Chapter 428 Reverse Cycle (2)
As Basil spent his time discussing with Xueyi, Tian Long and the others were being guided to the garden in the castle. Other than Tian Long, everyone was busy looking around the castle as they gasped in amazement from time to time.
Xueyi's disciples who were guiding them would chuckle from time to time since they had acted the same way when they were first brought there by Xueyi. When they reached the garden, the people gasped more audibly than they had ever done.
"Amazing…"
"It is so beautiful."
"It is straight out of the fairy tale!"
Xueyi's disciples chuckled at the lasses' remarks. They were glad the lasses were very appreciative of the beauty of their garden. They had been cultivating the ice flowers in it for three decades. No one knew how arduous it was to cultivate them, so many weren't impressed by the scenery.
In this world, one could make anything with Mana and Qi; however, making a new lifeform was a challenging task. Many people forgot about it, so the years of trials and errors Xueyi's disciples made were often disregarded.
As they walked toward the gazebo, Xiu Li noticed a beautiful woman dressed in white taking care of the ice flowers. She looked extremely familiar; however, he was not sure if she was who he thought she was.
Tian Long, who noticed the keen interest Xiu Li paid to the girl, smirked and then slapped Xiu Li's back. Xiu Li was startled; as he turned around, Tian Long shouted, "The lass over there, this lad over here is enamoured by your grace!"
Mortified, Xiu Li immediately turned to the woman who was already facing him. "N-No, I am sorry! You look so much like my—"
"Little Xiu?"
"…Big Sister Chang Yu?
"Oh my…it's really you? What are you doing here!"
"Big Sister, I am back!"
Much to Tian Long's disappointment, the two knew each other; they didn't even hesitate to hug under the eyes of the people watching. They talked about a few things to let each other know why they were there. They wanted to have a long one but they were sensible enough to mind the curious people.
Bringing his Big Sister before Tian Long and the others, Xiu Li proudly introduced, "Everyone, this is Big Sister Wei Chang Yu. She is the person who has been taking care of me since I was a child. She is the best and most talented person in the Wei Family!"
"Greetings, Venerable Daoist Tian Long and everyone, I am Wei Chang Yu, Xiu Li's cousin. Thank you for taking care of him." Chang Yu bowed politely.
Chang Yu looked uncannily similar to Xiu Li; especially, now that he had grown his hair to shoulder-length. The only things that made them different were the mounds on Chang Yu's chest and the hint of masculinity on Xiu Li's face.
They could easily be mistaken as twin sisters if they wore the same dress; however, of course, one wouldn't hesitate to say Chang Yu was prettier. She had the charm that not even every woman had, which Xiu Li didn't have.
"Xiu Li has been feeling down lately. Maybe, you can join us and cheer him up?" Tian Long suggested.
"Am I allowed to join your company, Venerable Daoist—"
"Meh, let's forsake the formality. Your cousin is my nephew's sworn brother; so, in a way, we are family now."
"Y-You have a nephew?" Chang Yu widened her eyes.
"Yup! A very formidable nephew!" Latching his hand onto Danzel's neck, he added, "He is my sworn brother's son!"
Tian Long cleared his throat after bragging about Basil and then asked Xueyi's disciples, who were tasked to guide them, to resume their task. They followed the disciples to the gazebo, sat at the table upon reaching there and then waited as the disciples prepared the delicacy.
Except for Tian Long and Danzel, none of them talked as the disciples did their job. They were captivated by the disciples' grace and meticulousness; looking at the disciples felt like looking at art, so they couldn't turn their eyes away.
It wasn't long until Tian Long and Danzel stopped talking to take a look at the youngsters. The silence slightly weirded them out. Upon finding they were being captivated by the disciples' movements, the two men immediately continued speaking. They had passed their time of being admirers, so they were not easily impressed anymore.
"Still have to commend that monster for raising these gracious lasses. Had you seen how disturbed she was in the sect, Danzel, you wouldn't dare to imagine she was capable of raising someone," Tian Long whispered.
"Just know that you are probably digging your own grave," Mei Qi reminded.
"You do know these women are your friend's disciples, don't you?" Danzel asked weirdly.
"Meh…" Tian Long shrugged and then winked at the disciples. "They won't snitch on me."
The three attractive women merely smiled and said nothing. No one could tell what their smile meant—not even Tian Long, which was why he couldn't help gulping nervously.
A few more seconds passed and the delicacy was all set on the table. The disciples backed off and then said in unison, "We will stand aside and let our esteemed guests have their time with their families. We won't participate in the talk but, please, don't be hesitant to reach out to us."
After saying that, they stood on the corner of the gazebo, overlooking the people as if they were overly realistic sculptures. The people looked at each other for a few seconds before talking to each other.
