The sun had barely begun its rise when Bai Ru entered the Obsidian Forest.
Before the Floral Lake had even come into sight, a gentle voice hurriedly greeted him, "Brother, morning!"
Bai Ru smiled gently as he continued approaching the lake, "Morning, Lian'er. You seem eager to see me."
"Look who's talking. Didn't you set off for this forest the moment the sun came into sight?"
Bai Ru chuckled, "I wouldn't have left so early in the morning if you never kicked me out of the forest last night."
He stopped right in front of the lake, "Which white lotus is your real body?"
"The most beautiful one."
'They all look the same to me, but she probably won't be happy if I say that,' Bai Ru forced a smile, "Did you forget? Your older brother has no sense of beauty."
Bai Lian sighed, "I guess it can't be helped."
Noticing a sudden movement, Bai Ru directed his gaze towards a certain white lotus that was slowly swaying in a circle over the lake. The white lotus stopped moving the moment his gaze locked itself on it.
Bai Ru smiled lightly as he entered the lake and swam towards Bai Lian. Upon reaching her, he extended a hand to lightly caress a petal, "I'll visit you again with mother and father. You absolutely must be safe when we return."
Bai Ru's eyes had widened a bit in surprise, for he did not expect to feel any warmth when he touched the petal, 'I guess this should be due to the phoenix blood Lian'er mentioned.'
A bell-like giggle resounded in his mind, "It almost feels as though we've returned to the past. You used to pat my head a lot. You would always purposely mess up my hair whenever you thought I was lying to you."
Bai Ru smiled sadly as he remembered the nostalgic past, "And you would always whine about me ruining your perfectly done hair." A sense of longing could be perceived from his voice.
"Those happy times… I will fight to bring them back, so be patient, brother. No matter what, I will evolve. One day, you'll be able to mess up my perfect hair again."
Bai Ru chuckled, "I'll be waiting."
He retracted his hand, "Later, Lian'er."
"Mm. Take care, brother."
Bai Ru reluctantly turned away. Once he was standing on land once more, he used his fire qi to dry himself. He waved one last time at Bai Lian before departing for the capital city.
Bai Lian focused her gaze solemnly on the retreating figure until Bai Ru was no longer within range.
Five hours later, Lin Tao and Ji Yun approached the Floral Lake.
"Greetings, little ones."
"Hey, Granny."
"Granny! How was your conversation with Bai Ru?"
"It went well."
"That's it?"
"Mm. Did you bring more sea kelp for your favorite master?"
The two children frowned, 'So she won't give us any more details.'
"We brought more today. Do you want us to bring sea kelp on a daily basis?"
"Yes, that would be nice. Please bring a lot. Your dear master really likes sea kelp."
"Alright."
Ji Yun suddenly smiled widely, "Granny, if you were to have a human body, I can't help but imagine you looking like a female version of Bai Ru."
"I can see why you would think that. Despite clearly looking like a man, his gentle appearance causes him to look quite beautiful and a female version of him would only look more beautiful." The gentle voice was calm.
"Granny, stop joking around."
"Hey! Why is my beauty considered a joke?"
Lin Tao sighed, "Denial isn't very healthy, granny. When people age, they won't look as beautiful as before. Even the immortal cultivators will someday lose their youthful appearance."
'I don't want to hear such a lecture from a kid like you,' Bai Lian gazed discontentedly at Lin Tao but did not voice her displeasure.
"Tao, granny is not an ordinary person. Such logic probably doesn't apply to a legendary spirit like her. Besides, doesn't her voice sound nice? She definitely possesses the voice of a beauty."
'At least one of my disciples know how to respect their master.'
Lin Tao chuckled, "Manipulating how her voice sounds should not be beneath her."
'Why is your impression of me so bad? Your dear master is not that shameless of a person…'
Bai Lian did not wish for the current conversation to continue so she abruptly started the lesson. The lesson proceeded normally.
When the children were about to depart, Lin Tao suddenly recalled a certain matter.
"Granny, when we first went out to buy sea kelp, we saw a young man who greatly resembles Shui Ming. His name was Zhou Ning." Although he did not voice any questions, his inquiry was clear.
"He's Shui Mi- Zhou Ming's elder brother. They really do look quite similar don't they?" Bai Lian's calm voice did not reveal a shred of the surprise she felt.
"So you really did know… Is Zhou Ming's current situation part of your plans? Were there really any assassins after him?"
A gentle humming resounded within the two children's minds. Contrary to the soothing sound, Bai Lian was frantically wrapping her head around what to say, 'Zhou Ming has been living with them for a while now. They should be quite close. If they knew what I did to Zhou Ming, will they hate me? They already know I've been lying to them, yet somehow they still accepted me. However, if they thought I was a cruel person in addition to being deceptive…'
Bai Lian recalled the strong trust Lin Tao and Ji Yun had previously shown to her along with the two promises she had made with them. She hardened her determination, 'If this is enough to break our bonds, then those promises were never meant to be kept.'
"There were no assassins. The one who tried to kill him was me," Bai Lian studied the two children's face.
Lin Tao frowned, "After living with him for a while, Ming is now like a brother to us. I don't want him to have a bad ending." His voice was calm and his eyes were clear.
'He doesn't blame me,' Bai Lian directed her gaze at Ji Yun, 'Why does she look so happy?'
"Although he is indeed incorporated into my plans, I don't plan on letting him have a bad ending."
"That good!"
Lin Tao nodded in agreement.
"You two don't think I'm cruel?"
Ji Yun giggled, "You aren't a bad person, granny. Didn't you say you tried killing him? His wounds were practically all healed up when you got us to take him back to the orphanage."
The corners of Ji Yun's mouth dropped, "You probably had your reasons for trying to kill him. However, you were too soft-hearted, weren't you granny? In this world, there are many cruel people who kill for shallow reasons. You're different from them. Unfortunately, kind people are the ones who tend to suffer the most in this world."
The dark look on Ji Yun's face felt very foreign to Bai Lian, 'For such a young girl to think like that…'
Lin Tao knitted his brows when he noticed the dark look on Ji Yun's face. He tried lightening the mood, "You think we would think you're evil because you tried to kill someone, but changed your mind? You're surprisingly pure, granny."
Bai Lian refuted, "I was just taking into consideration the relationship you two have with Zhou Ming. People tend to be biased towards those they like."
Lin Tao grinned, "Isn't being pure a good thing? Why are you refuting me, granny? Do you actually want us to call you evil?"
Bai Lian was speechless. Before she thought of her reply, Ji Yun giggled.
"Even though we can't see you and we can only hear your voice inside our heads, you really seem human, granny."
"I try my best to keep things that way."
After the children left, Bai Lian sighed to herself, 'Being honest is so tiring.'
She directed her attention on the sea kelp that she was absorbing in her burrow, 'At least, I have some fun stuff to look forward to.'
The days were peaceful. Five days had passed before Bai Ru returned to Obsidian City with his parents.