đź“– Chapter 995 - Endless Greetings!
Lin You had an extremely high status, and Lin Tianhao himself was the city lord of Ethereal City. Moreover, he had a good relationship with Wang Baole, and the latter had even promised to show up to the wedding. Thus, Mars was extremely bustling when Lin Tianhao’s wedding day rolled around.
Wang Baole had brought a meticulously-prepared wedding gift. When the wedding reached its peak and the banquet began, Wang Baole held a glass of wine and looked at the new couple. His heart was filled with emotion.
“Daobin, don’t you think Tianhao is screwing himself over here? Why’d he get married so quickly…” Wang Baole sipped his wine and cracked a joke at Liu Daobin, who had come over to his side the moment he arrived. The smile on his lips carried a hint of sympathy.
“Boss is right. When we go out to play in the future, we’ll have one less good brother with us.” Liu Daobin laughed. Then he cleared his throat and lowered his voice.
“Boss, while you were away, tons of people have moved over to the Martian Special Zone. They’ve all worked to quickly construct the new city with their own sweat and blood. I plan to pick out a few people with good looks and character and form a girl group. They’ll perform all over the Federation and promote the beauty of our Martian Special Zone!
“This matter is extremely important to the Martian Special Zone. Boss, you’ve been my lord for a long time already. I beg of you to grant me your guidance…” Liu Daobin looked earnest and sincere. However, no matter how Wang Baole thought about it, there was something off about the words he spoke. When Liu Daobin took out a jade slip, saying that it contained the information on the girl group candidates, Wang Baole’s expression turned strange.
“Daobin, you…” Wang Baole didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. Just as he was about to wave his hand, a soft voice suddenly rang out from behind them.
“Girl group? Liu Daobin, let me take a look.”
Wang Baole turned his head. Looking at the familiar figure walking over to them, reminiscence appeared in his eyes as he spoke softly.
"Xiaoya."
The newcomer was Zhou Xiaoya, but she had clearly changed a little. She was no longer as shy and timid as before. Instead, her gentle demeanor had some firmness to it. Obviously, she was soft on the outside but tough on the inside.
When she appeared, Liu Daobin blinked and calmly put away the jade slip in his hand. He flashed Zhou Xiaoya a smile.
“Greetings, Sect Master Zhou!” Then he bowed to Wang Baole.
“Boss, this subordinate won’t bother you. You can just catch up with Sect Master Zhou, and I’ll report to you later.” Liu Daobin bowed to the two of them again before taking his leave.
Zhou Xiaoya glanced at the departing Liu Daobin. Her beautiful eyes then landed on Wang Baole’s face for a moment before quickly looking away. She stood next to him without speaking, looking at Lin Tianhao and Du Min. Her eyes were full of blessings for the new couple, but there was also a trace of envy.
“Liu Daobin is just a troublemaker. I’ll teach him a lesson later.” Seeing that Zhou Xiaoya wasn’t saying anything, Wang Baole coughed and quickly spoke.
His feelings toward Zhou Xiaoya were full of guilt and gratitude. Over the past few days, his parents had talked about Zhou Xiaoya a lot. He knew that while he was away, Zhou Xiaoya had accompanied his parents, giving them a very important warmth that he hadn’t been able to provide.
But things were no longer the same as before. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to remain in the Federation for too long. Thus, if he and Zhou Xiaoya were tied up in emotions, she would end up being left behind, waiting for him all alone.
Wang Baole couldn’t do that to her, so after returning, he didn’t go to meet Zhou Xiaoya. She knew he had come back, but she didn’t go to see him, either.
They were both aware of some sort of distance between them. Thus, this was the first time they’d seen each other after Wang Baole’s return.
“He does indeed need to be taught a lesson.” Zhou Xiaoya said calmly. She still didn’t look at Wang Baole.
Wang Baole blinked and cleared his throat awkwardly before shooting Zhou Xiaoya a hidden glance. After a moment of silence, he sighed softly. He guessed at her thoughts, but he couldn’t bear to speak the words that would make her wait all alone. Thus, the thousands of words in his heart eventually converged into two syllables.
