The room was very quiet, save for the tea leaves in the cup on the table slowly unfurling in the hot water, lazily spinning around.
"Second Young Miss, please pack your things and come with us to see your father. The only reason he hasn't brought you over all these years is because of your mother's obstruction. It was only recently that your father learned of you living alone, which is why he has asked us to bring you back as soon as possible."
Jian Dan's face remained expressionless as she looked calmly at Steward Zhao opposite her and the assistant standing beside him. She could see the inadvertent condescension and disdain in their eyes.
Jian Dan offered a polite, faint smile and nodded.
"I understand. Coincidentally, I also want to ask my father about my mother. Book the tickets and come pick me up!"
With that, she stood up and raised her hand in a gesture of dismissal.
Neither of them had expected that, after such a long silence, they would receive what sounded like an order given to a servant. The assistant's face showed some embarrassment, but Steward Zhao remained completely unruffled, nodding as he spoke.
"Very well, Second Young Miss. Once the tickets are booked, I will contact you directly and arrange to pick you up for the airport ahead of time. We won't disturb your preparations any longer."
With that, he resolutely turned and left Jian Dan's home.
Once outside the apartment building, the assistant couldn't wait to speak.
"Uncle, did you see her attitude? She really thinks she's some kind of Zhao Family young miss. She's just a child raised outside. If it weren't for the young master—"
"Shut up!" Steward Zhao snapped sternly.
"Are matters of the Zhao Family something you can discuss? Mind your own business. If you weren't my relative, I wouldn't have brought you along. How many times do I have to tell you? Speak less, watch more, do more. No matter how low her status is, she carries the bloodline of the Zhao Family, and we cannot compare to her. People of the Zhao Family can talk, but we cannot. Do you understand?"
"I know, Uncle. Don't be angry, there won't be a next time."
The assistant apologized submissively, and then he and Steward Zhao walked quickly away from the residential complex where Jian Dan lived.
Standing by the window, Jian Dan heard their conversation word for word. Watching them leave, she turned and walked into the bedroom.
It seemed things were just like in her past life—she was merely being treated as a human vessel. But this time, she wouldn't compromise so easily; there were some things she intended to take back.
With a flash of her spiritual sense, she entered the Space. This was her first formal Cultivation session since cleansing her marrow and washing away her impurities, and Jian Dan did not dare to be the least bit careless.
Upon entering the Space, she walked straight into the Bamboo House, sat down on the straw cushion, and emptied her mind. Her breathing gradually grew soft and even, as if falling into a rhythm. With every inhalation and exhalation, spiritual energy slowly gathered around Jian Dan's body, seemingly forming a five-colored cocoon of light that wrapped her within.
The five-colored specks of spiritual energy rapidly plunged into her skin, entering her meridians and slowly converging into a single thread that traveled along her main meridians, finally returning to her Dantian. When her Dantian was completely filled with the five-colored specks, a sudden, booming vibration shook the air. After the spiritual energy tremors subsided, everything grew calm once more, and Jian Dan completed her Qi Condensation.
Jian Dan flicked her body into the bathroom, washed away the layer of gray grime from her skin, and then sat cross-legged on the straw cushion once again. Her spiritual sense sank into her sea of consciousness, reaching the Qi Refining chapter of the Heaven and Earth Chaos Formula, her thoughts plunging deep within: *All things in heaven and earth are born from chaos, from which the five elements derive; in endless cycles, all things live.*
Having thoroughly comprehended the formula, Jian Dan officially entered the state of Cultivation.
The Qi Refining Stage was fundamentally a time for laying a foundation. Aside from clearing and tempering the main meridians, one also had to clear and widen the tiny secondary meridians one by one, enabling them to hold more spiritual energy so that one could endure longer than others during magical combat.
Jian Dan reveled in the comfort of Cultivation, operating the technique to thoroughly clear all her main meridians. Once cleared, the five-colored spiritual energy surged into her body in a rush, and a succession of popping sounds echoed continuously within her.
In one go, Jian Dan broke through to Qi Refining Level 6. She did not push on to the seventh level afterward; Jian Dan needed time to consolidate her gains.
At the same time, Jian Dan retrieved the Ice Muscle Jade Bone Demonic Body Formula from the depths of her memory—a technique she had chanced upon and acquired in the Green Maple Secret Realm of the cultivation world—intending to practice this method to forge her physical body while also solidifying her foundation before advancing to the next stage.
When she emerged from the Space, it was already evening. Stars filled the sky and a bright moon hung high—another full moon. Jian Dan sighed softly; this time, she would absolutely not repeat the mistakes of the past.
She shook her head, casting these thoughts aside. Jian Dan knew that a major trap awaited her in Jingdu, and there were some matters she needed to put an end to personally.
Jian Dan took out her phone. It was already past midnight, but she paid no attention to that. Dredging up the method of use from the depths of her memory, she took care of the trivial matters around her.
The sun had already risen above the horizon, and Jian Dan did not waste any time. She sat cross-legged facing the sun, absorbing the rising purple Qi. Though faint, day-after-day accumulation would eventually lead to a qualitative change, benefiting her Cultivation.
At eight o'clock in the morning, a knock on the door sounded right on schedule. Jian Dan dragged her suitcase, picked up her apartment keys, and looked around the space where she had lived for over a decade in her previous life. All the memorabilia in the room had already been stored away in the Space, leaving only a few large pieces of furniture.
Pulling open the door, she was unsurprised to see Steward Zhao and the assistant standing there. The former said politely:
"Second Young Miss, we've come to pick you up. Our flight is at ten o'clock. Since we have to go through security, it might take time, so we need to arrive at the airport early."
Jian Dan nodded, pulled her suitcase out, and locked the door behind her. She slid the door key under the doormat, stood up, and signaled for them to lead the way. Steward Zhao showed good judgment and asked no unnecessary questions.
A look of doubt flashed across the assistant's eyes, but this time he kept his mouth shut and didn't babble. He took the heavy rolling suitcase from Jian Dan's hand and walked toward the exit. A Buick business van was parked outside the entrance, and the three of them boarded in turn as the vehicle drove steadily toward the airport.
Steward Zhao had arranged the itinerary for the entire journey quite well. They even had a meal before boarding, and they boarded the plane right on time. Jian Dan slept through the entire two-hour flight, without asking any excessive questions about this trip to Jingdu, nor showing any sign of nervousness.
This made Steward Zhao pay even closer attention to her. After all, an eighteen-year-old girl, leaving home for the first time to meet a father she had never met, yet having no questions and showing no excitement—this made him hold this Second Young Miss in even higher regard.
It was already noon when they arrived at the Jingdu airport. As Jian Dan and Steward Zhao exited the terminal, a black sedan glided up in front of them. Once inside, the car drove all the way toward the luxury villa district of Jingdu.