Chapter 138: Finally Free

Lin Zhiling was also a suitable candidate. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also very intelligent and highly capable. Taking her as a disciple would mean gaining an extremely reliable assistant.

As for Sister Chen Meiling, if she also wanted to learn the art of cultivating energy, of course she could be taught as well.

And Xiaoshuang and the others—whomever among them wanted to learn, he could teach them all. However, whether they could achieve true success would depend entirely on their own destiny.

Shui Miao made a phone call and reached Director Zhang. Upon learning that Director Zhang was home, Shui Miao immediately brought his sister Chen Meiling along to visit Zhang’s house. Chen Meiling had her own car, a luxurious model worth over a million. Inside the car, Chen Meiling’s heart was filled with mixed emotions. She had always been looked down upon by Director Zhang. Now, visiting him at his home, she had no idea what kind of cold reception awaited her. But recalling Shui Miao’s words—doing what you must and valuing yourself—why should she care so much about others’ opinions? Thinking this way, Chen Meiling gradually calmed herself.

Now, not only did Chen Meiling obey Shui Miao’s every command, but even Lin Zhiling had thoughts of following Shui Miao to learn the Dao.

For any ordinary person, who wouldn’t wish to cultivate immortality if given the chance?

Once her heart had calmed, the socially adept Chen Meiling deliberately stopped by a supermarket and specially purchased some gifts along the way. After all, politeness never offends, and a smiling face helps avoid conflict. Chen Meiling thought to herself that with her sincerity and Shui Miao speaking on her behalf, she was certain the misunderstanding with Director Zhang could be resolved.

Ten or so minutes later, Shui Miao and his sister Chen Meiling arrived at Director Zhang’s house.

When Director Zhang opened the door and saw Chen Meiling, he froze in shock.

However, with the help of Shui Miao and Director Zhang’s wife, Zhao Li, the atmosphere wasn’t as awkward as Chen Meiling had feared.

Director Zhang pulled Shui Miao into the study and asked directly what was going on.

Shui Miao told him everything that had happened that day and shared his thoughts, hoping that Director Zhang would give his sister a chance to reform and stop viewing her with prejudice.

Director Zhang shook his head. “It’s not that I want to look at her with bias—it’s because she went too far before. Her reputation in the business world is terrible; she specialized in deceiving people she knew. Now you want to hand over all your assets to her? That’s just reckless nonsense! Don’t ask me about this—ask your mother first. If she can accept her, then I have no problem. Anyway, those properties were given to me by your father. Returning them to you now is only right.”

“My mother!?”

Shui Miao was puzzled. “What does he mean? Did Chen Meiling hurt my mother too?”

“Not her personally—but her mother did. Her mother took advantage of a desperate situation and stole your father away. Even your father’s death was connected to her mother. If her mother weren’t already dead, I’d have arrested her. That old woman, because your father refused to marry her, betrayed him. If it hadn’t been for that, your father wouldn’t have been cornered by those old bastards to the point of no return.”

Shui Miao only knew that his father had been ruined by schemes from the old foxes of the Haihai Chamber of Commerce, leading to his company’s bankruptcy and his eventual suicide by overdose. But Shui Miao didn’t know the full details.

“Fine! I’ll go ask my mother.”

Shui Miao stood up to leave.

But just then, Director Zhang’s wife, Zhao Li, pulled him out to the balcony. She pointed at the withered heavenly bamboo plant and whispered, “Xiaoshui, tell me honestly—how advanced is your cultivation? This heavenly bamboo was never this big before, and certainly never had buds. Tell Auntie what’s really going on here.”

“Auntie, I actually brought that plant back to life that day. But later, I was afraid you’d spread the news and cause me trouble, so I withdrew my spiritual energy, and the plant withered again.” Shui Miao dared not admit he had cultivated immortal power—it would be too shocking. “Auntie, if you want to learn energy cultivation, I can teach you later. But now I need to go see my mother. As you can see, I need to help my sister and mother reconcile.”

“Fine, I’ll go with you. As long as you teach me, I have a plan that will definitely help you turn swords into plowshares—but only if Chen Meiling is truly sincere.” Zhao Li winked and pulled Shui Miao along.

Seeing Auntie acting so mysteriously, Shui Miao felt a bit uncertain.

“Mom, I want to go too! Once you’re done, Xiaoshui still has to go to school with me. Without him, I’ll just embarrass myself again at the party the classmates organized!” Seeing everyone preparing to leave, Zhang Hanya, who had just been sleeping, quickly got up and insisted on joining them.

But since Zhang Hanya needed a long time to wash her face and put on makeup, Director Zhang had no choice but to stay behind and wait for his beloved daughter.

The group arrived at Bishui Mingyuan. Zhao Li went in first and spoke with Shui Miao’s mother, Yang Min, for over ten minutes.

Ten minutes later, Yang Min led everyone inside.

Yang Min directly addressed Chen Meiling: “Chen Meiling, are you sincere?”

“Yes!” Chen Meiling nodded heavily.

Yang Min smiled with a shake of her head. “But I don’t believe you. Are you willing to take a test?”

“I am.”

Chen Meiling responded decisively.

Yang Min nodded. “Your attitude is sincere. Well then, I’ll speak plainly. Your mother and I had a grudge—it should have been between me and her. Involving you was unfair. But now my son Shui Miao wants to transfer all his assets to you. As his mother, I can’t just ignore this. Since you’re so determined to cooperate, here’s my proposal: as an elder, I’ll take the lead. You two younger ones will place your assets under my management, and you’ll both work with me to grow them. What do you think of this suggestion?”

