The Abandoned Daughter's Second Chance

Over the next week, Gu Shaojun took Xiao Man out twice more in the middle of the night. One time, they went to that cave for Artifact Refining, and the other time, they went to explore a nearby Jade Mine. As expected, the area where jade was produced was rich in Spiritual Energy. The two of them practiced their Cultivation there for two hours, and Xiao Man’s Qi Cultivation Great Perfection reached its peak. She figured she would be able to reach Foundation Establishment soon after she returned.

For the next few days, Gu Shaojun became much busier with his military duties. He left early and came back late, even spending two consecutive nights away from the dorms. But Xiao Man didn’t feel bored or lonely. Perhaps it was because of the anticipation in her heart—she knew that he would eventually return. Gu Shaojun felt the same way. Every time he rushed back and saw the young woman waiting for him in the dorm, his face would break into a smile of pure happiness and contentment.

Whenever Gu Shaojun wasn’t on the base, someone would always come by to check on Xiao Man. From the higher-ranking officers to the mess hall squad, they not only took care of her three meals a day but practically tried to schedule her entire day for her. Xiao Man didn’t want to eat at the officers’ homes, so she made up an excuse about preferring the simple, large-pot meals from the mess hall. Remembering that Squad Leader Xiao Wu had asked her to "guide" his cooking, she actually went to the mess hall and took up the role of chef. For several days in a row, she was in charge of the wok, and the soldiers ate with great joy, declaring how satisfying the food was. When Xiao Man stopped working in the mess hall, the soldiers had to go back to the original dishes and flavors. They felt as if they had regressed to a bygone era and surrounded the mess hall squad, complaining that their food was just plain terrible!

Squad Leader Xiao Wu wanted to cry but had no tears. ’I’m never going to casually ask a military wife to ’guide’ our cooking again,’ he thought. ’We unintentionally provoked Mr. Gu’s young wife, and she’s so young yet so incredibly skilled. If a few more amazing cooks like her show up and spoil these soldiers’ palates, won’t our mess hall squad get disbanded?’

Xiao Man got to know two other family members visiting the dormitory area: a teacher and a young woman from the countryside. The three of them went out together a few times to wander through the local street markets. The markets were a bit chaotic, but they had their own unique charm and appeal, selling a wide variety of goods. In some sheltered corners, there were even stalls selling antiques. Xiao Man had learned a little about antique appraisal from Grandpa Tang, but she was a complete amateur at best and didn’t have much confidence in judging with her naked eye. However, the older a genuine antique was, the more Spiritual Energy it absorbed, and that was something she could sense. After browsing two antique stalls, she really did manage to find four or five good items.

The teacher, Little Meng, and the country girl, Chuntao, were more interested in the local fruit. It was summer, and all kinds of fruits were perfectly ripe, piled high in the market. They were unbelievably cheap locally, but that wouldn’t necessarily be the case elsewhere. Xiao Man couldn’t help but imagine, ’If I used my Space to become a fruit vendor, even just as a transporter doing wholesale, I could probably make a fortune.’

Two days later, Gu Shaojun had to go to the Provincial Military District, and it was also time for Xiao Man to end her visit and head home, so she would travel with him. As they were packing their bags, Wei Zhenqing ran over to ask Xiao Man for her address. He said Mrs. Wei had called to say she had received the package. She was grateful for Xiao Man’s thoughtful gift and loved the cosmetics, saying they felt wonderful to use. Mrs. Wei didn’t have a daughter and felt that Xiao Man was just like a warm and caring one. She wanted to send Xiao Man some things as well and mentioned she would be back in Beijing for the New Year, hoping to meet Xiao Man then.

Gu Shaojun shot Wei Zhenqing a glare. "What are you up to? Cut it out with that ’adopting a goddaughter’ nonsense!"

Wei Zhenqing shrugged, looking only at Xiao Man. "My mother said that if she had a daughter, she’d want her to be as sweet and well-behaved as you."

Xiao Man replied humbly, "I’m not all that cute. And most girls are well-behaved as long as they aren’t causing any trouble."

Wei Zhenqing was speechless.

He had no idea how to respond to that.

