Martial Peak
chapter-4691

A young man and woman were standing alongside one another at the entrance of Seven Stars Town. As they gazed at the streets that were filled with people, they fell into a dazed state.

It had been thirteen years since they left this place, and in that time the town had transformed beyond recognition. The town had gotten much bigger, and it was now bustling with noise.

Seven Stars Town was built to be a satellite town of Seven Stars Sect. In the past, Seven Stars Sect was just an average Second Class Sect, and while it was pretty famous in the surrounding 1,000-kilometre radius, it was basically insignificant beyond that territory.

However, after the Disciple Recruitment where the appearance of the Ancestor sent a shockwave across the entire World, Seven Stars Sect directly became one of the First Class Sects in the Void Continent. Since the Sect was famous now, it could attract more people. As a result, Seven Stars Town became more prosperous.

The young man took a deep breath as he felt somewhat nervous.

Although he had asked Miao Fei Ping, who would go down the mountain from time to time, to send some letters to his Mother and Grandma, and he was aware that they were fine, he hadn’t personally seen it for himself yet.

He was still a young boy when he left home, but he was now an adult who had set off on his journey in the Martial Dao. He wondered if his Mother and Grandma would still recognise him.

“Big Brother Ye Bai,” Zhao Ya seemed able to detect a change in his emotions as she leaned close to him and took his hand.

“Let’s go,” Zhao Ye Bai took a deep breath and shuffled forward alongside Zhao Ya.

Soon, they stopped in their tracks in front of a shop.

Although it was a small place, it was quite bustling. The small number of tables inside the shop were all occupied, and even the tables set up outside were filled. On top of that, many people were waiting in line.

“It’s this place, right?” Zhao Ya looked around as she was uncertain.

She remembered that when they were kids, Uncle Yang would set up his stall here every day. When they were pursued by Miao Fei Ping and other kids, they would sneak under Uncle Yang’s cart and wait until their pursuers were gone before they would dare to come out. After that, Uncle Yang would give them each a sweet rice dumpling, which was the best food in the world to them.

Now, the cart was nowhere to be seen as it was replaced by this shop.

“It’s this place,” Zhao Ye Bai closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. Although thirteen years had passed, he would never forget the familiar smell of the soup and sweet rice dumplings.

According to Miao Fei Ping, his Mother and Grandma had saved some money and bought a shop to sell sweet rice dumplings. Their business was apparently booming.

When he opened his eyes again, Zhao Ye Bai saw two women who were busy at work. One of the women was facing away from them as she was roasting the sweet rice dumplings on a charcoal fire while the other woman was cleaning up the bowls and chopsticks left behind by the customers.

As though sensing something, the woman, who was cleaning up the dishes, looked up at the door.

As their gazes met, Zhao Ye Bai’s eyes reddened while he covered his mouth so that he wouldn’t burst into tears.

The woman was startled for a moment, then her expression was transformed by disbelief. She put down the bowls and walked out of the shop with a shaking figure before extending her hands.

“Xiao Bai?” The woman caressed Zhao Ye Bai’s face as she thought she was dreaming.

“Mother!” Zhao Ye Bai sniffled, “I’m back.”

Grandma, who was busy inside the shop, turned her head and saw the woman hugging Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya, all of them crying tears of joy.

Since Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya were back, they decided to close the shop early. This disappointed the customers who had been lining up to get their hands on the sweet rice dumplings; however, the people in town knew that the proprietress’ children were disciples of Seven Stars Sect, and their Master was the Ancestor of the aforementioned Sect. Hence, even though they were disappointed, they wouldn’t dare to voice their complaints.

When darkness descended upon them, Grandma Zhou and Yu Lu prepared a lot of dishes to celebrate, most of which were wolfed down by Zhao Ye Bai.

“Mother, when Miao Fei Ping said that you haven’t changed one bit over the years, I didn’t really believe him. But now it seems he was telling the truth,” While stuffing food into his mouth, Zhao Ye Bai stared at his Mother in amazement.

Thirteen years had passed, but his Mother still looked exactly the same as how he remembered her to be. It was as though she hadn’t aged a day.

Yu Lu touched her face and shot her son a glance, “I haven’t changed one bit? I look much older now.”

“That’s not true, Aunty Lu.” Zhao Ya shook her head on the side, “I remember that you looked exactly like this when I was a little girl. If we go out together now, no one will believe that we’re Mother and Daughter. They’ll naturally think that we’re Sisters.”

“Stop flattering me, you little ones,” Yu Lu hung her head low and chuckled.

She knew that her beauty might attract some unsolicited attention; therefore, after she sent Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya away to Seven Stars Sect in the past, she always covered her face with a veil when helping Grandma out at the stall. She wouldn’t dare to reveal her countenance in public.

Despite that, she still attracted the attention of some licentious men who passed by. However, anyone who dared to insult or profane her would suffer from all sorts of tragedies before they even stepped out of Seven Stars Town.

Moreover, these were not isolated cases. Once word got out, no one had the guts to say anything impolite to her again. It wasn’t until some time later that she found out her daughter had the luck to become a disciple of the Ancestor of Seven Stars Sect. Yu Lu believed that it was the reason the people from Seven Stars Sect protected her in secret. Those unlucky men must have been taught a lesson by the senior experts from the Sect.

That was the reason she finally had the courage to reveal her face.

“All you care about is your Mother. Have you forgotten about me?” Grandma Zhou seemed displeased.

Zhao Ye Bai hurriedly said, “That’s not true, Grandma. Compared to my Mother, your transformation is simply shocking!”

