"It's been a while, Lady Bai."
After that chaotic stretch had passed, Tang Letong, who seemed to have become an entirely different person, led Bai Fanxian to the Tang Clan's spacious black car. When the young man heard Bai Fanxian's destination for the day, he was more than happy to have the driver take her there.
"My lady..."
Tang Yeye had been clinging tightly to Bai Fanxian's sleeve ever since the incident ended. She stared at her brother with a guarded look, and Tang Letong could only manage a dry laugh.
It seemed he'd gone a little too far and frightened his little sister.
"Mm... your brother has changed quite a bit."
Bai Fanxian laughed softly and glanced toward the young man.
His outward appearance had noticeably changed too, if you looked closely. From someone so absorbed in alchemy he barely took care of himself back then, he'd become a young man brimming with confidence, able to face figures of higher standing than himself without a hint of fear.
"I've grown a lot this past half year."
Tang Letong smiled with a hint of weariness. Since the Tang Clan had developed to this point, he inevitably had to follow his father and grandfather out to handle countless business negotiations. And that was when Tang Tianjie first discovered the hidden ability within his own grandson.
Tang Letong had inherited his father's genes in full, his father being a seasoned businessman. He could take even the smallest scrap of information and steer the other person to his side with ease. The clan fully supported this skill. Countless experiences, successes and failures alike, had poured in without pause to shape him, until by the time he was working, he was practically a different person entirely.
"That makes sense..."
Bai Fanxian nodded quietly. In her era too, there were plenty of people whose working persona was nothing like their everyday self.
And if he hadn't grown from the many opportunities he'd been given, Bai Fanxian could only have sighed over the Tang Clan's next generation.
"Getting one Grandmaster — that's not bad at all..."
Since he'd done well, she had no objection to saying so. Even though the number of Grandmasters had grown somewhat compared to the past when they were far harder to find, figures at that level were still highly sought after.
A few sentences from Tang Letong that brought a Grandmaster under the Tang Clan's fold. That was genuinely impressive work.
"I wouldn't call it that impressive... those foreign clans have been getting rather bold lately, though."
The young man answered humbly. But deep down, a quiet pride stirred in him at being praised by someone who was, to him, the highest authority of all.
"Foreign clans?"
"Yes... that young man's shop actually belonged to a clan from a neighboring country. After the matter of cultivators in this country became publicly known, they saw enormous business opportunities and have been investing here quite heavily."
"Mm..."
Bai Fanxian simply nodded and listened in silence. As far as she was concerned, such things had nothing to do with her whatsoever. Still, it didn't hurt to keep up with the news.
"So what are you doing here, brother?"
Now that she was starting to understand the situation, the girl returned to her usual easy closeness with her brother. That pleased Tang Letong greatly.
From his nature before, it was easy to tell he was the overprotective older brother type. If his sister were staying with anyone other than Bai Fanxian, there was no way he'd ever allow Tang Yeye to be out of his sight.
"I'm here to see Sister Ruixi," the young man said in a relaxed tone.
"Sister Ruixi?"
"That's right. The Tang Clan and the Song Clan have been working together on a lot of things lately. I end up traveling around with her pretty often."
Tang Letong said it with a slightly bashful air, but Bai Fanxian was the only one in the conversation who didn't pick up on what that bashfulness meant.
"Do you have another sister?"
She turned to ask her small disciple. But strangely, Tang Yeye shook her head.
Tang Letong had to step in and explain.
"Her name is Song Ruixi. She's the granddaughter of the Song Clan's leader. Grandfather's quite close with her family. She came back from abroad a few months ago and has been representing her clan ever since. She used to carry you around when you were little, actually."
Tang Letong smiled and reached out to pat his little sister's head gently.
"I don't think I've ever met her."
Bai Fanxian said it casually, and Tang Letong answered with what he knew.
"Probably not... come to think of it, I only met her again myself just a few days before running into Lady Bai."
He was referring to the day of the duel between the Sword Master and the Eastern King. The young man still didn't know the truth — that Bai Fanxian had also been present at that very location that same day.
"Where did she go?"
"She stepped away to take care of something... she was still with us just before that commotion started..."
Tang Letong scratched his head. He couldn't quite figure out what urgent business his honorary sister had that made her leave the instant the car stopped.
"Is that so?"
Bai Fanxian replied softly. She sipped the tea available in the car, turning something over in her mind.
"We're here, Young Master. Lady Bai."
Before they could continue talking, the scenery outside had already changed without anyone noticing. Today's driver was Ama, who had now advanced to senior Martial Master level. When he came to open the door for Bai Fanxian, he bowed with deep respect. This middle-aged man knew well who it was that had brought the Tang Clan to its current glory.
"Mm..."
Bai Fanxian nodded and stepped out. She slipped her large dark sunglasses back on. Then she looked at the building before her with a small measure of surprise.
Because it was nothing more than an ordinary residential building, the kind you'd see often in a developed city. It stood in the heart of the city where people passed in and out constantly. She hadn't expected someone like Chunfeng to have business in a place like this at all.
To say he lived here wouldn't quite be right either.
"Is this your first time here, Lady Bai?"
Tang Letong stepped down right behind her and laughed, flashing a wide smile.
The young man walked confidently toward the building. But instead of entering through the front door, those long legs turned to the side. In an alley that looked rather quiet, people occasionally passed through in both directions. He walked ahead until they reached a large wooden door, then pushed it open without hesitation.
"Welcome to... the gathering place of cultivators from the old days."
DING DING!
The sound of small bells installed above the door rang the instant it was pushed open. The atmosphere dense with a strange, pressing energy that had been saturating the interior came pouring out all at once. Bai Fanxian swept her gaze around the room — and met ten pairs of rough eyes all turning to fix on her!
How to put it... this place...
Was it a bar? Or a restaurant?
Bai Fanxian had seen places like this before on the internet. It had the feeling of somewhere you'd go to drink at night, yet it was filled with the atmosphere of a medieval tavern. Many people were eating and drinking in broad daylight without a care in the world.
But what drew Bai Fanxian's interest was Tang Letong's words just now — and the currents of power her Heaven Sense was picking up...
...Every single person here was a cultivator!
Although Bai Fanxian had seen large groups of cultivators in the military before, this was the first time she'd encountered a large gathering of cultivators in a setting like a restaurant. And they weren't even a single group. Some had come to gather with companions. Some were here quietly alone. Others seemed to be in the middle of negotiating something.
This was no different from a genuine cultivator society!
This was, after all, the old gathering place for cultivators, just as Tang Letong said. Before news of cultivators had spread publicly like it had now, this was where they congregated. Some came to buy, sell, or commission work. A great deal of information circulated through this small restaurant, no different from a cultivator forum.
Even though they no longer needed to hide, this place still held a strange charm all its own. Those who stopped by always ended up recommending it to companions or newcomers who had just stepped onto this path, so if anything, the number of customers was greater than in the old days.
Bai Fanxian could feel several probing streams of qi sweeping over her. It was like standing on a small wooden boat adrift in a raging sea!
...That is, if she were an ordinary person.
"Welcome."
Just then, behind the counter against the wall, a calm elderly man sat gently wiping a glass with a white cloth. He glanced up, offered a brief nod of greeting with no particular expression, then returned to what he was doing.
Looking at him, he seemed like nothing more than an ordinary, harmless shop owner...
...But the Heaven Sense he quietly extended did not escape Bai Fanxian's notice.
And what surprised Bai Fanxian was...
It was sharper and broader than anyone else's she had encountered in this era!
"...Now that's interesting."