“Huh, where’s Rongrong?”
In the afternoon, Hua Yan had just landed on the Danxia Peak square and looked around, but she could not find any sign of her daughter.
Hua Yan, who had always loved to groom herself, maintained her habit of dressing up even after her gender had changed.
Although she was very resistant to wearing women’s clothing at first, she had gradually adapted to it.
Seeing that winter had arrived at the Xiaoyao Sword Sect, even though she no longer feared the heat or cold, she still changed into a new set of seasonal clothes—and when picking them out, she had unconsciously chosen a female outfit.
She wore a bright red feather-satin cloak trimmed with snow-white fox fur.
Underneath was a red and gold-woven jacket with floral patterns, its neckline adorned with a delicate locket that complemented the girl’s fair, exquisite collarbones.
Her red hair was tied into a flying cloud bun, fastened with a red gold crown inlaid with pearls, and gold tassels swayed gently by her temples.
She looked charming and bright, like a scorching flame in the middle of the snow.
“Oh, Daoist Friend Hua? Are you here to pick up Rongrong?”
A passing disciple saw her looking around and stepped forward to remind her.
“I just saw Sixteen pulling Rongrong toward Elder Ji’s alchemy room in a hurry. It looked like Rongrong was injured. You should go check on her quickly.”
“Thank you, Daoist Friend!”
Upon hearing this, Hua Yan’s heart tightened instantly.
Without time to ask more, she immediately rushed in the direction the disciple had pointed.
Inside the alchemy room, Ji Ling, dressed in black robes, was once again sitting cross-legged in front of an alchemy furnace—the furnace had been replaced with a Purple-Gold Cauldron, and she was currently restarting the process to refine pills.
‘Hmm, with the experience from just now, it shouldn’t be difficult to refine this Foundation Stabilizing Spirit Accumulating Pill again.’
Ji Ling’s fingers flew as she formed hand seals, her mind settling.
‘Luckily, I prepared an extra set of materials in case the furnace exploded. I even set a barrier that no one below the Jindan realm can enter. This time, surely no one will disturb—’
“Rongrong! How are you!”
An urgent female voice came from outside, followed by the door of the alchemy room being slammed open with a bang—the barrier shattered instantly upon contact, and a red shadow rushed in.
Ji Ling’s concentration wavered, and the hand performing the seals jerked violently—
Boom!
The familiar sound of an exploding furnace rang out once more.
She quickly waved her sleeve to deploy a Spiritual Energy Barrier, blocking the splattering pill dross, and glared at the intruding Hua Yan with a dark expression.
“What are you doing here now?”
“Ah, haha… that, I didn’t do it on purpose. I’ll just compensate you for it at most…”
Accustomed to being caught after causing trouble, Hua Yan’s first reaction was to laugh it off and apologize.
But in the next second, she remembered why she was there and immediately switched to an anxious expression.
“Elder Ji, how is my Rongrong? Is she all right?”
“It’s just her guishui. What could possibly be wrong!”
Ji Ling rolled her eyes in annoyance.
“The two of you are so reckless and nonsensical!”
“Your daughter is resting in the side bedroom. Sixteen is with her. Tsk.”
She glanced at the ruined alchemy furnace and the charred medicinal dross scattered across the floor, waving her sleeve to sweep it aside.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you to see her so you stop bothering me.”
With that, she led the bewildered Hua Yan outside.
…
“Rongrong, how are you feeling?”
As soon as Hua Yan entered the bedroom, she saw Hua Xiangrong squeezed onto the bed with Ning Shiliu, reading a storybook and chatting incessantly.
She finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Mother? You’re here?”
Hua Xiangrong was startled, then let out an “Oh no!”
“Ah! Oh no! I was chatting with Little Pomegranate and forgot the time to head back to the peak!”
She quickly called out to the system in her mind.
‘099! 099! It’s time to go back. Why didn’t you remind me!’
‘I clearly reminded the Host five minutes before the agreed time.’
The little system’s voice was full of helplessness.
‘You were the one who said you wanted to finish reading the rest of the storybook with Ning Shiliu and told me not to bother you… You clearly forgot it yourself.’
“Ah, haha… So that’s how it was. I blamed you wrongly, 099…”
Hua Xiangrong gave a couple of dry laughs.
