It was already late in the evening when Feng Li left the nine-floor divine pagoda. Inside his room, he silently sat on his bed as his mind was, at this moment, heavy and filled with a lot of thoughts that he couldn't shake off easily.
"It has been five years since I last left this building to take a walk outside. I think it is finally time to take a walk outside tomorrow."
The last time he went out for a walk was five years ago, when he went to the restaurant just after he was declared a cultivation cripple when he had his meridians checked by the elders.
At that time, he was saddened and really low, so he decided to take a walk to cool down his mind from the tension that had built up in his mind.
*****
Night came and went so quickly. Feng Li woke up from his bed feeling much better, and he quickly made his way to the family dining room.
Standing at the doorway to the dining room, he couldn't help but feel nervous since it had been too long since he had sat down together with his family members for a meal. He spent most of his time in his room cultivating alone, and then his family members would come over to visit him and initiate a conversation with him.
"Li'er, why are you standing there in a daze? Quickly come over for breakfast." It was only when he heard his mother's voice that Feng Li walked slowly with a smile on his face towards them and silently took his seat.
"Son, your cultivation has really soared. You have even exceeded your elder sister already!" Feng Tian looked at Feng Li as he said with a smile.
"It was just out of luck that I was able to reach my current level of cultivation." Feng Li said with a smile as he looked towards his elder sister and said to her, "Don't worry, elder sister, from now hence forth I will be protecting you from all the harm and bad people that may come your way."
"It really isn't fair; just the other day I was the one who said that to you, and now look how the tables have turned, and you are the one to protect me now." Feng Xu said in a childish tone as she affectionately looked at his little brother.
It did not take long before the family of four had finished their meal, and Feng Li slowly made his way outside the Feng mansion, intending to head all the way to the city centre.
Five years ago, his every movement had to be consented to by the patriarch, but now that he had the strength to protect himself against his peers in the city, he was free to go around as he pleased.
Just before he left the mansion, he accidentally met a person he least of all intended to cross paths with- Feng Bu!
The two maintained eye contact with each other for a long time before each retracted their eyes and continued with their own things. It should be known that the two of them had been mortal enemies since Feng Li came into this world.
It was Feng Bu who was behind Feng Li's affliction with the poison that had claimed the life of this world's Feng Li. If not for him taking over the body of this world's Feng Li, then who knows what could have happened.
Not letting the latter ruin his good mood, Feng Li turned around and slowly walked towards the main gates and left the mansion.
"Big brother!"
"Big brother!"
Even before he could go further after stepping outside the large and gigantic gate, a voice calling out loud towards him could be heard. He slowly turned around with a smile on his face as he already knew who it was.
Swoosh!
Even before he could ready himself and wait for the other party to arrive, a gust of wind came over as a soft feeling washed over his chest. A petite woman was currently holding him so tightly that her head was buried so deep in his chest.
"Big brother, it's been so long since I last saw you. Were you deliberately avoiding Little Xue?" The girl before him was sobbing with a lot of sorrow as she began complaining to him endlessly.
Feng Li was, at this moment, helpless as he did not know how to handle the crying Feng Xue at all.
Despite the fact that he had lived two lives, his understanding of women can be said to be so mediocre if compared to other young males.
"I... I have been in training all this time; how can I even begin to imagine avoiding you now." He gathered all his wisdom to give out such an answer.
"Wow, that's my big brother, so where are you headed without even inviting me to a stroll?" The crying Feng Xue had taken a huge change, as her pitiful face was now covered with smiles while looking at Feng Li, full of anticipation.
"I was just going out for a stroll around the streets. I was under the impression that you were still cultivating; that is why I did not seek you out." Feng Li explained himself. One could definitely see that he was really struggling to find words that would calm down Feng Xue at all costs.
"Well, since that is the case, I will be tagging along with you now. Let's go." Even before Feng Li could respond to her, she was already pulling his hand as they left the Feng mansion down the road leading to the restaurant Feng Li had first visited when he was declared a cripple a few years back.
It did not take long before the duo was standing at the entrance to the restaurant. It was just like Feng Li had left it five years ago; maybe the only change was the number of people inside the restaurant at this moment.