Xiao Man didn’t refuse Mrs. Wei’s kind offer and wrote down the address of the Medical College for Wei Zhenqing.

Wei Zhenqing didn’t buy anything for Xiao Man, mainly because his other comrades-in-arms had already given her a lot of local fruits and specialty products. It would be impressive if Xiao Man could even carry all of that, and since the items were difficult to store, he was afraid many of them would spoil on the way.

Xiao Man left a few Elixir Pills for Gu Shaojun, as well as some pre-mixed herbal packets for medicinal baths. These packets were specially for Wei Zhenqing. He also wanted to follow Gu Shaojun in Cultivation, but his constitution was rather bizarre. It seemed like he had a pseudo Spirit Root, but then again, maybe not. He was also unable to learn Ancient Martial Arts. So, Xiao Man had prepared these herbs to help regulate his body for a period of time, after which they would see. Gu Shaojun would be in charge of administering the medicine.

She also left some food from her Space: dried meat, fish jerky, pickled vegetables, and wine. Unfortunately, Gu Shaojun hadn’t had time to craft a Storage Ring yet. Otherwise, she could have left him some of the fresh, juicy peaches, pears, and apricots, and some water from the Space Spirit Spring. These items tended to lose their moisture and Spiritual Energy quickly and couldn’t be kept outside for too long.

While Gu Shaojun went to the Provincial Military District, Wei Zhenqing had to remain on duty. He saw Xiao Man to the vehicle and waved goodbye.

Gu Shaojun took Xiao Man to the provincial city, first settling her into the military district’s guest house. He then went to report to the district’s leadership. He returned two hours later, his face beaming with joy. He pulled Xiao Man into the room and said mysteriously, "Let’s not rush back to Gongdao Village. I want to take you somewhere. You in?"

Xiao Man nodded without the slightest hesitation. ’As long as I can be with the man I love, I’d go anywhere!’

Gu Shaojun absolutely adored the young woman’s cute expression. He smiled and said, "I’ve been assigned a mission at the Northwest Military District that will take about a week. It’s not far from where the Gongsun Clan lives. Weren’t you curious about them? I’ll make some time to take you there for a look. The Gongsun Clan has a huge herb plantation—you could say the entire valley is their herb garden. I passed through there once. I don’t recognize many herbs, but I got the feeling they have a huge variety. And their cultivation methods are very peculiar. The place has probably had a Spirit Gathering Array set up for years, so Spiritual Energy naturally gathers there, forming a natural energy field. The energy is sparse, but it’s evenly distributed, which is quite rare."

Xiao Man said, "That’s perfect. My Grandpa also leased half a mountain and a valley to expand his herb cultivation. We should go take a look. The Gongsun Family has been growing herbs for hundreds of years. If they have good techniques, we can learn a thing or two."

"That’s what I was thinking too. Also, I’ve been inside the area where their elders go into seclusion. There’s a spot in there that felt very strange. I want to go back and take a closer look."

"Okay, let’s go together!"

"Here’s the thing," he said. "I’m on a mission and I’ll be traveling with others, so I can’t go with you. I’ll have to leave before you do. I’ll go see how I can arrange for you to get there. Once you arrive, wait for me at the designated spot, and I’ll come find you."

"Okay."

Gu Shaojun went out for half an hour and came back smiling. "I just made a couple of calls and got a lucky break. A classmate of Zhang Qingwan is flying a military helicopter to the T City Military Region tomorrow morning. He’ll be making a stop at the military district where I’ll be. It’s all arranged. You’ll go with him, and when you get there... Come on, let’s draw a map. Just hold onto it and follow the instructions on it."

Gu Shaojun drew a very detailed map, on which he also wrote a long list of instructions, along with names, phone numbers, and so on.

Xiao Man felt like an unaccompanied minor being sent on a trip.

When it was finally time for him to leave, he started fussing over her again with all sorts of reminders: telling Xiao Man to remember to eat, to get to bed early, and to be sure to lock the door and close the windows before sleeping...

Xiao Man was left speechless by his nagging. ’Close the windows on such a hot day? There’s no air conditioning. Is he trying to suffocate me?’ she thought. ’And this is a military guest house. Gu Shaojun, are you seriously questioning the security on your own military turf?’

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