“Goodbye, Master!”
“Mhm, goodbye, Rongrong.”
Outside Yunjing City, Qu Linglong reached out and rubbed the head of Hua Xiangrong, who was actually not much shorter than her.
She pulled out a wooden token from her robes, engraved with the words “Cardinal Pivot.”
“Rongrong, this is a Pivot Token from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion. In the future, if anything happens, you can go to any branch of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion to contact me. If you want to buy new toys, you can even get a discount with it.”
“Mhm, thank you, Master! But Master, if you give me the token, what will you do?”
Hua Xiangrong took the token with both hands and asked in a crisp voice.
“Don’t worry, it’s fine.”
Qu Linglong winked at her. Suddenly, a mechanical arm extended from the box on her back, waving seven or eight identical tokens in front of her.
“Your master has a dozen more of these.”
“That’s right, Rongrong. This token is actually something Friend Qu gives to regular clients. We all have one too.”
Lin Qianqian nodded from the side and pulled an identical token from her storage pouch.
Hua Xiangrong: ???
“Ahem, what do you mean ‘clients’? Those are all friends!”
Qu Linglong cleared her throat and said solemnly, “Only those recognized by me, Qu Linglong, as like-minded friends can receive my Pivot Token! Here, Friend Hua, you take one too.”
As she spoke, she handed another token to Hua Yan.
“Alright, Rongrong, fellow Daoists, I shall take my leave first. It has been a pleasure meeting and spending time with everyone during this Evil Purging mission. May we — meet again if fate permits!”
She cupped her hands to everyone one by one and turned to board the spirit boat.
Before long, the spirit boat turned into a streak of light on the horizon, quietly disappearing among the clouds.
“Senior Sister, Friend Hua, let’s get moving too.”
Lin Qianqian lowered her waving hand and turned to Hua Yan and Yun Xuechang, unable to stop herself from smiling.
“However, I really didn’t expect Friend Hua to choose to return to the sect with my sister and me first. You really do spoil Rongrong.”
“Haha, of course. She is my daughter, after all.”
Hua Yan laughed and went along with the statement.
Regarding this matter, Hua Yan and Yun Xuechang’s explanation to Lin Qianqian and her companion was: Hua Xiangrong had cried and insisted on visiting the Xiaoyao Sword Sect to see where her mother had once lived and cultivated.
Coincidentally, Hua Yan’s grandmother was away on business and wouldn’t be back for a while.
Therefore, the two decided to stay at the Xiaoyao Sword Sect for a short while, feeling no rush to take Yun Xuechang back to The Valley to meet the parents.
This explanation sounded perfectly reasonable to Lin Qianqian and the others.
After all, in their eyes, Hua Xiangrong was Hua Yan’s daughter who had grown up with her, so it was only natural for the child to be curious about the past of the mother she had never met.
Incidentally, because Hua Yan felt a bit stifled and wanted to get back at Hua Xiangrong, she had exaggerated the child’s willfulness when describing it to Lin Qianqian.
However, this only made Lin Qianqian and her companion, who saw the girl’s well-behaved manner every day, secretly suspicious.
Perhaps it wasn’t entirely because of the child’s tantrums, but rather that Hua Yan, the mother who admired Yun Xuechang, wanted to learn more about her beloved and chose to return to the Xiaoyao Sword Sect first.
As for the daughter’s crying, it was likely nothing more than an excuse.
“Sigh, what a pity I couldn’t meet Xiao Li this time…”
Lin Qianqian muttered to herself, boarding the spirit boat somewhat dejectedly.
This spirit boat was generously provided by the wealthy Hua Yan.
It was in the style of a flower boat, and Hua Yan only charged the cost of the spirit stones required for the journey, which had greatly disappointed Qu Linglong.
Subsequently, Hua Yan also took out a flower boat from her storage pouch, the hull engraved with the elegant character “Rong.”
Hua Xiangrong was the first to run up on her short legs.
Hua Yan followed behind her for a few steps but then turned back to look at Yun Xuechang, who was still standing in place.
