This letter caused waves in Ling Chuxi’s heart, but after that, there was no more news from Ling Wushang. This bewildered Ling Chuxi. Since she could not understand the matter, she set it aside. Didn’t Ling Wushang already say that he would tell her everything when they meet?
Once she put the letter away, Ling Chuxi was not longer at a loss. She smiled at Ling Yichen. “Yichen, let’s go back home to celebrate New Year’s.”
“Sure,” agreed Ling Yichen with a nod. “Can I invite my senior brother?”
“Just ask him along. The more the merrier,” agreed Ling Chuxi with a smile. Ling Yichen had never mentioned his parents before. Though the Ling clan treated Ling Yichen very well, Ling Chuxi never recalled any of them mentioning his parents. She herself had never met his parents, nor did she speak up to ask about them. If Ling Yichen wished to speak about it, he would tell her himself.
Before the holidays, the name list of the students who would be participating in the academy’s exchange program was finalized. Ling Yichen and Ling Chuxi were to attend the Wind Cloud Academy in the capital whilst Lan Xinyu would be sent to different academy in another city.
“Why were we not all placed in the same academy? Why?” growled Lan Xinyu at the teacher in charge of announcing the name list, almost crushing him.
The teacher coughed. “This is not my fault. Go and ask your grandfather,” wheezed out the teacher forcefully, he was left dizzy by Lan Xinyu’s shaking.
“You grandfather saw that you were lacking, so he wanted you to try surviving alone,” explained Ling Chuxi before bringing Ling Yichen and Xia Zhuoyi away with her, leaving Lan Xinyu stunned and rooted to the spot. She finally understood the reason why after processing Ling Chuxi’s words. She acknowledged it with an, “Oh”, then she chased after them.
…
After the New Year celebrations, it was time to go to the Wind Cloud Academy in the capital.
In Shi Qu Town, Ling Chuxi was sitting by a window, looking out at the scenic and snowy view. She felt an extraordinary peace at the moment. Aunt Wang was busy hanging lanterns and decorating the place with Chinese couplets and other festive decorations. Ling Yichen was in the courtyard sweeping the snow away while Fu Chengyu was helping Aunt Wang hang lanterns from the higher places she couldn’t reach.
“Little White, it’s really great having everyone around.” Ling Chuxi retracted her gaze and lowered her head to look at Little White who was held in her embrace. With a smile on her face, she picked up Lthe small fox and gave it a kiss. Little White gently shook its ears.
After celebrating New Year’s, Ling Chuxi, Ling Yichen as well as Fu Chengyu set off for the capital. Originally, the academy had dispatched a carriage to send them over, but as they wished to go on their own, they rejected the academy’s carriage and found one of their own. During their journey, Ling Chuxi wanted to have a good look around at other places. Since coming to this world, she had only been to White Stone City. Naturally, she still felt that everything in this world was fresh and quite exciting. Xia Zhuoyi was not able to go to other academies for the exchange program, so he remained at White Stone Academy. Before Ling Chuxi left, he swore an oath to increase his own level of cultivation as soon as possible so that he would have the qualifications to follow alongside Ling Chuxi. Seeing Xia Zhuoyi’s attitude, Ling Chuxi smiled without saying anything and simply gave him two Tian Luo Pills before she left. She believed that the next time she saw Xia Zhuoyi, he would definitely be different.
The carriage moved slowly and by nightfall, they entered a small town. They were prepared to spend the night in the town and continue on their way the next morning. However, the moment they entered the small town, they realized that the atmosphere of the town was very different.
“Hey, shopkeeper. Why is the town so lively today?” queried Ling Chuxi offhandedly as she bought a few snack packets from a roadside stall.
“Little lady, all of you must be outsiders. Today, you guys are really just too lucky. You’ll get to meet a noble,” replied the shopkeeper with a shake of his head and an unpredictable look in his eyes.
“Yes, you are right. We are outsiders,” said Ling Chuxi as she took a bite of the snack. After eating it all, she nodded her head in praise. “Shopkeeper, your snacks are not bad. Give me another packet.” Noble? What noble?