Shui Miao channeled his water-element immortal energy through Lin Qing’er’s body twice before stopping.
This time was different from before—Shui Miao intentionally left a bit of the immortal energy inside her.
After all, since Lin Qing’er didn’t know how to cultivate, there was no risk of the energy going haywire. A small amount of residual immortal energy could only benefit her physical health.
The unprecedented sense of clarity and refreshment made Lin Qing’er ecstatic.
“Shui Miao, this is amazing! I feel like I’m completely healed—like I’ve been soaked in a clear mountain spring, inside and out, feeling absolutely purified!” Ling Qing’er’s body still carried traces of the refined immortal energy, which continued to mend and refine her physical form.
“This is indeed amazing. If you’re willing to work hard, one day you’ll be just like me.”
Shui Miao nodded lightly, but inwardly, he felt complicated. Cultivation was extremely difficult. Despite his many extraordinary encounters, he had only reached this level. How far could they go without similar chances? Moreover, the cycle of reincarnation in the Three Realms was irreversible. When their mortal time came, what would happen if their souls were forcibly dragged into reincarnation?
Suddenly, Shui Miao realized how little time he had left!
This was no time for romance. He had to find every possible way to grow stronger as quickly as he could. Only when he became powerful enough would he have the ability to change others’ fates.
Therefore, he shouldn’t waste any extra time or energy on trivial matters.
This sudden urgency weighed heavily on Shui Miao.
After chatting a bit more, Shui Miao quietly turned his awareness inward to examine his dantian. The immortal energy there wasn’t depleting quickly, but if this continued, it wouldn’t last long. Once Lin Qing’er’s father passed away and she was settled, he would go with everyone to the Patriarch of the Underworld to obtain the Holy Flame Spirit, completing all types of Holy Elemental Energies. Hopefully, this would greatly boost his cultivation. As these thoughts swirled in his mind, he thought of the thousand-year-old female ghost Bai Niangniang, and his pressure only increased.
Suddenly, breaking the silence, Shui Miao spoke, “Qing’er, your father’s lifespan is nearly exhausted—he may not live until tomorrow. I hope you’re prepared. Also, in a few days, I hope you all leave Zhonghai City and relocate to other cities. I have some special matters to attend to. If everything goes well, we’ll all be fine. But if things go wrong, everything could vanish like a fleeting dream.”
His sudden words left Lin Qing’er and Da Shuang completely baffled.
But Lin Qing’er was smart and easygoing. After a brief pause, she nodded and said, “Don’t worry, Shui Miao. I’ll do as you say. I know you must be right.”
“Maybe…”
Shui Miao slightly furrowed his brow and took her hand. “Will you wait for me?”
“Yes, I will.”
Lin Qing’er had low expectations—she only needed to know that Shui Miao was sincere, and that was enough.
Inside the car, silence soon returned.
※※※
It took about twenty minutes for the three to reach the headquarters of Chen Group, after which Lin Qing’er hurriedly took her leave.
She didn’t know whether Shui Miao’s words were accurate, but she chose to believe him.
Although she resented her father for his strictness and selfishness, in these final moments, she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible.
Lin Qing’er had a tragic life. Her mother died early, and her father was harsh and self-centered. Except for school, she lived a secluded life. Because of this, her childhood had been far from happy. She had placed her emotional hopes on a future partner, but the man she loved was killed by her father. Had she not met Shui Miao, she might still be locked away in a hotel, living a lonely, sorrowful life until old age.
Time passed quickly.
Shui Miao followed her to Linhai Hotel and sat cross-legged on the rooftop, watching the sunset. But he couldn’t focus on meditation anymore…
Wu Ai hadn’t returned, which worried him greatly.
Also, Wu Ai had said Lin Qing’er’s father was nearing death, but Shui Miao found that hard to believe.
Through his spiritual perception, he sensed Lin Senior was in a meeting room inside the hotel with his daughter and senior executives. He seemed energetic, not at all like a dying man. Also, the hotel had closed down, and Da Shuang was monitoring everything from the surveillance room. The assassins who had appeared earlier were injured and unlikely to return.
So how would Lin Senior die?
Shui Miao was puzzled, wondering if it might be the Black and White Impermanence coming to collect his soul.
According to legend, the Black and White Impermanence were responsible for soul retrieval.
