A woman walked out of the opened doors slowly.
To Li Tianming, this was like seeing the sun again after years of darkness, and with bated breath, he fixed his eyes on her. She had eye-catchingly light grey hair that fell down like a waterfall.
The light grey hair gave Li Tianming pause. Did Wei Tiancang fail?
However, he obviously hadnât. Although it was light grey, it was still glossy and full of life. When Li Tianming looked downwards, it wasnât a forty-year-old woman that greeted him, but rather, a girl who looked in her teens.
Even Mu Wan, who was a little over thirty, looked older than her.
She had a pair of sparkling eyes and a set of white teeth, a smile that should belong to a young girl on her face. Her delicate body was filled with life as she moved about agilely.
Li Tianming thought he was seeing things. This girl looked no different from Jiang Feiling and Jiang Qingluan.
M-mother? Li Tianming had expected her to change, from looking like an eighty-year-old to a forty-year-old, someone who looked as old as Xue Lan. However, she looked eighteen instead! Sure, her hair was light grey, but an unknowing bystander would think that she used dye, and might even hit on her.
For the second time in this morning, a headache began to brew. With such an appearance, was he supposed to address her as mother, big sister... or little sister?
It wasnât limited to Li Tianming. When Wei Jing walked out, everyone present was flabbergasted, wondering if there was a problem with their eyes.
âYou all have limited knowledge. When someone recovers from Lifesbane, theyâll recover their appearance from before it, even if sixty years have passed.â An old man appeared behind Wei Jing. He looked exhausted, and his face was pale.
Obviously, removing this Lifesbane hadnât been easy for Wei Tiancang.
âAll of you get lost! I need to rest for three months. No one is to bother me!â Wei Tiancang pushed Wei Jing out, before slamming the door close, as if saving Wei Jing was something humiliating.
Needing to rest for three months not only showed how strenuous this was, but also that Li Tianming had misjudged this grandfather of his. Fortunately, a rest was enough for him.
Wei Jing turned around, but the door was already shut. âThat stubborn old coot.â
While she was gritting her teeth, a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. The walls between her and her father had come down; how could she not be happy? Her Lifesbane was gone, she had returned to being twenty and she had buried the hatchet with her father. It was as if she had left hell and entered heaven.
The bliss that filled her was enough to leave her rooted to the spot. She had already thanked her father many times, but she knew there was one other major contributor, Li Tianming.
When she saw her son, her eyes turned damp with tears of joy. âTianming!â
The next moment, Wei Jing was already hugging her son.
âWho are you? My long-lost sister?â Li Tianming grabbed her by the shoulders and said with an exaggerated expression.
Wei Jing smiled, having seen herself in the mirror. She herself hadnât expected to become twenty again.
âFather said Lifesbane isnât just misfortune. It also had many mysterious aspects that our clan canât grasp. Returning to the state you were in when the Lifesbane started is just one small part. Itâs not just my body that has had the clock turned back twenty years.â With those words, she summoned her lifebound beast, an Eight-Winged Goldroc!
It, like Wei Jing, was roughly at the peak of Spiritsource.
After suffering from Lifesbane for twenty years, the roc had regressed to becoming a Four-Winged Goldroc. However, it had now returned to its state twenty years ago.
âIncredible...â Li Tianming had been in the dark about the profundities of Lifesbane. He had thought it was purely misfortune.
Even Wei Tiancang himself had only been able to guess this would happen, because Wei Jing was the first ever case study that had endured the Lifesbane for twenty years. Usually, members of the Wei Clan that contracted Lifesbane would get rid of it immediately.
A twenty-year-old mother? Li Tianming wasnât sure what to think now.
âDonât give me that. I may be twenty years old in body, but I still have the heart of a forty-year-old!â Wei Jing chided jokingly. She was practically over the moon now!
Li Tianming was even happier, feeling like a rock that had been weighing down on his heart for the longest time was gone.
âMom, ignore that Li Tianming. Your son is coming!â The little chick flew over.
âMeow.â Behind it, electricity flickered. A moment later, the black cat was comfortably nestled in Wei Jingâs arms. These two were competent when it came to stealing the limelight.
Still, they were one big family!
The miracle born from the Lifesbaneâs removal was joy piled upon joy.
He had always said Wei Jing must have been a great beauty of Ignispolis when she was young, and now his words were proven right. Little wonder people like Mu Yang and Sage Chen treated her with such favour.
âYouâre married already, donât look so much.â Mu Yang stared at Sage Chen.
âSheâs twenty again. Hard times are coming for me,â Sage Chen said emotionally.
âSpeaking of which, that person at home will be jealous when she sees how Jingâer looks now.â Mu Yang laughed.
Sage Chen shook his head. "Whatever. Sheâs always been like that. Weâll cross that bridge when it comes to it.â
Stepping forward shy, Mu Wan asked, âBig brother, is there any way I can get an unlimited number of Lifesbane?â
âExcuse me, what?â Mu Yang stared.
