Volume 3, Chapter 23 – Burial【2】

It had been not even a full year—who could have imagined that the adopted daughter he’d once written off as “talentless” would burst into fame like this?

A mountains-and-rivers-ranked Dao field!

A Divine Fetus earth master!

Which of these is not the lifelong pursuit of every Sword Dao cultivator?

He’d always gone on about restoring the glory of their ancestors, but all he’d really hoped for was to see Shenming Sword Dao once more ranked among the Seventy-Two Daos.

When had he ever dared imagine a day like this?

It really was… why did this feeling of being in a dream just refuse to stop?

In the end, when he heard Bai Xiang mention that the little princess of Yong’an Manor wanted to invite her over as a guest, his brows furrowed at once. “There are people looking to scheme after your secrets… Listen to Grandpa—under no circumstances are you to go!”

Bai Xiang hadn’t planned on going anyway. After she soothed him for a bit, Bai Shengju finally relaxed.

But he still couldn’t help worrying, and asked carefully, “Then… Xiang’er, have you thought about how you’re going to handle the matter of the path of qi?”

Bai Shengju himself had now switched to cultivating the path of qi, at the second realm, “Refining Qi,” so of course he knew about these secrets.

“I know what you were thinking before,” Bai Shengju went on. “Borrowing the senior Dao Lords as cover, using your merits in pacifying the chaos as a temporary golden body—mm, it’s basically the same strategy you used back in the Demon-Breeding Ground.”

Bai Xiang nodded.

She wasn’t surprised he’d seen through her.

“But things won’t always unfold according to your expectations,” Bai Shengju said, very grave. “What you revealed this time was far too astonishing. Even if it truly is just talent, these people will still want to control you, to study you! Have you thought about how you’re going to deal with that trouble?”

Bai Xiang paused. She felt some things ought to be flagged for Bai Shengju in advance, so she said softly, “First, we stall for a while.”

Bai Shengju blinked. “Stall?”

“Mm.” Bai Xiang nodded.

“Stall until my cultivation and功行 advance further.”

You…

Bai Shengju stared, eyes wide.

Rеаⅾ оn КаtRеаdіոgCαfе

You can already kill a Divine Fetus immortal, and you still want to advance further?

What exactly are you planning to do?

How could he not understand what she meant… This girl clearly intended to rebel against those above her!

But did she have any choice?

Once he calmed down, Bai Shengju found he could understand Bai Xiang after all.

He himself truly had no such ambitions. If he could, he’d be perfectly happy to cling to the honor of their mountains-and-rivers-ranked Dao field and steadily serve Yujing for the rest of his life.

Call it old age if you like, or being too used to his comfort zone. It was simply that no normal person in his position could suddenly start thinking on such a lofty scale.

But… he’d raised a true dragon as an adopted daughter, and the whole world of the Nine Provinces was now coveting dragon blood and dragon bone. That was the reality already playing out before their eyes.

“No other choice?” Bai Shengju asked, his hoarse voice thick with heaviness.

“None.” Bai Xiang met her grandfather’s eyes.

“Unless we’re willing to bow our heads. In that case, letting them draw a bit of my blood, carve off a bit of my flesh… wouldn’t be impossible either.”

How could that be acceptable!

Bai Shengju’s beard bristled, eyes bulging. He jumped to his feet and rolled up his sleeves. “Then we fight!”

“I believe you, Xiang’er—you won’t act recklessly!”

“As long as you’ve decided it’s feasible, Grandpa will support you!”

“I can speak for this family too… all of us support you!”

Looking at Bai Shengju, Bai Xiang was deeply moved.

Because she knew just how heavily he weighed the family’s honor.

Before her rise, his greatest obsession had been reclaiming their ancestral method.

After recovering the ancestral method, his greatest obsession was returning to the ranks of the Seventy-Two Daos.

A mountains-and-rivers-ranked Dao field was an honor that far exceeded anything Bai Shengju had ever dared hope for, yet in the face of that, he could still cast it all aside and firmly choose to stand by Bai Xiang.

Rеаⅾ оո ΚatRеαⅾingCаfе

Though Bai Xiang knew her grandfather well and knew he would choose this path, this—this unwillingness to let her spill even a single drop of blood.

That attitude.

It was enough to move anyone.

With things laid bare, Bai Xiang no longer needed to keep dodging the issue. She went on to discuss some of her conjectures with Bai Shengju, and he gave her his full guarantee in turn—that during this period, he would help handle all miscellaneous affairs so she could devote herself wholeheartedly to studying the path of qi.