“Hmph! (;`^^)”
Ignoring the bickering between the master and system for a moment, Hua Yan saw that her daughter was in high spirits and felt relieved. She turned to Ji Ling.
“Thank you, Elder Ji. I saw you always wearing a sour face before and thought you were difficult to get along with. I didn’t expect you to be such a kind person with a doctor’s heart.”
The red-haired girl laughed, then asked with a face full of confusion.
“By the way, what kind of illness is this ‘guishui’ that my Rongrong has? How long will it take to get better, and does she need any medicine?”
“An illness? Medicine?”
Ji Ling gave her a strange look.
“It’s just guishui. What medicine do you need? Although your Rongrong’s first guishui came a bit earlier than most, her body is strong and she has already stepped onto the immortal path, so she won’t feel much discomfort. Just have her eat more things that replenish her blood and energy when you get back, and avoid touching anything cold.”
Seeing that the other person still looked blank, she couldn’t help but press further.
“You… don’t tell me you don’t even know what guishui is?”
Hua Yan shook her head ignorantly.
“Tsk, it’s your period! The one that comes every month! Are you so powerful that you’ve forgotten all about it?”
Ji Ling glared at this unreliable mother with irritation.
“Seriously, as a mother, you didn’t teach your daughter anything when she reached the age for her guishui. When I asked Rongrong just now and helped her change her period belt, she was completely clueless—it’s one thing for that unreliable Yun Xuechang, but you’re a woman who has lived for 100 years, how could you forget this too and not tell your daughter in advance?”
These words made Hua Yan’s cheeks turn bright red instantly.
‘But I… I became a woman halfway through! How was I supposed to know what guishui was!’
‘Besides, I was already able to perform Bigu long ago. I didn’t need to experience these things when I changed into a female body. How would I understand!’
Seeing the blush rapidly spreading across her face, Ji Ling gave another tsk.
‘Tsk, this reaction is exactly the same as her daughter’s when she first heard about her period.’
‘What is with this mother and daughter? As women, they don’t even understand their own bodies?’
Seeing that Hua Yan finally understood, she waved her hand.
“Fine, it’s getting late. Take your daughter back quickly and don’t just stand there.”
“Your daughter’s period belt is a model with a miniature Dust-Cleansing Array attached. It doesn’t need frequent washing; just have her replenish it with a bit of spiritual power every other day.”
“Oh, oh…”
Hua Yan nodded with a red face and took Hua Xiangrong’s hand.
But just as they turned to leave, a Telepathy message suddenly entered Hua Yan’s ears.
【I say, is the relationship between you and Yun Xuechang… actually quite good?】
She looked back and met Ji Ling’s slightly sharp dark eyes.
【What do you mean by a good relationship? Where do we look like we have a good relationship?】
Hua Yan asked back through Telepathy.
【Heh, stop pretending.】
Ji Ling let out a light snort, then shifted the topic.
【Do you like Yun Xuechang?】
【I—I… How can you tell I like her!】
Hua Yan’s Telepathy stammered, and the red flush that had just faded from her face rushed back.
Ji Ling’s dark eyes lingered on her face for a moment before she asked directly.
【Do you often think of her when she’s not around? When you get something new or encounter something interesting, is she the first person you want to share it with?】
【I… I…】
Hua Yan instinctively wanted to deny it, but for some reason, she suddenly remembered the emptiness in her heart when she couldn’t see Yun Xuechang on her birthday.
She also remembered the words her daughter had whispered while nestled in her arms that day.
(‘Liking each other means thinking about the other person every day, remembering their good points, and wanting to share the best food and fun things with them first! Just like Mother and Mommy!’)
At the time, she had dismissed it as a child’s rambling, but Ji Ling’s words now felt like a sudden enlightenment.
She was stunned, and her words of rebuttal failed to come out.
【Heh.】
Ji Ling snorted again and escorted them to the door with Ning Shiliu.
【Let me give you a piece of advice. If you like someone, and she happens to be right in front of you, you’d better hold on tight. Don’t overthink things and act all indecisive, or you’ll let a great opportunity slip away.】
【Otherwise, you will surely regret it in the future.】
The bedroom door slowly closed.
Hua Yan stood blankly outside the door holding Hua Xiangrong’s hand, with only Ji Ling’s meaningful words and those cold eyes tinged with loneliness echoing in her mind.
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