Chapter 29: Helping the Pretty Lady and the Encounter Part I
The room went quiet. Li Feng and Li Xi Yan looked as if they had just taken bitter medicine and Li Zhou Ma’s face grew solemn.
“Is something the matter?” Bai Zhe turned to ask Li Xi Yan who had the most noticeable reaction.
“He’s a lunatic. His students are boys aged 15 and older. Most of his students are not more than 25. I had the misfortune to run into him in a restroom when I went to an auction at the trade association. I was lucky that my grandfather, Li Feng, came and helped me in time. If not, he might have claimed me.” Li Xi Yan’s face turned noticeably paler when he told Bai Zhe his story. Bai Zhe guessed that the situation might be a scar in this boy’s psyche.
“From what you have been saying, I guess that he is a man who practices yin power, isn’t he? This reminds me of the Crone of the Hereafter Cave,” Bai Zhe spoke.
Li Xi Yan, Li Feng, and Li Zhou Ma were curious. They had never heard of the woman before. Li Zhou Ma questioned the boy out of curiosity.
“Dr. Bai, this Crone of the Hereafter Cave is like Lao Lao?” she asked.
“From what I have heard, it was far worse. She kidnapped good-looking men aged between 15 to 30 years old and froze them so they could not escape her. They were in a hibernation state. She would use her magic to wake whichever one she wanted to sleep with. After she was satisfied, she would feed them and freeze them again. There were about 3 thousand men held in captive hibernation in her cave.” Bai Zhe told the story of what he had witnessed when he went to rescue Chen Li, his adopted brother in Da Xian.
The reason why he told them this story was because he wanted to see Li Xi Yan’s reaction; the boy’s face turned even paler.
‘Damn, is there someone even crazier than Lao Lao? I probably shouldn’t travel alone anymore,’ Li Xi Yan thought.
“Don’t worry. My master told me that the woman has been dead for more than a thousand years.” Bai Zhe smiled after he saw Li Xi Yan’s reaction.
“Phew, that is great. If someone like that was still alive, we might be like lambs waiting to be devoured by a wolf.” Li Xi Yan let out a sigh of relief.
“So, do you have a problem with Lao Lao, Dr. Bai?” asked Li Zhou Ma. Because there could only be two reasons why he asked about Lao Lao: to take revenge or to seek protection.
“His student has a problem with me. Could you please have a chat with Lao Lao so the boy will not bother me anymore?” Bai Zhe immediately said what he wanted.
“Hahaha, of course. I will talk to him for you. You don’t need to be worried. However, could you come and visit me at my clan’s home after this?” Li Zhou Ma agreed to help and invited Bai Zhe to visit the Li Clan.
“Hmm? Is there someone who has fallen sick like you, Matron Li?” asked Bai Zhe.
“No. But based on your skills, I would like for you to help guide the junior members of my clan. My great-granddaughter is passionate about herbs and medicine fabrication, but she is very arrogant. I want you to help to destroy her ego and make her realise that behind an able man, there are always other able men. I surely won’t ask you to help for free. If you reform her behaviour, I am willing to help you whenever you have a problem. Or if you like her, I will let you marry her.” Li Zhou Ma explained the reason why she invited him. But the end of her explanation made Bai Zhe immediately realise that she planned to matchmake him with her great-granddaughter.
“Well, I’ll ask for the number to contact you at, then. I will visit you when I am free. And in regard to the marriage issue, I’m just a fifteen-year-old boy. It might have to be shelved for now,” said Bai Zhe.
Matron Li had Li Xi Yan write their contact number down and hand it to Bai Zhe. When Bai Zhe reached out his hand to accept the paper, he used his qi to observe Li Xi Yan before giving a smile.
“Too little muscle training. Qi control isn’t very good yet. That’s why you cannot fight for a sustained period. You should put some weights on your arms and legs when you are training and practice qi control and qi compression. That is all that I will suggest,” said Bai Zhe before leaving the operating room.
“Li Feng,” called Li Zhou Ma.
“Ma’am?” Li Feng responded.
“Do what he said. I hope you will not be mad at me, Great-grandson. This is for your own future,” said Li Zhou Ma, turning to give the boy a gentle smile. Nevertheless, her eyes indicated that the boy better obeyed her order.
“Yes, Great-grandmother.” The boy could not do anything but follow the order.
But he was not mad at the person who had made these suggestions to his great-grandmother, though. He knew for sure that compared to Li Bai, his brother, he could not fight for a long while nor fight with someone bigger than he was, and these weaknesses were seen merely by Bai Zhe who was cursorily scanning him. He started to think that he had to befriend Bai Zhe if he wanted to be stronger than Li Bai and Li Mei.