Since Tian Long himself had called them his family, Xiu Li didn't hesitate to tell Chang Yu about why he was there, which also exposed some part of his family's circumstances. No one said a thing as he told how he had been banished from the Wei Family; however, they immediately assured him he had a new place at the end of his story.
"So…Uncle Tang has finally disowned you," Chang Yu muttered with a deep frown. "His illogical hate toward you has driven him to his fall without him knowing it. Now, those greedy Elders and Ye Xiu…they will hoard everything for themselves."
"What have they done, Big Sister?" Xiu Li asked nervously.
"Well, it has something to do with how I ended up here."
"You attracted Venerable Daoist Xueyi's eyes—that is why you are here, isn't that, Big Sister?"
Smiling wryly, Chang Yu shook her head. "I was roaming around One Thousand Streams Valley in Beishan province when Sect Mistress Xueyi met me. Why was I there? You may ask. Well…I was banished from the Wei Manor because I had helped a 'disgrace' grow into a 'bigger disgrace' a few days prior."
"Father did that!? Unthinkable! You have nothing to do with me. Why did he think you needed to be banished too?" Xiu Li exploded.
"I have told you, haven't I?" Chang Yu smiled softly. "Uncle Tang is no longer the person we both knew. He is but a puppet controlled by Ye Xiu and those greedy Elders, who sees me as a threat."
"Big Sister…because of me, you…" Xiu Li bowed his head lowly.
"Eh? Why are you apologising? I am thankful to you, you know? Because of you, my eyes are wide open and I can even become a disciple of the famous Yan Xueyi! I am genuinely happy. You should be too, Xiu Li—that place is not worth crying over."
As he sipped his tea, Tian Long muttered, "Maybe, you will cry later with how bad your romance luck is." The fact that none of Xueyi's disciples had a Dao Partner was displayed right before them; he was baffled that none of them had come to realize it.
When the heavy talk ended, the two Weis apologised to everyone for making them listen to their (used to be) family's boring circumstances. Shirley immediately laughed it off and said it wasn't as bad as hers, making the people curious about what kind of circumstances her family had faced.
No one asked about it, of course, but the fact that she could laugh about it astonished those who knew about it as much as it appalled them. To say the least, after all, what had happened to her family was…wild.
Time passed and, at some point, the three disciples tasked to treat them bowed in the direction of the entrance of the gazebo.
"Greetings, Future Sect Master, Sect Mistress!"
The people immediately stopped speaking and turned around. Basil was walking toward them with Xueyi following closely behind. Basil's face was as serene as ever; however, it wasn't the case with Xueyi. Said Sect Mistress was frowning as she thought about Basil's condition.
Tian Long immediately picked it up and couldn't help also frowning. He wondered if Basil was no longer curable—the others also felt the same—so he cracked a joke to lighten up the mood.
"You look entranced, Senior Sister Xueyi. You can't get the image of Basil's might out of your mind? Ha-Ha-Ha!" He laughed boisterously and then abruptly stopped when Xueyi's face turned bright red. "…what the fuck!? My boy, I am proud of you!" he exclaimed.
Bam!
In the blink of an eye, Xueyi kicked him, launching him 15 kilometres away. Nobody blinked their eyes at the scene they had just watched; they planted their intense gaze on Xueyi, demanding an explanation, so they could confirm the truth.
Facing the people calmly, Xueyi regained her composure and then cleared her throat. "Kuhum! Everyone, Basil's treatment can already be carried out." She unashamedly avoided the topic, making the people even more curious. "However,…the side effect of the treatment might last forever."
At the mention of the side effect, Danzel blurted out, "What is it? Is it something that may cause him danger?"
"Well…no. However, it should be terrifying for a man," Xueyi said.
"Impotence!?" Diana exclaimed, startling everyone. They didn't expect her to understand Xueyi, who had been speaking in Hua Dialect. When she turned to the person beside her, only then did they know what was going on. "Mrs Mei Qi, what does that even mean?"
"Kuhum! Anyway, Basil has said he is ready to bear the side effect. I can't tell you about it now, so I will just let you see it later when the treatment is done." Xueyi turned to Basil. "This might be your last time talking to your family like this. Take your time."
Basil quirked his eyebrow and then shortly said, "Everyone, I will be back."
The people blinked their eyes in surprise but then immediately shook their heads in amusement; they couldn't expect less from him. No matter what the circumstance was, Basil would remain himself. They believed in him, so they didn't ask anything and nodded their heads.
Swoosh!
Tian Long reappeared and exclaimed, "Let's treat him immediately. We can't let my nephew's dragon fall!" He made the assured people worry once again.