136: Leaving the Bathhouse

Fired.

Early the next morning, which was also the third day of working at the bathhouse, Wei Jingjing's treatment wore off. Yet, being a woman of her word, she administered another treatment to Ming Tian as the previous one expired.

This time, the treatment was permanent.

Gazing at his hands, as smooth as flawless jade, with finger flexibility even greater than before his disability, Ming Tian finally felt a wave of relief.

Not stopping there, Wei Jingjing also treated Xiao Xinzhu.

As a stream of shimmering light drifted past, Xiao Xinzhu opened her eyes, and simultaneously, Xiaofei swung open the grand doors leading outside.

Ming Tian, An Luo, and Yin Chan felt their hearts tighten involuntarily.

Xiao Xinzhu's breathing grew rapid out of sheer excitement.

Following the treatment, her appearance remained entirely unchanged; she still bore the distinct features of an albino.

According to Wei Jingjing, albinism was a genetic flaw rather than a disease. Therefore, strictly speaking, this was not a healing process, but rather the bestowal of a permanent ultraviolet-immunity buff upon Xiao Xinzhu.

The bright, cheerful sunlight appeared somewhat dazzling on the cloudless morning.

Xiao Xinzhu took a deep breath, mustered her courage, and took that fateful step forward.

With albinism as severe as hers, had she been exposed to the outdoors during daytime without any protection—even on an overcast day—her skin would have quickly burned and rotted.

The armor she usually wore was crafted with ruby-insulated lenses even across the eye slits.

Consequently, for her entire life, Xiao Xinzhu had never once beheld the daytime world with her naked eyes. She yearned for the sun more than anyone else.

This single step would turn her dream into reality.

In that fleeting second, the sunlight grew brilliant upon her snow-white skin, casting a hazy, ethereal halo around her.

Standing beneath the sunlight, she looked as breathtakingly beautiful as a fairy descending from the heavens.

The sunlight, which should have been fatal to her, now merely served to accentuate the white-haired, crimson-eyed woman like a celestial being.

"The sun? Is this the sun?"

Looking up at the sky, Xinzhu trembled slightly with emotion, tears of sheer joy welling up in her eyes.

Overjoyed to the point of delirium, she was on the verge of weeping.

"Lord Consort, I see the sun! I can finally see the sun!"

Overwhelmed with emotion, Xiao Xinzhu stretched out her hands like a child, as if she longed to embrace the golden wheel of light in the sky.

Her face beamed with the happiest smile since the day Ming Tian rescued her.

"This buff is permanent. No one except me and the gods can undo it, so you don't have to worry about it wearing off."

Striking her signature pose with arms crossed over her chest, Wei Jingjing cast a sidelong glance at Ming Tian, trying to feign indifference, though her nonchalance felt a bit too forced.

Watching Xiao Xinzhu play like a child in the sunshine, Ming Tian looked down at his hands, a myriad of emotions condensing into three simple words.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me." Wei Jingjing maintained her haughty demeanor. "Since I fired you, I had to give you some severance pay, right? Consider this treatment your severance pay."

She certainly hid her true feelings well.

When she demanded he stay and work for three days, it was meant to give him a chance to prove his remorse and make amends to her ancestor, Wei Lei.

Ming Tian did not know whether his two and a half days of causing a ruckus at the bathhouse counted as atonement toward Wei Lei, but at the very least, he knew the proprietress was not a bad person.

She must have kept him here for some other reason.

What that reason was, Ming Tian could not say, but during these three days of life here, he felt he had truly gained some insights.

As for what he had comprehended? In truth, Ming Tian could not articulate it clearly; it was simply a profound feeling.

With their luggage packed, Ming Tian and his companions stepped out of the bathhouse.

Turning back, they looked directly at the three figures belonging to the bathhouse.

The proprietress stood with her arms crossed, Xiaofei waved goodbye with a cheerful grin, and Xiaoji dabbed at his tears with a handkerchief like a maiden, looking somewhat reluctant to see them go.

Ming Tian smiled faintly, then snapped to attention and bowed ninety degrees toward the three of them.