Five years ago, the number of people he found inside the restaurant was incomparable to the number he was seeing at this moment. The number was double, if not triple, the one he had seen before. Most of these people were faces he had never seen before, except for a few familiar faces he had seen by chance during the inter-clan ceremony five years ago.
Without wasting time, the duo found a spot inside the restaurant and sat down. Feng Xue was just as playful as always, while Feng Li sat down and carefully observed everyone inside the place using his divine sense so that he wouldn't end up offending people unnecessarily.
It was at this moment that he felt a familiar aura on the second floor of the restaurant. Although his divine sense was not strong enough to pinpoint the exact location, he was sure of who it was with no doubt at all. She was Mei Yao!
It has been five years since the two last met. Although they were just acquaintances at most, he couldn't help but feel a sliver of guilt for not even coming over to visit her since she made it explicitly clear that she viewed him as a friend.
Feng Li withdrew his divine sense and sat there in a daze, thinking about so many things.
"Hey, Big Head, why are you so silent, leaving me so bored? Don't you feel shy for bringing out this beautiful girl and ending up just sitting there in a daze? Do you want me to start teaching you how to speak to a girl, huh?
Feng Li became sober again after being lushed out by Feng Xue with a lot of questions. At this time, he directed his gaze straight at her and took a very detailed look at this beautiful girl seated in front of him.
It was at this moment that he realized something he had never wanted to think or even want to imagine. The girl in front of him was no longer the Young and naive girl he knew of. She was now grown, with almost all her feminine features coming to life.- she was a beauty, and Feng Li couldn't understand what he felt about her.
"Am I interrupting something here?"
It was only after a voice entered their ears that the awkward moment came to an end, since the two of them had been staring at each other for over two minutes without even closing their eyes.
"Yes. I mean no... not at all. Who are you"?
Feng Xue's gaze at this moment was fixed towards the lady who was standing at her front who's beauty was no lesser then her, with only her being more mature than Feng Xue.
She was none other than Mei Yao!
"I'm the daughter of the owner of this restaurant and also a very close friend to this Young Master over here." As she said that, she pointed her finger towards Feng Li.
Although her voice was lowered, almost everyone inside the restaurant clearly heard her as Feng Li became the centre of attention.
"Isn't he the Feng family's young master? He is so lucky to have two beauties with him right now."
"Watch your mouth; you don't want to anger him."
Numerous discussions broke out inside the restaurant at this moment. Feng Li smiled at the lady before him and gestured for her to take a seat. Mei Yao was now fifteen years old, which was four years older than Feng Li and Feng Xue. Feng Li tried as much as possible to see through her level of cultivation, but there seemed to be something preventing him from seeing through her.
"My name is Mei Yao, and Feng Li is my brother and friend, which makes you my little sister, right?"
"You wish." Feng Xue directly refused to be called little sister by Mei Yao.
"Anyway, the reason I'm here is that I have an offer to make. I was planning on coming over to the Feng Mansion soon, but since you are here, it has saved me all the trouble.
"What kind of offer is that?" Feng Li interest was piqued at this moment since he could sense that the offer wouldn't be as simple as Mei Yao was making it look like.
"Okay, a few weeks from now, a sect from the Eastern territory is having its doors open to recruit new sect disciples, and I couldn't want you to miss this amazing opportunity. What do you say?"
"What sect is it?" Feng Xue was the first one to ask.
"Myriad Dao Sect"
"Myriad Dao Sect!" Feng Xue was taken aback since she had never heard of that sect before in her entire life.
"I have heard of this sect; it is amongst the top five most powerful sects in the Eastern territory. Not even the Blood Rain sect can be mentioned in the same sentence." Feng Li was lucky to have come across this sect inside the Feng family library five years ago when he was researching this world.
"You do know things now. Go prepare yourselves; a sect elder will be coming to Emerald City in a week. Hope to see you there." Even before the duo could respond, Mei Yao was already nowhere to be seen.
"She is too strong. How did you come to know her?" Feng Xue asked.