“What an innocent girl!” The other patriarchs all laughed good-naturedly.
The first day of the auction was over, and although there were more days to come, Bai Xiaochun had already sold his medicinal pills, so he didn’t plan to return. He walked over to the entrance of the auction and stood there watching everyone filing out of the auction house.
Virtually all of them were excitedly discussing the matter of the Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pill.
Eventually, Bai Xiaochun caught sight of Zhou Xinqi. He wanted to go encourage her not to feel disheartened, but as soon as he took a step forward to head in her direction, she looked over and saw him coming. Without another word, she transformed into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.
Bai Xiaochun stopped in place, feeling a bit depressed. But then he heard a voice coming from behind him.
“Big bro Xiaochun!” It was Hou Xiaomei, who came bouncing over happily through the crowd, followed by Hou Yunfei, who was also smiling.
Bai Xiaochun looked away from Zhou Xinqi and gave Hou Xiaomei a smile of praise. Looking very much like a member of the senior generation, he patted her on the head.
“Hey there, chaste little sister. I have to say, you did a great job. The way you won that final item in the auction was very domineering!”
Hou Xiaomei’s face turned bright red. Seeming to recall something all of a sudden, she pulled out the Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pill.
“Big bro Xiaochun, look! This medicinal pill was concocted by the little turtle. Would you like it? Here, take it. Didn’t you say before that you also adore the little turtle? I bought this pill just for you!” Anyone who saw the expression on her face would be moved. Holding out the pill to Bai Xiaochun, she looked at him with keen anticipation, as if he were the only thing that existed in the world.
When Hou Yunfei saw this, his gaze softened, and he smiled, but didn’t say anything.
Bai Xiaochun’s jaw dropped. Never could he have imagined that Hou Xiaomei’s goal in winning the medicinal pill was to give it to him. It was very moving. Seeing that they were surrounded by quite a few people, he took a deep breath and put a solemn expression on his face.
Eyes filling with determination, he clasped his hands behind his back like a powerful hero, a posture he had long since become very familiar with adopting.
“Xiaomei,” he said, “I need to reveal a very big secret!”
Hou Xiaomei looked shocked, as did Hou Yunfei.
“What secret?” Hou Xiaomei asked curiously.
Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat loudly, stuck out his chin, and swished his sleeve.
“I, Bai Xiaochun, am he who shocks ghosts and gods, the preeminently famous, mysterious and unfathomable… the great and mighty… Lord Turtle!!” He then threw his head back and laughed uproariously. The words he had just uttered had been kept locked inside of him for far too long, and it felt wonderful to speak them out in the open, especially considering he was speaking them to the person who adored him the most, Hou Xiaomei, and in front of such a large audience of onlookers.
Most importantly, it wasn’t proper to allow the person who worshipped him the most fervently to be kept in the dark, especially when her idol was standing directly in front of her! Bai Xiaochun stared up at the clouds above, looking very lonely. However, his ears twitched a bit as he waited to hear the shocked reactions of Hou Xiaomei and the rest of the crowd.
He was already formulating the words he would use in response to the impending commotion.
However, after a very long moment passed, not a sound could be heard. Everything was completely silent. Surprised, Bai Xiaochun couldn’t help but look back from the clouds toward Hou Xiaomei and Hou Yunfei.
Hou Xiaomei stood there with wide eyes, and Hou Yunfei was similarly shocked. As they stared mutely at Bai Xiaochun, the surrounding disciples looked on with strange expressions on their faces.
“The little turtle is indifferent to worldly affairs,” someone said, “like a cloud floating in the sky. Now Sect Uncle Bai is calling himself the little turtle? Yeah right…. Come on, let’s go.”
An unsightly expression could be seen on Bai Xiaochun’s face, and he took a deep breath in preparation to make an explanation.
“Xiaochun, are you alright?” Hou Yunfei asked. Worried, he patted Bai Xiaochun on the head.
“I really am the little turtle!” Bai Xiaochun said anxiously.
“Oh?” Hou Yunfei replied, a strange expression on his face. He quickly nodded. “Sure, sure. You’re the little turtle….”
At this point, Hou Xiaomei gazed at Big bro Xiaochun and softly said, “Big bro Xiaochun, you told me before that the little turtle is like a cloud in the sky, someone who doesn’t care at all about worldly matters…. Actually, in my heart, you’re just as important as he is. You don’t need to pretend to be him….”
“But I really am the–”
Before he could finish speaking, Hou Yunfei looked at him somberly and clasped his arm. “Xiaochun, we believe you!”
Bai Xiaochun’s eyes went wide. “I really–”
Before he could finish, Hou Yunfei’s expression turned more serious. “Xiaochun. We really believe you!”
“I–” Bai Xiaochun’s eyes began to glaze over as a feeling of disheartenment filled him. No matter how he tried to explain the situation, it wouldn’t do any good. Things were going completely different than he’d imagined. Dejected, he turned slowly and trudged away, somehow returning to the sect.
Back in his courtyard, he stared blankly up into the sky, an expression of grief on his face.
“But I really am Lord Turtle….” he murmured, feeling very maligned. He had long dreamed about proclaiming his identity publicly, but now that dream was in tatters.
After a while, he came to the conclusion that the problem lay in the fact that he had worked so hard over the years to inflate the image of the little turtle in the minds of the people…. To them, the little turtle was a completely proud and extraordinary individual.
More precisely, thanks to the tireless efforts of Hou Xiaomei, the little turtle had already been turned into something of a deity….
After a while, Bai Xiaochun begrudgingly went to find Xu Baocai to explain the truth. Afterward, Xu Baocai stared at him blankly for a moment… and then nodded repeatedly and said that he believed him.
Bai Xiaochun scowled miserably all the way back to his courtyard, where he once again stood there feeling empty.
A few days later, Sun Chen came to visit. Bai Xiaochun immediately perked up. Suddenly, he had hope, hope that Sun Chen would remember who it was that had delivered the medicinal pill up to be auctioned off.
However, before he could even say anything, Sun Chen handed over the spirit stones, then clasped hands and bowed deeply. Expression solemn, he said, “Brother Bai, I’m not sure which honored Chosen concocted that pill. The Sun Clan patriarch was quite shocked by the matter. We know that the only way to contact that Chosen is via you, Brother Bai. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been the one to deliver his medicinal pill.
“Brother Bai, could you please pass word to him that the Sun Clan hopes to have a longstanding friendship with him? If he needs any help selling medicinal pills in the future, we will use all our power to help him!