"You! Fine! Since you insist on being stubborn, you can deal with the people from the Grand Princess's estate yourself! I'm washing my hands of it!" Duke Rong said angrily and strode away.
"Shengyi? You... alas!" Bai Murong sighed and followed Duke Rong.
Bai Yu looked at his little niece and said, "You shouldn't have provoked him."
His tone was calm, as if he were merely stating an irrelevant fact.
Bai Shengyi slowly wiped the blood from her eyes and ears, and said faintly, "Second Uncle, you know, he wants someone useful to the Bai family."
"I am not."
"And I never will be."
Bai Shengyi gave a cold laugh, her expression serene as she thanked Bai Yu, "Thank you, Second Uncle, for today. I'll repay this life-saving grace another day."
That's right, Bai Yu was specially invited by Bai Shengyi.
Because of the incident with the guards at the gate, Bai Shengyi didn't think Duke Rong would protect her; he might even act against her. That was why she had sent word to Bai Yu.
Bai Yu was already preparing to leave, but he looked at his little niece, who was so different from her usual self, and paused. "No need. I'll be in the capital during this period. If the old man causes you trouble, come find me."
Although he didn't want to get too involved in the Bai family's affairs, for his elder brother's sake, he had to take good care of his little niece.
"Alright, thank you, Second Uncle." Bai Shengyi waved goodbye to Bai Yu without any psychological burden.
After seeing Bai Yu off, Bai Shengyi opened the purple sandalwood box as soon as she entered the house.
A faint cyan light flickered, and after a long while, it subsided, revealing the true appearance of the item in the box.
It was a pen.
A broken pen, only the barrel remained.
The barrel was transparent cyan, appearing to flow like water, emitting a faint cold light. At the connection to the pen tip, there was a smooth fracture.
"Ayi, this is your mother's birthday gift for you. Your father has something to attend to and must leave for a while, so I'll give it to you first. You must wait until you are fifteen before opening it to look."
Bai Shengyi's mind suddenly conjured an image.
Her father, Bai Fu, dressed in snow-white robes and exuding a handsome and refined aura, called Bai Shengyi to his side, then solemnly handed her a purple sandalwood box, his figure gradually receding…
It felt like a long time ago, but it had only happened at the end of last year. However, so much had happened in the past half-year that Bai Shengyi had forgotten about the purple sandalwood box.
Bai Shengyi immediately liked the pen when she saw it.
She even felt a sense of familiarity.
She found it very interesting, as the only pen she was familiar with was that diamond pen from the Federation.
She couldn't help but touch the pen. The moment her hand touched the barrel, it instantly shattered, transforming into a dark cyan beam of light that shot into her body!
Bai Shengyi's heart leaped. She quickly circulated her mental energy to scan her body internally, but found nothing within her.
Impossible!
Bai Shengyi frowned and searched several more times, finally finding the pen in her neglected Sea of Consciousness.
Ignoring the missing pen tip, the pen body was crystal clear, as if a river of stars was flowing, radiating brilliant light.
"Nine Revolutions Reincarnation Pen!"
Five ancient and powerful characters appeared in her mind, adorned with golden borders.
In the next instant, the characters dispersed, and an agonizing pain suddenly spread from her Sea of Consciousness to her entire body!
Energy surge!
"Hiss!"
Bai Shengyi curled up on the ground in pain, utterly defenseless.
"What is going on?"
Could something left by her dear mother… harm her?
Bai Shengyi gritted her teeth and forcibly circulated her mental energy to comb through the energy within her body. Only then did she discover something was amiss.
"This… this is the Wood element?" Bai Shengyi could clearly see a stream of cyan energy coursing through her meridians under the rush of her mental energy. After the energy disappeared, tiny specks of greenish light remained.
At the same time, a mass of black mist appeared at the Dantian, the cultivation base in her lower abdomen. It was like an insatiable gaping maw, devouring the surging energy bite by bite.
"Gulp!"
Bai Shengyi could actually hear it making a sound!
Immediately after, the black mist contracted, pushing out a ball of greenish spiritual energy.
In an instant, the pain in Bai Shengyi's body vanished. All the active Wood elements in the world were like fireflies in the darkness; without Bai Shengyi doing anything, she could sense them one by one.
She had actually achieved qi cultivation!
With a thought, Bai Shengyi flicked her hand, and a green pen materialized in her grasp, imbued with greenish Wood element spiritual energy.
"It's so beautiful," Bai Shengyi couldn't help but exclaim.
She had a vague feeling that the original owner couldn't detect spiritual roots not because she didn't have any.
It was because this body simply couldn't absorb qi using the conventional cultivation methods of the Divine Revelation Continent, failing to activate the spiritual roots within to convert the elemental forces of heaven and earth into spiritual energy.
"Qi cultivation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul… Legend has it that the highest cultivation in the Divine Revelation Continent nowadays is the three mentors at the peak of Golden Core at the Divine Revelation Academy. Once I reach the Qi cultivation stage, I can cultivate using this world's methods, but this is still not enough to protect myself…"
After pondering for a while, Bai Shengyi closed the courtyard door and went out.
Time was pressing. She needed to at least reach Foundation Establishment to be unafraid of Duke Rong, nor of the Grand Princess's estate.
"Shengyi, where are you going?"
As soon as Bai Shengyi stepped out, she encountered Qin Zhao.
Qin Zhao acted as if nothing had happened before. He naturally stood in front of Bai Shengyi, a hint of worry on his gentle face.
"The people from the Grand Princess's estate have been waiting to cause you trouble. Fortunately, I intercepted them for you. I was so worried about you, Shengyi. Are you alright?"
When Qin Zhao used to pursue the original owner, he would always do this, favoring expressing his concern for her in public, in crowded places, as if he held her in the palm of his hand, making countless women hate the original owner.
When the original owner fell from heaven to hell, her high-profile declarations of love for Qin Zhao became the catalyst for everyone wanting to step on her.
Bai Shengyi thought to herself, she hadn't even sought out Qin Zhao, this gaslighting scumbag, and he had come to her. She couldn't be blamed for not being polite!
"Your Highness, I have something to do, and I'm so scared! Your Highness, since you're so worried about me, why don't you lend me your Cloud Chaser and Moon Chaser for a while?"
Bai Shengyi's acting skills were at their peak, waiting to tear off a layer of Qin Zhao's hypocritical facade.
As expected, Qin Zhao's expression immediately stiffened, and he hesitated.
"This… Shengyi, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
"Your Highness, I like you so much, and you're not even willing to help me with this small matter?" Bai Shengyi said with a look of disappointment.
Qin Zhao found these words incredibly familiar!
"Shengyi, I like you so much, and you're not willing to help me with this little thing? All you need to do is use some of the Bai family's medicinal herbs!"
"Shengyi, I like you the most. Even if you're a blind and useless person, I still like you. Can't you just be obedient?"
…
Bai Shengyi was thoroughly enjoying watching Qin Zhao's face cycle through red, orange, yellow, and purple when she suddenly heard a scoff.
She frowned slightly and turned around, only to see a man in a dark cyan robe standing there with a smile on his lips.
He looked somewhat familiar.
"Xia Qu Feng!"
Qin Zhao frowned tightly, his gentle expression almost breaking. "Why are you here?"
Xia Qu Feng raised his chin and snorted, "Is this your Prince Gong's territory? I come and go as I please, what's it to you?"
Qin Zhao was left speechless.
"I know Your Highness doesn't truly like me, nor do you intend to help me." Bai Shengyi, engrossed in watching the spectacle, moved aside to make way. "Since someone is looking for Your Highness now, I won't disturb you."