Visiting An You

Old Qin considered for a moment, then leaned closer and asked, "An Yang, what's got you so happy?"

An Yang was in high spirits and didn't dwell on yesterday's events. "Nothing. I just remembered a joke."

Old Man He sidled over and asked slyly, "An Yang, could you let us in on what kind of qigong you practice?"

An Yang blurted out, "The Sunflower Manual."

A dark line flashed across both old men's faces. They turned and left in embarrassment, while Old Man He smacked his lips in an unseemly manner.

"You won't even tell us that. So stingy."

As the days passed, An Yang gradually became familiar with the two old men. That was thanks to their daily greetings whenever they met, as well as the time they spent together on the wooded path each morning, though An Yang had never spoken much with them.

After that incident, the two old men came every day. But aside from greeting him when they first arrived, they generally didn't disturb him, allowing An Yang to enjoy some peace and quiet again. He had originally considered changing locations, but he abandoned the idea.

After all, this was Jinguan City. It wasn't easy to find a quiet, sparsely populated place with good air.

As time went on, the two old men became increasingly convinced that An Yang was a Qigong Master. Though he was young, his standing in their hearts had already far surpassed that of certain Qigong Masters who were quite famous within their circle, making them instinctively want to befriend him.

People were always drawn to mysterious things. As Old Man He put it—

"What counts as a master? Can those attention-seeking people who think about nothing but money all day be called masters?"

"Someone like An Yang, who practices quietly in the park without a word and never flaunts his skill—that's what a master is!"

"Those young people fawn all over some charlatan who only knows how to deceive people, never realizing that a true Qigong Master is standing right in front of me!"

When An Yang heard that, all he could do was wear a pained expression.

Old Qin didn't come for several days, and naturally Old Man He didn't come either. They only returned to the park to play chess after several days had passed, but Old Qin kept sighing.

An Yang didn't ask, but he could guess that Old Qin's wife had probably passed away.

Nearly a month had passed since An Yang returned to the real world. He was lounging on the sofa at home with Nie Xiaoqian when Xie Yunqing suddenly called.

"Hello, Mom?"

"Hello, An Yang. What are you doing?"

An Yang glanced at Nie Xiaoqian beside him and calmly said, "Finding you a daughter-in-law."

Nie Xiaoqian's face flushed with shyness.

Xie Yunqing gave a few dry laughs. "You brat, always trying to fool your mother. If you were really out looking for a wife, I'd be holding a grandchild by now."

An Yang froze, looking helpless.

Who would have thought that while carrying out a mission, he would somehow end up meeting Nie Xiaoqian?

"Mom, what exactly do you want to say? Stop beating around the bush. I've been doing great lately, work is stable, and I had chicken stewed with mushrooms for dinner tonight."

"You child!"

"Fine, I'll get to the point. Your sister has been complaining about how tiring work is lately, so I think that, as her brother, you should go visit her."

An Yang was speechless for a moment. He didn't believe An You's personality would allow her to complain to Xie Yunqing about work being tiring.

"Mom, so every time you call me, it's for your precious daughter? She's your biological child, but I'm not?"

"You child, how can you talk like that? Isn't it for the sake of the relationship between you two siblings? I heard there are quite a lot of girls where your sister works. At worst, they all have bachelor's degrees, and their jobs are stable too. You should go there more often."

An Yang froze. Nie Xiaoqian was sitting right beside him.

"Mom, can you stop worrying over nothing? I only graduated a year ago. Don't worry—at most, in a few years, I'll definitely bring you a daughter-in-law."

Nie Xiaoqian lowered her eyes and silently made up her mind. As long as she fused with the Black Mountain Old Demon's Demon Core, she could become a thousand-year female ghost unafraid of sunlight. Then she could openly be his other half.

She had to work harder.

Xie Yunqing fell silent for a moment before saying, "I'm not worried about you finding a wife. I watched Weiwei grow up. I'm worried that your sister might get bullied at work. After all, it's an international corporation. As her brother, you should visit her often."

Nie Xiaoqian paused, and her face turned a shade paler.

Afraid that she would overthink it, An Yang quickly took her hand. It was icy cold. He said to Xie Yunqing, "With your daughter's personality, it'd already be good if she didn't bully others. I have something to do here. If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."

Xie Yunqing remained firm. "No. Make time to buy some fruit and snacks and visit your sister. She's my only daughter. I can't let her suffer."

An Yang hurriedly agreed. "Yes, yes, yes. I'll go see her tomorrow, all right? You only have one daughter—an only daughter, right?"

"Tomorrow? Don't you have work?"

An Yang froze, then quickly said, "Don't worry about that. I've got plenty of leave lately. I really have something to do, so I'm hanging up."

"You brat..."

After hanging up, An Yang looked at Nie Xiaoqian.

Nie Xiaoqian kept her eyes lowered, looking around aimlessly. Then she suddenly asked, "Weiwei is that girl who comes here often, right?"

