Chapter 785: Chapter 679

Chapter 679

That evening, Xiao Man and Xinghua prepared a table full of delicious food to welcome Xia Qingting. Just as everyone gathered around, ready to raise their glasses and eat, Gu Shaozhen and Zheng Shaolian happened to stop by. Zheng Shaolian had taken some time off to see Jiang Junlin and Xinghua and was planning to treat them to dinner at a restaurant. But when he saw the grand feast, he naturally decided to stay.

After happily freeloading a meal and eating their fill, Gu Shaozhen and Zheng Shaolian wanted to take Jiang Junlin and Xinghua to a bar or a dance hall. Unfortunately, the young couple—one a teacher and the other a vocational student graduating next year—were both simple, honest kids. Feeling out of place in such venues, they politely declined. Xiao Man suggested, "Let’s go to the movies, or we could wander through the night market and enjoy the evening scenery."

Xia Qingting said she didn’t want to go, feeling quite tired from the long train ride. Xiao Man stayed home to rest with her, and of course, wherever Xiao Man was, Gu Shaojun would be too. So, Xinghua and Jiang Junlin went out with Shaozheng and Shaolian.

Xiao Man had picked out two rooms in the west wing, one for herself and one for Xia Qingting. Xia Qingting was very pleased with the room’s decor, but she was unhappy with Xiao Man for choosing her man over her friend. "Why won’t you let me share a room with you? You’re definitely planning to go sleep with that man of yours again!"

Xiao Man laughed. "How perceptive of you. Such a good girl."

Xia Qingting wasn’t the type of girl to act cute or coquettish. She threw a pillow directly at Xiao Man. "We haven’t seen each other in ages! We have so much to talk about. You have to sleep with me tonight!"

"Alright, alright, I promise. But only for tonight, okay? Not tomorrow night. I’m not about to make my husband sleep alone just for a friend." Xiao Man giggled as she looked at Xia Qingting, who was raising her eyebrows and glaring.

This visit wasn’t just for a few days—it was for over a month. To prevent Xia Qingting from constantly asking to share a bed, Xiao Man had to shut down the idea from the very beginning. ’I have secrets, after all.’ She had her Cultivation to practice, she would vanish into her space out of thin air, and sometimes she even snuck out with Gu Shaojun in the middle of the night, not returning until dawn. A normal person would find it hard to understand such things, so it was best not to be discovered.

Gu Shaojun was reading in the east wing, not wanting to disturb the two girls’ reunion. After Zheng Shaolian brought Jiang Junlin and Xinghua back, Xiao Man prepared a late-night snack for everyone. Gu Shaojun chatted with Xiao Man for a bit, telling her he had things to take care of tomorrow and might not be able to come over until the evening. Then, he left with Zheng Shaolian.

They had said there was a lot to talk about, but the journey had been exhausting. Xiao Man had also specially prepared a fragrant medicinal bath for Xia Qingting to soak in. While she was up and about, Xia Qingting felt fine, but the moment she lay down on the comfortable bed, she was completely overwhelmed by sleepiness. She barely exchanged a few words with Xiao Man before she was off to dreamland.

Xiao Man smiled, tucked the towel blanket around Xia Qingting, and slipped into the Treasure Pearl Space.

She meditated peacefully on a large rock by the Spiritual Spring Pool for an hour before moving to the back of Feilai Peak. Her cultivation was already at the middle of the Foundation Establishment Stage, so cutting down the Purple Bamboo wasn’t as strenuous for her anymore. She built a few more Purple Bamboo Houses to use as storage sheds. Though the plot of land was only about an acre, the black soil was incredibly magical. It seemed almost human, as if it had a cute personality and loved to be tended to. You didn’t even need to water it intentionally. As long as you sowed seeds and checked on them often, you could just wait for the harvest. If you were a little more diligent and loosened the soil every few days, the crops would grow even stronger, mature faster, and yield more. Seven or eight bamboo houses wouldn’t be enough to store it all. If she didn’t harvest the crops, fruits, and vegetables, they would remain on their branches, perfectly preserved. But Xiao Man couldn’t bear to let them be. ’These are Spirit Plants! Seeing the branches heavy with fruit and not harvesting them makes my hands itch.’

