It had been more than seven months since Xue Mingqing left Blizzard City.
It was about time he went home to see his mother, Xue Ningxian.
Although he hadn't spent much time with Xue Ningxian,—
he would never forget how she had recognized his potential and nurtured him.
That was why, despite being a transmigrator, he was willing to give Xue Ningxian his whole heart and regarded her as his mother.
Now, after spending half a year at Shrek, the regular students from both the Outer and Inner Courts had all gone on break.
Naturally, Xue Mingqing should be going home too, and Mu En had already agreed.
He saw things clearly. Xue Mingqing had become his disciple; he hadn't sold himself to Shrek. Mu En had no reason or right to stop him from going home.
As for whether Xue Mingqing would leave and never come back, that was entirely outside Mu En's concerns.
Mu En wasn't stupid. As a Limit Douluo, he could often see a person's true nature at a glance.
After spending half a year with Xue Mingqing, Mu En had seen right through him.
He was someone who repaid kindness, never harmed others without cause, and wouldn't let anyone slight him.
How could someone like that take what he was given and run?
It simply wasn't in his nature.
So when Xue Mingqing asked to go home for the break, Mu En agreed without the slightest hesitation.
As for whether Xue Mingqing would slack off on his cultivation once he got home—
That didn't really matter anyway. After all...
Mu En knew how intense his training was. He'd put Xue Mingqing through half a year of hellish training.
What was wrong with letting him go home and rest for a month?
It wouldn't hold up his progress toward becoming stronger.
Just look at Mu En's grandson, Bei Bei. He had access to the same resources as Xue Mingqing, yet at seven years old, he was only just above the level 19 peak.
By comparison, Xue Mingqing had already been stuck at level 20 for more than a month. He was an absolute prodigy.
What grounds did Mu En have to accuse him of not working hard at his cultivation?
Wouldn't that just be making trouble for no reason?
At that moment, the beautiful, middle-aged woman before him nodded. She wore a chef's hat and a plain white blouse that accentuated her graceful curves.
"Mm, Elder Mu made the arrangements. I'm responsible for your meals, so I'll go wherever you go."
Lu Xiaoxiao. In the original story, she was the one who prepared food for Huo Yuhao and He Caitou. Here, Mu En had assigned her directly to Xue Mingqing.
Ever since she arrived, she'd taken charge of arranging everything for Xue Mingqing, from his meals to his medicinal baths.
That made Xue Mingqing feel a little awkward, because...
Looking at Lu Xiaoxiao's beautiful face and full, graceful figure, he couldn't help thinking of the personal secretaries from his previous life...
Lu Xiaoxiao's role now...
Well... it wasn't all that different, was it?
Xue Mingqing glanced at Lu Xiaoxiao's stunning figure, his expression peculiar. He couldn't help wondering if Mu En had something else in mind.
In fact, it wasn't that he was overthinking it. His guess was actually pretty close to the truth.
To Mu En, the entire Sea God Pavilion, and even Shrek, Xue Mingqing was undoubtedly their Golden Generation.
If their Golden Generation got lured away by another faction over some romantic entanglement, well...
They'd be left with nothing but their underwear!
So, to prevent that possibility, the bunch of extraordinary people in the Sea God Pavilion had decided to find a woman with exceptional looks and a background they could trust, and have her stay by Xue Mingqing's side to arrange his medicinal baths, meals, and the like.
Lu Xiaoxiao, standing before Xue Mingqing, was the woman they'd chosen.
Both Lu Xiaoxiao and Mu En knew about it.
Lu Xiaoxiao had been at Shrek so long that she'd been thoroughly indoctrinated. She believed it was only right to devote herself to Shrek, so she'd accepted without hesitation.
As for Mu En, well, he'd simply pretended not to know, turning a blind eye.
So as long as Xue Mingqing crooked a finger at Lu Xiaoxiao, he really could experience that timeless saying from his previous life:
"Have the secretary take care of things when there's work; when there's nothing to do..."
As for why they hadn't assigned a younger female student to Xue Mingqing—
It was because most of those students came from other noble factions, which made them difficult to assign in the first place.
And if they really did assign one to him, only for her to lure Xue Mingqing back to her own family, the bunch of extraordinary people in the Sea God Pavilion wouldn't even have a place to cry.
So, taking both factors into account, they had no choice but to pick Lu Xiaoxiao from among the women who were of a reasonably acceptable age, exceptionally beautiful and shapely, and unmarried.
Of course, Xue Mingqing knew nothing about any of this...
The next day.
Shrek Outer Court, Freshman Dormitory Building.
Wearing a blue-and-white long robe, his black-and-gray hair falling past his neck, Xue Mingqing arrived.
He had come to see Zhang Lexuan.
Over the past six months, although Zhang Lexuan had been unable to come to the Inner Court and Xue Mingqing had been busy with his own cultivation,
the two of them had kept in touch.
That was because Zhang Lexuan wrote to him almost every day, asking the mysterious dorm supervisor to pass along her regards to her junior apprentice brother.
Every word in her letters brimmed with anticipation for the Inner Court and for the day she could cultivate alongside Xue Mingqing.
Xue Mingqing was happy to write back. Every day, he made time between his medicinal baths to reply to Zhang Lexuan.
And so, as the letters passed back and forth, their bond had only grown stronger. They'd begun to feel a little like an older sister and younger brother.
As for what kind of brother and sister that meant, well, Xue Mingqing was sure it was an ordinary sibling relationship.
At least, that's what he thought.
Now, looking at Zhang Lexuan as she came down from the dormitory building, more graceful and poised than ever, Xue Mingqing's lips curled into a smile.
"Lexuan, the break's started. Do you have anywhere to go?"
At his words, the smile on Zhang Lexuan's little face instantly crumpled.
She gave Xue Mingqing a resentful look and murmured,
"Did you come here just to make fun of me...?"
Because of the butterfly effect caused by Xue Mingqing, Zhang Lexuan's family hadn't been wiped out in this timeline.
But her situation wasn't much better—in fact, compared to the original story, it was even more frustrating.
Her mother was the current head of the Zhang Clan, but—
Half a year ago, while returning from Soul Hunting with Zhang Lexuan and passing through Tianbei City, she'd been attacked by the Evil Soul Master Demon Bear. She died protecting Zhang Lexuan.
With Zhang Lexuan's mother dead and Zhang Lexuan, the first heir, not returning to the Zhang Clan in time, the enormous family estate had already been usurped by another branch.
The Zhang Clan no longer recognized Zhang Lexuan. She had a home, but couldn't return to it; she was no different from someone with no family at all.
So, with nowhere else to go, all she could do was stay in the Shrek school dormitory and spend the lonely break by herself.
Hearing Xue Mingqing ask if she had anywhere to go, didn't it seem like he was just trying to make fun of her?
At her words, Xue Mingqing coughed awkwardly, only then realizing Zhang Lexuan's situation.
Zhang Lexuan had told him about it before. He'd just been so happy to finally escape Mu En's hellish training that he'd forgotten all about it.
Scratching his head, Xue Mingqing gave an awkward grin.
"No, no, Lexuan, that's not what I meant. I wanted to ask—"
"If you don't have anywhere to go, would you like to come with me to Blizzard City...?"
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