Why Aren’t You Cultivating Immortality? (GL) Chapter 52

Wind passed through the forest, startling a flock of birds. Sikou Yan, who had been standing before the thick tree, suddenly vanished. Bai Moqing opened her eyes. A woman stood several meters away from her by the stream, watching her. There was a faint smile at the corners of her eyes and brows, warm and gentle like sunlight.
“Long time no see, Bai Moqing.” Sikou Yan walked toward Bai Moqing to the sound of flowing water. Seeing the confusion in Bai Moqing’s eyes, she asked, “Do you want to know who I am?”
Bai Moqing had wanted to know who Sikou Yan was, but after being asked like that, the thought faded instead. She hid the look in her eyes and calmly looked at Sikou Yan.
“I don’t.”
She turned and walked to a raised stone in the middle of the stream, sat cross-legged, and ignored Sikou Yan as if she were air.
Mountain wind rose now and then, and the water never stopped flowing. Sikou Yan crouched and dipped both hands into the stream. Bone-cold water passed between her fingers. Sikou Yan scooped up a handful, then let it go.
Her behavior was strange. Bai Moqing acted as if Sikou Yan did not exist, but she still could not help keeping part of her divine sense on Sikou Yan.
Scoop water, let it go. Sikou Yan repeated this three times, then raised her eyes toward the place where the stream came from. There was a spring eye, wrapped in spiritual energy so faint it could barely be seen.
“Your skill in formations has fallen a lot.”
Sikou Yan stepped across the surface of the water as if walking on flat ground. She strolled up to Bai Moqing and reached out, wanting to touch her. A destructive aura suddenly came from Bai Moqing’s body and shook Sikou Yan back.
“The God-Slaying Cauldron?” Sikou Yan steadied herself and looked at Bai Moqing in surprise. “You went to the third heaven?”
The collapsed third heaven, the abandoned God Realm, had no divine objects left except the God-Slaying Cauldron inside the Shen’gao Great Hall, which suppressed the realm and could not be taken away.
“What third heaven?” Bai Moqing pretended not to know and hid the God-Slaying Cauldron back inside her Divine Terrace.
“You forgot?” Sikou Yan froze. She remembered that she had only seen Bai Moqing yesterday, and at that time Bai Moqing had not carried the slightest aura of the God-Slaying Cauldron. “Who gave you this cauldron? Xiao Xing?”
Bai Moqing did not answer. She vaguely caught a thread. Sikou Yan knew Xiao Xing’s identity and had once known Bai Moqing. As for Bai Moqing herself, she was missing a part of her memory, so she no longer remembered Sikou Yan.
Not only her. Xiao Xing probably did not remember Sikou Yan either.
Sikou Yan. Sikou. Sikou. Bai Moqing silently repeated Sikou Yan’s name in her heart and suddenly remembered that Sikou was not only the name of a punishment. It was also the name of an official post.
Bai Moqing stood. “When did you come here?” Her expression looked knowing, as if she had remembered everything.
“What do you think?” Sikou Yan had already calmed down. Seeing that Bai Moqing was testing her, she stepped onto the raised stone and hugged Bai Moqing. Her arms tightened, and their bodies pressed together without a gap.
“Want to know who you are? Kiss me, and you’ll remember.”
Her voice was soft and carried a bewitching flavor.
“Kiss you?” Bai Moqing’s gaze instinctively fell on Sikou Yan’s lips. Her thin lips were slightly parted, lip lines crossing over each other. Their color was pink and tender, tempting and lovely. Bai Moqing could not help comparing her with Xiao Xing. After comparing them, Xiao Xing’s lips still made her heart sway more.
Her figure shifted, and she escaped from Sikou Yan’s arms. “You should know that Xiao Xing and I are together.”
As soon as Bai Moqing finished speaking, grief appeared in Sikou Yan’s eyes. That gaze was like a wife hearing her husband say he was with another woman.
Bai Moqing’s heart tightened. A flash of heartache passed through her before she could think about why. Sikou Yan said, “The ones who were together before were us.”
That sentence could mean two things. The “us” Sikou Yan spoke of could mean her and Bai Moqing, or it could mean her and Xiao Xing.
“Impossible.” Bai Moqing’s heartbeat suddenly sped up. She covered her chest. Thump, thump, thump. The heartbeat under her palm followed one beat after another, slamming fiercely against her ribs as if it wanted to jump out of her chest.
