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Join the ServerBai Mengqi spent three days on Mount Zhenwu, dedicating the entirety of that time to exchanging daoist insights with Pure Yang True Person.
They did not engage in combat, as Bai Mengqi knew she could not defeat Pure Yang True Person at her current stage.
Pure Yang True Person, in a display of remarkable generosity, directly imparted some daoist techniques to Bai Mengqi. In return, Bai Mengqi left him a cultivation method for immortals.
However, Pure Yang True Person could not actually re-cultivate these methods; they were only suitable for the younger generation of Mount Zhenwu.
Time swiftly passed as Bai Mengqi traveled extensively. She would return to Jiang City barely once a month, spending the rest of her time searching for Immortal Crystal fragments.
Given her current abilities, retrieving an Immortal Crystal fragment was effortless once its location was pinpointed.
Over the course of nearly three months, she managed to collect another four Immortal Crystal fragments.
Xia Country was far vaster than Japan, and the fragments were scattered across incredibly disparate locations.
With Great Immortaless having fallen into slumber, Bai Mengqi’s perception of Immortal Crystal fragments was not as acute as hers. This meant she couldn’t actively seek them out.
Instead, she could only search when she happened upon a location and detected the scent of an Immortal Crystal fragment. Finding four fragments in three months was already a commendable achievement.
Once these four fragments were absorbed, she would achieve a cultivation at the late Foundation Establishment stage.
However, in October, Bai Mengqi encountered an unexpected complication.
****
In Jiang City, at the residence she shared with Zi Yanran.
The two women lay on the bed, embracing each other. Just then, Bai Mengqi’s phone suddenly rang.
The ringing slowly roused Bai Mengqi from her sleep. She picked up her phone to check the caller ID.
Upon seeing it, she instantly became alert.
“Cough, cough, hello? Mom, why are you calling so early?” Bai Mengqi asked, her voice disguised as a man’s.
It was her mother calling, and a call from home at this hour usually meant they needed something from her.
Zi Yanran slowly opened her eyes, watching Bai Mengqi with a curious expression.
Half a year had passed, and Zi Yanran had truly grown younger. She now looked at least three or four years younger than when they first met months ago.
This transformation was due to Bai Mengqi having begun to teach Zi Yanran cultivation, practicing the dual cultivation method provided by Great Immortaless.
Although her progress was somewhat slow, the benefits of the dual cultivation method were particularly evident in Zi Yanran.
Despite Zi Yanran possessing cultivation talent, Bai Mengqi first needed to thoroughly condition her body. Only after her body became purer could she help her enter the Refinement stage, a process estimated to take about three years.
“Mengqi, do you have time to come back for a visit? Your older cousin is getting married, and as her younger cousin, shouldn’t you come back for the wedding?” A gentle female voice came from the other end of the line.
At these words, Bai Mengqi immediately fell into thought. Her older cousin was seven years her senior, turning thirty this year.
Although she hadn’t seen her in years since starting work, they had been quite close as children, so Bai Mengqi certainly intended to attend the wedding.
Yet, to be honest, for some reason, her first feeling upon hearing about her cousin’s impending marriage wasn’t happiness, but a sense of sadness.
It was an unidentifiable emotional reaction.
“Understood, I’ll definitely be back for my older cousin’s wedding,” Bai Mengqi quickly replied.
After agreeing, she hung up the phone, then slumped back, her face clouded with melancholy.
“Mom called? What’s wrong? Your cousin is getting married, so why do you look so unhappy?” Zi Yanran asked curiously.
Bai Mengqi gave her a sideways glance before retorting, “Let me ask you, if a close friend or a peer relative of yours gets married, would you be happy or unhappy?”
This question left Zi Yanran momentarily speechless, as she had also experienced close cousins getting married and naturally empathized.
“Ah! It’s normal to feel this way. The closer you are, the more her marriage means that your relationship with her will slowly drift apart. If you feel this way, it means your cousin held cherished memories for you in your heart, or during your childhood. It’s a normal sense of possessiveness that everyone has.”
“Ah, that’s true. Since we’ve been together, my relationship with Wang Lei and the others seems to have grown distant as well,” Bai Mengqi said with a sigh of resignation.
Zi Yanran did not continue to discuss this heavy topic with Bai Mengqi, instead shifting the conversation to the matter of attending the wedding.
“Why don’t I go back with you, taking this opportunity? It’s bound to happen sooner or later anyway,” Zi Yanran suggested.
After a moment of thought, Bai Mengqi did not refuse.
She wasn’t one to shy away from things; this matter with her family would have to be addressed eventually.
“Alright, let’s do it.”
Upon receiving Bai Mengqi’s agreement, Zi Yanran began to fret.
“What should I prepare then? There should be a meeting gift, right? And for your cousin’s wedding, I should give a present, shouldn’t I? And…”
Bai Mengqi watched the somewhat anxious Zi Yanran and immediately cut her off.
“Stop, don’t prepare anything at all. The relationship between my cousin and I doesn’t need to be so complicated; it’s better to keep it simple,” Bai Mengqi advised.
In this regard, Zi Yanran respected Bai Mengqi’s wishes.