“Thank you.”
When she heard those words, Zhou Xiaoya turned her head slightly and stared at Wang Baole with her beautiful eyes. After a while, she smiled slightly, and her eyes bent into crescent moons. Her face was beautiful, and her temperament became even more gentle. She raised her jade-like hands and helped Wang Baole tidy his clothes. Then, her orchid-like breath blew into his ear as she whispered gently.
“Did I owe you something in my past life? Is that why you came to tease me the moment you entered the Dao College? I always hear things about you from the people around me. I just can’t forget you, and others cannot enter my heart anymore. Since that’s the case… your Little Bunny will wait for you.” Zhou Xiaoya blew into Wang Baole’s ear before walking away without looking back. As she moved farther and farther away, only her orchid-like fragrance remained behind, filling Wang Baole’s nose and making him involuntarily turn his head to watch as Zhou Xiaoya disappeared into the crowd.
Before he knew it, the wedding was coming to an end. Lin Tianhao finally managed to extract himself from the endless congratulations and brought Du Min over to find Wang Baole. Looking at the new couple in front of him, Wang Baole suppressed his thoughts of Zhou Xiaoya and offered his sincere congratulations. Lin Tianhao also mentioned to Wang Baole that Kong Dao had still not returned from Operation Dark Swallow. In fact, he was the only one of whom there was no news at all.
“The life-detecting lamp that Kong Dao left behind hasn’t been extinguished, but its color has changed…” Lin Tianhao wanted to a say a few more words, but as today’s main figure, he was quickly pulled away by someone else. Wang Baole fell into deep thought.
But his ponderous state didn’t last long. Once the wedding ceremony ended, groups of people laughed and chatted with each other in the banquet hall, and Wang Baole received an endless stream of people wanting to pay their respects.
Fortunately, his current status was unimaginably high, so those who came to visit didn’t dare to disturb him too much. Many would just offer greetings and then leave. Finally, an old friend from the past appeared in front of Wang Baole. This person’s eyes were full of emotion as well as some regret as they bowed deeply.
“Greetings… Your Excellency.” The newcomer was the current Venus Colony Governor, the osmanthus tree from the moon. This giant tree wasn’t sure how he should address Wang Baole, so after thinking about it, he just called him “Your Excellency”.
His cultivation base had broken through from the great circle of Nascent Soul to the Soul Conduit Realm. However, whether back then in the Dao Palace or right now on Mars, the emotions that he felt toward Wang Baole were similar. At the same time, he didn’t dare to show the slightest disrespect.
“Fellow Daoist Osmanthus, there’s no need for this.” Wang Baole laughed and helped the giant tree up. Sensing the cultivation fluctuations on the other person’s body, he gave a sincere smiled.
“Over the past few years, Fellow Daoist Osmanthus has been quite good to the Federation!”
To the giant tree, this one sentence from Wang Baole was worth ten thousand from others. His body trembled from emotion. Indeed, even when Li Xingwen’s faction was in danger of extermination, the giant tree had never thought of betraying them. Now that Wang Baole had acknowledged his efforts, he felt that it was all worth it.
“Your Excellency is too kind. The Federation is my home as well.” After bowing again, the giant tree hesitated for a moment. Taking a deep breath, he suddenly spoke in a low voice.
"Your Excellency, if you have the time, you should try exploring the ruins on Earth. With your cultivation base… perhaps you can learn some secrets about the solar system.”
“Hm?” Wang Baole’s eyes flashed as he looked at the giant tree.
“Your Excellency, my true form is an osmanthus tree living on the moon, and I’ve existed for a very long time. I seem to be able to recall a certain memory…
“I don’t know if this memory is accurate or not, but… it seems that a long time ago, there was a powerful organization of cultivators in the solar system. I… was planted on the moon by one of those cultivators.
“This organization has long since left, but I have the feeling that they… still exist somewhere in the starry sky. The mysterious disappearances that have occurred over and over since the Spirit Inception Era arrived are probably connected to them!
“They seem to be… selecting disciples from today’s solar system!
"For example... Lin You!" The giant tree spoke with a soft and meaningful tone.