But in reality, Shui Miao had never seen what they looked like—only ghostly messengers were common.
Time ticked away…
Suddenly, a breeze stirred, and Hei She Yao appeared before Shui Miao, accompanied by a middle-aged man with an unusual appearance.
The stranger wore a long black robe resembling ancient physician’s attire, and a green cloth hat covered his head.
“Master, I’m back!” Hei She Yao was excited, pointing at the middle-aged man beside him. “This is the ghostly physician I brought from the Yellow Spring Sect. His name is Ye Xian. He was sent by Ghost Valley Master Fa Man. There are many things I can’t explain clearly—let him tell you.”
“Wait, this isn’t the place to talk…”
Shui Miao looked up. “Xiaohei, go again and bring City God Old Cai here. I have urgent matters and need him to come quickly.”
“Alright, I’ll go right away!”
Hei She Yao suddenly remembered something and glanced around. “Master, where are those ghostly messengers?”
“I don’t know where they went. Just go and come back quickly.” Shui Miao turned to Ye Xian. The ghostly physician looked tall and sturdy, with a protruding forehead, grayish complexion, and short beard. His eyebrows resembled two daggers stuck into his face…
After Hei She Yao left, Ye Xian immediately bowed to Shui Miao. “Immortal, your appearance is truly remarkable!”
“Oh? You can also read faces?” Shui Miao returned the bow with a slight smile.
Ye Xian nodded and spoke fluently. “When I was still alive three hundred years ago, I began studying medicine at age six and continued until twenty-six. During my medical practice, I met a master of physiognomy and learned a bit from him. Observing your appearance, Immortal, you must be a reincarnation of a Divine King from the Immortal Realm!”
“Haha, Senior Ye Xian, don’t joke with me. That’s quite a stretch. I’ve heard of face reading to predict fate, but never of someone seeing one’s past life. And a Divine King reincarnation? Haha… Senior Ye Xian, since this is our first meeting, let’s not play games.” Do you think I’m an idiot? Do you think a few sweet words will fool me? Shui Miao naturally didn’t believe the ghostly physician’s words. If he could truly see Shui Miao’s past life, how could he end up as just a lowly ghostly messenger?
“You don’t believe me?”
Ye Xian blinked innocently, then suddenly smiled. “Haha, indeed. What do I, a mere ghostly physician, know? But what I said is true. Immortal, you were indeed a Divine King in your previous life. Unfortunately, your straightforward nature offended many gods, so they conspired against you. Fortunately, a Water Goddess sacrificed herself to save your soul essence, secretly giving it to Yupo, who used mortal water to purify your soul essence countless times, allowing you to be reborn as a human!”
Ye Xian’s story grew more fantastical, sounding almost real.
Shui Miao gently shook his head. “Senior Ye Xian, I guess when you were alive, you must have met many storytellers. Otherwise, you couldn’t have made up such an unbelievable tale! Haha…”
“Uh…”
Ye Xian was momentarily stunned, then sighed. “Sigh! Why does no one believe me when I read faces? For centuries, not a single person has believed me.”
“Haha, Senior Ye Xian, what you said is naturally unbelievable. After all, one can’t possibly see so much from someone’s face. However, I must admit, your storytelling skills are indeed impressive—you speak as if you witnessed it yourself.” Shui Miao thought to himself: What an odd character! A mere ghostly physician who can boast so much—no wonder Ghost Valley Master Fa Man sent him. Not only eloquent, but also a master of exaggeration.
“No, no, no…”
Ye Xian hurriedly waved his hands. “What I said has basis. I deduced you were a Divine King reincarnation because I sensed your unique immortal energy. Ordinary humans could never cultivate to such a level unless they were a Divine King reborn. Also, you carry a strong water aura, extremely unique—nonexistent in the mortal world and even rare in the Immortal Realm. I suspect it’s Yupo’s divine water, and then…”
“Alright!”
Shui Miao couldn’t help interrupting Ye Xian. “Senior Ye Xian, it’s better not to speak baselessly. Let’s get back on topic. How about we talk about those two extraordinary eyebrows of yours instead?”
There were ears on the walls. At this moment, Shui Miao couldn’t possibly discuss the Yellow Spring Patriarch with Ye Xian, so it was better to talk about something else. But Ye Xian’s absurd story about the Divine King was too far-fetched. If an elderly Confucian scholar outside the Three Realms said such words, there might be some credibility. But Ye Xian was just a lowly ghostly physician.
