Chapter 2997 — Tianchan and Chen Xi

Once inside the secret chamber, Tianchan pressed her hands against Chen Xi's body and kneaded a few times, and Chen Xi slowly came to.

Opening her eyes, Chen Xi looked in bewilderment at the unfamiliar surroundings and the unfamiliar person. She did not cry out; instead, she instinctively shrank back.

Chen Xi found herself ridiculous. Her own father had already harmed her once before, yet she had foolishly trusted him and agreed to meet him again! She had thought she was safe on campus, protected by Chief Zhu—that her father Zhao Guangyin could not possibly do anything to her!

But how could Chen Xi have imagined that Chief Zhu had long since been knocked unconscious by Zhao Guangyin, Elder Mian, and Zhao Qibing—and that shortly after she stepped out, she too had been struck down and abducted by her own father!

So, since they had let her wake up, it meant she had been taken somewhere they considered safe—their own territory. Shouting here would be utterly useless. Young as she was, Chen Xi could still reason these things out.

She had only herself to blame for being so foolish and naive, for believing that a father would always be a father and could never harm her—only to find that he had harmed her a second time!

"Awake?" Tianchan studied the delicate girl before her. She was rather adorable, true enough—but she was Wei Zhao's little lover? Did Wei Zhao have a taste for little girls? Hmm, that Yang Qiqi was the petite type as well...

"Who are you? Where is this place?" Chen Xi had not seen her father or the others, which struck her as strange. She looked at the handsome man before her with open confusion.

"Am I handsome?" Tianchan gave Chen Xi a faint smile.

"Ah?" Chen Xi was taken aback. She had not expected the handsome man before her to ask such a question, and it left her utterly baffled—yet she still nodded honestly. "Quite handsome..."

"Then would you like to be my woman?" Tianchan nodded and continued, her voice gentle and warm, indescribably soothing.

Chen Xi shook her head. "No."

"Why not?" Tianchan asked with interest.

"Because... because I already have someone I like..." Seeing that Tianchan was genial and kindly, not at all fierce or menacing, Chen Xi found the courage to speak some of the truth.

"Oh? Then I'll go kill him," Tianchan said mildly. "That solves it, doesn't it?"

"Don't!" Chen Xi was startled and shook her head hastily. "I... I was actually lying to you. I don't have anyone I like."

"Heh heh. So you're Wei Zhao's little girlfriend?" Tianchan shifted the subject abruptly.

"Ah?" Chen Xi was stunned. She had not expected this person to actually know Wei Zhao—which meant those earlier questions had probably been deliberate!

"I was only teasing you. In truth, I am Wei Zhao's friend." Tianchan sighed faintly in her heart. So it was true—Chen Xi really did have a connection to Wei Zhao!

"Is that so?" Chen Xi looked at Tianchan warily, seeming not to believe her words.

"Let me speak plainly. I am the Young Sect Master of the Mysterious Pill Sect. You were sent to me by your father and your brother to serve as a cauldron for my cultivation—in plain terms, you are now my private property, and I may do with you as I please," Tianchan said. "The reason I am telling you all this is simply to make you understand that I bear you no ill will."

"Really?" Chen Xi sensed that the person before her did not seem to be lying. "Then... could you let me go?"

"No." Tianchan shook her head decisively. "If I let you go, your father and brother would only seize you again and present you to someone else as a cauldron. And when that time comes, your circumstances will be far less comfortable than they are now. You understand what I mean, don't you?"

"Oh..." Chen Xi nodded. What Tianchan said was not without reason. If she truly was a bargaining chip her father had offered up to curry favor, then if she returned, they would certainly seize her again. "Then what should I do?"

"Stay by my side as a maid. I will teach you the finest mind techniques and incantations for cultivating the way of the cauldron. You must abandon the cultivation methods you have used up to now," Tianchan said.

"Ah? Then I... I still have to cultivate as a cauldron and be used by someone?" Chen Xi was slightly taken aback, not understanding Tianchan's meaning.

"And what if that someone were Wei Zhao?" Tianchan smiled faintly. "Would you like to become someone who can help him?"

"Yes, yes!" Chen Xi nodded, a little shyly. She had to admit that Tianchan had hit upon the very thing in her heart with a single sentence. To become someone who could help Wei Zhao—Chen Xi was truly overjoyed!

After all, what Ying Ziyu constantly drilled into her was that every girl around Wei Zhao had her own distinctive charm, and that she had no competitive advantage whatsoever—she would have to either act coy, or play cute, or seduce. But Chen Xi was skilled at none of these things. So when Tianchan offered her a chance to be of help to Wei Zhao, of course her heart was moved.

"From now on, your name will be Tianxi. You shall be my personal maid. But you must not breathe a word of any of this to anyone—you answer to me and me alone. Understood?" Tianchan asked.

"Yes, rest assured, I won't trust my father or anyone else again..." Chen Xi nodded, then hesitated, a little awkwardly. "But... your personal maid..."

"Heh heh..." Tianchan smiled faintly, turned around, and—no one could tell quite how—wiped her face twice. Then her long, beautiful hair came loose and cascaded down, and when she turned back, she had become a gentle, lovely woman.

"Ah? You you you you... you're a girl?" Chen Xi's eyes went wide. If she still could not tell that the handsome man was a woman at this point, there would have to be something wrong with her eyes.

"Indeed. But can you keep this secret for me? Including from Wei Zhao?" Tianchan nodded and asked.

"Yes, Sister, rest assured, Little Xi will definitely keep the secret!" Chen Xi nodded vigorously. For some reason, she found Tianchan especially trustworthy; being near her gave her a sense of security.

And Tianchan herself did not know why she had revealed her true appearance before Chen Xi. Perhaps it was because the girl was Wei Zhao's little lover—Tianchan felt she could be trusted.

"From now on, when we are alone, call me Young Sect Master. The name I use with the outside world is Tian Canbian!" Tianchan told Chen Xi. "Do not give yourself away in front of others."

"Yes, yes!" Chen Xi nodded.

After a moment's hesitation, however, Chen Xi asked timidly, "Young Sect Master, may I contact Brother Wei Zhao?"

Tianchan hesitated, then shook her head. "Not for now. But I will find an opportunity to tell him. If you contact him, then once your father and brother grow suspicious, they will think of other ways to move against Wei Zhao. That is not what you want to see, is it?"