Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts

That night, Zhu Cici sat in her courtyard, gazing in a certain direction.

That was where the Wu Kingdom envoy resided.

Which meant—that was where Xu Ming was staying.

The distance between them was no more than a single mile.

Over the years, Zhu Cici had dreamt of their reunion countless times.

In her dreams, she had met Xu Ming amidst a sea of flowers, where a gentle breeze sent thousands of petals drifting through the air, lifting the hem of her dress and stirring her hair.

She had dreamt of encountering Xu Ming in a hidden realm, where they had competed for the same treasure—until Xu Ming finally recognized her.

She had dreamt of quietly studying at White Deer Academy, only to look up and see a familiar figure standing at the doorway, smiling at her.

Zhu Cici didn’t know how many such dreams she had had, but they all shared one thing in common—she could never clearly see Xu Ming’s face.

Xu Ming had once promised to find her.

Yet, even now, he still hadn’t come.

For that, Zhu Cici had been angry with him before.

More than once, she had woken up, hugged her pillow, and lightly pummeled it with her small fists—just as if she were hitting Xu Ming’s chest.

More than once, she had silently called him an unreliable man.

But her anger never lasted long.

She had heard much about Xu Ming’s journey.

The year he left to train, he truly hadn’t had the time to visit White Deer Academy—the distance was simply too great.

And then, there had been the incident with the Tianxuan Sect.

By the time that ordeal ended, Xu Ming had to return to Wu Capital to report, only to leave again for the Rootless Secret Realm.

She was supposed to go to the Rootless Secret Realm too.

But she had been delayed by a trip back to Qi Kingdom.

By the time Xu Ming emerged, he was sent straight to the Northern Sea Dragon Palace as Wu’s envoy.

She understood.

Even if Xu Ming had wanted to visit her, he simply hadn’t had the time.

And she had always believed—Xu Ming hadn’t forgotten her.

She believed that the moment he had time, he would come to see her.

But now—

Now, Xu Ming was so close.

Now, she only needed to walk a single mile to see him.

Now, the moment she had longed for all these years was about to come true.

Yet, her heart wavered.

She wanted to go to him—yet she found herself hesitating, even feeling a hint of fear.

She trusted Xu Ming.

And yet, deep inside, there was an unspoken worry.

What if… what if he really didn’t remember her?

What if his childhood promise to marry her had been nothing more than a child’s words, never meant to be taken seriously?

What if she was the only one who had held onto it all this time?

The more she thought about it, the tighter her lips pressed together.

Things she had never once doubted before suddenly overwhelmed her.

The confidence she had always held in Xu Ming—began to falter.

“Ugh…”

Zhu Cici bent forward, resting her head on her folded arms atop the stone table.

A lock of hair slipped across her cheek.

The girl once hailed as the greatest scholar of her time—

Now, she was lost in melancholy.

—

“Hey, Miao Feng, do you think Cici will go see Brother Xu?”

Lying on his bed, Yu Wenxi called out to Miao Feng in the next room.

When he learned that Xu Ming was also in the Northern Sea Dragon Palace, he wasn’t just excited to see his dear friend again—he was also eager to see what would happen when Xu Ming and Cici finally met.

Back at White Deer Academy, Cici had spent every day looking forward to Xu Ming’s visit, wishing upon every star in the sky for his arrival.

Miao Feng lay on his back with his hands folded over his chest, looking as though he had already made peace with the world. He spoke slowly, “I bet Cici won’t be able to bring herself to see Xu Ming.”

Yu Wenxi perked up, curiosity shining in his eyes. “Why do you say that?”

Miao Feng sighed. “Some girls, no matter how confident they seem on the outside, get all flustered when the moment of truth comes. Right now, Cici is definitely stuck between wanting to see him and being too afraid to go.”

Yu Wenxi thought about it seriously, then nodded in agreement. “That actually makes a lot of sense. But hey—why do you sound like you understand women so well? Haven’t you always said you don’t have anyone you like?”

Miao Feng gave him a speechless look. “Who said you have to be in love to understand these things? Haven’t you heard the saying: ‘You don’t have to eat pork to know what a pig looks like’?”

Then, with a smirk, he added, “Remember back at White Deer Academy? You kept saying you’d do this and that for Miss He, send her gifts, impress her… But when you finally saw her, you couldn’t even get a full sentence out. Just stood there stammering like a fool.”

Yu Wenxi’s face instantly turned red. “You—I—”

“Exactly.” Miao Feng shrugged.

Yu Wenxi slumped down in defeat. “Fine, fine. But seriously, what should we do? Honestly, I think Brother Xu is the only one who truly deserves Cici. But watching the two of them dance around each other like this is driving me crazy.”

Miao Feng agreed.

Plenty of men had proposed to Zhu Cici.

But in his eyes, none of them were worthy of her.

Xu Ming, however—

Anyone who had spent time with him would understand.

It wasn’t just about the poem he had written for her when they were young.

There was something deeper, something indescribable.

They just fit.

It was as if they were meant to be together.

“Brother Xu probably doesn’t even know Cici is here,” Miao Feng mused. “And if we just tell him outright, it might feel too forced.”

After a moment of thought, his eyes gleamed. “I have a plan.”

“Oh?”

Yu Wenxi instantly sat up, all traces of drowsiness gone.

“Quick, tell me! What’s the plan?”

“Tomorrow morning, you and I will go find Brother Xu, and then—”

As Miao Feng whispered his idea, Yu Wenxi’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.

For someone who had never been in love—

This guy was a genius.