Chapter 542: Even though He’s an Old Senior in the Merging Stage… Human Nature Doesn’t Change
“Can’t depend on you? Fine, can’t depend. No need to cling so tight, ya know…”
Especially now that Tian Yan has broken through the Merging Stage, his body has become much stronger along with his cultivation.
Bai Feng was lounging on a deck chair, gently shaking his head. Still, his body, refined through the Body Cultivation Method, was just a tad sturdier.
Meanwhile, Tian Yan had returned to the Celestial Ring to consolidate his cultivation. Once he’s done, he’ll prepare some early moves against the Siku Family.
As for the system’s restrictions on Tian Yan—let’s put it this way: Tian Yan and the system are now pretty much inseparable. The system, or rather the ‘Tian Dao,’ isn’t directly linked to Tian Yan according to the Holy Land of Tian Yan’s records. Under the system’s operation, Tian Yan isn’t directly connected to the system; instead, it establishes a deep connection first, and then relays information to Tian Yan indirectly through him.
Is it because it can’t make direct contact? Or perhaps Tian Yan has high clearance? Or maybe the system just isn’t too happy with Tian Yan?
“Teacher, you’re here!”
Shui Xi Yu first looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then hurried over.
Bai Feng paused his wandering thoughts and turned to look at the current Empress of Tongzhou. He couldn’t help but ask, “By the way, don’t you need to go back and check the situation?”
He remembered that when promoting wheat, Shui Xi Yu had briefly returned home, then came back after two or three days.
“No need. Thanks to the Image Retainer you invented, I just open it during court sessions. Plus, there are ministers helping handle most of the work. The responsibilities I have here are plenty.”
“Is that so…”
Wow, a 21st-century remote office, huh? You’re doing remote government meetings now?
The image of ministers speaking into a big screen with an Image Retainer made him choke.
“Still, you should visit sometimes. The influence of the Empress of Tongzhou on the Northern Region isn’t great.”
Shui Xi Yu nodded. “Yeah, mostly because I have too much to learn lately. Plus, Tongzhou is pretty stable now, so big matters usually don’t need my personal touch.”
“By the way, what about the senior who came with you? Did she say anything?”
“Shen Shui Ling… she…” Shui Xi Yu hesitated for a few seconds. “Just so you know, not all Dragon Bloodline folks are like that. She’s an exception.”
“Her and who else?”
Bai Feng’s instincts twitched with a bad premonition.
“Shen Shui Ling has been obsessed with the games she made recently, and she often asks Shui Miao Miao to borrow books.”
“……You definitely came out with an Old Senior in the Merging Stage, right?” Bai Feng confirmed again. No need to overthink—she was probably borrowing some strange books.
“Absolutely! Just, Shen Shui Ling’s mindset is quite young…”
The more Shui Xi Yu spoke, the less confident she felt. For her own Merging Stage senior to be addicted to games and spicy books—that was hard to admit.
“Let’s not talk about this anymore,”
Bai Feng waved a hand. Even though she’s an Old Senior in the Merging Stage… human nature is human nature. Nothing strange about it.
“By the way, what do you want to see me about?”
“Um, I want to invite the teacher to my house to look at the Array I made,” Shui Xi Yu lifted her chin slightly, eyes locking onto Bai Feng.
“Just to look at the Array?”
“……”
Shui Xi Yu didn’t answer; she just kept staring at him.
“I think you’re mistaken,” Bai Feng thought. Folks with Dragon Bloodline are usually pretty straightforward. But Shui Xi Yu is a bit more reserved.
“Let’s go,”
……
“Excellent at Illusion Art, and also knows a little bit of medical skills.”
Serious-form Shui Yi Yi sat in front of a table, contemplating the gathered information.
Besides, she also learned the full story of the Onimaru’s Arm incident from Little Jiu. What she cared about most was that after her own Onimaru’s Arm was removed, it didn’t wake her up immediately but instead fell into a coma for a long time.
And if she remembers correctly, her first sight upon waking was Bai Feng—meaning Bai Feng must have been treating her at that moment.
Putting all this together, her dream tiger identity took on a whole new layer of intrigue.
“Could it really be Bai Feng? But if it is, why doesn’t he admit it?”
Tiger Yi Yi still had many questions—that was normal. But she wasn’t disappointed or angry upon noticing that the tiger in her dream was probably Bai Feng. In fact, she was a little thrilled—two happy things overlapping just made her even more joyful.
After all, she loved Bai Feng’s meatballs. If her dream tiger really is Bai Feng—wouldn’t that be awesome?
The only problem was, why wouldn’t Bai Feng admit it?
Tiger Yi Yi pondered for a few seconds. Her energy was probably running out—her brain was flooded with images of meatballs and delicacies.
She swallowed hard and reached for her special little bowl of meatballs, only to find them all gone while she was organizing her notes.
“Hmm, is it too early to go find Bai Feng for a meal?”
She tilted her head, glancing outside to check the sky.
Gulp~~
Her body instantly shrank back into its energy-saving small form. She rubbed her little belly, then stood up from her seat—enough, she was starving. She had to find Bai Feng to mooch some food. Even if no rice was available, just some snacks would do.
A few minutes later.
Bai Feng silently took a bag of Tiger Food from his ring and handed it to the hungry Tiger Yi Yi who had run up to him.
He also added, “Don’t go bullying puppets in the Simulation Secret Realm.”
“Okay.”
Tiger Yi Yi nodded without objection. She knew it was impolite to gather info on others without permission, so she kept her secrets.
Just as she was about to take the Tiger Food and continue thinking about how to get Bai Feng to admit she was the tiger from her dream, Bai Feng suddenly asked:
“By the way, have you been asking around about me lately?”
“Eh?”
Her move froze instantly. She turned her head, feeling a rush of her limited remaining energy flooding her mind, making her go crazy trying to process.
“Yeah, I did ask around,” she admitted. “I haven’t been able to help much, so I wanted to see if I could do something to help.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll need my help soon enough. I remember you’ve already broken through to Refining Virtual, right? You don’t need to hold back on food these days. Eat more—there’s probably going to be a tough fight ahead.”
“Oh, okay,” she nodded quickly. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll go back and cultivate now.”
“Alright, take care.”
With a normal expression, she turned and pushed open the door to her house. After walking to the back of her place, she finally let out a long sigh and slumped onto the sofa, feeling like her energy was completely drained. Her small body shrank even more.
She hurriedly opened her Tiger Food and stuffed a handful of meatballs into her mouth.
“I’ve survived!”
Tiger Yi Yi slowly sat up, sure enough her actions didn’t escape Bai Feng’s notice. Luckily, she had anticipated this situation and prepared her excuse in advance.
“Wait, why was I so scared?”
Refilling her brain with energy, Tiger Yi Yi suddenly realized—though collecting some information about Bai Feng was a bit rude, those weren’t exactly secrets. Even if Bai Feng found out her guesses, it wouldn’t stop her from continuing to gather evidence, right?
Forget it—might as well go through with it; gathering evidence this way might actually be easier.