“Your junior brother Chen Shi—his old man, ‘Chen Shulin,’ owns a pharmaceutical company,” Bai Shengju said. “I’ve already asked his opinion. Chen Shulin says he’s willing to invest five billion to help build up the Zhennan Circuit, but he has one condition: once the Zhennan Circuit is complete, he wants to be allowed to come in and develop there.”

What kind of “condition” was that?

The Zhennan Circuit lacked absolutely everything right now. A major company investing in infrastructure would already be a windfall, and on top of that he wanted to come build factories and drive local economic growth… this was basically manna from heaven. There was absolutely no reason to refuse.

They both felt it was feasible. Then they went over the other companies and enterprises looking to move in, discussing and evaluating each one.

By then the mood felt about right. Once Bai Xiang saw that Grandpa’s emotions were steady, she took the brocade-wrapped bundle, set it on the floor, and lifted the cloth.

Hm?

Bai Shengju didn’t understand at first. Only when he saw what lay inside did his face change drastically.

“This…”

He lunged forward, scooping the corpse into his arms. Turning, red-eyed, to Bai Xiang, he demanded, “What… what is this?”

Bai Xiang sighed inwardly and told him the truth about Little Aunt’s wrongful case.

That Bai Nianchan’s death had, in fact, been the result of Qianyu Palace and the Nine Daos turning a blind eye… All the things she’d deliberately kept from Bai Shengju before, she could finally say now.

If Bai Shengju hadn’t broken through, if his body hadn’t recovered, she would absolutely have stayed silent.

But now that his cultivation had risen and his health was likely better than Bai Maoxu’s, who stayed up all night on his phone, Bai Shengju had the right to know these things.

“Xiang’er, could you… step outside for a bit?”

Eyes squeezed shut, Bai Shengju’s voice trembled as he pleaded with her.

Bai Xiang nodded, turned, and quietly stepped out, closing the door.

“Gugu…”

Rеаd oո ΚatRеaⅾіngСаfе

A soft call came from beside her. Bai Zhuqing was huddled behind the door listening in, and now she couldn’t help scolding Bai Xiang. “How could you tell Grandpa all that…”

Grandpa’s so old—what if he gets too worked up?

Isn’t this bad?

“He has to know, sooner or later,” Bai Xiang said coldly.

“We can’t hide it from him for a lifetime.”

“True.” Bai Zhuqing nodded, muttering into her index finger, “Then… if Grandpa gets too sad in a bit, I guess I’ll just have to sacrifice myself and dive into his arms to act cute…”

“Gugu, want to come with me?” she asked, looking up at Bai Xiang.

But Bai Xiang was nowhere in sight.

Bai Shengju wouldn’t be coming out anytime soon. She had to hurry off to give orders and arrange things.

For example, that plot of land outside should be left alone for now.

For example, which hill the Dao field and Rain-Listening Tower would ultimately be moved onto.

And of course, most importantly, the procedures for the funeral and burial.

So they could inform the deceased.

And comfort her spirit in heaven.

……

A day later, at the Bai clan’s Ancestral Ground, a group of people came bearing a coffin, scattering spirit money along the road as they walked.

Everyone wore plain white mourning robes, silent and somber. Under Bai Shengju’s lead, they entered the Ancestral Ground, found a spot at the foot of a hill, and placed the coffin into the dug-out hollow.

Seal the coffin, fill the earth.

Set out incense burner and offerings, raise memorial tablet and gravestone.

Only when they clearly saw the name “Bai Nianchan” upon the tablet did Bai Guanshan finally lose control, throwing himself forward and bursting into sobs.

The fathers were like this, and the younger generation’s eyes reddened too.

Rеαⅾ оո ΚαtRеаⅾiոɡСαfe

The wind sighed over the hills.

The air in the mountains was thick with grief.

Bai Shengju just stood there, staring blankly, like his soul had left him, not saying a word.

Clang…!

Suddenly, a rasping sound rang out.

Everyone turned to see Bai Xiang drawing her sword and stepping up to the grave. She stood beside Bai Shengju, held the blade upright, and gave it a light shake.

Zhi…

A sound like cicadas singing.

Clear and far-reaching.

Light came back into Bai Shengju’s eyes. He stared fixedly at the girl beside him, at her profile, her expression… and the emotions he’d been holding back in his eyes finally burst their banks.

“Xiang’er…”

He glared through his tears, teeth clenched, and forced out each word to Bai Xiang: “I hate them so much…!”

Hate that Heaven’s Dao is unjust.

Hate that Human Principle is so merciless.

Hate that something this absurd could play out in the human world, while the culprits still rule the Nine Provinces as lords of all under heaven!

“So do I.”

Bai Xiang opened her eyes and gently slid the sword back into its sheath.

“I’ll see justice done,” she promised them all.

“For Little Aunt.”

“And for the whole of Shenming Sword Dao.”