The next morning, Wang Haoming and his family arrived at the Xia family residence.
I was already prepared, so I got into the car directly.
Besides Wang Haoming and the driver, there was an old man in the car. Judging from his aura, he was already at the Earth Rank, much higher than Lu Tongxiao, but still considerably weaker than Long Qingyang.
“This is Elder Tan, our Wang family’s steward!” Wang Haoming introduced the old man to me.
I nodded and said, “Greetings, Elder Tan, I’m Xia Tian!”
“You’re Brother Long’s disciple. You’re truly extraordinary; even I couldn’t discern your cultivation level!” Elder Tan exclaimed.
Wang Haoming laughed upon hearing this, “Elder Tan, although he’s Senior Long’s disciple, you can’t praise him like that. You’re a Earth-rank expert, how could you not see his cultivation level? I exchanged a punch with him once, and we were evenly matched!”
“Not so…” Elder Tan shook his head and said nothing more.
Hearing Elder Tan’s words, I was startled, not by Elder Tan’s discernment, but by Long Qingyang’s true cultivation level.
Elder Tan was already a late-stage Earth-rank expert in ancient martial arts, and Long Qingyang was even stronger than him. Could Long Qingyang already be a Heaven-rank expert?!
Just as I was thinking this, someone suddenly hugged me, and I felt a bunch of breasts pressing against my back, which startled me.
I quickly turned around, and holy crap! Was this for real? It was Wang Ziyan!
“Um, brother-in-law, my sister insisted on coming along, I’m sorry!” Wang Haoming turned his face away, avoiding my gaze.
At this point, I was completely exasperated. Looking at Wang Ziyan, I said speechlessly, “Aren’t you a policewoman? You’re supposed to serve the people, what are you doing here!”
“I’m also a member of the Wang family. Of course I’m going to participate in this Mount Hua Sword Tournament!” She squeezed in, but could she even fit in the car?!
“Elder Tan, let’s go to the front!” Wang Haoming had no choice but to run away, so he also gave Elder Tan a ride.
The driver left, Wang Haoming drove, Elder Tan sat in the passenger seat, and only Wang Ziyan and I were left in the back.
“Have you missed me?” Wang Ziyan asked with a smile, linking her arm with mine. “Well… I’ll roll down the window, the air seems a bit stuffy!” She turned and opened the window.
Ever since Mei’er’s memories disappeared from their memories, Wang Ziyan has become increasingly bold.
I’m so annoyed. She always has a cold face in front of others, but why is she acting like this with me?! My v!rgin heart is as unfathomable as the ocean; I’d better not try to guess. It’s too much of a brain drain, and if I overthink it, readers will accuse me of padding the chapters.
“Are you carsick? I have some motion sickness medicine here!” Wang Ziyan handed me a bottle of medicine.
My eyebrow twitched, and I said, “I… I don’t really like taking medicine!”
“You don’t have to take medicine. I have motion sickness patches here. Just stick it on your forehead, and you’ll be fine!” Wang Ziyan said, tearing open a motion sickness patch.
I quickly waved my hand, “I’m not carsick…” Before I could finish speaking, Wang Ziyan had already stuck the patch on my forehead.
She’d put it on me; I couldn’t just tear it off, so I had to leave it on.
“Are you thirsty? I specially bought your favorite cola. Have some!” Although it was meant as a request, it really wasn’t…damn it! Does asking for someone’s opinion mean you just force-feed them a drink?!
Just then, Wang Haoming, who was driving, suddenly said, “Sigh… a married sister is like water spilled from a cup; I haven’t even seen my sister get her brother a drink of water.”
“Your brother is thirsty, give him some!” I quickly said. Although I didn’t really like hearing Wang Haoming say that—what did he mean by “married sister”? Damn it! Your sister and I are completely innocent!
But Wang Haoming’s words were a way of indirectly saving me from an awkward situation.
“No!” Wang Ziyan said coldly, sipping a drink from the same sup.
This woman’s temper changes so quickly!
Hey! My dear Miss Wang, are you kidding me? I drank from that! In Tang Shuyao’s words, that’s called indirect kissing… Oh well, whatever, I’ll pretend I didn’t see it!
After enduring a torturous journey for several hours, we finally arrived at Mount Hua.
“Elder Tan, shall we go up now?” I asked Elder Tan.
Elder Tan stroked his beard and said, “The exchange meeting starts at noon. Let’s go up so we don’t miss out on anything good.”
“Elder Tan is right, let’s hurry up!” Wang Haoming echoed.
I nodded and followed Elder Tan and Wang Haoming up the mountain.
Wang Ziyan seemed reluctant to go up, but seeing that we all agreed, she followed.
The scenery of Mount Hua was breathtaking, especially the view from the clouds, which was truly captivating. The pine trees were also quite unusual.
However, Mount Hua was notoriously treacherous. We took the old path, starting from Yuquan Temple. At first, it wasn’t too bad, but it became treacherous at Huixin Stone.
We were all cultivators, so we didn’t feel tired. But then Wang Ziyan suddenly said, “Xia Tian, I’m so tired! Can you carry me up?”
“No!” I refused immediately, but Wang Ziyan actually jumped onto my back.
Holy crap! Wang Ziyan’s tone was always deliberate, but her actions gave no hint of deliberation whatsoever!
We moved quickly and arrived at the “First Danger of Mount Hua”—the Plank Road in the Sky—in no time.
We thought we’d have to continue, but Elder Tan suddenly stopped and said calmly, “We’re here!”
Don’t be ridiculous! This place is so small. Forget the martial arts competition, even for an exchange meeting, this place isn’t big enough!
“Let’s go!” Elder Tan said, and actually walked directly towards the open space!
Holy crap! This is in mid-air! Is the Mount Hua Sword Tournament a death trap?
Just as I was thinking this, Elder Tan actually stood in mid-air, without falling.
Wang Haoming saw me standing there dumbfounded and said, “Brother-in-law, hurry up and go, lest someone sees us!”
“Okay!” I quickly replied, following behind Wang Haoming.
Elder Tan took a few steps forward, then a few steps to the left, then forward again, then to the right, and just like that, he vanished before my eyes!
“Brother-in-law, be careful! Follow my steps. One wrong step, and you really will fall!” Wang Haoming said, walking forward and to the left and right just like Elder Tan. I followed closely, afraid of making a mistake and falling.
Then Wang Haoming also suddenly disappeared before my eyes. However, I followed his steps, and a flash of white light appeared before my eyes, and I found myself on a mountain peak.
This mountain peak was covered with cypress trees, the clouds were light and the breeze gentle, and there were several palaces and pavilions, like a fairyland on earth. I was so amazed that I couldn’t speak.
Wang Ziyan behind me exclaimed, “So beautiful…”
The scenery here was indeed extremely beautiful, but what shocked me was the method of entry. It was obvious that this mountain peak had been enchanted with an illusionary array. Could ancient martial arts masters really have such abilities?