"Hey, what are you all doing, meow?"
In the Training Tower, it had been almost ten days since the full moon incident. Kuro, with no way home, could only stay put — until it started to feel like it was blending in with everyone else.
"Don't disturb Sister Hui'er."
Tang Yeye scooped up the little kitten before it could bother her older sister, who was training seriously in the gravity room.
Ever since the children heard their lady's story, neither of them could bring themselves to just sit around.
Both Hui'er and Tang Yeye immersed themselves here, training seriously to become stronger.
*WHOOSH!*
Under tremendous gravity that shifted back and forth unpredictably, Hui'er stood inside with her eyes closed, perfectly still. It had gone on for several minutes. Anyone who didn't know better might think she was simply standing there, doing nothing at all.
In reality, she was fighting the constant changes in pressure around her. The little one's qi circulation was growing more orderly and refined without her even realizing it.
The Dragon Queen, perched on Tang Yeye's head, narrowed her eyes and swallowed. Even as a great existence herself, watching the little girl's rate of progress made something cold settle in her chest.
...This learning speed surpassed any demonic beast she'd ever known.
She thought back to the first time she faced this child. Aside from her current Master, probably only Hui'er at that time could have defeated her!
Though she'd gone back and forth many times on whether to tell Bai Fanxian about that day, in the end she chose to keep it to herself.
"...If I remember correctly... your sister is an orphan, isn't she?"
The Dragon Queen pondered. But the question made Tang Yeye frown, yank the Dragon Queen down into her arms, and squeeze both small, chubby-cheeked creatures together with rather more force than was comfortable.
"Sister Hui'er has me, has my lady, has family!"
"...I understand."
The Dragon Queen was too tired to argue with someone she'd never win against anyway. She sighed and let it go.
But it was confirmation enough.
*...I'm starting to want to know who your real parents are.*
Her eyes narrowed as she stared at Hui'er reaching yet another level of achievement...
At the same time —
*BOOM!*
A thunderous boom rang out from Liu Yianfei's training room on the upper floor. Tang Yeye had no idea what went on up there — it wasn't just the young general, even her lady said it was too dangerous for them to go up there. She wanted to know what kind of training was taking place.
"...So boring."
"Why don't you go train then?"
She had to ask.
"Hehe... besides waiting for the gun Uncle Chunfeng is making for me, there's nothing else to do."
She grinned. She trained regularly enough, but compared to the others, hers was by far the lightest.
"Kuro is bored too, meow!"
The little black kitten seized the chance to agree, giving her a wide-eyed look. It had explored every corner of the island and knew every inch of it by now.
It had heard stories about the outside world from both girls, and without realizing it, something in it had sparked with curiosity. In all its trips to this island, never once had it gotten to play outside.
"Then come with me..."
Behind the three small creatures appeared the figure of a beautiful young woman. Bai Fanxian stood there gracefully, phone in hand, having just ended a call.
"My lady!?"
The children jumped in surprise. Tang Yeye was afraid of being scolded for trying to sneak out.
"Chunfeng called... your weapon is finished."
"Really!?"
Tang Yeye's eyes sparkled and she accidentally squeezed Kuro tight. She couldn't wait to see the new gun made especially for her.
"He's in the city now. I'll go get it myself. Want to go see the sights?"
She asked this not just for the children, but because she herself wanted a change of scenery. Pondering how to open a portal before the next full moon was making her too obsessed.
"Yes, meow! Kuro wants to go too, meow!"
The little kitten wriggled free of Tang Yeye and went to nuzzle Bai Fanxian with its most pleading look.
That sort of thing worked on the young ladies at the manor without fail.
But Bai Fanxian wasn't so easily charmed. She narrowed her eyes and looked at Kuro, considering.
"..."
.
.
.
*ZOOM!*
In the end that afternoon, Bai Fanxian departed from the private island with Tang Yeye. Besides the two of them, there was also the Dragon Queen perched on the little one's head while Kuro lay in Bai Fanxian's arms with a well-behaved expression.
They traveled on the black bird, which grew larger by the day. It was at least as fast as any vehicle in the city. Its enormous wings flapped rhythmically, and with its growing intelligence and cultivation power, it automatically released qi to shield the passengers from the wind.
"When I'm done, I'll call you..."
As they entered the city limits, Bai Fanxian pulled her small disciple and pets to jump down quietly before they drew attention. The black bird gave a soft cry and soared back into the clouds.
Only she and Tang Yeye came on this trip. Even the attentive butler Huang Zihuan was left behind to work on the island.
She was on her own today.
Bai Fanxian was dressed casually: a white shirt with sleeves rolled up to her elbows, dark blue jeans, and high heels that fit her figure perfectly.
This outfit was one of many the Tang Clan had sent her. Fashion had never interested her much. But this time, not wanting to be the center of attention, after consulting with the elderly butler she finally settled on dressing to blend in with the locals.
Bai Fanxian looked left and right before pulling out large black sunglasses and putting them on. She nodded with satisfaction. Surely no one would recognize her now.
But it seemed she was mistaken.
The moment she entered the commercial district, a young woman who looked like she'd stepped off the cover of a magazine stopped people in their tracks.
They all turned to look at her with interest.
"...At least they can't tell who my lady is, right?"
Tang Yeye standing beside her laughed and tried to comfort her. Bai Fanxian could only sigh helplessly and stroll through various shops along the street while pretending not to notice others' gazes.
"It's so lively here, meow..."
Kuro still remembered the promise it had made before coming out. It had to try to act like a normal cat as much as possible. The first rule was that it couldn't speak out loud in public. So it could only whisper secretly to Bai Fanxian.
"Your place isn't like this?"
Bai Fanxian stroked it and replied through qi.
"Right, meow... places with humans in that world are limited. There aren't many places where lots of people gather together like this, meow..."
The little kitten answered innocently. It had no idea its answer only deepened Bai Fanxian's worry and sharpened her desire to get there sooner.
"Come in now! Special secret pills that help increase success chances in cultivation are open for everyone to reserve starting today!"
Bai Fanxian who was walking and looking around noticed the crowd's attention shift from her to a shop opening ahead. While glad not to be the focus anymore, she was also drawn in — helplessly — by the word "pills."
Not just her. People were already streaming toward it the moment its doors opened.
In this era, who wouldn't be interested in cultivation? Just the title of cultivator was enough to brag about, or to earn real social standing.
So the shop front was filled with excitement.
The shop itself had been converted from a single room into a street-side store. Judging from the decoration and interior condition, customers would trust it — clearly no small sum had been invested to open this shop.
"Looks like the pill business is quite lively too..."
Bai Fanxian observed this with mild interest. Alchemy followed cultivation like a shadow. A glance told her the pills here were low-grade. Nothing worth her attention. As for the pill being advertised to increase cultivation success chances, she didn't feel it was worth getting involved.
They weren't lying. That pill genuinely improved the chances of breaking through at the early stages.
Though there were some minor side effects, it wasn't dangerous... to her.
Bai Fanxian didn't have the habit of destroying others' businesses without reason. This wasn't a seminar or internet forum debate. So she just glanced briefly and chose to turn away quietly.
But —
"Miss in the white shirt — how about being our lucky volunteer to test our new pill for everyone?"
In that instant the shop owner, a young man, called out confidently. He hadn't liked watching a woman simply walk past something he was proud of.
Unaware that the corner of that young woman's mouth had just twitched.