**Chapter 134: Bai Yu Mo Returns Home Early**
“By the way, Brother, I heard you ran into Black Lotus when you went out.”
Little Qi seemed to remember something, her eyes locking onto Bai Feng’s face.
“Yep, ran into her,” Bai Feng nodded. “That old hag is as sneaky as they come—high cultivation and all those dirty tricks. But your brother? I outsmarted her and made her taste defeat!”
“You’re lying.” Little Qi lowered her head slightly, mumbling, “I heard you almost got snatched away by that demon woman.”
“You knew that and still asked me?” Bai Feng pinched her chubby cheek playfully. “Look at you, getting all bold now! Trying to tease your older brother?”
But Little Qi didn’t resist. Instead, she asked, looking slightly downcast, “Brother, is it true that having white hair brings bad luck?”
“Of course not! If it was that mystical, my orphanage would’ve gone bankrupt ages ago.” Bai Feng paused, pulling her chin up with his finger to make her smile. “Stop looking like you’re at a funeral! I escaped from that terrifying old hag, so we should be celebrating!”
“But…”
Releasing her cheek, he gently stroked a strand of her long silver hair. “Don’t overthink it. And listen here, no thoughts of chopping your hair! It took forever for it to grow this long; cutting it would be such a waste.”
“Mhm…”
Little Qi nodded, staring down at her long white locks, deep in thought.
“How about we switch up your hairstyle instead?”
Seeing Little Qi still fixating on her hair, Bai Feng suggested brightly.
“Hairstyle?” Little Qi blinked in confusion. “Like tying it up?”
“Close enough!” Bai Feng pulled out a few satin hair ties, remnants of the clothes Lin Yan and the others had bought, and decided now was the perfect time to use them. “Pass me that comb.”
With curious eyes, Little Qi handed over her frequently used comb to Bai Feng.
A few minutes later…
Bai Feng admired the sight of her white twin tails tied with black ribbons, nodding in satisfaction.
White hair looks amazing in twin tails!
He’d wanted to do this for ages, but back at the orphanage, her hair wasn’t long enough. Now, his dreams had finally come true!
“How do you like it? Good-looking?” He held up a mirror for her.
Little Qi stared at herself in the mirror, instinctively reaching out to touch her hair.
“Later, I’ll get Master Yu Yao to make you a black plaid skirt, paired with a white top and white stockings. No, black stockings could work too. White hair and black stockings are such a chic combo! Besides, a white dress or a black gothic skirt isn’t bad either…”
Bai Feng continued rambling on.
“Mhm…”
Little Qi gazed at herself in the mirror. It really did feel different with the new style, and Bai Feng seemed to love it.
“Ahem, sorry, got a bit carried away there.” Bai Feng coughed lightly; he always felt a tad infected by Yu Yao’s enthusiasm when he spent too much time with her. “But this hairstyle is quite rare. Other people might think it’s strange. If you feel uncomfortable, just take the hair ties out.”
“Okay.” Little Qi nodded. “Then I’ll only wear this hairstyle in front of you.”
“You doing that might just make me want to take advantage of you!” Bai Feng chuckled, but his smile suddenly faded as he remembered something. “Oh, Little Qi! I’ve got something cool for you.”
He summoned Immortal Fire, flames dancing playfully in his hand without any heat.
Little Qi blinked, her curiosity piqued as she looked at the flames.
She remembered that it was this Immortal Fire that helped her break free from Black Lotus’s inheritance.
“I’m going to place a strand of Immortal Fire inside you. It’ll protect you from demon energy.”
Bai Feng explained, having thought of this method while burning the demonic energy from Zuo Qiu’s body.
After all, with Black Lotus still lurking around and Zuo Qiu’s situation serving as a warning, giving Little Qi a strand of Immortal Fire would help prevent Black Lotus from using sneaky tactics against her.
“Just hold on a bit.” He extracted a strand of Immortal Fire, sending it gently towards Little Qi’s body. “It might hurt at first, so shout if it’s too much.”
“Okay.” Little Qi took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and closed her eyes. “Brother, go for it.”
