born for the Sword.

However, there are levels among Sword Cultivators.

This Sword was blocked by an invisible wall an inch from Bai Xinli's chest. The moon-white hairband covered his vision and his expression, but Atian guessed that he must be like that day, as noble and pure as the bright moon in the sky.

Then, she was sent flying by the powerful impact.