"Little Tao, you frightened her." Lan Tian helplessly looked towards the peach tree. Although Little Tao is an Immortal Peach, its intelligence is equivalent to that of a human child around six or seven years old, without any sense of right or wrong, guided entirely by its preferences, like how it tricked her into the valley at the beginning only because it wanted soone to talk to. It often needs people to coax it. Chun i saying it was useless and wanted to chop it down touched its sore spot; it had to watch its master die back in the day, powerless to do anything.
"That mortal said I was useless and wanted Master to chop down." Little Tao’s mood was a bit down, feeling especially aggrieved. Could it be that Master thinks the sa, that’s why Master doesn’t stand up for it and instead stands up for that mortal?
"Who said that? Little Tao, you’re very useful. Without you, Taohua Valley wouldn’t be such a blessed land. My cultivation wouldn’t have advanced so quickly. Your peach branches can be used to make magic artifacts and repel evil. The flowers bloom like spring all year round, pleasing to the eye and practical. Where else can you find such a useful peach tree?" Lan Tian talked at length to persuade her, but Little Tao’s mood hadn’t improved. She continued to comfort persistently, "I definitely stand by your side, it’s not that I don’t let you vent your anger, but we need a plan, right? Think about it, if she has a mishap as soon as she arrives, wouldn’t it tell others that there is a ghost in our house? Once that gets out, and if a cultivator with advanced cultivation cos, we would both be in danger, you get it?"
With that said, Little Tao’s mood improved a little, but it still muttered, "I know, I’m not as capable as Xiao Lei. Xiao Lei can take on tribulations for Master in the future. Master looks down on , it’s expected. No wonder Xiao Lei never has to address Master as ’Master’."
Lan Tian’s mouth twitched, Little Tao was clearly jealous. She pursed her lips and gave a faint smile, "How about from now on, you call ’big sis’?"
"Doesn’t that seem a bit improper!" Little Tao seed sowhat tempted, but its face pretended to reluctantly agree.
"If you don’t want to, forget it. I’m leaving." Lan Tian turned around to leave, tired of talking, a hint of a smile spilling from her lips.
Seeing Lan Tian actually walking away, Little Tao hurriedly called out in panic, "Big sis, are you really leaving! You have to keep your word. From now on, I’ll call you ’big sis.’ It’s much more intimate than always calling you ’Master,’ which makes us seem distant. Big sis, take care, co to visit often!" Little Tao swayed its branches, cheerfully seeing Lan Tian off.
...
Ever since Chun i and her three ca, day in day out, Chun i’s angry howling is heard, chasing after the kids, hollering and scolding, while the house descends into chaos with non-stop noise and tears.
No way to cultivate!
Lan Tian flipped over, pulled the quilt over her head, planning to get so extended sleep; the screams from the courtyard pierced the air like screaming demons.
What’s going on again?
Unable to sleep anymore, Lan Tian sat up in a jiffy, sighed looking outside the room, sat dazed for a while, and then resignedly got up to wash and rinse.
Coming out, she saw Grandma Sun and the others had also gotten up and were washing up in the courtyard. Mo Yuanle, carrying a bamboo basket and a small hoe, was heading out, while Chun i was washing the faces of the elder and second kids. The one crying was the second child, Chun i was scolding while washing. Lan Tian glanced at them and her gaze slipped towards Mo Yuanle.
"Uncle, are you going to the orchard or the vegetable patch?" The house was too noisy; she didn’t want to stay.
"The orchard."
"I’ll go too, Uncle, wait for ." After quickly washing up and changing clothes, she said to Grandma Sun, "Grandma, I’m going to the garden with my uncle."
"Be careful, there are a lot of bugs outside." Grandma Sun instructed.
Chun i cast a glance at the departing figures of Lan Tian and Mo Yuanle, looked towards Grandma Sun, her eyes shifty. After finishing washing both kids, the youngest in the room also started wailing. The eldest cried, the youngest followed suit, and Chun i’s frustration flared.
"Smack"
She slapped the second child across the face, which left him dazed, forgetting to cry, and staring dumbfounded at Chun i.
