Chapter 48
The Seminar and Familiar Faces
"So that's how it was..."
Tang Tianjie sighed in relief after hearing from Huang Zihuan who was in the situation and the truth from Bai Fanxian's own mouth. He could calm his emotions down.
"So all the rumors about Grandmaster Xie were rumors?" Tang Tianjie turned to ask Xie Suyao, who was happily fighting the children for the seat beside Bai Fanxian.
Even though they'd just met, it seemed they got along extremely quickly.
Xie Suyao seemed to be quite fond of both little girls. Having been separated from touching other people for a long time, when two little ones appeared in front of her, she didn't hesitate to pull them into a hug and wouldn't let go.
"Well, not all of them..." Xie Suyao showed a smile that made Tang Tianjie's hair stand on end slightly. To other outsiders, she was still the fearsome Red Widow Queen. Only in front of Bai Fanxian would she show another side.
Tang Tianjie secretly looked at the scene in front and turned to ask his trusted butler's opinion. Huang Zihuan nodded in agreement.
Does Grandmaster Xie like Grandmaster Bai?
The old man had been through thick and thin. Naturally, he could see this kind of thing at a glance. Xie Suyao showed it that clearly too.
But Grandmaster Bai didn't show any reaction?
She even treated Xie Suyao like her two little ones.
This... was one-sided affection, wasn't it?
And the other side didn't seem interested at all!
Tang Tianjie sighed lightly. In this era, there was no longer any not accepting people's gender identity.
Whoever loved whoever was their own business. But with a being like Bai Fanxian, he thought it was a bit too lofty!
In his head, Bai Fanxian was like an empress sitting on a throne with sublime and powerful bearing, surrounded by her people front and back. Her appearance and power made it unsurprising many would fall in love, but there was no one in this world he thought would be suitable for her—not even one person!
He couldn't picture sublime Grandmaster Bai in that kind of situation!
The luxurious dinner passed simply without ceremony. That evening, Xie Suyao insisted adamantly she wanted to sleep in the same room as Bai Fanxian. In the end, that bedroom concluded with all four sleeping together.
A new morning arrived with quite cold weather. Since this valley was located in the upper part of the country, combined with this being a village in the middle of a valley, the weather from midnight until morning was especially cool.
Xie Suyao woke up when a small body wriggled against her. She opened her eyes and found two little ones sleeping huddled together from the cold beside her.
The young woman's face showed a faint smile. Yesterday's feelings were like she'd been dreaming. In just one day, so many things happened and completely changed her life's fate.
She arranged the blanket that had been kicked to the foot of the children's bed back into place. When they felt the warmth, their little faces showed happy smiles.
Xie Suyao turned sharply toward Bai Fanxian, hoping to see the sleeping face of that sublime, beautiful elder sister. She was disappointed, though, because the sleeping place prepared for Bai Fanxian showed no sign of her.
Naturally, Bai Fanxian didn't need to sleep that much. Sometimes lying down was purely from mental exhaustion. Normally at home, Bai Fanxian would find things to do continuously or quietly train at night.
Xie Suyao found Bai Fanxian at the hotel lobby. It was still very early morning, so not many guests had come out of their rooms yet. The image of a beautiful young woman sipping hot tea while appreciating the morning atmosphere outside the hotel was like a work of art.
"Elder Sister, good morning!"
Xie Suyao quickly walked over to greet her cheerfully. The hotel employee was startled by the sudden appearance of that extremely fearsome "Red Widow Queen."
When he looked over, sitting there was "Goddess's Smile," the Grandmaster who'd just become famous recently, "Bai Fanxian."
Didn't they just fight yesterday until the village almost broke?
Why did they look so close?
The male employee shook his head to chase away the senseless thought. For a small-time cultivator working at this hotel, the best choice was to shut his mouth and continue working quietly.
"Mm..."
Bai Fanxian turned to nod at Xie Suyao. When the young woman sat down beside her, Uncle Huang, who appeared from who knows where, came to serve the same hot tea to Xie Suyao, who made a surprised expression.
"Thank you, Butler."
"You're welcome, Grandmaster Xie." Huang Zihuan smiled and stepped back to stand nearby.
Before they could converse much more, Tang Tianjie's elderly figure in formal robes appeared walking out from the hallway.
He was slightly surprised to see both Grandmasters sitting and sipping tea together so early, but he still went to greet them gladly.
"Grandmaster Bai, the Alchemists' Association seminar will start today as the first day. Are you interested in going together?"
Naturally, this question could definitely draw Bai Fanxian's interest.
"What about news of the Divine Doctor?"
Even though she was interested, Bai Fanxian still didn't forget the important purpose that brought her here in the first place.
"Don't worry about that. When he emerges, I'll notify you as quickly as possible." It was Huang Zihuan who answered. He'd already sent some of his people to stake out and investigate this news. It seemed for some reason, the schedule for when the Divine Doctor would emerge from training seemed uncertain.
That made people now turn their interest to the Alchemists' Association's grand seminar instead.
Today, everyone involved left their lodgings early to climb up the mountain to the Alchemists' Association standing prominently on the other side of the mountain range.
"Let's go... Wake those two children up together..."
"Yes, Grandmaster Bai." Huang Zihuan smiled and bowed before going to do what he was assigned as quickly as possible.
.
.
.
The Alchemists' Association meeting and seminar was like a small-scale festival. Besides the heart of the event—the alchemy seminar held in the large auditorium—the surrounding area also allowed alchemists to use space to display their work or research.