’In any case, building bamboo houses for storage is all I know how to do. When Gu Shaojun can finally enter this place, we’ll see what he comes up with.’

Xiao Man went to pick peaches and pears from several trees. She stored some and sorted the rest by quality. The slightly inferior ones could be taken out for a quick snack. If anyone saw them, she could explain that she’d bought them from a street vendor—after all, peaches and pears were in season. As for the ones that were simply too perfect, they would definitely be mistaken for Immortal Fruits if she took them out. She could only cut them up for fruit platters or juice them for her family and friends to enjoy.

She made a quick detour to inspect the grove of herbs. Worried that Xia Qingting might wake up, she exited the space. The girl was still sleeping soundly. Seeing that it was already three in the morning, Xiao Man lay down, closed her eyes, and went to sleep too.

The next morning, after breakfast, Xinghua and Jiang Junlin went out to explore as a pair again. Since yesterday, the two of them no longer wanted a guide to accompany them. It was understandable—they were a young couple on their honeymoon, and having a third wheel around was just inconvenient. They couldn’t even whisper sweet nothings to each other. So, Xiao Man let them be and stopped worrying about them.

Gu Shaojun had left a car for them last night, but Jiang Junlin and Xinghua had taken it. Xiao Man figured she would find another car tomorrow. For today, she and Xia Qingting would just walk around the neighborhood. If they wanted to go farther, they could take a taxi or a bus. In the afternoon, she planned to take Xia Qingting back to the Tang Mansion for dinner to meet her grandparents and the rest of the family. She had already told Xinghua and her husband, and they would make their own way to the Tang Mansion then.

Talking as they went, Xiao Man and Xia Qingting slowly walked out of the alley. Just as they reached the side of the road, they witnessed a disaster. An old woman carrying a vegetable basket was rushing to cross the street and was hit by a car. The car wasn’t going very fast, but it hadn’t anticipated the old woman suddenly darting out and couldn’t brake in time. Fortunately, the woman fell sideways and wasn’t run over by the wheels, but she was scraped up, her head and face covered in blood. It was a shocking sight.

The road instantly descended into chaos. Cars, motorcycles, and bicycles all stopped. A crowd formed a tight circle, three layers deep, around the car and the fallen old woman. Someone went to call the police. Someone else shouted, "Is there a doctor? Come check on the old woman! Can we move her to the hospital?" Xiao Man ran over to check. Thankfully, there were no broken bones or serious injuries. She had just scraped off some skin and was bleeding a lot, which made it look terrifying. Just then, the old woman’s eyes fluttered open. Xiao Man gently comforted her and asked her a couple of questions. Since she could basically answer them, her mind was still clear. She told the crowd to help move the woman into the car and rush her to the hospital. At that moment, the old woman’s son and daughters ran up. Worried that something might happen to their mother on the way, and learning that Xiao Man was a medical intern, they insisted on pulling her into the car, begging her to escort their mother to the hospital.

Xiao Man was speechless. The hospital wasn’t far, and the old woman really wasn’t in any mortal danger. But with the two daughters pulling at her, crying and begging, she couldn’t refuse. Xiao Man told Xia Qingting to get in, but the car was already full. When Xia Qingting heard the hospital was only a couple of miles away, she said she could find it on her own and told Xiao Man to go ahead.

Xiao Man went with the group, delivered the old woman into a doctor’s hands at the nearby hospital, and then ran to the entrance to wait. But after waiting for a long, long time, Xia Qingting still hadn’t arrived. She even used her spiritual power to scan the road back but saw no sign of her. She couldn’t help but sigh. ’No need to guess. That girl definitely got lost.’

She had no choice but to retrace her steps to find her. At that moment, she was incredibly nostalgic for the era when everyone had a cell phone. ’Even a beeper would be great right now.’

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