Chapter 163: Chapter 161: Why Do You Think She Likes Pretty Boys?

This dream turned out to be a very pleasant conversation.

During their chat, Zhou Gong seemed quite accommodating toward Wen Ying.

His words revealed the loneliness of a thousand years. It seemed no one had ever visited this world before, making Wen Ying his very first guest.

Over the long eons, Zhou Gong had witnessed the transformations of lesser worlds, the development of humanity, and even the emergence of unknown creatures.

But he had seen it all through the divine mirror of history’s long river. He had never met anyone face to face.

Wen Ying’s arrival stirred ripples in his long-tranquil heart.

He answered whichever of Wen Ying’s questions he could, but for those involving profound secrets, he remained completely silent.

Before she knew it, Wen Ying had already finished two cups of tea.

Yet the world inside the Immortal Realm remained under a perpetual midday sun, seemingly without any change at all.

As Wen Ying sat there drinking tea and chatting, she felt her body fill with abundant Spiritual Energy. She could now instantly grasp the key to matters that had previously stumped her. Most importantly, she sensed she was about to have a breakthrough.

She had long felt that she was on the threshold of Foundation Establishment, and she had more than enough Spiritual Energy, yet for some reason, she could never make the final breakthrough.

Here, however, she felt something stirring restlessly within her body.

It was raring to go.

Sensing that Wen Ying’s opportunity had arrived, Zhou Gong gave a wave of his hand. From beneath a casual short sleeve, his slender arm beckoned, and a skylark flew over.

The scene before Wen Ying blurred for an instant. When she focused her eyes again, the place where they’d been drinking tea had changed. She was now beneath a tea tree of a modest size.

The Spiritual Energy here was even more abundant.

But Zhou Gong was not there. Instead, his voice echoed in Wen Ying’s ear, instructing her that this was her fated opportunity, and she could proceed with her breakthrough without any worry.

Wen Ying closed her eyes. Zhou Gong’s calm voice, imbued with the rhythm of the Dao, still echoed in her ears, seeping into her body bit by bit.

Wen Ying, whose previous cultivation method had been a simple and brutish affair of mere meditation, now followed the cadence of Zhou Gong’s voice, adjusting her own rhythm and transforming little by little.

Little White, who had been frolicking about, seemed to sense the change in the air. It froze mid-step and looked toward Wen Ying.

Had anyone been there to see it, they would have noticed fine, thread-like wisps of white mist appearing around Wen Ying’s body. The mist enveloped her without dispersing, instead rotating as if attracted by a magnetic force.

Slowly, it moved.

Little by little, it grew denser, then expanded its reach.

About fifteen minutes later, Wen Ying had vanished. In her place stood a solid, giant, white egg!

Little White had long since returned and was staring worriedly at the giant egg before it, too preoccupied to absorb the dense Spiritual Energy to restore its own strength.

Not far away, Zhou Gong was still sitting by the tea table, leisurely sipping his tea.

Little White grew anxious. After waiting a long time with no sign of movement, it turned and ran toward Zhou Gong.

It plopped down on the stool next to the tea table. A faint smile touched Zhou Gong’s lips. "You’re quite the clever creature. I know you’re worried about your master. Rest assured, she will only find fated opportunities here, no danger."

Little White felt much more at ease, but it still had one more worry.

"Mr. Zhou, I want to know when my master will come out."

Zhou Gong shook his head. He had now reverted to his long-robed, long-haired appearance, though his face looked somewhat younger.

"But my master has very important things to do in the outside world!"

Little White knew about the situation with Chaochao’s mother. After all, it had once possessed her, which was considered a transgression.

While Chaochao’s mother wanting to see Chaochao didn’t seem problematic or dangerous in itself, that day was the Ghost Festival—the day the Ghost Gate opens wide!

Little White remembered experiencing such a terrifying festival when it was young.

It was an absolute, living nightmare.

In any case, Little White trembled just thinking about it. ’If Master can’t wake up, will something happen to Chaochao’s mother?’

After it started following its master, Little White had learned about her affairs.

Her master, the psychologist, had never botched a case. ’She won’t mess this one up, right?’

Little White stared worriedly at Zhou Gong, whose smile didn’t fade. "I didn’t realize you were so protective of your master. Rest easy. For her to come here, she must have a guardian. That person will ensure she wakes up at the appointed time. It wasn’t easy for you to get here. If not for her, you could never have entered this place in your entire life. Are you really going to waste this opportunity on worry? Don’t you wish to achieve a human form?"

Hearing Zhou Gong’s words, Little White’s eyes lit up.

’Human form?’ This was a once-in-a-millennium opportunity. Even its ancestors had struggled to achieve it.

’Following Master really is the best!’

It instantly leaped up and dashed off in another direction. "Thank you, Sir! I’m going to find my own fated opportunity, too!"

Zhou Gong smiled as he watched it leave, saying nothing.

’This world is terribly lonely, but I’ve long grown used to it. The intrusion of these two little pebbles is merely a ripple on the water from a passing breeze.’ 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Zhou Gong looked up at the sky. What was a peaceful Immortal Realm in Wen Ying’s eyes was an entirely different scene in his.

After a long time, the eggshell finally cracked.

Wen Ying didn’t know how much time had passed, but the moment she opened her eyes and saw Zhou Gong, she offered a formal salute. "Thank you for your help, Senior."

Any thought of teasing the handsome young man had long been thrown to the wind.

"How about... a bath?"

Zhou Gong’s voice stunned Wen Ying for a moment. Then, she headed toward a lake that had appeared nearby.

The small lake was crystal clear, perfectly reflecting Wen Ying’s image. She looked disheveled and grimy, her body caked in a substance that resembled mud, but wasn’t.

’I look exactly like a little beggar who crawled out of a ditch.’

’How utterly humiliating.’

Wen Ying jumped into the lake with a SPLASH, even submerging her head completely. A few minutes later...

Wen Ying was vexed. ’I was so focused on washing up, I completely forgot about clothes.’

’Even though this is a dream, Zhou Gong isn’t some random figment of my imagination. He’s a person—and a man at that.’

"Master, Master, I brought you some clothes!"

Little White’s voice rang out cheerfully. Wen Ying looked over at it. She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she felt like a wisp of gold had appeared in Little White’s fur.

Its size hadn’t changed, and it was holding a set of clothes in its paws.

It was a set of what would be considered Hanfu in the modern era, but a modified style.

"Master, I’ll turn my back to you and keep watch. I’ll make sure no one peeks!"

Wen Ying finished getting dressed.

She grabbed Little White by the scruff of its neck. "How did you know I was here?"

"Mr. Zhou told me! He said Master was in such a hurry that she ran off to take a bath without grabbing any clothes."

"And Zhou Gong?"

"He probably left. He’s an honorable gentleman; he would never peek at Master while she was bathing."

"..." For some reason, she felt like the little fox was looking down on her.

"Master, Master, I can talk now! I’ll be able to talk even when we go back to the real world! Isn’t that amazing!"

Little White kicked its short legs, as if showing off for praise.

Wen Ying set it down and took a closer look. There were indeed some changes, though they were hard to spot if one wasn’t looking carefully.

"Mr. Zhou said I can achieve a human form in the future. What kind of Little White would Master like? A handsome young man, perhaps?"