From the entrance all the way to behind the mansion where there weren't many people, it was still full of many booths and shops arranged orderly along the way.
Vehicles weren't allowed into the event area, making all cars park at the entrance gate. That area naturally became the point of most interest since famous people also had to appear there.
It was like modern red carpet events. Just celebrities or influential people arriving was enough to excite the crowd.
"That's Master Exploding Pot! He came too?"
"The famous Tier 3 alchemist master known for heat intensity when refining, right?"
"Yeah! I'm a fan club member of his!"
"Oh! Look, guys—Master Sun Mingchuan arrived!"
The clamoring noise stopped to wait for the next car's arrival.
Who got out was one old man and one young man as assistant. Master Sun Mingchuan was in an extremely good mood today since this was the day he'd lecture at the seminar. These past two days, that "Alchemy Empress" who came to cause headaches for him on the discussion board hadn't appeared at all!
He showed a comfortable smile while walking through the gate. Admiring and envious gazes at his success appeared sporadically from the surrounding spectators. He puffed out his chest while both ears secretly listened to praise from the crowd.
"That's Master Sun who got demolished by Alchemy Empress until nothing was left, right?"
"Yeah... Got told off until he couldn't argue back a single sentence!"
"Poor guy. At least he still has strength to participate today..."
Each sentence Sun Mingchuan heard almost made him trip over his own feet. The old man gritted his teeth while quickly striding into the event awkwardly with his assistant following.
"Do you guys think Alchemy Empress will really appear?"
"She typed herself that she'd come here."
"She might've come already but we don't know?"
Light debate arose among the crowd, especially the "Alchemy Empress" fan club members who'd gone so far as to wake up early to stake out at the event entrance. Some couldn't help but go check the thread she'd answered in to see if there were any situation updates.
While they were busy, one black car stopped at the front gate. An elderly man in elegant butler clothes stepped down from the car first, before he opened the other side door. The elderly figure full of power walked out. He was in formal clothes that looked neat and dignified.
Followed by two little ones holding hands jumping down from the car, with the old man helping hold another hand with a warm smile.
"Who's that?"
"You crazy? Don't you know Master Tang Tianjie? He's the one who solved the mystery of that famous Vitality Restoration Elixir right now."
"Oh! I heard he could find side effects that weren't recorded until he found them, right?"
"Yeah. Today he also got the honor to speak on the big stage."
"Then who's that woman?"
They who were surprised noticed that after both children got down, there was a young woman's slender figure in her signature bright red outfit following.
The Red Widow Queen, Grandmaster Xie Suyao!
Why was she here!
The alchemists and ordinary cultivators all got goosebumps seeing her. Her various rumors were all shocking and fearsome.
Like "She'll poison anyone who looks at her face for more than 5 seconds."
Besides that, she didn't get along very well with the Alchemists' Association. Since they started holding seminars, she'd never stepped foot here even once.
Her sudden arrival made them all think dizzyingly about what the reason could be.
Besides that, she came together with the Tang Clan!
When did the northern Xie Clan become close with the eastern Tang Clan?
After they thought it would end, though, Xie Suyao stood waiting beside the door, even holding her hand out to receive like acting close. Not long after, appeared a young woman's figure who held Xie Suyao's hand and walked out from the car.
Her jet-black hair was long and fluttered in the wind. Her body was more perfect than models, combined with the lofty bearing that was uniquely hers. The beautiful face many had only seen in pictures until being nicknamed "Goddess's Smile."
Grandmaster Bai Fanxian!
Her fame was extremely renowned, especially yesterday when she made herself known. The cultivators who'd only just seen her in person stared with gaping mouths.
"She's even more beautiful than in pictures!"
"Grandmaster Bai is truly more beautiful than rumors!"
"This year's Goddess Rankings first place must definitely be hers!"
That excited voice was louder than when Master Sun Mingchuan came earlier, making the old man who'd only walked halfway still have to turn to look.
"Too noisy..."
He sighed and shook his head before walking again.
Even though Bai Fanxian was the center of attention, no one dared approach to obstruct or introduce themselves, since beside her was the frightening being of the Red Widow Queen continuously sending out strange pressure.
That made her party able to walk into the event smoothly. Bai Fanxian looked at the festival atmosphere with interest. Hui'er and Tang Yeye were dragged by Tang Tianjie to buy snacks and strange things as he pleased. The old man smiled brightly while having Huang Zihuan take pictures of him with both little ones who were wearing cute, bright white knit hats he'd just bought them.
Bai Fanxian looked along the way. Besides food shops, there were shops selling strange ingredients, most of which were medicinal materials. There were also many booths and research displays everywhere.
Bai Fanxian was naturally interested in strange knowledge in this era. She walked around looking here and there non-stop, with Xie Suyao protecting her elder sister from people who would bother her.
The beautiful young woman swept her eyes to read the displayed research quickly. When she finished reading, she furrowed her brows but didn't say anything, immediately leading Xie Suyao to see the next research.
Xie Suyao noticed her elder sister's expression seemed to furrow more and more when reading that research, until she couldn't help but ask:
"...Is Elder Sister unwell?"
Her question made Uncle Huang, who wasn't far away, quickly turn to look. When he observed Bai Fanxian's face, he felt his hair stand on end for unknown reasons.
He'd seen this face before!
This was the same displeased face from the day she asked him to help register the "Alchemy Empress" account, wasn't it!