As Bai Feng placed the strand of Immortal Fire inside her, her body immediately tensed, her temperature skyrocketing, and sweat practically drenched her clothes.
“Ugh…ahhh…”
She gritted her teeth, unable to contain her muffled groans.
At that moment, Bai Feng suddenly sensed someone approaching his room. He raised his hand, then dropped it again.
Peeking at the time, he wondered why Bai Yu Mo was back so early today.
Outside, Bai Yu Mo was briskly walking toward the door, carrying fresh beast meat and vegetables.
After making some breakthroughs in her swordsmanship, her master let her return early to rest. On her way back, she took the time to make a detour to buy some ingredients, hoping to surprise Bai Feng.
Bai Yu Mo cheerfully placed her hand on the door and pushed it hard, but the door didn’t budge.
“Eh? No one’s home?”
Confused, she was about to grab her keys when she suddenly heard faint muffled groans from inside.
If it weren’t for her enhanced hearing from merging with celestial bone, she probably wouldn’t have caught that sound.
Her expression froze. That voice was obviously female. Could it be…
A wave of confusion, sadness, and anger surged through her heart.
Her hand instinctively applied more force, and the sturdy door almost caved in.
Boom!
With a loud bang, the door burst open. Bai Yu Mo stepped inside, her expression remarkably collected, walking in with a mask of indifference: “Brother, what are you doing…?”
Staring at the scene before her, Bai Yu Mo froze. She first glanced at Little Qi, who was wincing in pain. Even from afar, she could feel the high temperature radiating from her, confirming they weren’t doing what she feared; it looked more like Little Qi was being subjected to some sort of punishment.
Next, she turned her gaze to the slightly helpless Bai Feng. Amidst the awkwardness, her curiosity deepened.
“Good thing I closed the array in time, or you’d’ve gotten hurt too,” Bai Feng waved his hand, shutting the door once more.
“Brother, what are you two doing?” Bai Yu Mo stepped closer, her curiosity piqued. “Did Little Qi do something wrong?”
“No, I was worried Black Lotus would use underhanded tactics against her, so I placed a strand of Immortal Fire inside her for protection,” Bai Feng shook his head, then looked at Bai Yu Mo. “What brought you back so early?”
“I had a breakthrough in my swordsmanship, and my master told me to come back and rest.”
“Really? Then how about we spar a bit later?”
Bai Feng suddenly became excited. His Yin Yang Pattern was practically itching to be used!
Although his master’s sword skills were better, he couldn’t replicate them—Bai Yu Mo was much easier to spar with.
“Sure! I’ll go cook something first!” Bai Yu Mo nodded with a smile, lifting the meat and vegetables. She cast a glance at Little Qi, still suffering. It seemed she wanted to ease the previous misunderstanding, so she suggested to Bai Feng, “Let’s have Little Qi stay over for a meal too.”
“Sure, I’ll talk to her after we finish.”
Bai Feng sighed in relief but then suddenly realized—wait, why was he getting so anxious?
…
“Wow, the Northern Region is this bustling?”
The Eastern Continent princess was on her way to the Heavenly Sword Sect, passing through many cities. Now, sitting in her carriage, she found herself questioning life. After all, she was a princess of the Eastern Continent, and she’d seen her fair share—yet her time in the Northern Region gave her the feeling of a country girl stepping into a city for the first time.
For starters, there were just so many people! The Eastern Continent consisted mainly of islands, which limited the population. On top of that, the selection of goods in the Northern Region was astonishingly rich.
The variety of beautiful clothes was leagues ahead of what she could find in the Eastern Continent. She couldn’t help but buy several pieces. Not to mention, there were wondrous portable arrays, too!
Though she hadn’t studied arrays, she knew they weren’t something you could just carry around, right?
As she passed through Xuan Guang City, she even saw a thing called the Image Retainer. It wasn’t released yet, but a prototype was available for handling, and she fell in love with it at first sight.
This thing was way more convenient than the Image Stone, and clearer too.
“Although Father and the others don’t interact much with the Central or Northern Regions, there’s no restriction on communication, right? How can the gap between the two places be so vast?”
As the princess pondered, a hint of crisis began to bloom in her heart.