"A bunch of debt-collecting spirits, keep crying and I’ll smack you to death." She glared fiercely at her two sons, entered the house muttering curses.
Grandma Sun, who was cooking in the kitchen, shook her head while Zhao Li, washing vegetables in the courtyard, seed to have heard nothing.
...
The uncle and niece headed towards the orchard on the back mountain. After leaving the courtyard, with high spirits under the blue sky, Lan Tian playfully interacted with all the flowers and didnt walk two miles before her hands were full of wildflowers. Humming a tune, she swung her hands in delight.
Mo Yuanle watched her with happiness.
"How is your martial arts training?" When she had just moved to Shanghai that year, she frequently went into the mountains. Knowing that she went there to train, the family wasn’t too worried.
In the past two years, Little Tao went to the mountain very few tis—in fact, not enough fingers on one hand to count—which made everyone at ho worried that she had so issues. Grandma Sun had spoken to him about it behind her back a few tis, suggesting he should ask her.
Martial arts training?
Lan Tian’s expression flickered, and then she heard Mo Yuanle ask, "Lately, I’ve seldom seen you go to the mountains. Is there a problem with your training?"
Lan Tian imdiately understood. Her family was worried about her cultivation. Her cultivation level had reached Qi Cultivation Great Perfection, and for the past two years, she had been concentrating on refining her spirit. She didn’t need to go to the mountains to practice. She was just waiting for the right mont to attempt the Foundation Establishnt, but her family did not know her situation.
She explained softly and slowly, "Oh, there’s no problem. The Immortal Law I cultivate is different from the traditional ones. It emphasizes relaxation and refining the spirit first, and then the thod."
Seeing her uncle listening seriously, she continued, "I’ve completed the first phase. These past two years, I’ve been cultivating my spirit, preparing for the next phase. I’ve been aning to discuss it with you all. Once Mo Junhua returns, I’ll go to the mountain to enter seclusion. The seclusion may last months or even years, and if it goes past the start of the school term, you’ll have to go to the school and ask the principal to defer my studies until I return."
Mo Yuanle nodded, understanding the situation well. He was used to Little Tao taking leave for mountain training ever since she was young.
"I’m aware of it. Don’t worry," Mo Yuanle glanced at his niece who seed in a good mood. It had been a few years since they last t, and it seed Little Tao didn’t miss him much. Mo Junhua was a good man, especially good to Little Tao. He had always urged Little Tao to have a good life with him, knowing her indifferent nature, Mo Junhua might have a lot to endure.
"When will Hua Zi return?" Mo Yuanle asked.
"Soon, in the next few days!" Lan Tian raised her eyes to the sky, her expression faint. Guesstimating that the dicinal ointnt would soon run out, Mo Junhua wouldn’t need to hide the fact that his leg was already healed and he could move around.
"The military should have so news. I’ll visit them tomorrow." Lan Tian turned her gaze to Mo Yuanle, tentatively probing, "Uncle, I an, just in case, if I ever split up with Mo Junhua..."
Mo Yuanle suddenly stopped walking, his face expressionless, his gaze calm without a ripple.
Lan Tian felt her heart pounding uncontrollably, her scalp tingling faintly. The question "What do you think?" got stuck in her throat. The more expressionless Mo Yuanle was, the more intimidated Lan Tian felt. The fingers clasped behind her back twisted nervously and then released, only to twist again.
"Uncle..." called Lan Tian uneasily, frightened by her uncle’s deanor.
"What happened between you and Mo Junhua? Did he do sothing to wrong you?" Her uncle knew she never spoke without reason.
"Nothing like that," Lan Tian replied without thinking.
Oh no!
After answering, Lan Tian imdiately regretted it, guessing that her uncle must have beco suspicious because she responded too quickly without any hesitation.
After a long pause, Mo Yuanle finally said, "That’s good. Marriage is for life, not a child’s play. You can’t just marry when you want and split when you don’t. When you wanted to get married, I asked you, and you said you wouldn’t regret it."
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