"Everyone, although our time together was short, I am truly glad to have met you all. If fate allows, I will visit again. Thank you!"

In response to his heartfelt gratitude, the three of them nodded gently to bid him farewell.

Without another word, Ming Tian shouldered his bundle. With all his injuries healed, his strength had fully returned, and the twenty-something-pound pack did not feel heavy in the slightest.

With a mind free of regrets, Ming Tian and his companions embarked on the final leg of their journey before reaching their ultimate destination, the Di Tribe: the trip to Sumen Town!

The broad and smooth path lay right before their eyes...

...

Watching Ming Tian walk further and further away, the smile on Wei Jingjing's face slowly faded, replaced by an expression of deep solemnity.

"Sister Jingjing," Xiaofei asked with a hint of worry, "are you sure you shouldn't tell him? Does he truly have the ability to handle his future now?"

Wei Jingjing pressed her lips together and sighed. "Everything that could be told to him has already been told. He has also realized that protecting his companions requires sufficient strength rather than blind evasion. As for whether he can cope with his predestined calamity, it is entirely up to him."

"It's fine, I believe he will definitely succeed."

Xiaoji chimed in with a broad smile, "Don't you think Ming Tian is a lot like Grandpa Wei Lei? As long as he realizes the responsibility on his shoulders, he will certainly pull it through!"

Smiling faintly, Wei Jingjing cast one last glance filled with blessings toward Ming Tian.

In her heart, she offered a silent prayer for him.

"He is the final transmigrator. Ever since he crossed over, no other transmigrator has ever arrived in this world, which means he is the one destined to bring this era to an end."

"He bears a strong resemblance to Grandpa Wei Lei. I only hope that, in the end, he won't lose nearly half of his companions the way Grandpa Wei Lei did."

With those words, Wei Jingjing turned around and closed the bathhouse doors.

...

Upon reaching the first street corner, Ming Tian wanted to take one last look at the miraculous bathhouse.

However, when he looked back, he discovered that the bathhouse, which had been standing right there just moments before, had vanished as if it had evaporated into thin air.

That bathhouse truly was extraordinary.

With such a sigh of wonder, Ming Tian shook off his lingering doubts and strode onto his own path.

Meanwhile, on the southern horizon, heavy dark thunderclouds rolled across the sky, crackling with startling bolts of serpentine lightning.

...At the same time, in Sumen Town...

A torrential downpour raged outside, with rain cascading from the heavens like millions of high-pressure water jets. Within the Zhuge family's grand courtyard, many potted landscape plants were already drowned by the deluge, and the estate servants braved the blinding rain without even a moment to wipe their faces, desperately working to salvage the remaining flora.

Zhuge Fang sat comfortably in the main hall of the courtyard, leisurely teasing the bird in its cage, completely at ease.

Right at that moment...

"Reporting!!" A completely drenched servant stumbled and scrambled into the hall, his soaked shoes leaving unsightly muddy footprints across the floor.

Such frantic urgency aroused Zhuge Fang's curiosity. "What could possibly have you in such a panic?"

The servant knelt on the floor, panting heavily before stammering out, "Reporting to Master Zhuge, a woman has collapsed outside our gates, and she is likely suffering from a severe chill. This humble servant did not know whether to rescue her or not, so I rushed here to report to you, Master, and await your decision."

A woman had collapsed?

Zhuge Fang frowned in displeasure. "My Zhuge family has always practiced charity and kindness. Is such a matter even worth asking? Go quickly and bring her inside."

"But... but..."

Hearing this, the servant began to stammer hesitantly.

This made Zhuge Fang even more annoyed. "Stop stuttering! Is there some problem?"

Scolded thus, the servant shuddered. After a moment of hesitation, he trembled and uttered words that nearly scared Zhuge Fang out of his wits.

"That... that woman outside is no ordinary person, Master. She... she is Su Xiaoxiao, the renowned courtesan of Qiantang."

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Fang turned pale with fright. "Did you say... that premier poet-courtesan of Qiantang, the very same Su Xiaoxiao currently being hunted down by Meng Lang, the Imperial Inspector of Jiangshang?! And she has collapsed right outside my front door?!"