As for Bai Zhe, he met someone familiar after he left the operating room. That person was Meng Dong. The old man was with a young woman. She had her hair tied in a ponytail. Both her hair and eyes were brown. The woman was in the clothing of an office worker. Bai Zhe could feel that his soul was shaking at the sight of her. His heart was beating uncontrollably fast.
‘Is this love at first sight? Her ambience is like that of Qing Er, almost as if they were the same person,’ thought Bai Zhe. He recalled his lover’s face from a long time ago because the aura of the woman in front of him felt exactly like that of his lover’s.
“Hello, Grandpa Meng.” The boy walked over to greet Meng Dong, making the young woman, who was standing beside the old man, turn to look at him.
“Oh, Master Bai. What are you doing here? Are you sick? Shall I introduce you to some skilled doctors?” asked Meng Dong.
“I got into an accident at school. So, my teacher had me get some check-ups to make sure that I am all right,” answered Bai Zhe.
“Really? Well, it’s good that you are all right. Oh, this is my granddaughter. Her name is Qing Qing.” Meng Dong waved his hand in Qing Qing's direction. Bai Zhe's eyes shone brightly for a moment.
“My name is Meng Qing Qing. I am pleased to meet you, Master Bai.” Qing Qing introduced herself and reached out her hand to shake his in greeting. She could not understand why her heart was beating so fast and she felt so familiar with the boy in front of her.
“I am pleased to meet you, too.” He accepted her hand as courtesy dictated.
“Oh, Qing Qing, Master Bai is about to receive training at the LSA training centre. I ask you to take care of him, please,” Meng Dong said, bringing up this conversation topic.
“Oh, you are about to become a celebrity?” Meng Qing Qing asked Bai Zhe.
“Yes. Mr. Chen Feng asked me if I wanted to work in the entertainment industry. This is definitely my dream,” answered Bai Zhe.
“Really? I am an intern at the LSA as well. At the moment, I’m working in the training centre. If you have to go there regularly, I will help take care of you. You can come to me when you need anything,” said Qing Qing.
“Good, good. Oh, Qing Qing, excuse me to go to the restroom. You and Bai Zhe could go and wait for me in front of the examination room on the fourth floor. I will follow you,” Meng Dong said before taking his leave to go to the restroom.
Chapter 30: Helping the Pretty Lady and the Encounter Part II
“Good, good. Oh, Qing Qing, excuse me to go to the restroom. You and Bai Zhe could go and wait for me in front of the examination room on the fourth floor. I will follow you,” Meng Dong said before taking his leave to go to the restroom.
Bai Zhe asked Meng Qing Qing questions about the entertainment industry, while they were taking the lift. Suddenly, a strong earthquake struck. The power went out, and the lift stopped.
Thud.
“Eh? What should we do? Where’s the backup power? Why is it not working yet?” Qing Qing started to panic when she realised that the backup power was not working. Even the communication signal was down. She could not contact anyone outside to help them if it was like this.
Bai Zhe used his qi to explore the scene around him. The boy discovered that the lift was stuck between the second and the third floors. He walked to the door with Qing Qing standing nearby, shining a light from her smartphone.
“Qing Qing, please step back from the door,” said Bai Zhe. The only source of light in the lift was from the smartphone’s flashlight. Bai Zhe did not wait for her to reply; he was already at the door.
“Hey! W..wait, Master Bai. I am still in front of the door…” Meng Qing Qing exclaimed in surprise because her body was now pressed close to his. A strange feeling came over her again. She did not know where to put her hands. Finally, she placed them on the boy’s chest. Up close, Meng Qing Qing realised that he was much taller than her.
‘I-I can’t push him off. Why is he so strong? Is he really a boy of fifteen? Ohhh? The scent…’ Meng Qing Qing who was trying to push the boy off, halted abruptly when she smelled Bai Zhe’s scent. It made her feel strangely safe. She rested her head on his chest to inhale the pleasant scent that made her feel at ease, without Bai Zhe even noticing.
“Qing Qing, you can just call me Bai Zhe. You do not have to call me Master. And don’t be afraid. Move to the side and please shine the light for me,” said Bai Zhe.
His voice brought her back to reality. Meng Qing Qing moved to the side and shone the light from her smartphone’s flashlight toward the door. What Qing Qing witnessed afterwards was Bai Zhe using his hands to pry open the doors until they opened with a squeak. The tightly sealed doors were opened as if Bai Zhe was opening a regular door.
When it was opened, the two found they were stuck between the second and third floors. Bai Zhe turned to smile at Qing Qing before he squatted down in front of the door.