“Eyebrows!?”
Ye Xian was taken aback, touched his eyebrows, then suddenly shook his head with a wry smile. “Better not talk about them—they won’t make sense to you. How about we continue discussing your past life as a Divine King?”
Ye Xian seemed eager to continue his rambling!
Shui Miao had never met someone who enjoyed boasting so much.
Shui Miao frowned slightly and directly said, “I guess those eyebrows were implanted later—they weren’t born with you.”
“Not at all! These eyebrows are natural. They were long when I was born, and they kept growing longer. After death, they continued growing. They have a unique feature—they change shape depending on who I see. Sometimes they droop, sometimes they rise.”
When Ye Xian spoke about himself, he clearly wasn’t as enthusiastic.
Shui Miao intended to tease him to pass the time, so he continued, “Then why haven’t you read your own fortune? I believe with your abilities, you must have divined which Divine King you were.”
“Divine King?”
Ye Xian quickly shook his head, looking reluctant. After a moment of hesitation, he said, “Actually, I did divine my fate. I was a storytelling bird kept by the Immortal Soul Crone in the Immortal Realm. Because I loved talking, I once caused her to make a mistake, so she angrily cast me into the mortal world.”
“A storytelling bird… hahahaha!”
Seeing that Ye Xian not only boasted but could also act embarrassed and hesitant, Shui Miao couldn’t help bursting into laughter, almost hurting his stomach. “Your story is quite good, but I’m curious—what exactly is the Immortal Soul Crone?”
“In the Netherworld, there’s Meng Po; in the Immortal Realm, there’s Hun Po. Both give people potions to drink.” Ye Xian had a good temper. Seeing Shui Miao laugh at him, he wasn’t angry at all and muttered, “Laugh all you want. Everyone laughs at me like this. What’s so funny?”
“What are you laughing about so happily by yourself?”
At that moment, Lin Qing’er came onto the balcony and asked from afar when she heard Shui Miao laughing.
Seeing Lin Qing’er, Shui Miao had a sudden thought and quietly asked Ye Xian, “Can you see who she was in her past life?”
“Ah!”
Ye Xian was stunned, pointing at Shui Miao in disbelief. “She… she’s the Water Goddess who saved you!”
“Wow! You really can make things up!”
Shui Miao couldn’t help but admire Ye Xian—he actually connected the nonsense into a coherent story!
“No, no! She carries the Water Holy Spirit—she’s the reincarnation of the Goddess King!” Ye Xian was very certain.
Too much talk leads to slips!
Finally, he slipped up!
Shui Miao immediately stopped smiling and gently shook his head. The Water Holy Spirit within Lin Qing’er was something he had left behind himself. Now, Ye Xian was using it to fabricate stories, making the tale seem dull and unconvincing.
“Qing’er, I have a friend telling me stories here.”
Seeing Lin Qing’er approach, Shui Miao quickly responded to her question.
“Friend? Where’s any friend?” Lin Qing’er looked around but naturally couldn’t see Ye Xian. “Alright, stop joking. You heard my footsteps and pretended to laugh on purpose, right? Anyway, I came up to ask you to come down for dinner. It’s been so long—you must be hungry, right?” Lin Qing’er reached out and grabbed Shui Miao’s hand, pulling him downstairs.
Unexpectedly, Ye Xian suddenly remembered something and hurriedly whispered to Shui Miao, “I just remembered—there’s a method to restore a Divine King’s past memories. Immortals differ from mortals. Mortals can only meditate, immortals have realms, but Divine Kings have Wisdom Seas. The Wisdom Sea stores immense divine power, treasures, and memories. Alone, a Divine King can’t access it, but if there were a male and female Divine King, you could open the Wisdom Sea through dual cultivation!”
“Senior Ye Xian, maybe you should take a break. If you keep talking nonsense like this, I might have to punish you like Hun Po did.” Shui Miao sent the thought to Ye Xian through his mind, then sent Lin Qing’er to the entrance of the rooftop. “Qing’er, I have urgent matters to attend to here. You go eat. I’m a half-immortal—I can go days without eating.”
“Come on, stop trying to trick me. I believe you can use fire talismans, but don’t expect me to believe you’re a half-immortal.” Lin Qing’er wouldn’t let go of Shui Miao’s hand. “Unless… you can fly, then I’ll believe you.”