Zhao Ya kept nodding on the side, “You’ve gotten younger by at least forty years, Grandma!”

When they left home in the past, Grandma Zhou was old and frail. Thirteen years had passed, but Grandma had gotten younger instead of getting older. Her grey hair had turned black, and she no longer had a hunchback. Although she was already over 100 years old, those who were not aware of her real age might think that she was a woman in her fifties or sixties.

“Grandma, what have you and my Mother been eating over the years?” Zhao Ye Bai asked curiously.

As one’s cultivation increased, they might be able to reverse their ageing and remain young for the rest of their life. Nevertheless, Zhao Ye Bai’s Mother and Grandma were obviously mortals who had never cultivated before. The fact that one of them hadn’t changed one bit and the other had gotten younger was beyond his ability to understand.

Grandma burst into laughter, “What else would we eat other than some simple food? Your Mother and I have no idea what’s going on either. Rumours have been going around that our sweet rice dumplings make us stay young. That’s the reason business is going so well.”

“Does it have something to do with the sweet rice dumplings?” Zhao Ye Bai fell into his thoughts.

Grandma picked up some food and re-filled Zhao Ye Bai’s bowl, “Of course it has nothing to do with the sweet rice dumplings. They’re made from ordinary rice. Why would they be able to keep us young?”

Zhao Ya giggled, “I don’t know whether the sweet rice dumplings can keep you young, but I have some fruits that can definitely help prolong your lives.”

Upon finishing her words, she fished out eight Spirit Fruits from her Space Ring. Four of them were given to her Mother and the remaining four were given to Grandma Zhou.

“These fruits are beautiful,” Yu Lu stared fixedly at the Spirit Fruits, whose skin was translucent while rays of light could be seen swirling inside them. Moreover, the fruits exuded an exotic scent that made them seem very appetising.

Grandma Zhou asked, “Where did you get these from? They must be expensive.”

“They grew on a tree on the mountain. I picked them. They’re not valuable at all. Hurry up and eat them, Aunty Lu, Grandma. The fruits are beneficial to you.”

In the meantime, on Constellation Peak of Seven Stars Sect, Miao Fei Ping was all battered and bruised. This Spirit Peak was where the Elder Guan Qian Xing resided.

While running for his life, Miao Fei Ping begged for mercy in a loud voice, “Forgive me, Master! Please stop hitting me! You’re killing me!”

Despite his agility, he was unable to shake off his Master.

Guan Qian Xing was holding a rod while sticking close to Miao Fei Ping like a shadow. As he repeatedly struck his Disciple with loud thuds, he bellowed, “You unfilial brat! Do you know how hard it was for me to nurture that Fruit Tree? It took ten years to blossom, ten years to bear fruits, and another ten years before the fruits matured! There were only eighteen fruits in total, but that little girl directly snatched twelve of them! Do you know the pain I feel? My heart bleeds just thinking about it!”

While covering his head, Miao Fei Ping refuted, “Since you’re aware that it was Zhao Ya who picked the fruits, you should beat her up instead of me!”

Guan Qian Xing snapped, “Beat her up? Would I even dare to!? Moreover, Zhao Ya rarely steps out of Azure Jade Peak! If you hadn’t exposed it to her, she wouldn’t have found out there are such fruits in my place! Of course, I have to beat you up for this!”

Miao Fei Ping was lost for words. Since he was unable to flee, he decided to turn around and fall on his knees. While gazing at Guan Qian Xing with a pitiful face, he cried out, “Master, the fruits are indeed precious, but I’m your one and only Legacy Disciple, should I not be even more valuable? You’ll get new fruits after another thirty years, but if you kill me, where are you going to look for a new Disciple with such exceptional aptitude?”

With the rod raised, Guan Qian Xing fell silent for a moment.

Miao Fei Ping placed his index fingers on the corners of his mouth and pushed up, forcing a smile that was uglier than if he was crying, “Don’t you think I’m right, Master?”

“Nonsense!” Guan Qian Xing struck him again with the rod, “The fruits are really gone, and it’s not like you’ll die after a few hits! Right now I must vent my anger!”

Miao Fei Ping hurriedly got to his feet and dashed out of the mountain. While running away, he yelled, “Sect Master, save me!”

Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya went on to stay in Seven Stars Town for a month.

Rather than talking about the suffering he endured on the mountain, Zhao Ye Bai only told his Mother about the interesting things he had witnessed. He also said that he could now cultivate, so he would definitely become a powerful cultivator one day. Yu Lu attentively listened to him while staring at her children fondly.

She had never expected that, as a widow, she would be able to see her children growing into fine adults. As she reminisced, she couldn’t help recalling the stormy night some twenty years ago. Time flew by so quickly and everything seemed to have just happened the day before.

After a month, Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya were ready to leave.

Their mission was to experience the outside world, so although they were reluctant, they couldn’t stay in Seven Stars Town forever.

At the entrance of the town, Yu Lu and Grandma saw them off while giving them a lot of reminders.

“Come with me, Xiao Ya,” Yu Lu suddenly beckoned to Zhao Ya and walked to the side.

Upon getting close to her, Zhao Ya asked, “What’s wrong, Aunty Lu?”

Yu Lu fished out a handkerchief, which contained something, from her sleeve and passed it to her, “I’ve eaten two of the fruits you’ve given to me and saved the remaining two. If you’re able to meet your Uncle Yang on your trip this time, pass the fruits to him. If you can’t see him… you should just eat the fruits yourself.”