“What are you standing there for?”
She arched an eyebrow, her voice carrying a natural sense of urgency. “Hurry up and board the boat with us.”
“Mhm, okay.”
The white-haired fairy gave a faint smile and nodded, quickly following.
…
“Wow! Mother, are we almost there?”
Early one morning, the pink-haired girl was carried onto the deck by the white-haired fairy and immediately began cheering while pointing ahead.
“Mhm, the Xiaoyao Sword Sect is just ahead.”
The Xiaoyao Sword Sect was located in the east-central part of the righteous territories of Shenzhou.
Looking out from the spirit boat, the mountain range stretched like a dragon’s spine.
It was autumn, and under the morning sun, the mountains were draped in vibrant colors, a truly beautiful sight.
Most striking were the seven main peaks, standing tall like seven divine blades pointing toward the sky, steep and solitary, rising prominently among the surrounding peaks.
The outlines of halls and pavilions could be faintly seen at the summits.
Countless stone steps wound through the mountains like thin silver chains, with the occasional white-clad figure seen climbing them, looking as small as dust.
To one side of the seven peaks lay the Green Lake, its waters as clear as a mirror, perfectly reflecting the light of the sky and the shadows of the mountains.
This was the Xiaoyao Sword Sect.
‘Wow, it looks just like a cultivation sect from a traditional novel, overflowing with immortal aura.’
While looking out from Yun Xuechang’s arms, Hua Xiangrong chatted with 099 in her mind.
‘We’re already in the world of a cultivation novel, so this is perfectly normal, okay?’
099’s voice sounded exasperated.
“Mhm, it seems the spiritual qi and scenery of your Xiaoyao Sword Sect are quite decent.”
Hua Yan also stepped out slowly, sensing the concentration of spiritual qi in the area and looking at the scenery below.
She stood with her arms crossed, nodding with a hint of pickiness.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you to see the Sect Master first and report the details of this Evil Purging mission while I’m at it.”
Yun Xuechang nodded. Carrying Hua Xiangrong, she took the lead and used sword kinesis to fly toward the largest peak in the center of the seven.
“Waaaaah! Mother, slow down!”
Hua Xiangrong clung to her shoulder, eyes squeezed shut, screaming at the sudden burst of speed.
‘Host, how come you weren’t afraid of heights at all when we were on the spirit boat?’
099’s voice, tinged with schadenfreude, rang in her ears.
‘The spirit boat is like being on a ship! It’s like taking a plane! Is that the same?! Before, Mother always parked the boat on the ground. I’ve never flown like this before!’
“Waaaaah — “
…
“Sorry, Rongrong. It seems I scared you.”
After landing on the small plaza in front of the main peak, the white-haired fairy finally realized her mistake and put the girl down. She leaned over slightly, a hint of apology appearing on her cold face.
“It… it’s okay…”
Hua Xiangrong was scared out of her wits. Her legs were trembling, and she could barely stand.
“Pfft — hahahahaha! I didn’t expect you to be afraid of flying, kid. Why weren’t you scared on the spirit boat? It’s a good thing you didn’t learn the sword from Xuechang. Otherwise, if you were chasing an enemy with sword kinesis, you’d probably scare yourself to death before you even caught them! Hahahahaha…”
Hua Yan landed after them. Seeing the pink-haired girl’s pale face and remembering her screaming from earlier, she burst into uncontrollable laughter.
“Alright, Friend Hua, stop making fun of Rongrong.”
Lin Qianqian landed next, looking helplessly at Hua Yan, who was clearly enjoying her daughter’s misfortune. She then glanced at the flustered Yun Xuechang and sighed silently.
‘Sigh, Senior Sister is one thing, but even as a mother, Friend Hua seems so unreliable.’
“Rongrong, here, take this pill. It’ll make you feel better.”
With a flick of her finger, a light green pill landed gently in Hua Xiangrong’s hand.
“Thank you, Auntie Lin…”
Hua Xiangrong nodded weakly and swallowed the pill.