Chapter 47 Just Friends
Given that the soul attribute of the mission taker is quite special and is independent of this small world, Ren Yi is not quite sure whether he was pulled into the past in the Mirror of Cause and Effect by Xiao Hanzhou, or whether he knows the "future" because of his own special nature, but this does not prevent him from pretending that he knows nothing.
After all, his goal was to get this "past" back on track as quickly as possible, so the variables should be minimized, and he himself was no exception.
Fortunately, Xiao Hanzhou did not show any unusual reaction to this, and even seemed to be relieved.
However, this time Ren Yi didn't pay as much attention to the Chosen One. The Mirror of Cause and Effect's influence was limited. According to the system's calculations, as long as Ren Yi completed the two key tasks of "giving the spiritual root to Bai Jinliu" and "leaving the Xiao family," they could return to the original timeline. This was basically his own initiative, requiring little cooperation from Xiao Hanzhou.
But as it turned out, Ren Yi was too happy too soon.
He spent the whole night sorting out the current situation, and when he checked again the next day, Bai Jinliu was no longer at the Xiao residence.
Ren Yi?
Not only that, it seems that Xiao Hanzhou cleaned up the Xiao family's place overnight. When Ren Yi went out the next day (he had been left at the Xiao residence by Xiao Hanzhou the night before), he found that everyone in the Xiao family, from the gatekeepers to the servants, was trembling with fear.
Ren Yi didn't actually associate with the Xiao family much. After all, once the chosen one found true love, he, as a tool character whose nature had changed to a villainous male supporting role, would frequently hear rumors and gossip about defending his true love. If he were the protagonist, the next part would be a story of turning the tables and slapping people in the face. However, as a tool character, these experiences could only be described as deserved.
This time, things seem a little different. Along the way, Ren Yi has not listened to any rumors, and people don't even dare to glance at him.
As Ren Yi pondered what was going on, he continued forward, and from a great distance, he heard a heart-wrenching plea.
"Master, you can't do this! I'm a former member of the Xiao family!!!"
Ren Yi's eyelids twitched upon hearing this, wondering what had happened to make Xiao Hanzhou so angry.
Although the Xiao family was wiped out back then, only the direct descendants of the Xiao family were thoroughly searched. As for the servants of the Xiao family, those who wiped out the family did not have the time to hunt them down one by one. Many of them were lucky enough to escape with their lives, but they did not dare to reveal their identities. They lived in hiding until Xiao Hanzhou restored the Xiao family. Only then did they come to pay their respects to their former master. These people are the so-called "former members of the Xiao family".
Xiao Hanzhou is a very nostalgic person, or more precisely, he misses the past of Tianhuan City. Therefore, he treats his old servants very differently, and he often turns a blind eye to their mistakes.
This person has somehow angered Xiao Hanzhou, even bringing up the title of "former member of the Xiao family," but Xiao Hanzhou remains unmoved.
Ren Yi paused slightly.
Xiao Hanzhou is clearly dealing with family matters, so it seems inappropriate for him to be in the situation.
While Ren Yizheng was hesitating, Xiao Hanzhou spotted him first.
Xiao Hanzhou's expression stiffened for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and greeted her with a gentle expression, "Ayi, what brings you here?"
Where he passed, the servant who had been wailing and begging for mercy suddenly fell silent. It wasn't because he was frightened; judging from his terrified face and the few whimpering sounds he made, he had clearly been silenced.
Ren Yi was also curious about what the man had done wrong, and couldn't help but glance over, only to be blocked by Xiao Hanzhou's approaching figure. The latter asked with concern, "How are your injuries? Is there anything else that's bothering you?"
Xiao Hanzhou only realized after going through it all again that A Yi was actually injured when he returned from Yuyun Township.
Thinking about what he had done back then, Xiao Hanzhou felt as if his heart had been immersed in ice water, and the chill in that instant was pumped from his heart to his whole body along with his blood.
But he quickly realized that things were different this time!
He has a chance to start over and change the past!