The wedding was scheduled to take place at a wedding hotel in Lantian County three days later, so Bai Mengqi and Zi Yanran needed to return today.
Zi Yanran quickly returned to her company to make arrangements for her work in advance, then informed her family before driving Bai Mengqi back to their hometown.
Zi Yanran’s hometown was also in Lantian County.
Over the years, she had invested significantly in her hometown. Several large shopping malls in Lantian County were investments by the Bauhinia Group, alongside numerous other industries.
It was no exaggeration to say that the Bauhinia Group’s industries were one of Lantian County’s economic pillars.
To maintain a low profile, Zi Yanran and Bai Mengqi dressed very ordinarily, and their car was a modest model worth only about 200,000 yuan.
Jiang City was approximately a hundred kilometers from Lantian County. Driving on the highway, it would take about three or four hours. They expected to arrive home by noon.
Bai Mengqi had, of course, reverted to her male appearance, dressed in casual attire. Zi Yanran, in a light purple dress, looked to be the same age as Bai Mengqi, truly a perfect match of talent and beauty.
However, her demeanor was distinctly different from that of ordinary people; as the CEO of a publicly listed group, the aura of a strong woman was difficult to conceal.
“Will we be staying in the county town or going to your house when we arrive?” Zi Yanran asked, looking at Bai Mengqi’s troubled expression.
“Sigh, my mom said to go back to the old house first. The wedding will have two parts: the first in the county, and the second back in the village.”
Although Bai Mengqi’s family had a new home in the county town, his parents rarely stayed there.
Moreover, Bai Mengqi’s grandparents were still alive, one in their seventies and the other in their early eighties.
His older cousin was considered the first of his blood relatives on his mother’s side to get married.
Among his maternal cousins, Bai Mengqi was the third in line.
As time slowly passed, the roads became increasingly familiar. Three hours later, they drove onto the county road and arrived home.
Lantian County was a small county nestled in the mountains, and its economy was not particularly developed.
“By the way, where is your hometown? Is it in the county town?” Bai Mengqi asked Zi Yanran, curious about the familiar surroundings.
Zi Yanran shook her head.
“How could it be? Didn’t I tell you? Our family was very poor initially. I’m from Shuiyang Town, which is under Lantian County,” Zi Yanran replied with a smile.
Bai Mengqi was stunned.
“Ah? That close? My hometown is Pingshui Township. Our hometowns are neighbors.”
Bai Mengqi was somewhat surprised.
Zi Yanran would definitely pass through Pingshui Township on her way back to her hometown, so she certainly knew where it was.
“What? Haha, what a coincidence! Ah, if I were a few years younger than you, maybe we could have known each other,” Zi Yanran said, delighted.
As they spoke, the two suddenly began conversing in their hometown dialect. For a moment, there were no communication barriers, which made them feel even closer.
They didn’t linger long in the county town before driving onto the township road. After another half an hour, they arrived at Pingshui Township, where Bai Mengqi’s home was located.
“It’s been so many years since I’ve been back; the changes are truly immense,” Zi Yanran remarked, feeling a sense of returning home in glory.
She had left her hometown when she was in junior high, moving to the county. Her grandparents had passed away early, so she hadn’t really returned to her hometown since.
The road quickly narrowed. The township road was naturally not as wide as the county road. Finally, they entered a mountain hollow and arrived at Bai Family Village, where Bai Mengqi’s family lived.
Bai Mengqi used to return to her hometown to live for a period each year. Since her grandparents were still alive, she certainly felt no sense of unfamiliarity.
The car stopped in a spacious area in the village.
Soon, several elderly villagers, grandfathers and grandmothers, gathered around, especially after Bai Mengqi stepped out of the car.
“Oh? Isn’t that Mengqi? Mengqi is back!” Some elders greeted Bai Mengqi warmly.
Bai Mengqi responded to each of them.
However, once Zi Yanran stepped out of the car, these grandfathers, grandmothers, uncles, and aunties became even more intrigued.
“Eh? What a beautiful girl! Mengqi, is this your girlfriend?”
Bai Mengqi was momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
“Hello, everyone, grandfathers, grandmothers, uncles, aunties. I am this fellow’s girlfriend, Zi Yanran. I’m from the neighboring Shuiyang Town.”
Upon hearing this, everyone became even more excited.
“Old Third Bai, your grandson is back, and he’s brought a beautiful girl! Why aren’t you out here setting off firecrackers to welcome them?”
Suddenly, one of the elders, a peer of Bai Mengqi’s grandfather, shouted loudly towards Bai Mengqi’s house.
This shout caused a stir, and a large group of people suddenly emerged from Bai Mengqi’s house. Men and women, young and old, they were Bai Mengqi’s grandparents, uncles, aunts, younger aunt, younger uncle-in-law, older cousin, and younger cousin.
For a wedding like Bai Mengqi’s older cousin’s, all blood relatives would make a special trip to attend.
However, Bai Mengqi bringing Zi Yanran back was far more exciting than his older cousin getting married.
The entire family quickly surrounded the two of them.
You’ve got to see this next! Eat Me, Sweetie will keep you on the edge of your seat. Start reading today!
Read : Eat Me, Sweetie