“Impossible?” Sikou Yan laughed. “One day, you will know why you are here, why I came here, and Xiao Xing…”
Sikou Yan suddenly stopped. Bai Moqing held her breath and looked at her. After several seconds, Sikou Yan continued, “You will regret being with Xiao Xing.”
Sikou Yan left. Bai Moqing stood on the surface of the water in a daze, still thinking about Sikou Yan’s words even when the little orange cat came out of the barrier.
“Meowu!” The little orange cat spread her paws and jumped onto Bai Moqing. Her sharp claws hooked into Bai Moqing’s clothes, and she hung steadily against Bai Moqing’s chest. “Qingqing, why have you been standing outside this whole time?”
Bai Moqing raised a hand to support the little orange cat and lowered her head to meet her vertical pupils. Under the sunlight, the cat’s pupils narrowed into thin slits, looking lazy and hazy. Bai Moqing stroked the fur on the little orange cat’s head.
“Feiyue, would you forget someone you liked?”
Forget someone she liked? The little orange cat tilted her head and rubbed against Bai Moqing’s chest, her face full of deep feeling. “No. I will always remember you. I will remember that Bai Moqing is the person I like most.”
It did not answer the question, but warmth still flowed through Bai Moqing’s heart. Stroking the little orange cat’s soft body, Bai Moqing suddenly felt clear.
Yun Su happened to come out of the barrier. As soon as she came out, she heard Feiyue confessing deeply to Bai Moqing. Her bronze face darkened. She clenched her hands and asked Feiyue, “Then what about me?”
The furry little head turned toward Yun Su. The little orange cat thought for a moment. “I like you too.”
Yun Su had just grown a little happy when the little orange cat added, “It would be better if you were a little fairer. I like clean, fair girls.”
Yun Su understood. Feiyue was disdaining her, thinking her bronze skin made her look like a rough man. She turned, changed into a flood dragon, and drilled back into the barrier.
Bai Moqing saw Yun Su’s feelings for Feiyue, but she did not point them out. The little orange cat meowed, and Bai Moqing carried her as she followed Yun Su into the barrier.
The sun had not yet set, but a crescent moon had already appeared in the sky. As for Bai Moqing not coming to the company all day, aside from An Huaigu, not many people cared.
An Huaigu glanced at the empty workstation, picked up the phone on her desk, and called Bai Moqing. It rang until it hung up on its own, but no one answered.
It had been a whole day. She had not come in, had not answered calls, and had not called back. Could something have happened?
Thinking of what had happened yesterday, that possibility was very high. An Huaigu immediately packed her things and prepared to look for Bai Moqing. Only after standing did she remember that she did not know Bai Moqing’s home address at all.
Tang Yue returned from the Design Department and saw An Huaigu looking ready to leave work. She glanced at her watch. There was still an hour before work ended.
She knocked on the door. “Assistant An, leaving this early?” She glanced at the half-open door of the office next door and reminded An Huaigu, “President Xiao hasn’t left yet.”
At the mention of President Xiao, An Huaigu remembered what Xiao Xing had asked her. Her expression chilled. “Tang Yue, did you say something to President Xiao?”
“Say what to President Xiao?” Tang Yue walked into the office, closed the door behind her, and came up to An Huaigu.
“The night I was sick, you stayed over at my place…” Her body suddenly heated. An Huaigu glanced outside and said, “Nothing happened that night. We only slept while hugging each other. Why would President Xiao know?”
Seeing An Huaigu’s guilty look, Tang Yue took off her black-framed glasses and leaned close, her gaze ambiguous. “Assistant An, President Xiao was the one who told me you were sick. Of course she knew I went to your house.”
She smiled and asked back, “President Xiao only tested you once, and you told her we slept together?” Her hand lightly gripped An Huaigu’s lapel. “Although we didn’t do anything that night, you held me all night…”
Her lips brushed An Huaigu’s ear. “Your chest was soft. Your hands were strong. I was very comfortable.”
“Pervert.” An Huaigu pushed Tang Yue away, shame appearing on her face. “I only treated you as a body pillow.”
“You like rubbing your chest against body pillows? And kneading them with your hands?” Seeing An Huaigu about to lose her temper, Tang Yue quickly smiled and said, “I still have work to do. I won’t bother Assistant An anymore.” She straightened her messy lapel and put her glasses back on.