Xiao Hanzhou's concerned expression made Ren Yi quite uncomfortable. Moreover, it wasn't a serious injury; for a cultivator, it was basically something like, "Luckily, it was discovered early; otherwise, the wound would have disappeared." Now, being specifically asked about it by Xiao Hanzhou made Ren Yi feel incredibly awkward.
Just as Ren Yi was about to nod and say "It's alright," he felt his clothes being tugged. It turned out that the old servant who had been kowtowing and begging for mercy to Xiao Hanzhou had somehow crawled over and was now grabbing the hem of his clothes with a pleading look on his face.
Ren Yi's first reaction was that this person had pulled the wrong person; his master was on the other side.
Unexpectedly, just as he lowered his head, the other man took a step back, his head hitting the ground hard. When he raised his head again, his forehead was covered in blood, showing how hard the impact had been.
The other party did indeed ask for his help, but this caught Ren Yi completely off guard.
This was Xiao Hanzhou's family matter, and Ren Yi had no right to interfere. He was currently unaware of the full story, so even if he wanted to speak, he had nothing to say. Furthermore, given his reputation within the Xiao family, Ren Yi wondered if this person was truly just panicking and desperately trying to shift the blame onto him.
Before Ren Yi could react, the servant was about to bow his head and kowtow again, but this time, he suddenly couldn't move before he could even finish the kowtow. Not only that, even the whimpering sounds that could come out of his throat seemed to be blocked by something. His whole body was imprisoned by an invisible force, and in an instant, the only part of his body that he could move was his eyeballs.
Black pupils darted around in terror in their sockets. The servant finally caught the master's expression, his icy demeanor tinged with malice. It inadvertently reminded him of how this young master had sent the murderers who had wiped out his family to their deaths.
Recalling those scenes, the servant's body, which was unable to move, trembled involuntarily. Thinking about what he had just done, a layer of despair clouded his eyes. He knew all too well that he had made the worst choice.
That shouldn't be!
Judging from the patriarch's actions last night, he should realize that he shouldn't have dragged this person into this matter!
Ren Yi had no say in how Xiao Hanzhou dealt with his servants, nor did he intend to.
He came to find Xiao Hanzhou mainly to inquire about Bai Jinliu's situation.
Xiao Hanzhou had no intention of punishing the person in front of Ren Yi. He quickly ordered his men to take the offending servant away, but after learning Ren Yi's purpose, his expression, which had eased slightly, tightened again for a moment.
However, Xiao Hanzhou quickly gave an answer: "Jin Liu was injured in the secret realm and has been recuperating at the Xiao family for some time. He recovered yesterday and went back."
Xiao Hanzhou spoke casually, but Ren Yi, who knew Bai Jinliu's situation, felt his mind filled with questions. Could Bai Jinliu's condition possibly improve? Or did Xiao Hanzhou find someone else to replace his spiritual root?
Ren Yi felt that the latter possibility was unlikely. If ice spirit roots were really that easy to find, Xiao Hanzhou wouldn't have had to come to him for help back then.
Even if Xiao Hanzhou came back this time to save him, so it's not appropriate to bring up the matter of changing spiritual roots, he can't just stand by and watch his true love become useless, can he?
Ren Yi tentatively said, "I also have some acquaintance with the young master of the Bai family. I happen to have nothing to do these days, and since he is injured, I should go and visit him."
Xiao Hanzhou almost instinctively said, "No need."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Hanzhou recalled the rumors he had overheard outside the Mirror of Cause and Effect. Although he had dealt with all those gossipers, if A-Yi had actually believed them, wouldn't he think that his actions were protecting Bai Jinliu?
Thinking of this, Xiao Hanzhou quickly changed his mind, "Of course it's good that you want to go see him, A-Yi, but Jin Liu's injuries haven't fully healed yet, and he needs to rest for the next few days. I'll take you with me in a while..."
