Magic Sect of Beauties: The Strongest Mage is in a Cultivation World

Yang Wei and Wu Meixiang were now walking across the vast fields of the Red Lantern Village. Of course, Yang Wei could've used several easier means to get to Tiancheng City in a matter of minutes, or even seconds, but he wanted to talk with Wu Meixiang a bit. Yang Wei then looked at the silent Wu Meixiang, who kept looking forward.

With the way her gaze was rigidly fixed forward, it was enough to tell Yang Wei that she was avoiding looking at his face.

Glancing at Wu Meixiang momentarily, Yang Wei sighed softly, "So, what did you want to talk to me about?" A mild smile formed on his face as he asked.

"You must know about Xinqi's chronic illness."

"Hm?"

Yang Wei was slightly caught off guard by the abrupt topic.

Wu Meixiang maintained her stern expression, "It's so stupid. There's no point in my parents trying to hide it from you, or anyone even... it's so painfully obvious."

Yang Wei nodded, keeping his gaze ahead. "I'm sure they had their reasons. But, yeah, I'm aware of her condition."

Then, Wu Meixiang abruptly shifted the topic, asking, "You know how crucial a spirit root is in the martial world, right?"

"Um, yes?" Yang Wei nodded slowly. His confusion wasn't because she was asking a literal cultivator the value of a spirit root, the most essential thing required in cultivation. Rather, he was confused with the way she was abruptly shifting the subject from one thing to the other. For him, it was hard to get immersed in their discussion, especially with how she was avoiding eye-to-eye contact.

Continuing, Wu Meixiang explained, "My father was the eldest of three children, and when my grandfather, his father, passed away, he left the last spirit root of the family in my father's hand to inherit, as he was the eldest son."

"That makes sense," Yang Wei remarked casually.

But then, Wu Meixiang stopped walking, clenching her fists tightly as she lowered her head. "What doesn't make sense is why my father would foolishly relinquish his spirit root, his only inheritance, to his younger brother, my uncle."

"What?" said a surprised Yang Wei, equally pausing.

Silenced by frustration, Wu Meixiang stood.

"Why did he do that?"

Tears pierced out of Wu Meixiang's eyes, "Because my father's an idiot... the one thing that could change his life, and maybe even alter the dreaded future of our family, so we wouldn't have to live in a pathetic state... he gave it up.

My father believed he didn't have enough talent to cultivate the spirit root he was given, so he gave it to his brother and told him to cultivate hard, so that when he became a big shot cultivator, he could come change our lives."

"Hm," Yang Wei appeared solemn. "I'm guessing that didn't go so well..."

She shook her head, sadly, "Years and years passed, my father and aunt started their own families, and we still waited for the day our dear, lovely uncle would come back, but he never did."

"..." the white-haired mage, had no words.

Wu Meixiang clasped her hands together and rested it against her chest, "Like that, we never saw my uncle again, till this day... and yet, not once did my father ever regret giving him that spirit root. That old fool still believes his brother will come back someday. It's just sad... and stupid."

What words could Yang Wei really say? Nothing.

He just kept watching her, as she vented out little by little.

Soon, she started walking forward again, and he walked beside her.

"Somewhere along the years, my mother gave birth to Xinqi. At a young age, she was already diagnosed with Meridian Corrosion..."

That was one terminology Yang Wei had yet to hear. "Hm, what's that?" he asked.

"It's a rare type of disease where the child is born with high amounts of impurities in their body, and slowly their meridians corrode. They usually don't live to see adulthood." Wiping her tears gently, although more rolled out of her eyes, she looked at Yang Wei, intiating their first eye contact since their discussion.

"Suffering from that sort of sickness at a young age can be very painful to deal with, from girls and boys her age laughing at her due to her slowly decaying skin that she had to cover up with bandages, to the way she would play with herself alone under a tree... just watching as kids her age enjoyed their normal lives."

Yang Wei had no words, and that was becoming more and more frequent throughout the course of the discussion.

Wu Meixiang closed her eyes to dilute some of the tears hanging there, "In this village, everyone knows everyone—it's like a family. But that logic is thrown out the window when parents want to make sure their child isn't associating with a diseased, filthy, contaminated girl, at least that's what they call a 10-year-old who never chose to be sick."

"What about the cure? Was it an expensive treatment?" he inquired.

Wu Meixiang shook her head as she replied, "According to Feng, a fourth-grade medicinal pill known as the Meridian Stream Pill can purify her decaying meridians." Her voice thick with emotion, as though she'd breakdown at any moment.

Fourth-grade pills were a big deal, but for someone like Wu Fengtian who belonged to a prestigious sect and had already almost successfully passed its Sect's Apothecary Master exams, he should've been able to refine it without difficulty.

Using that perspective, Yang Wei asked, "So, was money the issue?"

Wu Meixiang, wiping away bitter tears with a smile, explained, "It's more of a social class issue."

"Social class?"

Wu Meixiang nodded, continuing, "Feng doesn't have much talent. Our parents exhausted their savings and sold almost our lands to buy him an Earth-grade spirit root from the black market. With a spirit root like that, he could only join a lower-class sect, and because, well, he's a man."

"Then how did he end up in a powerful sect like the Dragon Blossom Sect?"

Wu Meixiang smiled and and looked at the skies as though all her sorrows were gone for a moment, "It's because of an Immortal Cultivator..."

"An Immortal Cultivator?" Yang Wei raised an eyebrow.

"A man named Shen Bao came to our village from the higher realms. He helped us settle in the Northern Continent and used his connections to get Feng into the Dragon Blossom Sect."

"Strange," Yang Wei mused. "Why would a cultivator suddenly appear to help?"

I mean, their kind aren't really the... charitable type...

Wu Meixiang shrugged, intertwining her fingers as she looked away. "When we asked him, he simply said he liked our red lanterns."

Yang Wei nodded thoughtfully. "I see." Still, it didn't make much sense to him, "But why didn't he heal Xinqi?"

The young woman sighed, "He performed a lot of miracles that day, like healing a lot of people... but he told us Xinqi's health wasn't his job. But he's done his best to ensure events lead to her eventual cure someday."

Yang Wei sighed in resignation. "Typical."

Wu Meixiang stepped closer to Yang Wei, so close that their breaths mingled, and she looked up at him with earnest eyes.

Yang Wei gazed back, calm yet confused.

"People say Shen Bao has been missing for years, even before he came to visit our village," said Wu Meixiang. "So, you can imagine I thought you were Shen Bao when you came visiting with Feng."

Yang Wei chuckled softly. "That's quite a stretch."

But Wu Meixiang maintained her gaze, her big black eyes fixed on him affectionately. "I know," she admitted. "But everyone in my family is convinced of one thing—the way you smell a lot like him."

An unsettling silence settled between them, with Yang Wei regarding Wu Meixiang with a neutral expression while she continued to smile at him affectionately. Then, Wu Meixiang suddenly turned away, clasping her hands behind her back as she smiled from ear to ear.

"Wei Gege?"

"Yes?"

"Can I make a selfish request?" she asked.

Yang Wei shrugged, "You'll make it regardless of what I say, won't you? So go ahead."

Wu Meixiang turned back to face him, bowing her head and already on the verge of tears. "Wei Gege!" she pleaded. "Can you please always carry my brother with you and promise not to abandon him? Feng doesn't have a blood brother, but he sees you as one. I don't want him to suffer like my father did, or be held back by his lack of potential... E...

Essentially, what I'm asking is, can you be someone who will always be there for my brother, and if possible... *sob* for our family?"

Yang Wei stood in silence, processing her heartfelt plea.