Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts

Early the next morning, Xu Ming went to find Li Han and once again encountered Ye Ye.

To his surprise, he even shared breakfast with Ye Ye in the courtyard.

Their interaction was no different from the previous evening, as if nothing had happened.

Afterward, Xu Ming and Li Han set out to visit Guangyin and the others.

When they arrived at Guangyin’s courtyard, the first person they saw was a young girl.

She had a fresh and innocent look. Though she was only dressed in simple linen clothes, her appearance was clean and tidy.

“Miss, is this Guangyin’s residence?” Xu Ming asked with a bow, thinking he might have come to the wrong place.

Li Han chuckled and said, “Brother Ming, don’t you recognize her? This is Hutao!”

“Hutao…” Xu Ming muttered, the name sounding vaguely familiar. Then it clicked. “You’re Hutao?”

After Xu Ming left Blood Asura, he hadn’t seen her again. It had been over three years.

He hadn’t expected her to change so much that he didn’t even recognize her.

“Yes, Brother Xu. I am Hutao,” Hutao said, bowing slightly. Her eyes sparkled with happiness. “It’s been a long time, Brother Xu. I’ve always heard stories about you.”

“To think that the little girl from back then has grown into such a fine young lady,” Xu Ming said with a smile, his gaze filled with warmth.

The freckles on Hutao’s face were gone, her skin was smooth, and the malnourished thinness from before had disappeared. She had filled out and blossomed into a proper beauty.

If her looks were rated, she was comparable to Chunyan from her teenage years—perhaps even a touch more beautiful.

“Thank you for the compliment, Brother Xu. Please, come in, both of you,” Hutao said, gesturing as she welcomed them into the courtyard.

She served tea to Xu Ming and Li Han.

Sure enough, Blood Asura had given Li Han some time off, and even Hutao was on leave.

If this wasn’t orchestrated by the royal palace to let Xu Ming reconnect with friends and family, it would truly be hard to explain.

It had to be said that the Emperor of Wu had a knack for such subtle gestures of goodwill—low-cost but carefully designed to make you feel valued. It gave you the impression of being under a wise ruler, someone worth your utmost loyalty.

Hutao had returned earlier to clean up the courtyard, while Guangyin, now an instructor at Blood Asura, was still training new recruits and wouldn’t return until later that day.

Xu Ming and Li Han sat in the courtyard, sipping tea.

Li Han gave Xu Ming a sly look, then leaned in to share some gossip in a hushed voice.

Over the past year, Guangyin and Hutao’s relationship had progressed rapidly.

The main reason? An incident.

As Hutao grew into a stunning young woman, she naturally attracted attention in Blood Asura, which was mostly populated by young, single men.

Many wanted to marry her, and her food counter was always surrounded by people during meals.

One day, someone even proposed to her.

Hutao, however, turned him down, saying she already had someone she liked—Guangyin.

The news spread quickly.

People began challenging Guangyin to duels, using their fists to “talk.”

Of course, even if they beat Guangyin, it wouldn’t change Hutao’s feelings. But that was how Blood Asura worked—if you were upset, you could settle it in the training grounds. ṙаŊ∅ВЕṧ

At first, Guangyin was completely baffled, claiming he had no romantic connection with Hutao and only saw her as a younger sister.

When Hutao found out, she reportedly cried for three days and nights.

This led to even more people challenging Guangyin, accusing him of being “not a man” for making such a good girl cry.

Guangyin was left feeling conflicted, unsure whether he should accept Hutao’s feelings.@@novelbin@@

If Guangyin truly considered Hutao only as a sister, that wouldn’t be entirely accurate.

Guangyin definitely had some feelings for Hutao, even if he wasn’t fully aware of them.

But Guangyin was uncertain whether he could provide Hutao with a lifetime of happiness. Especially with the Blood Asura often sending out dangerous missions, where death could come at any time, Guangyin worried that he might die on the job one day.

So, he preferred Hutao to marry someone from a stable family.

He told Hutao his thoughts.

That day, Hutao didn’t respond much, only remaining silent.

However, not long after, Hutao ran up to Guangyin and confessed directly: “I’ve figured it out. I still like you. If you die, I’ll be a widow for the rest of my life, and I won’t regret it! Do you really not like me? If you don’t, just say it! I’m only asking you this once!”

In the end, Guangyin and Hutao got together, though they hadn’t yet married.

But it was probably close, it seemed like it would happen soon.

After hearing all this, Xu Ming couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional. He hadn’t expected that his old brother would soon be getting married.

Before long, Guangyin returned, and everyone caught up. They then went together to find Xiong Haizhi.

The group had a meal at a restaurant and reminisced.

Since it had been a long time since Xu Ming came back, Guangyin announced something important: next month, he would be going on a mission. After returning, he would marry Hutao.

Guangyin hadn’t told Hutao yet, planning to surprise her.

Naturally, Xu Ming and the others congratulated him. After all, when a good friend is getting married, everyone is happy for them.

However, the way Guangyin said, “After I return from the mission, I’ll marry Hutao,” made Xu Ming uneasy. He had a feeling this wasn’t a good omen.

Xu Ming felt he should warn the Blood Asura people not to send Guangyin on any dangerous missions during this time. He was an instructor now; teaching would be a good role for him.

In the evening, the group dispersed and returned to their homes.

Xu Ming arrived back at Xu Manor, took a bath, and sat in the courtyard, meditating.

He had given Zhou Wanfeng a message-delivering flying sword, which would probably reach the “Taoist” in a few days.

During this time, Xu Ming also needed to find a place to break through his cultivation. Afterward, he planned to visit the Rootless Secret Realm.

Once he returned from the Rootless Secret Realm, the Taoist would likely have arrived, and Xu Ming could finally address his mother’s soul issue.

Even though he had returned home, Xu Ming found it hard to relax.

Sighing deeply, Xu Ming ended his meditation and planned to go to bed.

But just as he was about to turn and head inside, Xu Ming suddenly spun around and swung his sword.

Clang!

Sparks flew as his long sword clashed with something. A man wearing a mask was sent flying ten meters by Xu Ming’s strike.

As soon as the masked man steadied himself, Xu Ming’s sword was already pointed at his forehead.