As Xiao Hanzhou spoke, his voice gradually lowered, and he became worried that Ren Yi might misunderstand his words as meaning that he did not want him to disturb Bai Jinliu.
However, Xiao Hanzhou really didn't want Ren Yi and Bai Jinliu to meet at this moment.
Having been given a second chance, he now knew who truly belonged to him and had witnessed all that Ren Yi had done for him. There was no way he could allow Ren Yi to give his spiritual root to Bai Jinliu again.
Therefore, it is now a foregone conclusion that Bai Jinliu's cultivation will be destroyed.
Xiao Hanzhou knew Bai Jinliu's obsession with his cultivation, and he worried that the latter might say something hurtful to A-Yi in a moment of emotional outburst. This time, he didn't want A-Yi to suffer even the slightest grievance.
Ren Yi ultimately did not visit Cheng Baijinliu, and he did not even find out where the latter was now.
Ren Yi knew a bit about Bai Jinliu's situation in the Bai family. As long as Xiao Hanzhou didn't have a grudge against him, he wouldn't send Bai Jinliu, whose cultivation was on the verge of collapse, back to the Bai family. However, Bai Jinliu wasn't in the Xiao residence at the moment, so Xiao Hanzhou had obviously put him somewhere else.
At this moment, Ren Yi began to regret that ever since Xiao Hanzhou returned to Tianhuan City, he had been lazy and avoided getting too close to the Chosen One. Otherwise, given how unguarded Xiao Hanzhou was with him, he would have known exactly how many businesses Xiao Hanzhou owned and could have simply visited them one by one, instead of going through all this trouble.
Although there was no news of Bai Jinliu for the time being, Ren Yi stayed at the Xiao residence temporarily in order to make it easier to inquire and also because of Xiao Hanzhou's invitation to stay.
He was initially a little worried about the "Dao-forming ceremony" that Xiao Hanzhou had mentioned the day he returned, but he soon discovered that although Xiao Hanzhou said it was for the preparation of the Dao-forming ceremony, he was not very proactive in taking action.
If being meticulous about every single thing prepared can be described as striving for perfection, then not even setting a rough, vague date seems rather strange.
Ren Yi saw Xiao Hanzhou write the date on the paper several times, but for some reason he erased it each time. The date he set was later and later each time. He immediately guessed the other party's conflicted state of mind. Obviously, even the chosen one did not want to become this Daoist partner.
Upon seeing this, Ren Yi immediately breathed a sigh of relief and completely put the matter aside.
Given Xiao Hanzhou's tendency to procrastinate, he'll definitely have enough time to find Bai Jinliu before the Dao Concluding Ceremony, switch his spiritual root, and leave. He can then leave a letter wishing them a long and happy life together, pursuing the Great Dao.
At this point, the world line is basically pushed back to its original track, enough to bring them back to their original timeline.
Once he seizes the opportunity, at the very moment he is kicked out by the Mirror of Cause and Effect, he will hand Ning Shuang to Xiao Hanzhou and take the opportunity to escape the world, thus making everything perfect.
At this moment, Ren Yi only regretted that he had been too cautious before.
If Ning Shuang had been sent there earlier, he would have already arrived in the next world, and none of this would have happened.
Overall, the situation wasn't too bad. Ren Yi pondered his next plan, and his expression finally relaxed a little. But when he looked up, he saw a boy not far away looking at him with a not-so-good expression.
Ren Yi recognized the other person as Xiao Zhiyu, whom he had met at Yingsong Peak when he was still in Xuanqing Sect. Although the other person was a few years younger than he had seen him back then, his facial features had not changed much.
However, this time Xiao Zhiyu did not show the same respect he had shown to his seniors.
The young man's self-control was still lacking; although he tried his best to restrain himself, his eyes betrayed his hostility. Noticing Ren Yi looking up, he froze, but quickly glared back fiercely.
Ren Yi blinked slowly. If Xiao Hanzhou didn't reveal Bai Jinliu's whereabouts, he could ask someone else.
—Isn't there one right here, delivered right to our doorstep?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