…
Shui Miao smacked his lips, speechless.
Seeing this, Ye Xian was surprised. “Immortal! You don’t even know how to fly?”
Shui Miao mentally retorted, “Do you know how?”
“If it’s just the soul, I do. But you have a physical body—I don’t know how to fly with one.” Ye Xian looked embarrassed.
Shui Miao sighed and went downstairs with Lin Qing’er.
But Ye Xian’s mouth wouldn’t stop…
Upon seeing Da Shuang, he claimed she was Yupo, the one who had purified Shui Miao’s soul essence countless times with mortal water.
Seeing a group of waitresses, he said they were fairies!
What surprised Shui Miao most was when Ye Xian saw Lin Senior and claimed he was the evil Divine King who had opposed Shui Miao in a past life. His soul essence was about to leave the body and return to the Divine Realm. He even urged Shui Miao to destroy Lin Senior’s soul essence, warning that if he didn’t, once it returned to the Divine Realm, Shui Miao would face endless troubles.
Hearing this, Shui Miao had a strong urge to sew Ye Xian’s mouth shut with a sewing machine.
He even wanted to beat Hei She Yao up for being so careless—he brought such a big-mouthed ghost! Could anything he said be trusted?
Inside the luxurious private room of the hotel, the table was filled with delicacies.
This was specially prepared for Shui Miao by Lin Senior.
Inside the private room were four people: Lin Senior, Shui Miao, Lin Qing’er, and Da Shuang.
Lin Senior had the waiters bring over a dozen bottles of red wine worth hundreds of thousands each and happily poured them for everyone.
Shui Miao had no appetite for this feast, but the red wine costing hundreds of thousands per bottle did catch his interest.
Just as Lin Senior stood up with his glass to invite Shui Miao to drink, the door to the private room automatically opened…
Shui Miao turned his head and saw Lao Cai, Lao Qin, and Hei She Yao arriving.
Shui Miao’s heart stirred. He quickly stood up, took a bottle of red wine, poured four glasses, and arranged the chopsticks and bowls…
“Shui Miao, what are you doing?”
Lin Senior was very surprised.
Lin Qing’er and Da Shuang were also stunned.
Shui Miao smiled slightly and replied, “I have some friends coming. Let’s all eat together.”
“Come, come, Lao Cai, Lao Qin, you two sit here. Ye Xian, come over here. Xiaohei, help me host everyone and eat together…”
Shui Miao invited Lao Cai and the others to sit down.
Although Lao Cai and the others were ghosts, they were drooling at the sight of the delicacies.
Seeing Shui Miao speaking ghost language, Da Shuang and Lin Qing’er were too scared to eat. Lin Senior was also shocked, as he saw napkins moving slightly without wind.
“Haha! Then we won’t be polite!”
“Yeah, yeah! We eat fast—we’ll eat first, then leave some for them…”
“Immortal, I haven’t eaten such good food in a long time. From now on, I’ll follow you!”
“Eat, eat, everyone, don’t be polite!”
Lao Cai, Lao Qin, Ye Xian, and Hei She Yao all spoke politely for a moment.
After speaking, Shui Miao saw them reach out to eat. But what they grabbed were just illusions of the food—but they ate with great enjoyment! Shui Miao focused his spiritual perception and carefully sensed that what they were eating were actually combinations of the Five Elements and heat energy. On the surface, the food looked untouched, not a bit missing. But in reality, the Five Elements and heat energy had already been consumed.
At first, they ate politely, but as they continued, they became ravenous, like bandits devouring their food!
“Come, let’s drink!”
Lao Cai put down a large lobster, leaned his mouth to the wine glass, and sucked hard—the wine level dropped by half!
“Ahhh!”
Seeing this, Lin Senior was so frightened he sat down heavily on the chair, his breathing gradually quickening…
“What’s going on?”
“Is he going to die at this moment?”
Shui Miao was startled and quickly looked at Lin Senior. But to his surprise, Lin Senior was fine again—his breathing returned to normal.
At that moment, Ye Xian swallowed a big bite of turkey leg and said, “Immortal, rest assured—he won’t dare to let his soul essence escape while you’re watching.”
“What!?”
Shui Miao’s heart suddenly jolted. For the first time, he had a feeling that Ye Xian’s words might actually be true!
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