It must have been Blue who told them I was back, Shui Miao thought to himself.
But right away, Blue shook his head, waved his hands, and then bowed deeply to Shui Miao before vanishing in an instant!
“What’s going on?”
Shui Miao’s heart jolted, immediately struck by a sense of foreboding.
He had waited so long for Blue, only for him to leave like this?
The Chi Clan values sincerity and loyalty above all. Unless there was some special reason, Blue would never leave so abruptly.
He must have discovered something.
Could it be that Lady Bai has too much power in the Immortal Realm, and they dare not speak openly? But since he didn’t want to deceive me, he used this method to warn me?
Shui Miao’s mind raced, quickly piecing together the truth.
Seeing Shui Miao lost in thought, Lin Xue chuckled and said to Chu Miaoyi, “Sister, just tell him already. Look at him—he’s completely lost in thought.”
“Hehe…”
Chu Miaoyi smiled gently. “Shui Miao, the truth is this: one of my coworkers was on the same flight as you. She took a selfie while boarding and posted it on Weibo. We saw it and found out you were back.”
“Hmm… you two… shouldn’t have come.”
The more Shui Miao thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. If even Blue was afraid, how safe could he possibly be?
With a major enemy looming, how could he allow his loved ones and friends to be dragged into danger?
His thoughts churned, and even seeing his grandfather no longer seemed like a good idea.
Meeting him might not be good; not meeting him might not be bad either.
“Why?”
Hearing Shui Miao’s words, both Lin Xue and Chu Miaoyi were taken aback.
Lin Xue paused, then quickly asked, “Shui Miao, did you deliberately avoid us last time, which is why you disappeared?”
“Shui Miao, do you have something on your mind?” Chu Miaoyi asked gently.
Shui Miao released Chu Miaoyi’s hand, bowed to them both, and said, “As friends, thank you for coming to meet me, but I have urgent matters to attend to. Please excuse me.”
Without another word, he turned and walked away.
Lin Xue quickly grabbed his arm. “Don’t go yet—explain yourself first. You’re a grown man; don’t act like such a drama queen. The sky won’t fall.”
“Shui Miao, talk to us. Maybe we can help you figure something out,” Chu Miaoyi added, sensing clearly that he was hiding something.
Shui Miao took a deep breath, turned around, took Lin Xue’s hand, and began writing something on her palm with his fingertip.
After finishing, he turned and strode away without hesitation.
“What did he write?” Chu Miaoyi quickly whispered to Lin Xue.
Lin Xue frowned slightly but remained silent. Instead, she used her finger to write something on Chu Miaoyi’s palm.
“I am a pawn. The less you know, the better.”
Chu Miaoyi silently repeated the words in her mind and froze.
Outwardly, Shui Miao had achieved great success in his cultivation and was practically a half-immortal, living a glorious and powerful life.
But neither Lin Xue nor Chu Miaoyi had expected that Shui Miao was actually in grave danger, being someone else’s pawn!
Both were intelligent women. They understood what being a pawn implied and why Shui Miao wouldn’t say more—he didn’t want to drag them into danger or make them hostages to control him.
※※※
Shui Miao took a ride back to the village, but his grandfather wasn’t there.
His grandfather wasn’t at Wang Yong’s house either.
Late at night, Shui Miao sensed them gambling together outside a casino and felt a wave of relief.
“Having me around isn’t necessarily better; my absence isn’t necessarily worse,” Shui Miao muttered with a bitter smile. Despite his cultivation, what could he really do? If he couldn’t protect himself, how could he protect his loved ones?
With a thought, Shui Miao teleported Wang Rong and Shen Yan out.
Under the neon lights of the city streets, cars whizzed by.
Looking at his two disciples, Shui Miao sighed softly. “Let’s take a walk. This is Huanghai City—tell me about your future plans and dreams.”
“I only want to follow Master. Nothing else matters to me.”
“Same here. As long as I’m with Master, I’m happy.”
Wang Rong and Shen Yan were like two carefree butterflies, full of joy.
Shui Miao shook his head gently and said, “I’m about to ascend to the Immortal Realm soon, so I won’t be able to take you with me. Talk about something more practical—like starting a business or becoming a boss?”
“No way…”
“But that’s a good thing! We shouldn’t be selfish!”
Wang Rong and Shen Yan felt a little disappointed but quickly adjusted their moods.
After a pause, Wang Rong said, “My old dream was to have a million yuan and open a martial arts school to teach and educate. But after meeting Master, I only wanted to cultivate Dao, catch ghosts, and eliminate demons.”
“That idea of opening a school is great. Let me make a call right away—your dream will soon come true.” Shui Miao exhaled softly. “Don’t just see my glory. Cultivation is extremely dangerous—it’s no exaggeration to say it’s a matter of life and death.”
Wang Rong was stunned, not really believing her master could be so wealthy.
Hearing how dangerous cultivation was, Shen Yan felt a bit frightened.
Shui Miao turned to Shen Yan. “Shen Yan, what are your plans? Don’t you want to raise your child yourself?”
…
At the mention of her child, Shen Yan’s mood darkened. “It would be a lie to say I don’t miss my child. But as a weak woman, I don’t know how I could give him happiness…”
“Don’t worry. I have a bit of money, and you’re both my disciples—whom else should I help if not you?” Shui Miao stopped walking, looked at his two disciples, and smiled slightly. “I’ll make arrangements. Trust me. Tomorrow morning, you’ll go to Zhonghai City and find my sister Chen Meiling. She’s the chairman of the Chen Group. I’ll call her right away. Now find a hotel to rest. Don’t worry about me. I’m a half-immortal—I can take care of myself better than you can.”
“Thank you, Master!!”
Wang Rong and Shen Yan exchanged glances, knelt down, and kowtowed to Shui Miao. But when they raised their heads again, Shui Miao had already vanished.
Shui Miao had long since lost his phone.
He found a public phone booth and called Chen Meiling, speaking for hours. He told her he was about to ascend to the Immortal Realm and that they shouldn’t worry about him. After all, what immortal couldn’t take care of themselves? He also mentioned Wang Rong and Shen Yan to Chen Meiling. She felt both joy and pride for Shui Miao—two million yuan was nothing to her.
After hanging up, Shui Miao returned to the village alone under the cover of night.
Late and quiet, the villagers were all asleep. Shui Miao disturbed no one, following his instincts back to the village’s graveyard—the place where he had first encountered a water ghost. Somehow, he felt he should return here. This was where he first gained yin energy, where his fate had taken such an incredible turn.
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