Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

After leaving Wang Zhizhi, Pei Yuhang visited several other female disciples, senior and junior alike, who had once pursued him. Inexplicably, they had all later cut off contact and vanished from his life.

At first, the meetings would start out well enough. But the moment he mentioned "Liyuan," their expressions would change without fail.

Some even had drastic reactions.

It was as if they had experienced something truly terrifying that had left them deeply traumatized.

Pei Yuhang's expression was grim. He fought back the dark urge to violate Sect rules and use a Soul Search on his fellow disciples, deciding instead to see the last person on his list for the day.

Her name was Fan Lingling.

She had once been an incredibly bold junior disciple. Though she wasn't a student of the Nameless Daoist, she would always sneak away from her own abode to pester him with a cheerful grin, begging him to teach her Swordsmanship.

Even when Lu Ruoxi would coldly drive her away, she would just stick out her tongue, turn, and run—only to shamelessly return the very next day.

At the time, Pei Yuhang had just escaped a nest of vipers at the Yin Yang Sacred Land, and he couldn't help but feel wary of any gorgeously dressed female disciple who tried to approach him.

But Fan Lingling was different. At the very least, Pei Yuhang didn't mind the guileless girl who would bounce up to him like a cheerful little oriole.

Later, he heard that Fan Lingling's foundation had been damaged. Her Cultivation would forever be stuck at Foundation Establishment Perfection, unable to break through to the Golden Core stage. As a result, she had given up the path of cultivation and opened a medicine workshop in the Dao Sect's Xuanyuan City.

Pei Yuhang had even visited her on the day the workshop opened, and over the next several decades, he would periodically send her restorative Spiritual Objects.

Pulling himself from his recollections, Pei Yuhang used Sword Control to descend into Xuanyuan City and followed his memory to the medicine workshop.

The workshop wasn't large. A faded wooden plaque hung above the doorway, inscribed with the elegant but now mottled calligraphy of the name "Lingxin Medicine Workshop."

A nostalgic glint appeared in Pei Yuhang's eyes as he looked at the plaque.

'I was the one who wrote the words on this plaque back then... To think she kept it all this time. Even though it's faded and blurred, she couldn't bring herself to replace it.'

Pei Yuhang stood outside, his gaze passing between the customers entering and leaving, until it landed on the figure behind the counter.

It was an old woman with white hair and a slightly hunched back, her head bowed as she worked an abacus.

Her fingers were gaunt and her knuckles prominent, yet her movements remained deft. Sunlight slanted through the window lattice, falling upon her wrinkled face and tracing the deep grooves there.

Pei Yuhang froze.

'He could barely recognize her...'

'The girl from his memories, always chattering with a radiant smile, had actually grown this old.'

The corners of her eyes drooped, and time had carved its mark upon her brow. Only when she glanced up could one still see a faint, familiar spark of liveliness in her eyes.

"What can I get for you, sir?"

Fan Lingling looked up, her voice gentle.

The moment their eyes met, Fan Lingling's fingers jerked, and with a soft CLICK, an abacus bead slipped out of place.

"B-Brother Pei?"

Her voice was faint and uncertain, as if she were afraid of shattering a dream.

"What are you doing here...?"

"It's me... Xiaoling."

Looking at the old woman, Pei Yuhang's heart ached.

He took a deep breath and said with a frown,

"I remember sending you Beauty Pills and Anti-Aging Pills every few years. Even with your limited lifespan, taking those Elixirs... you shouldn't have aged this much in just a hundred and twenty years."

Faced with Pei Yuhang's question, Fan Lingling lowered her head in shame and spoke softly.

"I love children... so I opened an orphanage in the Outer Sect. I take in orphans whose parents have died in accidents. They have to be fed and clothed, and they need to cultivate.

"The income from this workshop alone isn't enough to cover the orphanage's expenses, so I sold all the treasures you sent, Brother Pei."

"Xiaoling... if you needed help, why didn't you tell me?"

Fan Lingling shook her head. "You don't owe me anything, Brother Pei. I was already so grateful that you sponsored me with so many resources. I didn't want you to think of me as a burden."

"...Don't say that, Xiaoling."

"Oh, Ah Han? What are you doing here?"

The crisp, ethereal scent of a snow lotus drifted into the room, heralding her arrival.

Pei Yuhang looked up to see a demure beauty in a Moonlight Flowing Immortal Skirt approaching gracefully. Her steps were as light as if she were walking on clouds, and as she came to a stop before him, she blinked her playful eyes.

"Ah Han, you left this morning without even saying goodbye. Don't let it happen again, you hear?~"

"Liyuan... what are you doing here?"

Pei Yuhang's brow furrowed slightly.

'For some reason... even though he thought he had cleared the air with his Dao Companion last night...'

'...he really didn't want to see her right now.'

"Hmm? Does Ah Han not want to see me?

"I just came out shopping with Yueqiu and Xiaoxiao. But you, Ah Han, sneaking out behind my back... that's what's really strange, you know."

Ye Liyuan leaned in close to Pei Yuhang, her bright eyes wide as she sized him up suspiciously.

Now that his Dao Companion was here, Pei Yuhang obviously wouldn't get a chance to discuss the past with Fan Lingling.

He sighed softly, then took out a bag of Spirit Stones and several boxes of Elixirs, offering them to Fan Lingling, who had fallen silent the moment Ye Liyuan arrived.

"Ah, Brother Pei, what is this...?"

"Please, Xiaoling, take these."

"They may seem valuable to you, but to me, they're not as important as our friendship."

"Brother Pei, thank you..."

Fan Lingling finally looked up, the rims of her eyes slightly red, her voice choked with emotion.

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