After taking two steps, An Huaigu’s voice came from behind her. “I don’t like how you look with glasses.”
Tang Yue stopped and turned back with a smile. “Then I won’t wear them anymore.”
She took off the glasses and casually threw them. They drew a perfect arc through the air and flew into the trash can by the wall. The glasses had cost several thousand yuan and had only been worn for two days, but Tang Yue threw them away like trash.
“What a waste.” An Huaigu picked up her bag and left, unspeakably happy inside. “If anything happens, cover for me.” The end of her voice lifted, carrying a faint hint of coquettishness.
Before leaving the company, An Huaigu first went to HR and had Manager Li pull up Bai Moqing’s employment information. She secretly wrote down the home address Bai Moqing had filled in, then headed for Bai Moqing’s home.
The dutiful security guard at the residential complex saw an unfamiliar car and stopped An Huaigu outside. Only after registering her license plate and ID number did he let her in.
When the car started, An Huaigu heard the guard who had registered her information muttering something about changing backers. She could not help looking at him a few more times.
Did changing backers have something to do with Xiao Bai?
After thinking about it, she smiled and shook her head. How could Xiao Bai have a backer? She was not a celebrity.
Speaking of celebrities, An Huaigu remembered Sikou Yan, who was caught in the same-sex scandal. Sikou Yan had suddenly announced a break from acting, and online, photos had appeared of her embracing and kissing an unknown woman. An Huaigu had to find Bai Moqing and ask what exactly had happened yesterday.
However, she pressed the doorbell until it was nearly broken, and no one came to open the door. She could not even see Bai Moqing, much less ask her what had happened yesterday.
The sky darkened quickly. When she arrived, it had still been light. When she left, only the streetlamps were bright.
An Huaigu drove out of the complex and glanced toward Bai Moqing’s home. With one look, she found that the lights in Bai Moqing’s home were on.
They had missed each other by that much?
An Huaigu turned around, drove back into the complex, and went upstairs again.
This time, the door opened as soon as she pressed the bell.
The door opened, and a pretty little face appeared before An Huaigu. Seeing An Huaigu, Feiyue’s face instantly turned cold. Without waiting for An Huaigu to speak, she said, “Qingqing isn’t home.”
“Feiyue, who are you talking to?” Bai Moqing walked out of the bathroom wearing a bathrobe and drying her dripping hair, looking as if something had just ended. Seeing An Huaigu, she asked in surprise, “Sister An, why are you here?”
Seeing Feiyue gripping the doorknob with one hand and pressing the other hand against the doorframe to block the doorway, Bai Moqing said warmly, “Feiyue, let Sister An in.” Feiyue reluctantly stepped aside.
An Huaigu entered. Though Feiyue was unhappy, she still got An Huaigu a pair of slippers. Seeing her awkward look, An Huaigu thought of An Huaijian when she was young and could not help reaching out to pat Feiyue’s head.
Feiyue dodged nimbly and looked at An Huaigu as if she were a strange auntie. An Huaigu awkwardly pulled her hand back and explained, “Just now, you looked a lot like my little sister when she was young.”
Bai Moqing went back to her room to change. An Huaigu tried hard to find topics to discuss with Feiyue, but Feiyue watched TV and had no interest in An Huaigu’s topics.
There was an unopened bag of cat food on the table. An Huaigu finally found a topic that made Feiyue turn her eyes. An Huaigu asked, “Feiyue, where’s that cute little cat in your home? I bought some canned fish before. Did your cat like…”
Before she could finish, Feiyue interrupted her. “You bought those canned fish?”
An Huaigu did not understand and nodded. Feiyue froze, then covered her face and buried it sideways into the sofa.
She would never eat cat food again.
“What’s wrong? Did the canned fish taste bad?” Seeing Feiyue’s reaction, An Huaigu raised her head and looked around the home. “Your cat didn’t run away because the canned fish tasted bad, did it?”
Feiyue gave a muffled hum. Hearing Bai Moqing come out, she turned and went into the bedroom.
Watching Feiyue leave, Bai Moqing sat down on the sofa. “Sister An, why did you come over?” She withdrew her gaze and turned to An Huaigu, only to find that An Huaigu was also watching Feiyue.
An Huaigu turned back. “You didn’t come to work today, and no one answered when I called. I was afraid something had happened, so I came over…”