Chapter 93

93. Chapter 93

Guan San is currently stroking the server, please complete your subscription to defeat him! Even Master Bai did not know that, in truth, Atian and Bai Xinli had never spoken; their only intersection was a single glance at the mouth of an alley—Bai Xinli, led by the hand by Master Bai, happened to turn his head and collided exactly with Atian's curious gaze.

One was a little young master living in luxury, the other a little beggar sitting at the street corner; their gazes met at a single point due to an accident, then slid away from each other.

This was merely an ordinary exchange of glances, just like thousands of other such glances in life; it began calmly and ended calmly, unable to stir up the slightest ripple.

The true turning point occurred that night. Atian, who had spent the day watching the excitement, stood up and was counting on her fingers where she should go to beg for food and drink 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 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 his upright appearance and neat clothing, he would have been a complete, unfortunate madman.

The man repeated these words over and over, and finally, he simply buried his head and wept.

Atian watched him vent his emotions in a daze; even now, she could not figure out whether she had felt more fear or bewilderment at that time.

She also did not know exactly how much time had passed before the man stopped sobbing; she only knew that it was already pitch black all around, and by this time, she would usually have already hidden in some shop, drinking steaming hot 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 and are wandering and begging in this town; would you be willing to follow me home 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 Xiuxian. He was not an ignorant fool; he naturally understood the cruelty behind this "pie falling from the sky"—he would lose his eldest son forever.

As a father who loved his son deeply, he knew he should be overjoyed at his son's good fortune, but deep in his heart, there was the pain of a living separation that felt like having his heart gouged out. This was why the scene of him squatting on the ground and weeping bitterly had occurred.

After wiping away his tears, Master Bai, whose mood had gradually calmed, knew very well that if he, a grown man, felt this way, his wife, who had always treated their son as the apple of her eye, 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 staring 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 seeking out Atian was absolutely not for the sake of his son's glance; 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 with a hard mouth but a soft heart who was somewhat fragile. Since Bai Xinli had already entered the Xiuxianmen, he would have no more ties to their home, and he was not sure if she could withstand this blow.

Seeking out Atian was Master Bai's first step in taking precautions.

Atian had been intentionally abandoned in Shengxian Town. In the eyes of the fifteen-years-older version of her, this act might have been intended to ensure she would be 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 the young Atian a proposal full of temptation.

If she had been older, hearing such words would have certainly increased her vigilance, but at the time, she was only a child of 3 or 4 years old. Even if she were precocious by nature, she was at an innocent and naive age, and her biggest worry every day was how to be well-fed and clothed. Naturally, she was 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 could not 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 the universal shield—Bai Xinli.

He pretended to be drunk and forcibly pinned the label of "love at first sight" on his son—whom he did not know if he would ever see again—in front of Lady Bai, making Lady Bai associate Atian with their son in her heart, gradually accepting the reality that her son had become a "daughter."

As one of the parties involved, Atian naturally knew what that "glance" between her and Bai Xinli was really about, but even stray cats and dogs know how to seek advantages and avoid harm, let alone humans?

Just like that, "be my daughter" turned into "be my daughter-in-law." Anyway, Bai Xinli had already been left at the Beihai Sword Sect and would never return in this lifetime, so she did not care much about it.

Lady Bai was indeed a person with a hard mouth and a soft heart. 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. Lady Bai's kindness to her far exceeded anyone she had encountered since her birth; 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 vowed that she would definitely achieve 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 year-round in a Stone Chamber at the Martial Arts Arena; 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 once you see him." The fat cultivator scratched his face.

Filled with questions, Atian no longer fretted over whether her appearance was neat. Although she had run all over the island during her previous errand tasks, she could not get up to the Martial Arts Arena floating in mid-air; or rather, it was not suitable for newcomers like them who had only one foot inside the Xiuxianmen.

In the end, it was Guo Huai who sent Atian up. The sect prohibited flying on a Sword, so 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 door of the Stone Chamber where Bai Xinli resided.

Guo Huai, who considered himself a kind and good Junior Uncle, had originally wanted to wait outside for Atian to come out and see her off. However, once he thought about the heavy relationship between this girl and Junior Nephew Xin Li inside—a relationship that he, a veteran bachelor Sword Cultivator, could not bear—he immediately felt his fragile heart pierced by another arrow. Thus, 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 "break the pot" attitude.

From the outside, the Stone Chamber looked like just a small room, but once she walked inside, she discovered a different world. The space inside was vast, and in terms of size, it was no less impressive than the Martial Arts Arena outside, though 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 while, the man turned his head slightly, and his gaze met Atian's exactly.

"Morning, Senior Brother Song." She called out Song Zhicheng's new title with good adaptability, sat directly in another seat, and pulled one from the mountain of stacked steamer baskets in front of her.

"Ah," the man whose name was called looked up, a half-eaten bun still in his mouth, "Junior Sister Bai, morning."

"……Excuse me, who are you, brother?" Bai Tian was stunned when she saw the man's face.

"What's wrong? I'm Song Zhicheng!" The man wore a bewildered expression.

"Liar! Senior Brother Song is clearly a majestic man with a thick beard!" Atian slapped the table and stood up.

"I do have one! Ah……" The man also stood up excitedly, the bun even falling onto the plate. Halfway through speaking, as if he remembered something, he reached out to touch his chin. Naturally, there was only smooth skin there, "Oh right, my beard is gone……"

"My beard is gone!"

Sweeping the steamer baskets off the table, the youth who was suspected to be "Song Zhicheng with his beard shaved off" slumped on the table and wailed. Atian swore she heard a sobbing tone in his trembling voice.

"Senior, Senior Brother Song?" The cautious question she asked received a pitiful "En" from the other party, which scared her terribly, "It really is Senior Brother Song? How did you…… become like this?"

It was not her fault; anyone would be shocked to discover that the bearded big man who loved smelly feet and the clean-looking youth before her were the same person.

Song Zhicheng, whose beard had been shaved off, raised his head upon hearing this, his face full of desolation and hopelessness, "Last night, they told me to go pay respects to Senior Brother, so I stood outside the Stone Chamber waiting and waiting, and finally waited for you to come out……"

He only said half of his sentence, but Atian already understood completely. She pursed her lips and asked in a low voice, "You…… fainted?"

Song Zhicheng's answer to this was a weak nod, and he could not help but shiver, "That guy…… is too terrifying. I couldn't hold on. When I woke up, I found myself lying on the bed with Junior Uncle Guo standing next to me. He was washing the remains of my beard, and not only that, he wouldn't let me call myself 'your father' anymore, saying the Beihai Sword Sect doesn't want embarrassing bumpkins……"