“Qing Qing, please step on my shoulders and climb to the third floor. I will follow you.” Bai Zhe patted his own shoulders, which made her feel safe. She had never experienced this feeling with anyone before.
The woman slowly and lightly stepped up on his shoulders, filled with shyness because she had worn a skirt today, even though she had worn short tights underneath it.
Bai Zhe stood up so Qing Qin could grab onto the third floor. He then used his hand as a step for Qing Qing to step on and crawl up. He jumped and held onto the floor above, climbing out after her.
“Are you all right?” A nurse who saw the two climb out of the lift hurriedly went to ask and check on them.
“We are all right. Was that an earthquake?” asked Qing Qing.
“Yes. It’s chaos here. The electricity system and the backup system are down,” said the nurse.
“Will grandpa be all right? He went to the restroom,” said Qing Qing, making the nurse panic instantly.
“On which floor did your grandfather go to the restroom?” asked the nurse.
“I think the first floor,” answered Meng Qing Qing, then she noticed that the nurse’s face had turned pale.
“R…right now the celling of the restroom on the first floor has fallen in. The second-floor restroom collapsed down onto the first floor.” What the nurse said about the first-floor restroom made Qing Qing run down to the first floor via the stairs, followed by Bai Zhe.
In front of the first-floor restroom, people were being kept from entering. The entrance to the first-floor restroom was blocked by the debris of the second-floor restroom. The scene made Qing Qing’s knees weaken; she sank to the floor.
“Grandpa, are you safe?” shouted Qing Qing, with the hope that he was still alive. People around her felt sorrow over the tragic incident.
“Is someone in the restroom? How unfortunate.”
“It is so pitiful. He probably won’t survive.”
“I think so. The second floor collapsed. Survival is unlikely.”
“Qing Qing, calm down first.” Bai Zhe grabbed her shoulders. Qing Qing cried and pressed her face into his chest. Right now, she was afraid that she would lose her beloved grandfather.
“Stay here. I will go help Grandpa Meng,” said Bai Zhe before walking over to stand in front of the entrance. The people around who heard him tried to stop him.
“You’d better not. It’s very dangerous.”
“Right. The third floor could also collapse at any minute.”
“It is better to wait for the authorities, young man.”
Bai Zhe ignored the words of people who were only standing around watching, but not doing anything. He had reached the restroom entrance which was entirely blocked by debris and pressed his hand onto the rubble, sending his qi toward it to destroy the structure of all the materials.
[Bone-Devastating Palm] Bai Zhe muttered softly, then lightly knocked the debris with his hand. What happened next astonished the people who were there. The moment Bai Zhe knocked on the debris that was blocking the way, they disintegrated into sand.
“These things are brittle. They are not dangerous. If we help to move them out, we should be able to reach the victim before the authorities arrive,” said Bai Zhe.
Then, people started to come over to help move the debris out. It was not long after that that he found Meng Dong lying unconscious on the restroom floor. As Meng Dong had taken refuge under the sinks, which were relatively strong, he did not have any serious injuries.
Bai Zhe carried Meng Dong out of the restroom and then took him to the doctor for further care because the old man seemed to have just minor wounds. That he had fainted was probably because of shock.
“I must excuse myself. Qing Qing, please tell Grandpa Meng to get well soon,” said Bai Zhe. He believed that he would certainly see her again in the future.
“Thank you, Bai Zhe. If you were not in the lift with me, I might still be stuck there and might have died from suffocation. Also, if you had not been here, my grandpa would not have ended up with just minor injuries. Thank you so much.” Qing Qing thanked him with all her heart. Her smile made his blood pump vigorously; cheeks turned red and hot. Yes, he was blushing.
Though in Da Xian, he had met many women, Qing Er was the only one whom he had fallen for. She had died not long after their marriage. At that moment, he recalled Tai Si Kong’s words.
[Pious man, your soul mate has not truly gone anywhere. She has just departed for a faraway land. One day you will meet her again.] At that time, he had thought Tai Si Kong was just joking. But now he got goosebumps from his master’s words. Maybe his Qing Er had been reincarnated as Meng Qing Qing. But how could he be sure about it? The only thing he could do was to get to know Meng Qing Qing more.
Meng Qing Qing grabbed his arm when he was about to leave. When he turned to question the other party, his cheek was touched by Qing Qing’s nose, followed by her lips. Then, she swiftly drew back.
“A reward for the brave hero. Thank you,” said Qing Qing before running away.
Bai Zhe touched his cheek where it had been pecked. He felt the heat on his face.
The boy stood there, looking at Qing Qing until she had disappeared from his sight.
Then, he came back to his senses and went home with the feeling of having finally found something that had been missing.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
16 Power
stone 
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