Mutated Tao

Everyone stared with wide eyes at Bai Lingmiao and her wine glass.

What happened to Miss Bai? How come she had changed so much?

Bai Lingmiao had never been the type to propose toasts.

The others hesitantly picked up their wine glasses and toasted Bai Lingmiao—the true owner of the village.

Everyone started eating again.

Chun Xiaoman sat next to Bai Lingmiao and grabbed her hand. She sounded anxious as she asked, “Miaomiao, what's going on? Why do you seem so different now?”

Bai Lingmiao casually picked up a piece of chicken and stuffed it into her mouth.

“It’s nothing. I just briefly touched Li Huowang’s sword a bit,” Bai Lingmiao replied while chewing.

“What?!” Chun Xiaoman’s voice was so loud it almost destroyed the roof. Chun Xiaoman what had happened when Lu Xiucai touched Li Huowang's sword.

The disciples couldn't focus on eating upon hearing Chun Xiaoman's voice. They stood up one by one, asking with concern about what had happened. After the chaotic questioning and displays of concern, the New Year’s Eve dinner soon came to an end.

It took a long time for them to settle down. Fortunately, Bai Lingmiao was still Bai Lingmiao, even though her personality had changed drastically.

However, not everyone took it lightly. Chun Xiaoman hugged Bai Lingmiao tightly while crying in regret. Chun Xiaoman blamed herself for not following Bai Lingmiao; she believed that if she had been by Bai Lingmiao's side, this wouldn't have happened.

Bai Lingmiao struggled out of Chun Xiaoman's embrace; she sounded impatient as she said, “I feel like going deaf with how loud you are. If you really care about me, you should be happy for me. I’ve already let go of everything now, and I feel much better.”

Everything that had happened was already water under the bridge; there was no use crying over spilled milk.

Chun Xiaoman's eyes were bloodshot as she vowed, "Don't worry. Once I've mastered that supernatural technique, I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again!”

“Technique? What technique?” asked Bai Lingmiao with her slender brows furrowed.

Chun Xiaoman panicked and hastily corrected herself, saying, “No, I mean, in the future! I’ll find a supernatural technique to protect you in the future!”

Unfortunately, Bai Lingmiao wasn't so easily fooled. “That doesn’t sound right. Don’t lie to me. Did you find something under the ancestral hall? Xiaoman, tell me the truth.”

Bai Lingmiao seemed to have already guessed it, so Chun Xiaoman didn't bother hiding the truth. Chun Xiaoman stared at Bai Lingmiao with a complex expression and sighed before saying, “Miaomiao, I was afraid you’d worry. You know your family…”

Chun Xiaoman rambled on, and Bai Lingmiao’s eyes brightened.

She couldn’t even wait for dawn as she rushed toward the Bai Family Ancestral Hall.

I should've recalled it earlier! Bai Lingmiao couldn’t hide her joy as she ignored Chun Xiaoman’s shouting at her from behind.

Bai Lingmiao twisted the bronze monkey statue, lifted her skirt, and rushed into the dark hall. However, Bai Lingmiao didn't go toward the main hall. Instead, she rushed to the side and opened wooden doors, one after another.

Bai Lingmiao abruptly stopped in the middle of her search. Faint scenes in the deepest recesses of her memories had just struck her. She had been here when she was young.

“Wait, wait. Where did Second Uncle and Youngest Uncle go? Wait! It's this way.”

Bai Lingmiao dashed down the corridor until she found a dead-end.

“Miaomiao, it’s not here. Puppy found your family’s divine technique beyond the third door on the other side,” Chun Xiaoman said.

Bai Lingmiao ignored Chun Xiaoman and crouched down. Then, she carefully groped around the uneven wall. Eventually, she pressed down on a protruding brick, and a rumbling noise echoed.

Bai Lingmiao turned and found that the dead-end wall was rising.

A row of solemnly draped white banners with lotuses presented themselves before Bai Lingmiao. A crystal-clear white lotus emitting a faint glow that illuminated the entire room stood on a table in the corner of the room.

There were books as well, and they were wrapped in soft cowhide; there was even fine sand next to them—Bai Lingmiao assumed that the sand was there to absorb moisture.

Clearly, the White Lotus Sect cherished these books.

“Goodness…” Chun Xiaoman muttered and stared blankly at the scene before her. She never really thought that there would be another secret room inside a secret room. The way the items here were secured made it clear to Chun Xiaoman that they were extraordinary. Chun Xiaoman believed that the technique she had cultivated painstakingly couldn't compare to any of the items here.

“It looks like my family has left me quite a few good things,” Bai Lingmiao looked around with joy.

“Sniff! Sniff!” Faint crying echoed from the corner of the room.

Bai Lingmiao’s face showed a hint of impatience. “What are you crying for? What’s there to cry about?! Do you not see how Li Huowang is right now? I thought you wanted to help him? Especially when relying on the Immortal families is useless!"

Chun Xiaoman carefully approached the corner of the room, only to discover that the crying was coming from the crouched and pitiful-looking Second Deity.

Chun Xiaoman hesitated briefly before mustering the courage to walk up to the Second Deity and patting her back gently. The Second Deity trembled like an aspen tree as she leaned against Chun Xiaoman and sobbed softly.

Chun Xiaoman's eyes glazed over while staring at the red-veiled figure in her arms. The moment they made contact, Chun Xiaoman immediately realized that the Second Deity was the true Junior Bai that she knew.

Chun Xiaoman looked up with a complex expression at the ecstatic Bai Lingmiao in the distance.

“Miaomiao, everything here belongs to the Bai Family, so I'm not going to say anything if you want to cultivate any of them. However, I'm sure you haven't forgotten those who were buried, have you?" Chun Xiaoman said.

“No need to beat around the bush. Don’t worry; I'm not going to use any of the White Lotus Sect's techniques that are extremely harmful or with unreasonable demands. I’m not Li Huowang, you know?” Bai Lingmiao replied.

***

“Go! Go!” Li Huowang shook the reins, urging the four horses pulling the carriage to run even faster. A regular carriage only needed one horse, but he had added three more horses to reach the seaside town sooner.

Li Huowang even slapped acceleration talismans on the three extra horses.

The four trembling horses covered in blood and sweat eventually came to a halt.

Li Huowang jumped down and turned toward the seaside town in the distance. The seaside town couldn't compare to the capital or Yingling City, but it was still bustling with people. Li Huowang swept his gaze across the black-tiled roofs of varying heights, and then his gaze landed on the sea in the distance.

The sea was vast—so vast that the horizon seemed to merge with the sea. The salty sea breeze blew over Li Huowang’s skinless face, and Li Huowang frowned instantly at the stinging sensation that bloomed all over him.

We’re finally here. Luckily, there were no incidents along the way. Li Huowang put on a bamboo hat with a black veil and tugged at the reins again. After passing through the unguarded town gates, Li Huowang made a beeline for the relay station and returned the three borrowed horses.

Li Huowang had borrowed those three extra horses using his identity as a member of the Surveillance Bureau.

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