An Yang hesitated, then nodded. "Yes. She's someone I've known since childhood. You could say we're very good friends."

Nie Xiaoqian asked again, "She's your childhood sweetheart, isn't she?"

An Yang smiled bitterly. "You could say that, but childhood sweethearts aren't really a thing in our era. Besides, we practice monogamy."

Nie Xiaoqian immediately grew nervous. "Then would you abandon me for Weiwei?"

An Yang helplessly tightened his grip on her hand. "How could I?"

"But I don't have an ID card, birth certificate, or household registration. I can't register a marriage with you."

An Yang froze for a moment. He hadn't expected her to know even that.

"Don't worry. Stop overthinking it. As long as you can withstand sunlight, I'll find a way to get you household registration."

"An Yang."

Nie Xiaoqian called out to him, hesitating as if she wanted to say something.

"What is it?"

"Will... will you lie to me?"

An Yang gave a wry smile and stroked her head. "Stop overthinking. If I meant to deceive you, I wouldn't have brought you home."

Nie Xiaoqian looked deeply dejected, worry lingering in her eyes. "In this world, you're all I have."

A surge of tenderness rose in An Yang's heart. He pulled her into his arms and patted her shoulder.

"Since you agreed to come here with me back then, I'll definitely take good care of you. Even many years from now, I'll remember how resolute you were then."

Nie Xiaoqian was deeply moved. She leaned against him without saying a word, remaining silent for a while as though she were thinking something over. Only after a long time did she seem to reach a conclusion.

"Actually, in my time, men could have multiple wives. If one day you came to like someone else, I could quietly be a concubine no one could see. After all, I'm only a ghost."

The tenderness in An Yang's heart grew even stronger. This was probably what moved him most about Nie Xiaoqian. "Don't belittle yourself. In my heart, you are a person."

Nie Xiaoqian raised her head to look at him. After a long while, she said, "An Yang, let me help you get ready for bed."

An Yang paused, then immediately said, "Alright!"

With a rosy flush on her face, Nie Xiaoqian gently kissed his lips, undid his clothes, removed his pants, then bent down and kissed him below.

"Gasp..."

An Yang sucked in a sharp breath. What a female ghost!

After a long while, he finally reached release. Letting out a long breath, he went limp on the sofa.

"When did you learn that?"

"A few days ago. I saw it on your computer."

"You learned how to use a computer too?"

"Mhm. There's a lot I've learned. You just don't know it."

An Yang rested his head on Nie Xiaoqian's round thighs. Her cool, silky skin felt exceptionally comfortable in summer. He casually picked up his phone and called An You.

The call connected, and An You's soft voice came through. It was clearly pleasant to hear, yet it sounded rather stiff.

"Hello, An Yang?"

"An You, you finally saved my number."

An You fell silent for a moment. "Xueer used my phone to save it."

An Yang was stunned and found himself at a loss for words.

An You asked, "Did you need something?"

An Yang said, "Mom just called me. She said she was worried you weren't doing well and insisted that I come visit you, so..."

Before he could finish, An You interrupted him.

"I'm doing quite well."

An Yang ignored her and said, "I can't help it either. Anyway, I'm coming over tomorrow, so get yourself ready."

An You still wanted to refuse, but then she heard An Yang add, "Oh, right. If you don't answer my call tomorrow, I'll call Xiao Xueer. She won't refuse my calls."

An You stayed silent for a long time without saying anything.

An Yang waited for quite some time. When he heard no response, he said, "Never mind, I'm hanging up," and ended the call without giving it much thought.

Putting down his phone, he looked helplessly at Nie Xiaoqian. "See? That's what girls in our world are like."

Nie Xiaoqian said softly, "Something like this would never happen in our world."

An Yang nodded to show that he understood. Women in ancient times usually didn't dare talk back to men, much less show them a sour face. Forget an older brother—even a younger brother, once grown, was the same!

The next day, he still went to the park before dawn, because only then could Nie Xiaoqian see him off.

As usual, at around eight in the morning, the two old men strolled into the park. They left around ten, while An Yang remained until eleven, when the scorching sun hung overhead, before getting up to leave. He had cultivated for a full six hours.

Old Qin was dressed very formally today. From his conversation with Old Man He when he first arrived, An Yang could tell that he seemed to have something going on. An Yang hadn't listened to the details. He still had to cultivate and had neither the interest nor the spare time.

An Yang bought some fruit and snacks that girls liked, then took a taxi to Mingyang Group as a sort of visit.

Though he truly didn't understand what could be so exhausting about two girls whose office duties consisted of serving tea and water while looking pretty, one of whom was obviously a temporary position forcibly created by certain executives abusing their authority.

The trip went smoothly. He arrived at eleven fifty. Mingyang Group's lunch break began at twelve, leaving ten minutes.

Security at Mingyang Group was very strict. An Yang waited outside the office building, and before long, he was covered in sweat.

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