This suggestion was exactly the clever idea Zhao Li had proposed.

It was a way to test Chen Meiling’s sincerity.

Everyone who knew her understood that Chen Meiling valued money above all else. She would never easily give up her assets. If she agreed, it would prove she had truly changed. Moreover, Shui Miao’s current wealth was far less than Chen Meiling’s. Under these circumstances, if she still agreed, Yang Min had nothing more to say.

Everyone turned to Chen Meiling, waiting for her response.

It was like a gamble—lose, and she would lose everything.

Chen Meiling looked at everyone, then approached Shui Miao and softly said, “Brother, your words ‘of the same root, why so cruelly oppress each other’ made me feel genuine warmth. Not for any other reason—just because you called me ‘sister,’ I’m willing to do anything.”

“Are you really willing?”

Yang Min frowned and warned, “You’re not afraid I’ll embezzle all your assets and leave you with nothing? Remember, you’ve done so many ruthless things—I could be just as ruthless to you.”

“I don’t care. I’ve forgotten the past. I only know that now I still have a younger brother. At least I have a brother. I will never be truly alone.” Chen Meiling spoke calmly, then softly exhaled. “I didn’t expect that letting go of the burden of money would make me feel so light. I’ve lived such a hard life before!”

…

Chen Meiling’s words came straight from the heart, with not a single false syllable.

Zhao Li nodded to Yang Min, indicating that Chen Meiling seemed trustworthy.

Yang Min was stunned. She looked at Shui Miao, puzzled—how could her son, still so young, be so powerful? To have even transformed someone as money-obsessed as Chen Meiling was almost unbelievable!

Shui Miao nodded at Chen Meiling. “Sister, you’ll always be my sister. No one can ever change that.”

These words, which might seem meaningless to others, carried deep meaning for Chen Meiling. All these years, she had endured hardship after hardship, committed many wrongs against her conscience, and struggled to build her fortune. She had never truly enjoyed her wealth or known the warmth of family. Today, she had finally found the feeling of kinship. She realized that beyond money, there were things in this world worth treasuring.

“Thank you… thank you, little brother…”

Unexpectedly accepted by everyone, Chen Meiling couldn’t help but cry.

Seeing Chen Meiling’s tears, Yang Min’s heart softened. She stepped forward, wiped the tears from Chen Meiling’s face, and sighed, “Look at you—you really do resemble your father!” By the end of those words, tears streamed down Yang Min’s face too. “Child… from now on, I will be your mother… no one will ever hurt you again…”

Yang Min had faced death before. She wasn’t a stubborn old woman. She knew how hard it was for a woman to survive in the business world. She also knew that Chen Meiling carried much of her husband’s spirit within her.

“Mom… Mother…”

Chen Meiling burst into tears again—this was the second time she had cried so hard that day! This time, her heart had completely melted in the warmth of family. She had dreamed of being accepted and loved, but everyone had always treated her with cold indifference.

The cruel, cold world had nearly driven her to despair!

Only today had her dream come true. Only today had she finally let go of hatred and returned to a home filled with love and kinship.

But who could know how much pain was hidden in her cries?

Zhao Li walked over, hugging Chen Meiling to give her even more warmth.

Yang Fen and Chen Xiang also came over and embraced Chen Meiling.

Wang Xiaomi approached as well…

Shui Miao let out a long sigh, feeling especially happy. He imagined his father watching from the heavens—he would surely be comforted too. Judging by how things were going, Shui Miao could finally free himself from business matters and fully dedicate himself to Dao cultivation, ghost hunting, feng shui research, and luring disciples to gain faith and spiritual power. He would rise step by step, exploring the mysteries of the immortal realm!

“We’re here!”

Just then, Zhang Hanya and Director Zhang arrived upstairs at the door. Seeing the scene inside, they were completely stunned!

But ten minutes later, laughter filled the room, warm and harmonious.

Shui Miao was pulled aside by the playful Zhang Hanya, who begged, “Brother Shui Miao, it’s almost time. My classmates are all urging me. Now that everyone is so happy and we’re like one big family, please have mercy on your little sister and help me go to school. When they see how wise, mighty, and handsome you are, they’ll be so jealous of me!”

“Hehe, look at how anxious you are. Shouldn’t we at least say goodbye to everyone before leaving?” Shui Miao smiled and shook his head, realizing how much like a little girl Zhang Hanya really was.

“No need, no need! I already said goodbye to everyone just now.” Zhang Hanya pushed Shui Miao toward the door as she spoke. “I already told my classmates you’re a super feng shui master. Many of them heard me boasting about you and now have difficult problems they want you to help with—and they even want to become your disciples!”

“Is that so? Then I’ll have to charge. My fees aren’t cheap!” Shui Miao joked.

But Zhang Hanya sweetly replied, “They’re all super rich! They’d think you’re cheap if you charged too little! You should at least ask for ten thousand per consultation. And if it involves specific tasks, you can raise the price accordingly. I estimate you could earn millions tonight. Just give me a third as a commission and we’re good!”

Zhang Hanya only said half of it—her real motive remained unspoken.

There were rumors of ghosts haunting the school lately, causing panic.

Zhang Hanya had boasted in front of her classmates, so she had no choice but to drag Shui Miao along to solve the problem.