“Uh…?”
Feeling her head being pressed upon, Nuo’er glances at Bai Wen, who had been the culprit.
Raising a subtle sigh, Bai Wen says—
“They say—live long enough, and you’d get to see just about anything. Today, I’ve learned that to be true. You want to help that little girl make it back home; Nuo’er, your intentions are good. However, you need to keep in mind the difficulties that she would have to face—when she does get back, which is to say, sending her back may not be the best solution.”
Shaking off Bai Wen’s hand, Nuo’er adjusts her hat, and replies—
“Never thought I’d ever be lectured to by you, Bai Wen.”
“Isn’t it an interesting experience?”
“It’s humiliating if anything.”
Contemplating for a bit, Long Hua raises a sigh, while thinking—
(Whenever we meet, it’s always either I have business with them, or they have business with me. Even at the barbecue place… Mood was nice—once the business talk was dealt with, but it’s still a dinner with a serious purpose in mind initially. As for this one…)
With their business associate like interactions so far, it’s impossible to call this a casual dinner between friends.
Nevertheless, Long Hua doesn’t wish to be the one to spoil the mood of this dinner, hence—
“Little girl, there’s nothing wrong with being a practitioner, and wanting strength, but if you want to walk this path, then you had best have a good reason for it.”
“…”
“Lao Bai said, fate is a whimsical mistress; that’s also to say—it’s something that changes over time. Alright, enough is enough; return to your seat, and fill your stomach.”
As Yao Ying replies with a somewhat dispirited nod, and begins to return to her seat, Long Hua turns his attention to Bai Wen, and asks—
“This dinner can’t just be some welcome back party, can it? Similarly to me, there’s a reason for all of us to be here. I believe, it’s your turn this time, Lao Bai.”
Refilling his cup with a chuckle, Bai Wen says—
“My reason is quite simply. I’m gifting this to you.”
Placing a purple-colored jade slip onto the table, Bai Wen slides it towards Long Hua, who asks—
“What’s it used for?”
“Imbue it with your divine senses, and I’ll know if your life is ever in danger.”
“Why does it feel like it’s just something that will be used to stalk me with?”
“Think of it this way, Lao Long. If you die, where would I go to acquire the cultivation method that I want from?”
Seeing the logic behind this, Long Hua takes the jade slip, and imbues it with his divine senses, prior to sliding it back towards Bai Wen.
“…”
Observing the rest of the dinner in silence, Zhen Rong can’t help but find the food somewhat difficult to chew through.
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Eventually, the time to say goodbyes came, with Long Hua being the first to leave with Tian Cheng.
Soon after, Bai Wen does the same, taking both Nuo’er and Yao Ying with him.
Upon the dinner’s conclusion, workers come into the vicinity, to clear away the table, while Zhen Rong leaves to deal with her assigned tasks.
It isn’t until half an hour later that Zhen Rong returns, to find Zhen Huai sitting at the table with a cup of tea in hand.
Sitting down beside Zhen Huai, Zhen Rong heaves a sigh, and says—
“I never thought that a simple dinner could be so exhausting to go through…”
Setting the cup of tea down, Zhen Huai smiles, and replies—
“You’ll have to get used to it with this group.”
“…Big sis, why can’t all of you just get along as friends?”
“…”
Being called “big sis,” Zhen Huai’s smile vanishes, and replies—
“Xiao Rong, haven’t I told you to not call me that when we’re in the village?”
“Not like anyone else is here watching. Big sis, you really should loosen up a bit.”
Before Zhen Huai could reply, Zhen Rong had already reached her hand forward, and undid the bindings on the former’s hair, causing it to loosen and fall.
“…”
Not too pleased by what Zhen Rong had done, Zhen Huai’s expression turns stiff.
The reason Zhen Huai dresses as a man is because during her early days as a merchant, she was often underestimated due to her gender.
Later, when her right leg became the way it currently is, it only served to worsen her standings in the business circle; and those who had conducted business with Zhen Huai at the time, tended to stare at her with lecherous eyes—thinking her to be an easy target, resulting in negotiations often getting nowhere.
In the end, she decided to cross-dress, and change her original name, which was Zhēn Qīng Huái (真清怀) into Zhen Huai to make it sound more masculine.
From there, business negotiations became a bit easier, resulting in her current success with New Moon Village’s unique ability to bring in the wares of the Leng Bing Realm into the Everlasting Spirit Realm.
“…”
Touching her dark hair that has a few shades of blue in it, Zhen Qing Huai heaves a sigh. It’s been some time since she had last been able to let her hair down.
“To answer your question, Xiao Rong—it’s because all of us have our individual baggage; none of us are willing to help each other carry these baggage, and neither would we let the others do so. Lao Bai, Bai Wen—although he puts on a friendly face, he’s not too open about his personal issues. At best, him and I are acquaintances, and we’ve been stuck at this relationship level for as long as I can remember. Long-xiong, Long Hua—he doesn’t see any of us as friends; he maintains a certain amount of distance from those he interacts with. The reason for this—is because he knows that the moment, he manages to become able to return home, we won’t ever see each other again. We all see each other as business associates; we simply talk to one another when there is something that we seek to gain from each other.”
Raising a frown, Zhen Rong remarks—
“…That’s rather sad………”
Smiling faintly, Zhen Qing Huai replies—
“Xiao Rong, it’s already very difficult for just a single individual to survive in this world. My heart has only enough space for you, and the others of our bloodline branch. Someone like Lao Bai and Long-xiong, people with baggage equal to theirs—I simply have no space for them. The weight of their baggage, it isn’t something that a cripple like me is able to lift. Besides, business associate relationships aren’t that bad. It’s convenient because we can cut one another off when needed; this is something that all three of us are aware of.”
“…”
Not knowing what to say in response to these words, Zhen Rong remains silent.
More times than she could count, Zhen Rong had always felt apologetic towards her older sister.
In Zhen Rong’s opinion, the one who should have been crippled from the incident, which robbed Zhen Qing Huai—the use of her right leg, should have been her.
(If that odd beast had bitten me instead, that would have been better. Compared to me, big sis, who is able to achieve her current business standings is much more suited to being called the hope of our bloodline branch. This stupid curse of our bloodline branch…)
Thinking up to here, Zhen Rong sighs, and asks—
“Long-shao asking for books on curse studies was rather unexpected, wasn’t it?”
“Indeed. It honestly felt like it was a miracle… But he said before that he’s no expert on curses. So-?”
“The more hopeful a person is, the more painful it will be when the hope is dashed, right, big sis?”
Replying with a nod, Zhen Qing Huai adds—
“From my past experiences of observing people, I can say for certain that Long-xiong isn’t the heroic type. That killing intent of his… Even if it wasn’t directed at me, I can tell immediately that he’s someone whose ferocity knows no bounds—if he was made to put his life on the line to accomplish something. That sort of ferocity, it suits a dispassionate beast more than a human. People of his nature are often called a star of disaster.”