âNo, Iâm just interested in eternal youth,â Mu Wan said enviously.
âScram.â
âI can see youâre infatuated with big sis Jing...â
âIâll give you a smack if you continue on.â
Mu Wan scampered off.
The only ones who didnât look as happy here were Wei Tianxiong, Wei Zikun and their children. They had also been in opposition, but Wei Tiancang had still unexpectedly saved her.
âWhy do I feel father wanted to save her from the start?â Wei Zikun frowned.
âIs that surprising? He always doted on her the most,â Wei Tianxiong replied.
âAlright, that mother and son must be so happy now. Wei Manor is no longer ours.â
âObviously. Mu Yang will accept Li Tianming as his disciple. Li Tianming will likely be the next Potentate.â It meant it wasnât their childrenâs world either anymore. Still, what could they do about it?
âBig brother, Zikun.â Surprisingly, Wei Jing approached them. âAll these years, it was my fault. Thank you for taking care of father and supporting the manor.â
âMhm. Now that youâre free of it, live a good life. Donât do anything that will hurt him again. Heâs getting old,â Wei Tianxiong said.
âJingâer understands.â
âI have something on. Iâll make a move first,â Wei Tianxiong said.
âAlright.â
âTake care. Uncles, I wonât be sending you off.â Li Tianming stepped forward with a smile.
Even though they felt displeasure, there was nothing they could do but leave, filled with complex emotions. Wei Tianxiong also brought away Wei Guohao, Wei Lingxuan and the rest of the onlookers. In the end, even Wei Tiancang had chosen to forgive her, so there was no reason for them to carry a grudge.
Li Tianming and the rest returned to Rainforest Pavilion.
Wei Jing personally cooked for the guests. While it wasnât that spectacular, Mu Yang and Sage Chen still praised it to high heavens. They only left when night fell, leaving behind Li Tianming, his mother and two small animals.
Ying Huo and Meow Meow went to the courtyard to play, while Wei Jing was brushing her hair in front of the mirror. Li Tianming examined her youthful-looking reflection in the mirror, feeling like he would laugh himself awake when sleeping.
âMother, will you rekindle a relationship with Uncle Yang?â Li Tianming asked.
âNo.â
âWhy?â Li Tianming asked curiously.
âHe said he doesnât have such thoughts. Heâs used to his life after twenty years. Itâll be stressful to be with me,â Wei Jing said.
âIs there something wrong with him?â Li Tianming had thought Mu Yang had certain plans when he saw how proactive he was.
âAlso, thereâs someone I want to find.â Wei Jing looked resolutely at her reflection.
âWho?â
âIâll tell you if the opportunity comes.â
â...â
She continued to groom herself in the mirror, something she hadnât been able to do for twenty years.
âWhatâs that?â When her sleeves rolled up, Li Tianming noticed something on her right arm. Li Tianming grabbed her arm for a closer look. He saw three overlapping circular rings that wouldnât come off no matter how hard he rubbed.
âI donât know. It appeared when the Lifesbane was removed,â Wei Jing said.
âWill it cause problems?â
âNo. There have been many through the years who have had Lifesbane. However, they all removed it by the first year, and their arms only had one such ring. Itâs possible that I have three because I had Lifesbane for far longer,â Wei Jing explained.
âWill it affect your future cultivation and life?â
âSupposedly, each ring will boost cultivation speed. Itâs the reason for the Wei Clanâs prosperity through the ages. My father has one, but my brothers donât, so theyâre weaker,â Wei Jing replied.
âSo thatâs how it is! If one ring lets you reach Wei Tiancangâs level, wouldnât you accomplish three times as much as him since you have three?â
âDonât address your grandfather by name. Thatâs rude.â Wei Jing gave him a knock on the head.
âMother, how did our clan get this Lifesbane?â Li Tianming asked, curious.
âSupposedly, a female ancestor surnamed Li who married in a thousand years ago brought it in. Itâs because of her our Wei Clan flourished."
âA female ancestor named Li?â Actually, Li Tianming did have thoughts of changing his surname. However, Wei Tianming sounded pretty bad. He was used to it too, so in the end, he was too lazy to change it.
Unexpectedly, that ancestor who brought in the Lifesbane had the same surname as him.
âIâll go and play with Ying Huo and Meow Meow. Prime Disciple Li Tianming, work hard on your cultivation, lest your title of genius gets taken away by your mother!â Wei Jing laughed as she left.
Li Tianming wasnât sure whether to laugh or cry. He was possibly the only one in the world who looked the same age as his mother and had to fight over the title of genius with her.
âMy hair?â Li Tianming leaned closer and made a curious discovery. His hair was lighter than he last remembered it. âAm I seeing things?â
Li Tianming remembered that his hair had always been a lustrous black.
He suddenly had a bad feeling, and examined his right arm immediately. One ring was sitting there!
âFuck! I also have Lifesbane!â
Li Tianmingâs scalp numbed, and he felt his heart chill.